Obamunists reveal H8tred for checks & balances ... The White House is not going to allow the president’s newly created “czars” to testify before Congress. White House Counsel Greg Craig has indicated that he will refuse to allow any of the 18 new “czar” positions created by President Obama to testify before Congress, according to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the ranking Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. (cnsnews.com)
Related video: Obama hearts closed-door politics
Obama Obsession Unsustainable ... I note all this at length because Obama seems to act as if this right-center country — one that polls oppositely to his positions on most of the major issues (deficits, spending, nationalized health care, homeland security, Guantanamo, cap-and-trade, etc.) — has given him a mandate for a degree of change not seen in nearly 80 years. Apparently, Team Obama figured that with sizable majorities in both the House and the Senate, Obama would snap his fingers, Congress daily would pass bills redefining America, and Obama would stay in perpetual campaign mode to hope and change the country to accept his agenda. Governing would be like campaigning, as audiences fainted hearing the details of a 1,500-page health-care bill or of ever more sins from America’s past. But, after just a few months in office, that proved not to be the case. Just as a number of planets had to line up precisely to allow an inexperienced hard-left ideologue to be elected president, so there would have had to be a similar configuration to allow him to govern successfully. (article.nationalreview.com)
Post-partisan President fail ... The president has used the same opposition rollover strategy in the health-care debate. Rather than addressing Republicans’ criticisms of the proposed government-run insurance option, Obama has accused them of “making wild claims” and wanting nothing more than to torpedo reform. He brushed off a summer of contentious town-hall meetings as overdramatized media coverage, which has morphed into a smear campaign against the Fox News Channel. Obama has stopped taking questions from its reporters, and his aides have tried to delegitimize it in recent weeks. (noozhawk.com)
Collectivist Social Justice Fraud Plagues U.S. ... By enflaming hatred of the wealthy (and by extension, capitalism), the poweratti can brandish social justice as a weapon to seize complete control of government and essentially enslave the populace. How ironic that this hatred should result in extending their power and privilege! In the leftist utopia of social justice, wealth is no longer created. The capitalist goose that laid the golden eggs is spread like pâté. Income and property are confiscated, housing and employment are assigned, as in Cuba and Venezuela. Scientific advancement and medical breakthroughs are ground to a halt, as in the old Soviet Union where technology was frozen in the 1950s. Entrepreneurship, personal advancement, and wealth creation are violently quashed, as in the Chinese Cultural Revolution under Mao Tse Tung. Hunger, disease, and death become familiar houseguests, as in all repressive regimes. The end game of the leftist poweratti is to rule the nation and eventually the world by bringing us down to the lowest social common denominator through the manipulation of those who obsessively despise wealth. (americanthinker.com)
Shame on typical Progressive race hustlers ... Here is the offense: those “angels of history” on the Left—labor unions, Woodrow Wilson, FDR, and LBJ—committed some of the worst racist actions in our history. The Left ignores (or “contextualizes”) Wilson’s segregation of the federal government, LBJ’s declaration that an anti-lynching bill was worse than lynching itself, or FDR’s defense of quotas to keep Jews from overwhelming Harvard (where he sat on the Board of Trustees). FDR also wrote that interracial “mingling” (marriage) produced “horrific results.” As president, FDR blocked Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany and interned Japanese Americans during World War II. Not surprising. It is time for so-called liberals to give up the race hustle and learn their history. In so doing, they may discover some heroes of the classic liberal sort—neither Left nor Right—but committed to racial freedom and equality. (hnn.us)
Enormous scam delayed for a day ... A funny thing happened on the way to one of the biggest scam attempts in history. It got ratted out. And Capitol Hill got an earful. So the U.S. Senate failed by seven votes to invoke cloture on Wednesday and push forward a bill that even had Washington Post editorialists gagging on its duplicity. Thirteen Democrats joined all 40 Republicans to reject 47-53 a free-standing Medicare bill, S. 1776, that would have pushed up the national deficit by a quarter of a trillion dollars over the next 10 years. The reason it's a scam is that by separating it from the proposed $856 billion Baucus health care bill, Obama could claim that he was keeping his promise not to sign any health care reform that "adds one dime to the federal deficit." Sure, just carve it out, pretend it has nothing to do with health care, and dump it on the taxpayers. That's what passes for "transparency." It's right up there with voting on a bill that hasn't even been written yet, which is what two Senate committees have already done. (americanthinker.com)
Motor City workers freed from oppressive union dues conscription ... The Detroit Free Press is reporting that the City of Detroit has stopped collecting dues on behalf of 16 unions that have yet to reach new agreements with the city of Detroit. This is a provocative but much-needed step that serves to discipline city employee unions. While exact numbers of employees covered are not available, this action covers AFSCME, one of the largest unions in city government which covers several bargaining units. (mackinac.org)
Celebrating Saul Alinsky ... Someone walking by Reid on Friday, Oct. 16 easily could have been convinced that the Whitman bubble is just a myth. Over 100 community members, faculty and Whitman students gathered there during lunch to participate in a discussion about community organizing in Walla Walla. The talk, which featured a panel of three community organizers from Eastern Washington, was part of a three-day symposium hosted by Whitman’s Sociology Department. The symposium focused on the ideas and work of Saul Alinsky, who spent over 40 years community organizing in Chicago. Noah Leavitt, adjunct assistant professor of sociology and general studies, explained Saul Alinsky’s controversial focus. “[Saul] Alinsky is considered controversial for the same reason that anyone who teaches disenfranchised people to understand how they can challenge existing power structures and have more control over their lives is controversial,” he said. “Existing power structures don’t want to be understood, and they certainly don’t want to be challenged,” he said. (whitmanpioneer.com)
GOP candidate and labor-official husband heart ACORN-WFP-SEIU ... I salute your readers' support of Doug Hoffman, the lone but not lonely Conservative on the ballot. Dierdre Scozzafava has voted twice in her short career in support of same-sex marriage, as does President Obama, and she has voted consistently for huge spending bills, again like Mr. Obama. She supports abortion at any time during the pregnancy, another Obama obsession. She was a candidate of the Working Families Party, which sounds soothing but is backed by ACORN, a further troubling similarity between herself and Mr. Obama. She obviously is snuggled comfortably beneath the big umbrella of a far-left Democratic Party. Doug Hoffman, by the way, challenged both Ms. Scozzafava and Bill Owens weeks ago to sign a pledge not to raise taxes. Both politely refused, until Ms. Scozzafava started to slip in the polls. Belatedly and against her own record, she hopped aboard Hoffman's popular, fast-moving tax-control bandwagon. (watertowndailytimes.com)
Labor-union boss husband dooms GOP hopeful ... If you thought the anointed Republican candidate in NY23 was a typical RINO who supports health care reform. cap and trade, and card check, you would be mistaken. Dede Scozzafava is not a typical RINO. She is a stupid RINO and proved it yesterday by holding a campaign event outside the offices of her conservative rival Doug Hoffman - only to discover that if you are going to try something like that, best not show how dumb you are by facing a battery of cameras. (americanthinker.com)
Related video: Scozzafava cratering
ACORN to workers: Defraud the gov't ... ACORN is like that guy at the racetrack who bums cigarettes off other people because he wants to spend what's left of his welfare check on the sure thing in the 7th race. More proof of ACORN's degeneracy comes today from Michael McCray who reports at BigGovernment.com that ACORN is asking workers it is laying off to continue working at ACORN as "volunteers" but to apply to the government for unemployment benefits. (spectator.org)
Unions back corrupt Gov. for reelection ... Happy October Surprise, Governor Corzine. Today a jury found Joe Ferriero, former chairman of the Bergen County Democratic Organization, guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud and two counts of mail fraud. Guess how much money Jon Corzine and his family gave to Ferriero over the years? $441,600. (campaignspot.nationalreview.com)
Pennsylvania pwned by ACORN-SEIU ... Regrettably, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives refused to follow its federal counterpart and take the appropriate action against ACORN. On Sept. 17, I offered an amendment that would have denied public funding for partisan political organizations. Unfortunately, my calls for the responsible use of taxpayer dollars were ignored and the amendment was not considered by the Democrat-controlled House. What is most disappointing is that with all the talk of reforming our state Legislature, we still have lawmakers willing to dole out the hard-earned tax dollars of Pennsylvania citizens to ACORN when it is not even a legally operating charity in this commonwealth. ACORN has been the subject of a cease-and-desist order from the Pennsylvania Department of State since 2007 for failing to meet the legal requirements to solicit charitable donations, yet it receives thousands of dollars from state appropriations and grants. (delcotimes.com)
Tennessee union bigs take dues hit ... The erosion of manufacturing jobs in Tennessee — more than 20,000 since the recession hit — has also diminished the ranks of organized labor in Middle Tennessee. Since 2008, plant closures and layoffs have eradicated 5,716 union jobs, according to the Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council. The number of workers represented by unions has dropped in recent years to about 175,000 statewide. (nashville.bizjournals.com)
Militant Steelworker strikers oppress citizens ... Rachel Howe's professional life is on hold. The 40-year-old Prescott mother of three is eager to get started in a new career as a heavy equipment operator, after more than half a year of unemployment. She has all the qualifications but one: the AZ licence that would allow her to drive a flatbed truck. And she can't take the test that will earn her that licence until the two-month-old provincewide DriveTest strike comes to an end. Ontario's 550 driving examiners, represented by United Steelworkers Local 9511, went on strike August 21, part of an ongoing dispute with their employer, Serco DES Inc. The province contracted driver testing to Serco DES in 2003. There are 55 full-time DriveTest locations in Ontario and 38 part-time centres.(recorder.ca)
Teamster bus driver strikers greeted by parents, kids ... The drivers, represented by Teamsters Local 891, are striking in Hinds County after negotiations with their employer, Ohio-based First Student, failed. The union is in negotiations with districts in Hinds, West Point, Madison County and Yazoo County. For now, though, the union is only striking in Hinds county. The drivers are asking for higher wages and more benefits. This morning, Many parents drove their children to school. Buses from the district, First Student and community businesses and groups were also used to transport students. At least one passerby flipped off a group of drivers lined along Siwell Road in Byram, the drivers said. One passerby yelled “get a job,” and another admonished the group, saying they were “wrong.” (clarionledger.com)
Union members stream across picket-line ... Bus drivers in Hinds county followed through on their promise to strike Thursday morning. 38 of First Students 92 drivers hit the picket lines at daybreak. They stood outside several schools holding signs saying the company they drive for, First Student, was treating their employees unfairly. 54 bus drivers stayed on the job, and had to drive extra routes to make sure all the students made it to and from school. First Student is calling in about 30 drivers from outside the area to fill in for the drivers on strike. They hope to have all routes covered by Monday. (wlbt.com)
Gov't workers on strike v. oppressive museum ... Striking workers at the Canadian Museum of Civilization have mounted an outdoor exhibit near their picket line, spoofing an international show poised to open at the institution. The workers' exhibit, called Striking Treasures, features 200 photos of museum employees who have been on strike since Sept. 21. "The purpose was to show people the real treasures of the museum, … unfortunately on the sidewalk," said Patrice Remillard, a striking museum collections manager. (cbc.ca)
Steelworker strike fail ... It’s been 104 days since Vale Inco workers took to the picket line. With no bargaining or compromise in sight, they’re gearing up for a chilly winter. “Nobody expected it to last this long,” said Wayne Rae, president of United Steelworkers Local 6200. “Our push now is to show governments and communities around the world how (Vale Inco) acts. They have no respect for workers.” (wellandtribune.ca)
Chicago-area teachers strike drags on ... It's the middle of the school day, but not for 15-year-old Ottawa High School sophomore Amanda Brown, who says she's frustrated about a teachers' strike that has kept her and about 1,600 classmates out of school for almost a month. Ottawa High School Board Chairman George Hupp says the teachers aren't living in the real world. Hupp says students could remain out indefinitely but the Board is now working on bringing in substitutes. Weatherford says his 113 teachers don't think that's a viable option. But while they dig in their heels, the students are getting a raw deal, missing opportunities from sports to scholarships, class credits to college applications. It means a lot of wasted time for students like Amanda. (cbs2chicago.com)
Anti-Catholic union thugs go viral ... Nurses at St. Mary Medical Center say they will participate in a one-day walkout on Oct. 30 as part of a protest initiated by the California Nurses Association over H1N1 safety concerns. The CNA is urging 16,000 nurses from three large Catholic hospital chains in California and Nevada to join in a strike and picket over what it calls poor readiness by many hospitals to confront the H1N1 swine flu pandemic. St. Mary is the only hospital in the High Desert participating in the walkout. The President and CEO of the California Hospital Association, Duane Dauner, is calling the H1N1 walkout a smokescreen to pursue a much larger union-organizing agenda. (vvdailypress.com)
Police subdue oppressive gov't-union strikers ... Police were called to a Royal Mail sorting office in Londonderry, after two delivery lorries were blocked from entering a depot. About 30 postal workers are on the picket line at the Great James Street sorting office. BBC journalists saw them stop the lorries from entering. However after a short time a compromise was agreed and the lorries were left in. (news.bbc.co.uk)
International Collectivism
There's no stopping LatAm extremists ... The Nicaraguan opposition is up in arms over the decision taken earlier this week by the country's Supreme Court to lift a 1995 constitutional clause which bans presidential candidates from running consecutively or serving more than two terms. The decision would allow the Sandinistan President Daniel Ortega, who was elected in 2007, to run for re-election in 2011. The ruling, which still has to be formally approved by 16 state judges, is expected to be ratified. The right-wing opposition is threatening to boycott parliament, which would make the country nearly impossible to govern The various opposition parties have a majority in parliament. They say the decision by the court, which is controlled by Sandinistas, is unconstitutional. The Sandinistas counter that the international community did not object when Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias modified their countries' constitution in a similar manner. (rnw.nl)
Obama set for disgraceful Honduras replay in Nicaragua ... A group of Nicaraguan youths have hurled eggs at a judge who oversaw a ruling that would let President Daniel Ortega seek re-election. Thursday's attack on Francisco Rosales is the latest in a series of increasingly angry protests against a Supreme Court decision overturning a ban on consecutive re-elections and on serving more than two terms. Monday's ruling opens the door for the leftist leader to extend his time in office. Rosales is a member of Ortega's Sandinista party and he heads the constitutional branch of the Supreme Court. On Wednesday the Nicaraguan-American Chamber of Commerce said the constitutional changes were "illegal and illegitimate." (etaiwannews.com)
State Dept. official mis-speaks ... Nicaragua's Supreme Court on Monday issued a ruling that helped to clear the way for Ortega to run for another term, following a petition from him and a group of mayors last week. The country's electoral court said it would comply with the ruling. The U.S. State Department questioned the way the court had reached its decision, and said the move threatens democratic governance. "The ruling appears to short-circuit, through legal maneuverings, the open and transparent consideration by the Nicaraguan people of the possibility for presidential re-election," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in a statement. "We share the concern of many Nicaraguans that this situation is part of a larger pattern of questionable and irregular governmental actions," Kelly added. (washingtonpost.com)