Political fraud: Obama Stimulus won't add jobs ... The federal stimulus money was supposed to give Minnesota's workforce a jolt of energy, but so far it's just a tingle. As construction season gets into full swing, companies are starting to recall workers laid off last year. But even some companies that are beneficiaries of the new federal spending say they're unlikely to recall all their laid-off workers -- and less likely to hire new ones. (startribune.com)
45%: Stop spending the Stimulus now! ... Nearly half of Americans say in a new survey that the government should stop spending the remainder of the Obama administration's $787 billion economic stimulus package, and doubt that the spending will create new jobs. The Rasmussen Reports survey released Wednesday showed that 45 percent of those polled think President Obama should turn off the federal spending spigot - despite the fact that the administration has spent just $36 billion of the economic rescue package, or about 4.5 percent. About 36 percent of respondents think the government should keep spending the money and 20 percent were not sure, according to the telephone survey. (washingtontimes.com)
Obama's enlightened Marxism cited ... While most responsible people understand and follow the axiom to live within their means, there is no such restraint by government. The reason — it's not their money. Trillions of federal dollars are now being doled out, but not to the supposed recipients of all of this grand compassion; rather the money is being squirreled into the secret nooks and crannies of Wall Street and to political special interests. The Founders were virulently opposed to the idea of the federal government managing the economy of the nation. While the separation of church and state has become canonized in modern political dogma, the separation of economy and state is not given even the slightest nod. We now have a government that authorizes itself to take ownership of one private entity after another, while promising that this is only the beginning. Driven by the feral instincts of the liberal political juggernaut, the federal government is assuming powers never granted to it by the Constitution. In a recent editorial in the Russian publication Pravda titled, “American Capitalism Gone with a Whimper,” the author marvels at the rapidity with which President Obama has moved to replace free market capitalism with his own version of enlightened Marxism. (nevadaappeal.com)
Our Unconstitutional Czar-in-Chief ... The question of preserving and protecting the Constitution would be hard to prove except in hindsight, but by then it would be too late for the nation, ruined by excessive, unjustified taxation and borrowing that threatens the collapse of the economy. I would argue that a President who appoints over twenty "czars" to supersede the powers of the secretaries of various federal departments; people who are apparently exempt from Congressional approval or oversight, and people who apparently do not feel the need to hold press conferences to explain what they are doing, is distinctly unconstitutional. It will be argued that there have been various such "czars" in the past, mostly particularly "drug czars" whose purpose was to oversee and coordinate efforts to address the nation's problems with illegal drugs, but the imposition of people to virtually replace members of the President's cabinet is unprecedented. Cabinet officers must receive the approval of Congress, but these "czars" have not. Even the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has been reduced to a mere figurehead as various personal envoys of the President have been authorized to act for him regarding sensitive diplomatic affairs, answerable presumably only to him. What we have is a President who is running the government through an invisible network of people who are not answerable to the citizens of the nation, yet granted powers to determine the extent of the rights of those citizens including how much compensation they may receive. (expertclick.com)
Blame Saul Alinsky ... This is the week to honor a Jew whose influence extends from your neighborhood council, to the field where your grapes are picked, to city halls from Los Angeles to Newark, to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This week, say a little Kaddish for Saul Alinsky. Alinsky was born in Chicago in 1909 to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, the only surviving son of Benjamin Alinsky’s second marriage to Sarah Tannenbaum. He was the Johnny Appleseed of justice. Roots he planted 50, 40, 30 years ago — he died June 12, 1972 — are spreading like dandelions in dichondra. Consider President Obama. “Barack Obama’s training in Chicago by the great community organizers is showing its effectiveness,” L. David Alinsky wrote to the Boston Globe following the 2008 Democratic Convention. “It is an amazingly powerful format, and the method of my late father always works to get the message out and get the supporters on board. When executed meticulously and thoughtfully, it is a powerful strategy for initiating change and making it really happen. Obama learned his lesson well.” “When [Obama] announced his candidacy for president last month,” Ryan Lizza wrote in The New Republic in March 2007, “he said the ‘best education’ he ever had was not his undergraduate years at Occidental and Columbia, or even his time at Harvard Law School, but rather the four years he spent in the mid-’80s learning the science of community organizing in Chicago.” (jewishjournal.com)Bonus links:
• Summary of Saul Alinsky's 'Rules for Radicals'
• More Saul Alinsky stories: here
• 'Rules for Radicals' at amazon.com
Teamsters: Keep paying toll-taker slayer ... The union representing a Pike toll taker accused of dismembering and cooking his cocaine dealer filed a grievance yesterday demanding taxpayers keep shelling out $1,000-plus a week while Paul Moccia’s case weaves its way through court. “It’s outrageous for the toll payers to pick up the tab while the matter is still being resolved,” said Pike board member Mary Connaughton, who added Moccia is innocent until proven guilty. Moccia, 48, and his high school buddy Daniel P. Bradley, 47, are accused of killing Angel Ramirez, 37, of Framingham to erase a $70,000 drug debt. Both pleaded not guilty Monday to the grisly killing at Bradley’s concrete plant in Walpole. (news.bostonherald.com)
Putting politics before Stimulus: Daley smacks down Obama, Biden over Firefighter militants ... The Obama administration is boycotting a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Providence, R.I., this weekend to avoid crossing picket lines and taking sides in a decade-long labor dispute between the local mayor and firefighters union. But Mayor Daley apparently has no such qualms, in part because he¹s been in the same boat as Providence Mayor David Cicilline. Not only is Daley planning to cross a picket line to attend the mayor's meeting, but he's also sent a message to the White House that it's setting a "very bad precedent" by directing Vice President Joe Biden and more than 100 federal officials to stay away. Biden was supposed to be the keynote speaker. "This entire meeting was established around the administration's desire to get the word out about the stimulus package," said Frank Kruesi, Chicago's chief Washington lobbyist. "All of that has gone one up in smoke over an informational picket with one union in the host city. This is a very bad precedent. It's incomprehensible. In the history of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, it¹s never happened. If one union in a jurisdiction wants to put up an informational picket, administration officials will stay away. I guess they'll be doing a lot more foreign trips and a lot fewer meetings with mayors and governors across the country." (suntimes.com)
Oppressive Dem gay Mayor locks down Providence against militant Firefighter unionists ... In response to planned pickets by local fire fighters and other union/community activists, Providence Mayor David Cicilline has issued a sweeping order aimed at containing protests. As reported on my blog www.rifuture.org and on The Providence Journal website, www.projo.com, the Cicilline administration is demanding that protestors register with the city prior to planned pickets at the annual US Conference of Mayors event in Providence this weekend. Additionally, union picketers have been directed to comply with a newly released “Guidelines for Public Viewing,” which among other things, is requiring: “That individual protestors and/or protest groups give notice in writing of the maximum number of persons participating, and the names and addresses of the organizers of any such march, assembly, meeting or gathering, its route, and its time of inception and duration at least 24 hours before such inception.” The guidelines also creates so called “Free Speech Zones” telling protestors “That you must stay within designated area” and also tells them “That bags and backpacks are subject to search” ... (pww.org)
Labor-state police to join firefighter clash ... Twelve times an independent arbiter or judge has concluded that Cicilline violated the law or a labor agreement or at least had the less meritorious argument in a quarrel, said Firefighter 1st Class Paul A. Doughty, president of Local 799, International Association of Fire Fighters. The 12-for-12 rallying cry heartens firefighters, who feel vindicated as they prepare for a high-profile symbolic clash with Cicilline on the downtown streets and sidewalks around the annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. They will be joined on picket lines by members of the city police officers union, whose president, Kenneth M. Cohen, has called Cicilline obstinate in his labor relations. The arbitrations and court disputes have largely preserved for firefighters their health insurance and pension benefits, given them pay raises higher than those garnered by other Providence municipal employees, and, to date, frustrated Cicilline’s effort to make them pay part of the cost of their health coverage. (projo.com)
Rep. Russ Carnahan placed on Dirty Money Watch ... WHO: Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo), a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act (aka Card Check). WHAT: Carnahan received the following dirty money: Communication Workers of America (PAC) $100 in 2010 cycle; $10,000 in 2008 election cycle; $10,000 in 2006 election cycle. Boilermakers Union (PAC) $2,000 in 2008 election cycle; $1,000 in 2006 election cycle. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (PAC) $10,000 in 2008 election cycle; $8,000 in 2006 election cycle. American Federation of Government Employees (PAC) $1,500 in 2008 election cycle; $1500 in 2006 election cycle. Service Employees International Union (PAC) $6,500 in 2008 election cycle; $10,000 in 2006 election cycle. United Steelworkers of America (PAC) $10,000 in 2008 election cycle; $10,000 in 2006 election cycle. WHY IT’S DIRTY: Multiple officers and members of these unions, including division presidents, secretary-treasurers and business managers, have been convicted since 2001 of felonies ranging from embezzlement, falsifying official reports to government, mail fraud and conspiracy. The Communication Workers of America and the American Federation of Government Employees have had eight convictions, The Service Employees International Union has had nine convictions and The Boilermakers have had 10 members convicted, while the IBEW has had 14 members convicted. The United Steelworkers of America, which includes Paper, Allied-Industrial Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE), has had 30 convictions among its membership. The amounts of embezzled funds range from over $5,000 to over $100,000. WILL CARNAHAN GIVE IT BACK: Rep. Carnahan did not respond to The Examiner’s request for comment. THE SCORE: Number of Democrats who have given it back: 0 • Number of Republicans who have given it back: 0 • YOUR TURN: You can reach Rep. Carnahan’s Washington D.C. office at 202-225-2671. (washingtonexaminer.com)
Smattering of small employers exhibit Stockholm Syndrome ... More than 225 Colorado small businesses announced their support Wednesday for the Employee Free Choice Act, a federal proposal changing union-organizing rules that so far has received overwhelming criticism from the business community. The companies released a phone directory entitled Small Businesses for an Equitable Economy that lists EFCA supporters ranging from bakeries to clothing stores to moving services. The directory was released by Employee Free Choice Colorado, a group of union members and other supporters of the so-called “card check” bill. (bizjournals.com)
Labor-state previews Obama health system ... Health-care workers [were] barred from patient rooms [and] walked the picket lines at Bayonne Medical Center on Tuesday. Friction between management and workers has been fueled by increased costs in a health-care industry grappling with more uninsured patients, the prospect of reduced insurance payments with health-care reform, and fewer elective surgeries that bring in money. Nine acute care hospitals have closed in New Jersey since Jan. 1, 2007, compared with 13 closings over the last 15 years. (hudsonreporter.com)
Long gov't-union strike benefits vermin ... Andy Barnesky glares at the large construction waste bin near his house. It's the third time the 45-year-old Chrysler autoworker has rented a bin at $350 a pop for waste from his house renovations, and people never fail to toss in their household garbage when he's not looking. "I've been taken advantage of because of the city garbage strike," he seethes. "I'm not happy at all." Windsor residents are seething about the loss of their trash pickup. The strike by 1,800 outside and inside workers, now entering its ninth week with talks broken off, affects everything from parks maintenance to child-care workers. But what's really causing a growing stink is the uncollected garbage stored on people's property or tossed, along with furniture, on the streets. It has attracted rats, mice and stray cats. (thestar.com)
Immoral employer seeks to replace striking militant IAMAW military workers ... As union members strike against contractors at Vance Air Force Base, two of the companies have placed ads for new workers. CSC Applied Technologies LLC and one of its three subcontractors, PRI/DJI, placed advertisements in Wednesday’s Enid New & Eagle for positions left vacant by the strike. Members of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 898 walked out early Monday after negotiators failed to reach an agreement before the union’s three-year contract expired. The strike started at 12:01 a.m. Monday. Jerry McCune, president and directing business representative for IAMAW District 171, said the union feels the placing of the ads is “immoral” and doesn’t believe the company will be successful in hiring a qualified work force. (enidnews.com)
Typical labor-state UFCW bigs punish employer over decertification ... Management of Festival Foods, 1613 N. Central Ave., is offering its union employees a contract which includes a 3 percent across the board wage increase, said Marlin Greenfield, Skogen's Festival Foods vice-president and chief operations officer. The proposed contract has 5 to 7 percent increases applicable to about half of the store's 167 employees, said Greenfield, who added the offer includes additional health insurance coverage. Store management is refusing to bargain in good faith, a violation of National Labor Relations Board regulations, said Mark Sweet, an attorney representing the store employees, who are members of United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 1473, at Marshfield's Festival Foods. Charges were filed June 3 by Sweet that store management is "reneging on tentative agreements" and "bargaining regressively."The store was unionized prior to 1996, when it was purchased by Festival. Since then the working relationship between union and management has been productive, said Greenfield. "We've had an excellent relationship," he said. However, a vote to de-certify the union was conducted May 22. Festival's employees voted to remain in a union by only one vote, Greenfield said. The result of the de-certification vote is being challenged and under investigation by the NLRB in Milwaukee. The NLRB is also reviewing the charges of unfair labor practices and will issue a finding in about seven weeks, said Irv Gottschlak, the board's regional director. (wausaudailyherald.com)International Collectivism
Chávez critic indicted ... Amid repeated threats by President Hugo Chávez to shut down the Globovision television station, government prosecutors Thursday indicted the station's main owner over an unrelated business deal. Prosecutors charged that Guillermo Zuloaga, who also distributes Toyota vehicles in Venezuela, had stored 24 new cars at one of his homes with plans to sell them for an excessive profit. Government officials raided the home on May 21 and found the vehicles stored there. (miamiherald.com)
Union fight spoils strike ... A war broke out between the two Tube drivers’ unions yesterday afternoon as a strike failed to bring the network to a halt. The 48-hour stoppage called by the RMT was described as wrong by the leader of rival union Aslef who said his members would be crossing picket lines for the first time. (gulf-times.com)
Chávez collectivizes ... President Hugo Chávez's government is taking over another piece of the Venezuelan economy, saying it will seize control of all privately owned warehouses in seaports. Public Works Minister Diosdado Cabello said that the expropriations would take effect with the order's publication in the Official Gazette this week. Chávez put Venezuela's airports and seaports under federal control earlier this year. Cabello said Wednesday the warehouse takeover is necessary because storage at ports is a matter of "state security." He did not elaborate. (jpost.com)
Venezuelans get organized ... The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) has announced that the party grew by more than one million new members during a month-long registration drive in May. Meanwhile, most of the principal opposition parties in Venezuela have formed a new alliance called the "Democratic Unity Roundtable" (Mesa de la Unidad Democrática). In an interview on the state television channel VTV on Monday, Aristóbulo Istúriz, the vice president of the PSUV for the northeastern region, said the PSUV now has a total of 6.7 million members. Istúriz highlighted that 40% of the new members registered over the past month were under the age of 26, indicating solid support for the party among Venezuelan youth. (venezuelanalysis.com)
