| Obama: Surrounded by unionists, rebuilds Middle Class collectivism, curbs investment in nation's health. Mismanagement: Global democracy fraud revealed, Reid dingy, ACORN $$ cracked open, Hoffa stews, DINO to ADA, SEIU dues overcharged, SEIU's illegal strike, Boeing workers done with IAM, GOP congressman hearts dirty $$. International: Price controls trigger shortages, Correa cracks down, Ortega-Zelaya protested, Russian Communists blame Bush. |
SEIU, AFL-CIO bigs join Obama economic war room ... In a feisty speech that sounded like a campaign rally address, Obama took a sharper tone than he has in recent weeks and aggressively challenged Republicans, who voted as a block against the plan in the House and are demanding massive changes to the measure in the Senate. “We are not going to get relief by turning back to the very same policies that for the last eight years doubled the national debt and threw our economy into a tailspin,“ Obama said — an implicit criticism of the GOP that was in power during that period. Two labor officials — Anna Burger of Service Employees International Union and Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO — also were named to the 15-member board designed to offer Obama advice as he seeks a way to weather the crisis and rebuild the economy. (godanriver.com)Bonus links:
• Summary of Saul Alinsky's 'Rules for Radicals'
• More Saul Alinsky stories: here
• 'Rules for Radicals' at amazon.com
Obama rebuilds Middle Class H8tred of collectivism ... Put another way, a large segment of the broad middle class is dropping away from Obama. What is happening? "After all this discussion about health care and cap and trade and loss of jobs and the budget and the stimulus, this group is suddenly beginning to feel particularly vulnerable to tax increases," says one Republican pollster. "They don't see how things are going to work out for them in a positive way, and they worry that instead of being in a position to bounce back from the present economic environment, in fact more money may be taken away from them." Their concerns are entirely rational. Economists left and right have long argued that there is no way Obama can pay for a national health care makeover and a host of other expensive initiatives without breaking his campaign pledge not to raise taxes for anyone making less than $250,000. (washingtonexaminer.com)
No wonder folks oppose ObamaCare ... This new healthcare plan will take the independence you have in deciding where and how you get your healthcare and put those decisions into bureaucratic hands. Think about it this way: going to your doctor will be like going to your DMV—long waiting lines, substandard service and inefficient care. There is one very important difference, however: you or your loved one will be sick, hurt or dying. The inevitable delays in government-funded healthcare mean death, pain or a worsened condition. And what is worse, the government will decide what quality of healthcare is acceptable. (examiner.com)
We don't need no stinkin' elections ... The West African nation of Niger holds a referendum Tuesday that will end presidential term limits if passed. Referendums on term limits have been held worldwide in recent years. While they have failed in a handful of cases — including Honduras, Malawi, Nigeria and Zambia — most attempts have succeeded. Here is a look at some nations where there have been efforts to extend term limits: (google.com)
Dump Harry Reid just like Tom Daschle ... Two top Republican activists have formed a nationally based independent expenditure group dedicated to taking down Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, in the 2010 elections. Former Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis and former Nevada Republican Executive Director Chuck Muth will head the Dump Reid political action committee, a federal "hard dollar" outfit, though none of the state's top Republicans has publicly declared an intention to challenge Mr. Reid. Dump Reid is limited by its ability to accept no more than $2,500 from an individual but is thereby free to explicitly advocate the defeat of Mr. Reid, in what Republicans hope will be a rerun of the 2004 ballot-box ouster of Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota, who was last Senate majority leader. (washingtontimes.com)
ACORN Cracked ... ACORN, the nation’s largest grassroots community organization, has been under a lot of criticism lately for allegations of unethical and potentially illegal activity. At the same time, the National Education Association’s alliance with ACORN appears to be growing, according to a new website called ACORN CRACKED. Once again, this raises the question: Should Teachers’ Union Dues Pay for Politics? The nation’s largest teachers’ union recently held a gala fundraiser for ACORN at its Washington, DC headquarters. Fired ACORN employee Anita MonCrief posted the invitation on her website. In addition, the National Education Association gave ACORN funds for "nonpartisan voter registration." The New York City Teachers union, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, gave ACORN over $1 million for things such as "cash bulk registration." You can see all of ACORN’s funding sources on ACORN CRACKED.com. ACORN began in the early 1970s, when Wade Rathke founded the Arkansas Community Organization for Reform Now. (examiner.com)
After 20 year wait, Hoffa acts on Chicago Teamster corruption ... Teamsters Local 726 — one of two hold-out unions to refuse Mayor Daley’s demand for cost-cutting concessions — has been placed in trusteeship amid allegations of financial malfeasance. The surprise action by James Hoffa, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, swept out all seven elected leaders of Local 726, including union president John Falzone, secretary-treasurer Tom Clair and trustee Michael Marcantant. In 1988, the Southern District of New York sued the International Brotherhood of Teamsters under federal racketeering statutes. Federal prosecutors alleged that organized crime had infiltrated the union and was controlling its affairs. The following year, a consent decree established a so-called independent review board, an investigative arm with subpoena powers. It was that board that investigated financial malfeasance at Local 726 and recommended the ouster of union officers. (myfoxchicago.com)
DINO unionist named to head ADA ... Veteran labor organizer Michael Wilson is the new national director of Americans for Democratic Action — replacing Amy Isaacs, who retired after 20 years. A member of the ADA Board of Directors since 1999, Wilson comes to the liberal lobby from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, where he was an international vice president and director of legislative and political action. (politico.com)
Labor-state over-deducts SEIU union-dues from workers' paychecks ... Due to incorrect payroll information provided by the State Controller's Office, union dues deducted from your August 1 paycheck were calculated based on a two-day furlough instead of a three-day furlough. Local 1000 is working with the Controller's Office to ensure you receive an adjustment by September 1, if not earlier. Future paychecks will reflect the correct deduction of union dues. (seiuaction.org)
SEIU strike ruled illegal ... A San Francisco labor union acted illegally in 2006 when it encouraged hospital housekeepers to refuse to work overtime in protest of a management plan to send some jobs to another facility, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. The one-week protest organized by the Service Employees International Union, United Healthcare Workers-West violated a federal law requiring hospital employees to give 10 days' notice before a strike or "concerted refusal to work," said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. (sfgate.com)
Union big enraged as Machinists decertify at Boeing ... At least 30 percent of the work force at Boeing's newly acquired Vought facility in Charleston, S.C., no longer wants to belong to the International Association of Machinists union, according to a report in the Charleston Regional Business Journal. A quality inspector, Dennis Murray, told the newspaper that he felt poorly represented. "I don't like being stabbed in the back and having bluff and bluster rule the day," Murray said of the Machinists union, according to the report. (blog.seattlepi.com)
Rep. Todd Tiahrt placed on Dirty Money Watch ... WHO: Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS). WHAT: Tiahrt received the following dirty money: PMA Group (PAC) $6,000 in 2008 election cycle; $4,000 in 2006 election cycle. WHY IT’S DIRTY: PMA Group (Paul Magliocchetti and Associates) was a defense lobbying group that is now the focus of multiple federal investigations concerning allegations of influence peddling and other corrupt activities, mostly associated with earmarks. Before it was disbanded earlier this year, PMA Group's employees and its political action committee gave current members of Congress $3.4 million between 1989 and 2008, with 79 percent of that going to Democrats, according to OpenSecrets.org. WILL TIAHRT GIVE IT BACK: Tiahrt 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. Tiahrt’s Washington D.C. office at 202-225-6216. (washingtonexaminer.com)International Collectivism
Chávez: Price controls not to blame for coffee shortage ... President Hugo Chavez's government seized control of two of Venezuela's largest coffee processing plants on Monday, threatening to expropriate them if investigations reveal they have illegally smuggled coffee out of the country. Commerce Minister Eduardo Saman said it was a temporary seizure while officials investigate whether two companies, Fama de America and Madrid, illegally circumvented price controls. If investigations reveal violations, he said, officials will "propose the expropriation" of the plants. "In that case, the workers would take control of the business," Saman told state television, saying that authorities would occupy the plants for three months during the investigations. Venezuelans have faced a scarcity of coffee in recent weeks, and Saman said authorities will investigate whether the companies have engaged in "monopolistic practices" or smuggled coffee out of the country. Coffee is one of many basic products that fall under price controls. (etaiwannews.com)
Ecuador joins New Progressive Era ... Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa says "many" radio and TV frequencies will revert to state control due to what he's calling irregularities. The president has been at war with Ecuador's news media since taking office in January 2007. He has called TV stations and newspapers corrupt and mediocre, and twice fined an opposition broadcaster. Correa did not specify Monday what sort of abuses or irregularities broadcasters have committed. Nor did he name any alleged offenders. The announcement coincides with regulators revoking or refusing to renew the licenses of 34 radio stations in Venezuela. Correa and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez are staunch regional allies and share a similar left-leaning political ideology. (google.com)
Ortega and Zelaya plague Latin America ... The opposition mayors from a Nicaraguan province bordering Honduras on Monday demanded the expulsion of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya from the country, saying he caused social and commercial instability in the region. The mayors from Nueva Segovia province belong to the Constitutionalist Liberal Party, headed by former Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman, who also urged Zelaya's departure. They said Zelaya's so-called Pacific Resistance Army has been infiltrated by gangsters who are causing social insecurity in the area. These gang members blocked the trade transit and robbed residents there. "There is not any kind of control of the people who enter Nicaraguan territory by blind points. The authorities do not request them any kind of identification," added the mayors. (news.xinhuanet.com)
Like Obama: Russian Communists protest v. Bush ... Russia's Communist Party will hold protests outside the U.S. embassy in Moscow on Friday to mark Georgia's attack on South Ossetia, Party leader Gennady Zyuganov said on Monday. "We will hold protests in front of the U.S. embassy on [August] 7 in connection with the anniversary of the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict, or more precisely [Georgian President Mikheil] Saakashvili and his mercenaries' traitorous attack on a brotherly republic," Zyuganov said during a press conference in Moscow. The head of the Communist Party's Moscow department, Vladimir Ulas, said the U.S. embassy was chosen for the protests because the United States had supported Georgia in the conflict. (en.rian.ru)
