Obama's New Power-Grabs: Disarm Pilots, Seize Troubled Companies

President Barack Obama is quietly seizing powers that were not even considered among the many considered, during the election. Announced today, Obama wants the power to allow "his administration to seize troubled companies like the insurer AIG - and take ownership of their toxic assets - if their collapse would threaten the financial system." He terms this "new financial industry oversight." This new power includes a "resolution authority" that would have powers similar to the FDIC's - and allows the take-over of "bad assets" and the sale of "the good ones" to competitors. Speaking on "condition of anonymity," an administration official said:

That is what occurred when the government seized control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last September. The government had the authority to take control of Fannie and Freddie and oust their top executives because those companies were government-sponsored enterprises.

For anyone paying even a smidgen of attention, Fannie and Freddie are still failing after billions have been funneled to them, and then there's AIG - on Capitol Hill today trying to explain millions in executive bonuses, not to mention billions of U.S. government bailout funds sent to Germany ($11.8 billion), and Britain's Barclays ($8.5 billion). Details are expected to be made available before Obama's April 2 meeting in London with World leaders. Could we possibly want Team Obama in charge of even more private America companies? Further: President Barack Obama is using his powers to DISARM airline pilots. After the 9/11 attacks, commercial airline pilots were allowed to carry guns after completing a federally-mandated safety program.

Now President Obama is quietly ending the federal firearms program, risking public safety on airlines in the name of an anti-gun ideology.

According to the Washington Times, $2 million has been diverted from the safety-training program"

"...to hire more supervisory staff, who will engage in field inspections of pilots."

More field inspections of pilots???? How will keep us safe? It will not but it does create a larger government bureaucracy. And what will this bureaucracy do? Perhaps this gives us some insight: Now President Obama is quietly ending the federal firearms program, risking public safety on airlines in the name of an anti-gun ideology.

Fewer than one percent of the officers have any administrative actions brought against them and, we are told, virtually all of those cases “are trumped up.”

Take a case against one flight officer who had visited the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles within the last few weeks. While there, the pilot noticed that federal law enforcement officers can, with the approval of a superior, obtain a license plate that cannot be traced, a key safety feature for law enforcement personnel. So the pilot asked if, as a member of the federal program, he was eligible. The DMV staffer checked and said “no.” The next day administrative actions were brought against the pilot for “misrepresenting himself.” These are the kinds of cases that President Obama wants to investigate.

Obama began his deceleration of the program, known as the Federal Flight Deck Officers, immediately after taking office. There was no talk about it, the permits for applicants just "stalled out." Here's something interesting:

Until the early 1960s, American commercial passenger pilots on any flight carrying U.S. mail were required to carry handguns. Indeed, U.S. pilots were still allowed to carry guns until as recently as 1987. There are no records that any of these pilots (either military or commercial) ever causing any significant problems.

Anyone thinking Obama doesn't have a "plan" to intentionally undermine the Constitution's clear mission to protect our homeland from foreign forces, and to end the capitalism guaranteed by the Constitution, must be wearing those pink tee shirts that somehow gain entrance to every Congressional hearing on the Hill (Code Pink).