Neider's Notes

My Reaction: The Czar Administration

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

The two lines above were two of the charges the United States of America listed in their declaration freeing them from the rule of monarchy.  This document was of course, the Declaration of Independence.

With Obama’s announcement of Kenneth Feinberg as his “Pay Czar,” the total count of “Czars” has grown to somewhere from 16 to 20+ in the administration. These individuals are not just “advisors” as one Washington expert had yesterday, but rather have budgets and regulatory authority.  They are actually making and enforcing laws in this nation.

When the United States ratified the Constitution, we set up a system of checks and balances that assured that no one branch of our government would become too powerful, a way to protect the citizens from the government, and to prevent the tyranny which ruled over the states when they were colonies.  The founding fathers knew that government had the ability to grow into an oppressive burden on its people, and set up a system so that each branch could keep the other two in check.  This would keep the legislative branch making the laws, the executive enforcing them, and the legislative ruling on behalf of the law. The three would do their job and have the ability to limit the power of the other two.

A cornerstone of this system was that the President would have a Cabinet, who were the heads of Offices of the United States, with regulatory power to enforce the law, and that the members of his Cabinet would be confirmed under Advice and Consent of the Senate. When George Washington took office, he had four members, Secretaries of State, War, Treasury, and the Attorney General.  As our nation and it’s issues grew in scope and complexity, so has the cabinet to the United States.  The current cabinet is comprised of 15 members.  Again, these appointments are looked at by elected representatives of the United States (the Senate) before they take office, and can be called in by those elected representatives for hearings. It is the check on the President’s advisors who hold regulatory ability.

However, these “Czars” are elected by no one; they are confirmed by no one, and answer to no one:  except for the President.  In effect he has created a silo of power in our federal government.  Now this would not be an issue if they truly were just “advisors” to the President.  For example, if the President just liked having them in the Roosevelt Room for when he needed advice, fine. No.  These czars are given the ability to write and enforce law.  Take our new Pay Czar. He is allowed to legislate (decide what the limit for executive is) and then enforce it (penalize companies who exceed this).  This destroys the limits of power and checks and balances.

If the issues of this country have exceeded the capacity of the Cabinet, fine.  However, give an overhaul to make up of the Cabinet, rather than just ignore the system the Constitution has put into place.  Especially, when there are Health Care and Car Czars, when we already have Health and Human Services and Commerce Secretaries, two positions with nearly identical scopes.

The President’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel said, “Rule One: Never let a crisis go to waste.  They are opportunities to do big things.”  Well let’s not use the crisis facing this nation to do an end-around our founding documents. Do not use it to create “New Offices” that “harass our people.” Do not use this time to “abolish our most valuable Law” in the Constitution thus, “altering fundamentally the Forms of Government.” Rather let this time be a chance to champion the laws and ideals we were founded upon, and overhaul the Cabinet for the 21st Century.  This nation became great because of those laws and ideals; we need to stay committed to them if we wish to remain so.

Reflection: IU Commencement Ceremony

I would like to begin this reflection with a back story so that my full frustration is understood.

Back during the Fall Semester, the Kelley School of Business appointed retired 4-Star General, Peter Pace, to it’s Poling Chair Position. Basically the position, funded by private donations, is a two year appointment for an individual who is highly qualified to speak on subjects such as leadership.

Now for those of you who are unfamiliar with Gen. Pace, there is no better candidate for such a role. He was the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (nation’s top general) from 2005 until 2007. He also holds two awards for valor. Clearly he is a man who can speak to Business students about leadership and ethics.

However, because General Pace, in defending the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy, made some personal remarks that he apologized a few days later for. Yet, when General Pace came to speak in Bloomington and April last fall, the protestors in the Bloomington were out in force.

The FACULTY of Indiana University on February 17th on a day which I said was the “first time in my life I regret my choice of Bloomington as a school,” passed a resolution of regret over the selection of General Pace to the slot. One of the IU law professors (Alex Tranford) stated that as a result of the symbolic act of selecting General Pace, “we need a similar symbolic act.”

Well they got it on Saturday. The speaker of the ceremony was recently retired Australian High Court Justice Michael Kirby who the Indy Star calls “one of the most famous gay men in Australia.” Now, let me make it clear that my issue isn’t on the selection, but rather the speech in which was given. There is no question that our world, us as “global citizens,” is facing a lot right now. This is especially true for a arena full of 4,000 new graduates entering the workforce looking for jobs during the worst economic conditions since the Depression. I would imagine, that if I were ever given the opportunity to speak to these new entrants into the world labor market, that I would give them advice how to overcome these trying times. Speak to them about how proud they have made their family and friends, and talk about how education doesn’t stop when the exams do.

No. Instead the new graduates were lectured to about how gay’s rights are the most pressing matter in the world. That was the sole message.  The whole thing.  Gay’s Rights and how they must be the number one issue of all of us in the world. Right now. That this issue should be the focal point of the graduates past four (or five) years of work.

While recent polls have shown that companies are hiring +20% fewer college graduates, for lower salaries, his message was that gay’s rights is the most pressing matter in the world to these 23 year olds scrambling for rent money. For added good measure, at a jab toward the U.S. Military he stated that time has passed for Americans to stop “hiding behind the thought of not asking of not telling.” Awesome. Use the policy of an army at war of a country you don’t belong to as a punch line. (I don’t have to explain the reaction from the Bloomington crowed to that one.)

The speaker was completely off subject and completely out of line. What I’m pretty sure is what happened is that as a result of the equality obsessed hounds down here, IU was forced to choose a speaker that is as “controversial” in their eyes as Pace. Well like Pace did in his two visits to IU over the year, Kirby should have stuck to the SUBJECT MATTER at hand, not used it as a soap box for his personal beliefs. However, I would not have been surprised if he was told to touch on gay’s rights in his speech given this communities track record.  I’ll look for a transcript to post.

The end result was out of touch message that didn’t hit home with the graduates, and a response to the speech at the end that most of the crowed was elated and standing, some were sitting, arms folded, and a few stood to “boo.” The majority was much louder and visible. It made the day awkward for many, ruined for some, and defined it for a few. This is a perfect example how many times, some people’s obsession with diversity actually make visible the lines that separate their groups, thus destroying what they are supposed to be champions of: Bringing us all together, not driving people away.

Fixed Comments

I believe I just got the coding right so that way comments can be left on the blog. Going to post my piece about the IU commencement ceremony tomorrow. I would have traded ND for Obama in a second!

Also will be looking for the audio of Rush’s response to the White House Correspondence Dinner after his opening on the radio tomorrow.

Reflection: The Note I Wrote After The Election

I wrote this in the early afternoon of November 5. I am a little busy right now putting in time with the Girlfriend before she graduates, so I haven’t had time to commit to this blog like I will in the future. I do want to start putting content on here, so I figure I’ll start with some old stuff.

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I know many texted and called me last night wanting to know what I thought about the results of last night. I guess this is my response to it all. Last night I was just exhausted and in shock, and just was at a lost for words.

I first would like to say thanks to my cousin Mike, for allowing me to share some special experiences during the campaign. Mitch’s large margin of win, had a lot to do with your work, and the whole crew out of the “Dixie” house.

I am still absolutely shocked at how lopsided the Electoral College results were. While I remained confident, I knew McCain had a very narrow path to victory last night. His margin for error was absolutely zero. However, I could not comprehend him losing every toss-up state like he did.

John McCain embodies everything I have thought that a true American was. With my family’s proud service in our Armed Forces, growing up I thought that giving ones service to the nation was the noblest thing a man could do. Not only did McCain have proud career in the Navy, the way he handled his time as a POW showed true character. There’s no way I could have remained silent during all of that. Then after a career in the Navy, that anyone should be allowed to retire in peace afterwards, McCain stepped up to his Nations’ call once again by starting his career as one of Regan’s foot soldiers, and then climbing to one of the most respected men in Washington. On top of that he is a loving father and a remarkable husband to Cindy. I hope a can amount to a tenth of that by the time I call my professional life quits… a true American.

Obama ran his campaign on the basis that he would be a president of the center. I surely hope so. I fear however, that with a huge Dem. majority in the Congress, Obama will return to his roots. The fact is, what do we really know about Obama? He has a short list of time in office, and an even shorter list of votes he actually took a stance on. Fact is that in those few votes he actually put his name to, he was the most liberal Senator America has seen in a long, long time.

While I want to believe, and “hope”, that Obama will rise above his past and truly be “my President” as he promised last night; I can’t help but think that as this race began to widen at the end, we began to see the real Obama come out, not the candidate. Suddenly clips of him talking about redistributing my earning, bankrupting the critical coal industry, and weakening the military began to surface. Is this what we really voted for?

His comment about building a civilian security force to strengthen our nation’s defenses scares me. I believe this shows a disrespect for the men and women who wear the uniform. All members of our United States Army (Active Duty, National Guard, and Army Reserves) take an oath to “protect and serve our Constitution against all enemies both foreign and DOMESTIC…” This is already a role our Army plays, especially our National Guard and Army Reserves. My father is in the Reserves, and I have many close friends in the National Guard. They are by definition CITIZEN SOLDIERS.

I believe this one comment shows a misunderstanding of the nature, professionalism, and the capabilities of our Armed Forces. In the one vote that showed an understanding of fighting an asymmetrical counterinsurgency, Obama ignored the top Generals and voted against a strategy that turned that country around. He also has countless gaffs about Afghanistan, the troop’s status there, and how many more soldiers need to be sent to that theater of operations.

As far as McCain’s election goes, I believe that if the economic crisis had occurred two months later or before it did, this race could have been a lot closer. He was a victim not of his strategy, his VP pick, or his gaffes, but rather just a perfect storm during period in history that no Republican candidate should have been within seven points of the Democratic candidate.

Again, I am not looking for Obama to fail. I hope he remains in the center on which he campaigned on. I hope he reaches across the aisle. I hope he fully understands our military. I am just worried that we put all our chips down on one horse. A horse that we no nothing of his past, his intentions, or his policy. A horse who has no system of checks to keep his agenda from being reviewed by the other side.

I am just worried about our future. I pray he proves me wrong. More than anything, I want him to.