I’m writing regarding Robert Wassman’s May 6 letter, “Beware limitless presidential power.”
He stated that “Under the National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order, President Barack Obama has given himself the power to declare martial law — which means he has virtually unlimited power.” That simply is not correct. That order, dated March 16, 2012, can be reviewed here: www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/16/executive-order-national-defense-resources-preparedness.
He further asserts that “A clause in the National Defense Authorization Act permits indefinite detention of American citizens without trial or legal recourse.” That misstates the facts. A full explanation of the NDAA is available at: www.snopes.com/politics/military/ndaa.asp.
Finally, his letter asserts that “there are hundreds of Federal Emergency Management Agency camps, already built, capable of holding millions of political dissidents.” There is no evidence to support this rumor and it has been thoroughly debunked before. While the correct response to this assertion is too long for this letter, readers can get the whole story for themselves at this web link: http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/FEMA_concentration_camps.
Robert Garrison
Battle Ground
