« Da' Law | Main | John Roberts... Mike Brown... what is with the bland names, Bucko? »
September 7, 2005
Say It With Me, Kids, POSSE COMITATUS
SEC. 15. From and after the passage of this act it shall not be lawful to employ any part of the Army of the United States, as a posse comitatus, or otherwise, for the purpose of executing the laws, except in such cases and under such circumstances as such employment of said force may be expressly authorized by the Constitution or by act of Congress; and no money appropriated by this act shall be used to pay any of the expenses incurred in the employment of any troops in violation of this section And any person willfully violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished by fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or imprisonment not exceeding two years or by both such fine and imprisonment.
To answer the question why the troops in New Orleans are not forcing the citizens to evacuate. This is an action ordered by the mayor. It is a police action. The military is forbidden from doing those. Yet the media wants to turn into a sign of federal/local friction. IT IS NOT. IT IS AGAINST THE LAW. IT IS WHY GOV. BLANCO DIDN'T FEDERALIZE THE NATIONAL GUARD. IF SHE DID, THEY COULD NOT POLICE THE STREETS!!!
It is a fine line, yes, yes, yes... but an important one. Do you want Killgore pulling you over for a speeding ticket?
Ah, the law...
By the way, Jon Stewart had an excellent point tonight on the big White House finger that's pointing at Blanco and Nagin. Every red republican meat head has pointed out that, well, they didn't do so great a job. They bring up state's rights, to point out that it is a state/local issue first, than a federal.
Paraphrasing Stewart, maybe if New Orleans had a feeding tube down its throat, the federal gov't would have intervened.
Mmmm... state's rights... only spouted when convenient.....
Posted by emily at September 7, 2005 11:40 PM