Barack backs union bigs over rank-and-file

More EFCA stories: here • More card-check stories: here

Fascistic labor scheme would end workers' right to a secret ballot union election

There are few surprises here. Barack Obama broadly supports expanding labor's right to organize, including the Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow workers to form unions by simply collecting signatures from a majority of the workforce. He also supports raising the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation.

Republican rival John McCain seldom mentions these sorts of workplace issues in the presidential campaign (they're not discussed on his website, suggesting his labor agenda is more likely reactive than proactive. However, on labor and workplace legislation, his sympathies lie mostly with business interests. He opposes the Employee Free Choice Act.

THE OBAMA AGENDA, IN DETAIL

Barack Obama supports labor's right to organize on several fronts. He co-sponsored (along with nearly every other Senate Democrat) the Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow a card check (the signatures of a majority of the workforce) to determine whether a union is formed, replacing the secret ballot. He would "fight attacks on workers' rights to organize," especially at the National Labor Relations Board. He also supports a ban on permanently replacing striking workers.

Additionally, Obama would raise the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2011, and index it to inflation. He backs expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act. Obama would require companies that wrongly classify employees as independent contractors to pay back taxes. He would beef up the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and improve whistleblower protection. He supports legislation to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work and to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Obama Record: Obama is endorsed by every major union, and rates highly on labor's legislative scorecards. Conversely, the Alliance For Worker Freedom, an organization dedicated to the "promotion of free and open labor markets," has rated Obama at the bottom of the Senate in each of the three years he's served there.

Obama introduced the Independent Contractor Proper Classification Act of 2007, which would make it harder for companies to classify employees as independent contractors and make it easier for the government to collect back taxes when they do. He has co-sponsored or backed other legislative efforts on behalf of workers, including bills to strengthen health and safety protection, overturn recent NLRB decisions, and a bi-partisan effort to extend the right to organize to public safety workers.

THE MCCAIN AGENDA, IN DETAIL

Though McCain hasn't had much to say on workplace issues, he does support flexible work arrangements, and would establish a "National Commission on Workplace Flexibility and Choice." Among other things, the commission would lay out a blueprint for "modernizing the nation's labor laws so that they allow for more flexible scheduling arrangements" and ensuring they don't limit working at home.

McCain opposes the Employee Free Choice Act; he called it an "assault on democracy" as he moved to block a vote on it in 2007. (He called on the Senate to pass instead the "Secret Ballot Protection Act of 2007," which he co-sponsored.) Moreover, in his Congressional career, McCain has largely supported business interests on labor legislation -- he supported the Alliance For Worker Freedom on key votes at least 80 percent of the time in each of the last three years. (One exception: he ultimately voted in favor of the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993 -- although, according to the AFL-CIO, not before supporting an unsuccessful amendment to weaken it first. He now opposes its expansion.)

DOES IT MATTER?

Probably not. Though proponents of the Employee Free Choice Act call their bill "bipartisan," the Republican caucus was nearly united in its effort to filibuster the bill in the Senate. (Only Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania voted in favor of ending debate.) Even if Democrats pick up five seats in the November election, they're still not likely to succeed in bringing the bill up for a vote.

The National Federation of Independent Business has several other legislative priorities that reflect a general wariness toward government mandates on employers. With the exceptions described above, neither candidate has had much to say about these, which would suggest that despite the efforts of the labor movement, there will be little movement on these issues on Capitol Hill.

In the face of Congressional inaction, however, there are a couple places where the candidates' positions do matter: the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board. McCain hasn't brought it up, but Obama promises to "ensure that his labor appointees support workers' rights."

- Tamara Schweitzer

(wistv.com)

ACORN tops its 2008 swing-state goals

More ACORN stories: here • Voter-fraud stories: here

Union-backed voter fraud group completes the necessary groundwork for Barack

In 1992, Barack Obama worked for Project Vote for about seven months; now Project Vote and ACORN--a coalition of community organizations serving low income families--just wrapped up a voter registration drive targeting battleground states Obama needs to win the White House.

Though officially non-partisan, the focus of the ACORN/Project Vote voter drive was on groups leaning Democratic in the presidential contest: African American, young, Latino and low income earners. They are called "historically underrepresented in elections" in a press release issued by the group on Monday. Republicans would call these target groups Democrats.

ACORN/Project Vote ran voter registration operations in 21 states; included are the battlegrounds Colorado, Florida, Michigan (since move to Obama) Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

McCain campaign spokesman Ben Porritt released this statement after this item was posted.

"ACORN is one of the largest radical organizations in America that represents another questionable association of Barack Obama's. Obama's campaign has been endorsed by ACORN's political action committee and their sister corporation received nearly $1 million from Obama's campaign which they originally misrepresented on their FEC report. ACORN masquerades their efforts as good yet the endless examples of voter fraud and wrongdoing makes clear that their true mission is to poison the political process. ACORN's efforts are reminiscent of the sleazy Chicago politics that Barack Obama embraces."

From Acorn press release......

ABOUT ACORN'S VOTER REGISTRATION PROGRAM

ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is the largest grassroots community organization in the United States, comprised of over 450,000 member families organized into 1000+ neighborhood chapters in over 100 cities across the country. The mission of ACORN is to empower low and moderate-income people by building effective and solidly rooted organizations capable of winning concrete improvements for low-income communities.

Voter Registration Program Overvew

In 2004 ACORN helped over 1.1 million people register to vote. In 2006 ACORN helped over 547,000 people register to vote (a record for an off-year election cycle). In 2006 ACORN was the largest single 3rd party registrant of young people under the age of 30. In 2007-2008 ACORN has already helped register over 1.27 million people nationwide. The majority of ACORN registrants are low-income, about 75% are African-American, 25% are Latino and 50% are under 30 years old.

2007-2008 VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE
GOALS AND SUCCESS TO DATE
State Voter Registration
Goal
Progress
as of 9/28/08

AZ
12,000
12,018

CA
45,000
37,550

CO
60,000
64,720

CT
20,000
20,081

FL
144,000
147,134

KY
14,200
14,200

LA
12,000
12,452

MI
206,500
208,601

MN
38,000
41,152

MO
53,000
47,362

NV
85,000
86,368

NM
69,000
73,758

NC
30,000
22,746

OH
220,000
237,589

PA
133,500
149,035

TX
39,400
43,160

WI
32,000
31,203

TOTAL
1,265,600
1,271,150

- Lynn Sweet, Washington Bureau Chief

(blogs.suntimes.com)

ACORN registrations 'no good' in Indiana

More ACORN stories: here • Voter-fraud stories: here

Union-backed voter fraud group for Barack overwhelms swing-state elections officials

New voter registrations closed Monday in Lake County with possible record-breaking numbers and simmering allegations of fraud and racial discrimination.

Elections board Director Sally LaSota said more than 12,000 voter registration forms are waiting to be processed from recent days before the county knows how many potential voters are ready to cast ballots in the Nov. 4 general election. "It may be a record," she said. Porter County has processed at least 3,500 voter applications since the spring primary in May, officials there said.

However, the large influx has brought new headaches. LaSota said Monday representatives of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, a grassroots activist group conducting registration drives, dropped off 2,000 new voter applications in Lake County.

"About 1,100 are no good," she said.

LaSota said the flawed forms are incomplete or contain unreadable handwriting -- similar to hundreds of other forms that ACORN produced prior to this week. She said some ACORN vote canvassers apparently pulled names and addresses from telephone books and forged signatures.

A spokesman for ACORN couldn't be reached Monday for comment.

Lake County Republican Chairman John Curley said Monday the ACORN registration drive is the main reason he opposes the opening of early voting centers in Gary, Hammond and East Chicago.

He filed suit last week in state and federal courts to stop the three branch offices from opening today. County officials agreed last week to delay opening the early locations until U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen rules on the matter later this week.

Early voting did begin Monday in the Lake County election board's office at 2293 N. Main St. in Crown Point.

Curley said opening too many early voting locations would strain the county election staff's efforts to stop people from using fraudulent registrations.

Jay Kenworth, a spokesman for the Indiana Republican party said Monday, "We are obviously deeply disturbed by the news of these fraudulent registrations..."

An attorney for the Indiana State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, filed papers in federal court alleging Curley's opposition to early voting was an unconstitutional to discriminate against black and Hispanic voters of the county.

(thetimesonline.com)

Barack, ACORN: As close as you can get

Related: "ACORN: Stealing Elections"
More ACORN stories: here • Voter-fraud stories: here

Voting: Barack Obama's ties to ACORN

A columnist and author says he has serious concerns about a left-wing organization that has received tax money and has close ties with Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

John Fund is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal. His new book titled Stealing Elections: How vote fraud threatens our Democracy details questionable activities of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN. Fund claims ACORN has been involved in voter registration scandals in about a half dozen states and have had people convicted in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Seattle, where they had to pay a heavy fine to prosecutors.

"They appear, according to dissidents with ACORN and former employees of ACORN, to simply want to register as many people as possible -- and they don't particularly care if they really exist," Fund contends. "This creates the potential for voter fraud because, in most states, you don't have to show ID to vote, and there is precious little in our honor system of voting."

Obama, according to Fund, had serious and long-lasting ties with ACORN, including serving as its attorney.

"He litigated on their behalf in several election law cases in which he was trying to water down laws designed to prevent voter fraud, and since then he has been endorsed by ACORN's political arm," Fund explains. "He spoke last year at their annual convention, and he has never criticized their methods, never criticized the spreading scandals that surround ACORN, both in financial terms and in terms of violating the voting laws."

Columnist Michelle Malkin pointed out in June that Obama "cut his ideological teeth working with ACORN as a 'community organizer' and legal representative" -- and that, according to ACORN, Obama trained its Chicago members in leadership seminars, and in turn, ACORN volunteers worked on his campaigns.

(onenewsnow.com)

LA Times cites ACORN-Obama-Alinsky tie

Saul Alinsky stories: here • More collectivism stories: here

For the first time since 1936, the Stockton Record is endorsing a Democrat for president. Can the Orange County Register be far behind? From the Associated Press:

The newspaper says it’s supporting Barack Obama over Republican John McCain because the Democratic candidate has “demonstrated he will think things through, seek advice and actually listen to it.” The editorial also credits Obama with an ability to inspire and said he would put regulators in federal oversight agencies that were “systematically dismantled by the Bush administration.” Editor Mike Klocke said the last time the paper endorsed a Democrat was in 1936, when it backed the re-election of Franklin Roosevelt.

Well, the right-leaning Register editorial page has expressed some concerns about McCain, but may not go as far as to endorse Obama.

From its Orange Punch opinion blog: "One of the questions that remain about Barack Obama is the contention that he is a far-left radical who began his political life as the kind of community organizer Saul Alinsky, author of "Rules for Radicals," godfather of the community organizing network ACORN, and strong proponent of confronting the “system” with provocative and sometimes even violent activity, urged people to be, and hasn’t really changed. I confess that I don’t really know. He certainly doesn’t sound like a radical now, but is that a smokescreen?"

- Shelby Grad

(latimesblogs.latimes.com)

Yes, ACORN matters

More ACORN stories: here • Voter-fraud stories: here

It would be a mistake to misunderestimate the power of ACORN, the union-backed fraud group

Recent Leader-Telegram articles seem to indicate there is not much difference between our two presidential candidates regarding this economic mess. I disagree.

Does it matter that Sen. Barack Obama was No. 2 on the list of preferred recipients of political contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac employees?

Does it matter that Democrats have been blocking Republican attempts at providing more oversight of these institutions?

Does it matter that Franklin Raines, of the failed Fannie Mae, has been an economic adviser for Obama?

Does it matter that Tony Rezko, who has been convicted of corruption, supported Obama's campaign and served on his campaign finance committee? This same Rezko promoted low-income housing projects that have now failed.

Does it matter that Obama supported a multibillion-dollar United Nations pact against global poverty (which the U.S. will pay most of) while his own half-brother lives in a hut in Kenya?

Does it matter that Obama has had a long and intimate relationship with ACORN, an association that has pressured banks to provide loans to low- and middle-income families for homes that these families really could not afford?

Does it matter that ACORN is now being investigated for voter fraud?

Does it matter that Obama sat on a board with William Ayers for the Woods Fund of Chicago? Ayers is a self-admitted terrorist who hates America.

Does it matter that Obama was able to sit under the pastorate of Jeremiah Wright for 20 years while Wright spewed anti-American rhetoric?

Is this all guilt by association? Where is the judgment? The very programs that Obama promoted as a community organizer are the ones that are bringing our economy down now.

I ask you: Does it matter? Let's not vote more spending and corruption into Washington. Let John McCain have a shot at cleaning this mess up.

- SHEILA WILKINSON, Eau Claire

(leadertelegram.com)

Local PA churchgoers raise Barack-ACORN tie

More ACORN stories: here • Voter-fraud stories: here

Union-backed fraud group ACORN becomes an issue in crucial swing-state

One night after vice presidential candidates squared off in their lone debate of the election, a group of Franklin County residents rallied in support of John McCain.

The rally for John McCain was hosted by Body in Christ Church assistant pastor Lisa Blackstock on Friday night at the church. The rally, which was attended by about 30 people, consisted of speeches from Franklin County Republican party chairman Jim Taylor and Franklin County Young Republicans chairman Ben Rice. "Moose" stew was also available, and the evening concluded with the children in attendance taking cracks at a donkey pinata.

Blackstock said that she got the idea to hold the rally after reading McCain's Web site and discovering that there weren't any scheduled for the Franklin County area. She told the group that she had recently been receiving angry letters from people who questioned holding the event at the church because of the separation of church and state in the Constitution. However, Blackstock said she was more concerned about faith not being involved in people's decision.

"When you take God out of it, you're in big trouble," Blackstock said.

Blackstock said that she's in favor of McCain because of his pro-life stance and his history in the military and as a Congressman.

"I think that he's an American hero," Blackstock said.

Taylor spoke to the audience about the two candidates and questioned Obama's affiliation with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now and his association with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Taylor added that Obama attempts to hide his past, while McCain's is more open and able to be examined.

Taylor also said that a society with strong faith is important to the overall country.

"There has never been a strong, free country that didn't have strong faith," Taylor said.

Gina Rowland of Chambersburg was awarded the winner of the Sarah Palin look-alike contest. Rowland, who arrived at the event in wire-rimmed glasses with her hair pulled back and a "Palin Power" T-shirt, said that she respects Palin because they share similar beliefs on abortion and the right to bear arms.

She said it's the first time that anyone's said that she looks like the vice presidential candidate and found the award flattering.

"I'm proud to have people say that I look like her. And I'm more proud to share her beliefs," Rowland said.

(publicopiniononline.com)

'The Man from ACORN' (3)

Related: 'The Man from ACORN' (1) • 'The Man from ACORN' (2)
More ACORN stories: here • Voter-fraud stories: here

GOP's Barack-ACORN Fact Sheet (3)

• Terry Stated "It Is Fair To Question How Many Fraudulent Registrations" Submitted By ACORN May "Lead To Fraudulent Votes," And Also Pointed Out That ACORN May Be "Willing To Undertake" Other Actions "To Influence The Election."

James Terry: "Furthermore, as this mega organization with a decades long history of violating the law is turned to get out the vote efforts, we believe it is fair to question how many fraudulent registrations may lead to fraudulent votes or what other activities they are willing to undertake to influence the election." ("CRL Testimony On ACORN's Voter Fraud," The Wall Street Journal, 9/25/08)

Some Of The Highlights Of ACORN Suspicious Activity In 2008:

• Many Voter Applications, Submitted By ACORN, Appear To Be Fraudulent And Are Being Withheld By Seminole County's Elections Supervisor Until They Are Proven Legitimate.

"Local elections officials are looking into potential election fraud and some of the information is pointing to a Democratic-leaning voter's group. ACORN ... has been registering thousands of new voters for this year's election, but in Seminole County, some voter applications are being withheld until it's proven they're legitimate. ... Seminole County's elections supervisor is holding up dozens of voter registration applications because they appear to be fraudulent: wrong addresses, bad signatures and more. ... Many of the applications with suspect information were turned-in by the activist group ACORN." ("Elections Officials Look Into Voter Fraud," WESH Orlando, 9/23/08)

• "ACORN Admits That They Had A Case Of Voter Fraud Happen This Week In Seminole County," Florida.

"ACORN admits that they had a case of voter fraud happen this week in Seminole County, but say they have since fired that employee and the faulty registration has been thrown out." (Susie Hassan, "ACORN Blamed For Florida Voter Fraud," WZVN-HD ABC News, 9/25/08)

• In Clark County, Nevada, ACORN Allegedly Submits 2,000 To 3,000 Fraudulent Applications Each Week.

"ACORN, which stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, claims to have collected 60,000 new voter registrations in Clark County since February. The group, which works to promote the interests of lower-income people, is aiming for 100,000 by Labor Day. ... The group has drawn accusations of voter fraud and criminal investigations in several states. Last year, authorities in Washington state brought felony charges against ACORN workers for filing false voter registrations. Some ACORN workers pleaded guilty and went to jail, while the organization paid $25,000 and agreed to have its registration efforts monitored in a settlement with Washington state authorities. [Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry] Lomax said while he supports the goal of getting more people registered to vote, he sees rampant fraud in the 2,000 to 3,000 registrations ACORN turns in every week." (Molly Ball, "New Voter Sign-Ups Up," Las Vegas Review-Journal, 7/7/08

- Republican National Committee Press Office, +1-202-863-8614

(sunherald.com)

Obama: A puppet of revolutionary billionaires

Saul Alinsky stories: here • More collectivism stories: here

Barack's ties to ACORN, Alinsky cited

"From tiny ACORNs mighty oaks do grow" is the old slogan, from which the revolutionary organization ACORN derives its name. Like so many little hints dropped by the Left, you get a very clear message if you just think about it from their neo-Marxist revolutionary point of view. In the same way, the Sixties Weathermen Underground bombers got their name from a Bob Dylan line, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing." This name was one of Bill Ayers' early literary efforts, you might say. The bombs set in the Sixties by the Weatherman Underground were just a means to an end: Ayers and Dohrn wanted to become famous and earn their Leftist street cred. They didn't care if people died to make it happen. You gotta break some eggs to make that omelet.

Looking back in 1995 Ayers said,

"I am a radical, Leftist, small 'c' communist ... [Laughs] Maybe I'm the last communist who is willing to admit it. ... The ethics of Communism still appeal to me. I don't like Lenin as much as the early Marx."

"I am not surprised to learn about this," said Niger Innis, spokesman of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). "It is clear that Barack Obama's ties to the left are familial, generational, and have lasted for several years."

Those are very fine distinctions, Professor. Ayers "was never a Stalinist," he says, but in his lifetime the mass murderers were Mao Zedong and Pol Pot, who also, by some inexplicable coincidence, turned out to be communists. Small c or big, they didn't care. It's like a confirmed white racist saying he was never a Hitlerite. So what? You're still associated with mass murder, with all your "ethics of Communism."

After the Sixties the New Left "Marched Through the Institutions" -- a phrase derived from Mao Zedong, who may have killed some 40 million Chinese, but of course that is not relevant to Professor Ayers. The Boomer Left was wildly successful and conquered America and Europe from within. That is why our media, our culture, and our education system are what they are today. You can tell what a politician thinks today by his or her relationship to the Boomer Left. (Think Hillary versus Sarah.)

Splitting blacks from white Americans was always part of the plan, according to Bill Ayers himself, and according to his radical buds like J-Wright. See, the trouble with old-fashioned Communism in America was that the actual workers got rich as capitalism starts to work better and better. Plumbers were able to charge mucho dolares. Blue collar workers went out and bought SUVs and boats, and went fishing. So the Left had to find a new, miserable proletariat, and right there were the inner city blacks, uprooted from their Christian families and work ethic in the South, often feeling lost and vulnerable. That's where Black Liberation Theology came in and the Black Muslims. That's where ACORN recruited its heavies. That's where the Democrats get their most obedient voters to this very day.

Ayers himself spent half an adult lifetime as an "education professor," which in his twisted view comes down to brainwashing millions of kids to think just like him. He is the Great Indoctrinator, and very proud of it. That's the meaning of his infamous 2001 cover photo, stamping on the American flag. Remember this is a publicity photo -- it's a message to the masses.

It has been speculated that Ayers ghosted at least one of Obama's two autobiographies, which seems likely on the face of it, though there is no proof positive. It would fit Ayers' particular pattern of malevolent narcissism and manipulativeness. You can imagine them tape-recording it together, and Ayers doing the write-up, Barack making the final touches, and off it goes to the (amazingly sympathetic) publisher. John F. Kennedy received the Pulitzer Prize for Profiles in Courage, which was ghosted by speech writer Ted Sorensen. It made Kennedy famous among liberal opinion mongers, just as Obama's autobiographies made him famous in that same fatuous circle. They figure if Obama can write, he must be one of the intellectual elite. But it's a fraud, of course, the same PR stunt Kennedy used, blessed by Joseph P. Kennedy's money and connections.

Obama is one of the ACORNs planted by the Left. He is the child of a Kenyan Third World socialist and a hippy chick from Kansas. Obama's white grandfather persuaded Frank Davis, the CPUSA propagandist in Hawaii, to become his teenage mentor. Since Davis had revealed himself in his porn books to be a pedophile, it was quite a risk to take. But it was all for the great cause.

Obama's career path was constantly greased by Leftist zealots, well into Harvard Law and beyond. To get to Harvard he was backed by ranting black radical Don Warden, now known as Khaleed Al-Mansoor, a close advisor to both the Black Panthers and Saudi Prince Bin Talal; Obama's early career may have been funded by his Saudi friend. (The original Khaleed Al Mansoor was a Caliph of Baghdad. Al Qaida aims to re-establish the ancient Caliphate. This is not an accidental alliance.) The Saudi motive for being tight with black radicals is obvious; it may now be really paying off in Obama's election. This is not to say that it's as simple as allegations that Obama is a Muslim, or a having Muslim strings. It's just two kinds of radicalism with a common enemy: The modern world as symbolized by the United States.

Like the Saudis, it seems that the Syrians have also been interested in Chicago radicals. Tony Rezko is a dual US-Syrian citizen, who constantly traveled back to Syria "for business." In a place like Baathist Syria you can't do that without the active collusion of the regime; it's like Saddam Hussein's old regime. Rezko, who just got convicted of fraud in connection with Illinois Governor Blagojevich, contacted Obama even while he was still at Harvard, to offer him a job in Chicago. Obama turned him down, but showed up in Chicago later. Hyde Park is full of Old Lefties like Ayers. And oddly enough, it's also full of Muslim radicals and corruptos like Rezko. "Les extrêmes se touchent," as the French said when Hitler and Stalin made their famous Pact in 1938. "The extremes join hands." They are all totalitarians who will murder for power. The Saudis are world-destroying radicals in their own way; that's the creed of Mohammed. The Lefties are just religious fanatics in their own way. Give them a common enemy, and they stick to each other like powerful magnets.

Radical Jim McKnight also backed Obama's entry into Harvard Law. World Net Daily wrote:

"McKnight, who enforced affirmative action for Attorney General Robert Kennedy, was far more than that to young Obama. He helped train him in the agitation tactics of Alinsky, who wrote the organizing manual, 'Rules for Radicals,' which he dedicated to mankind's 'very first radical, Lucifer.'"

And here we are today, with the first affirmative action presidential campaign. Tacit implied slogan: "You owe him your vote to make up for your racial guilt." Black slavery ended in 1863 at the cost of hundreds of thousands of mostly white lives in the Civil War; but never mind. It makes perfect sense to all the millions of mind-numbed Obots.

Back in Chicago, Barack Obama was "spiritually mentored" for twenty years by wild man Jeremiah Wright, whose Liberation Theology has been called "Marxism" by none less than Pope Benedict himself -- a man who understands the difference between theology and atheist ideology. The New Republic describes Barack Obama listening to J-Wright in church,

"Obama, sitting in the third row with his wife and two daughters, Malia and Natasha, stands, claps, prays, and sways along with the rest of the congregation. During the sermon, he watches the preacher carefully and writes notes."

Wonder if the Obama campaign would like to share those sermon notes with the voters? Oh, I forgot, the Obamas didn't know what J-Wright was screaming out on all those Sundays in church. Well, forget it then.

Wright started out being a Muslim and Black Nationalist, close to the Black Muslim movement of Louis Farrakhan, and became a Christian of convenience. How do we know? Because his creed has no God and no humility. All it has is rage and racism, following the Alinsky formula (from Marx and Lenin) that's it's essential first to whip up a lot of hatred for the enemy. That's what J-Wright does very well.

All this was a great career move for J-Wright, making him a high-paid agitator, or -- pahdon me -- a "community activist." That's the connection with ACORN, the network of "community activists," who packed the early caucus states in the Democrat primaries for Obama to beat Hillary. By packing the caucuses they got around the need for a vote by majority of registered Democrats. Bolshevik playbook, anybody? But then Mayor Richard Daley the Elder would also recognize that one.

Black Liberation "Theology" is hodge-podge Marxism under the guise of Christianity. It has no place for God, who is just subsumed under the next excuse for racial agitation. BLT is nothing but the mutated Marx virus, now deeply nestled in the body of a new host. In Chicago radical circles, even a sinister egomaniac like Father Michael Pfleger can openly inflame racial hatred against Hillary Clinton (!), and the Catholic diocese can't even get fire him. The infectious virus has taken over the host.

Obama's campaign is just filled with little inside references to Communism. The speech in Berlin began with the words, "Citizens of the World!" --- a blatant echo of Marx and Engels' most famous slogan, "Workers of the World, Unite!" -- the last line of the Communist Manifesto. That's not close to the American tradition of political speech-making. It's pure 19th century Europe. Marx and Engels were Prussians, imbued with the Prussian sense of imperialist superiority. Berlin is the capital of Prussia, and became the capital of the united German Reich, cobbled together by Otto Bismarck.

The European Union is a quintessential Bismarckian enterprise, and Bismarck was the original model for the worldwide imperialism of Marx. Yes, things went off the tracks a little bit in the Third Reich, but so what? Anybody can make a few bloopers. That's why the European Left loves Obama: They recognize him as one of their own. He gives out all those old beloved signals. Barack Obama is emphatically not a politician in the American mold. He is an alien in a very profound cultural sense.

Obama organized his rally of 200,000 Berliners in front of the Prussian war monument. The whole Marx-worshipping Left understands that. It's like Martin Luther King giving his speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The location is the message.

Getting the rock band the Decembrists to start his biggest American mass rally in Portland, OR after beating Hillary was another signal to the insiders. The Decembrists are known for beginning their concerts with the Internationale, the Soviet imperial anthem. All these little hints are dropped to give the Left that little thrill of knowing something nobody else knows. It's childish, yes, but it's also a sign of who is coming into power if Obama wins. This is a bunch of very long-thinking, very radical, very egomaniacal folks, with deep roots in the old CP USA.

Today's Democrat Party is dominated by them. Just look at the evidence. It's all there once you start looking. It's not even hidden very well. But you have to be willing to face it.

When Obama debated Hillary he plainly gave her the middle finger, to the delighted whoops and shouts of his own supporters. You can see the YouTube video right here. His supporters went nuts as soon as he gave that "FU" sign on his cheek, while saying that Hillary is "in her element."

That's Obama's style: Look good to the dumb American masses, but give off those little finger symbols to the insiders. But "don't make any sudden moves," or you'll scare the whites. It's clever and devious. It's "the O-dacity" of Obamanism.

This whole campaign is dominated by double messages: Obama pretends to be a traditional American politician, while dropping constant winks and nods to the radical Left, who are yucking it up in the background. The message? "I'm your guy. Let me lie to the sucker masses, and we'll clean them out after I get into the White House."

Obama is surrounded by a tight circle of Communist billionaires. That's another old pattern. Karl Marx was supported by his wealthy friend Friedrich Engels. Frank Davis was married to a white Chicago socialite -- a socialist socialite. Bill Ayers is heir to his dad's Commonwealth Edison connections and fortune. Penny Pritzker is heiress to the Hyatt fortune. Al Gore's father was in the pocket of KGB billionaire paymaster Armand Hammer, whose very adopted name was a pun on a famous Communist symbol of the workers' "arm holding the hammer." Ironically, Armand Hammer ran Occidental Petroleum, which made the Gore family rich. But Al Gore, Jr. is now running a bloated campaign against oil, because it is doomed to destroy the planet.

Gore still runs with the wealthiest revolutionary capitalists in the world, the Google and Apple founders, who like all smart kids are eager to conquer the Earth -- for the good of the poor and disadvantaged, of course! They are just so unselfish. For that matter the Ford and MacArthur Foundations are now funding the Left. "Pinch" Sulzberger is the hereditary boss at the New York Times, for all the world like a hereditary aristocrat in Old Europe. Big money speculator Gyorgyi Soros is just the latest addition to a long string of revolutionary billionaires, eager to carry on the mission of old Karl the rabble-rouser. It fits their amazing snobbery to a T. They are the new Ruling Class in their own minds.

These are not American Democrats or liberals in any traditional sense. They are European-style rich Sixty-Eighters (soixant-huiteurs), and they pay for radicals to make their empty lives meaningful. They think they are born to rule, and will do anything for power. Nicholas Sarkozy started his presidency of France by bitterly attacking the 68ers for systematically ruining French culture. Sound familiar?

So is Obama a puppet of revolutionary billionaires? CORE's Niger Innis seemed to say so:

He meant several decades.

But Barack Obama is a lifelong chameleon, opportunist and Shakespearian con man. It's impossible to know who is pulling whose strings. Obama has ridden his revolutionary friends to his present pinnacle of power -- well within reach of the American presidency. Once he gets there, he can screw his backers -- if he decides to, and if they can't blackmail him to keep him under control.

My guess is that Obama could jump either way if he is elected. But I don't want to find out. Gambling the fate of the United States on a fifty-fifty toss of a nickel is a very bad idea.

Rule 1 for November 4: Don't risk destroying the country.

- James Lewis

(americanthinker.com)

McGovern: EFCA cannot be justified

More EFCA stories: here • More card-check stories: here

Dem big rips 'no-vote' unionism scheme

More EFCA stories: here • More card-check stories: here

George McGovern clashes with Barack Obama over workers' democratic rights

The Employee Freedom Action Committee (EFAC) continued its $30 million dollar campaign with a new television advertisement premiering during tonight’s Presidential Debate coverage. EFAC is spending $2 million airing the ad which, in addition to running during tonight’s debate, will run heavily in seven states that EFAC has been targeting since May. The campaign has criticized Senators and candidates who support the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).

The ad features former Democratic Presidential nominee George McGovern condemning those in his own party who have supported EFCA. In the 60 second ad, Sen. McGovern speaks directly to camera and highlights what’s wrong with the legislation.

Video: "McGovern: EFCA cannot be justified"


The transcript of the ad is as follows:

I’m concerned about a bill in Congress that would effectively eliminate an employee’s right to a private vote when deciding whether to join a union.

It’s hard to believe that any politician would agree to a law denying millions of employees the right to a private vote.

I have always been a champion of labor unions. But I fear that today’s union leaders are turning their backs on democratic workplace elections.

I’ve listened to all their arguments and reviewed the facts on both sides.

Quite simply, this proposed law cannot be justified.

Working families deserve a voice and a private vote.

I’m Senator George McGovern and I approve this message because democracy is something that should never be sacrificed.

Voice Over: For more information on keeping democracy alive, go to employeefreedom.org.

“This legislation is an attempt by unions to get a bailout from their friends in Congress. George McGovern rightly criticizes the politicians who are selling out and backing this indefensible legislation,” said J. Justin Wilson, Managing Director for the Employee Freedom Action Committee. “Democrats are re-paying their union funders with legislation that hijacks workplace democracy which will no doubt result in restrictive work rules, inefficiencies, and job loss as the unions have proven capable of doing time and again..”

"EFCA is the elephant in the room during tonight’s debate and we are hopeful that Senator McGovern’s comments will spur discussion on this important issue,” he concluded.

View the Ad at www.employeefreedom.org.

The Employee Freedom Action Committee (EFAC) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization fighting for fair elections in the workplace. For more information or to schedule an interview contact Tim Miller at 202-420-7864

For More Information Contact:
Tim Miller 202.420.7864 or
202.262.7110

(prweb.com)

Employers protect secret-ballot elections

More EFCA stories: here • More card-check stories: here

Union bigs, Dems want to force disinterested workers into unions without an election

The Jefferson County (IL) Chamber of Commerce has issued an official position of opposition for federal legislation which affects employees and businesses and attempts at unionization. H.R. 800, known as the Employee Free Choice Act, would allow union certification without a secret ballot election.

“Essentially, if a union representative comes to someone’s door and says they would like the employee to sign a card that they would like the union to come into the business, that counts as a vote,” Chamber Executive Director Floyd Brookman said. “The way it is now, the employee can sign the card and if the union gets enough cards signed, a secret ballot vote is allowed. ... We think that signing the card in front of the union representative may intimidate some employees into signing and that the secret ballot process should continue.”

The official position notification, is part of a grassroots effort by the U.S. Chamber of commerce to counter a $400 million effort by trade unions to pass the legislation in early 2009, according to information from the chamber.

“This legislation, which is often referred to as the card check bill, will give unions the right to achieve recognition when a majority of workers sign cards authorizing it,” JCCC President Curt Mowrer stated in the official opposition letter. “This card check process may expose the employee to coercion and intimidation. Currently, employees can determine if they wish to be represented by a particular union through an employee secret ballot election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board. This well established process protects the interests of unions, employers and employees. Secret ballot elections have been recognized as the preferred method for determining whether a union has majority support.”

Mowrer said the card check process “excludes the employer’s opportunity to provide employees with information that may be unfavorable to the unions. This limitation on the employer’s lawful responsibility may negatively impact the opportunity for employees to receive information on which to base their decision.”

The bill also has provisions which would allow for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to be a part of an initial agreement and would allow either party to notify the service and request mediation. If mediation were to fail, the issue would be referred to binding arbitration. According to Mowrer, at this time mediation is available when the dispute threatens a “substantial interruption” of commerce and binding arbitration is not in the current law for the public sector.

Another issue included in the bill is new and increased penalties for some unfair labor practices.

“The [Labor Relations Board] will be permitted to award an employee back pay and two times that amount as liquidated damages if the employer is found guilty,” Mowrer stated. “Civil penalties will also be imposed for certain and repeated unfair labor practices. The employer would be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $20,000 for each violation. The exact amount would be determined by the Board. Currently, the Board orders the employer to cease and desist from such misconduct. Penalties have been increased on employers and not on union officials.”

The bill has been introduced twice by Representatives George Miller, D-Calif., and by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. The act recently passed in the House and has been sent to the Senate. The House voted on the bill with 241 ayes, 185 nays and 8 present/not voting. For Illinois representatives, all Democrats voted for the legislation and all Republicans voted against the legislation.

(register-news.com)

Workers need to 'get in the face' of union bigs

More EFCA stories: here • More card-check stories: here

Americans may lose the right to secret-ballot union elections

I have written previously, both here and at Townhall, about the Employee Free Choice Act and the issue of card check and how it could become reality if Republicans lose additional seats in the Senate. In my Townhall column I wrote about Elizabeth Dole's close race here in NC and her challenger Kay Hagan's labor support.

It now appears many are writing off Dole's chances to hold her seat. With many other Republican Senate seats at risk, there is a real possibility Democrats could hit the magic 60-seat mark. If Democrats win a filibuster-proof majority they will pass the EFCA and workers will lose secret ballot elections and union power will increase dramatically.

From Doug Bandow:

Organized labor spent heavily to elect a Democratic Congress in 2006. With the presidency at stake, unions are expected to spend up to $360 million by November, more than twice as much as four years ago.

At the top of labor's agenda is the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act, which would deny employees the opportunity to vote before a union takes over their workplace.

Today, organized labor represents just 7.5 percent of private employees. Labor officials blame their woes on the fact that they must win a secret ballot to force company recognition. So organized labor proposes doing away with elections if 50 percent of the workers plus one sign a card.

Unions dislike secret ballots, which protect workers from retaliation for rejecting representation. In contrast, labor organizers find it much easier to mislead and harass workers to sign a union card. Bruce Raynor of the union UNITE HERE says simply: "There's no need to subject the workers to an election." Ironically, a Zogby poll found that 84 percent of union members believed in certification elections.

No need to subject workers to an election? Passage of this act would make it easier for unions to intimidate workers. That goes right along with the attitude of the Obama campaign that is intimidating anyone who opposes his candidacy. The EFCA would make it easier for unions to do what Obama has directed his followers to do to those who don't agree with them -- "get in their face." More from Bandow's op-ed including how this would not be good for the economy:

Earlier this year Obama endorsed the "card check" bill, promising: "We're ready to play offense for organized labor -- letting them do what they do best: organize our workers." Andy Stern, head of the Service Employees International Union, predicted that EFCA would cause unions to "grow by 1.5 million members a year, not just for five years but for 10 to 15 straight years." More employees mean more dues.

Some of that money would go for organization campaigns. Observes Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, EFCA "could trigger a surge in unionization across U.S. industry -- and in time, a reversion to the bloated economy that brought America to its knees in the late 1970s and early '80s and that today cripples much of European business."

The Heritage Foundation has compiled a list of the number of workers that would be disenfranchised by the EFCA. Here are numbers for a few of the states:

- AK: 206,508 (59.5%)
- AR: 926,834 (67.4%)
- CO: 1,777,028 (66.7%)
- LA: 1,373,962 (69%)
- ME: 477,892 (67.6%)
- MN: 2,020,797 (69.5%)
- MS: 872,424 (66.5%)
- NC: 3,116,544 (69.3%)
- NE: 648,921 (65.8%)
- OH: 4,285,879 (71.1%)
- OR: 1,285,284 (66.3%)
- PA: 4,615,123 (72.9%)
- VA: 2,645,436 (65.6%)

See Jay Tea's related post about the SEIU.

- Lorie Byrd

(wizbangblog.com)

Fascistic unions: No secret-ballot elections

Related: "Surpise - you're unionized!"
More EFCA stories: here • More card-check stories: here

Barack Obama supports notorious 'Job Killer Act'

A once-buried proposal to change how union elections are held is rearing its head in Colorado's U.S. Senate race. The Employee Free Choice Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007, but Democratic backers couldn't end a Republican filibuster against it in the Senate.

Democrat Mark Udall backs the act and Republican Bob Schaffer doesn't, making Colorado one of about eight states where dueling groups could spend a combined $40 million nationally to highlight issues raised in the legislation.

Employees at private companies now can unionize by getting 30 percent of the work force to sign cards seeking union representation and then getting a majority of workers to back unionization in a secret-ballot election. The EFCA would allow unionization without a secret-ballot vote if more than half of the workers sign the cards.

Intimidation issue

Republicans argue that eliminating the need for a secret ballot and going to a so-called card-check system could lead to intimidation of workers by union organizers who will know where an employee stands on unionization.

Union leaders say there is intimidation now: 25 percent of employers fire pro-union workers during organizing drives and 51 percent threaten to close the work site if the vote passes, according to the pro- union group American Rights at Work.

Both sides agree the change could sharply increase the number of unionized companies.

Only about 7 percent of Colorado's work force is unionized now. Card-check elections could create more than 10 million new union members nationwide over the next decade, said Tim Miller of the anti-union Employee Freedom Action Committee.

Miller said this would translate to tens of millions of dollars more going to unions, which would flood the coffers of pro-union candidates and be spent lobbying legislators.

ARAW spokesman Josh Goldstein said that because union workers earn 30 percent more than non-union counterparts and are 63 percent more likely to have job-provided health care, the law is needed.

Both sides airing ads

The anti-union EFAC is airing ads opposing the legislation and against Udall's support of it. ARAW is running cable television spots supporting the legislation and the union- backed Patriot Majority Fund is running ads criticizing Schaffer for not supporting it.

Udall, an Eldorado Springs congressman, said in floor debate last year that he had "serious reservations about lessening the role of the secret ballot in union elections." He backed the bill, however, because the National Labor Relations Board had consistently sided with companies that worked to make it difficult for workers to unionize and he believed the law would help workers.

Schaffer, a former Fort Collins congressman, is "strongly opposed" to the bill because taking away the secret ballot would strike at the heart of the American political system, said campaign manager Dick Wadhams.

(rockymountainnews.com)

USW big pleads guilty to dues embezzlement

More union-dues stories: here

Embezzlement of union dues has become a national epidemic

The financial secretary for a local labor union has pleaded guilty to embezzling money from the organization. 50-year-old Donna Roles of Beckley entered the plea in U.S. District Court on Monday. In May, a federal grand jury indicted Roles on charges of embezzlement and falsifying bank records.

At her hearing, Roles admitted she embezzled at least $60,000 from the United Steelworkers Local 14310 between January 2002 and September 2005. She served as the financial secretary, an elected position. Roles faces up to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine when she is sentenced in February.

(wsaz.com)

Striking Teamsters risk RICO violation

More Teamsters stories: here • strike stories: here • RICO stories: here

Militant unionists initiate controversial 'corporate campaign'

Not content with a strike against West Coast carrier Oak Harbor Freight Lines, the Teamsters began a nationwide campaign by passing out handbills at Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic stores.

Oak Harbor transports merchandise on the West Coast to the three retailers, all operated by Gap Inc. The union is encouraging the trucker's customers to shift their shipments to other regional carriers in response to Oak Harbor's decision two weeks ago to cut off health care coverage to retirees.

Other companies have already responded, said Teamsters General President Jimmy Hoffa. Teamsters in California and Nevada began picketing Oak Harbor Freight Lines' trucks last week to support striking employees.

(trafficworld.com)

Teamsters on strike in Pennsylvania

More Teamsters stories: here • strike stories: here
Related story: "The 28 labor-states"

Typical labor-state job action by militant unionists

About 100 workers at Visalia’s Advanced Food Products plant are manning the picket lines this morning. The workers, members of Teamsters Local 517, went on strike just after midnight Monday morning.

The union said employees are rallying to keep their health benefit contribution from going up and to keep their current hiring and firing policies. The Pennsylvania-based company, which manufactures processed foods like cheese, pudding and coffee drinks, has had a plant in the Visalia area for decades.

(visaliatimesdelta.com)

Illegal teacher strike plagues Michigan

Related story: "The 28 labor-states" • More strike stories: here

Typical work stoppage in labor-state

Classes in the Wayne-Westland Community Schools are being been canceled for a second day as teachers remain off the job in protest over lack of a contract.

A notice on the western Wayne County district's Web site calls Monday's picketing "an illegal strike" and urges teachers to return to class while talks continue. It says classes are off again Tuesday. Union spokeswoman Melissa Sortman says about 853 teachers picketed Monday.

The Wayne-Westland Education Association says money and health insurance are major sticking points in its contract talks with the 13,000-student district.

(mlive.com)