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JERUSALEM — The U.S. should move in the direction of socialism but the country’s “white Majority” opposes welfare since such programs largely would benefit minorities, especially blacks and Hispanics, argued President Obama’s  newly confirmed regulatory czar, Cass Sunstein.

“The absence of a European-style social welfare state is certainly connected with the widespread perception among the white majority that relevant programs would disproportionately benefit African Americans (and more recently Hispanics),” wrote Sunstein.

The Obama czar’s controversial comments were made in his 2004 book “The Second Bil of Rights,” which was obtained and reviewed by WND.

In the book, Sunstein openly argues for bringing socialism to the U.S. and even leads support to communism.

“During the Cold War, the debate about [social welfare] guarantees took the form of pervasive disagreement between the United States and its communist adversaries. Americans emphasized the importance of civil and political liberties, above all free speech and freedom of religion, while communist nations stressed the right to a job, health care, and a social minimum.”

Continued Sunstein: “I think this debate was unhelpful; it is most plausible to see the two sets of rights as mutually reinforcing, not antagonistic.”  ARTICLE

WASHINGTON (CNN) — As one so-called White House czar resigned over the weekend, President Obama announced the appointment of another one Monday, much to the frustration of Republican critics.

By some accounts, Obama has nearly 30 czars, who are officially called special advisers. The czars cover issues from AIDS and health care to Middle East peace.

Czars are nothing new. They date back to early presidents, including Franklin Roosevelt. Republicans also had czars: Richard Nixon had an energy czar, and George H.W. Bush appointed the first drug czar.

But the positions are not subject to congressional oversight or Senate confirmation, which rankles critics of the administration.

“What you see with President Obama is this reliance on czars,” GOP strategist Kevin Madden said. “And I think there are probably even some corridors of power within the administration that probably didn’t like the idea that you have czars that are encroaching on their policy portfolios.”

David Gergen, a CNN contributor and former aide to past presidents, said the czar controversy has given Republicans an opening to question the administration’s decisions.

“Now with President Obama, we have a number of people who answer to the president but not to Congress,” he said. “When the Congress looks at it and sees over 30 people with czar titles, it naturally begins to worry that a lot of authority has been taken away and stripped of the Cabinet.”

The main issue, Gergen said, is that there are “about 25 too many” czars in the current White House.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, said that number is an “affront to the Constitution.”

“We have about two dozen so-called czars — the ‘pay czar,’ the ‘car czar,’ all these czars in the White House,” said Alexander, who is the Senate Republican Conference chairman.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/07/obama.czars/index.html

There’s the White House auto czar, the health care czar and the yet-to-be-named cyber czar. There are czars overseeing drugs, climate and regulatory action. There’s a pay czar overlooking executive compensation and talk of another for sports and culture.

And then, there’s the aging czar.

Kathy Greenlee, assistant secretary for aging in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the country’s top authority on issues facing the massively expanding population of older Americans. Her budget and profile are relatively modest, but Greenlee is tasked with oversight of a sprawling network of services and occupies a post with the potential to influence many aspects of government.

She also happens to be charged with an issue nearly everyone must deal with at some point.

“Aging is such a unifying topic,” Greenlee, 49, said in an interview from her Washington office. “Any issues that we work on with the administration will hopefully help everyone.”

Confirmed by the Senate in June, Greenlee now oversees a $1.5 billion annual budget and tens of thousands of organizations receiving federal funding for all types of senior services, including rides to doctor appointments, adult day care, home-delivered meals and legal assistance for elders in every part of the U.S. It gives her a voice on the health overhaul legislation, at least as related to seniors, and on issues involving Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, though those entitlement programs are not directly under her supervision. Source>>>