Id make a great president> I'm not from an oil family, and al my records speak for themselves>

And if a building gets hit by a AA plane, I won't sit and watch storytime to 1st graders for minutes and minutes before I react 8)

 

Hey bandit, if the president thing doesn't work you would make a perfect Gov. of LA. :lol:

 

Golf was totally unable to back up his asertion that the Dept of Homeland security was "totally ineffective". When presented with the Dept's mission statement he dismissed it as propaganda. Their mission is to protect citizens from terrorist attacks. Looks to me like they're doing OK.

Then he said that the US was not founded on the principle that only property owner could vote. He was wrong, too, on that count. And I showed him where he was wrong.

So he changed the subject and went on the attack. Unarmed, uninformed, and going the wrong direction, he went on the attack.

yawn.

 

I almost agree with changing the voting rules. The ignorant populace are trying to vote this Republic into a pure Democracy... sad but true.

 

Although the U.S. Constitution expressly mandates that presidential elections be held every four years, a little-known clause in the NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/NSPD 51

HOMELAND SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/HSPD-20

Subject: National Continuity Policy

(c) "Continuity of Government," or "COG," means a coordinated effort within the
Federal Government's executive branch to ensure that National Essential
Functions continue to be performed during a Catastrophic Emergency;

Purpose King

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...070509-12.html gives the sitting president the option to cancel a presidential election and remain in office indefinitely if he deems it in the national interest.

12) In order to provide a coordinated response to escalating threat levels or actual emergencies, the Continuity of Government Readiness Conditions (COGCON) system establishes executive branch continuity program readiness levels, focusing on possible threats to the National Capital Region. The President will determine and issue the COGCON Level. Executive departments and agencies shall comply with the requirements and assigned responsibilities under the COGCON program. During COOP activation, executive departments and agencies shall report their readiness status to the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Secretary's designee.

The President will determine and issue!
The President will determine and issue !
The President will determine and issue !

Signed Only by The President on 05-09-2007

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...070509-12.html
Do not let this take effect with out public and congress hearing!
We have thirty days from the date signed.

in the interest of national security presidential election canceled

Doesn't anyone realize this proposal basically provides ANY president with the
oportunity to have dictator equivalent levels of power?

Our system of government, as screwy as it often is, has checks and balances for
a very good reason. We are a democratic republic in theory, not a monarchy or
dictatorship.

 

SO WHAT!!!!!!

 

Alligator said:

I"ll get to this one in due time....

The fact that wealthy property owners have throughout our history tried to deny the vote to minorities and propertyless CITIZENS, is a function of their greed and elitist character. It is NOT a PRINCIPLE on which this great nation was founded.

Here's ONE of the principles on which it WAS founded.... "That ALL men are created EQUAL." That was a DIRECT reprobation of the "feudalistic" society of England, which they fled to this continent to escape and CHANGE.

We did not become a perfect and whole nation overnight, with the establishment of a Constitution. Many court battles had to be fought to eventually assure all citizens the rights of self govenment, representation, pursuit of happiness and OTHER "priniciples" that WERE the intention of our founding fathers.

The fact that, starting in 1792, it took nearly 60 years for ALL states to abolish this discriminatory practice just shows the struggle we've endured as a nation, and perhaps the folly of allowing STATES to have so many independant RIGHTS.

It does NOT, rise to the level of being a principle on which this nation was founded, as it was certainly NEVER "established" as a law by the framers of our Constitution.

I stand by my statement that, if you feel "entitled" to live in a fairy tale land of Lords and Monarchies.... there's a boat leaving every few minutes!

I apologize if you feel that I changed the subject. The fact is that starting with the post right after my first one, OTHERS changed the subject from a discussion about the new Executive Order, which is what I wanted to discuss. That is partly MY fault, for including your little statement about voting rights at the end of my post.

If I didn't follow your lead, it was because I was trying to get back to the original point of this thread.

 

More related information on the President's powers.

Do you know that our country has been under a constant state of emergency since the end of WW-2. Each President has declared a state of emergency, each year, which gives him almost dictatorial powers if he wants to use it.

http://www.americanchronicle.com/art...rticleID=27721

And

http://www.shadowmonkey.net/articles...emergency.html

Our Republic is further down the toilet than most citizens realize!

If you want a good scare, look up how much authority FEMA has during a declared emergency. They can over-ride all state and local elected officials and commandeer any public or private asset they desire.

The declaration of a state of emergency is used, in some countries, as a political tool to impose total control over a population, when such control could not be achieved by traditional political means.

Sometimes I fear that we are not far from that scenario now. Think carefully before you vote for the next President.

Sleep well!

 

Dweller: I'm not trying to get into a pizzing contest with you. I apologize if I was a bit rash. But, you make a point that shows a bit of confusion.

ALL coastal states have pretty good evacuation plans for hurricanes that are still PENDING. New Orleans WAS evacuated to an extent. Since, no one thought they would be hit directly (which they weren't) and they expected the levees to hold, many chose not to (or couldn't) leave. But thousands DID!

The situation in New Orleans was not your typical hurricane "hit." It became a NATIONAL disaster when the levees broke, and the city was flooded in very short order. THIS is the kind of "unknown" that the Feds are supposed to be able to react to.

Although the picture of the flooded buses makes good propaganda, it is immaterial. By that time, all who wanted to evacuate ahead of the storm were gone. However, the roads out of town were flooded along WITH the buses, so they couldn't have taken anyone anywhere anyways.

At that point, the situation became a RESCUE mission, and ONLY the Coast Guard seemed to be equipped, or able, to perform such a mission. But, for DAYS after the flooding, military choppers sat on tarmacs, with supplies baking in the sun, because NO ONE could give the order to fly the stuff into the city and lower it to the masses trapped in the Dome or at the Convention center. NOT EVEN a bottle of water could be delivered to those dying of thirst! The LOCAL government is NOT to blame for THIS inability of FEMA or the military to do what was needed.

We landed hundreds of "landing craft" on Normandy, but we couldn't find ANYTHING that floated to get supplies into N.O.??

Days later, after the water had subsided somewhat, we managed to TRUCK in a minimal amount of supplies. This is just not acceptable.

I saw buildings burning in the second day (I think it was,) and I sat here wondering.... What?? There's not a single firefighter plane within a 100 miles of there?? (You know, the ones that dump water or chemicals on forest fires.) It took nearly two full days to scare up a chopper or two to fight these fires!

The choppers that were taking the people off the roofs, often flew long distances to deposit one or two at a time in a safe location. I'm thinking... What?? there's not a BARGE nearby in a PORT where they can be "staged" while MORE are rescued more quickly, and then the barge towed to a place where supplies and medical teams are waiting?

There are MANY things that could have and should have been done with no more than an hour or two between thought and action. If "I" could see what needed to be done, and could have been, I'm SURE those who get PAID for such planning and execution could have thought of them!

NO excuses, and no amount of blaming the locals, will convince me that our country didn't FAIL miserably to respond to a crisis in a timely and competent manner.

Again, I repeat that, the failure in N.O. was NOT one of prior planning or evacuation. It was the inability of our gov't forces / agencies to execute a RESCUE mission once things became "desperate."

Ridge: I might be wrong about which way the buses in Galveston were going. I remember the pictures on the news when it happened, but I don't remember for sure which way they were heading. I apologize if I stepped on your toes, but it really doesn't MATTER which way they were going, or WHEN. Galveston, as with many coastal cities, is at sea level and most of the roads leading into and out of the city are above water. New Orleans is different. And the point remains, that buses WERE used prior to Katrina hitting to evacuate the city. For someone to show this picture and imply that the Republicans are better at evacuation planning than Dems, is just more propaganda and hate. Or ignorance of the facts.

The situation in N.O. was unexpected and unusual. As were the attacks of 9/11. It would make no difference to me if CLINTON was still president. I would scream "incompetence" just as loudly if HE were to sit on his butt and do no more than Bush did in this case. I expect MORE out of our government decision makers, regardless of party.

I guess the difference is that I would NOT defend Cllinton for such negligence the way SOME insist on defending Bush! For what it's worth.... I don't place nearly as much blame on Bush as I do on those in positions of responsibility within Homeland Security, FEMA, and others.

This was a total screw up, and it scares me to think of how unprepared we are for nuclear disasters, attacks, and other things.

 

P/T/D: I am not arguing your point about the unused buses in New Orleans. As a "registered" Democrat (whatever that means) I was APPALLED at this picture of the submerged buses!!

However, I hope you realize that the buses in the Galveston picture were brought in, over roads that were ABOVE water, from areas that were ABOVE water, to a devastated coastal region. New Orleans is mostly BELOW the water level, and was flooded within minutes if not hours.

Either way, with pictures of New Orleans being flooded, and people on rooftops being rescued, YOUR president took 3 days to get to his office in Washington and get a handle on things! Will that response time be good enough for YOU when it is nuclear fallout that we are facing?[/quote]

The Mayor and City Council of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana had days, DAYS, not hours to start evacuating people from New Orleans. And of all people, Governor Perry of Texas (not a fan) called the Louisiana governor two days before Katrina hit to offer the help and services of the Texas National Guard to help evacuate and guard New Orleans. The National Hurricane Center advised New Orleans 3 days in advance, to expect a direct hit from Katrina.

The Problems in New Orleans were not created by Pres. Bush or any other branch of the Federal Government, but the local government should bare the whole responsibility for the Disaster.

As far as rebuilding New Orleans, why should my tax dollars go to rebuild an area that is prone to flooding, many feet below sea level. If someone wants to rebuild there, let them pay the bill themselves, and let them bare the responsibility themselves. And not expect the rest of the country that lives in safe areas to pay their bills. Turn the destroyed areas into a park.

Louis