Obama is the inside man shuffling the peas.

Let me explain.  After you think about it,  I am confident you will agree.  First, let’s summarize what a shell game is.  A lot of people may believe that a shell game is gambling but in fact it is not.  It is a confidence game which perpetuates fraud.  I think you will clearly see that this is again exactly what Obama is doing to the American public; using a confidence game to perpetuate a lie, if not another fraud on the public.  A shell game is called a short-con because it is quick and easy to pull off.  A shell game is where a small round object (normally called a “pea”) is place under one of three shells, or the like.  The play is initiated by the inside man shuffling the pea from under one shell to the next.  At the end of the shuffle, the mark is asked to make his bet.  The mark is told that if he guesses correctly, he will double back the amount of his bet.  If the mark is wrong, he looses his bet.  In the hands of a skilled inside man, it is impossible to win because the game is based upon the slight of hand.  The operator can make the pea appear under anyone of the three shells and does so after the mark places his bet and points to one of the shells.  Typically, for the con to work, a dumb-mark has to be attracted to the game.  The operator will provide a setting of which it appears that several people are “gambling”—some are winning, some are loosing.  Most if not all of these players are part of the con and called “shills.”  Their job is to assist in the con.  Get the picture.  Obama has several shills working the game for him.

In the context of Obama politics, much presented by the preening operator is a shell game and most particularly, the President’s Afghanistan play.  Let me try and lay it out.  It is difficult because of the slight of hand in Obama’s rhetoric.  Going back to July of 2008, Candidate Obama appeared on CBS Face the Nation.  There he referred to the situation in Afghanistan as “precarious and urgent.”  While on that CBS program Obama also said that he had been advocating for more than a year an increase in troop levels in Afghanistan of at least two, maybe three brigades (15,000 troops).  The shuffle is on. . . Obama also was quoted as saying, “he has made Afghanistan a key focus of his foreign policy, and that he he would make it the central front in the “war on terror” if elected. Keep you eye on the pea.

After the election, in November, 2008 Obama spoke with at least 15 world leaders in the first three days of being elected, however, it was two weeks following before Obama spoke with the President of Afghanistan Karzai.1  The pea is moving around.  Of course during the conversation with Kazari, Obama promised more “assistance” to Afghanistan.  After all, the situtation in Afghanistan has been precarious and urgent for more than a year.  Several times Obama has said to the citizens that the war in Afghanistan had been getting worse.  I am mindful that he referred to the situation as urgent more than 18 months ago.

Everyone is aware of the “several months” of deliberations that Obama engaged in to determine the perfect Afghan strategy.  Quite frankly, honest and objective observers are usually convinced, such as I am, that these past several months of deliberations (one year since the election) were just Obama shuffling the shells not quite sure what to do.  If this is how our President and Commander in Chief responds to a precarious and urgent matter, I scared for all my family living in the U.S. as to how Obama will shuffle shells in the face of other urgent security matters.  We can discuss the shell game Obama is playing with the American people on Iran and health-care later.

After these many months of arduous deliberations, Obama finally announced “his” strategy for “winning the war in Afghanistan on Dec 1, 2009.  His solution, send more troops.  Brilliant.  I like the way Presidents and military people refer to sending troops overseas–they use the word, “deploy.”  Obama’s solution to win the war is for the most part to deploy 30,000 more troops and to carry out a mission much like the U.S. did during the surge in Iraq.  Okay, let’s assume that this brilliant strategy that Obama has laid out more than a year and half after he called the situation urgent, is the correct strategy to “win the war.”  By the way, no one in the media appears to want to ask Obama, “What took so long?”  Probably because the answer would be more Obama pea shuffling meaningless rhetoric.  Obama’s speech could have been two short sentences, i.e. honest and without his self-adoration and self-serving remarks.  ”I am sending more troops to Afghanistan.  I should have issued the orders months ago.”  End of speech.

Keep your eye on the pea!

In the speech Obama made at West Point wherein he unvieled his long awaited strategy for finishing the job against terrorists, Obama advised the world that these 30,000 additional troops would begin deploying as soon as possible–in January 2010.  Obviously, we can not send more troops before January 2010; after all, it is Christmas month–no one wants to fight a war just before Christmas.  So, beginning sometime in January, more troops will be deployed.  What Obama does to the American people and the citizens of our NATO allies is to deliberately mislead them by failing to talk about how long it will take to get these additional troops deployed who are urgently needed.  Hey America, the Obama hand is apparently quicker than your eyes!  In his West Point speech, Obama promised the citizens that we would ” . .begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011!” (emphasis added).  The illusion was presented to the citizens that the troops would be deployed in January 2010 and would be coming home in July 2011 (basically an 18 month execution of the Obama strategy to win the war in Afghanistan).  Obama obviously takes the citizens as being complete fools, if not idiots.  In summary, you might say it took Obama one year of intense deliberations to come up with a strategy to win the war in 18 months or less.  Wow, Obama is super-dawg.  The actual illusion of the shuffling of the pea under one of the shells is even worse than you think.  Recently, the second-ranking general in Afghanistan, Lt. General David Rodriguez, made the not so popular statement recently that it might take up to 11 months or longer to deploy the additional 30,000 troops.   Quoting here an article published at WCCO2, “Military officials had already been hinting broadly in recent weeks that the escalation might take longer, but Rodriguez’ comments indicated that the notion of a six-month rapid escalation was not realistic and that reality is now setting in.” Assuming Lt. General Rodriguez might know what he is talking about, then Obama is promising the citizens that winning the war will take one year or less after the additional troops arrive.  As you might expect, the statement by Rodriguez is not consistent with what the White House said earlier this month.   At Riehl World View, you can read where White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs said the troop build up will be accelerated. We’re going to get in there quickly and transfer responsibility for security to the Afghans quickly.   Obviously, during the months of deliberations Obama was surely informed as to how long it would take to get 30,000 troops into Afghanistan, he just failed to mention it to the citizens.  Which shell is the pea under?

Congress; a Shill or a Mark?

Last night I heard on the radio that Congress is not necessarily supportive of deploying more troops—well, at least for paying for them!  What? Are you kidding me?  There is no question whatsoever that in every shell game Obama is simultaneously playing–and there are many–we know that the number one shill in the bunch is Nancy Pelosi.  Notwithstanding that fact, I am stunned to learn that she just recently said:

It will be up to Obama to convince members of Congress to approve the money he needs to send extra troops to Afghanistan. Members of Congress will have to base their votes on their “consciences and constituents, . . .”3

In effect the Democratic leader of the House is telling Obama he is on his own with selling his plan to Congress to send more troops to Afghanistan!  Does he have congressional support or not?  You must have congressional support to fund the troops!  Never mind which shell is the pea under, there’s not even a pea on the table!  Doesn’t this blow your mind?  During these months of deliberations, Obama failed to gather the support of the House leadership in support of deploying more troops to Afghanistan, uh?  Unbelievable.  I can only conclude that Congress must be, at least in part, a mark in shell game along with the American public.  Even if this was not bad enough for Obama, a democrat representative from Ohio, Rep. Dennis Kucinich says he will be proposing a resolution in Congress in early January to pull all troops out of Afghanistan!  Obama would probably have more success with some of his foreign policy if his own party did not control both the House and Senate.  The country is no longer teetering on the precipice of total leadership failure–it is already there.

Shouldn’t Presidential Candidates be held to the same conduct standard you are held to?

Why do we allow Presidential candidates and other politicians to make promises that we the voters “rely” on and then simply ignore the fact that they do not fulfill their promises?  Not only do they not fulfill their promises–they often show a clear artifice of intended deception, and do precisely opposite than what they represented, in order to obtain your vote.  Why do we not hold politicians to the same standards that we ourselves are held to under the penal code of the United States Government.  I can answer the question easily.  Because there is not a federal or state prosecutor with the moral strength to enforce the U.S. penal code.  Do politicians have governmental immunity for being prosecuted for commiting wire fraud and/or fraud on the factum?  No.  Why shouldn’t we insist; no demand, that politicians who clearly commit fraud under a probable cause standard be prosecuted for fraud on the voter?  Don’t you at least believe a Presidential candidate should be held to a higher standard than a Congressional candidate?  Afterall, the President can walk into office and immediately effect your life, libery and pursuant of happiness without much more than a blink of his eye.  You doubt that, then see Executive Orders.  Obama has already had a major affect on your life, your children’s life and your grandchildren’s life.  Don’t you think he should be scrutinized strictly against what his “give me your vote” promises were?

What is wire fraud you ask?  What is fraud on the factum you ask?  What about RICO?  Should Presidential candidates and other prominent politicians be charged with RICO violations where there can be shown that their commission of fraud is a part of a criminal enterprise?  What is RICO you ask?  Seee below.

What is Wire Fraud?

AT 18 U.S.C. § 1343 United States Criminal Code the crime of wire fraud is defined as follows:

Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. If the violation affects a financial institution, such person shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.1

Okay, let’s break down the elements of the crime.

1. Intend to or devise a plan to defraud or to obtain your money or property;
2. By false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises;
3. Using, or causing to be used, wire, radio, television (Internet?) communication in interstate or foreign (Berlin?) commerce;
4. writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing the plan to defraud or obtain your money or property;

is guilty of federal wire fraud.  Wow!  Do you know of any prominent politician that made promises to the United States voters with the intent to defraud the voters of their vote (whether from the left or the right) or with the intent to take your money (increase your taxes beyond imagination) using a false pretense, representation (change you can believe in) or promise (95% of all Americans will receive a tax cut) while using the radio and television with pictures and sounds for the purpose of obtaining your vote and ultimately your property?  Do you know of anyone that may have committed wire fraud just to get elected?  How different is a politician’s misrepresentations for the purpose of obtaining your property (by increasing tax burden) vis-à-vis your vote under false pretenses than what Madoff has admitted to doing. Madoff has apparently admited to fraud in the big time.  Hasn’t Obama comitted fraud in the big time as well?  I think so, and apparently so do others.  Many people (including those who voted for him) believe that Obama has lied to the voter.  These people may not think in terms of whether his conduct is in violation of the criminal code but perhaps everyone should start holding politicians to the same standard of conduct that all citizens are held to.  Why would we think differently?  By the way, for those of you who really do not know of the many misrepresentations that Obama made as a part of his artifice to defraud you of your vote and property, let me know and I will be happy to then list them in a separate post.  I believe most people already know of his lies in less than 75 days into his Presidency.  By the way, for example of a average citizen’s outrage; see: Not the Change We Voted For.

What is fraud in the factum?

Fraud in the Factum is a type of fraud where misrepresentation causes one to enter a transaction without accurately realizing the risks, duties, or obligations incurred.   Determination of whether an act constitutes fraud in the factum depends upon consideration of “all relevant factors.” Fraud in the factum usually voids the instrument under state law.2  Another definition is: fraud in which the deception causes the other party to misunderstand the nature of the transaction in which he or she is engaging esp. with regard to the contents of an instrument (as a contract or promissory note)3  Can we argue here that the execution of a vote (the transaction) using the voting ballot is arguably a situation where a voter enters into a transaction often without accurately realizing the risks incurred in voting in the manner in which she/he does.  If you voted for Obama on the basis of his deliberate misrepresentation, deception, promises, and use of his charisma to perpetrate a scheme or artifice without fully understanding the risks to your life, liberty, property and pursuant of happiness; do you not feel defrauded?  If so, you might ask what is your remedy?  Well, since fraud in the factum is a generally a state law, not a federal law, perhaps your vote should be voided just as if it were a negotiable instrument or contract.  Afterall, Presidents are elected upon the basis of a state by state electoral college, then state law should control–not federal law or the absense thereof.  If your vote was casted in reliance of deceptive misrepresentations or promises then shouldn’t your vote be recinded and thereby perhaps causing a recall of the popular vote in the state which you reside?  Of course this assumes that the representations and promises were made in an intended deception i.e., for you to rely on them; you did rely upon them; the promises/misrepresentations were important (material) and such reliance resulted in injury or damages, for example a substantial increase in your tax burden or the tax burden of your heirs.  Interesting question, is it not?  An extremely important point to contemplate is this.  The novel, 1984 writen by George Orwell was published in 1949! Thirty five years before the time came but yet today we almost recognize the reality of his novel.  I say this because I believe sooner or later we will hold Presidential Candidates to some level of legal integrity with respect to their representations and their intentional conduct after they take office compared to what they promise in their campaigns.  I make this prediction while hoping that it will not be thirty-five years before its time.

Let’s talk about RICO.  Civil RICO and Criminal RICO.

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act is ingenious, intrusive, vague, powerful, and adaptive!  It’s the long-term “gotcha” of federal criminality.  I say this, if we’re going to continue to use and capitalize on RICO type federal statutes then you (the people) should demand that it’s promulgation include deceptive and corrupt political behavior.  Why should it not.  Politicians are granted a certain degree of immunity primarily for what they say on the House or Senate floor or otherwise in the good faith execution of their duties.  With that said, politicians are not immune from criminal prosecution and should be held to the same standard you are as citizens with respect to deceptive, fraudulent, conduct involving misrepresentations and perpetuation of criminal artifices in order to be elected or remain in elected office.  When a politician engages in a behavior that is patently fraudulent and knowing and clearly against the representations made to his constituency, he or she should be subject to criminal prosecution.  In some cases I believe the violations are so onerous that RICO should be considered.

The The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was passed by Congress with the intent to eliminate the ill-affects of organized crime on the nation’s economy. To put it bluntly, RICO was intended to destroy the Mafia.   One RICO authority, Mr. Jeffrey Ernest Grell states on his website, RICOACT.com; 

 ”Today, RICO is almost never applied to the Mafia. Instead, it is applied to individuals, businesses, political protest groups, and terrorist organizations. In short, a RICO claim can arise in almost any context.”

If RICO, civil or criminal can be applied to political protest groups or may otherwise arise in “almost any context” then let’s consider it application to politicians.  The statute and its attendant definitions are exposed at:

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (”RICO”) Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-68 (1994) which provides in part Prohibited activities

 It shall be unlawful for any person who has received any income derived, directly or indirectly, from a pattern of racketeering activity or through collection of an unlawful debt in which such person has participated as a principal within the meaning of section 2, title 18, United States Code, to use or invest, directly or indirectly, any part of such income, or the proceeds of such income, in acquisition of any interest in, or the establishment or operation of, any enterprise which is engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce. A purchase of securities on the open market for purposes of investment, and without the intention of controlling or participating in the control of the issuer, or of assisting another to do so, shall not be unlawful under this subsection if the securities of the issuer held by the purchaser, the members of his immediate family, and his or their accomplices in any pattern or racketerring activity or the collection of an unlawful debt after such purchase do not amount in the aggregate to one percent of the outstanding securities of any one class, and do not confer, either in law or in fact, the power to elect one or more directors of the issuer.

 It shall be unlawful for any person through a pattern of racketeering activity or through collection of any unlawful debt to acquire or maintain, directly or indirectly, any interest in or control of any enterprise which is engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce.

 It shall be unlawful for any person employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt.

 It shall be unlawful for any person to conspire to violate any of the provisions of subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section.:  (emphasis added).

Okay, let’s break this down in the most basic and simplistic form in the context I am advocating: Any politician (elected or not-elected?) whom

1. directly or indirectly receives income derived from a pattern of racketeering activity;
2. to directly or indirectly use or invest such income or proceeds of such income to acquire an interest in, operate, or establish any enterprise;
3. which is engaged in or affect interstate or foreign commerce.

would conceivably be guilty of a RICO crime or under a different standard be civilly liable for triple damages to injured parties.  Of course the questions presented are: 1) What is a “pattern of racketeering activity,? and, 2) What is an “enterprise?”  There are volumes of federal judicial case law which attempt to answer those questions in a host of criminal and civil contexts.  There are statutory definitions for us to read and consider.  Those three key and important definitions are as follows:

 Definitions

As used in this chapter -

(1) “racketeering activity” means . . . (B) any act which is indictable under any of the following provisions of title 18, United States Code: . . . section 1341 (relating to mail fraud), section 1343 (relating to wire fraud), . . .

(4) “enterprise” includes any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity;

(5) “pattern of racketeering activity” requires at least two acts of racketeering activity, one of which occurred after the effective date of this chapter and the last of which occurred within ten years (excluding any period of imprisonment) after the commission of a prior act of racketeering activity;

So, arguably, Obama is guilty and/or liable under the provisions of RICO if the following facts could be proved:

a) Obama is a person who directly or indirectly receives income derived from a pattern (two or more acts) of racketeering activity; and

b) he directly or indirectly used or invested such income or proceeds thereof to acquire an interest in, or operate, or establish any enterprise which is engaged in interstate or foreign commerce.

How might of Obama engaged in a racketeering activity?  There are quite the litany of acts which constitute a racketeering activity listed in 18 U.S.C. § 1961 however, the two most likely applicable here are the wire fraud and mail fraud provisions referred to above.  So, if it can be shown by probably cause that Obama violated the mail fraud and/or wire fraud provisions of 18 U.S.C. 1341 or 18 U.S.C. 1343 two or more times then the requirement for a pattern of racketeering activity is fulfilled in order to bring a RICO charge or claim.  The next question is, “what is the enterprise” prong on the statute and how might that apply to the Obama campaign or Presidency?  That’s straight forward and rather simple.  Obama is an individual who many can argue committed the requisite criminal acts or at least conspired to commit the requisite acts.  If not Obama himself individually or personally, he arguably did so by association with his own political campaign organization or in any event as a member of a “group” associated in fact.  The factual questions that are relevant are this.  Was Obama’s campaign itself an enterprise that he directly or indirectly used income derived from the racketeering activity to acquire an interest in, operate or establish?  If not the campaign, then what about the Presidency?  Is it an enterprise in which Obama directly or directly used or invested income in which was derived from a racketeering activity, that is to say from wire or mail fraud?  Next we have to ask; “did Obama directly or indirectly receive income from wire or mail fraud?  If you, like many citizens already have, conclude that Obama has turned out to be a liar and has deceived his voters then it goes without saying that he did indeed use the “mail or wire” services of the United States in order to further his deception, scheme or artifice to become elected and take your property.  These indeed are ugly questions to ask but forget your political affiliations for a moment and simply ask yourself.  Why do we not hold these people accountable for their intended fraud on the voters, citizens, and constituencies?  I know some will say that if we did hold politicians to a criminal standard or civil liability for their fraud we might not have anyone to step forward and serve.  What a bunch of crap that argument is.  I’m not talking about some politician that is unable to fulfill a campaign promise.  I’m referring to those individuals who engage in illegal conduct.  Those politicians who engage in deceptive practices i.e., knowingly make false representations and promises that they do not intend to fulfill but want you to believe and rely on such misrepresentations in order to give them your vote should be held to the same standard that you as a citizen would be held to.

Again, this article does not list and analyze Obama’s specific conduct, promises, misrepresentations etc. in order to clearly identify how and why he should be arguably charged with a crime or otherwise be held to civil liability–I will leave that to others who are more resourceful and more knowledgeable of the facts.  Also you should be advised there is a vast amount of information and law out there regarding the “conspiracy” to commit the subject crimes, i.e., “mail fraud,” “wire fraud,” and RICO violations that I did not cover here in this post intentionally.  Finally, your should note that the civil application of RICO is arguably just as on point as the criminal sanctions overviewed here however, federal judges in particular have been extremely active in attempting to limit the application of civil RICO liability.  What took place in the 90’s was that creative lawyers were using the civil RICO provisions to “flood” the federal courts with more civil cases than the Article 3 Judges thought was proper and thus began to create some rather onerous hoops for civil litigants to jump through.  You can spend many hours researching this issue.  With respect to Obama; if indeed he is a fraud (and let not your heart be troubled, I think he is and has always been in over his head) we know the only real remedy that would ensue is impeachment proceedings initially.  That being said, I do believe that U.S. citizens should be able to demand criminal prosecution for the type of criminal violations I have described here.  Parting shot.  The only way that this would likely come about is through extremely creative lawyering before an extremely brave and ambitious conservative judge.  

Obama is insecure and addicted to attention and power.  America, beware!

1. See; http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/1343.html
2. See; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraud_in_the_factum
3. See; http://research.lawyers.com/glossary/fraud-in-the-factum.html

With all the attention by the media on the economy, the corruption, the spendulous, budget crisis, Obama, Turbo Tax Cheat Geithner, and billions of taxpayer money being wasted, there is very little time to absorb much more of the information that we are all bombarded with daily.  However, behind the scenes much is always going on that Obama does not want you to hear about.  It is patently obvious that Obama’s plan is to dazzle you with his television appearances rather than you actually think about what is going on.  This post is about one more of Obama’s Executive Orders.  I expect he will provide me many more topics.  Trust me, when you read through this you will likely be upset.  Again, at the end of the post I will strongly encourage you to contact your Congressional Representatives and ask them to do something about it.  They can, if they’re forced to by you.

Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects.

On February 9, 2009 Obama gave us his Executive Order (EO) concerning “labor agreements” in Federal Construction Agreements.  Not a topic on the surface that sounds real exciting or sexy I admit.  However, there are plenty of stinking fish laying around to offend your nose and draw your  attention if you’re looking.  At first you might think it doesn’t matter to the average taxpayer but I say you should pay attention here and I think you will care.   No matter what it looks like on the surface, the overall goal of this EO is to quietly mandate that companies involved with federal construction projects use union labor.  For whom did the Union members vote for in the last Presidential election?  It may have been Obama.  This EO is Obama’s way of saying, “Hey, Unions, thank you for your support!”  I’ll do my best to lay it out for you.  There are some large differences between the typical wages a union worker makes and the same trade worker who is not a member of a union.  Take for example, a union glass worker in Las Vegas earns $57.00 per hour (including caulking some windows) but a non-union worker would typically do the job for $15.00 per hour.1 If a construction company has to use a union for any particular construction project or for an individual component of the project, that company is necessarily going to have to pay a substantial premium for the labor compared to the non-union wages it would otherwise pay.   The obvious effect of this is that the client/customer will have to pay more for the overall cost of the project.  If you own the construction company and your customer is the federal government then you necessarily may conclude that the customer will be able to complete fewer projects with a limited amount of construction funds available.  On the other hand, if your construction company can use non-union labor the overall construction costs will be less and thus the federal government can do more projects with the same amount of taxpayer funds available.  Are you beginning to see where this is going?

The Pre-Obama Free Market History:

In February 2001, President George W. Bush signed Executive Order No. 13202 which was entitled: Preservation of Open Competition and Government Neutrality Towards Government Contractors’ Labor Relations on Federal and Federally Funded Construction Projects The purpose of this EO was to make sure that federal agencies maintained a neutrality towards union and non-union workers on federally funded construction projects and the private enterprises that bid on federally funded or assisted construction projects.  This EO mandated that:

neither the awarding Government authority nor any construction manager acting on behalf of the Government shall, in its bid specifications, project agreements, or other controlling documents:

(a)  Require or prohibit bidders, offerors, contractors, or subcontractors to enter into or adhere to agreements with one or more labor organizations, on the same or other related construction project(s); or

(b)  Otherwise discriminate against bidders, offerors, contractors, or subcontractors for becoming or refusing to become or remain signatories or otherwise to adhere to agreements with one or more labor organizations, on the same or other related construction project(s).

(c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit contractors or subcontractors from voluntarily entering into agreements described in subsection (a).1

The effect of this EO was to allow federally funded construction projects to move forward with or without burdensome labor agreements between a construction company and a labor union.  From an economic prospective, and thus very important for us to take note today is that construction projects involving federal taxpayer funds during the last eight years likely cost far less than under the requirements of the Obama EO, notwithstanding inflation indices or other market influences.  I will explain further.  In any event, there is also no doubt that there was an opportunity for the federal government to fund more infrastructure construction projects than it otherwise could have without the Bush EO.   From a political perspective, Bush made no friends within Union leadership by signing EO 13202.  Good for taxpayers but not good for union construction workers.

Enter President Obama:

Almost exactly eight years later to the week, Obama revokes the Bush EO No. 13202.  Why you might ask?  Undoubtedly, Obama thought about the fact that someone outside the government might ask why so he front loaded his EO with several paragraphs of “conclusive arguments” to build his case before slamming the hammer down on free market competition in this arena.   Given the fact that the government is spending billions of dollars on construction projects in the near future under the guise of “stimulus spending,” there is much at stake here for union workers and of course for union leadership as well.  It is absolutely no coincidence that Obama revoked No. 13202 to put his own agenda in place prior to federally funded construction projects being put out for bid or specifically funded.  The timing was designed and perfect.  Obama did not reveal his plan in a blatantly clear manner to the general public but it is certainly clear enough when one takes a little time to read his EO and do a little research.  What caught my eye was that Obama signed an EO so early in his administration that has such a bland “ho-hum” title.   The EO title; Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, does not scream at you nor tell you anything of substance.   This is why I read it; I wanted to know more about the topic and why this deserved the Obama attention when the state of the union is in such a chaos.  We all know his time is extremely limited especially in light of all the television appearances he has had to make in order to campaign for his completely socialistic agenda.

The Content of the Obama Executive Order.

Now, remember Obama is a lawyer and has hired many.   No one is better at writing “conclusory arguments” than lawyers.  Even good lawyers do it when it might meet their purpose and they are without other more appropriate tools of persuasion.  A conclusory argument is legalese used to describe a lawyer’s attempt to use one, or more, statements of conclusions in order to persuade a trier of fact where there are little or no facts presented to support the position.  Obama has already become a master of the use of “conclusory arguments” as evidenced by his successful campaign and the use of tele-prompters.  So, if you’re trying to persuade someone to your way of thinking and you find yourself short on facts, then just present a series of statements of conclusion in order set up your position.  Here’s how Obama did just that in his EO.  Below is Section 1.  Here’s where he sets up his purpose by cloaking hyperbole and statements of conclusion under the title of “Policy.”  I have placed his conclusions in italics to make them easier to spot.

Section 1. Policy. (a) Large-scale construction projects pose special challenges to efficient and timely procurement by the Federal Government. Construction employers typically do not have a permanent workforce, which makes it difficult for them to predict labor costs when bidding on contracts and to ensure a steady supply of labor on contracts being performed. Challenges also arise due to the fact that construction projects typically involve multiple employers at a single location. A labor dispute involving one employer can delay the entire project. A lack of coordination among various employers, or uncertainty about the terms and conditions of employment of various groups of workers, can create frictions and disputes in the absence of an agreed-upon resolution mechanism. These problems threaten the efficient and timely completion of construction projects undertaken by Federal contractors. On larger projects, which are generally more complex and of longer duration, these problems tend to be more pronounced.

(b) The use of a project labor agreement (pre-hire collective bargaining agreement with a union) may prevent these problems from developing by providing structure and stability to large-scale construction projects, thereby promoting the efficient and expeditious completion of Federal construction contracts. Accordingly, it is the policy of the Federal Government to encourage executive agencies to consider requiring the use of project labor agreements in connection with large-scale construction projects in order to promote economy and efficiency in Federal procurement.

Who were the fact finders here?

The statements above contained in Section 1 of the Obama EO should be supported by facts.  It is not far fetched to believe that Obama would want to issue EO’s that mirror his politics and agenda but what is crazy is that he would make policy decisions on the basis of what he wants the facts to be as opposed to what the facts actually are.  The basis for any policy decision should be first based upon the results of an unbiased search for truth, i.e., the facts.  This search for truth or that is to say, a determination of the facts should be made by an independent third party qualified panel of folks which are experts in the field.  What Obama did here is simply provide us the conclusion of (the facts that he wishes were true) he wanted to state in order to justify the provisions contained in Section 3.  Does anyone in Congress notice or even care?  Doubtful.  Let’s look a closer look at a couple of the statements Obama makes in Section 1.  You or I could take a critical look at each statement in sub-sections (a) and (b) and the result would be the same.  There are no facts offered to support the basis for a policy change other than the alleged facts that Obama constructed. 1.   ”Large-scale construction projects pose special challenges to efficient and timely procurement by the Federal Government.”  What are the special challenges?  Who says so?  How was that factual determination made?  Are there in fact “special challenges” that have substantially hindered prior large scale construction projects where non-union labor was used?  Just saying it does not make it so. 2.  ”Construction employers typically do not have a permanent workforce, which makes it difficult for them to predict labor costs when bidding on contracts and to ensure a steady supply of labor on contracts being performed.”  Talking about someone being the master of the obvious.  Construction companies act as General Contractors and take firm bids from all the required sub-contractors necessary to complete a construction project.  Thousands of construction projects are completed all over the country by general contracting firms that do not have many permanent workers.  These firms do not “predict” costs in the manner in which Obama infers, these companies nail their labor costs down by the bidding process.  General Contractors overcome the difficulty of ensuring the sub-contracting labor is there to do the job by performing due diligence on the potential sub-contracting companies they are considering to enter into a contract with.  This is the same due diligence that the federal government is supposed to use in selecting a construction company in the first place.   Can Obama point to any large-scale federally funded project that has failed because the companies were not using union labor?  We don’t know if there are any facts to support his conclusions because he does offer any.  Also, I am quite sure that there was not a panel of experts appointed to determine whether these alleged problems were in fact real.  The government is supposed to consider conclusions reached by a credible body of factual investigators or finders before it cooks up the policy it wants to feed you.  In this case, Obama simply determined that he wants union labor on all federally funded construction projects over $25 million and served you a truck load of garbage as the basis for changing the government policy of free market competition to a more union friendly socialist set of regulations. After making all of the above statements of conclusion and hyperbole, Obama then serves you the meat you’re  going to pay for and eat in Section 3 of the EO.  It provides as follows:

Sec. 3. (a) In awarding any contract in connection with a large-scale construction project ($25 million or more), or obligating funds pursuant to such a contract, executive agencies may, on a project-by-project basis, require the use of a project labor agreement by a contractor where use of such an agreement will (i) advance the Federal Government’s interest in achieving economy and efficiency in Federal procurement, producing labor-management stability, and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations governing safety and health, equal employment opportunity, labor and employment standards, and other matters, and (ii) be consistent with law.

(b) If an executive agency determines under subsection (a) that the use of a project labor agreement will satisfy the criteria in clauses (i) and (ii) of that subsection, the agency may, if appropriate, require that every contractor or subcontractor on the project agree, for that project, to negotiate or become a party to a project labor agreement with one or more appropriate labor organizations.

Are you reading this?  If any executive agency concludes that a labor agreement will advance the government’s interest in procurement efficiency and economy (because of the conclusory stated dangers outlined in Section 1), the agency may require everyone involved to become a party to a labor agreement with one or more labor unions.  Can you see $57.00 per hour window caulking chewing up a few of your tax dollars?  Do you really believe that any of these executive agencies will not want to “determine” that a labor agreement would not advance the procurement efficiency of the federal government?  Not a chance.  The executive agencies are being directed and controlled by Obama appointees.  Can you imagine the executive in charge of the IRS determining that for a particular subject construction project for that agency that a labor agreement would not advance the interests of the federal procurement process.  Whatever that phrase might mean.   The IRS Commissioner works for Treasury Secretary Geithner, who in turn “serves at the pleasure of’ Obama.  I find it a stretch to believe that the IRS Commissioner for example would have the cojones to determine that labor agreement would not benefit the federal procurement process.  Thus, in my opinion, most if not all of the subject construction projects that the federal government will be involved in will result in a labor agreement covering all parties to the project.  That would necessarily mean that all these projects will cost the tax payer much more than if EO 13202 were still in place because each project will be subject to a union collective bargaining labor agreement.  There will be substantially less projects completed with the billions of stimulus money you’re providing now that King Obama has changed policy to cost you more per project.

A parting thought.

Obama revoked President Bush’s EO 13202 in its entirety.  Bush’s EO mandated that federal agencies not require a labor agreement as a condition of bidding etc. on a federally funded project of any size.  In other words, the IRS Commissioner could not require a contracting company enter into a labor agreement as a pre-condition to receiving the appointment as the general contractor for a federally funded IRS construction project no matter how large or how small.  It was against the law for the IRS Commissioner to do so.  Now, the IRS Commissioner can do that, and will likely do it.  Obama’s EO says that on a construction project costing $25 million or more the agency determines that labor agreement would advance the governments procurement interest on a construction project then all parties must enter into a labor agreement.  What about the federally funded construction projects costing less than $25 million that were heretofore covered by the Bush EO? Under Bush, the agency could not make union labor a requirement–but that EO has been revoked.  May an agency require union labor now on projects costing less than $25 million without having to make a determination that a labor agreement would enhance the efficiency of the federal procurement process.  I think so–and no doubt in my mind that such will happen more so than not.  Obama could have simply amended EO 13202 or otherwise left all of the provisions of EO 13202 in place on all federally funded construction projects costing less than $25 million–but he didn’t!  Hey, taxpayer, how’s it feel to get screwed on the front end and on the back end as well? I love it when I start writing an article and then discover there are other articles out there that support my thinking or are otherwise covering a related topic.  That happened to me today.  For a solid example of how some of this will play out.  Take a look at Union Wage Rule Means Fewer Projects Completed With Stimulus Cash. It’s an article that reveals how the federal agency, the Office of Management and Budget somehow had the authority to include a 1931 law,  the Davis-Bacon provision typically only used on federal highway projects to mandate that union labor be used on all state construction projects using funds from the $787 billion stimulus money you’re providing.  A federal agency has decided that all state contracts will include union labor!  How does this happen?  Where is Congress?  Do they ever show up for work or actually do anything when they do go to work.  We know they don’t have time to read their own bills or amendments to bills but this really sucks as well! Why not get the few email addresses of your federal representatives and ask them a couple of questions. 1.  What is your position on the Obama Executive Order concerning labor agreements on construction projects funded by my money? 2.  What are you going to do about the fact that the OMB has determined to force all state construction contracts to be performed with union labor? Start with those two questions and demand a reply.  Please do me a big favor and send me your Congressional representatives’ responses to me at roland@ballounpost.com.  Also, if you have reached this point in the article then please consider leaving me a comment, a Digg, a Technorati vote, or Kudo.  Any and all of those help this website improve.

Air Force One cost more than $56,000 per hour to operate.

According to Geobytes.com, it is 110 miles from Washington D.C. to Williamsburg, Va.  Thursday, February 5th, Obama traveled to the Democratic House of Representatives weekend spa retreat being enjoyed at Williamsburg, Virginia.  By the way, taxpayers are footing at least part of the cost of this “working get-a-way.”  Tough times, eh?  Obama decided to go there to make a politicial campaign hooray over the spendulus package that he is trying to coerce the American people to accept.  I was watching Fox News channel at the very moment the program was interrupted for Obama’s unannounced speech at Williamsburg.  Here comes Obama on stage as if he’s out on the stump.  I have to admit, I am not really impressed with the President of the United States trying to act “cool” on television.  There’s just something not quite right with the President regularly using slang.  “What’s going on democrats?”   In any event, not long after Obama was on the stage, he said to the audience, “Thank you for giving me an excuse to use Air Force One.”  His words, not mine!  I was immediately stunned.  I didn’t know how far Williamsburg, VA was from Washington DC but I knew it wasn’t far and was most likely a fairly short drive.  After the speech, I immediately hit Google to obtain the distance.  I thought to myself, ‘why would he use Air Force One to travel such a short distance?’  Moreover, why would he say he did so on national television?  Not smart in either instance.  I would guess that most Americans have no idea what it cost per hour to fly a jet aircraft, much less know the cost of operating Air Force One with all of its attendant costs other than just fuel.  We all know how most politicians think with respect to the intelligence quotient of the American people, or lack thereof.  Obama was quite proud that he had the “excuse” to use the aircraft and was puffed up about it.  Hey, Obama!  What’s wrong with Marine One (the helicopter) that other President’s use to travel between the White House and Camp David, Maryland? 

According to reliable research in 2006 by the House of Representatives, it cost more than $56,000 per hour to operate Air Force One.  Probably costs a little more today than in 2006 but who’s counting penny’s right?   Now, we don’t actually know what it costs to operate Air Force One per air mile, but we can do some basic math.   So, I’m thinking that a round trip of approximately 220 miles probably cost U.S. taxpayers at least $25,000 t0 $30,000 for Obama to make that trip.  Do you care?  

How Much College Tuition Could Be Paid For?

Obama’s campaign speeches included much about helping every young American that wanted to attend college to be able to go to college.  Of course, what that meant was that Obama was promising to spend taxpayer money to pay for college educations in part, if not entirely.  Now in these troubling times, times in which Obama refers to as the worst financial crisis in American history, don’t we have a right to expect Obama, the alleged proponent for “change”, to act responsibly and not waste taxpayer’s dollars?  Do you remember Obama promising that he was going to pay for his programs by going through the U.S. Government Budget “line by line” to cut wasteful spending?  Do you remember that?  I do.  I am shocked that Obama spent a wasteful amount of money going to Williamsburg in the first place, much less by using the most expensive form and manner of travel that is available to him.  For every single hour that Air Force One operates, your government could have paid for the annual tuition in 2004 for an in-state resident of Wyoming for 24 years!  Okay, how about this; 24 students in Wyoming for one year!  Okay, I understand that Obama is not from Wyoming.  Let’s look at the average annual tuition cost for an in-state student in Illinois.  An hour of flight time on Air Force One would pay for the annual tuition for more than eight Illinois students in 2004.  So, if you’re Mr. Obama faced with the opportunity to take your first flight on Air Force One or send several kids in Illinois to college for a year, which do you choose.  If you following Obama on Twitter, you probably would have received advance notice of his decision.  Obviously, Obama felt that the need to do a hooray to the American people on television under the guise of speaking to the House democrats was far more important than sending kids to college.  So much for change you can believe in.  I say, it’s business as usual with the same old Chicago style politics.  Obama could have really impressed me and a bunch of other people if he had simply ridden in his limo.  I’m sure he could have accomplished just as much work from the back seat of his limo as he accomplished while sitting in Air Force One.   

Don’t get the wrong message here.  I do think the President should go ahead and use Air Force One; I just don’t think Obama should have used Air Force One to travel to the House Democrats weekend spa retreat much less use so much badly need tax payer dollars to fly 110 miles.  The most disturbing thing to me was that while appearing on national television he touts the fact as if it was being cool.  Not cool Mr. Obama.  What do you think?  Am I way off base here?  Leave your comments, Diggs and stuff here.

It was here in this sleepy little hollow of South Chicago that the American dream was redefined and shared with all of us.  In this place, this Illinois community, a Great Organizer would rise up to eventually create a new kind of lifestyle: Change, a new dream, non-entrepreneurial, and protected.  In 2004, it was a discovery of human brilliance by the Democratic Party, almost by accident.   In Boston, at the 2004 Democratic Convention, The Great Democratic One, Edward “Ted” Kennedy openly shared the stage with Him.  After He spoke, everyone seemed to know that lifeʼs complex struggles were soon to be no more.  The One1, has arrived.   Barack (blessed) Obama is his name.

Yes, the long arduous search for a transcendent level of wisdom, charm, and rhetoric is over, He was elected as President less than a fortnight ago.  From Kenya to Venezuela, from Berlin to Johannesburg, there were people dancing in the streets, the fields, the deserts and the jungles.  “Yes, we can!” they paradoxically chanted.  “Bail us out!” they all screamed.  There were women crying in the streets with huge tears of sweetness–many lost their eyelashes.  Whoopi Goldberg finally unpacked her bag and no longer fears becoming a slave.  Kenya has ordained a national holiday in His Name.  All across America, word processing spell checker dictionaries have learned the two new words–Barack Obama.

One could say that the old American Dream began in 1849, the year “. . . thousands of young people streamed west in unison . . . with a collective . . . dream for a lifetime of riches.”3 These thousands of Americans feverishly going west to stake their claim in the California Gold Rush were dubbed “forty-niners.” Gold became the dreamweaver for a new kind of life where one would work hard for a short while and become rich. Today we contrast the Gold Rush of 1849 to a gold flush of the Treasury and our economy.

The new American Dream: to not have to solve your own problems, to not concern yourself with quickly becoming rich, nor to make a fast fortune.  Instead, instant affordable, if not free, education for all young people 18 to 29 years old will be the new law.  On-the-spot welfare is upon us and available for the taking.  Folks will soon be screaming, “No more taxes!”  In Red States and Blue, men, women and “young voters” will soon text and Twitter the Organizer for a handout.  Young folks will soon ask for and receive that free education.  Poor people throughout this country will now expect and receive free gas and have their mortgage payments made by the government.  The Organizer will quickly command that the price of gas be lowered.  The commuters will cheer because they no longer have to worry about the amount of air in the tires on their cars.

Within His first hundred days, The Organizer will:

• Eliminate all home mortgage foreclosures;
• Command free health care for everyone without further ado;
• Give rise to a new “Fairness Doctrine” which will ban all Republican
  radio talk shows thus, clean up the polluted air ways.

The Organizer will stop the Iraq war immediately (depending on the conditions on the ground). Osama bin Laden has a renewed fear for his life. The Organizer has vowed to hunt him down and kill him! Pakistan will no longer be concerned about our planes and troops violating its sovereignty.

Stimulus packages will be available and flushed out regularly from the Treasury. With the support and assistance of other Great Democrats, Pelosi, and Reid; The Organizer will tax the evil rich, take their gold, spread it around and give it to the poor. “Long live Barack Obama” they will shout! The rich people, those that make more than $___________ ? a year will despair, many will turn to poker, gambling and other sinful behavior. Exasperation and vexation will run rampant in the empires of the wealthy.  They will hide their gold, but The Organizer will find it and extract it from their greedy hands. Wall Street will no longer rule. Ultimately, there will no longer be rich, only middle-class. Everyone will be the “average Joe.”

Peace will come throughout the world. Chevaz, Castro, and Ahmadinejad will be making travel plans soon for a trip to the Great White House. Construction on a new Cuban Embassy will begin shortly. Iran will drop all nuclear research and production without delay.

Jessie Jackson, Jr. will soon replace The Organizer in the U.S. Senate and their will be brotherly love again between Jessie Jackson and The Organizer. Change has arrived and all the people will come together as one. Thousands of young people will volunteer to serve their country and begin forming the New Civilian Security Force to help protect us all.

Also, within the first hundred days, the Great Liberal Justice from Chicago, Illinois, Justice John Paul Stevens will retire so The Organizer can appoint a fair-minded Justice; a Justice that will look out for the poor and under privileged. Senator Clinton will replace Biden as a member of the Judicial Committee. The ten current nominees for appointments to the Federal Courts of Appeal will be cast aside and The Organizer will fill the twelve vacancies with folks that suffered injustice; or with people raised in single parent homes, and the like. Senator Clinton and Senator Leahy will help get it done. Yes, the same will happen with the twenty-eight vacancies at the District Court level and the current sixteen nominees.

All across America, even in the Red States, folks know in their hearts that their troubles will soon depart. Every victim of any kind, size, age and gender lacking a cell phone or computer will make their way to The Great Organizerʼs new home in Washington D.C. seeking the new American Dream. Some will walk, some will travel by train, others by plane–“no matter how you get here, just get here if you can,” He will say. Someone asked; “but, wait, what shall we call them?” The two Davids replied, “08ʼers.”

The Organizer will say, “yes, out of this long political darkness a brighter day has arrived. I am that brighter day.” It will be one of the greatest misadventures that the World will see.

The Gold Flush begins!

1. Dubbed The One by Oprah Winfrey.
2. “Barack Obama was originally named ‘Baraka.’ It is not an African name. It’s an Arabic word meaning “blessed” and comes directly from the Koran.”
3. http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/fever.html