Martial Law and Posse Comitatus

The Army recently announced that the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team - which has spent 3 of the last 5 years on active duty in Iraq, including participating in the Battle of Fallujah - will be stationed on U.S. soil "as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters... They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control" (Army Times, 9/30/08).

Add to that the John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007, which gives the President the ability to deploy troops domestically, basically whenever he determines they're needed to maintain order (note: that act expired this year, but Still-President Bush issued a signing order declaring he was not bound by its repeal).

Add to that the economic crisis ("manmade emergency?") and the upcoming election, and it starts to look like the stage is set for martial law. I've long had suspicions about the succession of President Bush. I have a deep fear that come hell or high water, the cabal that has been running the country for eight years is going to find a way to continue running it.

Speaking of martial law, check out the comments of Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), on the recent bailout bill: "The only way they can pass this bill is by creating and sustaining a panic atmosphere. That atmosphere is not justified. Many of us were told in private conversations that if we voted against this bill on Monday that the sky would fall, the market would drop two or three thousand points the first day, another couple of thousand the second day, and a few members were even told that there would be martial law in America if we voted no."

US Congresspeople were threatened with martial law. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 is dead. And taxpayer money continues to be given to the largest corporations in the country. Will there come a time when we apply the label fascist to the United States Government?