Executive Order 13,603

I have always been what others call a “thinking man”. My mind is always active and I enjoy researching things on the internet. In fact, one of my (many) mottos is “the day we stop learning is the day we die”. From archaeology to Bigfoot, from cooking to self-diagnosis, from astronomy to helioseismology (look it up) I am fascinated by an array of topics. Consequently, I spend a lot of time watching lecture videos and reading material online that would probably make most of you cry. One of the many benefits of a hobby like this is that I stumble upon very interesting (to me) and little-known information that entices me to research even more and then draw my own conclusions about the subject's importance.

Recently, while attempting to single handedly debunk global warming, I happened upon something very disturbing. While the information itself, and I think you will agree, is controversial but not surprising given the subject matter and its author, I was actually more unsettled in the knowledge that this Executive Order, signed by the President of the United States has existed for more than five years … and I had never even heard of it!

The content that you are about to read is an excerpt from an article written by Jim Powell, a contributor to FORBES.com. It was published April 29, 2012. It may sound like “fake news” meant to stir up your emotions but, to the best of my knowledge, this executive order is real, albeit not in these exact words, and, more disturbingly, it's still on the books. If anyone reading this finds anything indicating that this article is in error, please let me know.

The most ominous sign of possible things to come appeared on March 16, 2012, when President Obama signed executive order 13603 about “National Defense Resources Preparedness.”

This 10-page document is a blueprint for a federal takeover of the economy that would dwarf the looming Obamacare takeover of the health insurance business. Specifically, Obama's plan involves seizing control of:
-“All commodities and products that are capable of being ingested by either human beings or animals”
-“All forms of energy”
-“All forms of civil transportation”
-“All usable water from all sources”
-“Health resources -- drugs, biological products, medical devices, materials, facilities, health supplies, services and equipment”
-Forced labor (or “induction” as the executive order delicately refers to military conscription)
-Moreover, federal officials would “issue regulations to prioritize and allocate resources.”

Each government bureaucracy “shall act as necessary and appropriate.”

To be sure, much of this language has appeared in national security executive orders that previous presidents have issued periodically since the beginning of the Cold War.

But more than previous national security executive orders, Obama's 13603 seems to describe a potentially totalitarian regime obsessed with control over everything.  Obama's executive order makes no effort to justify the destruction of liberty, no effort to explain how amassing totalitarian control would enable government to deal effectively with cyber sabotage, suicide bombings, chemical warfare, nuclear missiles or other possible threats.  It's quite likely there would be greater difficulty responding to threats, since totalitarian regimes suffer from economic chaos, colossal waste, massive corruption and bureaucratic infighting that are inevitable consequences of extreme centralization. Such problems plagued fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, communist China and other regimes.  Totalitarian control would probably trigger resistance movements and underground networks like those that developed in Western Europe during the Nazi occupation.  Totalitarian control could provoke more political turmoil than there was in the Vietnam War era of the 1960s.  There would probably be a serious brain drain as talented people with critical skills escaped to freedom wherever that might be.  Canada?

There's nothing in executive order 13603 about upholding the Constitution or protecting civil liberties.

Obama's executive order seems to assume that the next war will be like World War II or World War I, where vast armies of unskilled conscripts went at each other.  But current trends suggest that future conflicts are more likely to involve smaller numbers of military personnel - highly-trained professionals, perhaps thousands of miles away from a battlefield, who remotely-control drones, pilotless combat helicopters, unmanned ground vehicles, unmanned ships, mobile security robots and related military technologies.

Even if Obama's 13603 were no different than previous national security executive orders, it's more worrisome because it was issued by the president who rammed Obamacare and runaway spending bills through Congress, who racked up $5 trillion of debt and surrounded himself with hardcore “progressives” hostile to the private sector and America as we have known it.

In what circumstances, one might ask, would a president try to carry out this audacious plan?

Executive order 13603 says with ominous ambiguity: during “the full spectrum of emergencies.”

Well, if that doesn't make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside I don't know what would. When I read this, it sent chills down my spine. This is the kind of thing that you'd expect to see in a bad Owellian “B” movie knock-off, not in the archives of the Government Publications Office. This is nothing more than communism, pure and simple.

Don't worry, I haven't lost sight of the fact that God is still in charge and I'm not in a panic over this. But I do believe that God uses us to do His will and gives us information that allows us to act on his behalf. I'm not suggesting anything grandiose either. I see no need for a march on Washington or any kind of civil disobedience. The course of action that I would suggest is simple. Write your congressman(person). Let him or her know that this executive order exists and tell him or her how you feel about it. If you're feeling particularly froggy, write the White House too. If that doesn't work…

Does anyone know how to start an online petition?

The battle is on!

Ephesians 6:10-18 and 2 Chronicles 7:14.

G. J. Fortier is a member of Ironmen Ministries and First Baptist Church, Centerville, GA. Look for his novels on Amazon on Kindle and paperback. Or visit his website at www.GerardFortier.com