Stimulus Corruption pollutes U.S. ... The Union News is pleased to introduce a new content feature for NWR readers. It's a look back at recent news stories that highlight waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption related to the mammoth, debt-financed economic Stimulus package enacted by congressional Democrats and President Barack H. Obama. It's now time for Stimulus kickbacks - financed by taxpayers - to refill Dem campaign coffers before the next election. Follow the links to read local accounts filtering in from around the country. The Jim Crow era Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 applied to all wages, including non-profits' ... union-only project labor agreements governing all construction contracts ... Enron-style accounting to force up local taxes, borrowing and spending ... and more. Just wait -- the Stimulus is coming soon to your neighborhood! (nwrepublican.blogspot.com)In case you missed it: The Union News weekend
Sunday: Stimulus larded with union-only kickbacks
Saturday: Stimulus mired in ugly labor racial discrimination
Stimulus waste, graft exposed ... It's my opinion that the stimulus package was a horrible idea from the beginning. However, if the federal government had just divided it up as stimulus checks and sent it back to the people it would have amounted to about $2,500 for every man, woman and child in the country. A family of 5 would've received a check for $12,500! Imagine what that would have done for the economy. Instead, the money is slowly trickling out and the waste and graft will be gargantuan. By the administration's own admission, the bulk of the money will not reach the states for a full two years. Did they expect this recession would last that long when they proposed the measure? Certainly not. You see, the stimulus package was never meant to stimulate the economy. It was another means of redistributing wealth and growing the size and scope of government. States will ostensibly use the money for "shovel-ready" construction projects. How many projects are shovel-ready when, before the money was stolen from the treasury, there was no money to fund these projects? (marshalltribune.com)
Fat-cat SEIU rules Fog City ... When the union that represents the majority of city workers negotiated with the Mayor’s Office for wage concessions, taxpayers may have been footing the bill for some of the 51 people sitting at the table. For three months, the 51-member bargaining team for Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which represents 11,000 city workers, has met tirelessly with Mayor Gavin Newsom’s staffers in an effort to hammer out a tentative agreement its members would approve that could save The City $38 million. Members who were at the bargaining table during their normal shifts still would have been paid as if they were working for The City. On top of those costs, if the member of the bargaining team worked a position that could not be left vacant, such as security posts, the jobs are temporarily filled by someone who is paid overtime. The Human Resources Department was not able to immediately provide information for when negotiation meetings took place. The department also could not say how many union members bargained during their normal work hours and received compensation. Nor could the department estimate when any of the bargaining team was replaced by another employee who was paid overtime. (sfexaminer.com)
Every breath you take is an act of political oppression ... Lisa P. Jackson, the woman chosen by President Barack Obama to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), told attendees at a conference on environmental justice that minorities and low-income people are the victims of pollution by U.S. companies and businesses. “There are too many places in this country where pollution and environmental degradation fall disproportionately on low-income and minority communities,” Jackson said via video at the third annual State of the Environmental Justice in America 2009 conference in Arlington, Va., on Friday. (cnsnews.com)Meet AFL-CIO's Stewart Acuff
AFL-CIO finances: Just like Enron
Influential leftist Ted Rall turns against Obama ... From health care to torture to the economy to war, Obama has reneged on pledges real and implied. So timid and so owned is he that he trembles in fear of offending, of all things, the government of Turkey. Obama has officially reneged on his campaign promise to acknowledge the Armenian genocide. When a president doesn’t have the nerve to annoy the Turks, why does he bother to show up for work in the morning? Obama is useless. Worse than that, he’s dangerous. Which is why, if he has any patriotism left after the thousands of meetings he has sat through with corporate contributors, blood-sucking lobbyists and corrupt politicians, he ought to step down now — before he drags us further into the abyss. I refer here to Obama’s plan for “preventive detentions.” If a cop or other government official thinks you might want to commit a crime someday, you could be held in “prolonged detention.” Reports in U.S. state-controlled media imply that Obama’s shocking new policy would only apply to Islamic terrorists (or, in this case, wannabe Islamic terrorists, and also kinda-sorta-maybe-thinking-about-terrorism dudes). As if that made it OK… Obama is cute. He is charming. But there is something rotten inside him. Unlike the Republicans who backed George W. Bush, I won’t follow a terrible leader just because I voted for him. Obama has revealed himself. He is a monster, and he should remove himself from power. (sj-r.com)
New Prog Blitzkreig ... One can, of course, make history, and one can write history; but is it fair to anyone or anything, particularly the truth, to control both the writing of history and the direction of history itself? That is precisely what the Progressive movement in America is committed to doing. The most legendary world leaders who were dedicated to doing the same thing were Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse Tung. The American Progressive movement, however, with its present and increasing control of all three estates of government – the legislative, judicial and executive – plus the fourth estate of a mainstream media, is determined to both write history and to control its unfolding. The possibility for such a God-like omnipotence ultimately rests in the philosophy and experimental science of eugenics, that vision of mankind's or at least a few of mankind's or even perhaps a worldwide oversight committee's ability to control human evolution. Hmmm … the Progressives, particularly the most charming among them, the Clintons and the Obamas, would deny such a goal; but they would just as frankly deny the role which eugenics is already playing in Progressive institutions such as Planned Parenthood. As the Progressive power over almost everything increases so does the tempo of its progress. Witness the Draconian usurpation by the Obama administration of control over American banks, real estate giants and the auto industry. A blitzkrieg of sorts. (enterstageright.com)
Anita MonCrief, Meet Whittaker Chambers ... Michelle Malkin is ready, willing and able to do what The New York Times refused to do last October (even though "Ragspierre" posted this warning at www.michellemalkin.com: "Be safe Michelle. You need to get a remote car starter and a food taster"): report the whole sinister story of ACORN, including its full involvement with now President Obama. Excerpt from Ms. Malkin's "Document Drop: The Truth About ObamACORN" (May 29, 2009) (www.michellemalkin.com): "They thought it would go away. They were wrong. Obama and the Left thought ACORN’s scandalous racket was a dead issue. But whistleblowers, investigative bloggers, and talk radio continue to press for transparency and taxpayer accountability. Iowa GOP Rep. Steve King has renewed efforts for congressional hearings into the financial structure of the massive, publicly subsidized activist group and its non-profit affiliates. Judicial Watch sheds light on ACORN’s partnership with the Census. Keep an eye on ACORN’s propaganda role in the Obama push for a government health care takeover. And Glenn Beck spotlights the left-wing strategy session to rescue ACORN. "My column today returns to one of the Obama campaign’s big lies — that Barack Obama 'never organized with ACORN' and that ACORN had nothing to do with Project Vote. They were joined at the hip back then and they remain joined at the hip today." I'm not certain what gives intrepid reporters like Ms. Malkin and shy whistleblowers like Anita MonCrief the courage to do what is right (and necesssary) when doing it is dangerous. I believe not only that God's grace and personal faith are keys, but also that their children are keys (which may strike many these days as counter-intuitive). The now little known story of Whittaker Chambers supports my belief and that story came to mind the first time I spoke with Mr. MonCrief (on October 8, 2008). (webcommentary.com)International Collectivism
Voters set to punish corrupt leftwing Labour Party ... When the British electorate gets fed up with its politicians, European elections become a popular stick with which to beat them. This year's European Parliament poll is no exception. Indeed, as the British political system is being rocked by a low-intensity revolution sparked by outrage over parliamentary expenses, Britons can't wait to punish their leaders. It is their last chance before the next general election, due over the next 12 months, for voters to register their verdict on the expenses furore and the economic recession. Prime Minister Gordon Brown's ruling Labour Party is braced for electoral disaster, so much so that Brown has mapped out a 'national plan' to revive its fortunes with an immediate cabinet reshuffle, public service reforms and anti-recession policies. There are signs that the expenses scandal, which has revealed outrageous exploitation of public funds by members of parliament (MPs) from all parties, could boost fringe parties and even push Labour into a humiliating fourth place. (monstersandcritics.com)
SA communists confront shortfalls ... The recent establishment of the Ministry of Higher Education; and the subsequent appointment of Communist Party General-Secretary, Blade Nzimande, as its head, in some circles, is viewed as proof that the Jacob Zuma administration is serious about delivering on its election promises relating to higher education. ANC aligned student and youth formations, under the banner of the 'Progressive Youth Alliance' (PYA) who, in recent times, have been at the forefront of strikes at many tertiary institutions, believe that Nzimande is almost a 'panacea' to the serious problems facing the sector, ranging from exclusions, shortages of accommodation, shortages of human and material resources conducive to learning and teaching. (anarkismo.net)
Chávez orders TV executive arrested ... Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez specifically ordered Ortega Díaz and the Supreme Justice Tribunal to “comply with their duty” and called on officialdom to be “agile” in acting against media organizations that were “poisoning” the population. That was what they were there for, Chávez said, and if not “they should resign so that somebody with courage takes over.” (laht.com)
Technical difficulty silences Latin Progressive ... Hugo Chávez, the president of Venezuela, had promised surprises during his four-day TV show, but abrupt cancellations and an embarrassing retreat were probably not what he had in mind. The show was truncated after Chávez ducked a debate with the Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, prompting jeers that the garrulous socialist Chávez feared taking on a leading, critical intellect. He suspended the second two days of the talkathon without warning or explanation. Last week Chávez declared a marathon edition of his weekly talk show, Aló Presidente, to celebrate its 10th anniversary. It started well. On Thursday, he spoke for almost eight hours in a typical blend of anecdotes, songs, attacks against "right-wing oligarchs" and light banter. He challenged several intellectuals, visiting Caracas for an opposition-hosted conference, to a debate. Vargas Llosa, one of Latin America's leading novelists, accepted – on condition the debate would be a one-to-one. But on Friday, in another eight-hour broadcast, Chávez said he would moderate but not participate. Using a baseball term, he said he would confront Vargas Llosa only if he became president of Peru. "Buddy, I'm in the major leagues and you're in double-A." Chavéz signed off Friday night's show with a promise to return to screens at 11am on Saturday, but did not reappear, forcing state TV to fill the time with old programmes and interviews. No explanation was given, but the information ministry said Aló Presidente would resume on Sunday. At midday the government issued a one-line statement, saying the show had been suspended for "technical reasons". (u.tv)
Chinese communists put down alternatives ... Wei Yining is a bright, well-spoken history major at a top Beijing university, but somehow his knowledge of the best-known protest against Communist Chinese rule remains fuzzy. The 22-year-old admits being "not too familiar" with the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square and the resulting bloody crackdown that shocked the world 20 years ago this week. More strikingly for a budding history scholar, he doesn't care. "That was a different time. It happened when I was just a baby. Things have changed and China's young people have other things to think about now," he said. Twenty years after their forebears stood up for political reform, today's Beijing students shrug that off with a mixture of ignorance, political apathy, and different priorities. Content with China's overall prosperity, the students offer blank stares when asked about the idea of standing up for one's political rights. "Get involved in politics? You mean join the (Communist) party?" said student Tan Li. (abs-cbnnews.com)
