The government owns, us

[Leo]

This is not the first time. John Fitzgerald Kennedy signed a series of executive orders during his short tenure allowing the government to confiscate labor, food, energy, financial resources, privately held real estate, etc., during a crisis. William Jefferson Clinton resigned a series of (as far as I remember) 16 executive orders that continue to enforce these orders. Side observation, take notice that all three of the leaders who feel the need to sign such orders are the ones who were fully supported by the NEA.

 

[rambone]

Under the auspices of national security, all your rights and property, even your freedom, can be forfeited to the government to use at its discretion. Yes, it is a time-honored American tradition.

Obama's executive order is not all that novel, but it is a reminder and a warning of what has happened before and what may happen again. I seriously doubt Obama even writes his own executive orders.

 

[T.Lex]

I seriously doubt Obama even writes his own executive orders.

Meanwhile, I seriously doubt he even reads them.

 

[rambone]

All of this is only within the bounds of the Constitution and the enabling legislation which, itself, must be Constitutional. The 4th and 5th Amendments (and all the rest) still apply.

That is not very encouraging. Recall how much "due process" Americans received before having their gold coins seized, or put into internment camps, or forced into involuntary servitude in the past. None of that was found to be "unreasonable" before.

 

[HeadlessRoland]

Old news, but news that bears repeating today, tomorrow, and frequently next year and thereafter. We appear to be in a national case of denial regarding a number of threats to our well-being up to and including our future existence as a free republic. The best answer I can offer for this situation is that many among us are not psychologically equipped to deal with the concept of danger in the world and are fixated on believing themselves safe in their preferred mode of existence. By contrast, i advocate not being afraid of the dark (or denying the existence of darkness) but rather being prepared for it.



As it is , yes, but what about tomorrow's technology? What about the day that instead of complaining about every little two-bit PD having an MRAP, we cringe at a full-grown police state which has passed the point where the occasional MRAP is our biggest concern?

Most important, if we had such a threat actually attempted, my guess is that a majority of the keyboard commandos would roll over, at least after a public execution or two. They would say, "Well, I would stand up, but I have children/grandchildren/fourth cousin 15 times removed that the .gov might take it out on." Now think about how little meaningful resistance is going to come from the rank and file sheep who don't own guns, know how to use them, understand the Constitution or know how to use it, have the ability to sleep on the front porch overnight much less rough it or deal with a, well, interruption in the food supply as delivered via the conventional network of grocers, or manifest any other form of enforcement of their natural right to be left the hell alone?

It's not that I mind most (not all, but most) officers having MRAPs and full-autos now - it's that I mind the next generation, trained and indoctrinated by the national government, having them. Support your local police and KEEP THEM INDEPENDENT.