Tag Archives: Election/Politicians

Senior Democrat Says Obama’s Czars Unconstitutional

“Senator Byrd wrote a letter to President Obama in February, criticizing the president’s strategy of creating czars to manage important areas of national policy. Senator Byrd said that these appointments violate both the constitutional system of checks and balances and the constitutional separation of powers, and is a clear attempt to evade congressional oversight. (Didn’t this White House promise unprecedented transparency?)

And Senator Byrd is exactly correct. The Constitution commands that government officers with significant authority (called ‘principal officers’) are nominated by the president but then are subject to a confirmation vote by the U.S. Senate. And principal officers include not only cabinet-level department heads, but go five levels deep in executive appointments, to include assistant secretaries and deputy undersecretaries.” (Read more from townhall.com)

List of Obama’s Czars

A partial list:

1. Technology Czar: Aneesh Chopra

2. Drug Czar: Gil Kerlikowske
“Obama’s drug czar: Marijuana ‘has no medical benefit'” (Read more from prisonplanet.com)

3. Copyright Czar: Not appointed yet

4. Energy Czar: Carol M. Browner
“Obama’s Energy Czar: Socialist Agent For World Government” (Read more from infowars.com)

5. Car Czar: Ed Montgomery

6. Terrorism/WMD Czar: Gary Samore

7. Health Care Czar: Nancy-Ann DeParle

8. Education Czar: Not appointed yet

9. Economic Czar: Paul Volcker

10. Mortgage Czar: Not appointed yet

11. Urban Affairs/Housing Czar: Adolfo Carrion

12. Guantanomo closure Czar: Danny Fried

13. Great lakes Czar: Cameron Davis

14. Stimulus accountability Czar: Earl Devaney
Ha! Public Relations, psychological operations, and media control will come long before we see any Accountability.

15. Cyberspace Czar: Not appointed yet
“The cybersecurity chief will report to both the National Security Council and the National Economic Council, a compromise resulting from a fierce White House turf battle over the responsibilities and powers of the new office.” (Read more from online.wsj.com)

16. Border Czar: Alan Bersin (Former US attorney)

17. Intelligence Czar: Admiral Dennis Blair

18. Regulatory Czar: Cass Sunstein

19. Pay Czar: Kenneth “Kiss my ass if you want your paycheck” Feinberg
“Czar Kenneth Feinberg has the authority to set the pay scale for executives at any company receiving government money (and how many aren’t, these days?). Czar Feinberg has the power to say that someone’s pay is excessive, and to make companies cut that pay until the czar is pleased. Congress did not give Czar Feinberg this authority. For that matter, Congress has not authorized any of the czars that President Barack Obama has created.” (Read more from townhall.com)

20. Iran Czar: Not appointed yet

21. Tarp Czar: Herb Allison

22. Middle-East peace Czar: George Mitchell

23. Science Czar: John Holdren
“In a book Holdren co-authored in 1977, the man now firmly in control of science policy in this country wrote that:
• Women could be forced to abort their pregnancies, whether they wanted to or not;
• The population at large could be sterilized by infertility drugs intentionally put into the nation’s drinking water or in food;
• Single mothers and teen mothers should have their babies seized from them against their will and given away to other couples to raise;
• People who ‘contribute to social deterioration’ (i.e. undesirables) ‘can be required by law to exercise reproductive responsibility’ — in other words, be compelled to have abortions or be sterilized.
• A transnational ‘Planetary Regime’ should assume control of the global economy and also dictate the most intimate details of Americans’ lives — using an armed international police force.” (Read more from zombietime.com)

24. Green jobs Czar: Van Jones
“Jones was himself arrested and detained briefly during a protest after the Rodney King verdict that same year. Jones told the East Bay Express in 2005: ‘I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th [1992], and then the verdicts came down on April 29th. By August, I was a communist. . . . I met all these young radical people of color – I mean really radical: communists and anarchists. And it was, like, “This is what I need to be a part of.” I spent the next ten years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary.'” (Read more from examiner.com)

25. Afghanistan Czar: Richard Holbrooke
“The Curious Case of Richard Holbrooke – Obama’s Neocon” (Read more from counterpunch.org)

26. Sudan Czar: J. Scott Gration

27. Mideast policy Czar: Dennis “Mr. AIPAC” Ross
“Outside of the hard-line neocons such as Douglas Feith, Norman Podhoretz, Richard Perle, etc., it would be hard to come up with someone who would be less of an honest broker in the Middle East. . . . His post-Clinton record includes supporting the pro-Iraq War campaigns of the neocon Project for the New American Century and serving as a senior fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), a significant pro-Israel think tank in Washington. . . . Ross has taken a very hostile position toward Iran Ross helped to produce the 2008 report “Meeting the Challenge: U.S. Policy Toward Iranian Nuclear Development,” The report argues that despite Iran’s assurances to the contrary, its nuclear program aims to develop nuclear weapons and is thus a threat to the U.S. This conclusion is contrary to the CIA’s November 2007 National Intelligence Estimate, which found that Iran had put its efforts to develop nuclear warheads on hold. . . .The report actually calls for the new US president to expand American military forces in the Middle East! Commentator Jim Lobe quite accurately refers to the report as a ‘roadmap to war.'” (Read more from rense.com)

28. Information Czar: Vivek Kundra

29. AIDS Czar: Jeffrey Crowley

30. Faith-based Czar: Joshua Dubois

31. Climate Czar: Todd Stern

32. Food Safety Czar: Michael “Monsanto” Taylor
“If GMOs are indeed responsible for massive sickness and death, then the individual who oversaw the FDA policy that facilitated their introduction holds a uniquely infamous role in human history. That person is Michael Taylor. He had been Monsanto’s attorney before becoming policy chief at the FDA. Soon after, he became Monsanto’s vice president and chief lobbyist.” (Read more from huffingtonpost.com)

High Infidelity

(Yes, I’m still bitter about Mark Sanford’s fall from grace)

Favorite Line (3:05): If continuing his affair with Monica Lewinski would have caused Clinton to change his position on any of these issues, I would have rented the hotel room, ordered the champagne, and told Hillary he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Senator Schiff?

From LewRockwell.com:

Peter Schiff has set up an exploratory committee for a run against Sen. Chris “the Crook” Dodd. Writes Peter:

As you know, I have been seriously considering running for U.S. Senate against Chris Dodd.

Everywhere you turn there is evidence of just how bad our economy is getting. Growing unemployment, families that are struggling to put food on the table, and retirees that are having to make the choice between doing without or joining the millions of others that are looking for a job. Unfortunately, many of our economic woes have been created by government intervention and politicians who believe themselves to be economic “experts.”

I believe that my experience and qualifications would make me well-suited to serve Connecticut, especially during a time when Washington needs fewer career politicians and more people with real-world financial experience that can be a voice of reason and help prevent the continued intrusion of government into our lives, jobs, and pocketbooks.

See the handsome Schiff site here, and thanks to Michael Woods.

I’m a big fan of Peter Schiff.

Obama’s signing statement hypocrisy

“President Obama signed the $106 billion war-spending bill into law Friday, but not without taking a page from his predecessor and ignoring a few elements in the legislation.

Obama included a five-paragraph signing statement with the bill, including a final paragraph that outlined his objections to at least four areas of the bill.

President George W. Bush was heavily criticized for his use of signing statements, declaring he’d ignore some elements of legislation by invoking presidential prerogative.

The Obama administration announced in the statement it would disregard provisions of the legislation.” (Read more from the hill.com)

More change we can believe in?

We are no longer a republic. We are an elected dictatorship.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi Pressures Antiwar Democrats to Approve $106 Billion War Funding Bill

“Congress is expected to vote today on a $106 billion supplemental war funding bill. The White House and Democratic leadership have been trying to muscle through the bill, which would support escalating the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In May, fifty-one antiwar Democrats opposed an earlier version of the bill. Now House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been trying to pressure some of those Democrats to switch their votes in order to get the necessary votes to pass the bill.” (Read more from democracynow.org)

See Also:

Rand Paul Ready to Enter GOP Primary for Senate Seat

“FRANKFORT, Ky. — Republican Rand Paul, son of former presidential candidate Ron Paul, said Friday he is poised to enter the race for U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning’s seat if the 77-year-old sports icon decides to retire.

‘I’ve been traveling the state and giving speeches as if there is going to be a race,’ he told The Associated Press. ‘Every bone in my body says there is going to be a race.'” (Read more from dailypaul.com)