RedState

The REAL Problem With the NLRB’s Ambush Elections Rule: Unions LIE.

Fri, 25 May 2012 01:30:26 +0000

Recently, a federal court smacked down Barack Obama’s union appointees at the National Labor Relations Board for the manner in which they imposed their ambush election scheme. The scheme is, however, far from dead as the union-controlled labor board is “determined to move forward” with the needless rules. While there is much opposition to the NLRB’s ambush election rules, few have yet to address the underlying issue that makes the scheme unfair to workers and a disaster for America’s union-free workplace and that is: Unions and their organizers LIE to and deceive workers…All. The. Time.

What’s worse is that, not only do unions lie to, trick and deceive workers into unionizing, it’s perfectly legal to do so.

With a median time from petition-filing to election, unions have been winning around 60% or more of the elections conducted by the NLRB for about a decade (unions won 71% in 2011).

However, with ambush elections, the union win rate is expected to increase to around 90% and here’s why: A longer time frame allows for more information to be given to voting employees and, therefore, leaves unions vulnerable to having their lies, trickery and deception exposed.

Under U.S. labor law vis-à-vis the National Labor Relations Act (as well as its sister law for the airline and railroad industries, the Railway Labor Act), unions are not held accountable for the lies and deception they foist on workers to goad them into unionizing. Unfortunately for workers, it’s caveat emptor (buyer beware) and many have paid the price in wasted dues, labor disputes and job losses.

The current rationale for giving unions free reign to lie and to deceive workers is a 1977 a case called Shopping Kart Food Market. In the case, the Carter NLRB ruled to overturn 15 years of somewhat reasonable standards by overruling an employer’s objection to a union’s lie.

In its ruling, the NLRB stated: ”In sum, we decide today that the Board will no longer probe into the truth or falsity of the parties’ campaign statements.”

For background, read: Should Representation Elections Be Governed By Principles Or Expediency?

After nearly 30 years of dealing with union issues, including eight years within the union movement (which, coincidentally, ceased after discovering the vastness of union lies) and the last nearly 20 years combating union organizers’ lies, the depths to which unions and their organizers still sink in deceiving workers is amazing.

Over the last two decades, literally thousands of workers have shared their stories of what union organizers have told them to get union authorization cards signed, or promised them in order to convince them to unionize.

Even though it is illegal for an employer to make promises, one of the most common tactics unions use to hoodwink workers into signing union authorization cards is to make actual or implied promises of betterment.

Although no union organizer can guarantee the promises he makes, or course, the NLRB permits this type of deception, which is why we always encourage workers during union campaigns to get the union organizer’s promises guaranteed in writing.

Here are just a few examples from over the years:

One of the more common lies organizers tell workers is that a signature on a union authorization card is only to be put on a mailing list. Of course, an individual’s signature is the first step to either holding an election or unionizing workers through card check.
Recently, we encountered a union lying to workers by claiming their employer had a facility in another state that was unionized and the employer was hiding it from the employees. It was a lie. The employer had no union facility in that state.
Some years ago, a union organizer told a group of Hispanic (and undocumented) workers that, by signing a union authorization card, they would be getting their “work papers.” When the workers were informed that the union had lied to them, they demanded their signed cards back. Not only did the union refuse to give them their cards back, it then threatened to call immigration authorities if they did not continue supporting the union.

Occasionally, union lies make the press as happened recently. According to the Cape Cod Times, it was alleged that SEIU organizers visited night shift workers of an employer at group homes “under false pretenses, urging employees to sign a survey they were told was for Fellowship (the employer)…”

When unions have weeks, months, or longer to wage a stealth campaign of deception on workers (by design, it is often without employer knowledge), to hobble an employer’s ability to counter the union lies is an injustice. That is why ambush elections are wrong–and that’s the truth.

___________________

“Truth isn’t mean. It’s truth.”
Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)

Cross-posted on LaborUnionReport.com

The Media Dismisses Obama’s Bad Primaries

Thu, 24 May 2012 22:08:46 +0000

Tonight on the radio I’m going to talk about the media dismissing Barack Obama’s poor primary showings in a way they’d never dismiss it were it a Republican President.

Also, I’ll explain the B.S. in that CBS Marketwatch report about Obama’s spending.

You can listen live tonight on the WSB live stream and call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK.

Consider this an open thread.

Daily Links – May 24, 2012

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:45:10 +0000

Today is May 24th. On this date in 1543, astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus died in his home at the age of 70. The father of modern astronomy, Copernicus taught us that Earth was not, in fact, the center of the universe. The center of the universe is actually my wife, I’m told. Often. Also on this date, in 1844, Samuel B. Morse sent the first telegraph message. He sent “What hath God wrought?” The recipient merely replied “42″ and left it at that. On this date in 1848, the first American bicycle race was held. Freddy Mercury was particularly pleased. One hundred and twenty-nine years ago today, the Brooklyn Bridge was officially opened. Coincidentally, I recently closed a deal to sell the bridge to Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher. And finally, today is “International Tiara Day,” the one day a year when I don’t feel awkward when I wear a tiara. Consider this an Open Thread.

RNC Invites You To Join Our Victory Thursday Phone Bank | RNC
“Volunteer from home today to help the RNC keep Wisconsin red- election day is rapidly approaching and we need your help! Make just 10 calls tonight to help elected Republicans in the state of Wisconsin through our Social Victory Center Facebook app!”

Refuting MarketWatch on Obama’s spending with an infographic | Political Math
“And I’m d**n tired of picking it apart 140 characters at a time, so I put together this sarcastic infographic showing exactly how sloppy this piece really is.”

Senate Dems Want You To Pay More For TSA Groping | Big Government
“That’s right: Not only do they want the TSA to continue to be paid to interfere with your body; Senate Democrats want to interfere yet more with the contents of your wallet to cover the cost of said privacy-invasion”

Roseanne Barr: Defending S.E. Cupp is more disgusting than Photoshopping a penis in her mouth | Twitchy
“She’s such an advocate for women that she thinks defending S.E. Cupp and the rest of the conservative gender traitors is vile.”

Politico’s Gavin Whitewashes Obama Primary Embarrassments | Newsbusters
“But when a candidate running to the right of Barack Obama garners 40% of the vote in the Arkansas Dem primary, and “uncommitted” amasses an astounding 42% in Kentucky . . . crickets.”

Walker’s Reforms: Good Policy, Good Politics | NRO
“The key reasons for Walker’s superior position include a clumsy campaign against him, revelations about union pension and pay excesses that undercut labor’s argument against Walker’s ending of collective bargaining for most public-sector workers, and a Wisconsin economy that is improving more quickly than that of many states.”

Our Spending Problem in Perspective from Evan Feinberg.

badinage (bad-n-ahzh, bad-n-ij): noun; light, playful banter or raillery.

The Growth Deficit and Spending Fairy Tales

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:00:19 +0000

The United States faces a number of economic and fiscal challenges in the short and long terms. But the single biggest is the Growth Deficit: the problem of government spending and government debt growing faster than the private sector. That deficit needs to be reversed; we are on an unsustainable path unless we start producing a Growth Surplus. And Republicans and conservatives need to put more effort into emphasizing the importance of the Growth Deficit to the public.

The Obama Administration seems to recognize that this is a political vulnerability, as it has lately been spinning the notion that the last few years have not actually grown federal spending. Below the fold, I’ve collected a number of charts that illustrate why this is nonsense. But first, a word on how we should be measuring our solvency.

I. Operating Deficits and Credit Card Balances

We’re all familiar with the budget deficit, the measurement of how much more the federal government’s annual operations spend than the government takes in. I refer to this as the “operating deficit.” The operating deficit has really only one important role: it tells us how much of the government’s spending will lead to the issuance of new debt. While large operating deficits can be a symptom, they are not the real problem. Let me illustrate with a simplified example. Let’s say you have a credit card with a fairly low teaser rate, 2 or 3%. You are running a balance on that card instead of paying your bills on time, which means you’re paying a modest interest rate and the balance is accumulating. In terms of your credit card spending, you have an operating deficit – you’ve spent more than you paid back. But in this example, the amount you’re spending on the card isn’t that big compared to your income and savings. That balance may not be a great idea: eventually, you’ll have to pay it off, that could be a pain to do if you let it pile up too much, and if it goes on too long the interest rate will go up. But you don’t have a serious problem because you have the money to pay for what you’re spending, even if you aren’t paying your bills on time.

Now picture the opposite situation: you’re spending way more every month than you earn, but you’re still paying your bills each month by raiding your savings account. You don’t have a credit card balance, and thus don’t have an operating deficit – but you do have a serious problem, because you are spending more than you’re making, you’re using up your savings instead of adding to them, and sooner or later your savings will run out and you won’t be able to keep this up. You’ll be broke.

The credit card balance in these examples is the operating budget deficit – it tells you whether or not you’re paying your bills on time. But it doesn’t tell you whether you’re spending more than you (the American taxpayer) can afford.

To know whether we are spending more than we can afford, we have to compare government spending to the nation’s income (ie, the money being made by the taxpayers), not to how much of that income is being used in a given month or year to pay the bills when they come due. Sure, a big balance is often a sign that you’re spending too much – but you can’t cure that problem, long term, by raiding your life savings to pay this month’s bill. You can only fix it by bringing your spending in line with how much money you make in the first place. In the real world, that means we have to ask, not whether the government is taxing us enough to pay its bills, but whether the government is running up bills we can’t afford to pay with the money we make. The government can’t fix the problem of spending more than we can afford by taxing us to stay current on its bills; if it does, we’re just raiding the private sector’s savings and income to pay for today’s spending, depleting the money that’s left over to pay tomorrow’s bills. Over-reliance on operating deficits to measure fiscal health ignores this dimension by assuming that a government that is eating the private sector’s seed corn to pay today’s bills on time is healthier than one that is living well within a society’s means but doing so partly by issuing debt.

II. The Growth Deficit

What I’ve explained above is the overall parameters. The proper measurement, in my view, is to compare the total spending by the federal government to total private sector income, which can – depending how you look at these things – be measured by private-sector GDP or by Gross Domestic Income. Phil Kerpen, for example, makes the case for using private-sector GDP.

Economist and investment manager Rob Arnott adds another way of looking at the question, arguing that besides private sector GDP we can look at what he calls “structural GDP” – GDP minus the operating deficit. The theory for that is that including operating deficits in GDP growth figures lets the government massage the numbers:

Let’s suppose the government wants to dazzle us with 5% growth next quarter (equivalent to 20% annualized growth!). If they borrow an additional 5% of GDP in new additional debt and spend it immediately, this magnificent GDP growth is achieved! We would all see it as phony growth, sabotaging our national balance sheet – right? Maybe not. We are already borrowing and spending 2% to 3% each quarter, equivalent to 10% to 12% of GDP, and yet few observers have decried this as artificial GDP growth because we’re not accustomed to looking at the underlying GDP before deficit spending!

From this perspective, real GDP seems unreal, at best. GDP that stems from new debt – mainly deficit spending – is phony: it is debt-financed consumption, not prosperity. Isn’t GDP, after excluding net new debt obligations, a more relevant measure? Deficit spending is supposed to trigger growth in the remainder of the economy, net of deficit-financed spending, which we can call our “Structural GDP.” If Structural GDP fails to grow as a consequence of our deficits, then deficit spending has failed in its sole and singular purpose.

I’ll return to Arnott’s charts later, but one of the things that’s frustrating in evaluating this issue is that consistently collected private GDP figures over time are not that easy to come by. The BEA has them in one dataset from 1963-97 and a different method of collecting the data from 1997-2010, although the numbers appear to be reported in “current dollars.” (General note: I’m happy to hear from people who have better ways to skin this particular cat in terms of measurements). The fact that we’re not reporting a regular, widely-used and easily available private sector growth measurement is itself a symptom of the failure to popularize thinking in these terms.

Another methodological problem is that federal operating deficits tend not to get reported honestly. USA Today had a big cover story this morning on this, noting the various items (like new liabilities for entitlements) that get exempted from officially reported deficits. USA Today’s chart illustrates the impact:

A proper picture of our fiscal health would look at three variables – private sector GDP compared to spending and debt. (It would also look at state and local government spending and debt. In fact, a good deal of the explosive growth of federal spending the past several decades, in particular in the Medicaid, education and transportation areas, involves the state governments effectively borrowing money on the federal government’s low credit rating to cover their own operating deficits). That’s the balance that really matters: keeping our public spending in line with the source of income that ultimately pays for it. But it would then also track the relationship of those variables over time to see if we are headed in a positive direction (the private sector growing faster than our public obligations) or a negative one, as we are now.

That’s the problem of the Growth Deficit. We’re already spending too much of what we earn, and that in and of itself puts a crimp in the base from which we grow the private sector. But the bigger problem is that the relationship between public spending and private-sector growth has been getting worse, and is projected to get a lot worse. We have to look, over the multi-year view, at whether government spending – including things like entitlement spending and interest on debt that grow on auto-pilot – is growing faster than the private sector economy.

The picture isn’t pretty. Here is Arnott’s chart, in small format and clickable blow-out format, showing the trend since 1944 (in inflation-adjusted per capita terms) in – among other things – structural and private sector GDP (the yellowish and greenish lines, respectively), and federal outlays (the brown dotted line). Even adjusting for the fact that Arnott uses a different visual scale to measure federal receipts and outlays than to measure GDP figures, the trend of convergence between the federal outlays line and the private sector GDP line is alarming:

The larger version:

(Click to view full size)

The debt trend is not encouraging either. I don’t have comparable numbers to do a proper chart of the ratio of debt to private sector GDP, and I continue to apply Crank’s First Law of Government Financial Forecasts (i.e., they are always, always wrong), but basically every measure available shows a sharp increase over the past few years, and as Phil Klein illustrates, even the White House’s own numbers show only a slight projected decrease in the rate of debt growth from 2012:

III. Spending Fairy Tales

Enter the Obama White House and its allies, which are touting an ‘analysis’ by Rex Nutting of Marketwatch supposedly showing that spending has actually grown slower under Obama than under past presidents. James Pethokoukis explains here and here some of the reasons why this is nonsense (make sure to read both), and presents these two graphs to illustrate the real story. First, the properly illustrated rates of spending growth:

Second, the properly illustrated share of GDP – and again, this is comparing to GDP as a whole (including both tax-financed and debt-financed government spending, rather than just compared to the private sector).

(UPDATE: Brian Darling has more on exactly why the Democrats were responsible for the 2009 budget)

And note, these are for years before the new Obamacare spending entitlement and Medicaid expansion go into full effect, plus before the waves of retiring Baby Boomers start exploding the rates of spending by Social Security and Medicare. As this NY Times graphic illustrates, entitlements have been driving the real per capita growth of government for years:

But there’s more! This enormous and excellent graphic by Political Math (again, I’m indebted to the work that went into these graphics, make sure to click the links and follow for a full explanation) shows exactly how many other bits of hacktastic dishonesty had to go into that Rex Nutting analysis:

So much of our public debate over spending and debt involves numbers with, as PJ O’Rourke once put it, vapor trails of zeroes after them, and it is dreary work indeed trying to make sense of them all. But our analytical framework should remain constant: the voters need to understand exactly how large a share of private sector income is being spent by government or borrowed against by government, and whether we are growing the private sector faster or slower than the public sector. Until we start framing the issue in those terms, we are not even asking the right questions.

Ron Barber (D CAND, AZ-08) refused to say whether he’d vote for Barack Obama in November.

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:30:26 +0000

Apparently, Ron Barber – the Democrat running to replace Gabby Giffords in the AZ-08 special election – has a bit of a problem with the entire ‘Democrat’ thing: “[Republican nominee Jesse] Kelly asked Barber to declare who he’ll vote for in November for president, and Barber – although a Democrat with an incumbent president of his party – refused, saying he’s focused on his own campaign.” This is a somewhat eyebrow-raising evasion – one would think that a Democrat currently running in a Democratic-held seat with a Democrat in the White House would be less coy – and it tells us several things:

As @chucktodd noted, this is a tacit admission that the AZ-08 race is very, very close. Close enough that Barber doesn’t want people associating his name with the President’s.
And as The Madison Project noted, this is an incredibly disingenuous evasion anyway. Of course Barber will be voting for Obama. More importantly, if both he and Democrats somehow win in November Barber will also be voting for Pelosi to become Speaker of the House again. And he’ll be voting for every stupid thing on the wish list of the liberal fringe running the Democratic party right now – with one or two exceptions, solely to make it look like Barber is independent. That was what they tried to do in the 111th Congress, after all; and there’s no sign that the have Democrats learned any better.
Finally, and this is me noting this: anybody who still seriously thinks that the Obama campaign has a shot at winning Arizona should consider that the people who actually have to run in Arizona apparently have a different opinion. If Ron Barber doesn’t dare bring up Barack Obama’s name in a special election in June, what are the odds that people are going to give that name a better reception in November?

Moe Lane (crosspost)

PS: Special election is June 12. Jesse Kelly for AZ-08.

[UPDATE/PPS]: Well, that didn’t take long. Kind of futile – Barber’s original statement was made during the only debate that they’re having for the special, which means that this ‘clarification’ of his announcing Barber’s support for Obama in November probably won’t have the same legs – but then, said clarification isn’t really for Barber’s benefit. The Obama administration has a vested interest in acting as if they have a chance in Arizona; they don’t particularly have a vested interest in keeping the AZ-08 seat. They should, but they don’t.

‘Day One’ – President Romney’s first day, part two

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:30:55 +0000

The Romney Campaign is out with another positive video about what a Romney Presidency would be like “Day One, Part Two.”

In the “Part Two” video we are told that on his first day in office, President Romney will:

Announce deficit reductions, ending the Obama era of big government and helping to secure our kids’ futures.
Stand up to China on trade — demanding they play by the rules.
President Romney will begin repealing job-killing regulations that are costing the economy billions.

Last week the Romney campaign released “Day One.” In that video, we learned that President Romney would start his presidency by approving the Keystone Pipeline creating thousands of jobs, introducing tax reform to encourage job growth, and begin to replace ObamaCare.

In a written statement, the Romney campaign compares the proposed actions to be taken during the first day of a Romney presidency to more of the “same old Liberal policies” under a reelected President Obama.

More Deficits, More Government

According to the Congressional Budget Office, President Obama’s tax and spending policies will yield $6.4 trillion in deficits over the next decade — even after taking credit for reduced war costs.

More of Inaction on China

The Associated Press reports that the Obama administration continues to decline to label China a currency manipulator even after seeing recent increases in the value of the renminbi compared with the dollar. According to the Associated Press, the decision angers manufacturing groups, which have accused China of artificially holding down the value of its currency, the renminbi, to gain trade advantages.

More Job-Killing Regulations that Hurt the Economy

Obama has delayed until after the election decisions on regulating ozone levels and rear view cameras for cars. Rules still need to be written to carry out much of Obama’s signature first-term domestic policy initiatives, the healthcare overhaul and the Dodd-Frank law regulating the financial industry.

Approving the Keystone Pipeline, introducing tax reform to encourage job growth, replacing ObamaCare and demanding China play by trade rules would be a good start for any presidency.

Tom Barret’s Crime Prevention Program

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:30:06 +0000

Another Assault With "Other" In Wilwaukee, WI

Mayor Tom Barrett likes to brag that he has lowered violent crime in Milwaukee, WI. As Caleb Howe pointed out yesterday in Daily Links, Mayor Barrett currently makes this a centerpiece of his campaign against Scott Walker to become the governor of Wisconsin. He has lowered violent crime in Milwaukee. But as Erick points out, only for certain values of violent that are limited and not applicable to things like getting smacked around good and hard with a belt while tied up with duct tape.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, over 500 known cases of aggravated assault have been mischaracterized as less serious crimes. Here is an example of what the Milwaukee PD no longer considers a serious assault.

During the argument, Moss’ boyfriend broke several things in their apartment, which upset her. She took a 5-inch knife and stabbed him twice in the chest and in the back, causing lacerations and a small puncture wound.

This was described by the police as an apparent minor injury. By misclassifying the weapon as “Other” instead of describing it as a knife, the incident was kept out of the database of serious violent crimes. Therefore it statistically did not count.

Another typical incident of “kids having some fun” involved a man named “Milo” walking up to a man and striking him on the head with a crowbar. This caused a serious head wound. By changing the weapon used from crowbar to “Other”, the police could once again successfully characterize the incident as a minor assault.

Among the various weaponry classified as “Other by the Milwaukee PD, we have pool cues, screwdrivers, knives, and my personal choice from the armory known as “Other”: The Good Old, All-American 2X4. I love how the police report narrative informs us that the assailant wailed on the victim with a 2X4 “without the consent of the victim.”

The humorous aspects of this political chicanery aside, there is a severely evil side to this that stifles the laughter at this obvious attempt to hide the truth. In the sickening case of one John Sanford, charged with misdemeanor assault, we read the following.

Known actor intentionally restrained the victim, a six year old child by tying his hands and legs together with duct tape. Known actor also put duct tape over victim’s mouth. Known actor then intentionally struck the victim multiple times with a black belt all over his body while restrained and unclothed causing multiple patterned linear marks, bruising and pain all over his body without consent.

I’m the father of a young boy who turns 6 next month. Pardon me a few minutes while I enter the html rant tags.

Mayor Barrett, I assume you worship a god that loves six year old boys rather than one that accepts them as sacrifices like a Phoenician Ba’al. I assume you would take great personal umbrage (or maybe take a break from the all-important Tom Barrett Career and notice) if one of your family members were beaten 90 times with a belt because the assailant had the desire to “make him **** himself.” So unless these assumptions give you far too much credit for being a normal, loving and sapient human being instead of a self-interested, despicable, careerist reptile, you WILL do the following:

1) The police chief who thought of the brilliant idea of classifying knives, screwdrivers, crowbars and 2X4s as “Other” so that he could Roger his Aggravated Assault stats and look like Mr. Law and Order needs to be fired. Get in a (expletive deleted) time machine and fire his (expletive) yesterday, Mr. Mayor.

2) Tell the people who sell insurance, hire security, open businesses and make decisions as to where to live and send their children to school in Milwaukee that you are a lying, amoral, careerist scumbag who has deliberately misrepresented the safety of their community so that you could pad your (expletive deleted) curriculum vitae.

3) You (EXPLETIVE) WILL personally apologize to that six year old boy. If that child’s relatives would like to beat you with an “Other” until you **** yourself, you will comply. Don’t forget to thank them when you finish relieving yourself.

Oh, and best of luck with that charming career you’ve got going. That is all. End Rant.

A Closer Look at Mitt Romney’s Education Plan

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:00:25 +0000

Download audio here

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Joy Pullman, to discuss Mitt Romney’s education plan, his school choice proposal, and how he would change higher-ed.

We’re brought to you as always by Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

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The hosts and guests of Coffee and Markets speak only for ourselves, not any clients or employers.

Democrats Lie About Violent Crime to Beat Scott Walker

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:45:36 +0000

They thought it would help Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, running as the Democrat against Governor Scott Walker in the Wisconsin Recall. If the headlines said Milwaukee had lowered its violent crime rate under Barrett’s leadership, well then he must be a real leader. So that’s what the headline said. Only problem was it is a lie. Crime has not gotten better. State and local officials are demanding an audit of the Milwaukee Police Department’s crime numbers.

The Journal Sentinel found enough misreported cases in 2011 alone that violent crime would have increased 1.1% instead of falling 2.3% from the reported 2010 figures, which had their own errors.

Dozens of misclassified assaults were sent to FBI crime reporting experts, who confirmed that they should have been marked as aggravated assaults, which are counted in the city’s violent crime rate.

When even violent crime becomes a political topic to be fudged in advance of the left’s agenda, you know the situation has gone Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull bad for them. Oh, and we are at 7 of the 7 most recent polls having Scott Walker ahead of Tom Barrett.

Thanks unions for blowing all your cash and credibility in Wisconsin!

Senate GOP Appropriators Will Consume Any Rubbish Democrats Offer

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:50:21 +0000

As we’ve chronicled here in great detail over the past year, House Republicans are no pikers when it comes to conservative legislation. This is especially true when examining the records of House appropriators. Yet, even those big government types have [begrudgingly] agreed to abide by the spending and policy decisions of the House-passed budget when considering the 12 appropriations bills during committee markups.

As mediocre as some of the appropriations bills emanating from the House are to most conservatives, they are far superior to the bills going through the Senate Appropriations Committee. Those bills reflect the priorities and policies of Obama and Reid. That is to be expected. What is astounding and appalling is the fact that the Senate Republicans on that panel are exhibiting more solidarity with the Democrats than with their fellow Republicans in the House. In fact, not a single major Democrat proposal has been opposed by the bulk of Republican appropriators during the markups of the spending bills thus far.

It all started in April when the appropriators, led by Mitch McConnell, sided with Obama and Reid over House Republicans in voting for the higher topline spending figures for all the 12 bills. Now they are rubber stamping the individual expenditures and the policies established in each individual appropriations bills. First it was the Transportation-HUD and Commerce-Justice-Science bills that Ron Johnson was the only Republican on the committee to hold the line. On Tuesday, the State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee marked up the draft FY 2013 bill that funds the State Department and foreign aid programs. Here are some of the highlights:

$1.6 billion appropriation for international organizations. The bill does not include language banning funding for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which admitted the Palestinian Authority as a member last year. The House bill contains such language.
The bill contains $44.5 million for the U.N. Population Fund. The House bill banned funding and reinstated the “Mexico City Policy,” which bars funding to any international organization that promotes abortion.
Obama asked for $770 million to fund the “Arab Spring” governments in the Middle East and North Africa. The Senate bill creates a new account with $1 billion in appropriations for those anti-American “governments.” The House bill obviously contains no such provision.
To the extent that the House bill imposed sufficient restrictions on aid to Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Palestinians, the Senate bill contains no such constraints.

The Republicans on the subcommittee include Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, Mark Kirk, Roy Blunt, Dan Coats, Ron Johnson, and John Hoeven. Once again, Johnson was the lone dissenter.

There’s a little known secret in Congress that runs counter to the conventional wisdom propagated in the media. There is no problem with partisan bickering in Washington. In fact, most of the committee work resembles a bipartisan love fest, with bad bills passing by voice vote. It’s only the few major points of contention that are reported in the media.

The full committee is expected to take up the measure today at 10:30 AM. Please call those members and request that taxpayer money not be sent to nefarious foreign countries and entities or towards the funding of abortion.

Cross-posted from The Madison Project

Bomber Turned Left Wing Activist, Brett Kimberlin, Tries to Silence Conservative Opposition

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:46:00 +0000

Tip of the hat to Michelle Malkin, whose May 23 column does one of the best jobs I’ve seen of laying out the convoluted tale of a low-level Democratic activist named Brett Kimberlin and his attempts to shut down those who criticize him. She applies the “disinfectant of sunshine” to a seamy story that deserves mainstream play.

Brett Kimberlin, subject of the book Citizen K, is the Speedway Bomber. If that is not familiar to you, you might remember him as the man who claimed he sold Vice President Dan Quayle drugs. Kimberlin is also, now, decades later, a left of center activist, former Independent Music Awards Industry Judge, involved in organizations getting Tides Foundation and Heinz Family Foundation grants, and is back in the media for harassing and bullying anyone who mentions his past.

According to the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, Brett Kimberlin was convicted of a series of bombings in Speedway, Indiana, and other drug related matters. From the Court of Appeals:

Kimberlin was convicted as the so-called “Speedway Bomber,” who terrorized the city of Speedway, Indiana, by detonating a series of explosives in early September 1978. In the worst incident, Kimberlin placed one of his bombs in a gym bag, and left it in a parking lot outside Speedway High School. Carl Delong was leaving the high school football game with his wife when he attempted to pick up the bag and it exploded. The blast tore off his lower right leg and two fingers, and embedded bomb fragments in his wife’s leg. He was hospitalized for six weeks, during which he was forced to undergo nine operations to complete the amputation of his leg, reattach two fingers, repair damage to his inner ear, and remove bomb fragments from his stomach, chest, and arm. In February 1983, he committed suicide.

After being convicted of the bombings and related offenses, Kimberlin was sentenced to a fifty-year term of imprisonment for manufacturing and possessing a destructive device, and malicious damage by explosives with personal injury in violation of 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861(d) and (f), and 18 U.S.C. §§ 844(f) and (i). He received a concurrent twelve-year sentence for impersonating a federal officer, illegal use of a Department of Defense insignia, and illegal use of the Presidential Seal in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 912, 701, and 713, respectively, and a five-year term for receipt of explosives by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 842(i)(1). Finally, he was given a four-year sentence by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on an earlier, unrelated conviction for conspiracy to distribute marijuana.1

Kimberlin’s sentences were aggregated by the Bureau of Prisons and, pursuant to 28 C.F.R. § 2.5, were treated by the Commission as a single aggregate sentence of fifty-one years, six months, and nineteen days. He received an initial parole hearing by a two-person panel of the Commission on July 28, 1988.

Of late, Kimberlin’s name has surfaced because one blogger claims to have been driven from his home due to Kimberlin’s harassment. Why the harassment? Various bloggers and others have pointed out that Kimberlin runs a variety of left-wing organizations getting money from the deep pockets of the left. As the web of connections has increased, so has the harassment. Yet again, the left tries to silence dissent.

Kimberlin is involved in and founded Justice Through Music, an activist site billing itself as “Music. Politics. Activism.” He has also been involved in a group called the Velvet Revolution. Back in 2010, the Velvet Revolution spearheaded an effort to have Andrew Breitbart, Hannah Giles, and James O’Keefe prosecuted for their investigative work around ACORN.

Justice Through Music, which claims to do “voter education and registration” is a Tides Foundation grant recipient. According to Breitbart’s Big Journalism site, Justice Through Music “has received a total of over $1.3 million in public gifts and grants since 2005 for these efforts.” (See also the Justice Through Music Project 2008 Form 990-EZ)

Likewise, Velvet Revolution, started with Brad Friedman of BradBlog, received $51,000.00 in 2009 from the Tides Foundation, which also gave Media Matters for America $75,000.00 the same year.

As individual bloggers and sites like Breitbart.com have begun shedding light on Brett Kimberlin, Kimberlin has resorted to suing them.

In an email to noted conservative blogger (and prosecutor) Patterico, Kimberlin threatened to sue Patterico writing,

I have filed over a hundred lawsuits and another one will be no sweat for me. On the other hand, it will cost you a lot of time and money and for what. I run a small non profit that works to inspire youth to get involved. I have only met Brad Friedman one time in my life. Your piece is a smear job against both me and Brad.

Robert Stacey McCain has posted his intentions to go into hiding after his wife’s employer was harassed relating to McCain’s blogging about Kimberlin.

Others, including Aaron Walker, and Breitbart blogger Liberty Chick have likewise been notified of lawsuits and other harassment for pointing out Brett Kimberlin’s background and sources of funding from prominent organizations like the Tides Foundation.

As Patterico notes, back on January 24, 1995, the Washington Times posted a editorial made a point about Democratic activists rallying to Kimberlin that rings true today.

those who have befriended and promoted Kimberlin should be ashamed. Kimberlin committed a truly monstrous crime. He planted a bomb in a high school parking lot on game day -an act that was random, brutal and targeted at children. It is a testament to the viciousness of Washington politics that such a man has been embraced by some in the firmament of the Democratic establishment.

That was in 1995. In the past decade, the Tides Foundation and others have been subsidizing organizations Kimberlin helped set up for political activism, much the way Barack Obama once used foundation money to subsidize Bill Ayers. And now, when Kimberlin’s past is brought up, he has sought to silence his critics.

As Michelle Malkin points out today, “The mainstream press, not just the conservative blogosphere, needs to hear and report their stories.”

Morning Briefing for May 24, 2012

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:45:00 +0000

RedState Morning Briefing
May 24, 2012

Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.

1. Bomber Turned Left Wing Activist, Brett Kimberlin, Tries to Silence Conservative Opposition

2. Romney closes the gender gap

3. Well Thank God Nikki Haley Isn’t a Democrat Or It’d Be A Hate Crime

4. The Truly Massive ALEC Protests (Video)

———————————————————————-

1. Bomber Turned Left Wing Activist, Brett Kimberlin, Tries to Silence Conservative Opposition

According to the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, Brett Kimberlin was convicted of a series of bombings in Speedway, Indiana, and other drug related matters.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

2. Romney closes the gender gap

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds that in the last month Romney has closed his so-called gender gap from 19 to 7 percent. Last month Obama led among women 57 to 38 percent. Now that lead is down to 51 to 44 percent.

The new poll found voters would be split 49 percent for Obama and 46 percent for Romney if the November election were held now, but with regard to whom they prefer on handling the economy, Romney and Obama are tied at 47 percent. That is a 4 percent gain for Romney from last month’s Post poll.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

3. Well Thank God Nikki Haley Isn’t a Democrat Or It’d Be A Hate Crime

If you haven’t seen it yet, Newsbusters has the video of South Carolina AFL-CIO president Donna DeWitt beating the hell out of a piñata with a picture of Nikki Haley taped to it. The union crowd cheers her on.

This comes just days after Phil Bailey of the South Carolina Democratic Party called Nikki Haley a “sikh Jesus” multiple times on Twitter.

Were Nikki Haley a Democrat, the media would make this the front page story across the nation — racist tea partiers beating up the minority governor in effigy.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

4. The Truly Massive ALEC Protests (Video)

The way the media is covering the ALEC protests, you would imagine they were about as huge as the OWS protests (which were also by and large pathetically attended in comparison to the TEA Party protests but endlessly hyped by the media). Turns out, maybe not so much. Check out this video from Ben Howe about the truly massive anti-ALEC posts in Charlotte.

Please click here for the rest of the post.

English Common Law and American Law (A Digression)

Thu, 24 May 2012 07:25:38 +0000

Promoted from Diaries.

This post is based upon a comment I made on my earlier post. The person I was originally replying to was banned before I could hit send. I hadn’t intended to write this as a diary post originally, but at the suggestion of acat (and a little inkling I had while writing the comment as well), I am going to post it here with a little extra elaboration. I don’t plan on making this as thorough as Part I, but I would like to lay these things out. This isn’t my planned Part II. Rather, it is a digression to explain some things.

To help us understand the meaning of the phrase “natural born citizen” in the United States Constitution, let us look at what James Madison, who was the “author” of the work, had to say (quote is from Part I):

It is an established maxim that birth is a criterion of allegiance. Birth however derives its force sometimes from place and sometimes from parentage, but in general place is the most certain criterion; it is what applies in the United States; it will therefore be unnecessary to investigate any other.

–22 May 1789; Papers 12:179–82

Now, let us compare this meaning with two sources. The first is Emerich de Vattel’s definition from his book The Law of Nations:

“The natives, or natural-born citizens, are those born in the country, of parents who are citizens.”

The second is this passage from William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England, dated 1765:

Natural-born subjects are such as are born within the dominions of the crown of England, that is, within the ligeance, or as it is generally called, the allegiance of the king; and aliens, such as are born out of it. Allegiance is the tie, or ligamen, which binds the subject to the king, in return for that protection which the king affords the subject. The thing itself, or substantial part of it, is founded in reason and the nature of government; the name and the form are derived to us from our Gothic ancestors.

–1:354, 357–58, 361–62

If you’re like me, have eyes, are not blinder than a Texas cave salamander, and possess a brain capable of intelligent thought, you can see that Madison and Blackstone’s thoughts go very well together. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. William Blackstone is the most cited English source by the Founding Fathers, and he is third overall, behind St. Paul (secular nation–what?) and Montesquieu. The Online Liberty Fund has the list here. Emerich de Vattel comes in at a puny 29th, right below Niccolo Machiavelli (nice company there).

The Texas Cave Salamander: Blind, hard of hearing, and doesn't hold up well in sunlight. An excellent visual representation of Birthers

Tech at Night: Split decision in Google vs Oracle, Marketplace Fairness, Net Neutrality, Anonymous attacks Justice?

Thu, 24 May 2012 07:00:28 +0000

Quick hits night. Enjoy!

Google beats Oracle on the matter of patent infringement in the big Java/Android case. So the only question left is how the copyright matters will be resolved.

New York legislators want to censor the Internet? Come on guys, come on.

This isn’t tech-specific, but it’s relevant: We need regulation all around to be lessened from what we’re seeing under the power-hungry Obama administration.

Two more governors backing Marketplace Fairness Act. I hate that name, but an interstate compact to grapple with sales taxes is reasonable. add Robert Bentley of Alabama and Brian Sandoval of Nevada to the pile.

It’s the spectrum, stupid.

Remember when I said Net Neut was all about not having to pay for what you use? Yeah, I was right.

Chuck Grassley talking LightSquared again. I agree with the idea that the Obama administration looked mostly to be at fault for whatever shady was going on, but LightSquared had to cooperate. They should have demanded transparency.

Just like Net Neutrality opponents must demand transparency, even as the FCC does its best to stonewall the opposition while helping the George Soros radicals.

Of course, you know who’s demanding no support for Net Neut at all? Sprint’s owners, just like Verizon’s and AT&T’s. It’s natural. Net Neutrality is a bad deal for everyone involved.

Google completes the acquisition of Motorola Mobility. PATENT WARS just got that much more interesting.

Online anarchist terror group Anonymous attacks the DoJ. When you have to brag about the size of the data taken, I question how important it was. Web server logs perhaps?

Between Retransmission Consent and Incentive Auctions I’ve been pretty hard on broadcasters, but I support them against the latest FCC overreach, this time trying to stifle political speech in an election year.

Obama campaign spokesman bears false witness

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:15:35 +0000

Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt was caught in a deviation from the truth when asked whether anyone from the White House or the 2012 [Obama] campaign had reached out to Mayor Booker, to make him reel his words. LaBolt answered, “We did not.” When the incredulous reporter immediately gave LaBolt another chance, he doubled down on his prevarication

Shortly thereafter, Mayor Booker threw Labolt under the bus by admitting that he had spoken with the Obama campaign before he decided to “clarify” his remarks about the Obama attacks on Bain Capital.

The Republican National Committee quickly produced a video rightly taking LaBolt to task for trying to cover-up the dissension among Democrats concerning the Obama attacks on free enterprise. The video, which you can watch at Right Side Politics, sums it all up succinctly:

Dishonest Attacks, Dishonest Cover-up, The Opposite of What Obama Promised in 2008.

The Obama Campaign’s dishonesty is no surprise. We have seen such misrepresentation from Obama before. Presidential candidate Obama’s distortion of McCain’s “one hundred years” statement about the Iraq war is the most egregious example. Even as fact checker after fact checker found that Obama misrepresented what McCain said, Obama continued the distortions for weeks.

More recently, President Obama was caught bearing “false witness“as he complained about others bearing “false witness” against ObamaCare.

Perhaps worse for Obama’s reelection prospects, by this morning the list of prominent Democrat Obama supporters voicing disagreement with Obama’s attacks on private enterprise had increased to ten. In addition to Mayor Booker, Harold Ford, Don Peebles and Steven Rattner, six more Obama supporters have voiced their disagreement with the Obama attacks against Romney and Bain Capital:

Delaware Senator Chris Coons
California Senator Dianne Feinstein
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick [Video link]
Former Alabama Congressman Artur Davis
Virginia Senator Mark Warner [Video link]
Former DNC Chair and Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell [Video link]

You would be wrong to think that having made such a mess of the attacks on Bain Capital, Obama would back off. In fact Obama apparently thinks it’s important to continue the effort to discredit Romney’s competent private sector experience. Even though recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal and ABC News/Washington Post polls suggest the Bain attacks have not yet hurt Romney, some say Obama is staking his reelection on the Bain attacks. We will see.

The GPPF T-SPLOST Analysis

Wed, 23 May 2012 21:56:07 +0000

Here is the T-SPLOST analysis from the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. The GPPF is less than thrilled with the T-SPLOST (Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) and the Atlanta area T-SPLOST’s emphasis on rail. There is one graphic that stands out in my mind.

From page 19 of the report:

Atlanta and Barcelona have the same number of people and Atlanta uses 30 times the physical land area as Barcelona. In other words, rail works great in Barcelona due to population density, but not Atlanta for the same reason. Zoning in Atlanta doesn’t help the matter.

Tonight on the Erick Erickson Show, I’m going to get into this topic and also Joe Biden’s comments that the tea party is to blame for the lack of economic recovery. You can listen live tonight on the WSB live stream and call in at 1-800-WSB-TALK. The show is from 6pm to 9pm ET on the nation’s most listened to talk radio station.

Consider this an open thread.

Daily Links – May 23, 2012

Wed, 23 May 2012 17:45:21 +0000

Today is May 23rd. On this date in 1430, Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians and sold to the English, who tried her for heresy and burned her at the stake. Which once again proves my long-standing theory: don’t lead the French army and then get sold to England, because it hardly ever goes well. Also on this date in 1788, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, despite the fact that their idea for a NASCAR amendment was rejected. On this date in 1934, infamous bank-robbing couple Bonnie and Clyde were killed in a shoot-out with police. Worst. Honeymoon. Ever. And finally, today is World Turtle Day, when turtles everywhere celebrate very slowly. Consider this an Open Thread.

Free speech blogburst: Show solidarity for targeted bloggers | Michelle Malkin
“I will join and I hope you will find a way to spread word about this horrifying saga, too (it gets worse, believe me). The targeted victims — past, present, and future — will need not only media support, but sustained financial support.”

Dog Bites Man, and the New York Times Beclowns Self | Pejman Yousefzadeh
“To say that the New York Times ought to be embarrassed is to understate matters.”

I’ve made good on my promises to taxpayers | Gov. Scott Walker
“Since I took my oath of office, I have stood by my word and made good on these promises. We have helped businesses grow and in the process created more than 33,000 new jobs in Wisconsin.”

Tom Barrett’s Been Bragging About Falsified Crime Reduction Figures | Jim Geraghty
“Tom Barrett? Where do I know that name? Ah yes, he’s the Democrat challenging Scott Walker in the recall election. Say, let’s look at his campaign web site?”

Shocker: Obama WH leaked sensitive info for The Obama Is Totally Awesome blockbuster movie | Hot Air
“I know, I know … who would have ever guessed that a blockbuster film about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and was scheduled to open just before the election might have been used for political propaganda? ”

The Sound of Retreat! from Bethany

chrestomathy (kres-TOM-uh-thee): noun; A collection of selected literary passages.
(via Dictionary.com)

House Republican Women: Working for You

Wed, 23 May 2012 17:00:34 +0000

In light of the growing accusations by those on the Left that Republicans are actively waging a “War on Women,” I joined with my 23 House Republican women colleagues to launch our latest video, “House Republican Women Working for You.” To be told that our party fails to protect women is offensive. To be accused of denying access to women’s health is absurd. And to be attacked for limiting opportunities for women just like us is unwarranted. Our group of Republican women is dynamic, our members are impressive, and our mission is clear: we want to open the door of opportunity for all American women.

We are daughters who want to preserve and protect Medicare for our parents. We are mothers and grandmothers who want to eliminate the debt burden for the next generation. We are wives who run the family budgets, fill up the gas tanks, and make our families’ health care decisions. We are small business owners who understand – better than anyone – the detriments of Obama’s burdensome regulations. And as women ourselves, we refuse to let the Democrats promulgate the myth that we are waging a war on women.

As Republican women, we are uniquely positioned to promote common-sense, pro-family solutions because we know what it’s like for women all across this country. We bring fresh perspectives and efficacious solutions to the table. We are working together every day to create jobs, reduce spending, help small businesses, and put health care decisions back into the hands of the people. While our backgrounds are different, one thing is not: we are all conservative reformers – committed to leaving America better for our children and grandchildren than it was for us.

To view the video, click here.

Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) is Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference and the highest ranking Republican woman in the House. She represents Washington’s 5th Congressional District.

The Truly Massive ALEC Protests (Video)

Wed, 23 May 2012 15:30:52 +0000

I hope the ALEC member organizations are paying attention to this massive public uprising…

Dick Lugar Haunts the Free Market from the Grave

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:45:00 +0000

You might have thought that we vanquished Dick Lugar from the levers of power a few weeks ago. But if nothing is done to stop the impending 5-year Farm Bill, he might harm us with his regressive policies long past his time in Washington.

Last month, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed a 5-year farm bill that continues to serve as one of the most potent anti-free-market vehicles in the statist arsenal. There is nothing more vital to American consumers than fuel and food, yet the farm bill is loaded up with subsidies for farming, biofuels, and other inefficacious “fuel” sources that distort those markets, engendering regressive price increases on everyone. While supporters of the bill are touting the $23 billion in cuts to direct subsidies, they also plan to expand the crop insurance program. In fact, the only thing holding up the bill at this point is a food fight between different special interests battling at the trough over subsidy levels for various types of crops. The most insidious aspect of the bill is that it serves as a means to entrench dependency in some of our most conservative states.

For all the talk of acerbic partisanship in DC, nothing brings the parties together like a farm bill. As each member clamors for his/her own special interest handouts, the parties become indistinguishable; taking on a striking semblance of a same-sex marriage. The best illustration is the $800 million Lugar-Conrad amendment, which would continue to shove ethanol down our throats. On April 26, Lugar and Conrad submitted an amendment that would authorize mandatory spending for his special interest biofuels industry. The amendment passed by voice vote, and because it provides mandatory authority, the funding would not be subject to annual appropriations.

Thomas Pyle of US News and World Report has the key details of the amendment:

The Lugar-Conrad amendment includes $193 million for the troubled Biomass Crop Assistance Program. With the program, the taxpayer provides up to 50 percent of a farmer’s costs to plant and use biomass crops. This program was cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General in 2010 for having wide ranging problems with unequal or improper payments to participants, as well as issues with the inconsistent administration of program’s provisions.

The Lugar-Conrad amendment also extends $241 million in taxpayer dollars for the Rural Energy for America Program. This program provides grants and loans for farms to install renewable and energy efficient equipment at their operations. This subsidy is akin to the Obama stimulus bill’s section 1603 program, which provided the same type of financing to Solyndra prior to its bankruptcy filing.

There’s an uncomfortable question that we must deal with: how can we ever restore the free market when we have Republicans from conservative states promoting statist legislation in some of our most critical markets? How will we ever wean dependency in this nation, if it is entrenched in our red states?

Luckily, Dick Lugar will be spending more time with his family soon, but there are many more troublemakers on that committee. We need members who will stand with consumers on some of the most vital issues, not with the special interests. The battle lines are drawn on the Farm Bill. We must be ready to fight in the ensuing months.

Cross-posted from The Madison Project