What You Need to Know NOW Re: Bush's Exec. Order 51 Plans to Take Over Government

[The Cleaner]

Okay, we've all heard about Executive Order 51 which theoretically allows Bush and Bush alone to take over the entire government in case of an emergency. This for the most part is factual. However two legal arguments are evident here and, if Bush goes too far, these arguments will become CRITICAL to restoring our democracy.

1) Definitions Section 2(b)
"Catastrophic Emergency" means 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...

This essentially means it must be proven that the terrorist attack or natural disaster is very widespread across our nation and results in "extraordinary levels" of damage. Now what that means is that if a bomb goes off in NYC, just one bomb that is terrorist but doesn't really damage much - or even several bombs in several cities that kill hardly anyone, that is NOT "extraordinary levels" of damage. This definition needs to be challenged if Bush tries to usurp undue power over our government.

2) Definition section 2(e)
"Enduring Constitutional Government," or "ECG," means a cooperative effort among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal Government, coordinated by the President, as a matter of comity with respect to the legislative and judicial branches and with proper respect for the constitutional separation of powers among the branches, to preserve the constitutional framework under which the Nation is governed and the capability of all three branches of government to execute constitutional responsibilities and provide for orderly succession, appropriate transition of leadership, and interoperability and support of the National Essential Functions during a catastrophic emergency...

Now that all sounds pretty okay dokey until I saw this:
The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government.

And does anyone REALLY think Bush will properly dictate constitutional government? If Bush tries to usurp undue power the lawyers better take a close look at this and hold Bush's feet to the fire. After all, what respect do they have for the separation of powers right now? None. But this clearly lays out the need for ALL THREE branches of government to be respected and to work together in a national emergency.

Lawyers and Constitutional scholars prepare your legal arguments...

[BlackHawk706867]

1. The big problem with your logic is that it will ultimately end up in

the US Supreme Court and we all know what would most likely come of that!

ww

[dkofos]

2. To a rational, thinking, law abiding citizen, this all sounds good. BUT

These are the same people that renamed POW's to ENEMY COMBATANT so they could hold them
without cause and without trial.

[VP505]

3. If there

ia ANY question of how or what, or to who that order applies I think we all know how Bu$hCo will react. They will twist and turn and spin it to whatever suits their purpose. To make it worse they (Bu$hCo) have stacked the courts with enough cronies that its likely that they will support Bu$h's interpretation.

[The Cleaner]

4. Yep, that's true.

Sad but true. I can only hope attorneys will stand up against Bush though if this does happen, and hold his feet to the fire, and cite these directives regarding Constitutional government. Especially if a small terror attack happens here and Bush ups and takes over.