The Czar will see you now; Gov. John Spratt?

By GRAHAM OSTEEN
Editor-At-Large
graham@theitem.com

Recently I've been talking with experienced, accomplished, non-hysterical people who are a little shell-shocked by the uncertainty of the world right now, terrified by the Obama administration's unprecedented power grab, and more seriously reflective about the future than at any point in my lifetime.

This has included doctors, attorneys, financial advisors, real estate brokers and developers, scientists, bankers, preachers, assorted business owners, teachers, and, most importantly, mamas who run households and know the real score on a daily basis.

There's a palpable sense of concern – I really miss irrational exuberance – and Supreme Leader Obama's continually growing number of czars is a clear move toward a completely un-American style of centralized power. The administration is fostering a crisis climate on all levels and effectively controlling a national press whose watchdog role is being diminished by the lousy economy and a new media landscape that's in complete transition.

Conservative (and a little obnoxious) commentator Larry Kudlow put it this way in a column this week: “There's no question that current government policies for taxes, spending and regulation are causing the U.S. to lose competitiveness in the global race for capital, prosperity, and growth. Higher tax rates undermine the incentive model of growth. At the margin, investment risk and work effort become less rewarding. On top of this, Obama's regulatory moves toward greater government control of the economy will further drown animal spirits in a sea of red tape born of bureaucratic officialdom.”

The nation is in uncharted waters. Of course, old Christopher Columbus and Capt. James Cook were too, but they got lucky bumping into land occasionally. We can only hope that's what happens in the coming months, and that the GOP gets its sorry act together soon enough to get some candidates elected who will at least try to put checks and balances back into the world's greatest democracy.



Less than a year ago – October 2008 – I referred to a letter to the editor from one of my favorite Sumter school teachers, Julia Talley, about how strong local newspaper reporting on Obama's dubious associations in Chicago were woefully underreported by the adoring national media. I would guess there's plenty of Chicago connections to be found among those lining up for the czar work, which pays quite well according to public records. Czars need big staffs and support teams with lots of titles. Even Pork King Democrat Robert Byrd noted that, “President Obama's ‘czar strategy' is an unprecedented power grab centralizing authority in the White House, outside congressional oversight and in violation of the Constitution.”

I heard from Mrs. Talley again this week:

I just renewed my subscription! What a difference at least 50 years make in the cost of being informed. Therefore I really want to be informed.

I could care less about the infomercial on page one about how to keep a pool clean. I am interested in when John Spratt stopped being fiscally conservative and morphed into a Washingtonian. Maybe too much standing behind Nancy Pelosi and next to James Clyburn did it.

You shouldn't give our representatives a pass, we need to know about the bills before Congress that are going to change our lives and how our representatives are going to vote before it becomes a done deal. Not everyone has the time or the access to this information. The Item needs to give the facts so that the subscribers can get in touch with their representatives.

I've read with interest the concern about the Blue Laws. They were first passed not to inconvenience the buyers but to give the workers time off so that they could attend worship services. Workers in that day and age were pretty much at the mercy of the employer, so if they didn't work they were quickly replaced. The simplest solution to the problem would be that if all the people who profess to be Christians would stay away the stores and restaurants couldn't afford to open!

Good stuff as usual from Mrs. Talley.

Regarding Rep. Spratt, whom I greatly admire, I have a radical suggestion: Grab lovely wife (and soul mate) Jane, come home to S.C. and run for governor. We need you, and Mrs. Talley can straighten you out on the financial issues.

There's still a chance to get out of D.C. before Obamageddon comes and we're all standing in government lines waiting on official approval for everything from health care to food vouchers.

So come home John before it's too late, and bring dignity and solid leadership back to our beleaguered state. Leave Mrs. Pelosi up there.



Thanks to all who submitted entries to “The Rebel Flag of Love” project.

The judges met Friday in an undisclosed secure location and decided that because submissions took the story in so many different directions that I should just keep the hilarious opening scene intact and work on it as a short story or screenplay. If I can get it approved by the Literature Czar, I may be able to offer it to the Film Czar for screening by the Theater Czar.

The Paperboy Chronicles will return soon.

Graham Osteen is co-president of Osteen Publishing Co. and Editor-At-Large of The Item. Contact him at The Item, 20 North Magnolia St., Sumter, S.C., 29150; graham@theitem.com, or call (803) 774-1352.

For more on conservative commentator Larry Kudlow, visit www.arcamax.com/lawrencekudlow.