Representative Michael Burgess (R-TX) made an interesting comment during discussion on the $700 Billion bailout bill on the floor of the House that has freaked out many. Representative Burgess stated that they were under martial law as declared by the speaker. This statement appears to have been taken out of context and people are now spreading fear making people believe that we�ll shortly be seeing black helicopters flying around cities and armed troops in the streets. While there is little question that the criminals in the U.S. government are attempting to build a militarized police state capable of enforcing martial law through Northern Command and the Department of Homeland Security, this statement by Representative Burgess appears to be referring to a procedure that forces members to vote on key bills without full knowledge of what they are voting on. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities actually did a write up explaining what the House �martial law� procedure meant when a similar event happened back in 2006. While invoking the procedure is certainly not the best way to conduct the people's business, the enactment of this procedure does not mean we�ll see troops and tanks in the streets.

Here is part of Representative Burgess's statement according to Oped News. The video of his statement is also embedded below.

�I have been thrown out of more meetings in this capital in the last 24 hours than I ever thought possible, as a duly elected representative of 825,000 citizens of north Texas.�

Burgess asks the Speaker of the House to post the bailout bill on the internet for at least 24 hours instead of passing the largest piece of legislation in US financial history in the �dark of night.�

Rep. Burgess� says, �Mr. Speaker I understand we are under martial law as declared by the speaker last night.�

Here is what the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities had to say about the House martial law procedure describing an event that took place in 2006.

Under the martial law procedure, longstanding House rules that require at least one day between the unveiling of significant legislation and the House floor vote on that legislation � so that Members can learn what they are being asked to vote on � are swept away. Instead, under �martial law,� the Leadership can file legislation with tens or hundreds of pages of fine print and move immediately to debate and votes on it, before Members of Congress, the media, or the public have an opportunity to understand fully what provisions have been altered or inserted into the legislation behind closed doors. This is the procedure that the Leadership intends to use to muscle through important bills in the next two days.

This procedure diminishes democracy. When major legislation is being considered that would add hundreds of billions of dollars to the debt or affect millions of Americans in other ways, Members of Congress should have an opportunity to study the legislation for more than a couple of hours and to know what they are voting on.

In addition, the Speaker of the House does not have the authority to declare martial law as the position is not part of the executive branch. Even if Nancy Pelosi were referring to the variety of martial law where military would be in the streets, it wouldn�t mean anything.

It is true that the elites are attempting to setup a militarized police state, but these martial law comments made by the Congressman really seem to have been taken out of context considering that the term martial law is used to describe a procedure on the House floor. Yes, there always is a possibility that we might see martial law in the future, but this looks to be a case of people spreading fear in an irrational manner.