Posted on 12/17/2002 11:13:33 PM PST by Joe 6-pack
"Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."
Circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution....
Article I.
Section 8. The Congress shall have power to...
...provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States;
...define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;
... declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;
... make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;
... make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.
Section 9.
...The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.
Article II
Section 2. The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States..."
The facts of the matter are thus...
We have been attacked...in a manner more viscious than Pearl Harbor, the incursions of Pancho Villa, the sinking of the Lusiitania, or any other assault against our nation suffered during the 20th Century.
Efforts to continue attacks against our nation continue.
Liberal immigration policies have permitted the enemy to grow within.
Posse Comitatus is NOT an integral part of the Constitution; rather a proscription against the use of the Federal military in a law enforcement capacity against U.S. Civilians, UNDER MOST CIRCUMSTANCES. Exceptions have been written into the law, and, believe it or not, U.S. Military frequently supports U.S. Law enforcement in the following capacities...
1. Virtually not a day goes by where U.S. Army bomb detector K9s support the U.S. Secret Service, State deprtment, or DoD who request K9 sweeps in anticipation of dignitary visits.
2. U.S. Army / AF EOD personnel support local law enforcement who encounter unexploded U.S. or foreign, "souvenier," munitions or other IEDs which exceed the technical capacity of local EOD personnel.
When the enemy is within, are we to believe that the Department of Defense no longer has a role because the opponent is on U.S. soil? This is perhaps one the most absurd notions that political commentators of any stripe have ever proffered. Most curiously, the concept is most fiercely advocated by those who've tried to minimize the DoD's role abroad, suggesting that forward projection is not a matter of defense. We are a nation at war, and the warfighting component of the government should be given the lead.
Persons arguing aginst the DoD's role in the current conflict on Constitutional grounds need to realize that the DoD, formerly, the War Department, is Constitutionally organized and has a Constitutional role...on U.S. soil and beyond.
While I don't pretend to know more than anyone else on the subject, I can confidently assert that I know more than most. I served as an active duty military police officer in the U.S. Army for ten years. In my last two years, I served on a Defense Coordinating Element (DCE) responsible for organizing DoD support for FEMA ops in the event of natural or man-made disasters. I resigned effectively, in December 2000, prior to 9/11. Up to that time, to my awareness, FEMA officials, and military supervisors were painfully cognizant of the implications of Posse Comitatus and virtually all contingency planning was conducted with such considerations...even in cases where, in my opinion, justifications for exceptions were valid.
I've been deployed to quite a few of the world's finest sh!t-holes and have been inoculated against everything from Bubonic Plague, to Japanese Encephilitas to Yellow Fever. I've never developed any symptoms greater than an itchy arm. My immunization record is far longer and more replete than my resume will ever be, and I've yet to suffer ill-effects. Should a small-pox vaccine come available tomorrow, I'd accept it, not because it was mandated, but simply, because I really don't want to contract small-pox!
Not usually.
However, lying trolls like FormerLurker, who are a menace to public health and a threat to the credibility of Free Republic, warrant special treatment. He'd been caught spreading his wack-job theories many times before, and had been given opportunities to address the problems with his tinfoil. His response was more spam.
Good riddance, it was time to bury him and the crap he dragged in with him.
Even if he does sign up under a different name, his style will be easy to spot. Anti-fluoridation, anti-vaccination, General Jack D. Ripper and his grain alcohol and rain water and precious bodily fluids.
And, yes, the endless links to quackery.
His anti-vaccination/anti-fluoridation was like a religion with him; if you disagreed, there was something wrong with you. He was one of the most intolerant of any FReeper. He was the old Soviet Union or Nazi Germany in the way he couldn't stand any disagreement.
Then you can't say what you said with any real assurance of it being accurate, right?
And right now I don't care as I am feeling very bum over FL being banned. :(
Only because you agreed with him.
If you had ever disagreed with him, you'd be saying "and the a$$hole deserved it."
I just wish people would keep an open mind and look at both sides. Wasn't Former Lurker on FR for a long time? This is really bad, and now all these others are glorifying in the banning of FL. It reminds me of a bunch of hungry dogs zeroing in for the kill.
There is a fine line between "public nuisance" and "public health risk".
Former Lurker obliterated it.
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