On Friday, President Obama signed a sweeping
Executive Order
that would effectively nationalize everything - including food, water
and U.S. citizens - in order to prepare for national defense.
Worse yet, the order would also allow for a civilian draft - the
conscription of “persons of outstanding experience or ability” without
compensation.
A post at
Current.com adds:
The EO also states that the President and his Secretaries
have the authority to seize all transportation, energy, and
infrastructure inside the United States as well as forcibly induct/draft
American citizens into the military. The EO also contains a vague
reference in regards to harnessing American citizens to fulfill “labor
requirements” for the purposes of national defense.
Not only that, but the authority claimed inside the EO does not only
apply to National Emergencies and times of war. It also applies in
peacetime.
"
The National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order
exploits the “authority” granted to the President in the Defense
Production Act of 1950 in order to assert that virtually every means of
human survival is now available for confiscation and control by the
President via his and his Secretaries’ whim," Current notes.
Oddly enough, the order does not say these are actions to be taken
“in the event of a national emergency.” Instead, it uses the term
“purposes of national defense.”
Under the section dealing with labor, the order says:
Sec. 601. Secretary of Labor. (a)
The Secretary of Labor, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense
and the heads of other agencies, as deemed appropriate by the Secretary
of Labor, shall:
(1) collect and maintain data necessary to make a continuing appraisal of the Nation's workforce needs for purposes of national defense;
(2) upon request by the Director of Selective Service, and in
coordination with the Secretary of Defense, assist the Director of
Selective Service in development of policies regulating the induction and deferment of persons for duty in the armed services;
(3) upon request from the head of an agency with authority under this
order, consult with that agency with respect to: (i) the effect of
contemplated actions on labor demand and utilization; (ii) the
relation of labor demand to materials and facilities requirements; and
(iii) such other matters as will assist in making the exercise of priority and allocations functions consistent with effective utilization and distribution of labor;
In order to prevent shortfalls in resources, the order also gives
various cabinet-level secretaries the authority "to guarantee loans by
private institutions," and gives the Treasury Secretary and the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget complete authority to set terms,
interest rates and maximum amounts to be paid.
If you think you can move to a farm in the country in order to escape the long arm of the regime, think again.
According to the "Definitions" section of the order, absolutely
everything - including farm equipment, all food, water and medicine,
energy, fertilizer and all forms of "civil transportation" - would be
seized by the government. Even repair parts for farm equipment would
fall under government jurisdiction.
The order does note, however, that "'[c]ivil transportation' shall
not include transportation owned or controlled by the Department of
Defense, use of petroleum and gas pipelines, and coal slurry pipelines
used only to supply energy production facilities directly."
'Energy, for example, is defined as: "...all forms of energy
including petroleum, gas (both natural and manufactured), electricity,
solid fuels (including all forms of coal, coke, coal chemicals, coal
liquification, and coal gasification), solar, wind, other types of
renewable energy, atomic energy, and the production, conservation, use,
control, and distribution (including pipelines) of all of these forms of
energy."
The post at Current asks:
Nevertheless, some have no doubt begun to wonder why the
President has signed such an order. Not only that, but why did he sign
the order now? Is it because of the looming war with Iran or the Third World War that will likely result from such a conflict? Is it because of the ticking time bomb
called the economy that is only one jittery move or trade deal away
from total disintegration? Is it because of a growing sense of hatred of
their government amongst the general public? Is there a coming natural
disaster of which we are unaware? Are there plans for martial law?
Finance Examiner Kenneth Schortgen,
Jr., notes that previous administrations have taken actions limiting
individual rights in the past. During the Civil War, President Lincoln
suspended Habeus Corpus and Woodrow Wilson used an Executive Order
giving him authority "over businesses, industry, transportation, food,
and other economic policies" during World War 1.
"In both cases," Schortgen wrote, "it was only after the death of
each President that full Constitutional powers were restored to the
citizens of the United States."
This order, however, goes far beyond what either Lincoln or Wilson
did, and if invoked, would basically turn the United States into a
totalitarian regime with Obama as its dictator.
In June, 1966,
Robert Kennedy said:
There is a Chinese curse which says 'May he live in
interesting times.' Like it or not we live in interesting times. They
are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also more open to the
creative energy of men than any other time in history.
Indeed, we seem to be living in very interesting times.
Update: A number of people have commented that this
is simply an update of an existing Executive Order (EO 12919) dating
back to 1994, but that does not negate the fact that President Obama
signed the order on Friday, nor does it change the contents of the
order, which can be seen at the White House website
here, and about which Ed Morrissey of
Hot Air says is "really nothing to worry about at all." We'll let the reader be the judge of that.
Updaye 2: One of the
criticisms
that has been leveled is that the Executive Order supposedly does not
allow the President or one of his Secretaries to hire civilians without
compensation, however, Section 502 reads (emphasis added):
Sec. 502. Consultants. The head of each agency otherwise
delegated functions under this order is delegated the authority of the
President under sections 710(b) and (c) of the Act, 50 U.S.C. App.
2160(b), (c), to employ persons of outstanding experience and ability without compensation and to employ experts, consultants, or organizations.
Be sure to check out the case against re-electing Barack Hussein Obama:
Part 1:
Who is this Barack Obama person, really?
Part 2:
The fight of the century: Obama versus the Constitution
Part 3:
The cult of Barack Obama
Part 4:
The Imperial Presidency of Barack Obama
Part 5:
The many gaffes of Barack Hussein Obama
Part 6:
Barack Hussein Obama: The destroyer of the American Nation
Part 7:
Barack Obama's legacy: Incompetence and downgrade
Part 8:
Barack Obama: Lord of the Mobs
Part 9:
Barack Obama: The class warfare President
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