Probe Obama-SEIU influence-peddling

President Andy Stern: The rules do not apply

Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and the Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF) formally requested an investigation by the acting United States Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Esq., into the potentially illegal lobbying activities of the Service Employee International Union (SEIU) President Andy Stern.

In a letter hand delivered to the U.S. Attorney’s office, the Senate Secretary and the House Clerk, ATR President Grover Norquist and AWF Executive Director Brian Johnson wrote:

By this letter, we urge you to investigate the activities of Mr. Andy Stern, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), regarding meetings and other lobbying contacts with administration, White House and Congress during 2009. Specifically, it is important to determine whether those and related activities could constitute unregistered “lobbying” by Mr. Stern in violation of the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA), 2 U.S.C. 1601, et seq. In fact, Mr. Stern was a registered lobbyist for SEIU until January of 2007 when he terminated his registration. For the reasons discussed below it appears that Mr. Stern continued to lobby extensively after he terminated his registered status, and in 2009 devoted so much time on lobbying and related activities that he should have re-registered as a lobbyist under LDA.

The accompanying pages of the total eight page letter detail Mr. Stern's lobbying activities by his own admission (Twitter), press accounts, and the listings in the White House visitor’s log.

Norquist and Johnson claim, “Since only 13 days of lobbying activity in a calendar quarter would trigger the 20% threshold, it appears that Mr. Stern spent at least 11 such days lobbying in the first quarter and 9 days in the second quarter on visibly lobbying the White House in person.”

To view the letter [.pdf] in its entirety, click here . (from atr.org)

Related video: Update from Obama's #1 job-killer

SEIU seizes health-care union-dues empire

Do not ask questions about Obama P2P and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

Some know them as the people in purple shirts that beat up attendees at the town halls this summer. Some equate them to ACORN, or to the Obama administration.

While there is some truth to all of the above, there is for certain one title that every voting American should be bestowing upon SEIU, and that is the title of “special interest”.

SEIU and its sister labor unions of Change to Win are the special interests truly in power in Washington DC. If it’s not SEIU’s lobbyists, PACs or 527s groups peddling a government-run health care plan, perhaps it’s one of the many SEIU insiders working in the White House.

Rather than focusing so much attention on the special interests that are the insurance companies, pharmaceuticals and other health professionals, Americans would be wise not to take their eyes off of this very special interest that is SEIU.

(from biggovernment.com)

Related video: Don't Shut Us Out, Mr. President

75,343 Bogus Stimulus Jobs Mapped

(from washingtonexaminer.com)

Obama GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out

The Endless Stimulus

New Mexico Watchdog reported earlier in the day that the Obama Administration claimed to create jobs in congressional districts that did not exist. That reporting error, however, was not limited to New Mexico. Reports are pouring in from everywhere.

State watchdogs across the country have found what appear to be phantom congressional districts within Recovery.gov’s statistics. Click the links below to see what a Watchdog reporter has found in your state:

Kansas Watchdog: 4 - Read the full story Here.

Minnesota: 11 - Read the full story Here.

New Hampshire Watchdog: 3 - Read the full story Here.

New Mexico Watchdog: 10 - Read the full story Here.

Ohio Watchdog: 10 - Read the full story Here.

West Virginia Watchdog: 8 - Read the full story Here.

Watchdog.org will keep you posted as further reports come in ...

Related video: SEIU-Obama Stimulus Corruption

The Devil's Advocate

You'd better get used to it.



HT: NetRightNation

Obama creates or saves more garbage

Can't anyone here play this game?

Just how big is the stimulus package? Well for one, it has doubled the size of the House of Representatives, according to recovery.gov, which says that funds were distributed to 440 congressional districts that do not exist.

According to data retrieved from recovery.gov, nearly $6.4 billion was used to “create or save” just under 30,000 jobs in these phantom congressional districts–almost $225,000 per job. The web site operates on an $84 million budget and is tasked with monitoring the distribution of the $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress–which, for the record, counts 435 members–in early 2009.

The site’s monitors, however, are not too savvy about America’s political or geographic landscape. More than $2 million was given to the 99th District of North Dakota, a state which has only one congressional district. In order to qualify for 99 districts, North Dakota would have to have a population of almost 60 million, almost 24 million more people than California.

The stimulus revived 8 recently retired congressional districts. Pennsylvania’s 21st District has received just under $2 million in funds. Mississippi’s 5th District and Oklahoma’s 6th received $1 million from the legislation, respectively. All three were eliminated by the 2000 census.

(from watchdog.org)

Meet ACORN's employee of the year

Fraud-group officer declines to pimp under-aged home workers

from James O'Keefe at biggovernment.com:

Although Mr. Felix D. Harris of Los Angeles ACORN told us he didn’t care about our prostitution business in regards to a housing loan, he drew the line when we spoke about the underage girls. Although he did not kick us out, he was the only employee in our nationwide ACORN child prostitution investigation who would not assist us.

For his leadership, superior ethics, unwavering integrity, compassion for young women, and for serving as a shining beacon of inspiration for his fellow ACORN employees, I am honored to present Felix Harris, program director at ACORN Housing, with the humble award of ACORN EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR.

Yet another TOTUS malfunction

First Dad may lose seat at table

We don't need no stinkin' volunteers

Who's your daddy?

In pursuit of an Eagle Scout badge, Kevin Anderson, 17, has toiled for more than 200 hours hours over several weeks to clear a walking path in an east Allentown (PA) park.

Little did the do-gooder know that his altruistic act would put him in the cross hairs of the city's largest municipal union.

Nick Balzano, president of the local Service Employees International Union, told Allentown City Council Tuesday that the union is considering filing a grievance against the city for allowing Anderson to clear a 1,000-foot walking and biking path at Kimmets Lock Park.

"We'll be looking into the Cub Scout or Boy Scout who did the trails," Balzano told the council.

Balzano said Saturday he isn't targeting Boy Scouts. But given the city's decision in July to lay off 39 SEIU members, Balzano said "there's to be no volunteers." No one except union members may pick up a hoe or shovel, plant a flower or clear a walking path.

(from mcall.com)

Meet the new LatAm strongmen

We don't need no stinkin' limits

Horrified by the excesses of dictatorship, Latin Americans discarded the strongman model at the end of the 20th century and limited politicians' time in power.

Now a new wave of populist presidents is trying to do away with those limits, arguing that they impede real change. As leaders in country after country move to extend their rule, opponents fearing a return to the "caudillo" era of authoritarian power have done everything to stop them - from throwing eggs to staging coups.

Nicaragua joined the fray with a Supreme Court ruling giving President Daniel Ortega the right to seek re-election as many times as he wants. Opponents, calling it an illegal power grab, threw eggs at the judge in charge.

Similar scenarios have played out in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia, where some leaders have made progress on entrenched issues such as poverty or violence but are accused of quashing dissent.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has spent his country's oil wealth liberally on education, health care and food subsidies for the poor. He also has closed critical media outlets and used a majority in Congress to vastly diminish the powers of opposition mayors and governors.

In December, Venezuelans voted to allow Mr. Chávez, known as "el Comandante," to seek indefinite re-election.

(from washingtontimes.com)

A proper Obama greeting?

Young President plagued by rookie mistakes




(from ibdcd.com)