Federal Power Grab: Standing Army and Civil Disturbances
By Douglas V. Gibbs
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In
Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, the
Congressional appropriation of money for funding the Army is limited to
two years. There is no limitations on funding the Navy, and in fact the
Congress is instructed in the next clause to "provide and maintain a
Navy."
The
Founding Fathers feared a standing army. Yes, an army is needed for
the common defense of
the nation, in order to protect the union, and the sovereign States,
from foreign invaders. However, the fears of the federal government
growing into a tyranny, and using the standing army against the
citizenry, was a reality.
 |
| Douglas V. Gibbs |
When
the police were marching through the streets of Boston in search of the
Marathon Bomber, I wondered if there was anyone else as uncomfortable
with the jackboot troops going door to door and searching the homes
without a warrant. What is even more interesting is that it wasn't the
police marching through the streets that caught the hiding Chechnyan,
but a citizen who went against police orders by going outside to have a
cigarette, and noticing something wrong with his boat.
Sure,
I get it, they were just trying to do their job. But how close were
they to the fine line between "protect and serve" and "police state"?
What kind of precedent did the Boston street to street search set?
It
is bad enough that we have a liberal left control of government that
considers pretty much anyone that opposes them to be potential domestic
terrorists.
The
U.S. Code has just been adjusted to make it easier for the federal
government to provide military
support to the already military-style capabilities of local law
enforcement agencies. The Pentagon has granted to the military the
ability to police the streets of America without obtaining prior local
or state consent.
Prior
to this change, federal agencies have to obtain permission of local
authorities before entering into and operating in local jurisdictions.
From a Constitutional point of view, the move is an invasion of State
Sovereignty, and yet another move towards federal control over the
States, and turning our society into a police state. The allowance,
according to the new language in the U.S. Code, is that military
intervention can me used in the event of “civil disturbances.”
One wonders how long before the federal government decides to define a TEA Party Rally as being a civil disturbance.
A
defense official claims this authority is nothing new, claiming, “The
authorization has been around over 100 years; it’s not a new authority.
It’s been there but it hasn’t been exercised. This is a carryover of
domestic policy.” Moreover, he insists the Pentagon doesn’t “want to get
involved in civilian law enforcement. It’s one of those red lines that
the military hasn’t signed up for.” Nevertheless, he says, “every person
in the military swears an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the
United States to defend that Constitution against all enemies
foreign and domestic.”
Is
the domestic enemy that has gained control of the federal government
going to claim that all opposition to their policies are domestic
enemies?
The
military commander will have unlimited powers on the scene, being
allowed to judge for himself his own definition for what constitutes,
“wanton destruction of property,” “adequate protection for Federal
property,” “domestic violence,” or “conspiracy that hinders the
execution of State or Federal law,” and if the circumstances might be
considered an “emergency.”
And once the federal government begins to exercise
this power, the slippery slope will be in full swing. The government never gives up power - it only increases it.
The
U.S. military is allowed to intervene according to Article IV, Section 4
of the Constitution to protect the States against invasion, and when
the State requests assistance through the legislature, or executive if
the legislature cannot convene, against domestic violence.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
U.S. Military Power Grab Goes Into Effect - Long Island Press
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