Important, pls read this: Martial Law in Michigan and Republicans’ End Game

[Waiting For Everyman]

from PoliticsUSA

While we were venting our outrage at shenanigans in Wisconsin politics, in fact while Republicans were planning last night’s attempted coup, the Michigan state legislature quietly passed a bill giving the Governor of Michigan martial control over the state. Except instead of using actual military, the Governor is more likely to use private security. But make no mistake–rights would be suspended.

Here’s how it works:

The governor, on his own initiative, can declare an economic emergency in any town and appoint an administrator. The administrator can be any person, including a corporate person.

The administrator has the power to do anything in the name of economic stability, including void contracts, void collective bargaining agreements, dissolve the town council, dissolve the school board, fire anyone including elected officials, hire private security, unincorporate the town, and sell off public property.

<snip>

http://www.politicususa.com/en/martial-law-michigan


_______________

Please read the whole article, it's not long. This is so much more dangerous than what's been reported so far.

[socialist_n_TN]

1. Is it fascism yet? Can we call it that yet?

Please tell us what to do oh keepers of the sacred "No they're not Nazis, how dare you!?" segment. Do we have to have the stench of death camps before we can call them Nazis?

[Pacifist Patriot]

6. By my interpretation, it renders the governor a de facto dictator.

It sure as hell ain't democracy.

[snappyturtle]

33. A few years ago before the 2008 election, Bill Moyers interviewed

Bruce Fein and John Nichols. They warned that evening that if the unitary executive wasn't corraled before the election no successor would ever relinguish what bush had acheived as to his power as president. Well, nothing was done and now we have the governors, particularly this one in MI, who are exceeding the powers of their offices. That's what I believe, of course imho.

[Sherman A1]

2. Excuse me for a moment...

:argh:

[Drale]

3. This will be taken to court and tossed out

but thats not the problem. The problem is that they would even have to balls to pass something like that. Its unthinkable and goes against everything EVERYTHING this country stood for.

[Citizen Worker]

22. Bet your small change first.

[Gaedel]

38. I am not a lawyer and courts can be pretty fickle

I would guess that the legal basis for the legislation is that counties, cities, townships, and villages are chartered by the state and are thus instrumentalities of the state.

I don't think they can "dissolve" elected councils and boards, but they can supercede their powers and render them impotent under the powers granted by the act.

[PATRICK]

46. Worse

Unless you throw it out quickly there might come a situation when the pressure of the situation may go against an easy judgment. They can either then affirm(under whatever useless caveats they wish to add) or be ignored- as time passes and the damage and precedent continues to be done. Since there are never any consequences for most the precedents and damages those will endure. The Justices were in effect close to closing Gitmo but years of bending to the rights of "emergency" and unitary executive powers left them little when the executive weaves through the weak belated fence.

Tell me someone is challenging it immediately.

[theaocp]

44. Watch them throw out the judges

In Detroit, an appointed manager has been smacked down by the judiciary, who ruled in favor of the Detroit Public School Board. We'll see what happens next. As a Detroiter myself, this is scary shit. May we live in interesting times, indeed.

[loudsue]

4. And WHERE IN THE HELL is the U.S. Justice Department on this?

Kennedy sent in the troops when Alabama Gov. George Wallace decided he would ignore the constitution.

Obama ain't no Kennedy.

[Pacifist Patriot]

8. Indeed

[Enthusiast]

40. Yup nt

[PATRICK]

47. Under the Bush model

likely AWOL.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

5. I have been following this

and it is some scary stuff. They basically can void any election they don't like and give the state over to corporate control. Yet there are still many here on DU that will argue with me that this isn't the implementation of fascism that is happening in America. Come on people, wake up!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x599151

[Pacifist Patriot]

7. Well let's see.

"Fascism is a radical, authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to organize a nation according to corporatist perspectives, values, and systems, including the political system and the economy."

If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck....

[Skip_In_Boulder]

9. Precisely

However, it seems there are some people who have to get hit upside the head with a baseball bat multiple times before they start to "get it:.

[socialist_n_TN]

11. Yeah. It ain't fascism unless there's actively working .........

death camps. THAT'S A LITTLE TOO FUCKING LATE IF YOU ASK ME!

[Pacifist Patriot]

13. Just a wee bit, yeah.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

16. That's a little too late for me as well

But since you bring it up that was one of the things I always wondered about over the years as I studied the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany. At what point was it too late to begin an active resistance to Hitler or at what point was it too late to get out of the country.

There doesn't seem to be a clear demarcation point as to when that was.

[Skip_In_Boulder]

17. That's a little too late for me as well

But since you bring it up that was one of the things I always wondered about over the years as I studied the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany. At what point was it too late to begin an active resistance to Hitler or at what point was it too late to get out of the country.

There doesn't seem to be a clear demarcation point as to when that was.

[AdHocSolver]

19. Here's another swing of the bat. K&R. nt

[damntexdem]

15. Yes, indeed, it's government by quacks.

The GOP is the foulest of the fowl.

[Pacifist Patriot]

21. I think I'm in love.

My parents raised me to appreciate a good groan once I was grown.

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. But this duck does not have this

Therefore it is NOT a duck.

Yes, I have been told this.

[Pacifist Patriot]

10. Definitely read the entire link. It's even worse.

[Kurovski]

28. Like raising property taxes on the poor, they can not afford them, and

"poof" the state owns that property.

[Snoutport]

12. yikes

[Aerows]

14. This is horrifying

Sure, it will likely get thrown out in court, but in the mean time, how much havoc could be wreaked upon people's lives?

This is NOT democracy OR a Constitutional Republic - this is a Banana Republic move.

[AdHocSolver]

20. What is happening in the US is apparent to all who observe with an open mind.

Similar actions taken simultaneously by Republican state governments around the country point to nothing less than a conspiracy.

What we are witnessing is the beginning of a coup d'etat in the United States.

With a few variations, their actions are a reprise of Germany in 1933.

The attack on labor is designed to eliminate the Democratic Party as a force in American politics so as to turn America into a one-party state led by a right wing cabal consisting of a wealthy corporate elite loosely involved with a fundamentalist theocratic oligarchy.

What the right wing coup leaders envision is a fascist state with the draconian powers of the Inquisition.

It is ironic that the right wing in this country is forever demonizing Muslims by claiming that they all want to impose Sharia law on America at the same time that the right wing is stripping Americans of their constitutional rights and implementing measures designed to destroy the middle class.

[Enthusiast]

41. Right on! nt

[rucky]

23. I need a better link than this.

It's pretty hard to believe without looking at the source material.

[rucky]

24. Okay - found one.

This is a must see...

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/9/naomi_klein_on_anti_union_bills

[Horse with no Name]

25. Absolutely need federal intervention

Michigan is NOT its own little fiefdom.

[Horse with no Name]

26. I just contacted a friend in Michigan

This is crazy.

[RegieRocker]

27. Holy Crap! The fucking Nazis are taking over. This is bad, real bad.

[knitter4democracy]

29. It happened with almost no notice, too.

I found out about the vote the morning it happened and e-mailed my state senator (R). Then it passed and got done before anyone knew what the hell happened.

It's worse than you think, and something tells me that it won't get thrown out right away. This is more than bad.

[Waiting For Everyman]

30. Kick

for those who haven't seen this yet.

[ej510]

32. Like I said a terrorists organization.

[Poboy]

31. recommend

[Canuckistanian]

34. K&R

My God, What's happening in America?

[Enthusiast]

42. Shock and awe..........nt

[glinda]

35. Suspect the ink is already dry on the environmental disaster projects already.

[Kievan Rus]

36. Is OCP getting ready to open Delta City?

Sarcasm aside, it may not be long until the dystopia of Robocop becomes reality.

[reggie the dog]

37. If i were rich i would pay a future democratic governor and set up a town

with private security in which i would make everything public owned, give all residents an equal share of profits made, the private security would not bust people for growing or selling weed and would chase out any bankers or investers who came around.

[theaocp]

45. Oooo...

can I open up my Bud 'n Breakfast there? :)

[reggie the dog]

48. sure, just like the guys at the rainbow farm tried

my father and i were looking to camp one labor day weekend and couldnt find anything, we stopped at a gas station to as and a cop inside saw the harley and saw the father and son with long hair and told us that there was a nice place to camp called the rainbow farm, he was a local cop and told us that the campground was run by and for hippies and that you could openly party but not to worry because he didnt see fit to go "investigate" it. the cop was really nice, much nicer than the swat team that later raided the rainbow farm.

[Enthusiast]

39. Obama won't allow this.

:sarcasm:

[reggie the dog]

49. FDR would have sent in the army if they tried to actually do it.

[Name removed]

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