TRANSPARENCY, DECLASSIFICATION, AND THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY

Lee White | Sep 1, 2012

On January 21, 2009, stating, "My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government," President Barack Obama announced a sweeping series of transparency reforms.

In its first year, the Obama dministration implemented a host of policy changes designed to deliver on that promise.

In one of his first official acts, President Barack Obama revoked the Bush administration's Executive Order (EO) 13233. The Bush EO severely limited access by the public to presidential records and gave former presidents, their heirs and, for the first time vice presidents, the ability to delay or prevent the release of records.

In addition to revoking President Bush's executive order on presidential records, the President issued a Presidential Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, and a Presidential Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), directing all members of his administration to operate under principles of openness and transparency.

On March 19, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder issued comprehensive new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) guidelines that direct all executive branch departments and agencies to apply a presumption of openness when administering the FOIA.

The memo rescinded the guidelines issued in 2001 during the Bush administration, by former Attorney General John Ashcroft. The Ashcroft FOIA Memorandum established a "sound legal basis" standard. Under this standard, agencies were required to reach the judgment that their use of a FOIA exemption was on sound footing, both factually and legally, whenever they withhold requested information. The Ashcroft guidelines had the practical effect of encouraging a presumption against releasing any questionable materials.

On December 8, 2009, the White House issued an Open Government Directive requiring federal agencies to take immediate, specific steps to open their operations up to the public. In addition to the directive, the Administration released the "Open Government Progress Report to the American People"—an analysis of the steps already taken to increase transparency and plans for future initiatives.

On December 29, 2009, the President issued Executive Order 13526 to significantly improve the system for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying national security information, including the establishment of the National Declassification Center within the National Archives to conduct a unified and efficient declassification review of historically important older records. The President also issued a memo to the heads of federal agencies highlighting the importance of implementing these changes promptly and effectively.

Despite the issuance of these numerous executive orders and directives, as President Obama nears the end of his first term, how well has he done in meeting the commitment he made that his administration the most open, transparent and accountable in history?

On August 3, 2012, the Washington Post published an article entitled, "Obama administration struggles to live up to its own transparency promises." The Post concluded, "Three years later, new evidence suggests that administration officials have struggled to overturn the long-standing culture of secrecy in Washington. Some of these high-profile transparency measures have stalled, and by some measures the government is keeping more secrets than before."

For example, the National Declassification Center (NDC) was tasked by the Administration with reviewing and declassifying a 371 million-page backlog of records by December 2013. A recent status report shows the NDC will be hard pressed to come close to meeting that deadline. As of June 30, 2012, only 51.1 million pages have completed all processing and of that number 41.8 million pages have been released to the public.

The Post also found that there was initially improvement by federal agencies in the number of FOIA requests that were granted in 2010 and that backlogs of requests had decreased. But in 2011, the trend reversed with agencies denial of requests increasing by 10 percent…..

https://www.historians.org/research-and-publications/perspectives-on-history/september-2012/transparency-declassification-and-the-obama-presidency

Obama Quietly Signs “Countering Disinformation And Propaganda Act”

In nineteen Eighty Four language, Obama has just created the “Ministry of Truth” with the signing of S.2943.The bill’s co-sponsor is Sen. Rob Portman, former U.S. Trade Representative with plenty of Trilateral Commission connections⁃ TN Editor

Late on Friday, with the US population embracing the upcoming holidays and oblivious of most news emerging from the administration, Obama quietly signed into law the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which authorizes $611 billion for the military in 2017.

In a statement, Obama said that:

Today, I have signed into law S. 2943, the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017.” This Act authorizes fiscal year 2017 appropriations principally for the Department of Defense and for Department of Energy national security programs, provides vital benefits for military personnel and their families, and includes authorities to facilitate ongoing operations around the globe. It continues many critical authorizations necessary to ensure that we are able to sustain our momentum in countering the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and to reassure our European allies, as well as many new authorizations that, among other things, provide the Departments of Defense and Energy more flexibility in countering cyber-attacks and our adversaries’ use of unmanned aerial vehicles.”

Much of the balance of Obama’s statement blamed the GOP for Guantanamo’s continued operation and warned that “unless the Congress changes course, it will be judged harshly by history,” Obama said. Obama also said Congress failed to use the bill to reduce wasteful overhead (like perhaps massive F-35 cost overruns?) or modernize military health care, which he said would exacerbate budget pressures facing the military in the years ahead.

But while the passage of the NDAA – and the funding of the US military – was hardly a surprise, the biggest news is what was buried deep inside the provisions of the Defense Authortization Act.

Recall that as we reported in early June, “abill to implement the U.S.’ very own de facto Ministry of Truth had been quietly introduced in Congress. As with any legislation attempting to dodge the public spotlight the Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act of 2016 marks a further curtailment of press freedom and another avenue to stultify avenues of accurate information. Introduced by Congressmen Adam Kinzinger and Ted Lieu, H.R. 5181 seeks a “whole-government approach without the bureaucratic restrictions” to counter “foreign disinformation and manipulation,” which they believe threaten the world’s “security and stability.”

Also called the Countering Information Warfare Act of 2016 (S. 2692), when introduced in March by Sen. Rob Portman, the legislation represents a dramatic return to Cold War-era government propaganda battles. “These countries spend vast sums of money on advanced broadcast and digital media capabilities, targeted campaigns, funding of foreign political movements, and other efforts to influence key audiences and populations,” Portman explained, adding that while the U.S. spends a relatively small amount on its Voice of America, the Kremlin provides enormous funding for its news organization, RT.

“Surprisingly,” Portman continued, “there is currently no single U.S. governmental agency or department charged with the national level development, integration and synchronization of whole-of-government strategies to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation.”

Long before the “fake news” meme became a daily topic of extensive conversation on such discredited mainstream portals as CNN and WaPo, H.R. 5181 would task the Secretary of State with coordinating the Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Broadcasting Board of Governors to “establish a Center for Information Analysis and Response,” which will pinpoint sources of disinformation, analyze data, and — in true dystopic manner — ‘develop and disseminate’ “fact-based narratives” to counter effrontery propaganda.

In short, long before “fake news” became a major media topic, the US government was already planning its legally-backed crackdown on anything it would eventually label “fake news.”

Fast forward to December 8, when the “Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act” passed in the Senate,quietly inserted inside the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Report.

And now, following Friday’s Obama signing of the NDAA on Friday evening, the Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act is now law….

https://www.technocracy.news/obama-signs-countering-disinformation-propaganda-act/

9 Jul, 2012 20:11

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Obama gives himself control of all communication systems in America

Obama gives himself control of all communication systems in America

US President Barack Obama quietly signed his name to an Executive Order on Friday, allowing the White House to control all private communications in the country in the name of national security.

President Obama released his latest Executive Order on Friday, July 6, a 2,205-word statement offered as the “Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions.” And although the president chose not to commemorate the signing with much fanfare, the powers he provides to himself and the federal government under the latest order are among the most far-reaching yet of any of his executive decisions.

“The Federal Government must have the ability to communicate at all times and under all circumstances to carry out its most critical and time sensitive missions,” the president begins the order. “Survivable, resilient, enduring and effective communications, both domestic and international, are essential to enable the executive branch to communicate within itself and with: the legislative and judicial branches; State, local, territorial and tribal governments; private sector entities; and the public, allies and other nations.”

President Obama adds that it is necessary for the government to be able to reach anyone in the country during situations it considers critical, writing, “Such communications must be possible under all circumstances to ensure national security, effectively manage emergencies and improve national resilience.” Later the president explains that such could be done by establishing a “joint industry-Government center that is capable of assisting in the initiation, coordination, restoration and reconstitution of NS/EP [national security and emergency preparedness] communications services or facilities under all conditions of emerging threats, crisis or emergency.”

“The views of all levels of government, the private and nonprofit sectors, and the public must inform the development of NS/EP communications policies, programs and capabilities,” he adds.

On the government’s official website for the National Communications Systems, the government explains that that “infrastructure includes wireline, wireless, satellite, cable, and broadcasting, and provides the transport networks that support the Internet and other key information systems,” suggesting that the president has indeed effectively just allowed himself to control the country’s Internet access.

In order to allow the White House to reach anyone within the US, the president has put forth a plan to establish a high-level committee calling from agents with the Department of Homeland Security, Pentagon, Federal Communications Commission and other government divisions to ensure that his new executive order can be implemented.

In explaining the order, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) writes that the president has authorized the DHS "the authority to seize private facilities when necessary, effectively shutting down or limiting civilian communications."

In Section 5 of his order, President Obama outlines the specific department and agency responsibilities that will see through his demands. In a few paragraphs, President Obama explains that Executive Committee that will oversee his order must be supplied with “the technical support necessary to develop and maintain plans adequate to provide for the security and protection of NS/EP communications,” and that that same body will be in tasked with dispatching that communiqué “to the Federal Government and State, local, territorial and trial governments,” by means of “commercial, Government and privately owned communications resources.”

Later, the president announces that the Department of Homeland Security will be tasked with drafting a plan during the next 60 days to explain how the DHS will command the government’s Emergency Telecommunications Service, as well as other telecom conduits. In order to be able to spread the White House’s message across the country, President Obama also asks for the purchasing of equipment and services that will enable such.

https://www.rt.com/usa/obama-president-order-communications-770/

Obama Executive Orders Nationalizing Energy, Food, Water, Everything Else

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by William F. Jasper April 3, 2013

In his State Of The Union Address on February 12, President Obama cited a number of new initiatives on which he intended the federal government to take action. The area that understandably caused the biggest furor was the president’s reference to his proposals for increased federal restrictions on private firearm ownership, which he had outlined the previous month in a national address capitalizing on the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

Another proposal of the president focused on “one of the most fundamental rights of a democracy: the right to vote.” After the applause died down, President Obama declared: “When any Americans, no matter where they live or what their party, are denied that right because they can’t afford to wait for five or six or seven hours just to cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals.” More enthusiastic applause.

“So tonight,” said the president, “I’m announcing a nonpartisan commission to improve the voting experience in America. And it definitely needs improvement.”

Last week, on March 28, just before the Easter weekend, the White House press office released President Obama’s latest executive order, on the “Establishment of the Presidential Commission of Election Administration.”

The creation of the new commission appears to portend even greater activism and interference by the administration in the upcoming mid-term elections than it has already shown itself capable of in the 2012 elections. President Obama’s Department of Justice, recall, sued to block state efforts at implementing voter identification laws that had been passed by state legislatures to prevent voter fraud. The administration did not hesitate to trespass on this constitutionally reserved right of the states, but joined with media allies and Democrat activists in denouncing these sensible measures as “voter suppression,” and, of course, suggesting that the measures were racist in nature and aimed at disenfranchising black and Hispanic voters. At the same time, the DOJ chose not to pursue action against militant Black Panther activists that were actually involved in voter suppression through threats and intimidation at polling places.

Section 3 of the new executive order states:

The Commission shall identify best practices and otherwise make recommendations to promote the efficient administration of elections in order to ensure that all eligible voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots without undue delay, and to improve the experience of voters facing other obstacles in casting their ballots, such as members of the military, overseas voters, voters with disabilities, and voters with limited English proficiency.

Interesting that the executive order mentions “the experience of voters facing other obstacles in casting their ballots, such as members of the military,” especially since the Obama administration has been credibly accused by many military veterans organizations of suppressing the military vote (see here and here).

A McClatchy News Service report last year noted:

In 2010, of the approximately 2 million military and overseas voters accounted for in data reported by the states to the Election Assistance Commission, only 4.6 percent of those voters were able to cast an absentee ballot that counted, according to the Military Voter Protection Project’s analysis of that data from the federal Election Assistance Commission, which tracks participation in voting.

This means that more than an astounding 95 percent of military and overseas voters failed to vote — for one reason or another. According to the Military Voter Protection Project, the Department of Defense under President Obama has consistently taken many actions to undermine the 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act), which was enacted to facilitate access to absentee ballots for our military personnel serving overseas. Now the administration is citing those obstacles that it helped to create as proof of the need for even more interference in state elections.

The 2014 midterm congressional elections will be crucially important. Recent polls (see here, and here) show President Obama’s approval ratings sliding downhill since reelection, with only 47 percent of Americans saying they approve of his performance, down eight points since December, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Team Obama is well aware that the party of an incumbent president traditionally loses Senate and House seats in midterm elections. In times of economic trouble, the president’s party tends to get an extra-harsh shellacking…

https://thenewamerican.com/obama-executive-orders-nationalizing-energy-food-water-everything-else/

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The New American reported in February 2010 (Obama Eyes “Executive Orders” to Circumvent Congress) on the president’s plans to rule unconstitutionally by executive fiat. In the midterm elections later that year, the Democrats lost 63 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, six in the Senate, and six governorships. Faced with congressional roadblocks to much of his agenda, President Obama has resorted to unconstitutional executive orders for enacting everything from an illegal immigrant amnesty, to vastly empowering the psychiatric industry, to dramatically expanding the Endangered Species Act, to declaring millions of acres protected habitat for the spotted owl (and off-limits to human use), to placing virtually everything under federal regulation and control.

Executive Order 13603’s “Emergency and Non-Emergency Powers”

One of the most frightening Obama edicts to come down the pike is Executive Order 13603 on “National Defense Resources Preparedness,” issued a little over a year ago, on March 16, 2012. This executive order is frightening because of its sweeping scope, explicitly declaring that the president and his designated Cabinet and agency heads have authority to commandeer and control:

all water,

all human and animal food,

all transportation,

all energy,

all construction materials,

all “health resources,”

all farm equipment,

all fertilizers,

all fuels,

… and much more.

President Obama declares in Executive Order 13603 his power to carry out these broad usurpations “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2061 et seq.), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States.”

What should be particularly alarming to Americans is that Executive Order 13603 does not merely claim these powers during war time or during a “national emergency,” but explicitly and repeatedly states that these apply “in peacetime and in times of national emergency.” It further states that this “authority shall be used to promote the national defense, under both emergency and non-emergency conditions.”

Fedgov: “Don’t worry; We’ve got everything covered”

The all-encompassing scope of this edict is evident throughout the document, but the general flavor is indicated in Section 201, which states:

The authority of the President … to allocate materials, services, and facilities as deemed necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense, is delegated to the following agency heads:

(1) the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to food resources, food resource facilities, livestock resources, veterinary resources, plant health resources, and the domestic distribution of farm equipment and commercial fertilizer;

(2) the Secretary of Energy with respect to all forms of energy;

(3) the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to health resources;

(4) the Secretary of Transportation with respect to all forms of civil transportation;

(5) the Secretary of Defense with respect to water resources; and

(6) the Secretary of Commerce with respect to all other materials, services, and facilities, including construction materials …

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To put a finer point on this executive power grab, Section 801 provides these definitions for the above-listed powers:

(a) ‘‘Civil transportation’’ includes movement of persons and property by all modes of transportation in interstate, intrastate, or foreign commerce … and related public storage and warehousing, ports, services, equipment and facilities, such as transportation carrier shop and repair facilities. ‘‘Civil transportation’’ also shall include direction, control, and coordination of civil transportation capacity regardless of ownership….

(b) ‘‘Energy’’ means all forms of energy including petroleum, gas (both natural and manufactured), electricity, solid fuels (including all forms of coal, coke, coal chemicals, coal liquification, and coal gasification), solar, wind, other types of renewable energy, atomic energy, and the production, conservation, use, control, and distribution (including pipelines) of all of these forms of energy.

(c) ‘‘Farm equipment’’ means equipment, machinery, and repair parts manufactured for use on farms in connection with the production or preparation for market use of food resources.

(d) ‘‘Fertilizer’’ means any product or combination of products that contain one or more of the elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium for use as a plant nutrient.

(e) ‘‘Food resources’’ means all commodities and products, (simple, mixed, or compound), or complements to such commodities or products, that are capable of being ingested by either human beings or animals, irrespective of other uses to which such commodities or products may be put, at all stages of processing from the raw commodity to the products thereof in vendible form for human or animal consumption. ‘‘Food resources’’ also means potable water packaged in commercially marketable containers, all starches, sugars, vegetable and animal or marine fats and oils, seed, cotton, hemp, and flax fiber ….

(f) ‘‘Food resource facilities’’ means plants, machinery, vehicles (including on farm), and other facilities required for the production, processing, distribution, and storage (including cold storage) of food resources, and for the domestic distribution of farm equipment and fertilizer (excluding transportation thereof).

Section 308 states: “The head of each agency engaged in procurement for the national defense is delegated the authority of the President … to”:

(a) procure and install additional equipment, facilities, processes, or improvements to plants, factories, and other industrial facilities owned by the Federal Government and to procure and install Government-owned equipment in plants, factories, or other industrial facilities owned by private persons.

The dangers for corruption and coercion presented by this purported authority should be obvious. Favored companies and friends of the administration stand to gain huge taxpayer-supplied freebies, while those in disfavor may find their surviving factories, farms, plants, and facilities installed with “Government-owned equipment” to monitor, surveil, and report on their activities.

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Obama Media Choir: “Nothing here to worry about”

Soon after President Obama issued Executive Order 13603, critics began pointing out the obvious dangers. One of the most influential condemnations of the edict was penned by Cato Institute Senior Fellow Jim Powell for Forbes.com entitled “Obama’s Plan To Seize Control Of Our Economy And Our Lives.”

As to be expected, liberal-left websites and commentators leapt to the president’s defense, assuring the public that there is nothing extraordinary in EO 13603 and nothing to be alarmed about. Snopes.com, for instance, said the executive order “was simply a minor updating of a similar order issued by President Bill Clinton in 1994 (which itself had decades-old predecessors) and amended several times since.” The Snopes entry cited an Ed Morrisey column at Hotair.com, who insists “This EO simply updates another EO (12919) that had been in place since June 1994, and amended several times since.” It also cited a Doug Mataconis column at outsidethebeltway.com, who echoed Morrisey, chiding that “the Executive Order itself is nothing more than a restatement of policy that has been in place for decades.”

There is some truth there, but it should actually be more troubling than comforting, if one treasures freedom. Much of the same exact wording concerning the claimed power of federal agencies to “allocate” all food, water, energy, transportation, etc. does indeed appear in President Clinton’s EO 12919 of June 3, 1994. And Clinton’s order also uses the term “in peacetime and in times of national emergency,” although the phrase “under both emergency and non-emergency conditions” is unique to Obama’s EO 13603.

Like Obama’s EO, Clinton’s EO also claims its authority from the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA) and its subsequent amendments. In fact, Congress has given successive presidents plausible (albeit illegitimate) constitutional cover for over six decades by regularly reauthorizing the DPA. The most recent example of this bi-partisan congressional complicity in establishing the basis for executive dictatorship is the Defense Production Act Reauthorization of 2009.

Therein one finds almost verbatim much of the wording of Obama’s EO 13603 that justifiably alarms so many people. The Defense Production Act Reauthorization of 2009 was introduced by Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) on September 16, 2009. The Library of Congress website informs us that the Senate (on that same day, September 16) “read” the bill three times and then passed it “without amendment by Unanimous Consent.” One week later it made a similar fast track through the House “on motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.”

It is difficult to decide which is the more severe indictment of the senators: that they actually read the bill three times in one day (as officially claimed) and yet voted for it anyway, despite the apparent jarring conflict with the Constitution; or, that they cavalierly passed it without any of them truly reading its contents (the more believable scenario). Ditto for the House.

Nevertheless, as a result, defenders of EO 13603 claim its legitimacy is backed both by precedent and congressional enactment. However, neither the fact that previous presidents have issued similar (or even identical) executive orders, or that Congress has passed legislation purporting to authorize the said powers, can square the newly claimed powers with the restrictions placed on federal powers by our Constitution.

It is true that a major constitutional objection to many executive orders over the past 70 years is that they are executive usurpations of legislative authority that belongs to Congress. However, Congress itself is also bound by the Constitution and is not at liberty to legislate on any and all matters that may strike the whims of its members.

Obama Executive Order 13528 Subverted Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 1 of 2

July 23, 2020 7 minutes

On January 11, 2010, President Obama signed Executive Order (EO) 13528 (PDF) — right after the over-hyped Flight 253 ‘terrorist’ attack, the fraudulently engineered Swine Flu pandemic and a few other man-made disasters — that, among other things, establishes a Council of Governors, chosen by the President who, as noted by the Intel Daily, will rubber-stamp long-sought-after Pentagon contingency plans to seize control of state National Guard forces in the event of a ‘National Emergency.’

Executive Orders are orders given by the President that are generally used to direct Federal Agencies and officials in their execution of laws or policies established by Congress. In many instances, especially during this past decade, Executive Orders have been used to guide agencies in directions contrary to Congressional intent. Executive Orders are controversial since they are sometimes use to make law without the consent of Congress. It’s time for a closer look at EOs & Directives and it’s time to fix the intentional, oft illegal, subversion of laws.

In keeping with tradition, no mention was made in the corporate media of President Obama’s EO 13528 that egregiously subverts the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. A White House Press Release claims the ten member, bipartisan Council was created ‘to strengthen further the partnership between the Federal Government and State Governments to protect our Nation against all types of hazards.’

Once appointed, according to the White House Press Release, the council will be reviewing such matters as involving the National Guard of various States; Homeland defense; civil support; synchronization and integration of State and Federal military activities in the United States; and other matters of mutual interest pertaining to National Guard, homeland defense, and civil support activities.

Synchronizing and integrating state National Guard units with those of the Armed Forces would place them under the control of the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) that was egregiously created in 2002, allegedly to help fight the ‘War on Terror’ — one of the largest acts of treason ever perpetrated against U.S. citizens by its Government.

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 Prohibits Using the Military for Civilian Law Enforcement

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 — which [Obama's] EO 13528 clearly subverts — bars the use of the military for civilian law enforcement. For years Bush tried to accomplish the same thing, especially after his administration’s criminal inactions during the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster.

During the height of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina crisis, Bush tried citing presidential prerogatives for using the National Guard troops under the Insurrection Act, a draconian statute that authorizes the President to federalize National Guard units when state governments fail to ‘suppress rebellion.’ The plight of Katrina victims was twisted — aided and abetted by complicit corporate media — into an act of ‘rebellion’ and a new criminal category was concocted to criminalize the traumatized New Orleans residents.

As noted by The Intel Daily, given the serious implications such proposals would have for a functioning democracy, the media’s deafening silence on Obama’s Executive Order is hardly surprising. As the cheerleaders in the illegal occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and now Pakistan with Iran and Yemen coming soon, the censorship by the media says a lot about the state of affairs in ‘new normal’ America. As with his predecessors, Mr. hope and change will try to illegally forge ahead and invest the permanent National Security bureaucracy with unprecedented power.

Under the guise of the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act — more potentially illegal ‘legislation’— the President will establish the bipartisan Council of Governors to advise, and exchange views and information with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the White House Homeland Security Council on matters related to the National Guard and civil support missions. The Secretary of Defense will designate the Executive Director of this toothless Council.

https://www.greanvillepost.com/2020/07/23/obama-executive-order-13528-subverted-posse-comitatus-act-of-1878/

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In ‘exchanging views’ with the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement, the Assistant Secretary for Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs, the Commander, United States Northern Command, the Chief National Guard Bureau, the Commandant of the Coast Guard and other appropriate officials of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense as well as appropriate officials of other executive departments or agencies designated by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Homeland Security, the council will serve as civilian cover for political decisions made by the Executive Branch and the security apparatus

Obama Had Previously Proposed Expanding Military Use in Domestic Disasters

Last summer Obama proposed expanding the military’s authority to respond to domestic disasters. His proposal was opposed by the National Governors Association (NGA) because it would invite confusion on critical command and control issues, complicate inter-agency planning, establish stove-piped response efforts and interfere with gubernatorial Constitutional responsibilities to ensure the safety and security of their citizens.

EO 13528 further erodes the constitutional limits on Executive Branch power, and actually has little to do with catastrophic emergency response. It is however, the latest attempt to expand the National Security state and the Continuity of Government (COG) programs that are, and have been, illegally kept secret from Congress and the American people.

Many members of Congress are not authorized to view information on COG plans, procedures, capabilities and facilities, as well as the classified annexes of National Security Presidential Directive 51 and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20 (NSPD 51/HSPD 20), two other draconian, illegal pieces of ‘legislation.’ Despite Obama’s vows of openness and transparency, even the redacted version of those documents have been removed from the White House web site.

Reagan-era EO 12656 defines a national security emergency as ‘any occurrence, including natural disaster, military attack, technological emergency, or other emergency that seriously degrades or seriously threatens the national security of the United States.’ The problem is, the U.S. Government has a history of terrorizing its own citizens and creating disasters and false flag attacks.

Secretive Continuity of Government Plan Raises a Lot of Questions

George W. Bush’s Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 (HSPD-8), also removed from the White House web site, established ‘a national program and multi-year planning system to conduct homeland security preparedness-related exercises.’ That program, details of which are unavailable to Congress and the American people, is to be carried out in collaboration with state and local governments and private sector entities. The secrecy surrounding the shady creation of illegal ‘law’ raises a lot of questions and concerns.

Loosely worded definitions concerning the Defense Department’s role during such emergencies leave the door open for potential abuses by unscrupulous politicians and their corporate partners. USNORTHCOM’s role in all of this is shrouded in secrecy. As the past decade has shown, the egregious amount of corruption in Washington has gotten entirely out of hand and something needs to be done to stop it. The fact that corrupted military leaders are now courting corrupted politicians also raises a lot of flags.

The timing of the deployment of U.S. combat troops as an on-call federal response force coinciding with the greatest economic emergency and financial disaster since the 1930s that was fraudulently created by Wall Street is peculiar and suspicious.

The fact that COG plans are shrouded in secrecy and kept from members of Congress and the American people is very disturbing and very revealing. It raises a LOT of questions. In keeping with the tradition of creating tyranny while destroying any semblance of law — like his predecessor — President Obama’s EO 13528 undermines the democratic rights of the American people. Mr. Obama needs to start paying attention to those that elected him, keep his promises that put him in office and quit running Bush’s third term. It’s time for accountability and it’s time to restore the rule of law.

Executive Order 13707 of September 15, 2015

Using Behavioral Science Insights To Better Serve the American People(Manipulate & reprogram the people)

A growing body of evidence demonstrates that behavioral science insights—research findings from fields such as behavioral economics and psychology about how people make decisions and act on them—can be used to design government policies to better serve the American people.

Where Federal policies have been designed to reflect behavioral science insights, they have substantially improved outcomes for the individuals, families, communities, and businesses those policies serve. For example, automatic enrollment and automatic escalation in retirement savings plans have made it easier to save for the future, and have helped Americans accumulate billions of dollars in additional retirement savings. Similarly, streamlining the application process for Federal financial aid has made college more financially accessible for millions of students.

To more fully realize the benefits of behavioral insights and deliver better results at a lower cost for the American people, the Federal Government should design its policies and programs to reflect our best understanding of how people engage with, participate in, use, and respond to those policies and programs. By improving the effectiveness and efficiency of Government, behavioral science insights can support a range of national priorities, including helping workers to find better jobs; enabling Americans to lead longer, healthier lives; improving access to educational opportunities and support for success in school; and accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy.

NOW, THEREFORE, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, I hereby direct the following:

Section 1. Behavioral Science Insights Policy Directive.

(a) Executive departments and agencies (agencies) are encouraged to:

(i) identify policies, programs, and operations where applying behavioral science insights may yield substantial improvements in public welfare, program outcomes, and program cost effectiveness;

(ii) develop strategies for applying behavioral science insights to programs and, where possible, rigorously test and evaluate the impact of these insights;

(iii)recruit behavioral science experts to join the Federal Government as necessary to achieve the goals of this directive; and

(iv) strengthen agency relationships with the research community to better use empirical findings from the behavioral sciences.

(b) In implementing the policy directives in section (a), agencies shall:

(i) identify opportunities to help qualifying individuals, families, communities, and businesses access public programs and benefits by, as appropriate, streamlining processes that may otherwise limit or delay participation—for example, removing administrative hurdles, shortening wait times, and simplifying forms;

(ii) improve how information is presented to consumers, borrowers, program beneficiaries, and other individuals, whether as directly conveyed by the agency, or in setting standards for the presentation of information, by considering how the content, format, timing, and medium by which information is conveyed affects comprehension and action by individuals, as appropriate;

(iii) identify programs that offer choices and carefully consider how the presentation and structure of those choices, including the order, number, and arrangement of options, can most effectively promote public welfare, as appropriate, giving particular consideration to the selection and setting of default options; and

(iv) review elements of their policies and programs that are designed to encourage or make it easier for Americans to take specific actions, such as saving for retirement or completing education programs. In doing so, agencies shall consider how the timing, frequency, presentation, and labeling of benefits, taxes, subsidies, and other incentives can more effectively and efficiently promote those actions, as appropriate. Particular attention should be paid to opportunities to use nonfinancial incentives.

THE WHITE HOUSE, September 15, 2015. Filed 9-17-15; 8:45 am]

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2015/09/18/2015-23630/using-behavioral-science-insights-to-better-serve-the-american-people

>>18170841

I finally got to the point of just enjoying the research without expecting immediate action, that work is waking up people. The Q team has been working at it since 1963, and they never give up. I’m glad they never gave up.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to use the gifts God gave me.No regrets and I actually have better patience than ever. Plus we never know how we have changed the world. Gratitude is a great gift!

If you want to give up do so, there’s some days early on I felt like that, but at the 4 year mark I thought what to hell, where will I go, what will I do? couldn't think of a better mission than this. Its all good now.