8/13/09

Thursday wrap

Obama: Earns Network moment, L'Obamatizes U.S., leans on Alinsky, draws protesters out, triggers bickering, strikes fear, to fix Social Security.

Mismanagement: SEIU rules, AARP fail, Pelosi fail, Rep. Baron Hill fail, Congress lacks exit-strategies, Boeing to be set free, typical labor-state corruption.

International: Hugo Chávez: the bogey-man.


We're not going to take it anymore ... True to form, the libs have responded to dissent on the administration's move to take over healthcare with name calling, character assassination, and the like. I believe that the opposition to the federal takeover of healthcare delivery should add one more thing to their tactics. I believe that every time someone is in front of these lily-livered politicians (forget Obama... he's a waste of time), they should look them square in the eye, point their finger at them, and tell them that they are going to be sure to go to the polls on their next election and will do everything possible to remove them from office through the elective process. They will tell all their friends, work tirelessly against them and will mobilize everyone possible to put them on the street. We will then see how principled they really are. Let's face it, this whole debate is about power and how Washington can control more of it and thus, continue to add to their job security. This administration is trying to fundamentally change every part of our lives in order to solidify their power. (spectator.org)


We know where SEIU lives ... That would be the purple-shirted members of the SEIU--the Service Employees International Union—who (literally) swung into action outside a town hall meeting in Missouri and became infamous on YouTube and national media. “Town Hall Protestor Roughed Up by SEIU Members” read one headline. The legal system will sort out what happened to David Gladney, the victim of the attack. But public opinion will sort out whether SEIU is sending thugs to town halls. The union “Purps” also turned out in force at President Obama's town hall in New Hampshire. SEIU brought its people in by chartered buses after getting special tickets from the White House. And why shouldn’t the president give ‘em freebie tickets? He owes them! After all, the SEIU spent $61-million to help elect him. The union also set aside $10-million to push Obama’s agenda in its post-election “Change That Works” campaign, and pledged more, including 30% of the union's resources and hiring over 1,000 workers in 35 states. Oddly, that level of orchestration goes unremarked by mainstream media, while conservative organizing gets critical coverage. But liberal members of congress are well aware of the SEIU’s resources and commitment. (humanevents.com)


America L'Obamatized ... If Americans had any doubt how the liberal elite (Democrats in Congress, the press, the entertainment industry) felt about them before this month’s congressional recess, surely they must understand it now. Hard-working taxpaying Americans have been relatively complacent until recently, understandably occupied by their jobs, their finances, their families, and their personal responsibilities. Americans have had a largely unspoken but abiding faith in the enduring principles of American government, the fidelity of their elected representatives to those principles, and the vigilance of the press in defending both. (townhall.com)


AARP throws members under the bus ... The American public will have to decided for themselves who is telling the truth---President Obama or the spokesman for the AARP. After Obama said that the AARP had endorsed the Democrats health care reform (ObamaCare), the chief operating officers, Tom Nelson denied it. Nelson said: " ... indications that we (AARP) have endorsed any major health reform bills currently under consideration in Congress are inaccurate." Which person should the public believe? (examiner.com)


Obama's Nazi Straw man: An Old Alinsky Trick ... When I saw this video interview of Bill Burton, White House Deputy Press Secretary, I could not help but be reminded of one of old Saul Alinsky's favorite fake-em-out tricks of the revolutionary trade. Burton is reinforcing Pelosi's earlier claim that people were carrying Swastikas at townhalls, but goes even further and claims that folks are actually "dressing up like Hitler." You got to give ole Saul a little credit. He was one wily deceiver, right after his hero, Deceiver in Spades, Lucifer. Saul Alinsky, crusader for the downtrodden, darling of the Auxiliary Archbishop of Chicago, was just an underachieving nobody with neither guts nor moral code, who flummoxed a whole lot of willing-to-be-deceived power seekers. Saul Alinsky didn't invent a single new thing. His whole methodology, so widely-hailed by whole generations of leftists, could have been devised by any 12 year-old gang-style bully with half a brain and an ounce of charisma. (americanthinker.com)

Bonus links:
Summary of Saul Alinsky's 'Rules for Radicals'
• More Saul Alinsky stories: here
'Rules for Radicals' at amazon.com


Obama expected to draw thousands of protesters ... From opponents of health-care reform to presidential fans, hordes of citizen activists are descending on Belgrade Friday for President Barack Obama's visit, to show their stripes for or against the president's agenda. "The president is a big draw," said Linda Kenoyer of Montanans for Single Payer, which is organizing demonstrators who support a Medicare-for-all system of health coverage. "We intend to go there and make as big a showing as possible of our position … and honor free speech, the democratic process and non-violent debate." Joining Kenoyer and her group near Gallatin Field Airport at Belgrade will be hundreds, perhaps thousands, of demonstrators, of every political ilk, as Obama comes to town for a town-hall meeting on health-care reform. (billingsgazette.com)


Pelosi stuck in 1984 ... “Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American” - Nancy Pelosi • Madam Speaker, I could not agree more. Freedom of speech is one of our most cherished rights as American citizens. So, too, is the right to peaceably assemble and to petition the government without fear of punishment or reprisal. These rights are the foundation for Western Civilization as we know it. Why then, Madam Speaker, do these rights only apply to citizens who share your ideological views? It seems to be the very definition of irony and a text book example of hypocrisy. The political Left in the US has been working diligently to silence opposition, not only with the current health care debate, but in numerous instances in the past. (blogs.creativeloafing.com)


Shame on Rep. Baron Hill ... Indiana Congressman Baron Hill is on the hot seat in the health care reform debate after making controversial comments about town hall protesters. "They have only one purpose in mind and that's to blow up the meetings that are being held and that serves no one, ladies and gentlemen," said Hill. Hill recently called them political terrorists, a term he avoided in his speech but not in a 24-Hour News 8 interview. "If you just want to blow up a meeting that's a political terrorist," said Hill. (realclearpolitics.com)

Related video: Dem: Gimme Shelter from constituents



Obama over-reaching triggers bickering among Dems ... Sen. Arlen Specter said Wednesday he thinks people who have been angrily disrupting town hall meetings on overhauling the health care system are "not necessarily representative of America," but should be heard. "It's more than health care," said Specter, 79, who earlier this year left the Republican Party and became a Democrat. "I think there is a mood in America of anger with so many people unemployed, with so much bickering in Washington ... with the fear of losing their health care. It all boils over." (washingtonexaminer.com)


Obama-Dems lack exit strategy from health debacle ... It seemed for a while a really big mystery that, with the deficit at a $1.3 trillion record, members of the House would plan on treating themselves to $550 million worth of new passenger jets, but now all is clear. They need a way to get out of Dodge, and very, very quickly, if they really do foist a new health deal on the nation. There's evidence some such insanity could still be coming our way, for there was Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Denver the other day, explaining that the proposals would not add to deficits or restrict benefits or decrease access to care, which would be more than a little hard to do, considering what the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says. (washingtonexaminer.com)


Seniors tremble: After health care reform, Obama to take on Social Security ... One of President Obama’s top economic advisers, Lawrence Summers, told leading economists Aug. 11 that the president intends to overhaul Social Security before he leaves the White House. Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Obama’s aim would be to strengthen Social Security “in a way that will assure people that there’s something they can rely on, a base from which they can build their retirement security.” (pww.org)


Why I'm afraid of Barack Obama ... I haven’t always been this anti-Obama. I’m not a member of the right-wing media. I spoke out against what were in my opinion G.W. Bush’s Imperialist and Fascist policies, and his gigantic deficit spending. I voted for only one Republican in the last election. When President Obama was running for office, my position--despite Obama’s socialist campaign rhetoric--was that we wouldn’t really know what he was all about until he actually took office. There just wasn’t enough to go on. Sure, we had his preacher and some other guilt-by-association attacks, but it wasn’t enough to convince me beyond a reasonable doubt that Obama was any scarier than Bill Clinton. I really felt that if Cap and Trade didn’t go through, and Healthcare didn’t go through, then Obama would probably go on to become a decent President. Don’t get me wrong. I would have been in disagreement philosophically with most of his policies, but I didn’t think they were policies that would radically socialize our country to the point of no return. (examiner.com)


Leftwing AARP hearts SEIU, Obama ... President Obama and Congressional Democrats continue to attack the “special interests” that have lined up to oppose Obamacare. It’s the usual Obama disinformation campaign: the special interests heavily invested in -- and looking to profit from -- Obamacare are on the air nationwide with high-priced television commercials and high-pressure tactics. And, despite its members’ opposition to Obamacare’s tinkering with their Medicare benefits, AARP is one of the rent-seekers pushing Obamacare hardest. For Obama’s allies -- especially the rent-seekers such as AARP, SEIU and PhRMA -- the other guy is the “special interest” not them. (humanevents.com)


Independents gallop away from socialistic Obama-Dems ... In a survey of 1,000 adults taken Tuesday, 34% say the sometimes heated protests at sessions held by members of Congress have made them more sympathetic to the protesters’ views; 21% say they are less sympathetic. Independents by 2-1, 35%-16%, say they are more sympathetic to the protesters now. The findings are bad news for President Obama and Democratic congressional leaders, who have scrambled to respond to town halls marked by aggressive questions and noisy demonstrations by those opposed to plans to overhaul the health care system. There’s some tolerance for noisy disputes at town hall meetings. By 51%-41%, those surveyed say individuals making “angry attacks” on a health care bill reflected “democracy in action” rather than “abuse of democracy.” However, by 59%-33% they say “shouting down supporters” of a health care bill was an abuse of democracy. (usatoday.com)


When the going gets weird ... ... The first thing I saw, from a few blocks down Broad Street, was a news van and others like it. I could see a tangled mess of people and a few signs, but nothing that I could read from such a distance. In my heart, and even though I knew that this was downtown Philadelphia—a liberal stronghold to say the least—I hoped to see a group of concerned, right-thinking Americans standing up for the Constitution, for our economy, for our children, and against the erosion of our freedom. Boy, was I wrong. The first thing I heard was the chanting: "WHAT DO WE WANT?" "SINGLE-PAYER!!" "WHEN DO WE WANT IT?" "NOW!!" Go figure. Everywhere else in the nation, Democrats have been working overtime to perpetuate the party line, falsely, that the public health care option will not lead to a single-payer system, countermanding even the taped words of Barack Obama, Barney Frank and others — here, however, people are singing the praises of a single-payer system. Demanding it. Welcome to Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love. (agoravox.com)


Obama eyes moving Cuba to ailing labor-state ... Demonstrating that it's still determined to bring Guantánamo captives to U.S. soil, the Obama administration on Wednesday sent a team to inspect a remote maximum-security prison in Michigan as a potential alternative to its prison camps in Cuba. (miamiherald.com)


Workers to set Boeing free ... The National Labor Relations Board and the International Association of Machinists have agreed to allow a Sept. 10 vote on decertifying the union at Boeing Co.'s newly acquired plant in South Carolina. Boeing's position on the vote is clear: "We'll tell [workers] we prefer to deal with our employees directly, without an intermediary," says Tim Healy, the company's labor relations spokesman. A successful decertification vote would for the first time give Boeing a non-union option for assembling its much-delayed 787 Dreamliner. (smartbrief.com)


Sen. Roger Wicker placed on Dirty Money Watch ... WHO: Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) WHAT: Wicker received the following dirty money: PMA Group (PAC) $2,000 in 2008 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 WICKER GIVE IT BACK: Wicker 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 • Gave Donation to Charity: Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) YOUR TURN: You can reach Sen. Wicker's Washington D.C. office at 202-224-6253. (washingtonexaminer.com)


Militant writers' union tribunal punishes workers ... In the other matters announced Tuesday, WGA-West said the trial committees found the two members guilty of violating strike rules, and decided to bar permanently a non-member from joining the WGA after he was found guilty of writing and submitting scripts to a struck company, the guild said. (upi.com)


Typical labor-state wrist-slap for union big dues-embezzler ... At least Richard Klemser won't have to do much prison time. Klemser, 44, formerly treasurer of International Association of Machinists Local 1041, was sentenced on August 11 to a one-year prison term for embezzlement. During January 2004-March 2008, federal prosecutors alleged, Klemser stole about $64,000 from the West Long Branch, N.J. union, which represents employees of NJ Transit, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern and Conrail. (nlpc.org)


Shame on corrupt Carpenters union ... The United Brotherhood of Carpenters, the labor organization that represents the nation’s carpenters, placed its New York chapter under emergency trusteeship Wednesday and ousted the chapter head and two other leaders who are targets of racketeering charges unsealed last week by federal authorities. (nytimes.com)


Dem solon hawks anti-capitalism ... Senate Commerce Chairman John D. Rockefeller (D-W.V.) told CNSNews.com that America needs a government-run health insurance provider that does not need to make a profit and that will compete with private health insurance companies because private insurance company profits have increased by 400 percent since 2001. “I mean, they (health insurance companies) are making so much money it is just ridiculous,” Rockefeller told CNSNews.com. (cnsnews.com)


New Progs crack down on public ... So many Americans have so much to say about President Barack Obama's health care plan. You've seen it play out on television -- meeting's from across the country filled with yelling and finger-pointing at politicians. And Wednesday night one local congressman facing a crowd of protestors tried to keep CBS 2 HD cameras out. The forum was one viewers almost didn't see, after Congressman Anthony Weiner's staffers said the meeting was not open to our cameras. (wcbstv.com)


International Collectivism

Who can stop Chávez? ... "Without a doubt, Chávez wants to gain a foothold here," said Pedro-Pablo Kuczynski, who served as Peru's prime minister in 2005-06. "He needs to expand his network. The one Indian country [in South America] where he doesn't have control is Peru." However, Chávez has little to show for his efforts in Peru after his disciple, Ollanta Humala, nearly won an insurgent campaign for president in 2006 by appealing to the disaffected. Venezuela financed Humala's campaign with suitcases full of cash, according to Kuczynski and two former Humala confidants. A Peruvian newspaper earlier this year exposed secret payments to Humala's wife by a Venezuelan newspaper that's allied with Chávez. (miamiherald.com)


Chávez to outlaw golf ... The Venezuelan president launched a tirade against the "bourgeois" sport recently during one of his infamous Sunday national television addresses which can last for several hours. His government has also moved in recent weeks to shut down two of the country's best-known golf courses, according to The New York Times. One is in Maracay and the other is in the coastal city of Carabelleda. "Let's leave this clear," Mr Chávez said during a live broadcast. "Golf is a bourgeois sport." (telegraph.co.uk)
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