judd's blog

The 'experts' have been telling us the U.S. doesn't need to manufacture things because we excel at innovating - coming up with new products and technologies.  But the Masachusetts Institutue of Technology finds that the loss of manufacturing is crippling our ability to innovate.  A shocking story from Manufacturing & Technology News.

Over the past forty years, power, money and greed have corrupted our elected government officials at every level. Members of both parties act as if their jobs are nothing more than a big political game. They’re so focused on insulting the other side and getting their own agendas passed that they forget who they’re supposed to be working for: the United States public.

President Obama wants 'fast track' power to unilaterally negotiate commerce with foreign countries and ram the TransPacific Partnership through Congress.  In the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton explains how this is unconstitutional - and why.

The former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund wonders why business leaders are silent about a catastrophic fiscal situation that threatens America's pre-eminence in the world.  But does the corporate elite really need a United States of America anymore?

President Obama cancelled his trip to the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Indonesia, blaming the government shutdown.  Obama had planned to meet with Asian leaders to sell them on the TransPacific Partnership (TPP), a corporate protectionist deal that makes the world safe for outsourcing. The standoff in Washington could end up saving American jobs if it kills the TPP.

As the battle over the Washington’s budget deficit heats up again, it is timely to point out that even a partial solution to the trade deficit would be a huge source of government revenue without raising taxes, writes Todd Lipscomb of MadeinUSAForever.com

The latest example of Speaker John Boehner’s coziness with Barack Obama is the current plan to give the President a grant of tremendous power, not authorized in the Constitution, called Fast Track. Fast Track would give the president power to sign trade agreements before Congress has an opportunity to vote on them and then unilaterally write legislation making those agreements U.S. federal law, writes Eagle Forum's Phyllis Schlafly.

President Obama is planning to ask Congress to surrender its constitutional authority and give him “Fast Track” Trade Promotion Authority. It's unconstitutional,  it makes a mockery of checks and balances and it gives the White House even MORE power. Everything you need to know about Fast TRack - and how we can stop it.

If we want to remain at the cutting edge of technology and innovation and maintain the critical mass of our manufacturing industry, we need to keep the R&D that fuels innovation, and we need to have effective enforcement of intellectual property rights, says guest blogger and AJA board member Michele Nash Hoff.

The USDA has lifted its long-time ban on imports of processed chicken from China, so those chicken nuggets, chicken strips and chicken breasts on store shelves and restaurant menus will be coming from you-know-where. BUt don't worry, their safety wil be certified - by Chinese inspectors!