The Great Debate Missouri governor’s pre-emptive state of emergency is an alarming mistake
I know, water is wet.
It's still a good read.
As America awaits a St. Louis grand jurys decision on whether to indict a Ferguson police officer in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, Governor Jay Nixons decision to declare a preemptive state of emergency in anticipation of the announcement has heightened the anxiety.
Under Missouri law, the governor can lawfully invoke a state of emergency on the actual occurrence of a natural or man-made disaster of major proportions in the state, when the safety and welfare of inhabitants are jeopardized.
There is no actual disaster in Missouri. Just the governors unfortunate presumption about what could unfold over the next week. In fact,
Nixons emergency order rests on two presumptions: first, that the grand jury will not indict officer Darren Wilson, who is white; second, that the majority black Ferguson community, which has largely been engaged in lawful, constitutional protests since the shooting in August, will react violently and illegally.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/11/24/missouris-governor-pre-emptive-state-of-emergency-is-an-alarming-mistake/