Well,
if you’re any kind of news junkie, you probably know that the Senate voted this
week to reject President Trump’s national emergency declaration. But fear ye
not – there are plenty of other national emergencies on the table!
On a side note, I don’t know about you, but I find it a little
disconcerting that the government can’t even agree whether or not there is an
emergency. I mean, for the most part, you know when there’s an emergency
situation, right? It’s pretty obvious. The house is on fire – emergency! The
heat goes out and it’s 20-below – emergency! You run out of M&Ms –
emergency.
But this is the government. Those people can’t agree on
anything. They would argue about the color of the sky. So, is there an
emergency on the border or no? Who knows.
At any rate, if you’re concerned about not having an emergency
due to congressional stonewalling, well, don’t you worry. Because like I said,
there are still plenty of emergencies for the government to attend to.
Thirty-one to be precise.
I kid you not. There are 31 national emergencies in
effect, right at this very moment. That’s not including the 2019 build the wall
crisis.
For instance, Jimmy Carter declared a national emergency in
response to the Iran hostage crisis. That went into effect on Nov. 14, 1979.
Forty years later, it’s still in effect. In case you’ve forgotten, the hostages
were released in 1981.
Now, you might think some absent-minded bureaucrat forgot to end
the national emergency when the hostages came home. Nope. These things have to
be renewed every year. So, why is this one still in effect? I’m sure the
government could give you a good reason. And by good, I mean dumb. But I’m
going to guess that it has something to do with giving some government entity
(like the executive branch) some kind of unconstitutional power they shouldn’t
have ever had in the first place. You can call me cynical, but you know I’m not
wrong.
Here’s another ongoing emergency that was declared on March 1,
1996. It involves “Regulations of the Anchorage and Movement of Vessels with
Respect to Cuba.” This was declared after civilian planes were shot down near
Cuba. Looks like they solved that one too. Last time I checked, there haven’t
been any planes shot down over that way recently.
Clinton also declared a national emergency “With Respect to
Blocking Sudanese Government Property and Prohibiting Transactions with Sudan.”
I’m glad the government is on that one.
Here’s a fun one courtesy of George W. Bush. He declared a
national emergency “With Respect to Export Control Regulations.” This renewed
presidential power to control exports during a national emergency after the
Export Administration Act of 1979 lapsed. So, in essence, Bush declared an
emergency so that he could control exports in the event of an emergency.
And it shouldn’t escape you that there is ALWAYS some kind of
emergency. (Or 31. Or 32, depending on how you count Trump’s emergency.)
Of course, we’re still under the state of emergency that was
declared after 9-11.
Bush was pretty fond of national emergencies. So was Obama.
Between them, the declared 21 that remain in effect today. Most of them involve
economic sanctions. They read like this one – courtesy of Barack Obama.
“A
National Emergency With Respect to Blocking Property of Certain Persons
Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine.” This was in
response
to the Russian invasion of Crimea.
Basically, this is a workaround Congress. The president can
declare an emergency and regulate trade without having to bother with the
Congresscritters. This is wise from the president’s perspective given Trump’s
recent experience. Best to keep those “representatives of the people” out of
the loop as much as possible.
Obama declared 10 of these national emergencies – all still in
effect.
And the wall emergency wasn’t Trump’s first 911 call. He’s
declared three other emergencies, the most recent on Nov. 27.
The National Emergency With
Respect to Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation
in Nicaragua was declared by President Trump in response to violence and the
Ortega regime’s “systematic dismantling and undermining of democratic
institutions and the rule of law” that constitutes an “unusual and
extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United
States.”
So – there ya go! It’s a constant emergency situation here in
America. But don’t panic. Government officials have it all under control.
Now, you’ll have to excuse me. I’m almost out of M&Ms!
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2019/03/no_author/fun-on-friday-did-you-know-there-are-31-ongoing-national-emergencies/
