I suspect that Obama is indeed a citizen, so much so that I find all of these lawsuits pretty distasteful. However, our friends at All American Blogger made this observation (emphasis theirs):
The real fun to be had with this story is not that Obama for any reason would be somehow decreed ineligible as the next President of the United States (it won’t happen) but that there apparently is no oversight at all to the election process and a candidates eligibility for that office. Wouldn’t it, and shouldn’t it, be common sense and standard practicethat some official or semi-official body like the Federal Election Commission or the respective major political parties require that all candidates for President of the United States provide proof that they meet the requirements for the office as stated in the Constitution? Is that really too much to ask?
It really is interesting that there is no formal process for validating a candidate. If Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for President would they take his word for it? Apparently there is no one with the job of verifying this information so he should be just fine right - even though we all know he isn’t a natural born citizen? Hey, on the off chance Obama wasn’t born in this country maybe the Dems will pass an amendment once Obama is already in office and then Arnold CAN run in 2012, everyone loves the Terminator.
This is what scares me about the things that have been going on in Washington for the last few months. Think about what has been happening recently, then think about the definition of socialism - An economic system in which the production and distribution of goods are controlled substantially by the government rather than by private enterprise, and in which cooperation rather than competition guides economic activity.
Yeah, I can’t wait to have a car czar. What a brilliant idea.
From what I can tell foreign auto makers, who do a substantial amount of their business in the U.S., have remained silent on this bailout for their American counterparts. The confusing part here is that I would expect the foreign auto makers to be up in arms. They certainly provide enough jobs in the U.S. that their voices will be heard just as loudly as the Failed Three. So why aren’t they complaining about the bailout and salivating at the chance to significantly reduce the competition?
Ok, Derek wrote about the exciting, if you are a libertarian or free-market republican, failure of the Big Three Bailout. Now what happens from here? Harry Reid, and congressional Democrats, are pressuring George W. into using the monies from the TARP program to extend a loan to the Big Three. Read more…
The bailout of the Big Three was shot down in the Senate. The UAW refused to lower their wages (which are currently about $69 an hour including benefits) until 2011. That was not good enough for the Republicans and a few Democrats in the Senate. They wanted to bring the wages down in line with that of the Japanese automakers in 2009. Their American workers are getting paid around $48 an hour including benefits.
Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate Majority Leader says no to a special election. Here is the transcript of his letter to Illinois Governor Blagojevich:
Dear Governor Blagojevich:
We write to insist that you step down as Governor of Illinois and under no circumstance make an appointment to fill the vacant Illinois Senate seat. In light of your arrest yesterday on alleged federal corruption charges related to that Senate seat, any appointment by you would raise serious questions.
It is within the authority of the Illinois legislature to remove your power to make this appointment by providing for a special election. But a decision by you to resign or to step aside under Article V of the Illinois Constitution would be the most expeditious way for a new Senator to be chosen and seated in a manner that would earn the confidence of the people of Illinois and all Americans. We consider it imperative that a new senator be seated as soon as possible so that Illinois is fully represented in the Senate as the important work of the 111th Congress moves forward.
Please understand that should you decide to ignore the request of the Senate Democratic Caucus and make an appointment we would be forced to exercise our Constitutional authority under Article I, Section 5, to determine whether such a person should be seated.
We do not prejudge the outcome of the criminal charges against you or question your constitutional right to contest those charges. But for the good of the Senate and our nation, we implore you refrain from making an appointment to the Senate.
Sincerely,
Harry Reid
You’re right Harry, why have a fair election where the people get to choose who represents them when we can have somebody from Blagojevich’s corrupt administration pick a democrat to keep your numbers in the Senate. That’s definitely the right thing to do.
A few weeks ago I wrote an article about the potential automaker bailout. Well, now the only real question is who will be appointed to the “car czar” position. It’s sad really, that the taxpayers are going to be on the hook for another 15 billion in bailout money. Apparently that is the amount that Congress thinks will save GM and Chrysler. Ford says they have enough cash to make it though 2009 as long as the other automakers don’t fail.
We are in a financial crisis that began because of a bursting housing bubble. Freddie Mac was a big part of this as they continued to loosen their lending standards. They also found ways to pay off Congress to keep them from being more regulated.
