Glenn warned you about PEADs — Presidential Emergency Action Documents — over a month ago. But now, the New York Times seems to have finally caught on. The Times recently published a report about now-declassified emergency powers President George W. Bush held while in office (…interesting how they skipped over the Obama presidency, right?). Glenn and Stu discuss how — with PEADs — President Biden not only may be able to bypass Congress during an emergency, but he also could have some ‘truly frightening’ powers nearly instantaneously to control us ALL…
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: So remember, Stu, when I talked to you about four weeks ago, about PIADS, and neither of us had ever heard of it.
STU: Yeah. Was it PIADS?
GLENN: It was Presidential Emergency Action Directives. Okay?
And we had not even heard of it, at the time.
STU: Yeah.
GLENN: The New York Times reports today, until now, public knowledge of what the government put into classified presidential directives, which invoke emergency and wartime powers, granted by Congress, and otherwise claimed by presidents have been limited to declassified descriptions of those developed in the early Cold War.
In that era, they included steps like imposing marshal law. Rounding up people deemed dangerous, and censoring news from abroad.
What could possibly go wrong?
Now, this was first started by Eisenhower, in the atomic age, when we were afraid of nuclear weapons, if we would go to a nuclear war. There wouldn't be enough time for them to sit around. You know, the cabinet. And go, okay. So what do we do?
They pushed a button, and everything had to go. So they would make these directives. Beforehand.
And they would say, this is for an emergency, in case of a nuclear war. And the president would sign it.
And then it would be held. So you couldn't -- Congress doesn't have a right to look at these things. Because they're not actually enforced. It's kind of like our advice until the emergency happens. And then it becomes the law of the land.
STU: How does it become the law of the land? What process gives the president the right to --
GLENN: Emergency orders?
If there's an emergency, the president has all kinds of powers. Now, I can't think of an emergency that might be on the horizon.
You know, sure, there's the economic emergency, that could happen. You know, there's the energy shortage, that might happen.
There's a lawlessness emergency on the streets, that could happen. But other than that, can you think of anything?
STU: No. No.
GLENN: There's the monkey pox emergency, I left that one. Left that one out.
There's the cheating at an election one, that, you know, would be really -- there's the war, emergency action that could be declared.
But other than that, again, nothing to see here.
So it's not been clear, what the modern directives have been. Known presidential emergency action documents. Those are called PIADS. That never have been made public or shown to Congress. But the New York Times has been looking into George W. Bush. Now, why would you stop there?
I think we all know why. Am I right? Several of the files provided to the New York Times, by the Brennan center for justice, shows that the Bush era effort partly focused on a law that permits the president to take over or shut down communications networks in wartime. Remember that one? And people like your local radio hosts, and your hosts on talk radio said, hey, for the first time in my career, the Emergency Broadcast System is being taken out of our hands. What the Emergency Broadcast System used to be, is the White House would alert the radio stations. And I think it was -- I think it was WMAL in Washington. Would get the first alert.
And then WMAL would hear the tones. And they would say, this is a test. Or this is an emergency.
If it was an emergency, they would pass it on to another station. And that station would pass it on. Now, it would take like an hour, to get all the way across the country, to the West.
So the West had already been wiped out. Okay? But it's Seattle. Who cares?
STU: That was their opinion at the time.
GLENN: It was. I remember. Because I worked in Seattle. I remember doing those tests going, if it was real, we're all dead anyway. So, hey. Everybody in Seattle. You've got about 90 seconds, to prepare.
But so -- so that's the way the test used to work. Then back in the George Bush era, they changed it. He now can push a button in the Oval Office, or wherever.
And it immediately overrides all signals. So he's on television, and every radio station, there is no other information that is coming out, except from the information from the White House.
STU: Didn't this happen in Austin Powers? Wasn't that his plan, where he could just press a button, and it would overtake all broadcast?
GLENN: Probably. Probably.
STU: Okay. I just want to make sure.
GLENN: Yeah. We're probably taking directives from Austin Powers.
STU: Dr. Evil. Actually.
GLENN: That would make the most sense, all day to you.
So apparently, lawmakers can not interfere with these. Another file from the summer of 2008, mentioned that it is Justice Department lawyers were revising an unidentified transit order, in light of recent Supreme Court opinions.
The memo doesn't specify the ruling. But the court had just issued the landmark decision on topics that relate to government actions in an emergency. One about gun rights in the United States. And another about the rights of Guantanamo detainees in court hearings.
Well, that could be any -- any one of those or all those.
Now, here's the thing: We got these through FOIA. But we didn't FOIA the government. We FOIAed the George W. Bush Library. Now, no one knows why they didn't FOIA the Obama administration's records. Other than a library, and nobody is building one yet.
Because graft? I mean, they're looking for the right play.
So we don't know what happened with the -- the PIADS. They're still enforceable, if the president would say, hey. You know, nuclear launch. What do you have?
And it's the Eisenhower one. He could still have that. We don't know what's in effect, and what's not in effect.
Many of them are classified. In fact, all of them are classified. Except for this group, that has just been released. Apparently, they had -- I'm looking for it here.
I think 9,000 pages were not released because they're still classified, and I think they released 2,000 pages. So there's another nine.
But I'm sure there's almost nothing on those other nine.
STU: Probably everything is fine.
GLENN: Yeah. Yeah.
STU: It's the best way to always assume. We've learned that lately. Just assume everything is fine.
GLENN: Isn't that frightening? It's truly frightening.
By the way, there's a couple of things hear. Only half of evangelical pastors hold a Biblical worldview.
Now, this might be a little shocking for people who go to church. A study released Tuesday builds on an other report from American World View inventory 2022, which shows that 37 percent of Christian pastors bring a Biblical worldview with them, to the pulpits.
Now, a Biblical worldview is -- do you -- does every person have a purpose and a calling is this
Do you have a purpose for being here? And can God call you to something? I'm asking you, Stu.
STU: Why are you asking me, without the echo in your voice?
GLENN: Because I don't want you to feel damned, immediately.
STU: Oh, okay.
GLENN: So do you feel the purpose in calling?
STU: Sure.
GLENN: Family and value of life. Those come from God.
STU: Yes.
GLENN: Do you believe in God?
STU: This is a tough one. After the previous two, but yes.
GLENN: Do you believe in creation? I know this is weird. Creation and history?
STU: I believe in history. I just believe in --
GLENN: I believe in creation. Do you? I mean, intelligent design. I don't know how he creates.
STU: Yeah. I don't find that question to be as riveting as some do. I don't really care how he did it, honestly. But it's on him.
GLENN: It's like, oh, we got you there. So you're saying, dinosaurs aren't real?
STU: Yeah. I don't really -- I don't know all the details to it. It wasn't there. I will say, I don't know how an i Phone works exactly. But I'm glad the texts go through.
GLENN: But I don't believe in Steve Jobs. He never existed. That just, all of a sudden appeared on a beach somewhere.
STU: Right.
GLENN: Let's see. Do you believe in sin? Salvation and relationship with God?
Do you believe in behavior and relationships, the Bible, and its truth and morals?
STU: I think.
GLENN: Yeah. I think those are all pretty easy. Only 37 percent of pastors. Believe in that.
STU: Oh.
GLENN: I mean, you might want to put that on the front sign. You know what I mean?
Like, hey, come in. Try our doughnuts. And we don't really believe what you think we believe.
STU: Well, this happened to you. Right? When you were doing your church tour. Back in the day.
GLENN: Oh, back in the day. We went to every church. Every religion. Because my wife wouldn't marry me without a common religion.
And I'm like. I love God and everything. But religion, I --
STU: This is a long time ago. This was not you, at the time though.
You were not. This church tour happened, in what? I don't remember what year it was.
GLENN: '99.
STU: Wow, it was a long time ago.
GLENN: A long time ago.
STU: You were finding your way. Mainly because your wife wouldn't marry you if -- you're forced into it.
GLENN: Right. I was forced into it. And she didn't believe in premarital sex either. And I'm like, okay. Chickaboo. I said, what is it going to take? And she said, God. Here I am. I'm practically a god, look at me. No.
STU: A Greek god.
GLENN: A Greek god. She vomited. And then I went to church. So we tried everything. I mean, we -- I really liked a Jewish synagogue we went to. Except you couldn't eat a lot of good things that I liked. And I don't speak a word of Hebrew. But it was in and out on Saturday, and it was pretty good. I since learned there was more than that.
STU: Yeah.
GLENN: But I went to this church. And it was. What do they call those churches? Congregational, right? The white churches on the greens.
Yeah. I think it's congregational churches. And they're non-denominational. And so I'm sitting there in the pew. And Tania and I were listening.
It's okay. It's church. And during it the sermon. The pastor said, now, you all know that I don't believe in God. But if there is a God, we should serve him.
And I'm like, hey, that doesn't make any sense at all. Okay?
(laughter)
GLENN: And that should be on the front door, someplace. Before you go and sit down, you should just know, our pastor does not believe in God. But if there is a God, maybe we should serve him.
(laughter)
You know, good safety tip there. So back in just a minute. I'm going to give you a reason on why I'm telling you this latest survey. It's crazy.
