Friday, February 15, 2019

Reckless Flaunting of Vested Power


SABOTAGE DAY 56: National Emergency Declaration, Acquiescence absent Emergency

Public officials and allied media camps are engaged in factional combat, personality plays, a cavalier recklessness of power that neglects public need and sacrifices public trust.

The U.S. president followed through with his threat to declare a national emergency to add to the current Wall of Wastefulness on the Southern border. This president (along with some of his shock jock pals) seems obsessed with the notion of a made-and-raised-in-the-USA Apartheid Wall against peoples of the Americas copying the Israeli leadership’s raised and armed walls and blockades against the people of Palestine.  

U
.S. President Donald Trump’s National Emergency letter to U.S. House and Senate February 15, 2019

Dear Madam Speaker/Dear Mr. President:

Pursuant to section 201 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1621), I hereby report that I have exercised my authority to declare a national emergency in order to address the border security and humanitarian crisis that is threatening the United States.  This declaration invokes section 12302 of title 10, United States Code, to allow the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of each relevant military department, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to order units or members of the Ready Reserve to active duty in order to assist and support the activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security at the southern border.

Further, I have invoked section 2808 of title 10, United States Code, and authorized the Secretary of Defense, and at his discretion, the Secretaries of the military departments, to exercise the authority under that section to engage in emergency construction as necessary to support the use of the Armed Forces and respond to the crisis at our southern border.

I am enclosing a copy of the Proclamation I have issued.

Sincerely,
DONALD J. TRUMP
White House Logo
The White House

U.S. national emergencies have been declared before—dating back to the World War I era—so it is not a question of can this president so declare. 

The National Emergencies Act of 1976 put into practice various legal requirements regarding emergencies declared by the President of the United States—National Emergency defined as “a situation in which a government is empowered to perform actions not normally permitted.”

I
n 2012 the National Defense Resources Preparedness executive order (Executive Order 13603) signed by U.S. President Barack Obama (March 16, 2012) delegated authority and addressed national defense resource policies and programs under the Defense Production Act of 1950. Executive Order 13603 “provides the framework and authority for the allocation or appropriation of resources, materials, and services to promote national defense.”  

The order does not give the president, as widely tweeted, “unprecedented new powers such as declaring martial law, seizing private property, implementing the rationing of food, gasoline, and drugs, restarting peacetime conscription, and nationalizing American industry.…”

In U.S. history and practice (ending in February 2019), there have been an estimated “58” declarations of national emergencies, of which “31” are still in force.

So the question is not can a president declare a national emergency but should this president have done so and has he in doing so deliberately misled the American people, knowing there was no emergency.

Has he misused and abused the power of the presidency for narcissistic, personal and/or partisan reasons?
And are members of the U.S. House and Senate equally culpable for having acquiesced to the president’s reckless flaunting of power?


A
 list of national emergency declarations 


  1. Ended Wilson February 5, 1917[5] March 3, 1921[6] Emergency in Water Transportation of the United States (Proclamation 1354) 
  2. Ended FDR March 9, 1933[7]  Declaring Bank Holiday (Proclamation 2039)[8] – Declared a bank holiday from March 6 through March 9, 1933, using the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 as a legal basis. The first of four emergencies cited by Senate Report 93-549 as never having been terminated. 
  3. Ended FDR February 28, 1935[7] February 10, 1936 Dealt with the agriculture industry via the Cotton Control Act. 
  4. Ended FDR September 8, 1939 April 28, 1952 Proclaiming a National Emergency in Connection with the Observance, Safeguarding, and Enforcement of Neutrality and the Strengthening of the National Defense Within the Limits of Peace-Time Authorizations (Proclamation 2352) 
  5. Ended FDR May 27, 1941 April 28, 1952 Proclaiming That an Unlimited National Emergency Confronts This Country, Which Requires That Its Military, Naval, Air and Civilian Defenses Be Put on the Basis of Readiness to Repel Any and All Acts or Threats of Aggression Directed Toward Any Part of the Western Hemisphere (Proclamation 2487) – President Franklin Roosevelt declared an unlimited national emergency under threat from Nazi Germany. 
  6. Ended Truman December 16, 1950 Proclaiming the Existence of a National Emergency (Proclamation 2914) – During the Korean War, Truman declared that the United States' "military, naval, air and civilian defenses" should be used to fight communism. The second of four emergencies cited by Senate Report 93-549 as never having been terminated. 
  7. Ended Nixon March 23, 1970 Declaring a National Emergency (Proclamation 3972) – Declared in response to the 1970 United States Postal Service strike. The third of four emergencies cited by Senate Report 93-549 as never having been terminated. 
  8. Ended Nixon August 15, 1971 Imposition of Supplemental Duty for Balance of Payments Purposes (Proclamation 4074) – Imposed import controls in response to the Nixon shock. The last of four emergencies cited by Senate Report 93-549 as never having been terminated. 
  9. Current Carter November 14, 1979 Blocking Iranian Government Property (Executive Order 12170) – After the Iran hostage crisis, President Jimmy Carter issued an order freezing all Iranian assets in the U.S. 
  10. Ended Reagan May 1, 1985[18] March 13, 1990[19] Prohibiting Trade and Certain Other Transactions Involving Nicaragua (Executive Order 12513) – During the United States embargo against Nicaragua, all trade between the U.S. and Nicaragua was prohibited. It was lifted in March 1990. 
  11. Ended Clinton May 7, 1994 October 14, 1994[22] Prohibiting Certain Transactions With Respect to Haiti[21] (Executive Order 12914) 
  12. Ended Clinton June 9, 1998 May 28, 2003 Blocking Property of the Governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), the Republic of Serbia, and the Republic of Montenegro, and Prohibiting New Investment in the Republic of Serbia in Response to the Situation in Kosovo (Executive Order 13088) – President Clinton declared a national emergency during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. 
  13. Ended Bush January 18, 2001[26] January 15, 2004[27] Prohibiting the Importation of Rough Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Executive Order 13194) 
  14. Ended Obama October 23, 2009 October 23, 2010 Declaration of a National Emergency With Respect to the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic (Proclamation 8443) – Empowered the secretary of Health and Human Services to issue waivers allowing overcrowded hospitals to move swine flu patients to satellite facilities or other hospitals. 
  15. Ended Clinton May 20, 1997 October 7, 2016 Prohibiting New Investment in Burma (Executive Order 13047) 
  16. Ended Bush February 7, 2006 September 14, 2016 Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in Côte d'Ivoire (Executive Order 13396) 

  1. Current Clinton November 14, 1994  Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (Executive Order 12938) – Provides for control over the export of weapons; combined two previous national emergencies regarding WMDs. 
  2. Current Clinton January 23, 1995 Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process (Executive Order 12947) – Imposed economic sanctions on Specially Designated Terrorists, including the ANO, Hezbollah, the DFLP, Hamas, and the PFLP. 
  3. Current Clinton March 15, 1995 Prohibiting Certain Transactions with Respect to the Development of Iranian Petroleum Resources (Executive Order 12957) – Intended to prevent a business deal between Iran and Conoco. 
  4. Current Clinton October 21, 1995 Blocking Assets and Prohibiting Transactions with Significant Narcotics Traffickers (Executive Order 12978) – Declared in response to Colombian drug cartels using American companies to launder money. 
  5. Current Clinton March 1, 1996  Declaration of a National Emergency and Invocation of Emergency Authority Relating to the Regulation of the Anchorage and Movement of Vessels (Proclamation 6867) – Implemented following the destruction of two civilian aircraft by the Cuban military on 24 February 1996. 
  6. Current Clinton November 3, 1997  Blocking Sudanese Government Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Sudan (Executive Order 13067) – Established a trade embargo against Sudan, specifically targeting the Sudanese government. 
  7. Current Bush June 26, 2001 Blocking Property of Persons Who Threaten International Stabilization Efforts in the Western Balkans (Executive Order 13219) – Intended to combat extremist Albanian insurgents operating in Macedonia and limit obstruction of the Dayton Accords. Amended on May 28, 2003 (Executive Order 13304) following the Ohrid Agreement, signed in 2001. 
  8. Current Bush August 17, 2001  Continuation of Export Control Regulations (Executive Order 13222) – Reasserted presidential control of exports of "defense articles" following the expiration of the Export Administration Act of 1979 in 1994. Amended on March 8, 2013 (Executive Order 13637) to delegate authority provided by Section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act from the president to the Secretary of State. 
  9. Current Bush September 14, 2001 Declaration of National Emergency by Reason of Certain Terrorist Attacks (Proclamation 7463) – The first of two national emergencies declared following the September 11 attacks, allowing the president to call troops from the National Guard or from retirement, to apportion military funding, to exercise more discretion over hiring military officers, and to promote more generals than previously allowed. 
  10. Current Bush September 23, 2001 Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism (Executive Order 13224) – The second of two national emergencies declared following the September 11 attacks, allowing the State and Treasury departments (through the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control) to designate entities as terrorists and apply economic sanctions. Due to the order's broad language, its scope has grown over the years to become one of the Treasury's "cornerstone sanctions programs" in fighting terrorism worldwide.[54] Amended on July 2, 2002 (Executive Order 13268) to include the Taliban, and on January 23, 2003 (Executive Order 13284) to integrate the newly-created position of Secretary of Homeland Security into the order's process.  
  11. Current Bush March 6, 2003  Blocking Property of Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Zimbabwe (Executive Order 13288) – Imposed economic sanctions on Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe and 76 other government officials following years of rigged elections and a recent food shortage, echoing similar sanctions imposed the previous year by the European Union. Amended on November 22, 2005 (Executive Order 13391) to revise the EO's annex listing the individuals targeted with sanctions. 
  12. Current Bush May 22, 2003  Protecting the Development Fund for Iraq and Certain Other Property in Which Iraq Has an Interest (Executive Order 13303) – Granted the Development Fund for Iraq, established the same day, legal protection in the wake of the invasion of Iraq and amidst the Iraq War. 
  13. Current Bush May 11, 2004  Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting the Export of Certain Goods to Syria (Executive Order 13338) – Imposed mostly symbolic economic sanctions on Syria, grounding all flights between the two countries, banning all exports to Syria but food and medicine, and freezing some Syrians' assets.
  14. Current Bush June 16, 2006  Blocking Property of Certain Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Belarus (Executive Order 13405)[68] – Imposed sanctions, including a travel ban, on Alexander Lukashenko after Belarus's crackdown on peaceful protests against the recent presidential election and following similar sanctions by the European Union.
  15. Current Bush October 27, 2006  Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Executive Order 13413) – Imposed economic sanctions on DRC government officials amidst widespread violence taking place during runoffs for Congo's first free election in decades.
  16. Current Bush August 1, 2007  Blocking Property of Persons Undermining the Sovereignty of Lebanon or Its Democratic Processes and Institutions (Executive Order 13441)– Imposed sanctions intended as a warning to Syria and Hezbollah, months after a similar travel ban, during widespread unrest in the country, and out of concern over rifts between prime minister Fouad Siniora and president Émile Lahoud.
  17. Current Bush June 26, 2008  Continuing Certain Restrictions With Respect to North Korea and North Korean Nationals (Executive Order 13466)[75] – Retained "certain restrictions" on North Korea as the United States removed North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism and as North Korea publicly declared its nuclear program.
  18. Current Obama April 12, 2010[35]  Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in Somalia (Executive Order 13536) – Intended to help combat Somali pirates.
  19. Current Obama February 25, 2011  Blocking Property and Prohibiting Certain Transactions Related to Libya (Executive Order 13566) – Imposed sanctions on Muammar Gaddafi, his family, and Libyan officials after protestors were killed by government forces, including freezing assets and consideration of prosecution for war crimes.
  20. Current Obama July 24, 2011  Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations (Executive Order 13581)[80] – Levied sanctions against four criminal organizations–Los Zetas, the Brothers' Circle, the Yakuza, and the Camorra–including freezing assets, barring ownership of American real estate, and implementing travel bans.
  21. Current Obama May 16, 2012 Blocking Property of Persons Threatening the Peace, Security, or Stability of Yemen (Executive Order 13611) – Intended to counter unrest in Yemen in the aftermath of the Yemeni Revolution.
  22. Current Obama March 6, 2014  Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine (Executive Order 13660)[83] – Imposed sanctions, including restricting visas, in concert with the European Union and the international community against Russia after its invasion and occupation of Crimea.[84][85] Amended on 16 March 2014 (Executive Order 13661),[86] 20 March 2014 (Executive Order 13662), and 19 December 2014 (Executive Order 13685) to expand the scope of sanctions. 
  23. Current Obama April 3, 2014 Blocking Property of Certain Persons With Respect to South Sudan (Executive Order 13664)– Enabled economic sanctions to be placed due to the civil war in South Sudan; sanctions were first imposed a month later.
  24. Current Obama May 12, 2014  Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in the Central African Republic (Executive Order 13667) – Imposed sanctions against former Central African Republic president François Bozizé, following similar sanctions placed on Bozizé by the United Nations Security Council the previous week; also contains provisions against the use of child soldiers.
  25. Current Obama March 8, 2015  Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela (Executive Order 13692) – Imposed sanctions on seven high-ranking Venezuelan government officials, including SEBIN director Gustavo Enrique González López, PNB director Manuel Perez, and CVG head Justo Noguero.
  26. Current Obama April 1, 2015  Blocking the Property of Certain Persons Engaging in Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities (Executive Order 13694)– Intended to allow sanctions to be levied on foreign individuals determined by the Department of the Treasury to have engaged in cyber-crime or cyber-terrorism; was in the works for two years.
  27. Current Obama November 22, 2015 Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Burundi (Executive Order 13712) – Imposed sanctions on four Burundi nationals – minister of public security Alain Guillaume Bunyoni, National Police of Burundi deputy director-general Godefroid Bizimana, Godefroid Niyombare, and Cyrille Ndayirukiye – in the wake of widespread unrest.
  28. Current Trump December 20, 2017  Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or Corruption (Executive Order 13818)[100] – Imposed sanctions due to the Rohingya conflict in Myanmar, specifically against general Maung Maung Soe;[101] works in tandem with the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
  29. Current Trump September 12, 2018 Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election (Executive Order 13848) – Intended to enable automatic sanctions in response to election interference; intelligence agencies are given 45 days after an election to assess any possible interference. 
  30. Current Trump November 27, 2018 Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Nicaragua (Executive Order 13851) – Announces certain sanctions against current and former Daniel Ortega government officials engaging in "human rights abuse or corruption." [Wikipedia]

T
he real emergency in the United States of America is in the flawed and corrupt caliber and character of U.S. leadership and governance.

The pattern plays out over and over in U. S. domestic and foreign relations — from the streets to the halls of government to ivory towers. A man stands with a very big gun pointed at your head. There is no doubt that he has the wherewithal to ruin one or many lives.

But does he have the courage to engage, to deliberate for as long as it takes? Can he see beyond self and the moment? Does he have the courage, the humanity to walk away, to stand down?

What makes a president presidential? What makes a man a man, a woman a woman? Surely, it is not the abuse and misuse of power vested in position, bullying the vulnerable because he or she can. 

Americans must find another way of being. Pull away from an interminably hostile presence at home and abroad. Alter the course of self-SABOTAGE.

Finally this wisdom from Alianza Americas: A U.S.-based organization rooted in Latino and Caribbean immigrant communities that works across nations “to create an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable way of life”

I
f the U.S. President is serious about wanting “to foster ‘compromise and the common good’,

He could start by scrapping the border wall, and instead, building basic infrastructures for community well-being:  affordable housing, clean, safe drinking water, public transportation, and other urgent needs.
Rather than bragging about tax cuts for the wealthy, he could focus on fair and rigorous tax policies that would allow the United States to make much-needed investments in public education, health care, and a sustainable energy system to address climate change.”

And this to the Congress

“In this critical moment,” Executive Director Oscar Chacón wrote, “…it is absurd to squander yet more financial resources on border control measures, the most of absurd of which is building a border wall. …”
What is urgently needed is restoration of the U.S. “asylum system—so that people who flee their countries out of fear for their security can effectively exercise their right to request political asylum and have that request processed on U.S. soil.”
Government officials “must also undertake a major reorientation of U.S. foreign policy toward southern Mexico and Central America, so that we can gradually and collectively address the factors that force so many people to flee their countries of birth.”


Sources

The White House “Text of a Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate - National Security & Defense” Issued on: February 15, 2019 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/text-letter-speaker-house-representatives-president-senate-2/

Wikipedia

List of National Emergencies in the United States 1917 – 2019 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_emergencies_in_the_United_States
Executive Order 13603 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_13603

Alianza Americas “State of the Union Fails to Address Real National Concerns, Returns to Favorite Topic: Scapegoating Immigrants” (press release) https://www.alianzaamericas.org/state-of-the-union-fails-to-address-real-national-concerns-

Oscar Chacón is Executive Director of Alianza Americas, A U.S.-based “network of 50 immigrant-led organizations representing more than 100,000 families across the United States” alianzaamericas.org.

Alianza Americas “Alianza Americas Members and Leaders Unite Washington DC to Urge Solutions for TPS, DACA and DED Beneficiaries”— Chicago, Feb 11, 2019 – 

“Members of the Alianza Americas network and dozens of immigrant leaders from across the country will gather in Washington, D.C., to ask members of Congress to take up the urgent task of protecting people with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED).…
Around 300,000 people from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haití, Sudán del Sur, Liberia, and Nepal are at risk if Congress does act now. Experts calculate that the US GDP could lose up to US$ 45 billion from the loss of workforce productivity from the Salvadoran, Honduran, and Haitian TPS holders.  In addition, some 279,000 US citizen children with TPS-holder parents could face family separation if their parents are deported.”  https://www.alianzaamericas.org/alianza-americas-members-and-leaders-unite-washington-dc-to-urge-solutions-for-tps-daca-and-ded-beneficiaries/


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