Socialism

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Education - Freedom - Liberals - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

One Again Teachers Union Shows Kids Don’t Matter

December 19, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

A recalcitrant teachers union in Florida once again shows that reform for the sake of the kids doesn’t interest it. A federal program called Race to the Top bestows federal money on any district that institutes merit pay and reforms its schools. Guess who hates the idea. Yep, you guessed it: Florida’s teachers unions.

Instead of launching in full support of school reform in order to help kids get a better education, the union has announced that it will instead be foot draggers and opposers.

Rightly or wrongly, the federal government is offering billions of federal dollars to Florida schools, but the teachers union wants to stand in the way of that largess because it opposes requiring its teachers to be worthy of their pay through merit.
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One Again Teachers Union Shows Kids Don’t Matter”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - House of Representatives - Liberals - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Thomas Brewton

Closing the Barn Door

December 19, 2009 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

Procrustean regulation of banks and other financial institutions, passed by the House and pending in the Senate, will not prevent the next credit debacle and economic recession.

The House of Representatives has just passed a bill, primarily the brain child of Congressman Barney Frank, that expands the scope and detailed depth of financial markets’ regulation.

For public consumption, Congressman Frank’s legislation aims to prevent future financial meltdowns. This it will fail to do. It will, however, continue the long standing animosity between Democrat/Socialists and Wall Street and the business community.

Accepting the Democrat/Socialist Party’s nomination for the presidency in 1936, Franklin Roosevelt railed against the “economic royalists” who were allegedly seeking a “new industrial dictatorship.” Privately, he opined that businessmen as a class were stupid, that newspapers were just as bad. During the election campaign of 1936, in an address at Madison Square Garden, he fulminated against the magnates of “organized money.” To uprorious applause, he threatened: “I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces met their master.”
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Closing the Barn Door”

Ann "Babe" Huggett - Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Freedom - House of Representatives - Immigration/Immigrants - Liberals - Republicans - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Law - Welfare

Obama Administration Sets The Stage For Bogus Asylum Seekers To Take America By Storm

December 18, 2009 by

-By Ann “Babe” Huggett

It’s such a little AP notice; hardly more than a blip on the news ticker but, as of January 4, 2010, Immigration and Customs Enforcement will no longer detain asylum seekers to the US if they can prove a credible fear of persecution in their home countries. ICE Director, John Morton, under the orders of the Obama Administration, said that if asylum seekers can meet certain conditions then they can temporarily enter the US.

At time of entry, the asylum seeker must be able to prove their identities, not be a danger to America, not be a flight risk and must fear for their lives or physical safety if they return home. As it stands now, any asylum seeker without documentation is deported immediately while many of the documented are detained until processed.

As with any so-called “improvement” by socialist dominated regimes in once free Western countries, it is always important to go beyond what looks good on their paper to see what such programs look like in practice in other nations. In spite of President Obama’s best efforts to totally alienate them, one need not look any further than our still closest ally, Great Britain.
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Obama Administration Sets The Stage For Bogus Asylum Seekers To Take America By Storm”

Budget - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - GOP - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Jobs - Liberals - Republicans - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Ten Ways to Stop Illinois Corruption

December 17, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Jerry Agar is a Chicago area radio host and a member of the Illinois Policy Institute, a free-market centric policy center. Agar also has a column on the IPI website often centered around a list of one type of another. Today’s piece is titled, “10 Ways to Stop Political Corruption in Illinois.”

He begins:

Since 1970, more than 1500 individuals have been convicted, and the cost to Illinois taxpayers is estimated at $500 million a year. If we had that money back, instead of just watching an endless perp-walk, we would be in much better shape on several levels.

Agar goes on to list his ten points, but most of them seem to have an aspect of government transparency to them — such as number ten, “Appoint the Sunshine Commission”

Now, I have to say that I agree with an effort at state transparency. DuPage County has done a fantastic job putting all its business transactions, funding, and accounts online for everyone to see. This sort of thing can lead to two things. One, that govt officials might feel less likely to waste and steal tax money if their accounts are so easily discovered by the voters, and two… well, two is that the voters can see what their government is doing.

Still, transparency is not the only thing we can and should do to clean up government. We, the voters, need to be far more careful of who we vote into office in the first place. Being an informed voter is even more important than transparency.
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Ten Ways to Stop Illinois Corruption”

Barack Obama - Budget - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Health - Illinois - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Republicans - Senate - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Govt Healthcare Will Give us ALL Pay Cuts

December 17, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Big Labor has, for the most part, fallen all over itself to help its patron President get his Obamacare policies passed in Congress spending millions to do so. If Obamacare should pass many millions will lose their healthcare and will be forced into government healthcare. According to the CBO at least 10 million will lose their insurance in short order. The CBO is likely lowballing the number, too.

That means many people that now have insurance through their employers will lose it and, thereby, lose some of their compensation and that brings up a major point that few people are talking about. I’ve mentioned it offhandedly in the past, but reader D. Harrison brought the issue before me in a recent email and I thought we should make it a point here.

Mr. Harrison wrote:
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Govt Healthcare Will Give us ALL Pay Cuts”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - California - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Conservatives - Constitution - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Education - Elections - Free Trade - Freedom - GOP - House of Representatives - Immigration/Immigrants - Liberals - Republicans - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston - Western Civilization

Rep. Brian Billbray: Rep. Gutierrez is Creating the Next Wave of Illegal Immigration

December 16, 2009 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Representative Luis Gutierrez (D, IL) will introduce another stab at “comprehensive immigration reform” this month and it’s been given another one of those Orwellian names that you know means the opposite of what it says in the title. Gutierrez is calling this mess the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009, or the CIR ASAP — in other words Comprehensive Immigration Reform ASAP.

The simple fact of the matter is that, regardless of the name, this legislation will do nothing whatever to help our security or our prosperity. In fact it will damage both.

In his press release touting this bill, Gutierrez said the following:

“We have waited patiently for a workable solution to our immigration crisis to be taken up by this Congress and our President,” said Rep. Gutierrez. “The time for waiting is over. This bill will be presented before Congress recesses for the holidays so that there is no excuse for inaction in the New Year. It is the product of months of collaboration with civil rights advocates, labor organizations, and members of Congress. It is an answer to too many years of pain —mothers separated from their children, workers exploited and undermined security at the border— all caused at the hands of a broken immigration system. This bill says ‘enough,’ and presents a solution to our broken system that we as a nation of immigrants can be proud of.”

This morning I spoke to Representative Brian Billbray in that nation’s capitol and found him chagrined by the whole thing. Billbray is the Chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus and is from California’s 50th District which is situated in the San Diego County area.
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Rep. Brian Billbray: Rep. Gutierrez is Creating the Next Wave of Illegal Immigration”

Christianity - Congress - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Founders - Liberals - Nancy Salvato - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes

For the General Welfare, or an Encroachment on Rights?

December 16, 2009 by

-By Nancy Salvato

Taking Metra usually affords me a solid 20 minutes to read on my Kindle during my commute home and I relish that pause from responsibility to research many of the topics on which I write. Tonight’s train ride, however, provided an unanticipated diversion during which I mused on a variety of scenarios that left me pondering. What percentage of the population would place such scenarios under the category of an encroachment on one’s individual rights in the guise of the public interest or visa-versa? The catalyst for the redirection of my concentration was correlated to one particular passenger who seriously compromised my efforts to focus on the inner workings of the Executive Branch of our government. Due to the exercise of her individual rights, and some really “gawd-awful” perfume, I determined to leave my seat -preferring to wait in an icy cold vestibule until the train reached my stop.

Though I felt frustrated and put out by someone whose liberal use of perfume almost immediately gave me a piercing headache, I recognize that it is well within her right to wear the stuff. What I would often prefer from my fellow passengers is very different from what I can reasonably expect from my fellow passengers. This is not the first time my olfactory organ has been overwhelmed by the odors I confront as I make my way home. Who can account for what one delights in eating? Though it is not permitted on the train, people consume anything from fried chicken to Asian Cuisine on the BNSF Line, with complete disregard for those around them. Some of the extremely inconsiderate sit down next to a complete stranger and proceed to gorge themselves. Others have no compunctions about what falls to the floor or is left behind on the seat. What bothers me most is the co-mingling of smells in a confined area. It is the opposite of appetizing, and usually has the effect of making me want to, in the words of Garth from SNL’s Wayne’s World, “hurl”.
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For the General Welfare, or an Encroachment on Rights?”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Rights - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

Science, Smoking, Healthcare, All Prove Gov’t Can’t be Trusted

December 14, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Just sit back and let big daddy government show you the way. The Democrat Party is assuring us that they know better because they have science, educated people, doctors, all that “expertise” in their control and further more they “care” about us all and they want us to know that they’d never do anything to lead us astray.

If you feel like the con is about to begin, you are right.

Of course, we don’t need mere suspicion to divine that the Democrats are liars. We can look at what government and Democrats have already done in several related areas — science, smoking and healthcare — to prove that this newest attempt to “help” us is based on lies, smoke and mirrors.

Let us begin with science. In two areas we see the failure that Democrats perpetuate even with science as their justification: global warming and healthcare.

We are all by now familiar with the lies that global warming is based upon as revealed by the scheming to hide failure of the science that went on behind the scenes with the email correspondence of the “scientists” at the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit (CRU). The science went from settled “consensus” to “ClimateGate” in only a matter of weeks. Yet governments all across the globe have based their policies on these lies. Total failure.
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Science, Smoking, Healthcare, All Prove Gov’t Can’t be Trusted”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Communism - Congress - Cook County - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Education - Elections - Family - Free Trade - Freedom - GOP - Health - House of Representatives - Illinois - Liberals - Republicans - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

TAPROOT: Christmas Candidate Forum

December 14, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Tonight I attended the TAPROOT Christmas event and listened to 15 Republican state-wide and DuPage County candidates all of whom came to address those gathered at the Hilton in Lisle to hear them speak. From Gubernatorial candidates, Senate candidates, judges and local county folks to… is it right to say Lt. Gubernatorial candidates? If so, it sounds odd… anyway, it was a whirlwind session of candidates and a good time was had by all.

If it could be said that there was a theme of the day then it had to be jobs and the economy. Every candidate had something to say about the subject that weighs so heavily on all of us.

15 candidates is a lot of folks to hear from and each got about 5 or 10 minutes to lay out their case and then a few minutes for questions. We were pleased to hear from two candidates for governor and there were quite a lot of candidates for Lt. Governor, as well, three in all. Three Senate candidates appeared, two Comptroller candidates, one Sec. of State candidate, one Congressional candidate, two judges and a DuPage County commission candidate.

Appearing in order were:

I know, phew!
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TAPROOT: Christmas Candidate Forum”

Anti-Americanism - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Humor - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - Rights - Socialism - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston - Western Civilization

This Leftist Drivel is Why Journalism is Dying

December 13, 2009 by 3 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Today I have read a piece of “journalism” by a freelance writer whose Slate article shows me why the profession has fallen on such hard times. The piece on fast food drive thru windows is not only pretentious but it is filled with enough fluff to stuff a mattress and leaves the impression that the writer thinks it all resembles wit. It simply amazes for its vacuous nature. And, worse, it doesn’t even pay off fulfilling the premise of its headline. In fact, it is so ridiculous for its assumptions and its presumption of surety that one wonders if the writer had ever even seen a fast food drive up window or met anyone that would use one before putting pen to paper.

Upon reading this self-satisfied piece of nonsense, my first guess was that this guy is a New York metrosexual that never met an honest to God drive thru window customer in his life. Naturally, it turns out our writer friend, Tom Vanderbilt, seems to fit right in with the pretentiousness of his namesake, the Vanderbilts. I don’t know that he is actually related to that famous upper crusty clan whose name he shares but a look at his bio causes one to suspect that I was right with my first impression. He’s written for such bastions of real America as The New York Times, Harvard Design Magazine, and Smithsonian Magazine. He is, of course, from New York City.

With that sort of pedigree we can most assuredly assume he speaks for all of America, and not just the nose-in-the-air set that looks down upon the rest of us in “fly over country,” right? Dream on.
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This Leftist Drivel is Why Journalism is Dying”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - California - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Conservatives - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Education - Founders - Frank Salvato - Free Trade - Freedom - History - House of Representatives - Liberals - President - Religion - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - The Law

American Liberty v. Obama’s Social Engineering

December 13, 2009 by

-By Frank Salvato

After the General Election of 2008 I made a conscious effort to give President Obama a chance. I wanted to give him an opportunity to be true to his word; to prove that he was committed to governing from the center. I also wanted to demonstrate that I was not of the same ilk as the Bush-hating, “he stole the election,” fact-ignoring Progressive malcontents that served to divide the country over the eight years of the Bush Administration. But now, a year after the election, and as we approach a full year of the Obama Administration, it has become abundantly clear that Mr. Obama has abandoned almost all of his campaign promises (but for his commitments to the SEIU) and is governing from the far Left. He has instituted a campaign of social engineering that can only be described as a direct threat to liberty.

Liberty
Liberty is defined as, “freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.” It was the single most motivating factor in the American Revolution and war for independence. Our Founders and Framers risked their lives to free the people of what would become our nation from the elitist tyranny of King George and his court, a tyranny that choked liberty – personal and societal – dead.

In addition to the limitations placed on religious freedom and freedom of speech, taxation was excessive and exploitative and it was imposed without representation. Many of the colonists believed the denial of direct representation in the British Parliament was an illegal denial of their rights, as colonists were considered Englishmen subject to the king’s rule. Thus the credo, “no taxation without representation,” served as the rallying cry for Patriots in each of the thirteen colonies as they coalesced into a movement toward American independence.

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American Liberty v. Obama’s Social Engineering”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Health - House of Representatives - Jobs - Liberals - SEIU - Senate - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Unions Again In DC Arguing Against ‘Cadillac Plan’ Tax

December 12, 2009 by

By Warner Todd Huston

The Associated Press reports the words of Lily Eskelsen, vice president of the National Education Association, who went to Washington D.C. to protest the so-called Cadillac healthcare plan tax currently in the Senate’s healthcare bill. “We should tax the millionaires, not teachers and bus drivers,” she told reporters.

This has been the constant refrain from Big Unions since Senator Max Baucus (D, Montana) included the taxing plan into his Senate version of Obamacare earlier this year. This 40 percent tax plan would kick in for any employee whose healthcare plan reaches $8,500 per year for individuals or $23,000 for families.

Of course, there is a fatal flaw in the Democrat’s assumptions of what this tax will do. As the AP reports, “The tax would raise some $150 billion over 10 years to help pay for the Democrats’ nearly $1 trillion health care bill.”
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Unions Again In DC Arguing Against ‘Cadillac Plan’ Tax”

Ann "Babe" Huggett - Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Europe - Free Trade - Liberals - Security/Safety - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - UN

Put The Blame On Santa Claus

December 10, 2009 by

-By Ann “Babe” Huggett


The Copenhagen Climate Summit imploded on its second day over the lethal ‘Danish text” leak of the draft agreement, which further empowers First World nations over the developing and undeveloped nations, sidelines the UN and dumps the Kyoto Protocol. As the screaming developing nations let off CO2 like weenies on a grill amidst all the limos and private jets of the attendees, the Northern hemisphere is gripped in Winter’s snowy embrace while it is still Fall. Global warming is dead and it’s too late to switch back to the Global Cooling of the ‘70s. The only control freak Globalist thing left on their humanity hating agenda is Climate Change with which to bludgeon us into shivering serfs.

The Summit started off with the usual political correct nonsense of Christmas trees being banned since it is a socialist rich, post Christian environment where nothing as crass as trees sacrificed for bourgeoisie sentimentality is allowed. To paraphrase C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in the bizarro world of the socialist, it’s always Winter and never Christmas.
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Put The Blame On Santa Claus”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - Religion - Rights - Science - Security/Safety - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - UN - Warner Todd Huston

ClimateGate and the UN: New Red Scare over Green Lies

December 8, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Believe it or not, the UN just whined that climategate is the Russian’s fault. It appears that the United Nation’s position is that the obvious cover-up of the false doctrine that is global warming perpetrated by global warming “scientists” is not the fault of the lying scientists, but that of the assumed “paid” Russian hacker that hacked the globaloney scientist’s emails and exposed the cover-up to the world. Convoluted reasoning, no?

Remember when you were a child and your Mother discovered through hearing about it from the neighbors that you were doing something you weren’t supposed to be doing? Remember how instead of taking responsibility for your actions you cried that it wasn’t right that someone narced on you? Well, that is the same sort of childish, facile reasoning that the UN has employed to explain away this climaegate scandal.

Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, a vice-chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), recently said that the hacked emails from the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) were obtained and hyped by Russia in order to “destroy public confidence” in the “science” of man-made global warming… or is it now “climate change”? It’s hard to keep up with their constant name changing as they look for more sellable rhetoric.

Just like that kid that’s mad at getting caught but can’t see that he is at fault in the first place, the UN is now trying to get everyone to consider this as “hackergate” instead of climategate. Various UN folks are in essence telling us not to look “here,” but to instead look “over there.”
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ClimateGate and the UN: New Red Scare over Green Lies”

Budget - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Liberals - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

$2,821 of Hot Sauce Bought By YOUR Illinois Taxes

December 8, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Kate Campigne Piercy, director of government reform for the Illinois Policy Institute, recently penned an interesting piece for The Chicago Sun Times that informed us all that the Illinois Commerce Dept. bought $2,821 worth of Hot Sauce during fiscal year 2009.

That’s not all, either.

What’s the need for a typewriter in a computer-centric world? The Illinois Employment Security Department spent $245.80 on a Brother ML100 Typewriter — in addition to $12,176.54 on a Canon Microfilm/ Fiche Printer.

The governor’s office shelled out $20,692.24 on “subscriptions.” The Commerce Department spent $3,770 for golf carts, $280 on soy crayons and $2,821 on hot sauce –all with Illinois citizens’ tax dollars. That must be some good hot sauce.

The good news is… well, some good news, anyway… we can now go to a new website where we can view these wastes of the taxpayer’s money so that we can have the ammunition we need to eliminate this wild spending and hold the politicians responsible to account.
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$2,821 of Hot Sauce Bought By YOUR Illinois Taxes”

Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Illinois - Illinois Policy Institute - Liberals - Socialism - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

ISI: Is Ayn Rand Bad for the Market? Institute in the News‏

December 7, 2009 by

From the Illinois Policy Institute:

In case you missed it, Heather Wilhelm, our vice president of marketing and communications, was featured in the Wall Street Journal today. Her article, “Is Ayn Rand Bad for the Market?”, has drawn a tremendous response from both fans and critics. You can read the full article in the Wall Street Journal here. If you’d like to see Heather’s response to the critics of her piece, you can visit our blog here.

Also, last night, the Institute was featured on “The Political Grapevine” on Fox News’ Special Report show. You can watch the feature here, which includes a blog post written by our executive vice president Kristina Rasmussen.

Abortion - Anti-Americanism - Britain - Children - Christianity - Economy/Finances - Frederick Meekins - Liberals - Science - Socialism - Society/Culture

English Balls, Eco-Snitches & Filipino Whores: Headline Potpourri #11

December 5, 2009 by

-By Frederick Meekins

British Balls calls for mandatory sex education. The Secretary of Education there has announced that students over the age of 15 can no longer be exempt from compulsory instruction regarding human procreation and physical relationships. The parents of students failing to report to these classes could be fined or prosecuted.

Rosie O’Donnel denounced Glenn Beck as a carnival barker. If that’s the case, then as a lesbian, wouldn’t she be the bearded lady?

Cheryl Crowe is to be at National Christmas tree lighting. Wonder if this witch flew into town on a single sheet of toilet paper.
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English Balls, Eco-Snitches & Filipino Whores: Headline Potpourri #11″

Ann "Babe" Huggett - Islam - Islamofascism - Religion - Socialism - Terrorism - Uncategorized - Western Civilization

Iran Demands Nurses In Bolivia Wear Hijabs

December 4, 2009 by

-By Ann “Babe” Huggett

On Wednesday, November 24, Iranian demands that female nurses don the hijab in response to Iran’s providing $1.2 million for funding of the new El Alto city hospital in Bolivia sparked a national outcry among women’s rights advocates within Bolivia. In an international teleconference in La Paz held between Bolivian President, Evo Morales, and Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to celebrate the hospital’s opening, nurses were shown wearing hijabs as part of their new uniform regulations.

This imposition of political Islamic pseudo-religious attire from another country is causing a rift within Bolivian political ranks. Even though the Morales administration is the profoundly socialist MAS party, the Iranian demand is still seen as an affront on Bolivian cultural integrity especially in a country with a Roman Catholic majority.

Lourdes Millares, the Deputy for the Democratic and Social Power Party called the Iranian hijab demand, “…an assault on the dignity of women…” and excoriated Morales for, “…submission to the rules of another government.”
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Iran Demands Nurses In Bolivia Wear Hijabs”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Jobs - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Obama Job Summit: Another Manufacturer Opts Out of U.S.A.

December 3, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

With President Obama carrying on his “jobs summit” this week blaming business for “not hiring enough workers,” it is interesting to see the reaction of at least one major U.S. business to the Obama administration’s actions during this economic downturn.

On November 11, David N. Farr, Chairman, CEO and President of Emerson Electric Co., announced at the Baird 2009 Industrial Conference in Chicago that President Obama has succeeded in chasing his multi-billion dollar industry right out of the U.S.A. Why? Onerous regulation, high taxes, and the over $1 trillion Obama debt should be reason enough for any business to consider shutting down U.S. facilities and seeking greener pastures overseas says Farr.

The federal government is “doing everything in [its] manpower [and] capability to destroy U.S. manufacturing,” says David Farr, chairman and CEO of Emerson Electric Co., in a presentation at the Baird 2009 Industrial Conference in Chicago Ill., on Nov. 11. In comments reported by Bloomberg, Farr added that companies will continue adding jobs in China and India because they are “places where people want the products and where the governments welcome you to actually do something. I am not going to hire anybody in the United States. I’m moving. They are doing everything possible to destroy jobs.”

During his slide show on the state of Emerson’s business, Farr noted that the “unprecedented job loss experienced in this recession will result in a much slower U.S. recovery” and the federal government is making matters worse. The slide reports that the job loss this time is by many magnitudes worse than previous recessions. Noted are job losses from several recessions: 1980 with 1 million jobs lost; 1982 with 2.8 million; 1990 with 1.5 million; 2001 with 2.7 million. Finally Farr notes that we’ve seen a whopping 7.3 million lost thus far (and climbing) in this 2008-2009-2010 recession.
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Obama Job Summit: Another Manufacturer Opts Out of U.S.A.”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Free Trade - Freedom - House of Representatives - Jobs - Liberals - Senate - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

Unions a Danger to Good Government

December 1, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

What happens when a private sector union gets far too many benefits to the point where the business for which its membership works goes under or whose existence is threatened? Punishment. Unions either take a reduction of benefits or pay — or both — and cuts in time or jobs in order to right the ship and keep the business afloat occur. Just like punishment comes to businesses that make bad business decisions, private employee unions also realize punishment for overreach. At the risk of losing the whole enterprise both for unions and owners, the market serves to correct excess.

Unfortunately, there is no such corrective for union overreach for government employees. These unions rarely face any punishment for excess. And therein lies the reason that unions are antithetical to good government.

Of course, we’ve discussed this theme many times here at the blog over the past few years. But to buttress the discussion I’d like to relate some statistics. The Heritage Foundation’s James Sherk recently took a look at the most current reports from labor and found that 12.4% of the American work force is made up of union members. But he notes that, while union membership has fallen to 7.3% of private sector jobs, it has risen to a never before seen 37.6% unionization of government employees — and this number is growing. Government workers now make up 51% of all unionized workers in the USA.
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Unions a Danger to Good Government”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Dan Scott - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Energy - Liberals - President - Science - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Technology

Who’s Next Under The Bus?

December 1, 2009 by

-By Dan Scott

Since the Climategate story has been broken over a week ago, we have begun to see the cracks in the AGW edifice. George Monbiot, an AGW proponent has called for the resignation of Phil Jones from the IPCC. Source The emails implicated Phil Jones, Michael Mann and Stefan Rahmstorf in a scheme to rig the Peer Review process to only allow pro-AGW papers through while banning anything remotely unfavorable regardless of any inconvenient facts. Both Messrs. Monbiot’s and Zorita’s desire to toss the high profile offenders under the bus are purely self serving, since the sacrifice of Jones, Mann and Rahmstorf is merely a means to claim isolated individual overzealousness in an attempt to distract the public from the real issue regarding the wholesale scientific fraud of AGW.

We have corroborating proof regarding the rigged Peer Review process from the personal account of Vincent Gray, PhD. His experience shows any paper with unfriendly AGW leanings were sent to file 13. It should be noted that another famous hurricane researcher by the same last name, Professor William Gray lost his funding for Hurricane research because of his stance against AGW. There is no denying the obvious when it comes to being politically incorrect regarding AGW. Science was supposed to be a debate of theories, not the suppression of facts to support the theory du jour.
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Who’s Next Under The Bus?”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Congress - Cook County - Economy/Finances - Elections - Health - Illinois - Jobs - Liberals - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

10th District, Robert Dold: Government Run Health Care is Bad Medicine‏

November 30, 2009 by

From the Dold campaign…

The end of 2009 is almost here, and as Election Day, February 2nd, quickly approaches, it is time to look forward to electing a new Congressional leader who will bring your concerns and ideas to Washington. I believe that healthcare, an issue at the forefront of our minds this election season, needs to be reformed the right way—without a government takeover.

The current Democrat-backed health care plan will increase government health expenditures by an estimated $1 trillion over a ten year period. While the consequences of the enormous bill will affect us on a national level, it will also make things worse for Illinois. A recent report released by the Illinois Policy Institute revealed the nationalized health care plan will lower economic growth by costing Illinois 169,000 jobs, impose $57 billion in costs for Illinois taxpayers to bear, and shrink our state’s economy by 5.1 percent.
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10th District, Robert Dold: Government Run Health Care is Bad Medicine‏”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Obama: King of All Statists

November 30, 2009 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Almost 40% of William Howard Taft’s cabinet officials were from the private sector. Ike had nearly 60% of his appointees sporting private sector experience. Reagan had about 55% and George W. Bush about 53%. Even FDR and Truman had half their cabinet officials with private sector experience.

And Obama?

Less than 10%.

That means that only about 7% of Barack Hussein Obama’s cabinet appointees ever worked in the private sector. So is it any wonder that Barack Obama has become the president responsible for an unprecedented bloating of the federal government and a take over of power on a scale never before seen?

Nick Schulz published a great graph revealing the private sector experience of the appointees of every president since 1901. (Also heard Jerry Agar talking about this over the weekend on Chicago’s WGN)

Remembering that Barack Obama himself never held a real job his whole life the fact that he surrounds himself with government hacks, placemen, and hangerson yet is expected to be the one to fix the private sector economy and, well, we can see why he is failing so miserably. He has no life experiences to draw on and neither does anyone he’s asked to advise him.

No wonder America is on the fast track to socialism.
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Obama: King of All Statists”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Education - John Armor - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes

Little Barry Goes to School

November 30, 2009 by

-By John Armor

It has been almost a year that little Barry What’s-His-Name, the Kenyan- Indonesian-African-American lad has been going to school as President of the United States. This is an interim Report Card to his political parents, the voters of the United States.

English Comprehension: Barry has the most extraordinary ability to speak in English than all but a small handful of students who have ever attended this school. However, this ability to speak in complete sentences, using words that seem appropriate to the subject at hand, is coupled with a near total lack of content in those speeches. A+ for delivery, F for content. As Benjamin Franklin observed, “Here comes the Orator! With his flood of words, and his drop of reason.”

Social Studies: With Barry’s approval, one of his confederates, Little Harry Reid, spent $300 million to purchase the one-time services of Little Mary Landrieu to vote yes to put the Health Care Bill on the floor in the Senate. But, it turned out that Little Mary thought it was only $100 million. They paid 200% more than Little Mary was willing to go for. C for sizing up the situation. F for acting appropriately. As Oscar Wilde said, “A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.”

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Little Barry Goes to School”

Anti-Americanism - Business - Censorship - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Education - Free Trade - Freedom - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - Science - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Technology - Thomas Brewton

When Fanatical Agendas Obliterate Science

November 29, 2009 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

Climate Emails Stoke Debate: Scientists’ Leaked Correspondence Illustrates Bitter Feud over Global Warming (Wall Street Journal, November 23, 2009).

The Wall Street Journal article notes:

Representatives of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a large professional organization, expressed concern that the hacked emails would weaken global resolve to curb greenhouse-gas emissions.

One would expect true scientists to be more concerned with pursuit of the truth than with foreclosing questions about an hypothesis. As it stands, the greenhouse-gas hypothesis is no more than a religious dogma proclaimed from closed chambers. Liberal-progressives treat all questions or challenges to it as heresy.
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When Fanatical Agendas Obliterate Science”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Communism - Congress - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - House of Representatives - Illinois - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Stimulus Stimulated Much of Nothing in Illinois

November 25, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Chicago Tribune has an interesting story that shows that Obama’s $787 billion stimulus really didn’t do much by way of creating any new jobs in Illinois. Though Obama is counting “jobs saved” as some sort of success story, the fact is few jobs have been created and nothing will be sustainable after the stimulus money runs out.

Jobs “saved” apparently means that stimulus money went to keep a job that might otherwise have been lost. But the problem with calling it a job saved is that once the stimulus runs out that same job will still be on the chopping block.

Then there is the other thing to realize: none of these “jobs” are real, useful, and economically real jobs. They are but government handouts given to people with government jobs. The fact is not a single one of these faux jobs “created” by the Obama stimulus is in the private sector. They are all in government and government does not create wealth, it does not grow an economy. All government does is take tax money from one pocket and shift it to another pocket. None of these “jobs” are worthy of being called new jobs.
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Stimulus Stimulated Much of Nothing in Illinois”

Barack Obama - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Freedom - Health - House of Representatives - Illinois - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Illinois Policy Institute: What’s Getting Under Pelosi’s Skin?

November 24, 2009 by

What’s Getting Under Pelosi’s Skin? Our newest health care study, that’s what! “Adding Insult to Injury,” which we released yesterday, has already hit the national airwaves. Congressman Peter Roskam appeared on Fox News yesterday, citing our study’s findings that Illinois will lose 169,000 jobs (and the nation 3.8 million) if the current health care bill passes.

We discovered other unfortunate side effects of the plan, including economic shrinkage of 5.1% and a $4,418 price tag for each Illinoisan. You can watch our CEO’s remarks at yesterday’s Chicago press conference here.
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Illinois Policy Institute: What’s Getting Under Pelosi’s Skin?”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Ohio’s Ben Konop Wants Kids to Starve so he can Give Gov’t Payoffs to Unions

November 24, 2009 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Ruinous PLAs Coming Your Way Lucas County, Ohio!

Magie Thurber is reporting that Lucas County, Ohio County Commissioner Ben Konop is trying to force unions on non-union labor in his jurisdiction. What about freedom to chose? Forget it. Konop as big brother knows better.

On Tuesday, the commissioners will discuss an agenda item ominously entitled “Incorporating Project Labor Agreements into Bidding Specifications for all County-Supported Projects.” (Download PDF) Apparently the commissioners will be pursuing PLAs in all contracts in Lucas County’s future.

What is a Project Labor Agreement or PLA? I discussed this back in February right after President Obama signed his Executive Order 13202 pushing PLAs and in October after New Hampshire faced this situation. Obama’s EO demanded that every federal construction project force a PLA on its contractors. Essentially, a PLA requires all hired contractors and their employees to pay union dues, work under union rules, and pay into union pensions (even though they will never get any benefits from them) whether they belong to a union or not. This forced unionism is to be enforced despite that up to 84 percent of all contractors in the country are not part of a union.
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Ohio’s Ben Konop Wants Kids to Starve so he can Give Gov’t Payoffs to Unions”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Capitalism - Censorship - Communism - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Free Speech - Freedom - History - Liberals - Socialism - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

The End of History or a History of the End?

November 24, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

A few years ago, Francis Fukuyama was widely criticized for his book claiming that mankind had seen “The End of History.” Fukuyama contended that liberal democracy had won the debate over which system was best and, therefore, there was necessary no more “moving forward” for man’s social order. While Fukuyama might have thought the question of the best system was settled — that being the Western democratic system — what good does a great system do if no one is aware of it? Unfortunately, we are quickly nearing a time in our schools where any knowledge of our political system or western history is going untaught. It’s so bad that most standard history courses are disappearing from our universities to be replaced by specialties about minorities or single subjects like “genocide” or “homosexual studies.”

Of course, much of the criticism of Fukuyama’s premise was based on a mistaken reading of what he said, but with this failure to teach proper history to our students we might be seeing at least one reason to doubt that liberal democracy is strong enough to stay as top dog, regardless of its efficacy. The liberal democracy as being practiced in the U.S., for instance, is weakening to the point of frivolity, one prone to a breakdown from within, and this lack of a useful education is just another example of this societal crash. Dangerously, proper history is being taught less and less in our universities.

Not long ago, an ominous article in the New York Times reported that specialty courses and professors now far outnumber standard history.
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The End of History or a History of the End?”