REX 84, FEMA, And The Conspiracy Crazies Rant

     Over the years, we’ve all come across what some have dubbed the “Conspiracy Nuts” among us.  They’ve always existed and it appears that they are indeed a permanent fixture upon the American landscape.  At times, these folks seem ludicrous and are seen as at best a fringe element situated at the very periphery of the American philosophical and historical spectrum.  They are, of course, never to be taken seriously and any discussion of such individuals and groups must take into account their overwhelming and utter paranoia.  They deeply distrust government, warn us of nefarious plots to destroy our freedom and enslave us, and maintain that they have a direct and linear connection that goes back to the very first freedom fighters of the Revolutionary War era.  That’s right, they view themselves as modern-day Minute Men whose roots can be traced directly back to such fabled and patriotic organizations as the revered Sons of Liberty.  They see themselves as direct descendants of those brave souls who sacrificed and died at places like Bunker Hill and the Battle of Lexington and Concord.  They are the modern-day incarnation of Paul Revere whose battle cry is not, “the British are coming,” but rather, “the government is coming!”  They have a deep and all-consuming distrust of government and its ability to make slaves out of free men.  They are absolutely and irrevocably convinced that as government grows ever larger, more intrusive, and more powerful the rights and freedoms of American citizens are increasingly threatened and at risk of disappearing.  They claim that it is the very nature of government – all government - to garner more and more power unto itself at the expense of individual liberty and freedom.

     Yeah, I guess that’s pretty far out there alright.  Those folks are obviously in need of a severe reality check and simply must get a grip, a life, and perhaps some gainful employment that might more usefully and productively redirect their energies and emotions.  Do they actually believe that our government which was initially created to protect individual rights and freedoms now has as its main goal a mission to destroy them?  Do they truly feel that government has become the “enemy” with dictatorial designs on America’s fabled and cherished liberty?  Well, the short answer to these questions would be an unqualified, unmitigated yes.  The long answer, by the way, would be the same.  They really do believe that these things not only will happen but indeed are happening and that unless the American people wake up to this reality we will one day live in a tyranny no less drastic than that of old King George or any present-day totalitarian dictatorship.  They are absolutely serious about this and hearken back to the very words and fears of our Founding Fathers who thoroughly distrusted government, even the one they created.

     Thomas Paine, for example, wrote that, “It is the responsibility of the patriot to protect his country from its government.”  Did you get that?  From its own government, not some foreign enemy bent on conquest.  Thomas Jefferson correctly noted that, “The greatest calamity which could befall us would be submission to a government of unlimited powers.”  John Adams admonished that to, “nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people.”  He went on to state that when the, “people give way, their deceivers, betrayers, and destroyers press upon them so fast, that there is no resisting afterwards.  The nature of the encroachment upon the American constitution is such as to grow every day more encroaching.  Like a cancer, it eats faster and faster every hour.”  Adams’ next warning seems to have a particularly ominous ring for those living in America in the year 2014.  He argues that revenue, “creates pensioners, and the pensioners urge for more revenue.  The people grow less steady, spirited, and virtuous, the seekers more numerous and more corrupt, and every day increases the circles of their dependents and expectants, until virtue, integrity, public spirit, simplicity, and frugality become the objects of ridicule and scorn, and vanity, luxury, foppery, selfishness, meanness, and downright venality swallow up the whole society.”  (Note:  all quotes from the Founding Fathers are taken from www.walterewilliams.com) It appears that Mr. Adams is describing 21^st Century America as though he were actually living through it, especially under the administration of our America-hating Socialist – in – Chief!

     It would behoove us to heed the warnings of these long-dead white men for their words are just as relevant today as they were a few centuries ago.  Our overly centralized government has indeed become far too powerful, the states much weaker than envisioned by the Founders, and the concept of Federalism has virtually been destroyed.  It has gotten to the point where our Chief Executive decides which laws to enforce or ignore and has all but eliminated the historic and crucial role of Congress by governing according to Executive Order or fiat.  The Brother – in – Chief behaves arbitrarily and capriciously as he willy-nilly tramples all over our beloved Constitution and other Founding Documents.  He seems to feel that there is nothing the American people can or will do about his unconstitutional and seemingly endless power grabs for he views those he governs as irredeemably stupid, incompetent, and feckless.  It seems, unfortunately, that he is correct in his assessment and by his actions he has proved the complete accuracy of Mr. Adams’ remarks referenced above.  He has mastered the art of the “freebie” and continually placates the masses by giving them “stuff.”  You need health care that you can’t afford?  No problem.  Can’t afford a cell phone?  Hey, nothing could be simpler.  Your unemployment benefit is in danger of disappearing?  Not to worry.  The list goes on and on ad infinitum and dependency on government grows with it.  As people become increasingly dependent, they become increasingly less free and as they lose their freedom they also lose any sense of self-reliance or self-respect they may have had.  This tactic of mollifying the masses has been successfully employed by every tyrant throughout history and old Barrack and the Boys have certainly learned their lessons well.  What was it that Adams said about the people growing less steady and virtuous while the takers grow ever more numerous and corrupt?  The next time I hear some lame-ass, condescending Liberal Puke tell me how irrelevant our Founding Fathers have become, I’m gonna grab him and slap him silly!

     There are those out there, however, who indeed recognize that our government has become something it was never intended to be by its creators.  There are those among us who take the warnings of the Founders seriously and can’t fathom why so many sit complacently by as we see our precious liberties and freedoms slipping away at an alarming rate.  These are the guys who take our Constitution, Declaration, and Bill of Rights seriously.  These are the folks who know that without the protections provided by these documents the idea and reality of American Exceptionalism is destroyed along with our freedoms and we will become no more than just one more country with nothing to set us apart from all the others that have come and gone before us.  These are the folks who jealously guard our hard fought for freedoms, are willing to express their concerns about an over-bearing government, and are proud of America’s history and accomplishments.  Yeah, they are the ones the rest of us derisively refer to as Conspiracy Nuts, Freaks, and Crazies.  They seriously believe that our own government is out to “get us.”  They are the ones that constantly refer to Ruby Ridge and Waco (no, you look them up) as but two examples of our government run completely amok, out of control, and dangerous to the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

     Well, then, who are those that see our government as an enemy, as an entity never to be trusted and always to be feared and guarded against?  Are they perhaps members of the National Rifle Association – gun nuts?  I mean, really, any group that advocates preserving and defending our Second Amendment must truly be way the fuck out there!  Oh, wait, I’m a member of that organization.  Maybe they are affiliated with those zany, whacked-out Tea Party types whose radical agenda includes such outrageous planks as a return to the limited government of our founding, a strict interpretation of our Constitution, drastically reduced taxes, and fiscal responsibility.  Oh, hold on, I’m a member of that outfit as well.  Does that make me, then, a Conspiracy Nut who sees a government plot to destroy my freedom behind every bush and boulder?  You know, I’m beginning to wonder.

     In 2009, the disgustingly Liberal organization known as the Anti-Defamation League (I gave up on those bozos when they decided to defend the rights of Neo-Nazis to march through Skokies, Illinois, way back in the 1970’s) published a report entitled, “Rage Grows in America:  Anti-Government Conspiracies,” which details in extremely unflattering terms groups it deems to be conspiratorially anti-government.  They cite, for example, the Tea Party Movement, Town Hall Meetings, the Birther Movement, the Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters, and the Militia Movement.  The introduction to the screed notes that since the, “election of Barrack Obama as President of the United States, an undercurrent of anger and hostility has crept across the country, creating a climate of anti-government fervor and activism that manifests itself in ways ranging from incivility in public forums to acts of intimidation and violence.”  According to the ADL, “Many Americans have been taken aback by the sudden rise and strength of the anti-government animosity that has swelled in the first year after the election.”  Boy, I’ll tell ya – nothing gets past these Far Left Looney Tunes!  Of course Americans are angry about what the Fascist-Wannabe is doing to the country they love and yet these Leftist Goons seem surprised!

     The piece goes on to state that what. “characterizes this anti-government hostility is a shared belief that Obama and his administration actually pose a threat to the future of the United States.  Some accuse Obama of plotting to bring socialism to the United States, while others claim he will bring about Nazism or fascism.  All believe that Obama and his administration will trample on individual freedoms and civil liberties, due to some sinister agenda, and they see his economic and social policies as manifestations of this agenda.”  Anyone who doesn’t see the threat that Obama and his sycophants pose to this nation as historically founded and presently constituted is either completely blind or thoroughly brainwashed.  These so-called anti-government groups, these Conspiracy Nuts, are absolutely correct in their assessment and fear of what Obama represents and they are even more accurate in their concerns over an increasingly powerful and centralized national government.  Obama and the LFE (Liberal Fucking Elite) have every intention of destroying this nation and turning it into something none of us would even recognize as the country of our birth.  When the Huckster – in –Chief swore he would fundamentally transform our country, he damned well meant it but not too many Americans took him all that seriously.  It is absolutely axiomatic that the bad guys out there will, in fact, tell you of their nefarious intentions if you only know how to listen.  Well, it seems that our so-called Conspiracy Nuts have been listening very closely and take old Barrack Hussein at his word.  Maybe the rest of us would do well to heed their warning.

     The ADL piece singles out a number of groups that it apparently deems as particularly dangerous and worthy of attention.  It claims that one, “manifestation of the ideology of resistance to the government was the creation of the Oath Keepers group in March, 2009.”  That group actively recruits police officers and military personnel for membership and its, “basic pitch is to remind such people that they swore an oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic.”  The Oath Keepers maintain, “that now is the time to live up to that oath by resisting an allegedly tyrannical government.”  Allegedly?  Allegedly, my sorry old ass!!  Another outfit identified by the Anti-Defamation League goes by the name of the Three Percenters, a reference to the proportion of the colonial population that actually fought against the British in the Revolutionary War.  These guys seem to be motivated by defending our Second Amendment (see the Second Amendment Rant of 2/3/09) to the Constitution.  The group states that the, “Three Percent today are gun owners who will not disarm, will not compromise and will no longer back up at the passage of the next gun control act. . . .”

     Additionally, “We will not obey any further circumscription of our traditional liberties and will defend ourselves if attacked.”  This group maintains that it, “is committed to the restoration of the Founders’ Republic, and are willing to fight, die, and if forced by any would-be oppressor, to kill in the defense of ourselves and the Constitution that we all took an oath to uphold against enemies foreign and domestic.”  I don’t know about you, but these folks seems damned serious about not backing up another step when it comes to matters of defending our nation, our rights, and our freedoms.  If push ever comes to shove, I have no doubt that they’d do both.  The ADL report also identifies the resurgence of the Militia Movement as further evidence that there really do exist anti-government elements among our population.  It states that, “Militia groups are armed paramilitary groups of varying sizes that organize and train in preparation for possible future armed resistance to an encroaching New World Order conspiracy that seeks to render the American people disarmed, defenseless slaves.”  The report treats these and other groups like them as total nut-jobs who exist only on the fringes of American society and reality.  It sees them as merely disaffected types, misfits, and ne’er-do-wells who should probably be institutionalized by the men in white coats so that they be properly and regularly medicated.  Well, maybe so – but maybe not.

     It seems to me that these folks have every reason to fear this behemoth of a government that is quickly destroying the rights and freedoms of American citizens.  Perhaps these “Conspiracy Nuts” are the vanguard, the tip of the spear so-to-speak, whose warnings should be more attentively heeded.  The ADL admits that there’s a lot of anger out here and that if unchecked, “such anger is likely to have negative consequences.  At minimum, it tarnishes and impedes civil discourse.”  Wait just a damned minute here.  Have you ever tried to engage in civil discourse with a full-blown, committed Liberal?  Trust me, it’s an impossibility.  Furthermore, “at most the attacks on the legitimacy of the government could be destructive.  The fact that these attacks are coming from such a broad spectrum makes it more likely that some of the individuals who are in the mainstream camp will become so inflamed with anti-government anger, they may move further toward the fringes.  This could result not only in the swelling of the ranks of anti-government extremist groups and movements, but could give rise to individuals who are willing to act out on their anger.”  Sounds like the Liberals among us are just a tad worried especially when they openly admit that anti-government sentiment is coming from a very broad spectrum of our population.

     Well then, what are we supposed to think about these guys out there who are thoroughly convinced that our government has become dangerous to our freedom?  What are we supposed to do about them anyway?  Under our First Amendment, aren’t they allowed to rant, rave, and let rip as long as they are not a danger to the rest of us?  If their speech is unpopular, isn’t that all the more reason that they be afforded their First Amendment protections?  We have always had a tradition in this country of constitutionally protecting those not in the so-called “mainstream” and that tradition has always been one of the mainstays of immigration to this nation.  People have historically come here desperately seeking the freedom they didn’t have in their home countries.  Millions upon millions have arrived here to escape government tyranny, abuse, and persecution.  If those so-called Conspiracy Nuts among us see a government that has become destructive and anathema to liberty and freedom, don’t they have an absolute right to say so?  In their minds, it seems they have an actual responsibility to do so and yet when we hear what they tell us we do not even take them slightly seriously.  We mock and ridicule them and turn them into outcasts.  After all, how can the rest of us go about our daily lives with any semblance of normalcy or regularity if we are convinced that our government is plotting to do us harm?  How can we go to work and raise families if we are forever looking over our shoulders wondering what plots and schemes our government has in store for us today?  Of course, these Conspiracy Types must be taken with the proverbial grain of salt and while they may make for an interesting Bullshit Session at the local watering hole, let’s not go off the deep end here.

     Sure, that sounds like solid advice except that men like Benjamin Franklin would have completely disagreed.  Old Ben unequivocally stated that, “I am a mortal enemy to arbitrary government and unlimited power.  I am naturally very jealous for the rights and liberties of my country, and the least encroachment of those invaluable privileges is apt to make my blood boil.”  Thomas Jefferson explained that the, “Natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.”  You know, if we keep going back to the words and warnings of our Founding Fathers, those Conspiracy Nuts among us begin to sound less and less like nuts.  Instead, they seem to be relying on history, precedent, and experience with regard to their deep distrust and fear of an all-consuming, all-powerful government.  Maybe, just maybe, we should take these guys a bit more seriously and not be so quick to scoff and ridicule.  Hmmm?

     Oh come on here.  Am I really suggesting that our freely elected government is a danger, a threat, to American freedoms and liberties?  Do I really stay up at night worrying and fretting about how the government is planning, plotting, and scheming to destroy my unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?  Seriously, for myself, no.  I’m just too damned old for that.  But for my little granddaughters?  You bet your damned ass I do!  I’m already far less free than I was in my wild and woolly youth.  Hell, just last year alone the Federal Government issued 81,000 brand spanking new regulations that must be obeyed. There are so many rules and regulations that nobody can keep current and, therefore, most of us are in a perpetual state of noncompliance with something or other at all times.  After all, if you don’t know what the law is then you can’t possibly know if you’re breaking it.  Hey, maybe that’s a government conspiracy in and of itself.  Inundate us with so much fucking paper that we’re always guilty of some damned thing or another!

     With this mindset, then, I came across something I’d never heard of and I take not just a little pride in keeping current and up to date.  I began asking friends and acquaintances if they’d ever run across it.  One hundred percent of those I queried answered in the negative.  Nobody had ever heard of a thing called Rex 84.  Have you? No, I thought not.  Roughly speaking, it is a plan for declaring martial law here in the United States and it is a government plan.  Martial law in the United States of America?  Alrighty then, this is just way too far out there, right?  I mean, let’s get serious now.  Are the anti-government conspiracy theorists out there seriously suggesting that a secret plan exists to declare martial law in our country?  Are we talking military rule of civilians in the land of the free and the home of the brave?  What about such safeguards as the Third Amendment?  How about your old Posse Comitatus?  Is there really a government plot to trample on our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, and our Bill of Rights?  Are we actually talking about the cessation of American liberty here?  As the patriot Judge Learned Hand proclaimed, “Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it.”  Additionally, John Adams in a letter to his wife insisted that, “A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored.  Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”  Martial law?  Liberty lost?  Am I really talking about the United States of America in the year 2014?

     So then, exactly what is Rex 84 and why has no one ever heard of it?  Perhaps because we’re all so busy going about our daily lives that we just can’t stay on top of everything emanating from our nation’s capitol.  Or perhaps it is something that if most Americans knew about, it would make their blood boil and we’d see a run on gun stores that would dwarf what we witnessed after 911.  According to a piece entitled, “Rex 84:  FEMA’s Blueprint for Martial Law in America(http://www.globalresearch.ca), we are, “dangerously close to a situation where if the American people took to the streets in righteous indignation or if there were another 9/11 – a mechanism for martial law could be quickly implemented and carried out under REX 84.”  The article further notes that the plan, “would accommodate the detention of large numbers of American citizens during times of emergency.”  Martial law?  The detention of large numbers of American citizens?  At this point, I’m hearing the theme from the old TV show The Twilight Zone going off in my head.  Are there really those out there who think that this kind of thing is an actual possibility?

     Rex 84 apparently stands for Readiness Exercise 1984 and through it, “an undisclosed number of concentration camps were set in operation throughout the United States, for internment of dissidents and others potentially harmful to the state.”  Concentration camps?  Dissidents?  Additionally these, “these camps are to be operated by FEMA should martial law need to be implemented in the United States and all it would take is a presidential signature on a proclamation and the attorney general’s signature on a warrant to which a list of names is attached.”  You know, it seems that we’re talking about dictatorial power here that completely by-passes and undercuts our Constitution, tosses the concept of the rule of law onto the compost heap, and grinds the idea of American liberty under the heel of some totalitarian regime.  Well, let’s see.  Our sorry-ass excuse for a President is no more than a dictator wanna-be who has shown nothing but contempt for our Constitution and the rule of law while his racist, jack-booted Attorney General is nothing more than an Obama lap dog who would actually salivate at the slightest prospect of mortally wounding the United States of America in any manner possible.

     It appears that this thing called Rex 84 is tailor made for these two would-be tyrants.  Additionally, according to a piece entitled, “What is the REX 84 program(http://answers.yahoo.com)),” it is a directive that establishes under the office of the President, “a new national continuity coordinator whose job is to make plans for National Essential Functions of all federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations to continue functioning under the president’s directives in the event of a national emergency.”  You know, this is beginning to sound like some kind of end-of-the-world scenario that one might see in a made for TV movie.  Independence Day comes to mind, but to my knowledge no significant alien threat or invasion has yet to show up on the radar screen.

     According to Yahoo, a catastrophic emergency is loosely defined as, “any incident regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damages, or disruption severely affecting the U.S.” and that it allows the President, “to use federal troops or the National Guard in federal service in a wide range of emergencies including natural disasters, epidemics or other public health emergencies, terrorist attacks, insurrections, or domestic violence, including conspiracies to commit domestic violence.”  This is pretty far reaching stuff and not just a tad bit troubling.  Who defines exactly what a national emergency is and how much the power of the Federal Government should be expanded in order to deal with it?  Will the people of the country have no say or voice in the declaration of a national emergency and how to best deal with it and who is to say when the so-called national emergency is over?  How many of our rights and freedoms will be sacrificed to deal with such an emergency, and once the danger is past, will we ever again get them back?  Remember the warning of John Adams referenced above that, “Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”

     You know, I’d really prefer not to believe that there is even a remote possibility that these folks who see our own government as a real and credible threat to our country and way of life are even close to the mark.  I would much rather believe that they are no more than disaffected, dissatisfied “Nut Jobs” whose lives are so devoid of meaning and fulfillment that they simply lash out and blame others for their shortcomings and failures.  I would much rather believe this than have to come to grips with the concept that they may be correct and they are merely the messengers warning us of an approaching calamity, an Armageddon, if you will.  I and I’m sure most Americans would prefer to see our government as an exception to the old adage that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely.  It is difficult for me to fathom the idea that my own government is Hell-bent on destroying what so many have bled and died for over the centuries and yet, one has to wonder.

     Could these “Conspiracy Nuts” really be onto something here?  Could those Militia Groups who arm themselves and train in remote mountain regions really be the first – or last – line of defense against a government that has become corrupt, venal, and destructive?  If these guys are even anywhere close to the truth in their paranoid ranting and raving then even a cynical old Son of a Bitch like me is going to have to recalibrate my naiveté meter and understand that I have been far too trusting and passive when it comes to the question of the individual’s relationship to and with government.  If the Conspiracy Guys have it right, then our Great American Experiment has failed and the belief in American Exceptionalism has been nothing more than a false myth and hope.  If these folks have it right while the rest of us have been hoodwinked and bamboozled into accepting and believing in the greatness and uniqueness of the American experience, then we have indeed stepped through that looking glass and will find no way back.  I hope for the sake of my kids and grandkids that this is not the case, but sometimes I have to wonder.

 

     Still, I keep running across articles with ominous – even threatening – titles like, “U.S. Concentration Camps, FEMA, and the REX 84 Program(www.liveleak.com).”  It begins by flatly stating that there are, “over 600 prison camps in the United States, all fully operational and ready to receive prisoners.  They are all staffed and even surrounded by full-time guards, but they are all empty.”  Additionally, these camps, “are to be operated by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) should Martial Law need to be implemented in the United States.”  The piece goes on to inform us that the, “Rex 84 Program was established on the reasoning that if a mass exodus of illegal aliens crossed the Mexican/US border, they would be quickly rounded up and detained in detention centers by FEMA.”  Alrighty, then.  Concentration camps?  Prison camps?  Illegal aliens?  Furthermore, the piece introduces two more terms that sound like they stem from a badly acted and conceived 1950’s Cold War spy movie.  We note that, “Operation Cable Splicer and Garden Plot are the two sub-programs which will be implemented once the Rex 84 is initiated for its proper purpose.”  Operation Cable Splicer?  Garden Plot?  Jesus, are these guys for real here?!?

     Apparently so, for it is claimed that, “Garden Plot is the program to control the population,” while, “Cable Splicer is the program for an orderly takeover of the state and local governments by the federal government.  FEMA is the executive arm of the coming police state and thus will head up all operations.”  Remember Natasha and Boris of the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon show from years ago?  It sounds like these “programs” come right out of that venue.  Is it possible that there are those out there who really, truly, and sincerely believe this crap?  Yep!  According to a piece entitled, “Rex 84:  Government Silently Positions for Martial Law as Financial Collapse Arrives in America(www.opednews.com),” Rex 84, “outlines continuity of government wherein the US Constitution is suspended, martial law is declared and the US military command takes over state and local governments in order  to ensure stabilization of our nation at any cost.  Any American who is deemed a ‘national security threat’ would be detained in an internment or FEMA Camp.”

     So far, the anti-government conspiracy types have focused on very little known, obscure government agencies like Rex 84, Operations Garden Plot or Cable Splicer that virtually no one is familiar with.  Now, however, these guys are taking a whack at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  Now that’s got to be a low blow, uncalled for, and wrong-headed.  FEMA, as I always understood it, exists to help Americans especially in times of natural disaster.  You know, those times when old Mother Nature says nope, you puny, little insignificant human beings just don’t matter.  All those “things” you’ve built to make life easier, more convenient, and more comfortable for yourselves – just watch this shit!  Hurricanes, tornados, twisters, earthquakes, typhoons, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and all the rest.  We human beings are as gnats blowing around in gale-force winds.  Well, here comes FEMA to try and help us recover from the effects of these catastraphies.  What could be more benign or humane than that?  People need help and, after all, isn’t that what government is supposed to do?  Government exists to help citizens in distress so how could anyone possibly object to that?  Think back to just a few years ago when Hurricane Katrina as it ripped through New Orleans or perhaps to Super Storm Sandy which devastated wide swaths of Long Island.  There was FEMA.  True, like most government entities, it was slow, inefficient, clumsy, and overly bureaucratic but the intentions were good and noble and who could fault that?

     Apparently, those whacked out government conspiracy nuts can and do exactly that.  They portray FEMA as evil incarnate out to destroy our God-given rights and freedoms and further enslave us to an all-powerful centralized government.  A piece entitled, “FEMA – The Secret Government(http://dmc.members.sonic.net),” explains that FEMA is, “not an elected body, it does not involve itself in public disclosures, and it even has a quasi-secret budget in the billions of dollars.”  More importantly, it has, “more power than the President of the United States or the Congress.  It has the power to suspend laws, move entire populations, arrest and detain citizens without a warrant and hold them without a trial.”  Additionally, “it can seize property, food supplies, transportation systems, and can suspend the Constitution.”  Damn, and here I thought that FEMA was a fairly benign government agency.  I’m actually beginning to believe that last phrase is a gargantuan oxymoron.  The article goes on to claim that FEMA spends only about six percent of its budget on national emergencies and that, “the bulk of their funding has been used for the construction of secret underground facilities to assure continuity of government in case of a major emergency, foreign or domestic.”

     It should be noted that FEMA was created by Executive Order which has the power of law but completely bypasses Congress and the American people.  The article explains that the agency has been strengthened over time by additional Executive Orders.  For example, Executive Order 10990, “allows the government to take over all modes of transportation and control of highways and seaports,” while Executive Order 10995, “allows the government to seize and control the communication media.”  Still other Executive Orders allow the government to take over all electrical power, gas, petroleum, fuels and minerals.  The government can take over all food resources and farms and allows the government to, “mobilize civilians into work brigades under government supervision.”  These examples barely scratch the surface of the massive power wielded by FEMA over the lives of American citizens and I guarandamnedtee you that 99.99% of us have not clue number one that we can be but a hair’s breadth away from losing our freedom should “conditions” require drastic action by our government.  Well sure, but this kind of power wouldn’t be unleashed on America unless the danger we face is so grave that the government simply has no choice, right?

     Not so, according to the article.  Apparently, “FEMA’s enormous powers can be triggered easily.  In any form of domestic or foreign problem, perceived and not always actual, emergency powers can be enacted.”  In fact, the President has broad powers to declare martial law which would start the whole FEMA thing rolling.  Martial law, “can be declared during times of increased tension overseas, economic problems within the United States such as depression, civil unrest, and in a drug crisis.”  It sounds like we’re talking about some kind of “Shadow Government” here that holds the real, actual reins of power while we have been falsely led to believe that the American people are the final authorities over what and what does not take place in our nation.  Apparently, we are living under some kind of delusion here and the, “crux of the problem is that FEMA has the power to turn the United States into a police state in times of real or manufactured crisis.”  What the Hell are we talking about here?  Are we really suggesting that the freest nation in history, the most superb Constitutional Republic ever created that guarantees individual rights and freedoms is in danger of becoming some kind of third world police state?  Are we really willing to accept the lunatic rantings and ravings of these Conspiracy Nuts while living in a country dedicated to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?  At one time, I would have thought that the mere contemplation of such a remote possibility was a probable sign that someone’s mind wasn’t right.  I would have had to question that individual’s motives as well as his grip on reality.  Now, however . . . .

     The author of an article entitled, “U.S. Concentration Camps:  FEMA and the REX 84 Program (www.theforbiddenknowledge.com),” claims that once, “a major disaster occurs (whether it is a real event or manufactured event does not matter) martial law is hurredly put in place and we are all in the hands of government agencies (FEMA) who thus portray themselves as our protectors.”  The writer goes on to query, “Yet what happens when we question those in authority and how they are taking away all of our freedoms?”  He goes on to ask, “Will we be the ones detained in these camp sites?  And who are they going to round up?  Those with guns?  Those who ask questions?  Those that want to know what’s really going on?”  He ends his screed by warning that the, “time is fast approaching when we will be the ones asking, ‘What happened to our freedom?  To our free speech?  To our right to protect ourselves and our family?  To think as an individual?  To express ourselves in whatever way we wish?”  This guy’s obviously way the fuck out there, isn’t he?  Total break with reality.  La--La Land.  Who knows anymore?  Maybe he’s actually got it right.

     The above quoted “Conspiracy Nut” is doing no more than any of the rest of the so-called “fringe elements” who exist on the outskirts of American society.  He is questioning the role of government as it relates to the individual citizen and he is of the opinion – as am I – that our government has become far too large, intrusive, and powerful and that by its very nature constitutes a threat to our liberties, freedoms, and individual rights.  Think back to the remarks made by some our Founding Fathers about the nature and legitimate role of government and compare what we have today to their vision.  They were right to fear and mistrust government and so are those that still do.  Thomas Jefferson noted that, “A wise and frugal government . . . shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.  This is the sum of good government.”

     Is our government today even close to wise and frugal?  Has our government remained faithful to the one created by the Founders?  Does our government leave us in peace to regulate our own pursuits?  I don’t know about you, but I’m heading out to the compound to make sure the ammo’s fresh and the canned goods are fully stocked!

Much Luv Y’all and Have a Great Day!

The Fifth Horseman

(Dr. David M. Rich, Ph.D.)