By INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY

Obama has more czars than Russia

Czars, or functionaries with the task of ensuring White House commands are followed, have been part of the U.S. government for decades. It’s unclear, though, how many are in this administration, as it is not an official title. PolitiFact.com from the St. Petersburg Times believes the count has swelled to as many as 28 under President Obama.

Many of these czars, most of whom are useless or counterproductive, are sitting in newly created positions. They range from Kenneth Feinberg, the pay czar who is the special master on executive compensation, to Earl Devaney, who, as the stimulus accountability czar, will chair the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board. Others among the 28 include:

• Green jobs czar. This post is held by Van Jones. Officially he is Obama’s special adviser for enterprise and innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Jones was a founder and leader of Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement. The group, now disbanded, had Marxist, Leninist and Maoist influences.

By Jayne O’Donnell and James R. Healey, USA TODAY

Light, small cars are more dangerous

The Obama administration’s sweeping fuel-economy and emissions initiative announced Tuesday reopens a fierce debate over tradeoffs between fuel economy and auto safety.

The government says no tradeoff exists, because nothing in the new rules would force automakers to sell more small cars, which are more dangerous in crashes than larger ones. But some safety experts think otherwise.

“The deadlines are so tight that downsizing will be a tempting compliance strategy” for automakers, says John Graham, the former rulemaking chief in the Office of Management and Budget.

United Press

Obama with his energy Czar, some are questioning the Constitutionality of Obama's expansion of administrative power

U.S. President Barack Obama’s use of “czars” for several issues has a veteran U.S. senator issuing a cautionary letter warning of a slippery slope into secrecy.

White House officials say circumstances makes it critical to have so-called super aides while lawmakers and outside experts expressed fear that Obama is creating a system that is beyond congressional oversight and creating potential conflict among his advisers, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

“The challenges coming at us are bigger than anything we’ve seen since the Depression,” said Jim Messina, Obama’s deputy chief of staff. “It’s crucial to have people in these positions who can help us meet them head-on.”