Bush Just Gave Himself Dictatorial Powers
Bush signs unconstitutional "power grab" presidential directives NSPD51 and HSPD20, giving him full-dictatorial powers in the event of a loosely defined "catastrophic emergency."
The directives define "catastrophic emergency" as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government function."
It also states that "The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government." In other words, the president gave himself the sole power and duty to interpret the constitution anyway he chooses, and neither Congress nor the public shall be allowed to debate or disagree on such matters.
Right now, the only thing standing between democracy and Bush's apparent desire to rule with an iron fist is a lesser event than that of 9/11.
Will you wait until he uses these powers to do something? .. or not.
Related Links ::: tyrranyofsouls, World Net Daily
Labels: Bush, Constitution, Fascism
Stumble It!
posted by ~ FluxRostrum at 4:20 AM
4 Comments:
Who Are The Real Terrorists?
The belief in "authority" drastically warps the way most people view reality. Oddly, people like to think the belief is a civilizing influence, when the exact opposite is true: the most heinous evils because generally accepted as legitimate and good when done by a perceived "authority." Most people are utterly incapable of viewing the world without their authority-colored glasses dramatically twisting what they see. The belief in "government," man-made "law," and "authority" in general, make most people unable to see the literal truth of what is going on.
For years now the government and the media have been condemning the
evils of "terrorists." Who are they talking about? Well, if you use the government's definition, a "terrorist" is one who uses violence, or the threat of violence, to achieve a political end.
As many of you have heard by now, a collection of several vehicles,
apparently including an armed vehicle, filled with heavily armed
state and federal "law enforcement" personnel, was seen yesterday
heading towards the New Hampshire home of Ed and Elaine Brown. As I
understand it, those "authorities" have now laid seige to the place, and cut the phone lines, but it sounds like there has been no raid and no arrest as of yet. (Incidentally, I'm just getting
this from various internet posts, so don't expect me to have any
special inside info.) In one newspaper article, one of the "law
enforcement" personnel said that they had no intention whatsoever
of having a violent conflict with the Browns. Yeah, sure. I guess
they brought along the armored vehicle to do some fun off-roading
in their spare time.
Can anyone tell me, with a straight face, that the government is NOT using violence, or the threat of violence, to achieve a political end? Mr. and Mrs. Brown did not assault anyone, or rob anyone, or defraud anyone. Their "sin" was to not pay the federal terrorists their "protection" money, which (as far as I can tell)
the Browns had good reason to believe they didn't even "legally"
owe.
But whether a terrorist passes a "law" before committing his violence makes no difference to whether his actions are righteous
or justified. Unfortunately, it does make a huge difference to
whether people PERCEIVE the actions as justified. If not for the belief in "authority," any moron could see that the Browns are now surrounded by a gang of terrorists. But when the terrorism is "legal" (whatever that means), the vast majority of people suddenly see the VICTIM as the bad guy, and the perpetrators as noble "law enforcers."
There is one up-side to the current thuggery being used against the Browns: it is happening in the open. Normally the terrorism perpetrated by American "authorities" is only implied, which helps people not think of it as terrorism. EVERY demand by government is backed by the ability and willingness to use force, including deadly force. Because most people comply long before such a threat ever becomes blatant, we rarely see the true nature of the beast.
Only when people like the Browns refuse to comply with the veiled
threats dressed up as "requests" do we get to see the NON-veiled threats, which show the true nature of the American terrorists.
If you want a taste of what lies behind the euphemism of American
"law enforcement," go rent "Waco: Rules of Engagement." These
people are murderers and terrorists. Behind their uniforms and pretended legitimacy, they are despicable, power-happy, authority-
worshiping fascists, who will not hesitate to injure, torture, or
kill their fellow man if the "government" myth tells them to.
I very much hope that the Browns have a better end result than the
Branch Davidians did. One advantage they have is that a lot more people are paying attention to what is really going on up there
(though it sounds like the terrorists, who like their sins to be done in secret, have cut their phone lines).
It was only a few short years ago that I considered myself to be a
supporter of "law enforcement." After a few first-hand experiences
(a lot more tame than what the Browns are going through) showed me
who and what these people really are, I am proud to say that I will
forever be an enemy of the state, as any decent person should be.
You cannot be pro-government and anti-terrorism. The two are one in
the same.
Sincerely,
Larken Rose
LarkenRose.com
Just browsing the internet, very interesting blog.
Cheney Power Grab: Says White House Rules Don’t Apply to Him
by Justin Rood
Vice President Dick Cheney has asserted his office is not a part of the
executive branch of the U.S. government, and therefore not bound by a
presidential order governing the protection of classified information by
government agencies, according to a new letter from Rep. Henry Waxman,
D-Calif., to Cheney.
0621 06Bill Leonard, head of the government’s Information Security Oversight
Office (ISOO), told Waxman’s staff that Cheney’s office has refused to
provide his staff with details regarding classified documents or submit to a
routine inspection as required by presidential order, according to Waxman.
In pointed letters released today by Waxman, ISOO’s Leonard twice questioned
Cheney’s office on its assertion it was exempt from the rules. He received
no reply, but the vice president later tried to get rid of Leonard’s office
entirely, according to Waxman.
Leonard did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a statement e-mailed to the Blotter on ABCNews.com, Cheney spokeswoman
Megan McGinn said, “We are confident that we are conducting the office
properly under the law.”
As director of the tiny, 25-person Information Security Oversight Office,
Leonard is responsible for keeping track of the nation’s secrets and making
sure they are properly protected.
For the first two years of the George W. Bush administration, Cheney’s
office complied with a presidential order that requires officials to report
statistics on the number of documents it classifies and declassifies.
Since 2003, however, Cheney’s office has refused to submit the data to ISOO.
And when ISOO inspectors tried in 2004 to schedule a routine inspection of
the vice president’s offices, they were rebuffed, Waxman’s letter claims.
Other White House offices, including the National Security Council, did not
object to similar inspections, according to Waxman.
“Serious questions can be raised about both the legality and advisability of
exempting your office from the rules that apply to all other executive
branch officials,” Waxman said in his letter to the vice president, and
asked him to explain why he felt the rules didn’t apply to him and his staff
and how he was protecting classified information in his office.
Former Cheney aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby was recently convicted on
several counts of perjury and obstruction of justice stemming from the leak
of the identity of former covert CIA officer Valerie Plame, Waxman noted,
and in 2006, former Cheney aide Leandro Aragoncillo pleaded guilty to
sharing classified U.S. documents with foreign nationals. Aragoncillo also
worked under former Democratic Vice President Al Gore, who complied with
ISOO’s requests.
Copyright © 2007 ABCNews Internet Ventures
How Dick Cheney Broke My Mind
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Columnist
Tuesday 26 June 2007
I was absolutely savaged by an unexpected emotional detonation on
Thursday. Every rough emotion I am capable of experiencing - anger, fear,
sorrow, rage, bitterness, despair, loathing, astonishment, woe, regret,
horror, fury - erupted within me at the same time that day. I spent hours in
the aftermath trying to type an accurate description of what had happened to
me and why, but I failed. For the first time in a long, long while, I was
completely unable to write.
What could have been powerful enough to huff and puff and blow my house
down? What manner of mind bomb could hurl me so far off kilter that I was
incapable of explaining it on paper?
It was, of course, Dick Cheney.
The news story that started it all was just another report on Dick being
Dick, doing his Dick thing the way Dick always does. If they ever hold a
contest to decide which politician has the most appropriate first name, you
should bet the farm, the barn, the house, the cow, every crop, every truck,
and throw in all your shoes besides, on Dick winning in a walk. Dick would
win in such a dominant fashion that the NBA Finals would appear competitive
by comparison.
It was Dick, and he got me on Thursday but good. You've probably heard
the news story by now, and maybe you reacted to it like I did.
The National Archives is basically the federal filing cabinet where all
governmental paper records are stored and organized. The Archives is an
invaluable repository of our governmental history. These documents are
publicly available, and are a giant treasure trove for historians,
biographers or anyone who loves to feel a bit of history between their
fingers.
So the Archives people had asked Cheney's office for his papers, because
it was time to do so, because doing so is the law, because those papers are
the property of the people. We pay for their printing and we pay for their
storage, and the return on our investment can be found in the
History/Biography/Politics section of any bookstore in America.
Dick turned the National Archives down flat, and this is what destroyed
me on Thursday. Not only did he turn them down, his office wrote - actually
wrote on paper in a letter to the Archives - their amazing explanation for
refusing to hand over the papers. If you've not heard this, brace yourself.
Dick had the fire-breathing gall, the awe-inspiring temerity, the
light-bending arrogance to put forth the argument - which was actually
written down - that the office of The vice president of the United States is
not actually part of the executive branch of the federal government, and is
therefore not required to give any papers to anyone, ever.
Breathe. Breathe. It'll pass.
I could use a thousand words to describe what this thing did as it
ripped through me. I tried all Thursday to do it, and failed time and again.
I have finally fixed upon the one word that truly explains how I felt once
the shock had passed.
I was offended.
These people offend me on a daily basis, but for some reason, this was
too much. The vice president of the United States actually defended his
insane lust for secrecy by claiming, with his bare face hanging out, that
the OVP is not a part of the executive branch. Cheney is covered by
executive privilege, and he is a member of the presidential cabinet, yet
somehow his office is not part of the executive branch.
It offended me. It offended my patriotism, it was a rank insult to
anyone who took grade-school civics, and it was pure horrid hubris-flecked
power run amok, power so deranged that it is dangerous to every American. I
have no context to place this in, but maybe context isn't required. Lawyers
use a Latin phrase, "Res ipsa loquitor," which means "The thing speaks for
itself." That's pretty much exactly correct, as far as this mayhem is
concerned.
Cheney's argument, by the way, is prima facie cause for his removal from
office. Simply, his office exists in the first place because all presidents
are mortal, and so require a waiting replacement should the need arise. It
sounded on Thursday like Dick pretty much quit his constitutionally-mandated
next-in-line post. If he's not doing that job anymore, he should go home.
This is a personal matter now.
Somehow, another news story about Cheney just being Cheney while doing
his Cheney thing caused a tectonic shift. Encompassing the awesome,
towering, astonishing, awful, brutal, sick, deadly thing that is alive
within the man; a thing that once was mistaken for mere arrogance, was
enough to get me thinking in Biblical terms. There are stories in the Book
describing people confronted by the very face of God. They tend to have a
common theme: The moment they actually see I Am Who I Am, they wind up
getting clobbered for their trouble.
I saw the true face of Dick Cheney on Thursday, undistilled Cheney: The
core essence and clearest example of what imperils us all. The monstrous
things perfectly revealed by Cheney's actions left me writhing like Saul in
the dust of that Damascus road. It was holy, in a weird way, because it
brought about a profound experience that hurt even as it cleansed. I now
know that a glimpse of evil can also be a holy and spiritual moment, if you
make it through the aftermath. The difference, perhaps, is that anyone who
sees God is blinded by the sight. I got a look at evil walking like a man,
and I see so much now that I didn't see before.
I actually owe Cheney a bit of gratitude. I was worried that his
actions, and the actions of his crew, had abused the fabric of my capacity
for surprise beyond the limit, had worn down one of the better human
emotions by just being Cheney. I was wrong. He proved I am still capable of
awe.
William Rivers Pitt is a New York Times and internationally bestselling
author of two books: "War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know"
and "The Greatest Sedition Is Silence." His newest book, "House of Ill
Repute: Reflections on War, Lies, and America's Ravaged Reputation," is now
available from PoliPointPress.
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