National Security Directive Could Create Dictatorship

Straight from the fiery tyrannical zombie horse's festering mouth of death and lies (www.whitehouse.gov), we have this, a May 9 National Security Directive concerning what would happen in the federal government after a catastrophic emergency. I'll give you a hint: Congress ain't gainin' any powers.

Purpose:

This directive establishes a comprehensive national policy on the continuity of Federal Government structures and operations and a single National Continuity Coordinator responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of Federal continuity policies. This policy establishes "National Essential Functions," prescribes continuity requirements for all executive departments and agencies, and provides guidance for State, local, territorial, and tribal governments, and private sector organizations in order to ensure a comprehensive and integrated national continuity program that will enhance the credibility of our national security posture and enable a more rapid and effective response to and recovery from a national emergency.

And some definitions:

"Catastrophic Emergency" means any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions;

"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

"National Essential Functions," or "NEFs," means that subset of Government Functions that are necessary to lead and sustain the Nation during a catastrophic emergency and that, therefore, must be supported through COOP and COG capabilities

"Enduring Constitutional Government," or "ECG," means a cooperative effort among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal Government, coordinated by the President... [and then some lip service is paid to the Constitution].

The language here is pretty clear. In the event of a big disaster, an executive coordinator becomes "responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of Federal continuity policies" so that essential executive programs remain in play. I'm not sure how "NEFs" would be interpreted, but something tells me that legislation-making and the slow judicial process wouldn't quite make the cut.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, no, it has no provisions concerning the level of normalcy required for if or when we would ever be able to have a Constitution again. That's right, it's just about as sans constitutional democracy as you can get while, you know, still giving some lip service to it under certain circumstances. For example, apparently this is all meant to "ensur[e] the continued functioning of our form of government under the Constitution, including the functioning of the three separate branches of government," but that whole separation of powers among coequal branches of government thing, yeah, that doesn't fit in so well with a situation where the executive coordinates the workings of the entire federal government and prioritizes executive programs to the exclusion of others.

If we keep going down this road, eventually we'll find a line beyond which democracy is either meaningless or impossible. And if we ever do get there, it's unlikely to have flashing lights and a giant warning sign on it, and it might even make some sense at the time. But make no mistake, that line is real and it has been crossed by governments in the past, sometimes never to return, sometimes only to return after massive wars or revolutions.

This Security Directive, even more than Bush's use of signing statements, current mode of domination of Congress and the Court, or attempts to kill privacy and habeas corpus, seems to me to be perilously close to that line, and it's just one more reason why we need to impeach him and get him the hell out of there as soon as goddamn possible.