Paranoid, secretive Obama equates liberty to terrorism ... Do you reject "federal authority in favor of state or local authority," or "government authority entirely"? Are you "dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration"? If so, you are a dangerous, right-wing extremist according to Obama's Department of Homeland Security, which bans the use of the word "terrorist" unless it's applied to us right-wing extremists who, for example, are so extreme as to view the grisly murder of the unborn in their mothers' wombs as cold-blooded murder. Are you a veteran returning from Iraq or Afghanistan after risking life and limb to protect your fellow Americans? If so, you are a ticking time bomb likely to the recruited by those dangerous right-wing extremists. After all, the vaunted Extremism and Radicalization Branch of the Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division, Department of Homeland Security, warns that you "possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to right-wing extremists," and these Obama-ite loons are concerned that rightwing extremists "will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to boost their violent capabilities." Have we really come to this? Has Adolf Hitler's propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels been reborn and recruited by the Obama administration to scare the heck out of the American people with absurdities such as this wacked-out document? Obviously recognizing that public knowledge of the nonsense alleged in this document is very undesirable, the weirdoes who prepared it did not want you to see it. They warn: "No portion of the LES information should be released to the media, the general public, or over non-secure Internet servers." (baxterbulletin.com)
Obama seeks Cuban solidarity in new beginning for global Communism ... Trading their warmest words in a half-century, the United States and Cuba built momentum toward renewed ties on Friday, with President Barack Obama declaring he "seeks a new beginning" — including direct talks — with the island's communist regime. As leaders of the Americas gathered for a summit in this Caribbean nation, the head of the Organization of American States even said he'll ask his group to invite Cuba back after 47 years. In remarks kicking off the weekend gathering of nations — of which Cuba was the only country in the region not represented — Obama repeated the kind of remarks toward the Castro regime that marked his campaign for the presidency. "The United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba," he said at the Summit of the Americas opening ceremony. "I know there is a longer journey that must be traveled to overcome decades of mistrust, but there are critical steps we can take toward a new day." (washingtontimes.com)
U.S. adopts illegal, unconstitutional Socialism ... Tea party protests questioned the constitutionality of some of the massive bailouts over the past year, which amount to trillions of dollars. That drew bizarre attacks from leftists, who argue that these peaceful protests will somehow lead to another terrorist incident like the Oklahoma City bombing, and that the tea party protesters, like the Founding Fathers, are just a reactionary “bunch of white males who didn’t want to pay their taxes.” Not all of the bailouts are illegal or unconstitutional, but some of them are. Some bailouts were sweeping, standardless grants of authority to spend money that violate the non-delegation doctrine, a Constitutional separation-of-powers safeguard enforced by the Supreme Court in the 1935 Schechter Poultry case. Others were never authorized by Congress. For example, the auto bailout was either illegal or unconstitutional. Even Andrew Sullivan, a critic of the tea parties, reached that conclusion. So have liberal commentators like Clinton Administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich and conservative commentators like the Heritage Foundation and George Will. I earlier explained why the bailout is illegal or unconstitutional: either the bank bailout bill didn’t confer such vast discretion to spend money that it could be diverted to an auto bailout (in which case the auto bailout was illegal), or it did (in which case the bank bailout bill was itself an unconstitutional violation of separation of powers). A similar auto bailout in Britain failed miserably, wasting billions in the process. (opposingviews.com)
Union-backed, tax-funded fraud-group pays volunteers to protest ... The Denver Post reporters John Ingold and George Plavin either don't know what "astroturfing" is, or don't care to correct leftists for using the term incorrectly. In their report on the Denver Tea Party, they quote Mike "The Headless Chicken" Huttner, as deriding the Tea Parties: "The tea parties are the latest version in a months-long campaign against change, organized by right-wing think tanks and lobbyists who have done well over the last eight years under George Bush," he said. He pointed to a number of national conservative political groups listed as sponsors on Taxdayteaparty.com, including FreedomWorks and Americans for Limited Government. But of course, publicizing events isn't astroturfing. Astroturfing is when paid activists pretend to be unpaid volunteers or "men on the street." It's when ACORN members pretend to be "outraged citizens" stalking AIG employees. It's when people are paid to spam websites with comments, or when the Pew Foundation finances a campaign finance reform campaign, and then conducts a poll showing increased interest in the subject. It's when DNC employees photocopy petition signatures and then report the number submitted in triplicate. In short, it involves deception, and hiding one's involvement in a campaign in order to make it look popular. This isn't random name-calling, this is an attempt to deprive the language of a useful term for the sort of thing the Left excels at by changing the definition to any sort of organizing. (newsbusters.org)Related video: Paid volunteers protest greed
Right wing is Terrorism? ... This is going to be short & blunt. Since when is it terrorism to wish for a return to the government we had before? Since when is it terrorism to wish for the idea of the protection of the individual and get away from the idea of collectivism? Since when is it terrorism to wish that the government be restricted to the level of the constitution? If this defines a terrorist then the founding fathers are terrorists in history. For those of us who have studied history this has a familiar ring to it. Lenin & the Bolsheviks called those who were against them crazy and unbalanced. Seems the Left & the Obama administration are headed in that direction.(examiner.com)Related video: MSM pimps angry Leftism
Journalists Union on strike again ... Staff at the Daily Record and Sunday Mail walked out at 0001 BST on Friday in response to management plans to shed up to 70 jobs. The latest strike came after more than 20 workers were selected for compulsory redundancy. Trinity Mirror said it was taking action to safeguard the papers' future. General secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Jeremy Dear, said: "The union is fully behind the Record and Mail chapel. (news.bbc.co.uk)
Obama unfazed by Car Czar's typical Dem P2P ... Before he was named to lead President Barack Obama's auto task force, Steven Rattner was a Wall Street investor who landed a $100 million deal with the State of New York's pension fund. Now Rattner is embroiled in a corruption investigation that has ensnared several New York political figures and cast a spotlight on the murky but legal practice of paying fees to win investments from the $122 billion fund. Prosecutors said Rattner's private equity firm, the Quadrangle Group, paid a $1.1 million kickback to an aide to the former state comptroller during its bid for the pension deal. They also said the company invested in a low-budget comedy film produced by the brother of a pension fund manager. Neither Rattner nor his company has been formally accused of wrongdoing. A spokesman for Quadrangle said in a statement that the firm was confident that it had not broken the law. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the administration is aware of the allegations and still supports Rattner, who was chosen by Obama to help rescue the troubled American auto industry. "He's not accused of doing any wrongdoing, and he's not likely to face any criminal or civil charges as it relates to this," Gibbs said. He said Rattner had disclosed the investigation to the White House before his appointment. (statesman.com)Related video: New U.S. Car Czar
U.S. Socialism rocks ... I am appalled by these manufactured tea-party protests … That there are Americans who are so self-centered that they have no sense of responsibility to America is repulsive. We live in a country that asks very little of us in the way of sacrifice. There is no draft for national military service to protect this country. There is no requirement that we offer a certain amount of volunteering to make this country a better place. All that is asked of our citizens is that we provide a small amount of the money we earn to share the cost of basic necessities that would be exorbitantly expensive for each of us alone. I cannot afford a private firefighting force, but by paying my taxes, I can share in the cost of a fire department that protects my family and me. I cannot afford a single private acre of recreational land, but by paying my taxes, I can share in the cost of a national-park system that includes such glories as Mount Rainier, Crater Lake and Yellowstone. I cannot afford private tutors for my children, but by paying my taxes, I can share in the cost of a public-education system that makes a promise to all, not just a few. Perhaps these elite tea-bag protesters can afford all these things out of their dividend earnings and their offshore bank accounts. But for us ordinary working Americans, we’ll do things the old-fashioned way - through hard work and shared sacrifice. (poligazette.com)
Forced-labor unionism: As American As Apple Pie ... The Employee Free Choice Act (also known as the Card Check bill) is anything but respectable. It violates every principal of freedom and liberty that we hold dear in this country. It takes away an employee's right to make a free choice as to whether to form a union in the workplace by stripping away the secret ballot process. It takes away an employer's right to determine how best to operate a business and reward the hard-working employees that contribute to the company's success, by instead allowing a federal arbitrator to make such decisions. It takes away the rights of both the employer and the employees to work together for the benefit of the public and their customers, by precluding an employer from promoting the hard-working employees, and prohibiting the employees from stepping forward to assist in handling any work duties other than those authorized under their union contracts. (hotelinteractive.com)
Stern-Obama NLRB rejects workers' second secret-ballot vote to oust union ... Last month, a California Agricultural Relations Board Administrative Law Judge threw out the result of a 2007 E&J Gallo’s Sonoma County vineyards employees election to oust the United Farm Workers (UFW) union as their monopoly bargaining agent. The 2007 decertification election was the second time in less than five years the E&J Gallo's workforce voted to remove the unwanted UFW union from their workplace. The judge ruled that the company failed to provide an accurate list to the UFW union bosses in the lead up to the election. Unfortunately, the clear will of the employees and a 30-vote margin was ignored due to the scorned union bosses' exploitation of an apparent clerical error on the part of the company. However, the case isn’t over yet. National Right to Work Foundation attorneys are helping lead petitioner Roberto Parra appeal the judge's erroneous decision. (nrtw.org)
SEIU demands control of California state lottery, pushes workers' dues to corrupt special interest ... The state’s largest public employee union has given $300,000 to the campaign for Proposition 1C, the lottery modernization measure that would allow the state to borrow up to $5 billion from lottery proceeds. The money comes as deep divisions swirl among the Service Employees International Union over how to play in the May 19 special election. SEIU’s state council has opposed Proposition 1A, the state spending limit measure, and opened an account earlier this week to launch a formal campaign against 1A. But SEIU has endorsed Proposition 1C, and a spokesman for Local 1000 said it makes sense for the union to support the measure. “Our position on Prop 1C is consistent with our position that the state of California could be generating more money out of the lottery if it had a different managerial structure,” said Local 1000 spokesman Jim Zamora. SEIU’s contribution did not go to the committee controlled by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s political team, which is pushing for passage of all of the May 19 measures. Instead, th money went to a committee sponsored by GTECH, a Rhode Island-based company that contracts to supply lottery equipment to the state. (capitolweekly.net)SEIU: No-choice unionism saves the world
SEIU militants continue strike v. Red Cross ... Waving signs, pompoms and flags, more than 50 personal support workers and friends from the local branch of the Canadian Red Cross lined Wellington Street between Ross and Moore streets. It's part of one-day rotating strike held at each Red Cross branch across Ontario. This is Day 14 of that action. Staff are upset over a recent move by the Red Cross to eliminate the 32 cents per kilometre workers are paid for travel costs and vehicle maintenance. "We think this is a basic rights issue for workers to be paid for the job they're doing. If they have to travel, they should be compensated for it," said Cathy Carroll, secretary and treasurer for Service Employees International Union Local 1. She said they want the provincial Liberals to live up to previous commitments made to pay travel costs for home care workers. "This (home care) saves millions of dollars in health care costs because people are not in hospitals," Carroll explained. They're not asking for more money, emphasized worker Tracey Fehr. (stthomastimesjournal.com)
Europe demonstrates life under EFCA ... A court on Friday convicted 9 workers at Caterpillar France of hampering the freedom to work and 11 others of illegally occupying company grounds, and ordered them all fined euro200 ($265) each time they repeat such actions to protest layoffs. The court action came after two days of protests at the plant in Echirolles, outside Grenoble in southeast France, with workers camping out in tents to protest the planned layoffs. Last month, Caterpillar workers held four managers hostage for more than 24 hours to get their complaints heard, but no legal action was taken against them. Employees of Toyota continued their protest against reduction to their salaries. Workers at French Caterpillar plants are seeking a better deal in a plan to cut hundreds of jobs at the sites - part of thousands of layoffs at the Peoria, Illinois-based, company's worldwide operations prompted by the economic downturn. Caterpillar has said it would reduce the 733 planned layoffs to 600 but negotiations continued. "The goal was to re-establish a state of law," company lawyer Bernard Gallizia said after the decision. Caterpillar had filed a complaint. He said negotiations would continue and work would resume Monday. Radical protest actions have been spreading across France as more jobs are lost to the economic downturn. In northern France, striking French workers angry over cutbacks blocked production Friday at a Toyota Motor Corp. plant, demanding better compensation for working fewer hours. Picket lines blocked all four entrances to the factory in Onnaing, which makes Yaris cars, said Eric Pecquer, representative of the CGT union. He said 300 of the plant's 2,700 employees took part in the protest. (modbee.com)Related video: Laid-off workers occupy UK factory
Typical Steelworkers dues-embezzler awaits wrist-slap ... A western Pennsylvania woman has admitted stealing more than $87,000 from the United Steelworkers of America. Forty-two-year-old Donna Simpson, of East McKeesport, admitted embezzled the money from a bank account for the Steelworkers Organization for Active Retirees. Prosecutors say Simpson was working as a field secretary for the union at the time and wrote 82 unauthorized checks to herself. Simpson pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement on Friday in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh. She'll be sentenced July 22. (philly.com)
Tyranny isn’t what it used to be ... The history of mankind is filled with tyrants of all sorts, stripes and peculiarities. Some were ruthless, strutting thugs who ruled with fear, while others were ruthless demigods who ruled with divine right. Most were killers of one sort or another. Some tyrants were actually more than one person: They were Soviet-style ruling parties that governed with iron fists, placing the “greater good” of the whole (read: the party) over individual accomplishments and personal will. But there’s never been a tyrant quite like Barack Obama. (yankton.net)
Striking gov't workers mock Mayor, city grinds to halt ... Windsor's 1,400 municipal inside employees were poised to join striking outside workers -- worsening the work stoppage that has forced the suspension of city services such as garbage pickup, recycling collection, parks maintenance and now licensing. Despite hours of discussion, city negotiators and union representatives could not reach a resolution late Friday night, and CUPE Local 543 prepared to stand by Local 82 on the picket lines. Meanwhile, heaps of garbage continue to grow outside the city's Central Avenue transfer station. Striking workers have dubbed the rising piles of trash as "Mt. Francis" -- in mockery of Mayor Eddie Francis. (canada.com)International Collectivism
Obama takes on Perestroika: Chávez, Ortega 'Me gusta' ... The president, in his speech, used familiar rhetoric from the campaign trail in trying to deflect some of the angry anti-American sentinments (spewed mostly from Nicaraguan pres. Daniel Ortega) by saying he didn't want to focus on past debates. He regularly invoked that tone when talking about other controversial issues that have haunted domestic politics (including race). There are already some interesting personal moments for Mr. Obama, including an early quick meeting with Venezuelan pres. Hugo Chávez. According to a senior administration official, the president walked across the room where all the leaders were gathering and introduced himself to Chávez. Chavez apparently said a few words to Obama -- in English -- but the senior admin official wouldn't say what it was. The president simply shook Chávez's hand, smiled and went back in line (the leaders lined up alphabetically). Another interesting encounter took place between Ortega and Obama. (BTW, for those old enough to remember the Iran-Contra affair will want to read the English translation of his bizarre rants about Reagan in his speech tonight). Ortega came up to him, Obama said "his gusto" meaning "his pleasure." They shook hands and that was it. This all took place before Ortega's screed which Obama deflected in his speech with a joke. (msnbc.msn.com)
Chávez: Voters, workers have more rights in Cuba than in U.S. ... Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, hosting an alternative leftist summit including Cuba before meeting President Obama and other Western Hemisphere leaders this weekend, said Thursday that the U.S. is less democratic than Cuba. Opening his Summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our Americas east of Caracas, Chávez lambasted a final draft of the declaration — which affirms a commitment "to build stronger democratic institutions" — to be adopted by leaders at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago. "Where is there more democracy — is it in Cuba or is it in the United States?" Chávez said when opening his summit with Cuban President Raul Castro by his side. "I have no doubts that in Cuba there is more democracy than in the United States. I have no doubts at all!" (thehill.com)
Substitute union thugs for political tyrants in Africa ... Mr. Kofi Asamoah, Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), on Friday urged trade union leaders to help deepen democracy in the country. He said the TUC believed in the practice and they should participate in politics to enable them to fulfil promises they made to workers. Mr. Asamoah, who was speaking at a meeting of members of the Western Region Council of Labour, in Takoradi, urged union leaders to seek the welfare of workers. He urged union leaders to ensure that government policies and decisions were not inimical to workers. Mr. Asamoah said union leaders and workers have a responsibility to hold politicians and public office holders accountable. He charged union leaders to collectively work to sustain the TUC for the benefit of workers and encourage senior officers and middle level personnel to join the union. (modernghana.com)
