Budget

Budget - Conservatives - Economy/Finances - Elections - GOP - Government - Herman Cain - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Michele Bachmann - President - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Cain Rises at TeaCon 2011: Straw Poll Win, Communications Director Loss, Disagreements With Jack Roeser

October 1, 2011 by 4 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Herman Cain wins yet another straw poll of conservative activists. This time at Teacon 2011 held in a northwestern suburb of Chicago. There was no surprise that Cain won the straw poll, but there was some surprise fireworks in the media room and another surprise elsewhere in the Cain campaign as his long-serving Communications Director resigned over the weekend.

Herman Cain was the only candidate that decided to come in person, but to be honest, this crowd was a Cain hotspot even before that. Rep. Michele Bachmann sent in a video address that found favor with the crowd, too. But Cain and she were the only ones to give TeaCon 2011 the time of day.

The results, with over 77% of the vote, put Herman Cain in the lead. And in descending order was Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum — oddly enough President Obama came in next — and Jon Huntsman and Gary Johnson came in last.

As Erik Telford said on Twitter, “If you can’t beat Obama in a tea party straw poll, it’s probably time to end your campaign. (cc: Huntsman and Johnson).”

Ouch, indeed.
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Cain Rises at TeaCon 2011: Straw Poll Win, Communications Director Loss, Disagreements With Jack Roeser”

Budget - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - GOP - Government - Illinois - Liberals - Money - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

TeaCon 2011, The Good and the Bad

October 1, 2011 by 3 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

I’ll be here all day at TeaCon 2011 sponsored by Chicago’s WIND radio, ChampionNews.net, and the Chicago Tea Party. The good is that several notable personalities are here this weekend among them Andrew Breitbart and Glenn Beck. The bad? Well, there is a bit of a scandal involving one of the Tea Party leaders here that broke just as the Friday events were winding up.

Friday’s opening ceremonies were enjoyable, of course. WIND’s Big John Howell and Amy Jacobson emceed the evening entertainment. We were regaled by the comedy stylings of Steven Crowder and all were wound up by the straight talk and stream of conscientiousness of Andrew Breitbart. We heard some wonderful, patriotic music and all shared a beer or cocktail.
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TeaCon 2011, The Good and the Bad”

Budget - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Frank Hyland - Government - Liberals - Taxes

Food for Thought: Priorities

October 1, 2011 by

-By Frank Hyland

Politicians at the federal, state, and municipal levels all come into office with their own cherished To-Do lists. Since, at the federal level, there are 535 Members of Congress and many more White House Staffers and Cabinet Department stalwarts, a clash of To-Do lists inevitably ensues. It’s called “Politics.” One of the qualities of the more effective leaders is that they orchestrate the agendas and resolve the different lists. It should come as no surprise that the way that good leaders do this is by prioritizing the items on the myriad of lists. The focus that we see – speeches, hearings, investigations, regulations – tells us what the elected officials have on their lists and in what priority order.

Your To-Do list is: Jobs, jobs, and jobs, in that order. Even a brief look at the issues that have received major attention from Congress and the White House in the past couple of years will shed light on whether their lists are similar to yours: Cash for Clunkers; Roger Clemens’ alleged use of performance-enhancing substances; the yacht race engaged in by the then-BP Chairman; Green Power; Shovel Ready jobs; “illegal” wood used in guitars; how many hours of sleep California babysitters get each day; banning e-cigarettes on commercial plane flights. Had enough? I thought so.
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Food for Thought: Priorities”

Barack Obama - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Journalism - Media - Media Bias - Michelle Obama - President - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

AP Says Michelle ‘O’ Just Happened to be Shopping at Target? Riiiiight!

September 30, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

AP photographer Charles Dharapak is ballyhooing a photo he claims to have just happened to snap of First Lady Michelle Obama shopping at an Alexandria, Virginia Target department store. But come on. Does anyone believe that an AP photographer just by chance happened to spot the First Lady shopping at Target and just happened to take photos of her in the act?

Does anyone believe that this isn’t an orchestrated effort by the “Office Of The First Lady” (™) to counter the idea that Michelle is an effete, waster of the tax payer’s money?

Even CBS is pushing the idea that this photo brings big spender Michelle into the ranks of us reg’lar folk.

Hushed reports have been raging for sometime that Michelle is an unhappy camper in the White House and has frequently lashed out at staffers over nothing. Some top Dems fear that Michelle is the biggest liability the President has and her reputation as spending like a potentate on her lavish trips and fancy clothing is beginning to have an effect with the American people.

Then, voila, here comes a photo of good ol’ Michelle just shoppin with the hoi polloi at Target. Just when she needed something to change her image. Convenient, no?

I’m glad the Associated Press could uses it’s power to help Queen Micelle spin her propaganda. Good going, Old Media!
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AP Says Michelle ‘O’ Just Happened to be Shopping at Target? Riiiiight!”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Conservatives - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - GOP - Government - Illinois - Libertarian - Republicans - Taxes - Tea Party - Warner Todd Huston

One Illinois Guy Who Won’t Be At TeaCon 2011

September 30, 2011 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Well, there is one local Illinois activist that apparently won’t be at this weekend’s TeaCon 2011, but not for want of trying. Bill Kelly, one-time candidate for Illinois Comptroller — he came in second, by the way — has told me that he’s been barred not only from getting media credentials for the event, but even from buying a ticket.

Kelly has a page on the Washington Times community section blogs and was told by the Times that he could get media creds representing them at TeaCon, but when he went to the event staff with his request TeaCon organizers denied his credentialing.

Kelly feels that people at WIND radio, one of the event co-hosts, put the kybosh on his credentials because of a recent dust up between Kelly and Senator Dick Durbin not to mention another dustup between Kelly and local TV reporter Jay Levine.
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One Illinois Guy Who Won’t Be At TeaCon 2011″

Alan Caruba - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Ethics - Government - Jobs - Liberals - Taxes

The Financial Advice of Experts, Then and Now

September 30, 2011 by

-By Alan Caruba

“I see nothing in the present situation that is either menacing or warrants pessimism…I have every confidence that there will be a revival of activity in the spring, and that during the coming year, the country will make steady progress.” That’s what William Mellon, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, had to say on December 31, 1929. The Great Depression would last until 1941 when the U.S. entered World War Two.

“Could we have a crash a la 1929? The flat answer is no.” So said Dr. Pierre A. Rinfret, a noted economist, writing in Time magazine on October 5, 1987 and, on October 19, 1987—instantly dubbed “Black Monday”—the Dow Jones average plunged 508 points.

Despite the pronouncements of Presidents and pundits, it was the December 30, 1929 edition of Variety, a newspaper for the entertainment industry, that got it right. The day after the crash its headline read, “Wall Street Lays an Egg.”

All through history, the opinions of “experts” have been subject to revision and derision. The Internet has simply multiplied our access to a multitude of opinions. It behooves us all to pick our experts very carefully. A good track record is always a good sign, along with a healthy measure of common sense.
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The Financial Advice of Experts, Then and Now”

Budget - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Free Trade - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - President - Randy Hultgren - Regulation - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Does Government Regulate Too Much?‏

September 30, 2011 by

From the office of Rep. Randy Hultgren (Ill., 14th District)…

Recently, I spoke on the House floor about what regulatory uncertainty is doing to small business owners like Rock Katschnig, a farmer and resident of the 14th District.

Unfortunately, Rock’s situation isn’t unique – I’ve heard similar stories over and over again as I travel throughout the area.

That’s why this fall, I’m joining my colleagues to fight for a pro-growth environment where small businesses and job-creators can hire new workers and invest without fearing what Washington will do to them. Our efforts are focused on creating a reasonable, stable regulatory environment that gives our economy the confidence it needs to grow.
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Does Government Regulate Too Much?‏”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Energy - Government - Liberals - President - Solar - Stimulus - Taxes - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

MSNBC Guest: Solyndra is Bush’s Fault! (Despite Truth)

September 29, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

In a recurrence of its bout with Bush Derangement Syndrome, MSNBC recently relied on a left-wing, green activist to assert that the whole Solyndra scandal was really started by George W. Bush. Yep, it’s Boosh’s fault once again. Of course, the facts speak otherwise, but let’s not let truth get in the way of a good left-wing trope, shall we?

On the Friday September 23 episode of MSNBC Live, host Thomas Roberts was discussing the wasted loan of half a billion in tax dollars to the later bankrupt green company Solyndra and he brought on a the left-winger to address the mounting scandal plaguing the Obama administration. Naturally Thomas and guest were desperate to find someone other than Obama to blame this mess on. And who better to blame than the left’s favorite fall guy, George W. Bush?

Thomas had showed a video clip of Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R, Fla) who called the loan “waste” and “corruption,” but Thomas next went to left-wing, green activist Dr. Mijin Cha who earnestly told the audience that, “the administration actually didn’t do any wrongdoing, right,” because “this loan was begun under the Bush administration.”

Sorry, Cha Cha, but you’re wrong.
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MSNBC Guest: Solyndra is Bush’s Fault! (Despite Truth)”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Ethics - Frank Hyland - Government - Liberals - Taxes

The Hidden Lines

September 29, 2011 by

-By Frank Hyland

No, I’m not referring to Crow’s feet around eyes, concealed by the latest in skin creams. If you’re somehow in the mood for a really depressing time, go to Google Images and take a look at photos from the Great Depression of the 1930s. Among them you’ll see the long lines of people gathered to get a bowl of soup or some bread. No such lines today, you say. At present, you’re told that the U.S. Unemployment rate is 9.1%. Multiply that by two and you’ll be nearing the actual unemployment rate. To be blunt, the Federal Government cooks the books on the unemployment rate just as it does in other cases, like what they claim is the rate of inflation. So why don’t we see the long lines forming again, given a true unemployment rate approaching 20% — one in five of our neighbors, our family members?

Another way that governments – federal, state, and municipal – have cooked the books is to find ways of disguising the scale and scope of the problem, concealing it from the cameras of the 24-hour cable TV networks. I would be so fearful, ashamed and embarrassed to be seen in a food line by someone I knew that I would wear a disguise and/or go hungry to avoid being spotted. Few today need to even anticipate that fear, much less actually experience it. Why? Today, someone can sit at home and not have to join a line and be seen at a soup kitchen. Lose your job and you have 99 weeks of unemployment checks queueing up to enter your mailbox. For those who, like me, were not Math majors, that is only five weeks short of two entire years! To add to that, almost 20% of Americans now receive food stamps. The goal, and this has largely been achieved, is for you to be in line at the grocery store behind someone spending his or her unemployment check and/or food stamps and you don’t even recognize it.
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The Hidden Lines”

Budget - Business - Conservatives - Economy/Finances - Freedom Works - GOP - Israel - Liberals - Republicans - Tea Party - Warner Todd Huston

Kosher Tea Unites Tea Partiers With Jewish Community

September 28, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Freedom Works initiated Kosher Tea, a way to connect Tea Party groups with Jewish groups in order to facilitate some common efforts on conservatism, pro-Israel policies, and economic freedom.

www/KosherTea.org
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Kosher Tea Unites Tea Partiers With Jewish Community”

Barack Obama - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - Frank Salvato - Government - Liberals - President - Taxes

Framing the Election Before the Progressives Do

September 28, 2011 by

-By Frank Salvato

There is a great discontent emanating from the Democrat and Progressive base regarding President Obama’s performance, a demographic he desperately needs if he is to succeed in his bid for re-election. Many in the traditional Republican circles, especially the so-called Republican strategists, argue that Republicans could run a teleprompter-reading “animatron” and win in 2012. This is a foolish and dangerous position to espouse but one that should come as no surprise. Republicans, since their first days as a party, have honed the skill of shooting themselves in the foot to perfection. If Conservatives and Republicans don’t wake-up, evolve in their media tactics, get ahead of the message, frame their opponents and mandate the argument before the Progressives do, we could very well find Barack Obama taking the Oath of Office in 2013.

Steve Chapman, no stranger to the Chicago Progressive crowd, wrote in The Chicago Tribune:

“The vultures are starting to circle. Former White House spokesman Bill Burton said that unless Obama can rally the Democratic base, which is disillusioned with him, ‘it’s going to be impossible for the president to win.’ Democratic consultant James Carville had one word of advice for Obama: ‘Panic.’
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Framing the Election Before the Progressives Do”

Budget - Business - Conservatives - Economy/Finances - Elections - GOP - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Republicans - Senate - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

State Senate Candidate Arie Friedman Comments on Illinois Deepening Debt

September 28, 2011 by

From the campaign for State Senate of Arie Friedman…

“The news for job-seekers and employers in Illinois just doesn’t seem to get any better,” said Dr. Arie Friedman, Republican candidate for State Senate in the 29th District, southeast Lake County and Wheeling, Palatine, Northfield and New Trier Townships in northern Cook County.

“The jobs climate in our state is closely tied to the fiscal condition of the state government itself,” said Friedman, “as Illinois continues to rate red alerts about the state budget deficit and the state’s growing debt.”

Friedman cited Monday’s report by the Civic Federation documenting Illinois’s deepening debt, even in the wake of increased state revenue from the personal and corporate income tax hikes passed by Springfield Democrats in January.
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State Senate Candidate Arie Friedman Comments on Illinois Deepening Debt”

Budget - Democracy - Economy/Finances - Energy - Environment - Government - Liberals - Solar - Warner Todd Huston

The ‘Solar Decathalon’ That Needed a Gas Generator for Cloudy Days

September 27, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

What happens when the sun refuses to shine on a PR event for solar power…

Yeah, look to the right under the sign. Yep, that’s a gas generator powering the “solar” sign.

Brett Jacobson was alerted to this hilarious example of the unviable nature of solar power as a reliable source of energy.

It was too deliciously funny to ignore.
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The ‘Solar Decathalon’ That Needed a Gas Generator for Cloudy Days”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Cap and Trade - Climate Change - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Energy - Environment - EPA - Government - Jobs - Liberals - Nanny State - President - Regulation - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Obama’s EPA Regs to Kill 183,000 Private Sector Jobs a Year

September 27, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency is completely put of control. Now it wants to implement new regulations that would destroy 183,000 private sector jobs every year. Yes, even after Obama has destroyed the economy and jobs we do have he wants to destroy even more.

The EPA’s new rules, according to PennEnergy, would be disastrous to our already flagging economy.
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Obama’s EPA Regs to Kill 183,000 Private Sector Jobs a Year”

9/11 - Banks - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Federalism - Financial Reform - Foreign Countries - Free Trade - GOP - Government - History - House of Representatives - Jobs - Law - Military - President - Regulation - Republicans - Ron Paul - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Ron Paul: NOT a Serious Candidate

September 26, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Ron Paul is not serious about running for president nor is he a serious candidate even were he to be so inclined. But serious or no, he is a horrible candidate regardless.

Now, there may have been a time a decade or so ago when Ron Paul really thought he had a shot at being elected the president of the United States but that time has long ago passed into history. His last several campaigns were not serious efforts.

Let’s take Paul’s unserious campaign effort first, before I get to his amazing unsuitability for the White House.

The idea of having a national campaign organization to propel a candidate to winning primaries is predicated on reaching out to local state and country party organizations, working with them on ideas, and bringing some of those local political operatives into your own primary effort. This practice then extends your influence and helps bring ground troops to your game, folks that are influential in each sector of the country, folks that will presumably bring voters to your candidacy.
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Ron Paul: NOT a Serious Candidate”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Republicans - Taxes - Tom Cross - Warner Todd Huston

Cross Files Bill to End Pension Perks‏

September 26, 2011 by

From Illinois GOP House Leader Tom Cross…

In response to a series of news reports in the Chicago Tribune on WGN-TV this week, uncovering huge pension hikes under the guise of public service, we filed a bill (HB3813) to close the little known loophole that nets some Chicago city workers tens of millions in pension bumps at the end of their careers.

Click here to watch WGN-TV’s coverage of our bill filling.

Click here to read the Chicago Tribune’s story.

“This is a huge slap in the face to taxpayers that government in cooperation with its employees comes up with a scheme, that is currently allowable under state law, to boost pensions sky-high,” said Cross. “This practice needs to stop—immediately—and we will file a bill today, so that this provision in state law cannot be abused.”
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Cross Files Bill to End Pension Perks‏”

Budget - Business - Congress - Conservatives - Constitution - Economy/Finances - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Jobs - Randy Hultgren - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Video: Speak Out And Support A Balanced Budget Amendment‏

September 26, 2011 by

From the office of Rep. Randy Hultgren (Ill., 14th District)…

A balanced budget amendment (BBA) to our Constitution is a permanent solution to our nation’s fiscal crisis to legally force future Congresses and Presidents to stop spending money they don’t have. Earlier this week I sat down to share my thoughts about a BBA and why it’s so important for the future of our country.

America Speaking Out (ASO), www.americaspeakingout.com, is an online community aimed at giving you a voice and the power to set the agenda in Congress. Through ASO, you can express your opinion about the BBA, which will be voted on in the House this fall.

I encourage you to visit www.americaspeakingout.com now to express your opinion about a BBA. It is through the support of the citizens like you that a BBA will become a reality – bringing much-needed certainty to the small business community, putting an end to the out-of-control spending, and restoring accountability to Congress.
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Video: Speak Out And Support A Balanced Budget Amendment‏”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Frank Hyland - Jobs - President - Taxes

Frank Hyland’s Food for Thought: The Most Closely Held Secret

September 25, 2011 by

-By Frank Hyland

On the night of January 20th/21st, 2009, a large, dark SUV pulled onto the White House grounds and disgorged the deepest, darkest secret of the administration – In addition to Barack H. Obama, his twin brother, Tele P. Obama, resides in the White House and has covertly exercised the responsibilities of the Presidency ever since, whenever he could get away with it. The existence of Tele P., of course, has been kept a closely held secret by the President’s senior staff. But a review of the President’s actions over the past almost-three years has thrown a feared and unwanted spotlight on Tele P. In the process, the reputation of the President’s senior staff, which has been much maligned as a lying bunch of Chicago thugs, has been restored. Just a brief review of the ill-considered, amateurish actions of Tele P. will quickly convince you of his existence:

** Barack told us all this August that he would unveil his Jobs Plan soon, in order to deal with the urgency of the situation. While Barack remained in the White House working feverishly, Tele P. was photographed on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard and telling us that he would give the speech when he returned, thereby destroying the sense of urgency expressed by Barack.

** Actually, Tele P. began countering Barack from the very beginning. Tele P. ignored the concerns of the American people and, while Barack was in his office working long and hard on a jobs program, Tele P. emphasized a healthcare reform package and targeted banks and Wall Street.
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Frank Hyland’s Food for Thought: The Most Closely Held Secret”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Jobs - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Illinois at Bottom of Favorable Business Climate List

September 23, 2011 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Thanks to Illinois Democrats and Governor Pat Quinn, Illinois now sits among the worst states in the country for jobs and business. Texas and North and South Carolina rank as the best.

Illinois is the state with the third worst business climates in the country. Only New York and last rated California are worse in the survey of 322 corporate executives conducted by Development Counsellors International (DCI).

The survey, taken every three years, asks the executives a series of questions meant to discern the most effective tools for marketing and business that leads to deciding where to open new offices and expand business. Executives cited low operating costs and a pro-business climate as the chief reasons for looking upon a state favorably.

California remains the worst state, the survey found.
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Illinois at Bottom of Favorable Business Climate List”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Ethics - Government - Liberals - President - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Obama’s Mounting Scandals

September 23, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Heritage Foundation has a post giving a run down of some of the scandals mounting in the Obama administration… you know, the most ethical administration ever? Yeah. That one.

Most of them have to do with Obama’s penchant for crony capitalism. Like the good socialist he is, Obama wants to pick the winners and losers in the world of business so he shovels mounds of the taxpayer’s cash to the companies of pals and donors so that they will… well, apparently so that they will give him money back in donations and then just go bankrupt!

The post at Heritage details the crony capitalist scandals of failed companies like LightSquared and Solyndra.
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Obama’s Mounting Scandals”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Jobs - Liberals - Regulation - Republicans - Senate - Taxes - Tom Cross - Warner Todd Huston

A Blueprint for Illinois Job Creation

September 23, 2011 by

From the Illinois House Republican Caucus…

We traveled around Illinois this week introducing our new jobs plan to several communities in an effort to become more competitive with other states in order to retain and grow jobs.

Media Round-up:

We’ve all seen the news. Mounting debt, sluggish consumer confidence, zero jobs created in August – the first time since World War II that the U.S. economy had a net zero jobs created for a month – and the Illinois unemployment rate at a staggering 9.9%, nearly a full point higher than the national average.
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A Blueprint for Illinois Job Creation”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Jobs - Liberals - NLRB - President - Public Employees Unions - Regulation - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

President Obama’s NLRB & Their Summer Assault On American Jobs

September 22, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Obama pretends that he wants to cut regulations and make it easier for businesses to make jobs. Unfortunately, what he says and what he does with his powers to regulate are two very, very different things.

From the Workforce Fairness Institute:
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President Obama’s NLRB & Their Summer Assault On American Jobs”

Budget - Chicago - Cook County - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - GOP - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Chicago: Union Members Collect Millions in Tax $$ With Sweetheart Pension Deal

September 22, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Now this is the sort of corruption we are used to seeing in Illinois, eh? This week the Chicago Tribune and WGN TV has found up to 23 retired union operatives that are collecting millions in taxpayer dollars because they had pals in government tweak the state’s pensions laws to favor them.

These former government workers that were government union members got pliant politicians to alter the pensions laws to say that their pension remuneration would be calculated not on the lower pay they received when they retired from government, but from the much higher salary they received when they worked as union operatives. These folks worked as union bosses at the same time as working on the clock for government.

The “luck” of former union boss and Dept. of Streets and Sanitation worker Thomas Villanova is a typical example. Villanova last worked full-time for the city in 1989 and made $40,000-a-year. But he was also a union big wig making $198,000 annually upon his retirement in 2008 at age 56. His city pension, it appears, was calculated on the union salary of $198,000 instead of his real salary of $40,000 — itself obviously a no-show job in the first place.

Villanova stands to make millions off the taxpayers.
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Chicago: Union Members Collect Millions in Tax $$ With Sweetheart Pension Deal”

Budget - Congress - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Liberals - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston - Washington D.C.

Did 85 Democrats Vote In Favor of Government Shutdown?

September 22, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Back on August first the whole country was waiting for the House of Representatives to raise the debt ceiling and offer a continuing resolution to prevent a feared government shutdown. That was done with the support of 95 Democrats who claimed they were desperate to prevent that shut down. (Relevant amendment)

However, in a follow up vote on Sept. 21 on another bill (H R 2608), 89 of those same Democrats reversed their vote and have essentially voted in favor of a government shut down by voting “no” on the latest continuing resolution to keep the government’s doors open.

Of course, Democrats voted against this bill because increases in budgets (such as that for FEMA) were offset with cuts in other areas. Democrats simply want to increase spending without the fiscally responsible act of cutting spending elsewhere.
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Did 85 Democrats Vote In Favor of Government Shutdown?”

Budget - Chicago - Constitution - Cook County - Cook County Board - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Illinois - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Cook Commissioners Refuse to Take Furlough Days?

September 22, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

News today had it that two Cook County Commissioners have refused to take the agreed upon furlough days as required by the 2011 budget, days meant to save the county money. Both William Beavers and Earlene Collins have both refused to take the 10 days off.

Collins claimed on Chicago’s WLS AM 89 radio that she shouldn’t have to suffer the indignities of the cut in salary that the days off would mean. She says her base pay has never risen since she was first elected to office and that she has already cut out much of her office allowances and other staffing funds so she should not have to take a cut in pay, too.

In fact, claims Collins, she’s already made cuts that amount to more than the some $9,000 that her 10 day furlough would add up to.
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Cook Commissioners Refuse to Take Furlough Days?”

Budget - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Frank Salvato - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Liberals - Nanny State - President - Republicans - Senate - Taxes

Now Is the Time

September 21, 2011 by

-By Frank Salvato

Unless you’ve been living under a soundproofed rock for the past two and a half years you know that the approval rating for our nation’s politicians is pathetically low. President Obama’s approvals are hovering around 44 percent while Congress’ approval rating hardly shows-up on the radar screen at 13 percent, and rightfully so. Those elected to federal office (and for that matter, the many State houses) have ignored the basic responsibilities of their offices – to represent their constituencies – and have, instead, arrived inside the Washington DC beltway to execute their stations in the best interests of their political parties and associated special interest groups.

Incredibly, some in the political talking-head and spin doctor class try to explain away the dismal approval ratings as repercussions from the maladies of our time; they try to rationalize that the cause of public discontent, where their elected officials are concerned, is more about an unsophisticated and less realistic interpretation of all the bad news emanating from across the world. These contentions might very well be true if it weren’t for the truth of extremely elevated non-approval ratings received by the elected class. President Obama’s negatives are over 50 percent and Congress’ negative rating is at a stunning 83.5 percent. In fact, the only leader not to have a negative rating over 50 percent is House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who stands at 41 percent.

Keep in mind that, traditionally, approval ratings can bounce up and down quite erratically, but once a voter has established a negative view of a candidate it is very hard to flip that view to the positive. It is for this reason that a unique opportunity presents itself; an opportunity that even the doomed politician can use to throw a lifeline to his or her legacy.
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Now Is the Time”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - GOP - Government - Jobs - Liberals - President - Regulation - Right To Work - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Intimidation: Obama’s Dept. of Labor To Supply Replacement Worker’s Names AND Addresses to Union Thugs

September 20, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

“Since 1975,” a study of union violence says, there has been “more than 9,000 reports of union violence.” With that in mind, wouldn’t it scare you if you were told that your name and address would be made public knowledge if you were hired as a temporary or replacement worker during a union strike? If you had any sense you sure would.

Well, now that is exactly what the Obama administration wants to do. Obama’s Department of Labor wants to make a new rule that businesses must disclose the names and addresses of individuals that are hired during strikes to replace unionized workers, whether permanently or temporarily.

With the long, long history of murder, property damage, beatings, and general harassment that unions have engaged in since unions came to this nation, the idea of having a worker’s name and address released to these union thugs so that unions can create hit lists of employees to attack is unconscionable.

Obama plans to put the property, family, and the very lives of thousands of workers in danger just so he can again give a big payoff to Big Labor.
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Intimidation: Obama’s Dept. of Labor To Supply Replacement Worker’s Names AND Addresses to Union Thugs”