Obama Job Freeze puts more union members on the dole ... Welfare rolls, which were slow to rise and actually fell in many states early in the recession, now are climbing across the country for the first time since President Bill Clinton signed legislation pledging “to end welfare as we know it” more than a decade ago. Twenty-three of the 30 largest states, which account for more than 88% of the nation’s total population, see welfare caseloads above year-ago levels, according to a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal and the National Conference of State Legislatures. If the government, both state and federal, quit trying to tax and spend its way back into prosperity the bottom wouldn’t be nearly as deep as it could be if we stay on this same course. Sadly, I think we’re going to stay on this big government track we’re on until things get so bad Americans have another “kick the bums out” moment and replace the current leadership in the state and federal governments with people who get it. (kxmb.com)In case you missed it: The Union News weekend
Sunday: Innovative Anti-Corruption Law boosts Colorado
Saturday: Job Freeze: Pro-union Administration keeps tight rein on U.S. workforce
Stimulus triggers shameful waste, fraud, abuse ... " With 20,000 expenditures approved, the complaints about bum projects are piling up. Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, released a report last week identifying 100 projects he said were wasteful or silly. But the Obama administration has refused to accept any of his criticisms and is defending the spending, from bike paths to turtle bridges to $300 road signs advertising that stimulus money paid for the project. "Despite the president's promise that there would be unprecedented oversight, stimulus money is funding wasteful projects and is not producing the jobs Americans desperately need," said House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican. (washingtontimes.com)
U.S. comes full circle ... The words Marxist, socialist, and communist, of course, do not resonate with our citizens, especially the younger age groups. They have no memory or experience as a point of reference, so these are just words that have no real significance to them! Yet, in their youthful hubris, they feel they are the wisest of the wise! They casually dismiss the difference between the above and free-market capitalism as inconsequential. Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez states that "Comrade Obama is more left wing than (Chávez) is!" An article in the former Soviet newspaper Pravda remarks on the swiftness of our descent into Marxism under Caesar! As a consequence of Caesar's coronation, we once again have a monarch to replace King George III; but Caesar, too, has the markings of a tyrant, and so, perhaps this is how and where our republic ends. We have come full circle, to be destroyed by the greed and ignorance of our own citizens just as Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev predicted! As the comic strip character "Pogo" would say, "we have met the enemy and he is us!" (chronicle.augusta.com)
Progressive ACORN mullahs crack down on dissidents ... Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) leaders are using the threat of a law suit to silence and intimidate critics, according to current and former members of the liberal activist group. In a letter dated June 11 an attorney for ACORN advised top whistleblowers that their unauthorized use of the organization’s name could make them liable for monetary damages and injunctive relief. ACORN executives have also changed their organization’s name, which was tarnished by investigations in at least 14 states of allegations of voter registration fraud during the 2008 presidential campaign, and charges by current and former members of financial mismanagement and misrepresentation. The new name will let ACORN leaders continue their operations without worrying about prior bad publicity, according to Marcel Reid of ACORN 8, a group of present and former members. Reid told The Examiner that ACORN 8 will not comply. “We have no intention of not using the name ACORN 8, it is not a trademark infringement,” she said. “This get tough attitude is part of larger attempt to silence people and shut them down. We are not going to be silenced.” Meanwhile, ACORN’s Project Vote affiliate has filed suit against Anita MonCrief, a former employee, who has testified under oath on voter registration allegations. ACORN is currently under investigation in at least 14 states for electoral irregularities. The Project Vote suit claims that Anita MonCrief and an unidentified accomplice gained access into private e-mails from group executives and stole the group’s name without permission. It also accuses Moncrief of using a company credit card for her own purposes. “ACORN is attempting to silence me, and the allegations in the lawsuit are false,” MonCrief said in statement emailed to The Examiner. (washingtonexaminer.com)
Ruthless Obama adopts thematic Alinsky Method ... This is actually “a hard-nosed tactic of community organizers,” as American Prospect editor Mark Schmitt wrote in 2007. “One way to deal with that kind of bad-faith opposition is to draw the person in,” Schmitt explained, “treat them as if they were operating in good faith, and draw them into a conversation about how they actually would solve the problem.” This apparent paradox is one reason Obama’s political identity has eluded easy definition. On the one hand, you have a disciple of the radical community organizer Saul Alinsky turned ruthless Chicago politician. On the other hand, there is the conciliatory post-partisan idealist. The mistake here is in thinking of these two notions as opposing poles. In reality it’s all the same thing. Obama’s defining political trait is the belief that conciliatory rhetoric is a ruthless strategy. (pressdemocrat.com)Bonus links:
• Summary of Saul Alinsky's 'Rules for Radicals'
• More Saul Alinsky stories: here
• 'Rules for Radicals' at amazon.com
President just doesn't get America ... President Obama’s weakness and complete lack of leadership concerning the events in Iran would most obviously seem attributable to his Jimmy Carter-like weakness. Much like his undistinguished predecessor, Obama seems to genuinely have no idea what to do. That is clearly part of it, and this is the sort of thing about which a lot of people warned during the campaign. But there is an even more troubling reason, and Obama revealed it during an interview with CBS News. “The last thing that I want to do is to have the United States be a foil for those forces inside Iran who would love nothing better than to make this an argument about the United States,” Obama said, clearly embracing the notion that America’s backing for the freedom-seeking Iranians would amount to a propaganda victory for the mad mullahs looking to squash their pursuit of freedom. This is Obama’s problem, and he is going to make it America’s problem. He does not understand the United States of America, and he does not understand its place in the world. Obama’s view of America is clearly informed by left-wing notions of a bully that forces its will upon everyone else. (northstarwriters.com)
Father's Day, Influence on Obama is hard to overlook ... Another one of Barry’s splendid adult role models was communist, poet, alcoholic, sexual deviant and fomenter of racial hatred, Frank Marshall Davis. Cleverly disguised as “Frank” in Dreams, we learn that young Barry was treated to Davis’ counsel on numerous occasions. Dear Grandpa Stanley, blessed with an inordinate amount of free time thanks to his wife’s hard work, enjoyed whiling away the hours with Davis, drinking and smoking pot. Davis was an open supporter of the Soviet Union and his influence on Obama is hard to overlook. The poet also admitted to writing a pornographic novel under the pseudonym of Bob Greene in which the protagonist seduces a 13 year old girl. Davis claimed he had changed names and identities but the novel was based on actual experiences. To clarify the depth of Marshall’s perversion: he actually believed sex with a 13 year old child would be in the child’s best interests. He graciously spared her the sting of rejection and made certain her earliest sexual experiences would be with the maestro himself, according to Toby Harnden in the Telegraph. Davis also proudly proclaimed himself bisexual, a voyeur and exhibitionist who wished he’d had two penises. In a lifetime of associations with plainly unsavory characters, poet and pornographer, Frank Marshall Davis ranks among the least savory of the lot. (canadafreepress.com)
UAW bigs cling to jets, golf resort; now seek punishing tax break ... The auto executives have had to give up most of their perks in exchange for the federal bailout money. No private jets. No lavish sales outings. But the United Auto Workers seems to have slipped under the radar. The UAW still owns and operates a $33 million posh golf resort on Black Lake near Cheboygan that ostensibly serves as an education center but provides an elegant getaway for union leadership. And now the union is appealing to the state Tax Tribunal for $3 million in property tax relief from Waverly Township, disputing the assessment of the property. If the UAW wins, schools will be hurt. (detnews.com)
Union Greed Rules: Stern-Burger SEIU damages the movement ... The turmoil created by the breakup of the UNITE HERE union continues to get worse, and the entire labor movement is suffering collateral damage as a result. One key moment came May 29, when Bruce Raynor was forced to resign as president of the union of garment and hotel workers that was created as the result of a merger five years ago. He left the same day that an internal hearing was held by UNITE HERE officials to review charges that Raynor organized a breakaway faction to join the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The disciplinary hearing could have led to Raynor's expulsion--on charges that he used millions of dollars in UNITE HERE assets to fund a secession of 150,000 workers that would benefit the SEIU. (socialistworker.org)
Striking city unionists shut down Toronto ... Indoor and outdoor City of Toronto workers began striking Monday, despite last ditch efforts to stave off a stalemate that would halt residential garbage collection, close city daycares, cancel summer programs and even postpone some weddings. At a press conference shortly after midnight, Mark Ferguson, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 416, which represents about 6,200 outdoor workers, confirmed city workers were on strike. "We believe it's been their (the City's) intent to put us out on strike all along," said Ferguson. "This may be an unpopular fight but it's a necessary fight to protect working men and women." (edmontonjournal.com)
Sotomayor's shameful secrets revealed ... When President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, the conventional wisdom was that she would be an apt replacement for retiring Justice David H. Souter, maintaining the high court's "balance" -- or, more accurately, its lopsided liberal tilt. But Team Obama knows something most Americans don't. From 1980 to 1992, she was a governing board member of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) where, according to the New York Times, she "was an involved and ardent supporter of their various legal efforts." From 1980 to 1992, she was a governing board member of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) where, according to the New York Times, she "was an involved and ardent supporter of their various legal efforts." Those efforts included no less than six briefs in five abortion-related cases before the Supreme Court -- pushing aggressively for an interpretation of abortion rights that would eliminate most or all state and federal abortion regulations while requiring state and federal funding of abortion. (washingtontimes.com)
U.S. experiments anew with slavery ... Capitalism is the only moral economic system. It is also the most productive, but that is secondary. Its moral justification lies in the fact that it is the only economic system which fully respects citizens’ rights to life, liberty and property. Socialism, fascism, communism — and all other forms of collectivism — are based on the restriction or denial of individual rights. They all hold that government may initiate force against anyone to satisfy a “greater good,” as defined by whoever is in power at the moment. Under these systems people may not act by right, but only by permission, such permission being revocable at any time. This country currently has a so-called “mixed economy” — an unstable mixture of capitalism and collectivism. It is “a civil war of pressure-groups looting and devouring one another.” When any group attains political power, it uses that power against other groups. The protection of individual rights in such a war is the first casualty. There cannot be a “hybrid of capitalism” any more than there can be a hybrid of freedom and slavery. Any law or regulation that bans or penalizes voluntary agreements by individuals violates their rights through the government’s use or threat of force. (naplesnews.com)Sotomayor backs religious cultism in U.S. prisons ... Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, told the State of New York in 1994 that it must allow prison inmates who practice Santeria to wear multi-colored beads. Santeria is a sect that combines African religious traditions with elements drawn from Roman Catholicism. In the case of Campos v. Coughlin , Sotomayor told state prison officials that their fear of a growing gang movement within the prison was less important than the right of Santeria faithful to wear religious beads. Under a New York corrections system rule, inmates were allowed to wear under their clothing “only traditionally accepted religious medals, crucifixes or crosses” that are affixed to chains. “It is not acceptable to wear religious medals, crucifixes or crosses that are affixed to beads, leather, strings, or rope,” the state regulation states. “The religious medal, crucifix, or cross on a chain, shall not be of such size and design that can be used as a weapon, conceal contraband, or constitute any other threat to the security or safety of the institution." Under the state’s policy, religious beads “like rosary, Dhikr, or ‘any other traditionally accepted prayer beads’” cannot be worn but may be possessed with permission,” the policy added. However, Judge Sotomayor ruled that this policy violated the inmates’ constitutional rights. (cnsnews.com)
Failed GOP Prog praises Obama ... Sen. John McCain says his opponent in last year's presidential campaign, Barack Obama, has "done well" in his first five months in the White House. The Arizona Republican says that using a legislative scorecard to judge the presidency so far, Obama has achieved all his legislative goals. McCain appeared Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation." (google.com)International Collectivism
Iranians seek freedom, liberty
LatAm Prog banks on Putin ... Venezuela is set to finalize the details of setting up a joint bank with Russia, Latin America's Telesur TV said on Monday citing the Venezuelan president. Moscow and Caracas agreed in November 2008 to Chávez a joint bank. Speaking on Sunday in his television program, Hello President, Hugo Chavez said the president of the Banco del Tesoro, Cesar Giral, had left for Russia to discuss the proposal in detail. "Giral has left for Russia, because a document will be drafted there that could be decisive in the development of the Russian-Venezuelan bank," Chávez said. Last week Chavez said Venezuelan Executive Vice President Ramon Carrizalez would also travel to Russia and Belarus to pass letters to his Russian and Belarusian counterparts. Venezuela's ABN news agency reported that Carrizalez had already arrived in Moscow, where he is expected to hold a number of meetings to discuss bilateral cooperation between the two countries. (en.rian.ru)
Communism: The honeymoon is over in South Africa ... The honeymoon for Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s new president, was cut short not only by the pressing need to get his new administration up and running, but by other rude interruptions such as the economy and labour disputes. Tom Nevin reports. Labour unrest by bus drivers, doctors, public servants and others has rocked South Africa’s economy and opened cracks within the ruling tripartite alliance. Abruptly, various groups of professionals and workers have extinguished the euphoric afterglow of political triumph and quickly had Zuma at his desk confronting a bulging in-basket.On the one hand, trade union conglomerate Cosatu was threatening the biggest public sector strike in decades if public servants’ pay problems were not rapidly addressed; on the other hand, the rocky economy has finally slipped into recession – bringing with it a slew of questions over what to do about inflation targeting, interest rates and mounting job losses. Zuma’s labour background may have prompted the inclusion of Communist Party leader Blade Nzimande in the new South African cabinet. This could ostensibly be as a payback for the communist and union support for the ANC in the recent general elections. The gesture, however, is now a fading memory as an increasing number of pay disputes unbalance the new establishment. (africasia.com)
