Lantz's How did eels get into the discussion?
Gaszooks, guess I screwed up on that...
Boy... 
I wonder if I should feel eel about this?
Posted on 05/23/2007 7:00:50 AM PDT by cbkaty
LAW OF THE LAND
Order for emergencies apparently gives authority without congressional oversight
President Bush has signed an executive order granting extraordinary powers to the office of the president in the event of a declared national emergency, apparently without congressional approval or oversight.
The order was signed May 9 without any announcement, says Jerome R. Corsi in a WND column.
Titled, "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive," it was issued with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive.
The order establishes under the office of the president a new national continuity coordinator whose job is to make plans for "National Essential Functions" of all federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations to continue functioning under the president's directives in the event of a national emergency.
"Catastrophic emergency" is loosely defined 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 functions."
Corsi says the president can assume the power to direct any and all government and business activities until the emergency is declared over.
The executive order says the assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, currently Frances Fragos Townsend, would be designated as the national continuity coordinator.
Corsi says the executive order makes no attempt to reconcile the powers created for the national continuity coordinator with the National Emergency Act, which requires that such proclamation "shall immediately be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register."
A Congressional Research Service study notes the National Emergency Act sets up Congress as a balance empowered to "modify, rescind, or render dormant" such emergency authority if Congress believes the president has acted inappropriately.
But the new executive order appears to supersede the National Emergency Act by creating the new position of national continuity coordinator without any specific act of Congress authorizing the position, Corsi says.
The order also makes no reference to Congress and its language appears to negate any a requirement that the president submit to Congress a determination that a national emergency exists.
It suggests instead that the powers of the executive order can be implemented without any congressional approval or oversight.
Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke affirmed to Corsi the Homeland Security Department would implement the requirements of the order under Townsend's direction.
The White House declined to comment on the order.
Why is this needed when we have the National Emergency Act? What in the Constitution gives the executive the authority to cut out the other branches, and to take over management of the states and of private business?
That emergency definition would have applied to the northeast electrical outage of a couple of years ago, as well as Katrina and other events.
I especially dislike the stealth and lack of comment on this — this is too important and dangerous to be done quietly and without debate.
I believe and have from the beginning and I don’t give a DAMN what my fellow FRiends say. Things have been so strange for awhile. Hillary not saying a dang word during 2004 election...Bill said what five sentences that were not even that bad. Friendships, brother, family. Too many weird stuff going on. I have been blasted so many times that you could not imagine. But, I am pretty strong and can take it. You should have seen the licken I took before the last election when I (Gasp) said that we would probably lose the 2006 Senate and House. I was definitely found GUILTY for treasonous (Everyone loves that word around here) statements!!! lol.
Thanks for the link — I did some googling myself and was just about to post it. Yes, it looks less sinister — it appears to apply to the executive branch only, and acknowledges that the other two co-equal branches are responsible for their own continuity planning. It bears watching, though.
Lantz's How did eels get into the discussion?
Gaszooks, guess I screwed up on that...
Boy... I wonder if I should feel eel about this?
one example:
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Doppelgangland (1999)
Anya convinces an unsuspecting Willow to assist her with a spell that will ... just a reliable good-two-shoes and agrees to help conger up the "dark arts. ...
www.imdb.com/title/tt0533415/ - 41k - May 21, 2007 - Cached - Similar pages
Guess that bodes eel for Buffy and Anya... 
eh?
We... 
are so confused...
Part of this article clearly is not true since it was released by Tony Snows office and the full text is up on the web.
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/nspd-51.htm
Maybe it is troubling but we need a different source. This one is simply not credible.
Thanks for the correction...
>>Thanks for the correction...<<
And thanks for posting this - It sure as heck bears looking into.
he is on Coast to Coast AM, right now.
“Prepare to don tin foil headgear” !!!!!!!
We would say, "Monica? Is that you?"
Cheers!
1) H5N1 pandemic
2) Attack on Iran
3) Trouble over the amnesty bill in the Senate.
Cheers!
The president does have broad power as the head of the executive branch to conduct its affairs: look at the history of the creation of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Eisenhower's Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953. Congress was only involved when President Eisenhower asked for approval for the reorganization of the Federal Security Agency into a cabinet level Department.
But beyond that, I read NSPD51 and it didn't strike me as anything odd. The language is very similar to most continuity of operations planning that you see, and I didn't see anything that took it beyond the bounds of the executive branch of government.
Maybe I am not seeing some point that is troubling, but to me seeing the administration simply doing contingency planning limited to the executive branch isn't of itself that worrisome.
Katrina - that thought crossed my mind, also.
President Clinton’s going to love this.
Same here. Lots of knee jerk reactions from people looking for hidden meanings, hidden messages and evil government plotting.
Somtimes a cigar is just a cigar.
(Or it used to be until Bill Clinton stained the image)
Is that a “Rex 84” joke? :)
Sorry - reference is too obscure for me. Not sure what Rex 84 is.
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