Obama signs another Executive Order we should be worried about
President Obama has been excitedly signing Executive Orders as if they were blank checks since his first full day in office. He is not the first President that went power crazy with the executive orders. However, the one signed on January 11, 2010 has me slightly concerned. This particular Executive Order was for the Establishment of the Council of Governors.
On the surface, the Council of Governors sounds a bit harmless. It almost appears to be a trustworthy venture when you look back at the mishandling of events during Hurricane Katrina.
However, the purpose of the council is summarized well in a letter from the Office of the Press Secretary at the White House:
The President today signed an Executive Order (attached) establishing a Council of Governors to strengthen further the partnership between the Federal Government and State Governments to protect our Nation against all types of hazards. When appointed, the Council will be reviewing such matters as involving the National Guard of the various States; homeland defense; civil support; synchronization and integration of State and Federal military activities in the United States; and other matters of mutual interest pertaining to National Guard, homeland defense, and civil support activities.
Once again, this all seems a bit mundane compared to some of the other laws enacted by Congress. But think back to another Executive Order signed by the egomaniac FDR, Executive Order 9066 which delegated military authority to remove any or all people in a military zone. The end result was the internment camps that held 7000 Japanese-Americans during World War II. Where was the ACLU for that one?
What we Americans should be concerned about is the encroaching of our state rights by setting up a council that now has the authority to control the powers delegated specifically to the states. Think about it, if there is a protest outside of a factory, who has the authority to maintain the peace and order? Normally it is the local police and in some cases the state law enforcement (i.e. FDLE). However, if the Council of Governors deems it necessary, they can utilize any and all resources necessary to break-up the demonstration, including the military.
While this seems a bit far-fetched, it somewhat takes away the rights of the states to handle domestic issues on a state, county or city level. I am not sure how far the government would ever go in handling disturbances, but it opens the door to many possibilities.
They might even view the current Tea Party movement a danger. The Patriot Act and this Executive order will virtually take away all of your rights to free speech if the President feels it is necessary.
FDR did it.
Link to White House Press Release:
Link to the Executive Order:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/2010executive_order.pdf
