Tolerant Union Protester Damages Capitol Armed with Knife

-By Warner Todd Huston

Law breaking and violence has always been the stock and trade of unions and today’s budget conflagrations are no different as witness the most recent threatening actions by a union thug, this one in Lansing, Michigan, the Wolverine State’s capitol city.

On March 17 a man was arrested at the Capitol armed with a “sharp-edged weapon,” after he broke through a window and assaulting officers. 13 other protesters accompanying the man in his illegal entry and were charged with trespassing.

Meanwhile, in Camden, New Jersey, the police union chief there has compared Governor Chris Christie to Hitler. More of that “new tone” we keep hearing about from Democrats, I suppose.
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Tolerant Union Protester Damages Capitol Armed with Knife”


Union Thugs Attack Petition Worker, Destroys Petitions

-By Warner Todd Huston

From Joe Schoffstall we find yet another example of the way unions and Democrats use thug tactics to force their way on those around them, yet one more example of how Democrats and union thugs don’t care about democracy or the American system when it comes to their ill-gotten gains and freebies paid for on the backs of the working poor.

The scene was a petition drive aimed at recalling a Democrat state senator and the participants are a bunch of union thugs one of whom grabbed up all the completed petitions, defaced them, and then ripped them up.

As Schoffestall explains:
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Union Thugs Attack Petition Worker, Destroys Petitions”


Municipal Elections Early Voting Started March 15

-By Warner Todd Huston

Municipal elections are here again. Throughout Cook County folks are running for village trustee, alderman, library board member, village president… all sorts of local offices are up for grabs.

Early voting has already started for the April 5th election. Early voting runs from March 15 to March 31.

If you need to find out where you can vote early check out the Early Voting Locations list on the County Clerk’s website.

If you aren’t sure who is running in your local jurisdiction, go to the Cook County Clerk’s Virtual Ballot page and see who is running for what in your area.

AND DON’T FORGET TO VOTE
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Municipal Elections Early Voting Started March 15″


We Won Wisconsin – But the Fight Goes On

-By Warner Todd Huston

We may have won a small victory in Wisconsin with the brave work of Governor Scott Walker and his state’s Republican leadership but there is a greater battle looming. There is a bigger crisis coming for the states as the major troubles of pensions/unfunded liabilities/debts come to a head and the unions are pushing hard to force us all to pay them off instead of reform it all.

Video courtesy of FreedomWorks.
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We Won Wisconsin – But the Fight Goes On”


Rep. Peter Roskam: Want a Fresh Start?

From the office of Congressman Peter Roskam (R,IL)…

The American people gave House Republicans some very clear priorities last November, like focus on creating jobs, stop spending money we don’t have, and work to end the Democrats’ job-destroying health care law.

That is the message I heard from my district, and that is exactly what I am working on in Washington.

When the Democrats failed to pass a budget in the last Congress, House Republicans took the challenge of funding the government as an opportunity to begin our cost-cutting work. We voted to pass a long-term continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year – cutting $100 billion from the President’s budget request.
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Rep. Peter Roskam: Want a Fresh Start?”


Illinois Legislative Leaders Fail To Obey Budget Law

From The Institute for Truth in Accounting

(Chicago, March 17, 2011) – On every third Wednesday in March Illinois’ House and Senate are required to adopt a joint resolution that is equivalent to a family deciding how much it will have available to spend in next year’s budget. The day was yesterday, March 16, and just like the past three years the legislators blatantly ignored the law.

“This law is in place because only after understanding your funds available can you decide how much to spend,” asserted Sheila Weinberg, founder & CEO of the Institute for Truth in Accounting. “This is the first step in budgeting. Our legislators need to follow this law and take Budgeting 101.”

The Illinois Constitution provides that the general assembly can only spend the “funds estimated to be available” for the budget year. State statute 25ILCS 155/4 requires the Commission on Government Finance and Accountability (CGFA) to submit to the legislature an estimate of that amount. The House and Senate may debate the accuracy of the CGFA figure, but the legislators must adopt some estimate of the funds available to be spend in the fiscal year 2012.
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Illinois Legislative Leaders Fail To Obey Budget Law”


An Orgasm for the Children

-By Larry Sand

NEA’s reprehensible sexual agenda goes on unabated and the MSM is MIA.

At a time when teachers’ unions are battling for their collective bargaining lives, courtesy of Governors Scott Walker, Chris Christie, John Kasich et al., it’s hard to go a day without reading a newspaper account of the latest union news. However, there is a story involving the National Education Association that has flown under the mainstream media radar.

I could not find a single MSM account of a talk given at a UN conference on March 3rd where Diane Schneider, representing the NEA at the “Commission on the Status of Women” said:
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An Orgasm for the Children”


House Votes to Defund NPR

-By Warner Todd Huston

On Wednesday morning the GOP led House of Representatives voted to end federal funding for National Public Radio. Saying it made good fiscal sense it is also safe to say that the GOP was catering to its base, a group that has been against funding for NPR for some time.

The bill passed in a 228-192 vote mostly along party lines and will prohibit local NPR stations from using federal funds as well as cut all current funding. This eliminates almost $5 million in federal funding that NPR receives. The bill would not prevent the use of federal funds for producing programs by private firms and individuals…

Read the rest at RightPundits.com.
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House Votes to Defund NPR”


Citizen’s Right to Know Under Attack in Illinois!

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Illinois Senate is currently debating SB1645 which would arbitrarily limit a citizen’s “right to know.” If a citizen asks more than fifteen questions per year under FOI rules (Freedom of Information Act Requests), the citizen’s requests would be characterized as a “vexatious” requests.

With this appellation applied, FOI requests can then be ignored.

Now, at first this may seem sensible in some way. After all, if Joe Blow from East Peoria keeps bombarding the state with FOI requests this might seem odd or troublesome. But what about journalists? What about public watchdog organizations? These folks are highly likely to be requesting many bits of public information. Are they to be shut down too?

Even still, so what if Joe Blow does ask for a bunch of FOIs? Isn’t it the right of a citizen to know what his government is doing?

So, what does the government have to hide? Further how arrogant of them to say that we, the people, are “vexing” them!

Please contact your legislator, click here and tell them to vote “NO” on SB1645.
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Citizen’s Right to Know Under Attack in Illinois!”


Criminal Element: Ill. Democrat Was Convicted Felon Before Being Elected

-By Warner Todd Huston

It has been revealed that Illinois State Representative Robert Rita was a convicted felon before he ever ran for office for the fist time, a violation of state law. Being a convicted felon should have barred him from even running for office.

Lee Williams of the Illinois Policy Institute tells us that Rita, a Blue Island Democrat and a five-term state rep., has always been ineligible to seek elected office, absent a pardon.

Rita was convicted of DUI and attempted bribery in Nye County, Nevada in 1991. Lee Williams reports that this was confirmed by Jamie Kostiuk, a Nye County records clerk. Hard copies of the files, though, could not be located.

Lee Williams, however, tracked down some other sources of the conviction.
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Criminal Element: Ill. Democrat Was Convicted Felon Before Being Elected”


Corruption and Political Intrigue in Government Employee Pensions

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Los Angeles Times has a disheartening report about the graft, corruption, and nest-feathering infesting the administration of California’s government employees pension fund, CalPers (California Public Employees’ Retirement System). It reports that subordinates were pressured into investing in to firms run by political buddies and that one of the former CalPERS administrators was “lucky” enough to have been handed a high paying new job in one of those politically connected firms after he left the government agency.

Some of these officials now under investigation are also accused of falsifying documents to further their schemes of self-enrichment at the expense of the people, accepting large gifts that went unreported, and earning millions in “placement agent fees.”
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Corruption and Political Intrigue in Government Employee Pensions”


AFP Illinois: Stop ‘Pay to Play’ Appointment Now!‏

From the Illinois chapter of Americans for Prosperity…

Your voices are being heard! After nearly 10 weeks on the taxpayer’s dime, the Senate Executive Appointment Committee will be voting on Careen Gordon “Pay to Play” appointment to an $85,000 a year spot on the Prisoner Review Board.

Now is the time to contact the Senate Executive Appointment Committee and tell them to vote “NO” on the appointment of Careen Gordon! We need to take action today as the scheduled hearing is tomorrow at 9am!

In case you missed it, last week AFP asked our members to contact the Senate Executive Appointments Committee and demand that they hold a hearing on the appointment of Careen Gordon to an $85,000 a year spot on the Prisoner Review Board.
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AFP Illinois: Stop ‘Pay to Play’ Appointment Now!‏”


Join Us: Lessons in Leadership from ‘Governor Veto’ – March 23‏

From the Illinois Policy institute…

MARCH 23: Lessons in Leadership from “Governor Veto”

He vetoed 750 bills and thousands of line items to reduce wasteful spending, cut taxes 14 times during his two terms, and saw the state GDP increase by almost 30 percent during his tenure. When he left office, New Mexico had a balanced budget and $1 billion surplus. What lessons can Illinois learn from this? Join us as we host Gary Johnson for a cocktail hour discussion. Read More

Is Your Group A RepealTheTaxHike.com Coalition Partner?

On April 15th, at a rally at the Capitol, the Illinois Policy Institute will announce the results of our petition to repeal the historic 67% Illinois income tax hike. So far we have 7,300+ signatures on the petition, and 12 coalition partners.
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Join Us: Lessons in Leadership from ‘Governor Veto’ – March 23‏”


Cook County Board: It is almost Spring‏

From the office of Cook County Commissioner Timothy O Schneider…

Forest Preserve – The Chicago Conservation Leadership Corps

This program for high school students is the result of a great partnership between Friends and The Student Conservation Association. In the program’s inaugural year of 2009, we received more than 600 applications and awarded 56 internships.

The internship is a 6-week program that includes a stipend. Students learn about local ecology and get their hands dirty working on conservation projects. See below to download the application and fact sheet. Applicants should have an interest in conservation and doing physically active work outdoors. Click here to apply.
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Cook County Board: It is almost Spring‏”


Rep. Roskam: Remember We’re Still Cleaning Up the Dems Failure to Pass Last Year’s Budget!

-By Warner Todd Huston

On Wednesday afternoon I had a chance to talk to Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam (R, IL) about the budget and these continuing resolutions (CRs) that the House is laboring to pass and he reminded me of a point that we are not discussing quite enough. The fact is that these CRs have become necessary because the Democrats spent all of last year not proposing and passing a budget at all!

The Democrats fiddled around for the whole of last year never passing a full budget. Now the GOP led House is trying to play catch up with these few sort term CRs so that they can get the full budget written and passed.

“No one wants to vote on short term CRs,” Roskam told me, “but this is where the Senate Democrats must come up with a plan. We’ve done our part and it’s their turn. But they have offered nothing.”
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Rep. Roskam: Remember We’re Still Cleaning Up the Dems Failure to Pass Last Year’s Budget!”


Nevada Democrats Avoiding Voters, Hiding Actions From Public, Firing People Without Cause

-By Warner Todd Huston

Once in a while a story of the sort of arrogance in government that should make every fair-minded American sick at heart comes out to show how Democrats act when have a lock on power and when they think no one is looking. This time we find an amazing amount of arrogance in Nevada, one that is obviously a violation of Thomas Jefferson’s axiom that men are not born to be ridden “booted and spurred” by government but are free men. This government arrogance is truly as un-American as can be.

There are many instances of Democrat arrogance, of course. Like when North Carolina Democrat Congressman Bob Etheridge Democrat Al Green hectored a Washington Times reporter about the KKK (when it was Democrats that created the terror group in the first place), or when Congressman Charlie Rangel stormed out of an ethics hearing after being convicted on 11 counts because, well, he was incensed that anyone had the temerity to call him on his perfidy. Well, there are just too many to cover fully.

Chuck Muth of Citizen Outreach has the outrageous story of a lowly legislative aide fired for no reason whatever because a public record email was released to the public. Imagine the people thinking that they have a right to see the official emails of their own government officials! The gall of those voters!
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Nevada Democrats Avoiding Voters, Hiding Actions From Public, Firing People Without Cause”


VIDEO: We Need Less Talk, More Action From President on Debt

Here is the latest video shown to Republican senators on Tuesday. It highlights how our enormous national debt is one of the greatest threats facing our country and highlights the need for swift, serious action to address it. Republicans are urging the president to match his actions to his rhetoric and work with Republicans to develop long-term solutions to our nation’s debt crisis.


Kinzinger Statement on Three-Week Continuing Resolution Vote

From the office of Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL, 11th District)…

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11) today issued the following statement on the House passage of the three-week Continuing Resolution (CR) that will cut additional spending, while keeping the federal government running:

“Last November, the American people sent a clear message to Washington — cut spending. I came to Washington to do exactly that.

“House Republicans passed a long-term CR with $100 billion in cuts. The Senate rejected this proposal, refusing to side with the taxpayers to get our fiscal house in order – leaving Congress to pass a short-term CR with another $4 billion in cuts over two weeks. Today, we passed an additional $6 billion in cuts over the next three weeks. If the Senate passes this short-term CR, it will be a total of $10 billion in spending cuts. This achievement of permanently cutting $10 billion is a good start, but the cuts will not stop here.
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Kinzinger Statement on Three-Week Continuing Resolution Vote”


Senate News: McConnell Introduces Amendment To Stop EPA’s Back-Door National Energy Tax

From the office of Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (KY)…

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell introduced an amendment Tuesday to the pending small business bill that would stop the Environmental Protection Agency’s back-door national energy tax from taking effect.

“Imposing a backdoor national energy tax through the EPA is a strange way to respond to rising gas prices,” McConnell said. “Fourteen million Americans are looking for work. Gas prices are approaching $4 a gallon. And the Obama administration wants unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats to impose new regulations that will destroy even more jobs – and drive gas prices even higher.”
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Senate News: McConnell Introduces Amendment To Stop EPA’s Back-Door National Energy Tax”


Roskam Previews Tomorrow’s Forum on Job Creation at House GOP Stakeout

From the office of Congressman Peter Roskam (Ill, 6th District)…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL), Chief Deputy Whip, previewed tomorrow’s Forum on Job Creation at today’s House Republican Leadership Stakeout. The video and transcript are below:

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Roskam Previews Tomorrow’s Forum on Job Creation at House GOP Stakeout”


Indoctrination U: Union Thugs Using Kids As Shields in Wisconsin

-By Warner Todd Huston

Ann Althouse has been one of the leading bloggers chronicling the union thugs that have infested Wisconsin over the last few weeks and yesterday she did it again. With her trusty video camera in hand, Althouse found some Wisconsin “teachers” leading little children in protest chants at the State Capitol at Madison.

I just want to ask a question here before we see the video, though. Imagine the screams of agony we’d hear if a group of conservatives had taken children out of school, bussed them to a state capitol, then trained them like good little robots to chant a conservative protest chant. Such a video would be all over the news, wouldn’t it? Such a group if a conservative one would be excoriated from coast to coast by every newspaper and every TV station in existence. If conservatives had done this, the entire Democrat Party would be rising up as one to say that conservatives were child abusers, without a doubt.

… and yet…

Althouse asks if it is a good idea to teach children to mindlessly protest authority when they haven’t the slightest intellectual grasp of why they are protesting! That is certainly a good question, don’t you think?
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Indoctrination U: Union Thugs Using Kids As Shields in Wisconsin”


No Citizen Left Untaxed

-By Larry Sand

NEA boss has it backwards when he claims that America cannot have a middle class without unions.

Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, America’s largest union, claims, “In actions more fitting for comic book arch-villains, a new crop of state leaders have launched blistering attacks on working families disguised as budget and education reforms, and many have sought to strip workers’ rights to have a voice through their union.”

If he is correct and the middle class is being threatened, it is the public employee unions (PEUs) that are doing the threatening. Fewer than one in eight Americans are in unions but more than 50% of them are in PEUs. It’s hardly a secret that PEU pensions are in the process of sending various states and cities around the country into insolvency.
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No Citizen Left Untaxed”


Why Did 17th District’s Schilling Vote For 2 Pro-Union Amendments?

-By Warner Todd Huston

Newly minted Republican Representative Bobby Schilling from Illinois’ 17th district recently voted in favor of two pro-union amendments in Congress and the votes have caused some folks to go scratching their heads in trying to figure out why he did it.

Schilling ran as the business-oriented candidate against long-time Democrat incumbent Phil Hare, so his two pro-union votes are odd in light of his late campaign rhetoric. So, the Quad-City Times contacted Schilling’s office to find out what was going on.

Schilling’s office replied that one of the votes was simply a mistake. But the second vote Schilling stands up for unapologetically.
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Why Did 17th District’s Schilling Vote For 2 Pro-Union Amendments?”


Union Violence and Death Threats Continue

-By Warner Todd Huston

A few stories around the web concerning the union thugs in Wisconsin.

In Fond Du Lac, Wis. (just north of Milwaukee) a few GOP lawmakers had to skip the Saint Paddy’s Day parade because of death threats issued by union scumbags.

So much for the Democrat’s “new tone.”

“We’ve taken them all seriously and we’re happy to say that none of them have panned out yet here in Fond du Lac, so we’re still vigilant,” Deputy Chief Kevin Lemke said.

Meanwhile, the Washington Examiner pegs the situation exactly right in its Saturday editorial:
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Union Violence and Death Threats Continue”


Senator Ron Johnson on The Budget and the Debate in Wisconsin

-By Warner Todd Huston

Recently I was part of a conference call with Senator Ron Johnson (R, Wis). Johnson is a member of the GOP wave that over took Washington in the 2010 midterms. In a surprise to many, Johnson defeated long-time Wisconsin Senator, Democrat Russ Feingold.

My first question was one that I have also asked Chief Deputy Whip of the House Peter Roskam. I wondered what Johnson’s position was on the idea of states declaring bankruptcy.

Johnson said that he agrees with Roskam that state should not be allowed to declare bankruptcy. “I totally agree with Peter Roskam. There’s no way the federal government should be called upon to bail out states that have been irresponsible in terms of their spending, that haven’t made the tough choices in their jurisdictions… I would definitely oppose the bailing out of any states”
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Senator Ron Johnson on The Budget and the Debate in Wisconsin”


Downers Grove Municipal Elections: Early Voting Begins!‏

From the campaign of Becky Rheintgen for City Council…

Three weeks left until the election – but you can start voting today!

Early voting for the April 5 Election begins Monday, March 14, 2011 and continues through Thursday, March 31, 2011. Our Village Hall, 801 Burlington Ave., is an early voting site – it’s really easy, takes just a couple minutes and is super convenient.
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Downers Grove Municipal Elections: Early Voting Begins!‏”


The Arrogance and Hate From Congressional Democrats

-By Warner Todd Huston

My friend Kerry Picket of the Washington times was involved in a little tête-à-tête with a foul-tempered, arrogant Democrat member of congress that is just so typical of how these hatemongers on the left attempt to shut down debate, call conservatives racists, and act like petulant children in general that it must be highlighted.

Picket interviewed Democrat Al Green of Texas after a recent Homeland Security committee meeting last week. At that meeting, Green absurdly claimed that the KKK was just as dangerous at al Qaeda and insisted that all this worrying over radical Islam was misplaced.

Picket tried to engage this distempered fool on the subject after the meeting and his hectoring, overbearing, dissociative reply was something to behold.
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The Arrogance and Hate From Congressional Democrats”


Sunshine Review Announces Illinois Winners of the Annual Sunny Awards

From SunshineReview.org

Award recognizes state, local governments with perfect transparency scores

ALEXANDRIA- The nation’s leading government transparency advocate, Sunshine Review, announced on Thursday the 112 winners of its 2nd annual “Sunny Awards.” The 2011 awards, which more than double last year’s number, recognize the best state and local government websites in America that exceeded transparency standards. The Sunny Awards announcement preludes the launch of “Sunshine Week,” a period nationally recognized by hundreds of media and civic organizations, that celebrates the efforts of activists and the strides taken towards open government.

“Sunny Award winners deserve recognition for making information available to citizens and for setting a transparency standard that all governments can, and should, meet,” said Mike Barnhart, President of Sunshine Review. “Access to information empowers every citizen to hold government officials accountable. Official accountability is the cornerstone of self government and liberty.”
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Sunshine Review Announces Illinois Winners of the Annual Sunny Awards”


Kinzinger Urges President Obama to Institute No-Fly Zone Over Libya

From the office of Ill. Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger (11th District)…

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11), a pilot in the Air National Guard with tours in the Middle East, sent a letter to President Obama urging the institution of a no-fly zone over Libya.

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Kinzinger Urges President Obama to Institute No-Fly Zone Over Libya”