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Bush Heroically Grants Self New Superpower: Martial Law

Phex: Dorset Doom

16:46 / 29.10.06

Superman turned electric, Spiderman got robotic arms, now Living Man-God and down-to-earth regular guy George Walker Bush, 43rd President and immortal protector of the United States, has gained a new Superpower for the good of his country- and perhaps the whole world!
A provision cleverly hidden from terr'rists in the government bill H.R 5122 (search for section 1076, about three quarters of the way down), signed on October 18th, allows the already godlike superbeing to use the brave boys of the U.S of God-Bless-American military to disperse freedom-hatin' liberals. This overturns the Posse Comitatus Act, signed by activist judges in 1878 (during the brief time they weren't making out with each other) in order to hand America over to the invading hordes which threaten the only bastion of liberty on Earth (which was created 5000 years ago by God). In a double blow to the enemies of freedom, the bill was signed on the same day as the equally noble Military Commissions Act, which allows our boys to blow off some steam and collect vital intelligence by torturing terr'rists just like Jack Bauer does on TV!
Please use this thread to praise the Commander in Chief for his courage in taking this bold step towards keeping America free.

Phex: Dorset Doom

16:56 / 29.10.06

You can read more here, but be warned: it comes through an Internet Tube owned by some godless liberals who get all riled up by "a rapidly consolidating police state in America, all accomplished amidst ongoing U.S. imperial pretensions of global domination, sold to an "emergency managed" and seemingly willfully gullible public as a "global war on terrorism."

22:15 / 29.10.06

The section in question:

SEC. 1076. USE OF THE ARMED FORCES IN MAJOR PUBLIC EMERGENCIES.

(a) USE OF THE ARMED FORCES AUTHORIZED.--
(1) IN GENERAL.--Section 333 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

333. Major public emergencies; interference with State and Federal law
(a) USE OF ARMED FORCES IN MAJOR PUBLIC EMERGENCIES.--
(1) The President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to--

``(A) restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that--

i) domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession
are incapable of maintaining public order; and

ii) such violence results in a condition described in
paragraph (2); or

(B) suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic
violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy if such insurrection, violation, combination, or conspiracy results in a condition described in paragraph (2).

22:58 / 29.10.06

What was it changed from?

00:16 / 30.10.06

Changed from:

The President, by using the militia or the armed forces, or both, or by any other means, shall take such measures as he considers necessary to suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy, if it—

(1) so hinders the execution of the laws of that State, and of the United States within the State, that any part or class of its people is deprived of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law, and the constituted authorities of that State are unable, fail, or refuse to protect that right, privilege, or immunity, or to give that protection; or

(2) opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws.

In any situation covered by clause (1), the State shall be considered to have denied the equal protection of the laws secured by the Constitution.

06:41 / 30.10.06

That's extraordinary in emphasis alone. The latter provision is about protection of the minority, the former anything but.

Disco is My Class War

10:12 / 30.10.06

War: the answer to every problem. You got a hurricane? Just go right ahead and bomb it! You got a water shortage? You're going to need more than the National Guard, buddy. Why don't we give you some elite SWAT teams to stand around the water trucks and shoot those undeserving scoundrels who ask for more? Forest fire? Just use our handy war machine. It's also good for summer picnics and hoedowns; indeed, any gatherings of more than two people (excepting Republican National Committee meetings of course). You'll find that the collateral damage is totally worth it for that AWESOME LIGHTSHOW.

(Here I'm thinking of that guy on the Daily Show who does the explosion sounds, you know, the CIA operative turned reporter?)

Hydra vs Leviathan

13:11 / 30.10.06

i) domestic violence

There's a terrible, terrible irony in the use of that phrase, which in its more commonly understood (at least in the UK) meaning occurs in probably the great majority of households in the "Western world", and which the "constituted authorities of the State or possession" (and the last word of that phrase is pretty fucking telling as well) are indeed not so much incapable as by their nature unwilling to either punish or prevent...

I'm not sure TBH that the new clause is fundamentally different in content, as opposed to nastiness of wording, in terms of what powers it gives the President in practice (apart, i suppose, from adding in natural disasters/epidemics to insurrection, "domestic violence" etc - but in practice Bush has used military power in the Hurricane Katrina situation already, and extrapolating from that to a larger scale natural* disaster i'm fairly sure something equivalent to martial law would have been used under the old powers anyway)...

*ok, there's also a strong argument that Katrina wasn't "natural", either in origin of the hurricane itself (human-made climate change) or in the extent of damage it caused (New Orleans having been built in a frankly stupid place), but in terms of legal classification it was a "natural disaster" (of a type which is probably going to increase dramatically both in frequency and severity in coming years due to distinctly unnatural activities)...

17:13 / 30.10.06

The removal of the part regarding the protection of minorities is no accident. This will affect how any court would interpret the law should the President's use of Martial Law ever be challenged in court on the basis that it is used to oppress minorities.

I don't think it changes much in terms of the President's ability to bring in the army to intervene in domestic matters, but it certainly relieves him of much accountability.

Hell, what kind of people would vote for a government that deliberately deletes portions of laws dedicated to the protection of human rights?

18:04 / 30.10.06

Here is a thorough explanation of the background to this story.

As far as I understand it, the important point is the shifting of power from States to the National government. The National Guard (despite the name) is each state's own force, under the control of the Governor, and previously there were only specific instances where the President could control them e.g. to enforce the laws of the nation in a state where they were being ignored.

Now it seems as though the justifications for the President taking control of these forces have been very much widened and made more vague, which is a hallmark tactic of this administration.

There was a specific prohibition on the National Government using Federal/National troops to enforce Federal law, which has now been weakened. The US system relies on a balance between state and federal powers to keep everyone on the sensible side of tyranny. Remember that the Constitution is a document designed to stop the type of internal monarchical tyranny that the colonies had lived under. There is a strong awareness of the dangers inherent in government and power. US Military people swear to defend the nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

These changes make it easier for the President to impose Martial Law, if you are of a nervous disposition.