David Ortez

The United States was founded in 1776 and at that time only white, male, property owners had the right to exercise their political influence via voting in an election. Women would not be granted that right until 1920. President Obama signed into law an equal-pay for equal work bill into law. This would end years of mostly gender discrimination in the labor industry that saw females underpaid compared to their male counterparts.

Phillip Elliott of the Associated Press reports that, “Obama, choosing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act as the first bill to sign as president, called it a "wonderful day" and declared that ending pay disparities between men and woman an issue not just for women, but for all workers.”

While most fuss was made about President Barack Obama’s first public act by imposing a salary freeze on aides that make over $100k, I was more impressed with his first jab at lobbyist and the culture that proliferated under the George W. Bush regime.

Jennifer Loven of the Associated Press reports, “Obama’s new lobbying rules will not only ban aides from trying to influence the administration when they leave his staff. Those already hired will be banned from working on matters they have previously lobbied on, or to approach agencies that they once targeted.”

For a brief moment, some on the right were ecstatic … leaping with joy that Obama had taken the Presidential Oath of Office … administered incorrectly by Chief Justice John Roberts.

They contended that Obama was officially not the President and lord knows what they expected to happen after that? Did they wish that Bush would pop out of nowhere and say, “I’m back” or that this mean that John McCain was the President?

The Associated Press has an interesting article by Elliot Spagat on illegal immigrants and public housing. The premise at hand as the title suggests is that thousands of illegal immigrants live in public housing.

Now one has to stop for a second to the let the headline sink in. After browsing the comments section of the Houston Chronicle and reactions on the blogosphere … it was pretty clear, this was a rallying call for anti-immigrant coalitions.

Even thought the Auto Industry Bailout passed in the House, it was nothing but a circus where the big boys hang out. Republican Senators displayed a dog and pony show to front their opposition to the bill.

They employed this tactic for the mere purpose so they could claim that they were against the bill. They will pass a revised version of this bill because if all hell breaks loose they do not want to be on the short end of the stick.

The Associated Press claims, “Republicans left a closed-door meeting where they balked at giving the automakers federal aid unless their powerful union agreed to slash wages next year to bring them into line with those of Japanese carmakers.”