Banking Crisis - A Pretext For Martial Law?

The news is not good for banks as massive write downs of bad debt, as well as bank closings and mergers, threaten to undermine the financial stability of millions of Americans.
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There are a number of factors that point to a total failure of the banking industry, which in turn could signal an imminent run on the banks. The most recent FDIC report, given on March 4 before the Senate Banking Committee, while peppered with positive language, actually shows an alarming trend of writeoffs, writedowns, and a serious lack of actual cash assets backing the books of most of the nations major banks.

Whether or not these losses are against previous record gains is of little importance, as those "profits" are all on paper in the form of mortgage backed securities and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS).

These paper assets are devaluing not only due to mortgage defaults, but because the greater real estate market is seeing lower housing prices as well. This has created a "buyer's strike" in mortgage backed securities, making them worthless (The Washington Post). These are junk bonds; the banks are broke.

When the first big banks begin to close, we will see a run as people scramble to branches and ATM's nationwide in an effort to preserve their cash. Just the other day there was a letter in my mailbox from Wachovia Bank reassuring their customers that they would not close. Where did that come from? Why did they send it, I know I never asked?


PDD 51/ HPD 20

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Now for the really scary part. If there was a run on the banks, it would create an ideal pretext for the government to implement martial law as National Security Presidential Directive 51 and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20, gives the President of the United States dictatorial powers in the event of a "catastrophic (economic) emergency."

According to the Directive, a ""Catastrophic Emergency," means any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions."

A run on the banks certainly falls under the umbrella of this directive, authorizing the President to take control of all branches of the federal as well as state governments. While even a local emergency such as a natural disaster authorizes the President, at his sole discretion, to invoke the Directive, a bank run and economic panic would certainly qualify.

Could the engineered destruction of our banks and currency be the pretext for open tyranny? This isn't as far-fetched as it sounds as the federal government has repeatedly stated their intention to devalue the US dollar in the Directive while simultaneously promoting unsound fiscal policy.

With the authority to direct American troops against their fellow citizens, and a lame duck Congress at his beck and call, Bush has been able to effectively repeal the parts of the Insurrection Act and Posse Comitatus Act that forbids the use of the military within the United States against other Americans.

The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 , which gave the President the power to nationalize the State National Guards for domestic purposes, gives PDD 51 real teeth. For the first time since the Civil War, the nation could find itself shedding its own blood.

Taken together, these blatantly unconstitutional laws create a De Facto police state. By virtue of PDD 51 and the "John Warner National Defense Act", the executive branch has dictatorial powers that are completely repugnant to the United States Constitution.

Give a criminal a gun and they're inclined to use it. Should we expect an economic emergency?