| Obama: OK's Iranian nukes in Venezuela, throws Chávez a bone, grossly overspends, jeopardizes Dem rule, teaches big lesson. Mismanagement: Labor Day fail, Obamalosinomics fail, Kissinger hearts Emanuel, Van exposes Valerie Jarrett, manufacturers bent over, union thug pension fail, new ACORN fraud reported. International: Obama OK's Marxist LatAm expansion, LatAm security thug will be missed, global Progs team up. |
Labor Day ain't what it used to be ... Labor Day now conjures up images of parades, department store sales, barbecues and trips to the beach. But in the early years, it was an occasion for demonstra tions against low pay and harsh working conditions. Often, orators from the Industrial Workers of the World -- the Wobblies -- would be at the forefront. The Wobblies were Marxist utopians. They weren't very good at organizing -- at their peak, they numbered only about 100,000 members. But they wrote some splendid songs. Indeed, their most enduring legacy to the trade-union movement may well be their music. One of their most prolific songwriters was Joel Haggland, a Swedish-born itinerant laborer who changed his name to Joe Hill after immigrating to America. (nypost.com)
Celebrating anti-capitalism ... Europe's Labor Day observance was announced in 1889 by the first Paris Congress of the Second Socialist International. "The Socialists planned to have workers enforce a May 1 holiday whenever it occurred, whether on a weekend or during the work week," Ms. Vitullo-Martin notes. "Disruption was to be part of the holiday, and there was no notion that anyone but workers would participate - certainly not owners or capitalists." (lvrj.com)Bonus links:
• Summary of Saul Alinsky's 'Rules for Radicals'
• More Saul Alinsky stories: here
• 'Rules for Radicals' at amazon.com
Socialists decry capitalist union-big pigs ... How quickly the Labor leaders retreat; how empty their threats have become. Like the capitalist class, any hindrance to profit taking is a “legitimate problem” as far as they are concerned and their refusal to challenge this world-view is the basis for their collaboration with our enemies. They don’t even pretend to defend worker’s living standards. They are on the boards of the new US auto industry after collaborating with the employers as they drove the once mighty UAW in to the ground, and now Denis Hughes, the president of the New York State Federation of Labor has been selected chairman of the New York Federal Reserve Board, a position he has been holding temporarily since May; he will replace a former Goldman Sachs executive, the fusion of finance capital and the heads of organized Labor is complete. (indybay.org)
Chávez, Ahmadinejad get up in Obama's face ... DEBKAfile's Iranian sources disclose that Hugo Chávez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are working on a wide-raging plan to replicate Iran's key nuclear installations in Venezuela, possibly in the framework of a new program there on the Iranian and North Korean models. The French news agency AFP, reporting from Tehran Sunday, disclosed Chávez's suggestion to Iran to establish in his country a "nuclear village" to produce nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. But, according to DEBKAfile's Iranian sources, the conversation between the two presidents Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 5-6, when they visited Shiite shrines in Meshhad, went as far as to discuss the relocation or replication of key elements of the Iranian nuclear industry to Venezuela, both to keep them safe and to guarantee they would keep on ticking over if Iran was attacked by the US or Israel. (debka.com)
Obama throws Chávez a bone ... Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez is welcoming the United States' decision to cut millions of dollars in aid to Honduras following a coup there in June. Mr Chávez said "it's about time" after US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly announced the decision to cut more than $31 million in non-humanitarian assistance. (news.scotsman.com)
The Obamalosi Way: How to wreck the U.S. economy ... The bad news is that the debt is rapidly rising, both in absolute terms and relative to GDP, thanks to the current recession, the stimulus effort to end that recession, and the bailout of the country’s financial system. The budget deficit for fiscal 2009 is estimated to be a staggering $1.6 trillion, larger than the entire national debt as recently as 1984. It is the largest peacetime deficit (measured as a percentage of federal revenues) since 1936, when the country was still in the throes of a far worse economic downturn. The deficit will cause the ratio of debt to GDP to rise to over 80 percent by the end of fiscal 2009. That will be the highest it has been since 1950. Worse, the Obama administration is projecting unprecedented annual deficits over the next ten years if its political agenda of cap and trade, universal healthcare, and other expensive programs is enacted. (american.com)
Houston, we've got a problem ... America is in quite a predicament these days. We are spending money we do not have on everything from wild horse preserves to buildings that serve no real good except that they allow Congressmen and Senators to put their names on them as a reminder to their constituents that they created some temporary make-work projects for their political cronies. But you want to know the worst part of it all? The worst part is that this sort of stuff is small potatoes. And while every penny certainly counts, the stark reality is that unless we start looking at where money is really being spent on a federal level and the big pots of unconstitutional cash that are being thrown around (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Welfare, etc.) there is no way on God's green Earth that we are going to change course on spending more than we collect any time soon. The American people are angry. They are beginning to wake up to the fact that government spending is out of control. Getting them to accept the need to take their own hands out of the cookie jar is still a good while off I think, but at least they are starting to realize there is a problem. (enterstageright.com)
Obama miscues put single-party rule in jeopardy ... Political survival will top the agenda for many lawmakers when the U.S. Congress returns to work on Tuesday, amid widespread voter discontent over its recent performance. While the debates over healthcare reform, global warming and banking legislation and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will dominate the airwaves, the central issue for many in Congress will be how to keep their seats. Polls show only about one-third of Americans approve of how lawmakers are doing, less than a year after President Barack Obama led Democrats to big gains in Congress. Republicans now have an opportunity to strike back in the 2010 election. Surveys find voters have a dim view of both parties, but history suggests Obama's Democrats face greater risks. (newsmax.com)
Marxist Zoo update: Henry the K hearts Rahm Emanuel ... Let's approach two … uh … distinctive legends, Henry Kissinger and George Soros, from this point of view: what do they each represent most profoundly? In Henry Kissinger's own words on the floor of Wall Street's Stock Exchange: "His task (Obama's) will be to develop an overall strategy for America … in this period … when really a New World Order can be created … it's a great opportunity. It isn't just a crisis." Hmmm … it is not "just a crisis". Or as President Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel has affirmed publicly: one must never let a crisis go to waste. (enterstageright.com)
Obama teaches kids an important lesson ... Learn your ABCs also. In a few years, when you graduate as functional illiterates, you will need to have mastered these, at least, in order to vote for the proper Democrat on the ballot. Not to worry. Representatives from ACORN, my alma mater, will be there beside you should you have any difficulties deciding. But remember that, in the end, whether you can read or write is irrelevant. It is government's responsibility, after all, to feed you, and house you, and tax you, and teach you, and heal you, and drive you places. The only thing you have to fear... is Fox News. (dailyherald.com)
Valerie Jarrett exposed ... On the Thursday edition of his Fox News Channel television program, Glenn Beck noted that Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement, seemed to claim credit for the appointment during an appearance at a left-wing bloggers conference last month. Beck made the disclosure while noting evidence that Jones was a member of the 9/11 truth movement, which blames the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on U.S. Government officials. A video had previously surfaced of Jones calling Republicans “assholes.” (familysecuritymatters.org)
Unionist thug overlord to organize U.S. manufacturing sector ... The US President Barack Obama is all set to announce the appointment of Ron Bloom as his Senior Counselor for Manufacturing Policy, the White House sources said. The president will announce the appointment of Ron Bloom in Cincinnati. Bloom was working as the Senior Advisor of the Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner as the member of the President’s Task Force on the Automotive Industry. Sources reveal that Bloom will continue to hold his previous position even after being appointed for his new job. Bloom is known for pushing the US automakers, General Motors and Chryster to chalk out viable plans for the future, pushed the CEO of GM to resign. (blog.taragana.com)
Typical Big Labor double-standard: Screw the little guy ... This Labor Day, unions are once again seeking to recruit new members with promises of higher wages and generous pension benefits. These promises are made despite pension funds' reports to the U.S. Labor Department showing that collectively bargained pension funds are underfunded when compared with other pensions. In contrast, pension funds for unions' own staff and officers have been doing just fine. (nydailynews.com)
More ACORN fraud exposed ... NYACA has transferred most of the government money it has received through grants and contracts in recent years to ACORN. In 2006, for example, NYACA reported a little over $1.3 million in income-producing activities, almost all of which was allocated from the government. That same year, the organization paid close to $1.2 million for “contractual services” to ACORN and donated another $67,000 in direct grants also to ACORN, according to tax records. In 2007, NYACA reported just over $730,000 in government contracts and public support, and gave $711,152 of that money to ACORN." Through the budget earmarks that New Yorkers call member items "NYACA received $175,000 from eight state senators this year, $240,500 from 10 Assembly members and $85,000 from four Council members. " Gentile thoughtfully provides a list of those I see as rogue legislators doling out taxpayer funds to this outfit. (groundreport.com)
Typical P2P corrupts union pension funds ... he taint of pay to play has moved to the nation's largest pension fund. Charles Valdes, a longtime board member at the $194 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento, is under investigation by a state agency for taking campaign contributions from executives at a placement agent that works for CalPERS. The investigation by the Fair Political Practice Commission involves contributions made by officials at ARVCO Capital Research of Stateline, Nev., to Mr. Valdes' campaign to be re-elected to the CalPERS board in 2005. (pionline.com)International Collectivism
Obama OK's Marxist expansion in Latin America ... Has Obama sided with Chávez? That’s certainly the view of the leader of Honduran coup regime Roberto Micheletti, whose spokesman angrily denounced the 30 million dollar cut in US aid announced on Thursday. Micheletti's spokesman added that Obama's decision “condemned the people that struggle against Marxist expansion in Central America”. (21stcenturysocialism.com)
Chávez, Iran: Global Progressives team up ... Venezuela has agreed to export 20,000 barrels of fuel per day to Iran, state TV has reported. The gasoline deal is a boost for Tehran in the face of Western threats of fuel sanctions if it will not suspend its uranium enrichment program. The countries signed an agreement on Sunday during a visit to Iran by Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez. Chávez pledged to deepen ties with Iran and stand with it against imperialist powers. (google.com)
Leftwing LatAm security thug felled ... Deadly swine flu virus has killed Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa's chief of security, Air force Lt. Col. John Merino, according to the country's government. Lt. Col. Merino died on Sunday after being hospitalized for 28 days, said the online government publication El Ciudadano. (presstv.ir)
