Executive tyranny

By Alan Caruba

The use of Executive Orders (EO) goes back to the first President, George Washington. Every chief executive has issued them since then. Some have been historic, but the latest Executive Orders of President Obama are downright scary.

The Executive Order signed on June 25 is titled "Russian Highly Enriched Uranium" and offers as its justification the fact that "the accumulation of a large volume of weapons-usable fissile material in the territory of the Russian Federal continues to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat."

A national emergency? Over Russian nuclear material?

Are we still in the Cold War?

Are we facing another Cuban Missile Crisis?

Are the Russians getting ready to launch a nuclear attack on the U.S.?

Are the Russians provocateurs? Yes, but what else is new?

The justification for this Executive Order is absurd.

The world is filled with nuclear weapons held by both our allies and our presumed enemies.

Having proclaimed a national emergency, why hasn't Obama gone on television to inform Americans? Because, like everything else he does, it is done with stealth.

A previous Executive Order issued on March 16th evoked an even stronger response from those paying attention to what the President is doing. On March 22nd, Jeffrey T. Kuhner, a columnist for The Washington Times, wrote:

"President Obama has given himself the powers to declare martial law — especially in the event of a war with Iran. It is a sweeping power grab that should worry every American."

"On March 16th, the White House released an executive order, 'National Defense Resources Preparedness.' The document is stunning in its audacity and a flagrant violation of the Constitution. It states that, in the case of a war or national emergency, the federal government has the authority to take over almost every aspect of American society. "

"Food, livestock, farming equipment, manufacturing, industry, energy, transportation, hospitals, health care facilities, water resources, defense and construction — all of it could fall under the full control of Mr. Obama."

"He now possesses the potential powers of a dictator. The order is a direct assault on individual liberties, private property rights and the rule of law. It is blatantly unconstitutional."

Bear in mind that Article I, Section 1, of the Constitution states that "All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives."

"Specifically, the imposition of martial law by the national government over a state and its people, treating them as an occupied nation, is an act of war. Such an attempted suspension of the Constitution and Bill of Rights voids the compact with the state and with the people." — Oathkeepers.org.

There has not been a peep out of Congress.

In the last decade the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq without a "national emergency" being declared. Whether or not the U.S. goes to war with Iran, Obama has granted to himself sweeping powers consistent with a dictator, not a Chief Executive. The Middle East rumor mill suggests that either he and/or Israel might do that in October.

Recall that the financial crisis of 2008 occurred conveniently before the election that put him in the Oval Office.

In point of fact, Executive Orders do not require Congressional approval to take effect, but they carry the same legal weight as laws passed by Congress. The authority for Executive Orders is found in Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution which grants the President "executive power." The orders, however, are understood to give direction and guidance to the Executive Branch agencies and departments.

The latest Executive Orders are not "a conspiracy theory." They are the law of the land.

In the case of the National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order, it puts the Executive Branch in total control of everything and everyone in the nation. This includes the power to arrest and detain anyone deemed a threat to the nation.

A study, "Profiles of Perpetrators of Terrorism," commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security identified the following characteristics of potential "terrorists."

# Americans who believe their "way of life" is under attack;

# Americans who are "fiercely nationalistic (as opposed to universal and international in orientation)";

# People who consider themselves "anti-global" (presumably those who are wary of the loss of American sovereignty, opposed to the United Nations, etc.);

# Americans who are "suspicious of centralized federal authority";

# Americans who are "reverent of individual liberty";

# People who "believe in conspiracy theories that involve grave threat to national sovereignty and/or personal liberty."

This is a President who called for a "Civilian National Security Force" on July 2, 2008, one that would be "just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded as the U.S. military."

Obama is putting in force everything a tyranny requires to replace the Republic.

© Alan Caruba