Cincinnati Change Response to Changing the Gulf

Cincinnati Change Response (MA7) to Hurricane Katrina & Rita

As President Bush stated, on Thursday September 15th 2005 in New Orleans, "In the aftermath [of Hurricane Katrina and now Rita], we have seen fellow citizens left stunned and uprooted, searching for loved ones, and grieving for the dead and looking for meaning in a tragedy that seems so blind and random.

We have also witnessed the kind of desperation no citizen of this great and generous nation should ever have to know - fellow Americans calling out for food and water, vulnerable people left at the mercy of criminals who had no mercy, and the bodies of the dead lying uncovered and untended in the street."

THIS COULD BE US UNLESS WE PLAN FOR CHANGE IN CINCINNATI NOW

What we plan -

1. Online Blogg - MA http://gulfchange.blogspot.com/.

2. Online meeting (September 17th 2005) MA Will record next on October 3,4,and 5th.

3. Evaluation of Current Emergency Plan for the people of Hamilton County - have asked 4 star US Army General and two star US Army General to join our current commanding general a 1 star . We have started to plan the mission.

MISSION AUTHORITY

On June 19th 2005 Cincinnati Change received its charter from the State of Ohio and stands ready to change Cincinnati NOW as an example of Global Change, business process owned by Lloyd Daniels Development Group that meets national emergencies.

Federal Emergency Declaration

A federal emergency declaration allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to exercise its power to deal with emergency situations; federal assistance also become available to areas that are declared to be in a state of emergency. For FEMA, emergency declarations are different from the more common disaster declarations done for hurricanes and floods.

In the United States, the chief executive is typically empowered to declare a State of Emergency. Typically, a state of emergency empowers the executive to name coordinating officials to deal with the emergency and to override normal administrative processes regarding the passage of administrative rules. Currently this rests in the hands of Vice President of the United States.

White House Statement on Extension of Federal Assistance for Texas from Hurricane Rita

The President of the United States on September 27, 2005 amended the major disaster declaration issued on September 24, 2005, for Hurricane Rita for the State of Texas. Under the President's order today, the time period for 100 percent Federal funding for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, is extended for a total of 34 days, through and including October 27, 2005.

The President of the United States, a governor of a state, or even a local mayor may declare a State of Emergency within his or her jurisdiction. This is relatively rare at the federal level, but quite common at the state level in response to natural disasters.

The courts in the United States are often very lenient in allowing almost any action to be taken in the case of such a declared emergency, if it is reasonably related. For example, habeas corpus is the right to challenge an arrest in court. The U.S. Constitution says, "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."

Habeas corpus was suspended on April 27, 1861 during the American Civil War by Abraham Lincoln in parts of midwestern states, including southern Indiana. He did so in response to demands by generals to set up military courts to rein in "copperheads", or those in the Union who supported the Confederate cause. Lambdin Milligan and four others were accused of planning to steal Union weapons and invade Union prisoner-of-war camps and were sentenced to hang by a military court in 1864.

However, their execution was not set until May 1865, so they were able to argue the case after the Civil War. It was decided in the Supreme Court case Ex Parte Milligan 71 US 2 1866 that the suspension was unconstitutional because civilian courts were still operating, and the Constitution (according to the Court) only provided for suspension of habeas corpus if these courts are actually forced closed.

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act allows presidents to declare national emergencies for the purpose of freezing assets in which a foreign party has an interest, but these national emergencies are not states of emergency. President Franklin Roosevelt declared such an emergency with respect to gold in 1933, which apparently remained in force until 1978.

The Supreme Court ruling in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer established that presidents may not act arbitrarily during an emergency.

On Saturday (27 August), Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D) did indeed request that President Bush "declare an emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina." The White House responded to Governor Blanco's request that same day (Saturday) by declaring the emergency and authorizing FEMA "to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency."

Executive Board of Cincinnati Change Board of Directors will meet on October 8th to decide our course of action based on the below estimated requirements for assistance under the Stafford Act which we and our contractors can supply to support 40,000 people in greater Port Arthur and New Orleans:

Coordination
Technical and advisory assistance
Debris removal
Emergency protective measures
Individuals and Households Program (IHP)
Distribution of emergency supplies
Other (specify) SBA