Hopefully Congress Knows What Its Doing
I just learned about 10 USC §253. It’s a big deal. Its like the Roman law of dictatorship but without any real checks or limits, in a law duly passed by Congress in 2006.
The history of the Insurrection Act dates back all the way to 1797, and the legislative record is so long and tortured that it’s woeful to contemplate. Suffice to say that in the 21st century, the Insurrection Act has been pleasantly re-titled “The Enforcement of the Laws to Restore Public Order Act” and codified in four sections of the US Code:
- 10 USC §?251 Federal Aid for State Governments
- 10 USC §?252 Use of Militia and Armed Forces to Enforce Federal Authority
- 10 USC §?253 Interference with State and Federal Law
- 10 USC §?254 Proclamation to Disperse
Of the four provisions, the most recent and the most powerful is 10 USC §?253, which was written in 2006. This is the one that liberal pundits always forget to mention when they blab about Posse Comitatus and governors. It reads:
The President, by using the militia or the armed forces, or both, or by any other means, shall take such measures as he considers necessary to suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy, if it-
- so hinders the execution of the laws of that State, and of the United States within the State, that any part or class of its people is deprived of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law, and the constituted authorities of that State are unable, fail, or refuse to protect that right, privilege, or immunity, or to give that protection; or
- opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws.
That’s powerful language! Consider:
- The authority is vested solely in the President. He does not need the invitation of state governors to intervene, nor does he need the approval of the Supreme Court. Older provisions of the Insurrection Act required either a governor or a judicial proceeding to authorize its use, but these limits were purposefully removed by Congress in §?253.
- There is no time limit on the President’s activities. Older versions of the Insurrection Act limited the use of force to brief periods of time and then required legislative approval. Those limits, too, are also gone.
- The President is allowed to use any means that he (and again, he needs no one else) considers necessary. This includes using the armed forces (which enables him to bypass the Posse Comitatus Act) and using the militia (which we’ll discuss in more detail below).
- The President’s ability to use force isn’t restricted to actual rebellion or insurgency. He can act against merely unlawful combinations and conspiracies. To be clear: If the President decides that a conspiracy has deprived people of a right and believes that authorities fail or refuse to protect the right, he can send in the troops.
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G.
November 19, 2020
I looked this law up. Yes, that is what it says.
Clause 1 is bad enough, but Clause 2 is a real doozy.
Andrew
November 19, 2020
So basically Obama handed Trump the power to become dictator, but Trump never used it.
Now Biden, in the spirit of the Leftist Governors in California, Michigan, and New York, probably will happily invoke it forever – because Coronavirus.
“Upset about eternal lockdown? Ah, I have the military power to deal with that.”
Andrew
November 19, 2020
I can’t count today. It looks like Bush did that.
So not quite as funny or ironic, unless you believe Bush and Obama are of the same cloth.
Someguy
November 19, 2020
This is not so much new, as it is a continuation of “emergency powers” given the president during and shortly after WW II.
The “State of Emergency” powers legislated during WWII was signed into continuance by Truman after WWII and has supposedly been re-signed/re-authorized by every president since then. We have had a de-jure, and executively declared “state of emergency” for 75 years.
It is incrementalism. Other similarities:
RICO act has been used against innocents in order to confiscate their real estate and other property prior to any charges, let alone conviction.
Ex: Starting in Reagan years, people on long distance bus trips have been dumped on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere for refusing to submit to warrantless “surprise” searches mid-trip. Businessmen who carry cash for large purchases (ie, no credit) have had it confiscated without charges filed.
Does anyone really think the data is truely/forever deleted when instant checks are made under the Brady Law? Or that electronic 4473 forms don’t function as registration?
Further loss of civil liberties under Bush II and the Patriot Act.
Ho-hum. Where you guys been for the last 25 – 35 years?
sute
November 19, 2020
“unless you believe Bush and Obama are of the same cloth”
Of course they are. One is the front side and the other is the back side. But it’s the same cloth that is being shoved down our throat.
It has been clear to me for some time that our “leaders” on both sides are playing the left against the right to get power. Whether a D or an R wins, matters not, the people ultimately lose.
The people, blind to this reality, are enlisted in a war of words, protests, principles, and media — one side against the other. They rarely bother to question their own side, because the other side as been deemed so much worse.
This formula works for the left and the right. We are nearly hopelessly lost. We are in bondage. This also explains why the leaders of the church aren’t actively pushing back against much other than individual immorality. Both sides of the political aisle are part of the spacious building. It will collapse someday. Let’s just hope we’re not too wrapped up in it, so we can avoid the suffering.