Sibyl Mikell, laid off after 34 years on the job at the Mississippi River docks

In a scenario that could only (by the media) be pinned on an evil republican like Mitt Romney, what would you call it when the Obama administration outsources jobs that cause 42 blind workers in New Orleans to lose theirs?

A government program called AbilityOne, is a program that awards government contracts to nonprofits that employ the disabled to produce basic products for the military. A noble program for sure. Especially so when President Obama keeps saying how he won’t rest until everyone who wants a job can get a job. And how outsourcing jobs is un-patriotic. How ironic it is to learn that the administration cares about the economies in Asia over our own, and will take jobs away from workers here to give to people there?

This operation is an integral part of AbilityOne, a program that awards government contracts to nonprofits that employ blind and disabled people to produce basic products for the military. But Ms. Mikell and 42 coworkers were recently and abruptly laid off from their jobs at Lighthouse for the Blind in New Orleans because of a little-known change in federal procurement rules that encourages military forces in Afghanistan to buy from manufacturers and brokers in Central Asia.

“The fact is, the people feeling the impact are the most underemployed people in our country,” said Renee Vidrine, president of Lighthouse for the Blind, who said the changes break both the intent and the letter of the law.

Aside from what President Obama might call a “boneheaded decision,” the lesson here for everyone leading up to the mid-term election is this, what government gives you, government can take away.

Meanwhile, where is the outrage? Where is the so-called media watchdog?

Links: Feds take jobs from disabled Americans, send them to Central Asia  |  Lighthouse Louisiana

h/t Rodger Hedgecock