Obama’s Union Bailout: A Good Crisis Going to Waste

August 20, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Children, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Education, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Jobs, Liberals, Lobbyists, Nancy Pelosi, Pensions, Politicians, Public Employees Unions, Stimulus, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Even the New York Times can’t ignore the fact that Obama’s latest union bailout cash isn’t going to help anyone keep their jobs, and The New York Times is really good at ignoring things that make Democrats look bad.

A few weeks ago Nancy Pelosi called the House of Representatives back into a special session because there was a crisis in education, don’t you know. It was a crisis that she didn’t want to go to waste, naturally. As Speaker of the House she had the power — one likely to evaporate with the 2010 elections — to help Barack Obama give his union pals another $26.1 billion of the taxpayer’s money and she couldn’t resist the urge to fill pockets with other’s people’s money at least one more time.

Early in August, Pelosi triumphantly announced on her Twitter feed, “I will be calling the House back into session early next week to save teachers’ jobs and help seniors & children.”

We’re helping old people, it’s for the children, we are saving teacher’s jobs. It’s a crisis that we can’t ignore, darn it! Yes, Rahm, it’s also a crisis that we can’t let go to waste.
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How Teachers Unions Abuse Non-Union Teacher Paychecks

August 20, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Children, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Lobbyists, Money, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the Independent Teachers for Colorado blog…

Check out this new Independent Teachers video about what happens when a non-union school employee who is forced to opt out of paying union fees every year misses the deadline because of family medical emergencies:

Due to family medical hardships, non-union Pueblo school employee Becky Robertson missed an annual deadline to opt out of union fee paycheck deductions. The union rejected her appeal. Though she had chosen not to be a union member, Becky ended up paying the union hundreds of dollars that could have been used for medical bills and other expenses. Why do Colorado laws allow this type of abuse to continue?

Who is ‘Extreme’ Again, Mr. Obama?

August 19, 2010 | Filed Under Alexi Giannoulias, Barack Obama, Budget, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Freedom, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Harry Reid, Health, House of Representatives, Law, Liberals, Lobbyists, Mark Kirk, Nancy Pelosi, President, Regulation, Republicans, Stimulus, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

The National Republican Senatorial Committee put out a good one…

It seems beyond question that President Obama and his Party are not in good stead with the American public these three months ahead of the election. A majority of Americans even feel that the Democrats are too extreme. Can the GOP make hay on this fact? This ad sure does a good job of trying anyway.

Liberty.com… you can’t afford to not be plugged in!

August 19, 2010 | Filed Under Elections, GOP, Lobbyists, Patriotism, Republicans, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

From the new website Liberty.com…

Announcing a new effort: Liberty.com

On April 15th, 2009, History was made in a way that money could not buy and special agenda elitists couldn’t plan. The progressive movement and liberal agenda were taken by storm when millions of Americans began to make it clear that we’ve had enough.

Our message is simple. We elect men and women to protect our rights as Americans, and instead of getting the protection we demand, we’re being taken advantage of and abused at every turn.
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For Liberals Deception is An Important Tactic

August 16, 2010 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Journalism, Liberals, Lobbyists, Media, Media Bias, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Jonathan Strong of The Daily Caller reports an interesting and instructive conversation that was held publicly between lefty blogger and Journolist member Matthew Yglesias and the National Review’s Mark Hemingway. During their exchange on Twitter, lefty Yglesias claimed that lying is a legitimate tactic for “advocates” to use to win the policy argument, thereby admitting that liberals think it is OK to lie in order to get their policies in place.

On his Twitter feed, Yglasias told Hemingway, “I think fighting dishonesty with dishonesty is sometimes the right thing for advocates to do, yes. That’s an honest view.”

Aside from the amusing incongruity of the statement — how can dishonesty be “an honest view” — it is telling that a big liberal like Yglesias doesn’t see anything wrong with using lies to win a policy argument. After all, many famous folks on the left have agreed that a lie or two used to gain power is not such a crime.
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New Chicago Teachers Union Head is Same-Old-Same-Old

August 14, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Chicago, Children, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois State Government, Jobs, Liberals, Lobbyists, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

New Chicago public teachers union chief Karen Lewis could have come into office as a visionary that would bring some sanity to teachers union bloated demands in this era of the worst economy since the Great Depression. She could have seen the good sense of lowering expectations. She could have taken the stance of refusing to take pay raises for Chicago’s teachers as a motion of good faith in negotiating. Unfortunately, Lewis has proven herself to void of vision and stuck in the 1990s by continuing obscene union demands of constant raises and ever greater perks for union members.

In a day when unions are losing the last shred of good will that they once enjoyed in the public, Karen Lewis stood stiff-necked and refused to compromise with Chicago School head Ron Huberman. Lewis rejected giving up an automatic 4% raise in exchange for preventing layoffs.

She’d rather grab for the cash than save teacher’s jobs.
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$26.1 Billion Union Bailout Went to States that Didn’t Need it

August 13, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Children, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Education, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, Lobbyists, President, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

As I mentioned in a previous discussion on the Democrats $26.1 billion bailout for unions that Speaker Pelosi pushed through Congress at the last minute this summer, there was no need for the money for the stated purpose of “saving teachers” jobs. After all many states still had $30 billion of the previous stimulus that has yet to be used and others already have fully funded payrolls for at least this year.

Chris Moody confirmed my claim in his Daily Caller column today. He found that states like Arkansas, North Dakota, Tennessee, Alaska and others didn’t need this new “stimulus for their educational sector. They’ve got plenty already.

Not only that but Moody notes that none of this new money will even reach the schools until a month after school starts all across the land. So, how this new money will save anything after the tough decisions have already been made and the school year fairly begun is a bit hard to understand.
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‘Tax Extenders’ Bill: Another Democrat Bailout of Special Interests

August 10, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Lobbyists, President, Stimulus, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The so-called “tax extenders” bill that was initially part of the unemployment package that Congress passed last month is still on the table. It was separated from the unemployment bill because the GOP opposed its inclusion and for good reason. It is little else but a sop to special interests and big corporations.

The Democrats claim that this bill will provide “broad-based” tax relief for “average American businesses.” But snuggly hidden inside this bill are a regalia of “earmarked” tax loopholes for some of the Democrats biggest donors, corporations that hardly need any tax relief.

The Democrats have been trying to get this sop to special interests passed in one form or another all year but so far no luck. This time the Democrats are trying to graft another version of tax extenders to legislation that would give the states $26 billion to pay for state health and education programs.
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Outrageous Pensions Turning Ill. Teachers into Millionaires

August 10, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Jobs, Liberals, Lobbyists, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Over at Champion News Bill Zettler has been doing a fantastic job of following and chronicling the completely out of control pensions of Illinois public employees and this week he asks why Governor Quinn wants to raise taxes just to make millionaires of retiring teachers.

Zettler found two teachers that will be making in excess of a million dollars in pension payouts.

Check out this obscene total:
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Lobbyists Give Millions to Dems As Obama Smears ‘Special Interests’

August 5, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Campaign Finance, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, Lobbyists, Regulation, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | 3 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Let’s go back to those hopey-changie days of the Obama campaign for president when he railed constantly against all those “special interests” and eeeevil lobbyists that he claimed were ruining the political process. Let us recall that once elected he claimed he’d have the “strictest ethics rules” of any president ever.

Obama has made sure that his message has been anti-special interests, anti-lobbyists, anti-business-as-usual… heck just plain anti-business, for that matter. It’s all been quite a show. Unfortunately for all the talk his actions speak to the opposite of his spin — more on that in a moment. But even if President Obama was serious about his anti-lobbyist rhetoric his party has utterly ignored him on the issue.

A recent Bloomberg report reveals that lobbyists have raised $1.5 million for Democrat campaign funds during the first six months of the Obama regime quite despite Obama’s constant anti-lobbyist refrain. That is far more than the GOP has been able to raise.
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Mike Noland Thinks Outside Money Means ‘More Support’? Not From Voters it Isn’t!

July 22, 2010 | Filed Under Campaign Finance, Chicago, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, DuPage County, Elections, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Lobbyists, Republicans, Steve Rauschenberger, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Daily Herald has an interesting story detailing the fundraising of the two candidates vying for the 22nd District State Senator seat in the Elgin, Illinois area. The story shows the anti-voter ideas in which Democrats wallow.

The piece reports that incumbent Democrat Mike Noland has raised $107,000 for his race for State Senate while his GOP challenger, Steve Rauscnehberger, has raised $71,000.

That seems like a horrible gap between incumbent Democrat and the resurgent Republican, doesn’t it? Dem. Noland sure sees it that way. “I just got more support, period, throughout,” Noland told reporters.

But does he have “more support”? Not from his actual voters he doesn’t. Tucked into the Herald story is this line…
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Unions Violating Disclosure Rules

July 10, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Business, Campaign Finance, Capitalism, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, DOL, Government, Government, Corruption, Labor Law, Liberals, Lobbyists, President, Public Employees Unions, Regulation, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

When Barack Obama took office, one of the early things he did was install Hilda Solis, a long-time union operative, as head of the Department of Labor. And one of the first things she did was to ease the reporting requirements on unions, softening the violation of disclosure rules.

In August of 2009 Labor Sec. Solis immediately let it be known that her department would no longer initiate “enforcement actions against union officers and union employees based solely on the failure to file” the LM2 disclosure forms. Since that time two major unions have been caught filing inaccurate lobbying reports and disclosure statements.

Politico reports that the Center for Public Integrity has found that the “National Association of Letter Carriers have failed to detail the group’s specific lobbying activities, as required by law.” In May the group also found that the Maritime Officers union had also violated disclosure rules and had been doing so for a decade.
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Wash Post Forgets to Mention that Writer Is Obama Operative

July 3, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Lobbyists, Media, Media Bias, President, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Ron Brynaert has a story over at his The Raw Story blog that reveals yet another denizen of the Old Media that is trying to be both a “journalist” and an official operative of Barack Obama’s White House. She is Patricia McGinnis, an unpaid advisor at the White House and also one of the contributors to the Post’s “On Leadership” blog.

Once again we see the Old Media working hand-in-hand with the Obama administration and putting the lie to the idea of the “independent journalist” in traditional media outlets, this time with the Washington Post. Even worse than this collusion, though, is the fact that the Washington Post somehow forgot to mention that its writer is working for both the White House and the Old Media at the same time.
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My First IBD Article Goes Live Today

June 15, 2010 | Filed Under Communism, Democrats/Leftists, GOP, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Lobbyists, Media, Police, Republicans, Senate, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Yippie, My First Investor’s Business Daily Article goes live: Reid’s Push To Nationalize Police Unions.

Please do check it out.

American Journalism, Brought to you By The Democrat Party

June 14, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Lobbyists, Media, Media Bias, President, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

When someone says “journalist” do you have a picture of a fedora-sporting, cigar chomping, agitator with jaded mien and independent mind, a man stubbornly outside the political establishment looking in and eyeing it all with suspicion? Do you get a flash of a writer that stands in opposition to entrenched powers, one looking out for the little folks ala an Upton Sinclair? If so you’ve been watching too many antiquated, black-and-white moves from the 1940s. Today, “journalist” simply means an extension of the Democrat Party. And now even the book parties held so “journalists” can launch their latest paean to liberalism is bought and paid for by leftists, the Democrat Party, and its operatives.

To disabuse you of that old-fashioned notion, on June 9, Washington Post star reporter Ceci Connolly had to cancel her appearance at her own book party when it became common knowledge that the whole thing was being paid for by a public relations firm run by Democrat operatives. The event was bought and paid for by Blue Line Strategic Communications, a public relations firm run by Democratic communications strategist Michael Meehan and former Senate Democratic official David DiMartino. Most recently DiMartino was a Sen. John Kerry staffer and Meehan worked as a senior staff member in the Senate for years.

So much for the idea of independent journalists.
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Gay Blogger Claims Mark Kirk (R, IL) Told Him He’s Gay

June 2, 2010 | Filed Under Congress, Elections, Gays, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Lobbyists, Mark Kirk, Republicans, Senate, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Michael Rogers has made an unsavory name for himself “outing” gay politicians. Today he has targeted for his next “outing” operation GOP Illinois Senate candidate Congressman Mark Kirk. It’s something Rogers says he’s known since 2004.

Why has Rogers waited some six years to “out” Kirk? Because, Rogers says, Kirk recently announced his support for the Pentagon’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy that keeps gay members of the military serving under a cloud of silence about their sexual preferences. Kirk has said that he does not want DADT repealed and Rogers thinks that is an affront to Kirk’s supposed gay compatriots.
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Podcast: Obama Creating His Own Green Religion, Using Federal $$ to do it

May 17, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Christianity, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Environment, Global Warming, Government, Government, Corruption, Health, Law, Liberals, Lobbyists, Podcasting, President, Publius' Forum, Regulation, Religion, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

Here is this week’s podcast…

Most Ethical Administration Evah Waives Ethics Rules… AGAIN!

May 10, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Lobbyists, President, Regulation, Warner Todd Huston | 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

I am fondly recalling those hoary days on the campaign trail when Mr. Obama was all about “transparency,” and when he promised to have the “strictest ethics rules” of any president evah! Seemingly hours later the president’s office began to waive hose “strictest” rules to allow his favorite lobbyists and lawyers to take up residence in his administration.
By Feb. 2, for instance, a dozen high profile lobbyists had already had those “strict” rules waived for them to join the administration. And by May of 2009, Obama had already lifted his so-called ban on lobbyists joining his administration. And this month, over a year into his term, he’s still waiving those “rules” for his pals.

By April of 2010 Obama had waived those rules so many times that dozens and dozens of lobbyists, those same lobbyists he attacked endlessly during the campaign, left their lobbying firms to come and work for the big money in Obama’s administration. And this is not to mention that lobbyists have been found to be making a killing in Obama’s Washington especially the army of lobbyists that streamed to D.C. to make cash off the healthcare issue. Even in August Obama was still waiving his “strictest ethics rules” to allow his favorite folks into his administration.
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Chicago TV Reporter Clueless On Gun Buyback Program

May 8, 2010 | Filed Under 2nd Amendment, Budget, Chicago, Children, Constitution, Cook County, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Government, Corruption, Guns, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Lobbyists, Mayor Richard Daley, Media, Media Bias, Police, State Government, TV News, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Some of my colleagues on the web are saying that Fox News Chicago reporter Tera Williams “revealed her bias” about the relative efficacy of Chicago’s absurd gun buyback program.

In yet another TV report on this meaningless program, reporter Williams was interviewing a Chicago resident on his thoughts about the whole thing. The resident told her, “it’s a good way to start,” to which Williams said “Something’s better than nothing, right?”

Well, no it’s not, Ms Williams. This program has been a complete failure for making a dent in the violence and shootings in the City of Chicago. While other great cities of the nation have seen falling murder rates over the last decade, Chicago has seen its rate rise. Even as this waste of money and time of a program was started in 2006, the murder rate has not been positively affected by the program. In fact, this year the city has already experienced over 100 shooting deaths and we aren’t even at the half way point in the year yet.

But, I am not going to say that Williams’ empty-headed statement is proof of her bias in favor of the program. I’d say it is more like her utter cluelessness of how ineffective it has been.
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AP Pushes Muslims Into Story Where They Don’t Belong

April 22, 2010 | Filed Under Associated Press, Democrats/Leftists, Islam, Islamofascism, Lobbyists, Religion, Terrorism, War on Terror, Warner Todd Huston, Western Civilization | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The AP recently posted one of its many daily short news stories, reports usually of only three or four paragraphs in length, this one about the possible Nazi connotations of a vanity license plate issued by the Virginia Dept. of Motor Vehicles. But at the last second, this report suddenly became a propaganda tool for the radical Islamist group CAIR.

As it happens, the Virginia DMV revoked a vanity plate issued in 2009 with “14CV88″ embossed upon it. Supposedly the numbers “88″ and “14″ are connected to Hitler in some way or another, but what makes the AP report appalling is the last line in the AP report.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations applauded the DMV’s action.

Um, why did the AP feel it necessary to add that CAIR was happy that the Nazi influenced vanity plate was pulled? What do Muslims have to do with opposing anti-Jewish sentiment? In fact, isn’t it rather the opposite more often than not? More outrageously, Islamism was an offshoot of Nazism as Hitler’s Nazi system served as the model for radical Islam as practiced today. Yet the AP is allowing radical Islamists to claim the mantle of anti-racists?
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Obama’s Biggest Lobbyist Winners from Left-Wing Advocacy Organizations

April 1, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Banks, Barack Obama, Democrats/Leftists, Energy, Entertainment, Government, Government, Corruption, Health, Hollywood, Liberals, Lobbyists, Media, Military, Movies, Oil, President, Public Employees Unions, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | 3 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

On the campaign trail, now President Obama regularly excoriated lobbyists. He said he’d make the government “open and transparent” and said he’d make it hard for lobbyists to “curry favor” with his administration “based on how much they can spend on a fancy dinner.” Once elected, John Podesta, a member of his transition team, said that Obama would be implementing the “strictest ethics rules ever applied” to those scoundrel lobbyists. In his 2009 State of the Union address Obama puffed up his chest, proud of himself that he “excluded lobbyists” from important jobs in his administration.

With all that bombast and populist wind from Obama and his cohorts, then, one would expect to see a dearth of lobbyists in important positions in Obama’s Washington. One’s expectation, however, would easily be dashed by the truth.

Remember the rarefied air of Obama’s campaign for president? Wanna see some, shall we say, “broken promises”?
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How ACORN Paved the Way for the Obama Regime and Socialized Health care

March 20, 2010 | Filed Under ACORN, Andy Stern, Anita MonCrief, Capitalism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, Health, House of Representatives, Liberals, Lobbyists, SEIU, Socialism | Comments Off

-By Anita MonCrief

As patriots from across America prepare to descend on Washington, DC to protest the government takeover of health care, the Obama administration is touting the impending vote in the House of Representatives as “historic.” Progressive organizations have been preparing for the moment for decades and not even the outcry of millions of Americans will stop them from pushing their radical agenda through.

Ironically, the past week has been filled with numerous stories of how ACORN is disbanding across the country. News outlets from Politico to the New York Times run stories detailing the demise of ACORN. Of course, some are skeptical about whether ACORN is truly going away:

“In an age of lawlessness, rules for some out of government favor, and special privileges for special classes, racketeers and criminals need only change their suit and their hat and live another day to rob, steal, cheat, and engage in human trafficking… “

Conveniently for the Obama administration the “demise” of ACORN could not have come at a better time. As pictures of empty ACORN offices fill the news, Obama pushes forward with an ACORN planned and approved agenda.

In July of last year ACORN honored the work of Senator Charles Schumer, Rep. Luis Gutierrez and Rep. Maxine Waters at their 39^th Anniversary celebration. The invitation email stated:

Unions Top the $1 Billion Club in California Political Spending

March 11, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, California, Campaign Finance, Communism, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Free Trade, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, Lobbyists, Media, Media Bias, Pensions, Public Employees Unions, SEIU, Senate, Socialism, State Government, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The California Teachers Association spent $211,849,298 on lobbying and political spending to get its way in California in 2009. Along with the CTA, the Calif. State Council of Service Employees and 13 other organizations spent a total of one billion dollars on political lobbying of the State House at Sacramento. All of these special interests have helped push California to the brink of insolvency.

But, according to the California Fair Political Practices Commission, the two unions mentioned above far and away top the spending of the other top lobbying spenders in California. The next closest in spending was the Big Pharma clocking in at $104,912,997 on its political spending with various and sundry Indian casino groups whose spending was in the less than $85,000,000 range.

Commission Chairman Ross Johnson said in a press release, “This tsunami of special interest spending drowns out the voices of average voters and intimidates political opponents and elected officials alike.”
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‘Restoring’ Unions ‘Right’ to Bargain Collectively

March 9, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Congress, Economy/Finances, EFCA, Free Trade, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Jobs, Liberals, Lobbyists, President, Senate, Socialism, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Not long ago union advocate Stewart Acuff penned a piece for the Huffington website that was filled with soaring rhetoric about unions “creating the middle class” and pleading for voters to pressure Congress to pass the absurdly named Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). He claimed that this piece of… legislation would “restore the right to form unions and bargain collectively.”

Despite Acuff’s urgent pleading, however, he misses an elephant in the room. No one has taken anyone’s “right to collectively bargain” away from them. Of course that wasn’t the only thing that Acuff was factually incorrect about.

Why is it that union folks have to lie about everything, anyway?

Acuff starts out with a whopper.
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Panic on Wall Street?

March 8, 2010 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Capitalism, Communism, Democrats/Leftists, Dr. Don Boys, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Lobbyists, Socialism, Stimulus, Taxes | 1 Comment

-By Don Boys, Ph.D.

One of the oldest French banks, Société Générale, tells clients how to prepare for potential global collapse within the next two years according to a headline in London’s Telegraph, Dec. 2, 2009! That was a “global” collapse! And some of my friends suggest that I am an extremist! Yes, I have said that panic (an out-of-control response to economic collapse) was coming to the U.S. and the world economy not because I am a prophet but because I can connect the dots. Moreover, I expect the panic to reach Main Street where chaos will reign.

For a few years, I have been warning that panic is coming to the market. When that happens, everyone will know because Main Street will feel it bad. When the stock market was over 10,000 and gold was under $300.00, I told a stockbroker friend that the market would fall to 5,000 and gold would go to $2000. Recently, I told him I was fearful that he might have jumped from his penthouse apartment because of market volatility and massive fluctuations. Not yet, but he’s sitting on the ledge! Most brokers say that now is a great buying opportunity, but if you keep dealing with a broker that’s what you will be–broke. Others say, “go with the flow,” but you will likely go down the drain!

I have been trying to get people to get out of the market (unless they have taken precautions) for almost ten years, but they heard talk of a 36,000 Dow (from people who benefited from such talk) and what do I know! Some friends and subscribers did cash out and have called or written to thank me. Others stayed in hoping to recoup their losses. I think every investor should take advantage of any temporary market surge to minimize their losses–cash out. After all, something is better than nothing. The panic hasn’t started yet! Wait until masses of people call their mutual fund and get a recording or a constant busy signal! If you can’t reach them, you can’t sell. When everyone runs for the exit at the same time, many people are trampled in the stampede. Don’t get caught.
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Gov’t Employees Now Make More Than Private Sector Workers

March 7, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Lobbyists, Media, President, Public Employees Unions, SEIU, Socialism, Taxes, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The news we have been warning you about is in. Government workers on average exceed the pay scale of those in private industry. The unsustainable situation is here. It is now clear that Bill Clinton was a bit premature when he said that the “era of big government is over.” Sadly he didn’t count on the era of big Obama to come.

One word explains why this upside down situation has come to fruition: unions.

USA Today is reporting that “the number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession.” The paper finds that workers at the high end of the salary scale are well represented in government. I’d say overly represented.
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More On Stern’s Appointment to Deficit Reduction Panel

March 7, 2010 | Filed Under Andy Stern, Barack Obama, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Lobbyists, Media, President, SEIU, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Ed Barnes of FoxNews has a nice recap on Barack Obama’s appointment of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Chief Andy Stern to his deficit reduction panel.

Barnes tells us that Obama’s appointment of Stern set off a “round of criticism.” That’s putting it mildly.

President Obama’s decision to appoint his close political ally, union leader Andrew Stern, to the newly created National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has set off a firestorm of criticism from business and conservative groups who charge he is a political radical who should be investigated for failure to register as a lobbyist.

The failure to register as a lobbyist charge is over the fact that Stern was one of the most frequent visitors to the White House but never registered as a lobbyist to legally cover his visits. Whatever the case is concerning the legality of Stern’s constant visits to the Obama White House, those that criticize this appointment couldn’t be more right.
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A Conservative Candidate to Face Kirk and Giannoulias in Nov? Better Be Careful!

February 13, 2010 | Filed Under Alexi Giannoulias, Chicago, Congress, Conservatives, Cook County, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, GOP, Government, Corruption, Illinois, Lobbyists, Mark Kirk, Republicans, Senate, State Government, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

There has been some loose talk around conservative circles in Illinois about finding a more conservative candidate to run against both Alexi Giannoulias and Mark Kirk for the Illinois Senate in November. But the time for this was during the primary and that time is now passed. If we wanted a more conservative candidate than Mark Kirk we should have nominated him on February 2. A third party candidate at this time will only elect the mob banker, Alexi Giannoulias, to the Senate.

The only thing that wouldn’t make my statement above untrue is if a more conservative, third party candidate can mount a seriously funded campaign and can build a state-wide coalition over the next few months. By seriously funded, I’m talking at least four million dollars. The likelihood of this is remote at best.

And here is the thing: if a serious conservative candidate was able to get four million dollars together in only three months that candidate would have done so last October or November and would have been on that primary ballot.

It should also be pointed out that the state GOP will not be helping anyone but Kirk. Any insurgent candidate would have to build a state-wide network, or already have one, that could best the entire GOP establishment in order to run a credible race.

With Patrick Hughes out of the campaign due to his primary loss, there is no one else with the name recognition, state-wide network, or money to mount a serious campaign. Would that there was one.
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Why Unions Are Dangerous in Education

February 8, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Capitalism, Economy/Finances, Education, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Lobbyists, Pensions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | 3 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

One would think that a teacher that had 30 some years ago allegedly impregnated a 16-year-old student, a few years later sexually accosted two 12-year-old students, and was accused of molesting yet another student four years after that, would be out on his ear never to teach or be allowed around children again.

But the New York teachers union would beg to differ.

In fact, the union has differed so much that troubled teacher Francisco Olivares has been continually paid his $94,154 a year salary even though he’s been kept from the classroom for the last seven years.

So, who cares what the union says about this guy? Unfortunately, the union’s resistance to getting rid of him is enshrined in state law. The school can’t get rid of this dead weight either.

As a result, because the school can’t fire him and the union won’t let them, Olivares sits day in and day out in what is called a “rubber room” getting paid his full salary. That is getting paid his fall salary courtesy of the taxpayers of New York.
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Why Unions Can’t Work in Education

February 5, 2010 | Filed Under Business, Children, Education, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Lobbyists, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Atlantic’s Megan McArdle had a great piece pinpointing exactly why unions don’t work, especially for education. Her piece headlined “How Unions Work,” really brings it home why unions can’t agree to merit pay for teachers.

McArdle’s post was prompted by a piece by left-winger Matthew Yglesias whose post is meaningless and I won’t go into too much here. But it did spur some good points by McArdle. Suffice to say that what Yglesias said was that he thought unions could come to like merit pay but that the discussion is messy because people “have ideological opinions about unions in general.” In other words, Yglesias thinks it’s everyone else’s fault, not the union’s fault.

Yglesias is fooling only himself.
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