The Dusty Dog

Restoration of Faith and Trust

I came across this story today, and I find it horrifying. I hope that one of the first orders of Obama's first days in office will be to rescind the two executive orders signed by the dubya regime. (I think it's pretty safe to say that if McStupid is elected, he would do nothing, and in fact, likely support this fascist piece of garbage.) I look forward to the restoration of Constitutional rights in this country of ours under an Obama/Biden administration. I look forward to the restoration of sanity in the Oval Office.

I got this from the Project Censored website. It's a wealth of information about the subversive activities that go on at the hands of government, at the hands of corporations, at the hands of lobbyists, and with a free pass from the press, the Fourth Estate.

An exerpt is included below. I encourage everyone to read it, then go to the site to read the entire story. What I find striking about it, other than the absolute unconstitutionality of this order, is that the investigation report was written in 2007, but it is still worthy of making onto Project Censored top unreported stories of 2009. Scary stuff.


Seizing War Protesters’ Assets

President Bush has signed two executive orders that would allow the US Treasury Department to seize the property of any person perceived to, directly or indirectly, pose a threat to US operations in the Middle East.

The first of these executive orders, titled “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq,” signed by Bush on July 17, 2007, authorizes the Secretary of Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, to confiscate the assets of US citizens and organizations who “directly or indirectly” pose a risk to US operations in Iraq. Bush’s order states:

I have issued an Executive Order blocking property of persons determined 1) to have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq . . . or 2) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order . . .

Section five of this order announces that, “because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render these measures ineffectual. I therefore determine . . . there need be no prior notice of listing or determination [of seizure] . . .”

On August 1, Bush issued a similar executive order, titled “Blocking Property of Persons Undermining the Sovereignty of Lebanon or Its Democratic Processes and Institutions.” While the text in this order is, for the most part, identical to the first, the order regarding Lebanon is more severe.

More here.

As Barak Obama and Joe Biden transition into their new roles, I'm sure they'll have a host of issues and just plain evil executive orders to roll back. I'm sure this is but one of many (think signing statements). Having posted this, and feeling somewhat secure that Obama will do everything within his power and judgment to end the Iraq debacle, thereby rendering protests against the Iraq war unnecessary. I sure hope so. But, I think that every single little piece of unconstitutional legislation and executive orders that were the products of the worst and most fascist regime ever to inhabit the Oval Office must be rescinded. It's Step One (or very close to it). It's a matter of restoring faith and trust in our government for all Americans and the rest of the world.

Labels: dubya, fascism, obama, politics

posted by Dusty Dog at 11/02/2008