The president's newest power player

At a recent speech in Peoria, Joe Biden said something very revealing.

During the annual Partners in Peace Celebration on Tuesday, Biden said [Transportation Secretary Ray] LaHood was Barack Obama's first choice for an appointment out of all the Cabinet positions he needed to fill.

"I remember my saying, 'Isn't he Republican?'" Biden said. "Which goes to show you, this is an all-Illinois team."

"He is the star of the Cabinet and he is the reason, he is the reason more than anyone else, why this Recovery Act is actually working, saving people's jobs, rebuilding infrastructure," Biden said. "He's a hands-on guy. There isn't anything, any detail, too small to attend to. And that's the way it gets done.

BIden has been known to exaggerate, but on this he's completely accurate. Ray LaHood's name seems everywhere lately. Most recently, he led the government's crusade against Toyota for allegedly dangerous defects and worked with the EPA to issue new greenhouse gas emission standards for cars. Prior to LaHood, the Department of Transportation was viewed as relatively unimportant, especially compared to the Pentagon or State Department. But this administration has made going green one of its top priorities, and that means getting people out of their cars. As LaHood forthrightly said of his collaboration with the EPA, "It is a way to coerce people out of their cars."

LaHood is a Republican, as Obama never tires of mentioning, but a very moderate one. A former congressman from Illinois, he refused to support George W. Bush's tax cuts and led a crusade against the death penalty. He also gained a reputation as one of the worst porkers and patronage men in Congress. The Club for Growth gave him a 0% rating for 2007 and Citizens Against Government Waste awarded him an 11% rating. Tellingly, LaHood was one of three congressional Republican candidates who didn't sign the Contract for America in 1994, one of the main designs of which was to curb excessive spending in government.

This wasteful fiscal liberal is now presiding over stimulus grants, which he's awarding largely to clean energy projects and bike paths. There's a reason the Amtrak-loving Biden praised LaHood so lavishly. LaHood's aim has been to promote and fund public transportation, particularly rail projects, at the expense of private car ownership. His campaign against Toyota led Rush Limbaugh to remark that LaHood was behaving like "one of the brand managers" for GM, which is now owned by the government.

Indeed, in a cabinet dominated by big names like Hillary Clinton and Tim Geithner, LaHood has probably been the biggest showboater. He's also been one of the most dangerous radicals.

EPA moves against SUVs

Time for a little Good Friday statism from Obama's EPA. The agency has put into place the nation's first greenhouse gas regulation on automobiles and the results could be devastating.

The new rules, finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation Department, require a fleet average of 35.5 miles a gallon by 2016 — up from an average 27.5 miles per gallon today.

Officials said the tougher tailpipe standards would save consumers money at the gas pump, reduce the nation's reliance on foreign oil and lower emissions of carbon dioxide and other climate-altering gases.

In Texas, by one estimate, the new rules will have the same effect on greenhouse gas emissions as removing 1.7 million of today's cars from the road.

The new rule will take effect into 2012, which gives automakers only two years to completely overhaul their lines of cars. Miles-per-gallon averages for automakers are largely dragged down by trucks and SUVs; a Ford Explorer gets only 13 mpg, for example. These also happen to be some of the most popular vehicles on the road today. According to AOL Autos, the bestselling car in the nation is the Ford F-150, a pickup that gets only 14 mpg. If automakers are forced to reduce the average mpg of their fleets of cars, they may have to simply produce fewer SUVs and trucks than are being demanded, which could lose them substantial business. This is a dangerous idea at a time when car sales are still languishing from the recession.

The EPA derives this power from a Supreme Court ruling giving them unilateral authority to enforce the Clean Air Act. This allows the EPA to get around Congress and even the president himself. But the Clean Air Act was designed to reduce smog, not greenhouse gases. Even Democrat Rep. John Dingell who authored the Clean Air Act has admitted, "This is not what was intended by Congress."

The EPA has already used its newfound authority to pass new nitrogen dioxide standards and force container ships trading with America to go green. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has indicated that more regulations are on the way.

EPA duped on Energy Star program

One of the EPA's signature programs is Energy Star, which awards tax breaks and other incentives to consumers who purchase low-energy appliances. You've probably seen the small, blue Energy Star label on everything from washing machines to light bulbs. Most recently, the EPA awarded $500,000 to two buildings in Hawaii that replaced more than 20,000 incandescent bulbs.

There's just one really serious problem: The entire program is fraudulent.

The Environmental Protection Agency certified that a “gas-powered clock radio” was an energy-efficient product under the government’s Energy Star program, despite the fact that neither the clock nor its manufacturer ever existed.

The clock and 14 other phony products were part of an investigation into the Energy Star program conducted by the Government Accountability Office, which submitted 20 fraudulent Energy Star applications from four fake companies. The EPA evaluated 16 of those products while the Department of Energy (DOE) evaluated four.

Fifteen of the phony products – including the gas-powered alarm clock – and all four of the fake companies were certified by EPA/DOE under the Energy Star program.

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One of the phony products, which GAO submitted as an energy-efficient air cleaner, was pictured on a phony Web site as nothing more than a space heater with a feather duster taped to it.

The EPA was so clueless on this one, it almost seems like the GAO was having a little fun. Let's see what absurd thing we can run past them next. The Energy Star program is a pet favorite of the president's, who awarded states $300 million in his stimulus for the purchase of Energy Star appliances. Obama also started a new program called Home Star, a $6 million initiative designed to make homes more green.

This isn't the first time Energy Star has been knocked by independent investigations. An Inspector General report released in 2008 determined that statements made by Energy Star about its effect on reducing greenhouse gases were grossly exaggerated. EPA chief Lisa Jackson has yet to comment on any of this.

EPA seizes control of coasts

The EPA made a stunning power grab this morning that went virtually unnoticed in the press.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) today officially accepted the proposal to designate waters off the North American coasts as an Emission Control Area (ECA) – a move that will result in cleaner air for millions of Americans. Large ships that operate in ECAs must use dramatically cleaner fuel and technology, leading to major air quality and public health benefits that extend hundreds of miles inland. The ECA was proposed in March 2009 and the IMO adopted it in the fastest possible timetable.

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Enforcing the stringent ECA standards will reduce sulfur content in fuel by 98 percent - slashing particulate matter emissions by 85 percent, and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 80 percent. To achieve these reductions, tougher sulfur standards will phase in starting in 2012, ultimately reaching no more than 1,000 parts per million by 2015. Also, new ships must use advanced emission control technologies beginning in 2016 which will help reduce NOx emissions.

This is the most sweeping environmental regulation yet by the EPA and its effects on the shipping industry could be devastating. Most of the ships that enter our waters are from other countries -- in other words, free trade. But if foreign nations have to pay exorbitant amounts of money to cut emissions on their ships, they may just decide trade isn't worth it after all. Regardless, the effect on American imports can only be detrimental.

In fact, we already know how this will play out. Buried in a short New York Times item on the EPA this morning was this bit of news.

In waters off California, where an emissions control zone extending 24 nautical miles from the coastline went into effect last year, cargo ships have been going out of their way to avoid the control area.

Now Obama's EPA has extended that emissions control zone in a loop around the entire country. It's now impossible for a ship to get in or out of U.S. and Canadian waters if it's polluting too much. What if the ships that went out of their way to avoid California's stringent rules now go out of their way to avoid American waters altogether? What if they decide it's just not worth it?

Obama's transportation policy to force people out of their cars

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has announced a new manifesto for the Obama Administration's transportation policy. Needless to say, automobiles don't play into it very prominently.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced that federal transportation policies will no longer favor “motorized” transportation, such as cars and trucks, over “non-motorized” transportation, such as walking and bicycling.

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“Today, I want to announce a sea change,” LaHood wrote. “People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.”

LaHood's vision is one where Americans commute to work partway on foot or bicycle and partway on public transportation. “Walking and bicycling are efficient transportation modes for most short trips and, where convenient intermodal systems exist, these nonmotorized trips can easily be linked with transit to significantly increase trip distance," he said. In other words, get people out of their gas-guzzling cars so they can commute to work without polluting.

LaHood's Department of Transportation has teamed up with the EPA and the HUD to form the Partnership for Sustainable Communities. This alliance was supposedly set up to search for ways to make transportation more environmentally-friendly, specifically through the use of stimulus grants to green projects. But at a recent talk at the National Press Club, LaHood revealed the real aim of the partnership.

“Some in the highway-supporters motorist groups have been concerned by your livability initiative,” said the moderator at the National Press Club event. “Is this an effort to make driving more torturous and to coerce people out of their cars?”

“It is a way to coerce people out of their cars,” said LaHood.

The moderator later asked: “Some conservative groups are wary of the livable communities program, saying it's an example of government intrusion into people's lives. How do you respond?”

“About everything we do around here is government intrusion in people's lives,” said LaHood. “So have at it.”

LaHood recently made a splash crusading against Toyota for accusations of unsafe vehicles. Those accusations were later revealed to be exaggerated. Many wondered at the time if LaHood was attacking Toyota to enrich GM and Chrysler, which are currently owned by the federal government. Now it seems the real goal of the Obama Administration is to force people out of their cars altogether in the name of the environment.

More environmental justice from Obama's EPA

Yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency announced that they'll be giving higher priority than before to environmental issues that affect Native Americans.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, who has highlighted strengthening tribal partnerships as a top priority during her tenure, today announced an internal restructuring that brings EPA’s international and tribal programs together under one umbrella organization called the Office of International & Tribal Affairs (OITA). This restructuring was initiated in response to a request from the tribes to reconsider the proper location of the American Indian Environmental Office (AIEO).

“This change ensures that we approach our relationship with the sovereign tribal nations within our own country in the same way we approach our relationship with sovereign nations beyond U.S. borders,” said Administrator Jackson, “I am confident this move will result in new and positive directions for the EPA-Tribal partnership,” [sic]

The primary change of the restructuring is that the Indian affairs office will now fall under the Office of International Affairs rather than the Office of Water. The words "American Indian" have also been struck from the office title and replaced with "International & Tribal". In other words, the EPA is acknowledging that Indian tribes are their own separate nations distinct from the United States of America -- an "international" entity.

Indian reservations are governed differently than the rest of America. Local tribal councils generally have final authority, as opposed to the state or federal government. This allows Native American tribes to override state gambling laws, for example, and build casinos on their property. Still Indian reservations are usually considered parts of America. Combining the EPA's tribal affairs bureaucrats with its international affairs bureaucrats seems to suggest that Indian reservations are their own sovereign nations separate from the United States. It's unsurprising, then, that the change was made at a request from the Indian tribes themselves.

In the past, Jackson has spoken of the need for "environmental justice" -- affirmative action from the government relating to the environment. "We are building strong working relationships with tribes, communities of color, economically distressed cities and towns, young people and others, but this is just a start. We must include environmental justice principles in all of our decisions," she said in January.

Obama to write Congress out of the equation

Checks and balances? Congressional authority? Barack Obama doesn't have time for all that.

Mr. Obama has not given up hope of progress on Capitol Hill, aides said, and has scheduled a session with Republican leaders on health care later this month. But in the aftermath of a special election in Massachusetts that cost Democrats unilateral control of the Senate, the White House is getting ready to act on its own in the face of partisan gridlock heading into the midterm campaign.

“We are reviewing a list of presidential executive orders and directives to get the job done across a front of issues,” said Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff.

Obama is fed up with the fact that his legislation must go through an increasingly hostile Senate...you know, the way the Founding Fathers intended it so we wouldn't turn into a dictatorship overnight. He's already partway there. His EPA is imposing limits on so-called "pollutants" like carbon dioxide without consulting anyone. Regardless, it looks like we'll be seeing many more executives orders coming through. You'll read about them here first.

Obama sneaks through another environmental scheme -- designed to hurt businesses

First the "hockey stick". Then Climategate. Now Lisa Jackson, head the Environmental Protection Agency, is harpooning American industry with more shady "science."

Yesterday the EPA announced that it will implement tough new standards on nitrogen dioxide.To most of us, nitrogen dioxide is just another component of the earth's atmosphere. But to Obama's EPA it's a toxic gas wreaking havoc on the planet. Up until now, the EPA just prohibited long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide. Now they'll regulate any exposure to this natural substance, even though there's no evidence that short-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide is harmful.

To do this, the EPA will be sending government goons to major roadways and urban areas to make sure nitrogen dioxide levels are low enough. That's Obama's Administration -- always on the lookout for one more way to take American industry to the woodshed.

The new codeword: Environmental Justice

Barack Obama and his radical leftists have come up with an almost endless list of weird Orwellian terms. These include: community reinvestment, community organizing, localism, and affirmative action. They all mean basically the same ugly thing: redistributing wealth from upper-class whites to lower-class African-Americans by mandate from the government.

Now there's a new codeword to watch out for: Environmental Justice. A favorite of the Environmental Protection Agency and its administrator Lisa Jackson, environmental justice has historically meant stopping pesticides that cause massive harm to the environment, for example. But in Barack Obama's world, the term takes on a whole new meaning: sticking it to the corporations while prioritizing African-Americans and Hispanics over whites.

Here's how EPA Administrator Jackson put it in a recent memo: "We are building strong working relationships with tribes, communities of color, economically distressed cities and towns, young people and others, but this is just a start. We must include environmental justice principles in all of our decisions." She goes on to talk about how the EPA must protect "vulnerable subpopulations".

The EPA's job is to protect the American environment. But in Barack Obama's world, it becomes just another instrument to lift up liberal minority interest groups at the expense of everyone else.

Water, water everywhere -- except on the EPA's list

From Barack Obama's increasing discredited EPA:

"The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday [today] will finalize its determination that greenhouse gases pose a danger to human health and the environment, paving the way for regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles, power plants, factories refineries and other major sources.

The move gives President Obama a significant tool to combat the gases blamed for the heating of the planet even while Congress remains stalled on economy-wide global warming legislation."

The EPA has unlimited authority to regulate greenhouse gases, thanks to the Supreme Court, and can now clamp down on the six greenhouse gases it identifies as dangerous. This gives EPA administrator Lisa Jackson incredible control over the United States economy. But missing from the list of is water vapor, the most abundant greenhouse gas by a country mile. Water vapor is twice as radiative a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide, and yet Obama's EPA is primarily obsessed with limiting CO2.

Far from regulating water vapor, Obama announced a plan to spend $1.2 billion in taxpayer money to invest in hydrogen cell cars. These vehicles supposedly don't pollute the atmosphere, but they do produce excess water -- the one greenhouse gas that the president's EPA has conveniently chosen to ignore.