"Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government; ... whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights." (Thomas Jefferson to Richard Price, 1789.)

Americans are bombarded daily with local, national and international news reports via newspapers, radio, television and even smartphone alerts.

The National Security Agency's mining of metadata from citizens' telephones, Russia's invasion of the Ukraine, the horrendous U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs scandal, during which several of this nation's heroes died while awaiting appointments at clinics, the Guantanamo Bay prisoner swap for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, held captive five years by the Taliban – all of these stories are competing for the attention of the American public.

I like to think I am fairly well-informed on current events, not only locally in the community but also on the national level.

From the emails I receive, to reading newspapers and listening to and watching various news broadcasts, I try to be aware of what is happening down the block and across the globe.

I fear, however, many Americans, including myself, are becoming overwhelmed and desensitized by the constant refrain of murder, mayhem, scandal and chicanery.

Last week, disembodied voices were coming from the television playing in the background as I sat at my computer reading stories for the Parkland Press.

The words "martial law" caught my attention.

They were spoken by Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate, who was discussing a May 28 story written by Washington Times national security columnist Bill Gertz.

Gertz's "Inside the Ring" article discusses a 2010 Pentagon directive detailing presidential authority to use this nation's military against its own citizens in cases of civil unrest when local and state authorities cannot handle the situation.

Directive No. 3025.18, "Defense Support of Civil Authorities," issued Dec. 29, 2010, appears to be in conflict with the Posse Comitatus Act, enacted in 1878.

This act prohibits the federal government from using federal military troops to enforce state laws.

Posse Comitatus states: "Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."

I repeat, "expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress," not the president.

However, according to the directive, "Federal military forces shall not be used to quell civil disturbances unless specifically authorized by the president in accordance with applicable law or permitted under emergency authority."

Again, I repeat, the directive states "the president" not Congress.

There have been times when Congress has approved the use of the military to provide civilian assistance without becoming directly in- volved in civilian law enforcement.

The U.S. military was used to end rioting in Chicago in 1919; against the Bonus Marchers in Washington, D.C. in 1932; and under President Harry S. Truman when a railroad workers' strike was ended by nationalizing the railroads and placing them temporarily under the Army Corps of Engineers.

Also, The Stafford Act allows federal troops to be deployed during a natural disaster at the request of a governor, as President George W. Bush requested of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Under The Stafford Act, a president may declare a major disaster and send in forces for up to 10 days to preserve life and property.

In addition, with the rise of terrorism threatening American citizens' safety, several laws have been enacted granting exceptions to the Posse Comitatus Act.

This covered the deployment of troops to the 1996 Olympic sites in Atlanta, Ga., following the bombings there, and a provision if nuclear material is involved in an emergency, the secretary of defense may provide assistance to the department of justice.

According to Gertz, "The troubling aspect of the directive outlines presidential authority for the use of military arms and forces, including unarmed drones, in operations against domestic unrest."

Gertz also quoted a defense official opposed to the directive.

"This appears to be the latest step in the administration's decision to use force within the United States against its citizens."

The Pentagon directive includes two conditions for use of the military in a domestic situation: "to prevent significant loss of life or wanton destruction of property when necessary to restore governmental function and public order" and if civilian authorities "are unable or decline to provide adequate protection for federal property or federal government functions."

According to Gertz, "Defense analysts say there has been a buildup of military units within non-security-related federal agencies, notably the creation of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams.

"The buildup has raised questions about whether the Obama administration is undermining civil liberties under the guise of counterterrorism and counternarcotics efforts," Gertz wrote.

Have we all forgotten what Founding Father Benjamin Franklin said in 1755? "They who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Gertz states agencies with SWAT teams reportedly include the Department of Agriculture, the Railroad Retirement Board, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Office of Personnel Management, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Education.

Would someone please tell me why the Railroad Retirement Board and the Department of Education need SWAT teams?

Is an 80-year-old retired train conductor planning another railroad strike? Is an elementary teacher in this nation's heartland refusing to give some student a passing grade?

Magicians use the art of distraction to misdirect the audience away from what he is really doing to accomplish his trick.

The divided attention of Americans caused by too many "breaking news" stories and by our daily struggles just to get by is distracting all of us from what is really happening.

Americans need to start paying attention to the man behind the curtain before all our freedoms are lost.

Deb Palmieri

editor

Parkland Press

Northwestern Press