Czars Will No Longer Cast a Giant Shadow

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Citizens have been asking for clarification about President Obama's huge team of "Czars" for some time. Many congressmen heard questions at town hall meetings, and had to admit, that they simply didn't know either! The flood of questions and concerns after the release of self-avowed communist Van Jones has finally caused at least 100 of our lawmakers to clear up the issue.

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Several Congressmen held a press conference today to announce proposed bills that will curb the growing number of Czars and will call for vetting and confirmation. Marsha Blackburn (TN-R) and Jack Kingston (GA-R) have both introduced bills and have garnered near 100 co-sponsors for the proposed legislation. If these appointees are writing laws and policies, it is an unconstitutional act. Article 1, Section 8 clearly gives Congress the exclusive power to legislate. If they are not writing laws and policies, then they are being paid exorbitant salaries for doing nothing, some estimated to be $175K/year. This doesn’t even account for the costs of their office space, staff, supplies, utilities, etc. It was further pointed out today that Congress really doesn’t know exactly how many appointees there are, but they know that there are legitimate officers and elected officials who already have the responsibilities given to what Michelle Malkin refers to as a “shadow government.”

Congressman Blackburn introduced HR 185, a Sense of Congress Resolution that will call for full disclosure from our “transparent” president of all Czars, their responsibilities, and their vetting status.

"Where I have concerns is when a President shifts duties away from officials who are subject to Congressional oversight to those on his personal staff who are not. These aides wield extraordinary influence and the American people have a right to know who they are, why they are qualified for their jobs, what their conflicts of interest might be, and what their job descriptions are. The President has an obligation to disclose this information."

Congressman Kingston has proposed H.R. 3226, the Czar Accountability and Reform Act, which would withhold funding from any czar until they have been confirmed by the Senate. Czars who do not go through the vetting and confirmation process will be “sun-downed” out.

”Who are these people and why are they necessary? Why do we need an Energy Czar and a Secretary of Energy? Why do we need a TARP Czar and a Secretary of Treasury? Why was a 31 year old with no background in the auto industry and who drives a foreign car appointed as the Auto Recovery Czar? What qualifies a college professor to set executive salaries? We don’t know the answers to these questions because unlike cabinet secretaries, judges, and hundreds of other presidential appointments, these czars have bypassed Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution which mandates the advice and consent of the Senate when the President appoints principle officers.”

The following is a list of those appointees who fall into the “Czar” category, some confirmed and some not:
1. TARP Czar: Herb Allison
2. Cyber Czar: Rod Beckstrom
3. Border Czar: Alan Bersin
4. Intelligence Czar: Dennis Blair
5. Terrorism Czar: John Brennan
6. Energy Czar Carol Browner
7. Urban Affairs Czar: Adolfo Carrion, Jr.
8. Weapons Czar: Ashton Carter
9. Technology Czar: Aneesh Chopra
10. AIDS Czar: Jeffrey Crowley
11. Great Lakes Czar: Cameron Davis
12. Health Czar: Nancy-Ann DeParle
13. Stimulus Accountability Czar: Earl Devaney
14. Faith-based Czar: Joshua DuBois
15. Pay Czar: Kenneth Feinberg
16. Guantanamo Closure Czar: Danny Fried
17. Sudan Czar: J. Scott Gration
18. Afghanistan Czar: Richard Holbrooke
19. Science Czar: John Holdren
20. Green Jobs Czar: Van Jones (resigned Sept. 6, 2009)
21. Bank Bailout Czar: Neel Kashkari
22. Drug Czar: Gil Kerlikowske
23. Performance Czar: Nancy Killefer
24. Information Czar: Vivek Kundra
25. Mideast Peace Czar: George Mitchell
26. Car Czar: Ed Montgomery
27. Domestic Violence Czar: Lynn Rosenthal
28. Mideast Policy (Iran) Czar: Dennis Ross
29. Weapons of Mass Destruction Czar: Gary Samore
30. Weatherization Czar: Gil Sperling
31. Climate Czar: Todd Stern
32. Regulatory Czar: Cass Sunstein
33. Economic Czar: Paul Volcker

An Open Letter to Washington

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I am not the least bit CLOUDY on any of the concerns in the following letter.

To ALL elected officials in Washington:

WE THE PEOPLE are very upset. We are voicing very strong opinions every day, and need to be heard instead of being called "un-American" or "mobs" or "astroturfers!" So, please, listen!

REDUCE THE DEFICIT! REDUCE THE DEFICIT! REDUCE THE DEFICIT! REDUCE THE DEFICIT! This should be the number one job of the federal government! It should be the ONLY job until we are debt free. DO NOT ACCEPT A SALARY UNTIL IT IS DONE!

NO BENEFITS FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS! NONE!! They can apply to work here, pay taxes, learn English, take the test and the oath, and become CITIZENS! This applies to ALL nationalities of people who are here illegally and benefiting from my tax dollar.

NO MORE STIMULUS SPENDING! Do not spend ONE MORE PENNY until something is done about the deficit or a balanced budget is passed. Do not spend money you don't have. All TARP money not spent up to this point should be put towards lowering this immoral deficit.

NO CZARS! The President is, unfortunately, free to associate with any and all of his radical, socialist and communist friends who DO believe in euthenasia, sex with animals, governmental ownership of businesses and redistribution of the wealth "for the common good." BUT NOT ON MY DIME! NO federal money should be spent on their salaries, their office space, their staffs, their power bills, their office supplies, or their existance. Outlaw the use of public funds for any position that is not ELECTED or APPROVED by the Senate.

REDUCE THE FIRST LADY'S STAFF! What arrogance and waste! How many people does it take for her to do so little? IMPOSE LIMITS on who can slop at the public trough!

NO CAP AND TRADE. Every plant, every animal, every microbe affects the climate, but NO ONE is absolutely sure that disaster is impending. Most extinctions and severe climate changes happened long before man every arrived!

NO UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE. Just fix what is wrong, don't hijack it! Pass torte reform to keep doctors in the profession. Lift mandates for unnecessary tests and procedures. Allow insurance companies to engage in interstate commerce. FIX MEDICARE and MEDICAIDE first, then come back and ask us to trust that you can run more of it!

NO VALUE ADDED TAX! How about no more tax increases, period! If government handouts and entitlements can't be funded, so be it. Most of them are pork and have generated a population of people dependent on others, capable of working for themselves, but with no incentive to do so.

REDUCE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT! How many new agencies, with office space and staff are going to be created by the new healthcare bill alone? It's been estimated that EIGHT new buildings would have to be erected! The STATE should be regulating more and more of what the federal government is arrogantly assuming.

STOP ACORN! I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated, and stopped. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. And, while you're at it, look into illegal activities of SEIU and other unions that get their way by force and intimidation.

CHANGE THE CENSUS FORM! You are allowed to know HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE IN MY HOUSE. It is not the business of the federal government to know the number of hours that I work, when I leave my house, or my phone number. We've already seen too much illegal, unethical and immoral information gathering by this White House! I proudly flagged myself because of my "fishy" blog. It is my right to think as I do and to speak as I will.

BALANCE THE BUDGET! It is simple. Millions of Americans do it. Spend no more than you take in. Print no more worthless money! DO NOT ACCEPT A SALARY UNTIL IT IS DONE!

LIVE LIKE US! Elected officials should have to live by the same standards, under the same programs, that they impose on us. If a public option for socialized medicine does pass for this country, every elected official should be forced to have it and no other supplements!

NO REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH! I work for my money. Others can work for theirs. I've worked three jobs simultaneously most of my life because I wanted to provide well for my children.

LEAVE US TO BE CHARITABLE. Churches, civic groups, and individuals have always taken care of those who cannot take care of themselves. If we aren't taxed to death, we'll continue to do so without help or interference from the federal government.

NO CORPORATE BAILOUTS! You have no business being so overtly communistic!! If a business can't make it, another will step up! Let it happen because of free enterprise, supply and demand...not COMMAND.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY! The President has harped and harped about "transparency," yet he will NOT disclose documents about his past; birth certificate, passport, school records, early employment records, etc. Mr. Obama, put up and we will shut up! We still don't know how all this TARP money has been spent, because there is NO accountability, NO transparency, NO truth from our president and democratic leaders.

SLOW DOWN! Do not EVER AGAIN try to ram legislation through Congress. If people need time to read bills and debate, so be it. Post bills on the Internet and give the public time to weigh in with their elected officials. The last time I looked, WE THE PEOPLE were the true governing voice!

UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION! What we fear the most is what is happening. When candidate Obama said he would fundamentally transform this nation, he meant it! Congress is helping him lead us away from democracy. Don't participate! Fight it! Question the constitutionalily of all that you do, or we will be questioning your ability to be our representatives in government. Save the Republic from this Socialistic takeover by radical community organizers.

I'm proud to be an American. I want future generations to be able to say that, too. Never in my 60 years have I been so ashamed of my government. Never have I seen so much spin doctoring of rhetoric to justify such unethical behavior. Never have I heard so many lies and contridictions. This is the worse administration I've ever witnessed, and the public by far agrees with me.

Thank you.

Transparency? Where?

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There are many articles and much Internet discussion about the distain for Fox News and conservative talk radio by the governing liberals. Why do the liberals cry, “foul,” and try to shut up the conservatives, when there are far more liberal television stations and news organization that will not give conservatives or Republicans the time of day?

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ABC aired one entire hour of ‘ObamaCare’ propaganda. Lauer of THE TODAY SHOW was kind and jovial with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and rude to Michelle Malkin, as he cut the noted conservative author off and didn’t even thank her for appearing! Couric was beyond rude to Governor Palin during the campaign. Yes, Palin could have answered better, but she was brand spanking new and no more qualified at that point than was some community organizer who had helped his wife make money by raping the poor with the Chicago Health Initiative and associating with lunatic, radical, socialists and communists!

These kinds of attacks and shunning only come when you have no defense for what your side is doing. And, if meant to garner points, they lost mine!

Al can make puns, Ann can get mushy, Meredith can get over-competitive, and Kathy Lee and Hoda can review all the fart-filters they want while sipping alcohol in the early hours of the morning without me.

Oh, what's that?

Conservative media has fewer outlets but higher ratings? Mainstream media is falling behind? You mean, we trust the conservative media more?

Do tell.

When the President lies, and the media lie about the lies; well, there you go!

And, do the liberals think that conservatives can't hear, can't read, and/or can't think? We've read the bills!! We KNOW what they say! We've read what the Czars have written. We've read Michelle Obama's thesis! We would love to read the presidents IF there was anything besides his two books available for us to read! He will not let us learn about his college years, his early work, his qualifications (which are truly looking as those they don’t exist now), his birth, his passports, and other documents, which, if produced, would shut up 51% of America and put him back in favor with the majority of Americans!

So much for transparency!

For me, it means I can see right through him and his administration.