In a letter issued to the heads of Congress today, President Barack Obama announced yet another one year extension of a State of National Emergency which has been going on in the United States since September 14, 2001. This means that as of Tuesday America will officially be entering its tenth year at an emergency posture that seems destined to last pretty much forever.
Established in 1976, the National Emergencies Act grants certain powers (established in Title 50 Chapter 34 of the United States legal code) to the president during times of emergency. Amongst the law’s primary purposes was to prevent a US president from creating an open-ended state of emergency.
Ironically however the law provides for the annual renewal of an existing state of emergency with only a notification of Congress required. This has meant, in a state of open-ended warfare, Presidents Bush and Obama have been able to maintain a state of open-ended emergency anyhow.
The current state of emergency empowers the president in a number of manners, including allowing him to suspend officer personnel laws related to the US military, suspending all legal limits on the number of commissioned officers, authorizations to grow the size of the military beyond the legal appropriations, waive limits on reserves, and the right to recall retirees to active duty. The claim of “time of emergency” has also been cited in countless other measures taken by the presidents to expand their own power.
The "state of Emergency" is in the heads and brains, if they have any, of power-mad officials. It is life in the US that is going crazyand taking the rest of the world down with it. These religious fanatics and racists who waste their lives and poison other's lives in a country with nuclear weapons is as dangerous as any other.
Those in power prey on these hysterical fears to dominate, control and eventually destroy civilized life in society.
USA is pretty much done.
Blast! I am upset by this news. I have been waiting in a deep dugout since September 11 2001 waiting for the emergency to be over. I was looking forward to getting a suntan again and seeing if my eyes still worked.
Couldn't Obama declare the emergency over for a few weeks? I'm sure my wife would appreciate it! So would my back.
Oh, what a good idea – an emergency holiday.
What if no terrorist acts occurred during the emergency holiday? Although I wasn't aware of this emergency act and I couldn't understand why I felt so safe and secure during the last 9 years. Now that I know we live under martial law light I can be insecure again, but perhaps the real reason for martial law light is to remind us to be fearful, hateful and insecure worried that the 50 al queda left in Afghanistan will swim across the Indian and Pacific oceans to invade the USA.. Better yet, they might just fly like they did before but this time bring a change of underwear adn put the bombs up their ass instead of in their shoes. Of course the shoe removal drill is just obedience training for adults.
The best move is to refuse to fly until they do brain scanners. I want the full picture…for safety. Just imagine what some of those passengers might be THINKING!
You want the pictures? You would go down for obscenity laws and probably the odd kiddie pr0n. And the pictures of drugs.
You're referring to the Thought Police "whom come to me in my head the Thought police get inside of my head the Thought Police, the Thought Police, Police, Police…………" to borrow a refrain from the Cheap Trick song the Dream Police.
Jason, good description of the legal situation BUT it's a national emergency not a state of emergency AND the US has not one of them but twenty-three (23). They include 22 existing ones that the Mr. Change has renewed plus one for the flu pandemic. They concern by annual date of renewal: Cote d'Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Iran, Syria, Burma, Iraq, Belarus, Western Balkans, North Korea, Russian Federation, Liberia (Charles Taylor), Lebanon, Export Control Regulations, Terrorist Attacks, Terrorism, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, H1N1 Influenza Pandemic, Sudan, Weapons of mass destruction, Iran, Middle East Terrorists and Cuba.
I know I can't sleep nights worrying about Ivory Coast.
ALSO there are not one but two (2) national emergencies attendant to 9/11, the one you reference plus this one which will, I'm sure, be renewed by Mr. Change on schedule in a week or so.
Terrorism – ". . . the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, in New York and Pennsylvania and against the Pentagon. . .that led to the declaration of a national emergency on September 23, 2001, has not been resolved. These actions pose a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States."
renewed September 21, 2009 BO http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=8…
Excellent piece – I have not seen any mention of this elsewhere.
911 was an inside job. Go here: http://www.infowars.com/the-silence-of-september-…
The state of emergency gives the president more power. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Now if only the President uses that power to have our military persons leave and not bother people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and the rest of the Middle East that would be good. Now if only the president uses the power granted by the state of emergency to have our military fight and stop those who continue to increase the import of illegal drugs into the USA, then that would be a true victory against the terrorism of drug addiction which is slowly killing the USA.
I couldn't understand why I felt so safe and secure the last 9 years because I wasn't aware of the emergency law, martial law light. Now that I know that we are under martial law light I can be fearful,hateful, and insecure again but perhaps this is the real reason for martial law light to keep Americans fearful, hateful and insecure, just a friendly reminder that the remaining 50 al queda in Afghanistan will swim across the Indian and Pacific Oceans to invade the USA. Better yet they may just fly like before and take a change of underwear and shove the bombs up their asses instead of in their shoes. Rather than lighting their underwear to ignite, they should just eat lots of fart creating foods and just ignite their farts in the privacy of the planes bathroom, a trick all school boys are familiar with and even today's young women. I run the risk of providing advise to the terrorist with this post but I like living on the edge. When I was a boy fart lighting was exclusively a male tradition but in recent decades women have invaded this once exclusive tradition. Nothing is sacred anymore.
Being transformed into a gas factory is not my vocation but yes indeed, live dangerously!
Just farting around, sort of like the USG, except I'm harmless, well except for my farts which could be construed as WMD. I mean look what they did to Sadaam who was telling the truth and it was Bush/Cheney criminal regime that lied. I mean they didn't ever even smell Sadaam's farts I bet. According to Bush's declaration that "god told me to do it" and the knowing all, seeing all, god would know that Sadaam's farts qualified as WMD". Finally to put 9/11 into its actual context, it was really a one day war, The War of 9/11. Just why our nation celebrates the staggering defeat administered to it by 19 men some with box cutters just shows how ignorant the American people are and how thoroughly they have been forged into mindlessness the inability or knowing to discern thoughts, including the thoughts of others, into facts or truth. As for the 1 day War of 9/11, it has precedent,USrael had a 6 Day War and there was the War of 1812.
Jason, good description of the legal situation BUT it's a national emergency not a state of emergency AND the US has not one of them but twenty-three (23). They include 22 existing ones that the Mr. Change has renewed plus one for the flu pandemic. They concern by annual date of renewal: Cote d'Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Iran, Syria, Burma, Iraq, Belarus, Western Balkans, North Korea, Russian Federation, Liberia (Charles Taylor), Lebanon, Export Control Regulations, Terrorist Attacks, Terrorism, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, H1N1 Influenza Pandemic, Sudan, Weapons of mass destruction, Iran, Middle East Terrorists and Cuba.
The above list includes another 9/11 national emergency.
Terrorism – ". . . the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, in New York and Pennsylvania and against the Pentagon. . .that led to the declaration of a national emergency on September 23, 2001, has not been resolved. These actions pose a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States."
renewed September 21, 2009 BO http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=8…
Jason, good description of the legal situation BUT it's a national emergency not a state of emergency AND the US has not one of them but twenty-three (23). They include 22 existing ones that the Mr. Change has renewed plus one for the flu pandemic. They concern by annual date of renewal: Cote d'Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Iran, Syria, Burma, Iraq, Belarus, Western Balkans, North Korea, Russian Federation, Liberia (Charles Taylor), Lebanon, Export Control Regulations, Terrorist Attacks, Terrorism, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, H1N1 Influenza Pandemic, Sudan, Weapons of mass destruction, Iran, Middle East Terrorists and Cuba.
A fascinating interview concerning the events of 911: http://www.infowars.com/the-silence-of-september-… This is a MUST VIEW.
A fascinating interview with Peter Dale Scott, a former professor at the University of Berkeley, concerning the events of 911: http://www.infowars.com/the-silence-of-september-… THIS IS A MUST VIEW.
Orwell would be so proud.
From websters ….
"1
: an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action
2
: an urgent need for assistance or relief <the governor declared a state of emergency after the flood> "
This is what would make Orwell proud. Taking a situation that is defined by words like "immediate" and "urgent" and then redefining the words such that a 10 year 'emergency' can exist.
Is this the 'change' from Bush that everyone wanted when they elected Obama? If no, send back a new Congress this year. When possible, don't vote Republican or Democrat. But no matter what, don't vote for an incumbent. If these jerks all stop getting reelected, then even a bunch of corrupt idiots like this will figure out something has to change.
If you want change, threaten a politician's job.
The silly Congress back in 1976 had the quaint notion that if the President were actually to try to create an open-ended "state of emergency" for the purpose of radically transforming the FedGov the Congress would impeach the usurper. We all know much better now how pitifully quixotic that rationale was.
They only thing politician fear is the vote.
Unfortunately, Bogi, this is not true at all. Politicians don't "fear the vote," nor do they have any reason to. Elections are controlled and for the most part, fixed. Go to http://blackboxvoting.org/ and learn.
The State of Emergency began when Alden Pyle's body washed up in Vietnam and never stopped.
Or did it begin with Woodrow Wilson? Or did it begin with Abraham Lincoln? Or did it begin with Shay's little rebellion? Jefferson said that a nation that wishes to be ignorant and free wants what never was and never will be. Americans like pretending their freedom to shop is freedom. It is merely ignorance agreed upon.
Attention: James Corbett, of The Corbett Report, presents "911- Truth is Still the Issue" in nine youtube videos. His premise is that there are many, many unanswered questions as to what really happened on that day and that it is vital to the long-term welfare of the American people to know the whole truth concerning the events of 9/11. The videos are outstanding and I urge everyone to view them. Go here: http://corbettreport.com/
The Italian movie called Zero: An Investigation into 9/11 does a really good job of laying out the whole story without any BS. You can see a 14-minute trailer at http://zero911movie.com/site/.
Has Obama renewed the State of Emergency for an 11th year? Just curious.