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Publish
date: 12/2000
Executive
Orders
by: Jorge Maspons
I
am a student of American History and of American Government. Since
I was still in Cuba I admired this great experiment in freedom called
the American Republic. No one in history had ever done what the
Founding Fathers of this nation did: Established a new nation
based on the highest ideals with liberty and divided the powers of
government in such a way that no one or no institution could take all
the power and thus turn the nation into a totalitarian country. They
believe in full individual liberties and the least amount of
Government possible, only the necessary to maintain law and order.
They thought that as long as the citizens did not harm anyone,
there was not limit as to how far they could go in their dreams.
But
as great and beautiful the United States are, and as the Constitution
says "to create a more perfect Union..." this great
experiment in freedom will last only as long as the American people
are willing to believe that the purpose of the Federal Government is
to simply guard this precious freedom and protect our lives and
property. Many Americans have discovered how to "vote for
themselves benefits from the Public Treasure." Americans
must remember their heritage if we are to survive as a free nation.
This
is an article about "Executive Orders." I am not going
to explain every single detail on this subject for it would take
volumes, but I am going to attempt to show what these orders are and
why they are so dangerous and why this practice of issuing Executive
Orders must stop if we are to survive as a free people in the coming
years.
I'd
like to begin with a little fiction: In Tom Clancy's novel,
"Executive Orders," a terrorist crashes into the Capitol
Building killing the President, Vice President and most members of
Congress, and the Supreme Court. A big news day. Somehow,
Clancy's main-character, ex-Marine, ex-CIA guy, Jack Ryan, finds
himself appointed President. Besides having to deal with the
Iranians, who are about to attack the world with the Ebola virus, Jack
is also driven from within to effect massive reforms of the entire
Federal Government system. One crisis after another, everyday.
Some time later almost in the end of the book, he has finished the
job, by mostly applying the powers of legislating by Executive Orders.
What
are Executive Orders and what is now also known as PDD's (Presidential
Decision Directives)? Supposedly, these orders are only issued
to government agencies and department heads and other employees within
the Government. In reality, this is not the case. Thirty
days after it is published in the Federal Registry, and Executive
Order becomes law if it is not challenged by the Congress of the
United States therefore bypassing the Constitutional law-making
process. In all the years of the Republic, I have not seen one
of these EO checked by the Congress.
Article
II of the United States Constitution is cited as the basis for this
practice of issuing Executive Orders. But this power is vaguely
defined and very much abused; it is the least specific and yet
far-reaching powers that the Presidents have assumed for themselves,
particularly William Jefferson Clinton. Later in this article I
will name several of the Executive Orders issued by Clinton. If
this abuse of executive power by the President continues, we will be
well on our way down the road to dictatorship.
The
Constitution of the United States was written as a result of a
Convention called to simply revise the Articles of Confederation in
1787. The delegates ended up writing a whole new Constitution because
they thought they needed a little more authority by the central
government in order to maintain the necessary force to defend the new
nation. However, some delegates, including George Mason from
Virginia refused to sign the new document unless there was a
"Bill of Rights" included which would specifically list our
individual rights. This is how the first 10 Amendments came into
being and all are restrictions upon the Federal Government, not the
individual citizen. All powers given to the Federal Government
are specified and enumerated. In speaking of the separation of
powers, James Madison wrote in Federalist No. 47: "No
political truth is certainly of greater intrinsic value, or is stamped
with the authority of more enlightened patrons of liberty, than
that....the accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and
judiciary, in the same hands...may justly be pronounced the very definition
of tyranny."
Now,
then, What are these "implied powers" cited in the
previously mentioned Article II of the Constitution? These are
incidental powers or subordinate given to the President for him to
fulfill his Constitutional duties as Commander-in-Chief and also to
see that "the laws are faithfully executed." Thus here
we have their basis for these executive orders, implied from these
"implied powers." Today, these orders or proclamations
have become the law without Congressional approval. Today,
"with the stroke of a pen," executive orders become part of
the law of the land. Some may harmless and have some appropriate uses
while most are violations of the United States Constitution and
threaten our very own freedom.
Modern
Use of Executive Orders: I would advice the reader who wants to
know more about this subject to look and read the "War Powers Act
of 1917." Until then, at the time of the First World War,
Executive Orders were very few and relatively simply. This new
law gave the President wide powers to enact policies as they pertained
to our enemies. A very important part of this law excluded
American Citizens, however, later in 1933, the new President, Franklin
Delano Roosevelt called for a special session of Congress to introduce
legislation to amend the War Powers Act of 1917 and included all
American citizens as part of this law. Here we find the so
called power to call for national emergencies and inact laws to deal
with these emergencies. This amendment was passed by the
Congress in less than forty minutes. President Franklin wasted
no time in declaring that The Great Depression was a "National
Emergency" and began issuing Executive Orders that in reality
brought us the "New Deal." (Interesting Note: Later,
during World War II, the Census information was used to issue laws
that permitted the rounding-up of Americans of Japanese ancestry and
placed them in concentration camps.)
While
Congress still retains the power to pass laws and appropriate money,
the President has acquired the power to create or enlarge Federal
agencies, issue regulations, control imports and exports, financially
bail
out foreign governments, make land use decisions, prohibit financial
transactions, deploy troops at home and abroad, and create and
implement controversial national policies completely on his own.
Some of these actions are outline in secret documents never
provided to Congress or the public that may conflict with stated or
official policies of the Executive Branch. (1)
Although
Presidents have used executive orders in the past, some of the Clinton
executive orders, in contrast to those of his predecessors, have been
drafted in almost complete secrecy, without any input from Congress,
state or local governments or businesses and individuals that would be
affected by them. President Clinton is also the first President
to use executive orders and presidential directives to aggressively
pursue the military, social and economic agenda of international organizations
such as the United Nations. A secret presidential directive
assigns our troops to the U.N. and places them under foreign command.
One Clinton executive order, issued in compliance with a U.N.
resolution, actually closed down a U.S. organization, throwing its
employees out of work and taking its web site off the Internet. In
other cases, the Clinton-Gore Administration has decided that
U.N. ratified treaties take precedence over U.S. law and the U.S.
Constitution. Some of the executive orders enable U.N.
representatives to evade civil or criminal prosecution for violations
of the law and the Constitution which may occur on American Soil.
There were some who said the impeachment trial of President
Clinton would result in a weakened presidency. On the contrary,
this presidency is stronger than ever. The Clinton-Gore
Administration is "strong" to the point of being a real and
present danger to our citizens, our Constitution and our nation. (2)
As
I write this article, the 2000 Presidential Election is still
undecided and most likely it will take the Supreme Court to make the
final decision. Should Al Gore be declared President, we will
continue to see more of this abuse of power and indeed we may have
reach the point of no return. At the end of the article I
will list several good sources of information for the reader on
executive orders; my hope is that the American people will educate
themselves more on this subject; it is imperative if we are to turn
the tide on the side of freedom.
Following
I will name several of the most recent Executive Orders and give a
brief explanation of each. Keep in mind that there are hundreds
of these laws. I will also concentrate on Clinton's Executive
Orders since he is the current President and are the most dangerous
ones.
1.
PDD-25 A very, very dangerous executive order. It is
a "Sovereignty Sellout" This document was signed by
President Clinton on May 3rd, 1994, but thus far no one except the
Clinton Administration's top officials and some favored members of
Congress have been allowed to see it.
2.
PDD-62 On counter terrorism, laid the groundwork for a recent
FBI report disclosing agency surveillance of peaceful, pro-Second
Amendment groups and individuals, and smearing opponents of the U.N.,
including some Christians, as violence-prone and crazy.
3.
PPD-63 In the name of protecting government computers,
PPD-63 has laid the groundwork for FIDNET, the Federal Intrusion
Detection Network, which foresees Orwellian surveillance of private
e-mail, enabling the feds to track how private citizens use the
Internet.
4.
Executive Order 13087, Homosexual Rights. Signed on May
28, 1998 to advance the agenda of the homosexual lobby, one of
Clinton's strongest supporters. It awarded special protection to
homosexuals.
5.
Executive Order 13112. (Invasive Species) Issued in
February, 1999, this order prevents "invasive species" from
entering public property Tom DeWeese, president of the American
Policy Center in Virginia, cautioned that alien species is defined as
any species, "including seeds, egg spores or other biological
material capable of propagating those species that are
not native to the ecosystem. Thus, alien species could be
defined to include a farmer's cattle or even the family dog.
6.Executive
Order 13107. "Implementation of Human Rights Treaties."
This calls on the U.S. Government to implement portions of
anti-family, pro-abortion U.N. Treaties to which the U.S. now is, or
may become, a party.
7.
Executive Order 13061. The President designated 14 rivers as
federal property -part of America's heritage- to be seized by the
Federal Government regardless of whether they run through private
property.
8.
Executive Order 12852. "Council on Sustainable Development."
Sustainable Development is a U.N. buzzword meaning control over the
consumption of resources like food, energy, fossil fuel, air
conditioning,
meat, frozen and convenience foods, suburban housing and kitchen
appliances. These items are not considered
"sustainable," or supportable, and federal and local
agencies are being set up to ensure that Americans "sustain"
the environment.
9.
Executive Order 13083. signed by Clinton in May 1998. An
attempt to repeal federalism -the Constitutional principle that
reserves many powers to the states rather than the Federal Government.
There is much more to this one that I can write about.
10.
Executive Order 13132. Similar to 13083. Definitions and
policy were strengthened, and restrictions were placed on federal
agencies in the new order. But to enact new orders and
regulations. They were only required to consult state officials
when developing policies that have federal implications. They
assault on the 10th Amendment, which prevents the Federal Government
from usurping states' powers, remains. If the new order is
allowed to stant, the states could become subject to the national
government.
Needless
to say, these "Executive Orders" are totally opposed to the
Founding Fathers' ideals and and to what they meant to do when they
established the Republic. They despised tyranny and certainly,
if they
could see what some are doing today by attacking the Constitution they
so carefully framed, they would be very sad. These Executive
Orders have been used in the past by many Presidents, and in my
opinion, all are
un-Constitutional. However, President Clinton have drafted his
Executive Orders in almost complete secrecy for political reasons to
implement illegal policies and perhaps even cover-up scandals.
I
keep thinking about those last moments in the Constitutional
Convention when the delegates signed the document and sent it to their
respective states for ratification. When Benjamin Franklin
stepped out, as he was leaving the State House in Philadelphia, a lady
approached him and asked: "Dr. Franklin, What have you given
us"? to which question, Franklin wisely
answered: " A REPUBLIC, Madam, if you can keep it." It
is interesting how much we hear today about "Democracy"
instead of "Republic." For Franklin and the other
Founders, these words were complete opposites.
Unless
Americans return to a serious study of their own history and decide
that we are no longer going to tolerate this kind of government abuse
and begin to once again depend on God and ourselves instead of the
state, we could be in serious trouble in the years ahead.
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