Obama Takeover of GM, North Korea, Ammo Shortage

1) GM CEO Wagoner to step down at White House request DETROIT – General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner will step down immediately at the request of the White House, administration officials said Sunday. The news comes as President Barack Obama prepares to unveil additional restructuring efforts designed to save the domestic auto industry. …Wagoner, 56, has repeatedly said he believed it was better for him to lead GM through its crisis, but he has faced sharp criticism on Capitol Hill for what many lawmakers regard as years of missteps, mistakes and arrogance by the Detroit Three automakers. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090330/ap_on_bi_ge/gm_wagoner What?!?!? How can that be constitutional? Oh, I forgot, that document is just a rag anyway… 2) Obama order worries speech groups Free speech advocates from across the political spectrum are accusing President Barack Obama of impinging on First Amendment rights and are gearing up to take their case public.  At issue is an unprecedented directive that Obama — who has long railed against lobbyists as the personification of a corrupt Washington culture — issued last week barring officials charged with doling out stimulus funds from talking to registered lobbyists about specific projects or applicants for stimulus cash. …“And that is unconstitutional, because it takes a class of people and says that they are not worthy to petition the government,” Wenhold said, adding that his group will hold a Tuesday news conference to highlight the First Amendment impact of the rule. “It just goes too far,” he said, asserting “if anybody is paying attention, they should be wondering ‘is my group next?’ If they take the right to petition the government away from one class of people, who is going to be next?” See: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20580.html 3) Gates: U.S. Not Prepared to Respond to North Korea Missile Launch The United States can do nothing to stop North Korea from breaking international law in the next 10 days by firing a missile that is unlikely to be shot down by the U.S. or its allies, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday. Appearing on "FOX News Sunday," Gates said North Korea "probably will" fire the missile, prompting host Chris Wallace to ask: "And there's nothing we can do about it?" "No," Gates answered, adding, "I would say we're not prepared to do anything about it." Gates said while he doesn't think North Korea has the capability yet to shoot off a long-range nuclear-tipped missile, "I don't know anyone at a senior level in the American government who does not believe this technology is intended as a mask for the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile." Gates conceded that North Korea will likely get away with thumbing its nose at the international community by test-firing the missile. He also said that six-party talks aimed at curbing Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions have been largely fruitless. "It's very troubling," Gates said. "The reality is that the six-party talks really have not made any headway anytime recently." See: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/29/gates-prepared-respond-north-korea-missile-launch/ 4) Fear of new regs drives gun, ammo shortage CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Concern that the Obama administration could impose a new ban on some semiautomatic weapons is driving worried gun owners to stockpile ammunition and cartridge reloading components at such a rate that manufacturers can't meet demand. …"You know there's something wrong when I've got little old ladies coming in buying 5,000 rounds of .22 shells," Holtz said. See: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hHN8azPdktiyq5rfkevDE2rauhnwD977SAKG0