Message #162262

[Harconen]

            Democrats in both the Senate (Tom Harkin) and the House (George Miller) introduce the Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow unions to avoid secret ballots when organizing workers. The legislation would make it far easier to unionize a company, which would necessarily result in higher prices when the costs of the demanded increased wages and benefits are passed on to consumers. In many cases, unionization will drive companies overseas or out of business. Although Obama has promised he would sign the bill (as payback for the massive campaign support he received from organized labor), the bill may not get enough votes to pass in the Senate. [1665]

            A survey of 49 economists gives Obama and his Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, failing grades for their handling of the economy. Obama receives a grade of 59 (out of 100). Geithner’s grade of 51 is even lower than the score of 57 given to his predecessor, Henry Paulson. [1667]

            Obama tells reporters he has no plans to send federal troops to Texas to stop violence that has spilled over the border from the Mexican drug wars, despite pleas for assistance from Texas Governor Rick Perry. Obama states, “We’ve got a very big border with Mexico. I’m not interested in militarizing the border,” leaving Perry and Texas to fend for themselves. (It is not just drugs and Mexicans that enter the United States through its southern border; the terrorist group Hizbullah uses the drug routes to smuggle personnel.) Obama offers the excuse that “The average person who’s seeking serious substance abuse treatment in a big city like Dallas or Chicago typically has a three, four, or six-month waiting list to get enrolled.” That could be construed by some as meaning Obama doesn’t want to cut off the illegal drugs of anyone who has not yet received substance abuse treatment. (It is not, as Obama suggests, a matter of choosing between treatment for addicts or closing the border; both should be possible.) Obama also makes the argument, “If we can reduce demand, obviously that allows us to focus more effectively where interdiction is needed,” but cutting off the supply of drugs at the border renders the demand side of the equation meaningless. (The police departments of Phoenix and Tucson have reported the kidnappings of more than 400 Americans by Mexicans, but Obama is not interested in militarizing the border.) [1670, 2016, 2063]

            In a 65–28 vote the Senate confirms pornography lawyer David Ogden as Deputy Attorney General. Ogden’s opponents include Richard Shelby (R-AL), who states that Ogden “…is more than just a lawyer who has had a few unsavory clients. He has devoted a substantial part of his career, case after case, for 20 years, in defense of pornography.” Former Justice Department official and pornography prosecutor Pat Trueman says Ogden “…was picked for a reason, and that’s because of his radical agenda. I don’t think President Obama picked him because he’s going to help pornographers. I think he picked him because he’s a radical attorney who’s going to radicalize the Justice Department.” [1675, 1701]

            On March 12, Dr. Orly Taitz files a motion to the Supreme Court to reconsider her case, Lightfoot v. Bowen, which challenges Obama’s eligibility to serve as president of the United States. Arguments made by Dr. Taitz include the fact that the case was not forwarded from conference to oral argument and at least one Justice (Antonin Scalia) had never even heard of the case or similar Obama eligibility cases. (Taitz implies that court clerks improperly pulled cases or misrepresented them before the Justices.) Taitz’ argument for reconsideration also includes the charge that Clerk of the Court Danny Bickel intentionally mishandled the case, and that the case was erased from the docket two days before the Court was scheduled to meet on the issue. Taitz further argues that her case was prejudiced by a private meeting Obama had with eight of the nine Justices prior to its scheduled review. [1682]

            The FBI raids the technology office of the city of Washington, D.C., and its acting chief security officer, Yusuf Acar, is held without bond as a flight risk after $70,000 in cash was found in his home. A former employee, Sushil Bansal, was released but ordered not to travel. Acar (who is a native of Turkey) and Bansal (who is from India) allegedly defrauded the government by billing the city for computer items that were never delivered and for hiring “ghost employees.” Their former boss, Vivek Kundra, was chosen by Obama to be his coordinator of federal computer systems. Kundra is now on leave from his White House job. Obama’s press secretary states the case is a “serious matter.” Kundra, whose job involves changing the way the government buys technology from vendors, is reportedly not a target of the investigation. In a speech given on March 12 Kundra said, “Imagine the vast depository of information the federal government has and what people could do if they had access to it—how it could change the engagement model and help create a more perfect union.” [1685, 1699]

            South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford rejects $700 million of Obama’s stimulus bill money because the strings attached to the funds would end up harming his state financially. State legislators are expected to overrule Sanford’s objections and accept the cash, along with its accompanying burdensome and expensive restrictions. The stimulus bill included specific language, inserted by Democrat Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina, to allow state legislatures to overrule their governors as a way of forcing the rules and restrictions. (That language likely violates the Constitution’s Tenth Amendment.) Sanford points out the obvious that millions refuse to see, “What you’re doing is buying into the notion that if we just print some more money that we don’t have and send it to different states, we’ll create jobs. If that’s the case, why isn’t Zimbabwe a rich place?” (The nation of Zimbabwe has been continuously printing money in an effort to improve its economy, with predictably disastrous inflationary results. Prices have gone so high that the country even has $100 trillion currency denominations. Citizens are billionaires, but a trip to the market can cost hundreds of millions in Zimbabwe currency. At one point the country’s annual inflation rate was an astounding 230 million per cent.) [1686, 1815, 1847]

            In New York’s 20th Congressional District, vacated by Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand when she was appointed to Hillary Clinton’s vacant Senate seat, Republican candidate Jim Tedisco leads his challenger by 14 points. The election, which many might consider a referendum on Obama’s policies, is March 31. New Jersey chooses a new Governor in November of 2009, and in the polls incumbent Jon Corzine trails potential challengers Christopher Christie (49 to 34 per cent) and Steve Lonegan (43 to 35 per cent). [1687, 1692]

            Although the $410 billion spending bill includes a provision to end a temporary experimental practice of allowing Mexican trucks to cross the border into the United States for deliveries (within a 20 mile corridor), the Obama administration is working to restore the policy. Mexico insists that the United States must allow the practice in order to comply with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), but opponents argue that inspections have shown hundreds of safety violations by long-haul rigs allowed on U.S. roads. (A survey commissioned by the Arizona Republic newspaper found that the Mexican trucks operating in the United States had a better safety record than U.S.-owned trucks.) Critics, like Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR), who previously charged that President Bush was “Hell-bent on opening our borders” without requiring that “Mexican drivers and trucks meet the same safety standards as U.S. drivers and trucks,” will now be fighting Obama for the same reasons. [1688, 1874]