This blog is mainly about the spectacular train wreck at The Sacramento Bee and its parent company, the McClatchy Company. But I also post about current events, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, politics, anything else that grabs my attention. Take a look around this blog, hope you enjoy it.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Monday November 2 -- Got news or an update?
If you have news or an update, leave it in comments. . . .
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NJ.Com Reporter Uses Offensively Childish Term 'Teabagger' 7 Times in Story (NewsBusters)[McClatchy Owned?]
To read the way Jamie Duffy of NJ.Com gleefully tossed around the crude and childish term "teabaggers" seven times in a local story about a tea party in Morristown, New Jersey, you would think she was some snarky teenage intern who enjoyed using that vulgar pejorative.
However, according to her profile, Duffy has been around a long time so she has no such excuse for her juvenile behavior in print:
Jamie Duffy is a social correspondent for The Star-Ledger and MorristownGreen.com. She lives in Morris County with her husband and two sons. She spent 10 years abroad, two in England and eight in France. She has a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Corzine campaign denies connection to man arrested on drug charges (MORE LIES AND TRASH FROM NJ.COM)
NJ.com - A Paramus man claiming to work for Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign was arrested Friday night on drug charges after police found Ecstasy tablets in his car, authorities said.
A Corzine spokeswoman said the man does not work for either the governor's campaign or the Democratic State Committee.
Jason Shih, 25, was pulled over on Route 17 by East Rutherford police around 11:30 p.m. Friday for allegedly talking on his cell phone. Police found 19 Ecstasy tablets and hundreds of small glassine bags used for distributing drugs, police spokesman Capt. William Schanel said.
Schanel said Shih told police he was an official in Corzine's campaign, and several tickets to today's rally with President Obama at Newark's Prudential Center were found in his car.
"As he's exiting the vehicle, he's stating, "It's not mine,'" Schanel said. "He just said, "I'm assistant deputy director of Gov. Corzine's campaign, and they rented this vehicle for my use.'"
Schanel said the vehicle was rented, but said it is unclear who rented it.
REAL STORY :
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ (WABC) — Jason Shih, an Assistant Deputy Director to the campaign of NJ Gov. Jon Corzine was arrested last night on drug charges.
The 7Online report said Shih was “an Assistant Deputy Director.” http://tinyurl.com/yca6uy8
Shih admitted the car was “rented by the campaign.” Shih told police he was an official in Corzine’s campaign, and several tickets to tomorrow’s rally with President Obama at Newark’s Prudential Center were found in his car.
“As he’s exiting the vehicle, he’s stating it’s not mine,” Schanel said. “He just said I’m assistant deputy director of Gov. Corzine’s campaign, and they rented this vehicle for my use.”
Records available on the website opensecrets.org show that Shih was paid $420 by the Democratic State Committee for “field consulting services” in November 2006. http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/paramus_man_claming_to_work_fo.html
Old-school corruption--House Democrats' ethics problem (The Washington Times)
Before taking control of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history."
However, with dozens of mostly Democratic lawmakers and various staff under investigation by the House's twin ethics bodies, the majority clearly values political power over clean government.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Charles B. Rangel, 20-term New York Democrat, and Defense Appropriations subcommittee Chairman Rep. John P. Murtha, 19-term Pennsylvania Democrat, are the poster children for how failed ethics cops protect old-guard lawmakers.
While under investigation by the ethics committee, they continue to hold onto power in the face of obvious signs of corruption.
Will Corzine Allies Steal the Election in New Jersey? ACORN, Dirty Tricks and Absentee Ballot Fraud (Biggovernment.com)
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is locked in the political fight of his life. With just hours left before voting, polls show a neck-and-neck race between Corzine and GOP candidate Chris Christie, with Independent candidate Chris Daggett pulling significant support.
Obama and VP Biden are making last ditch pitches for the embattled governor. But evidence is building that Corzine’s campaign may see its only salvation is in rigging the election.
The first sign is a straight-up dirty trick. Daggett’s run for office is certainly convenient for Corzine, as he will help split any anti-Corzine vote.
And, as a Corzine political appointee, one wonders if his candidacy wasn’t a set up to begin with. Now, in the final days of the campaign, it appears state democrats are paying for robo calls supporting Independent Chris Daggett. First reported here, the robo calls attack Christie (but not Corzine) and promote Daggett. At the end of the call, it is mentioned that the calls are paid for by a “project of the NJSDC.”
No idea what that acronym stands for, but New Jersey State Democratic Committee, isn’t too big of a stretch.
More interesting is the fact that the return number on the calls is the same number that was used to promote Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley’s election in closing days of the 2006 race.
More telling that the fix is in, however, is the sudden appearance of ACORN on the scene. Not by name, mind you, as their reputation is so tarnished that even New Jersey Democrats don’t want to be associated with them.
More than 3 Million Registered Voters are Dead, 12 Million More Ineligible, Analysis Finds (CNSNews.com)
Regardless of how lively an election season might be, a new study shows that more 3.3 million voters on current registration rolls across the country are dead.
Another 12.9 million remain on voter registration lists in an area where they no longer live.
The analysis was conducted by the Aristotle International Inc., a technology company specializing in political campaigns, developing software and databases for politicians.
In total that means about 8.9 percent of all registered voters fall under the category of “deadwood” voters on the rolls, the term for voters who should no longer be eligible to vote in a precinct.
Not only does this raise concerns about potential voter fraud, but from the interest of campaign consultants, ineligible or expired voters could lead to a waste of resources, said John Aristotle Phillips, CEO of Aristotle.
“Some states have bigger problems than others,” Phillips said. “With deadwood exceeding one in seven votes in some counties, candidates might as well spend a day a week campaigning in the cemetery.”
Acorn's Ally at the NLRB Obama appoints an SEIU man with ties to Blago (WSJ)
One of Big Labor's priorities in Washington is to place allies in key government jobs where they can overturn existing labor policy without battles in Congress.
This is a very good reason for the Senate to hold a hearing on the nomination of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Mr. Becker is associate general counsel at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which is most recently in the news for its close ties to Acorn, the disgraced housing shakedown operation.
President Obama nominated Mr. Becker in April to the five-member NLRB, which has the critical job of supervising union elections, investigating labor practices, and interpreting the National Labor Relations Act.
In a 1993 Minnesota Law Review article, written when he was a UCLA professor, Mr. Becker argued for rewriting current union-election rules in favor of labor. And he suggested the NLRB could do this by regulatory fiat, without a vote of Congress.
Yet now that he could soon have the power to act on this conviction, Mr. Becker won't tell Congress if this is what he still believes.
PA, Georgia, NY, Illinois STILL giving money to ACORN (Reuters)
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congress has already voted to defund the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, otherwise knows as ACORN, and the IRS and Census Bureau have severed their relationships with the organization as well.
However, ACORN, which according to their Web site maintains "more than 1,200 neighborhood chapters in about 75 cities," continues to receive taxpayer money through the states.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the nation's largest non-partisan, individual membership association of state legislators, has identified several states which provide funding for ACORN and its affiliates, including New York ($415,000), Pennsylvania ($205,000), Georgia ($104,000), and Illinois ($100,000).
Politico Allen's Idea Of 'Real Toss-up': Hoffman Ahead By 17% (NewsBusters)
When you're an MSMer, you're an MSMer all the way--even when faced with facts that might make you like, well, ridiculous . . .
Mike Allen, appearing on Morning Joe, has declared the NY-23rd race a "real toss-up" despite a new poll from a respected organization showing Doug Hoffman with a 17-point lead.
The claim by Allen, Politico's chief political correspondent's, was so absurd that, on the spot, host Joe Scarborough offered 3:1 odds to Allen and anyone else wanting to place a few kopeks on Dem Bill Owens.
Barack Obama faces triple election defeat on anniversary (telegraph.co.uk)
Republicans are confident they can score three strikes against Barack Obama in elections on Tuesday in what could be a springboard for a party revival.
Victories in the governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey and a contest for a vacant House of Representatives seat in New York would deliver a blow to Mr Obama almost exactly a year to the day since he won the presidency.
A rejection of Democrats in all three contests would be a major setback for Mr Obama because he has invested a large amount of time and personal political capital by campaigning extensively in the two governor elections.
“The percentage of taxes on GDP (in Pakistan) is among the lowest in the world... We (the United States) tax everything that moves and doesn’t move, and that’s not what we see in Pakistan,” she said.
California to withhold a bigger chunk of paychecks (LA Times)
Starting Sunday, cash-strapped California will dig deeper into the pocketbooks of wage earners -- holding back 10% more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear.
Technically, it's not a tax increase, even though it may feel like one when your next paycheck arrives.
As part of a bundle of budget patches adopted in the summer, the state is taking more money now in withholding, even though workers' annual tax bills won't change.
Think of it as a forced, interest-free loan: You'll be repaid any extra withholding in April.
Royal Bank of Scotland to be 84% nationalised (Sunday Times)
Alistair Darling is preparing to plough billions more of taxpayers’ money into Royal Bank of Scotland to take the government stake in the bank from 70% to as high as 84% A Treasury announcement this week will confirm RBS is signing up to a controversial deal to pump £270 billion of problematic loans into a state-backed insurance scheme.
Michael Caine switches allegiance to Conservatives (too much crime in UK)Telegraph
British film icon Sir Michael Caine has abandoned his support of the Labour party and announced he will vote Conservative at the next general election.
Michael Caine as Harry Brown The actor, 76, a former Labour supporter, condemned the “terrible state” that has been allowed to develop in Britain and said he planned to change his allegiance at the next election.
For his latest film, Harry Brown, about violence on Britain’s streets, Sir Michael spent time with a gang from a tough inner London estate, who were hired as extras.
He told a Sunday newspaper: “It's a big problem. The country is getting more and more violent and this film is a wake-up call, a warning to us all.
Geithner: The Deficit Is Gigantic, But We'll Deal With It Another Time (The Business Insider)
On Meet The Press, Tim Geithner acknowledged the monster deficit, and said it had to be dealt with... but that was really a problem to be solved at some point down the road.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledges the federal budget deficit is too high, but that the priorities now are economic growth and job creation(?).
Asked repeatedly on NBC's "Meet the Press" whether this means taxes will rise, Geithner avoided giving specifics.
He did say President Barack Obama is committed to dealing with deficit in a way that will not add to the tax burden of people making less than $250,000 a year.
The White House has not decided how to reduce the red ink, Geithner said in an interview broadcast Sunday.
"Right now we're focused on getting growth back on track," he said. "And we're not at the point yet where we have to decide exactly what it's going to take."
That’s Weird?...NY Times Now Thinks Commies Are Bad, or Something (GatewayPundit)
That private meeting at the White House with far left propagandists already paid off for Barack Obama.
Obama-lackey Frank Rich hit the keyboard immediately after the pep rally and released this hit piece on conservatives today comparing them to communist mass murderer Joseph Stalin.
(In his article)Of course, Rich drops the “teabagger” line later in his post as well, as if he doesn’t know its a nasty slang word for a sex act.
But, as Ed Driscoll noted, Rich’s attack is a bit confusing considering it comes from the NY Times.
After all, the ‘paper of record’ published 13 glowing reports on Joseph Stalin’s wonderful achievements in the 1930’s as millions of Ukrainians starved to death.
But a paradox emerges: does Rich consider “Stalinist” a good or a bad thing? From Duranty copping a Pulitzer by shilling for Uncle Joe himself, to Pinch Sulzberger backing the NVA because “It’s the other guy’s country” to, just last month, Thomas Friedman pining for Communist China, it’s certainly hard to tell.
Is the NY Times suddenly making a stand against socialism?...With Barack Obama in the White House?
Last week, Patterico posted a chart that shows a significant decline in newspaper circulation over the past 20 years. A recent Rasmussen poll suggests a reason for some of the decline:
“A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 85% of U.S. voters trust their own judgment more than the average reporter when it comes to the important issues affecting the nation.
Only four percent (4%) trust the average reporter more. Eleven percent (11%) aren’t sure.”
One reason people don’t trust reporters is that, when it comes to elections, they believe reporters try to slant the news to fit their political goals:
“Two-out-of-three voters (67%) say most reporters when covering a political campaign try to help the candidate they want to win.
Just 21% say most reporters try to offer unbiased coverage. These findings are identical to those found throughout last fall’s presidential campaign.
Just before last November’s election, for example, 68% of voters said most reporters try to help the candidate they want to win, and 51% believed they were trying to help Democrat Barack Obama. Just seven percent (7%) thought they were trying to help his Republican opponent, John McCain.”
Of particular significance is the visit by ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson who met with White House political director Patrick Gaspard in March. The purpose of the meeting with Gaspard, a former ACORN employee himself, was not disclosed.
Levenson, who is also a registered lobbyist for New York ACORN, is the charming fellow whom Glenn Beck threw off his set May 6 for calling the TV host a racist. He's been helping to coordinate ACORN's public disinformation strategy which relies heavily on lies and misdirection.
It is worth noting that Levenson's visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue wouldn't in itself be untoward except that Obama claims -- unconvincingly -- to be out of the loop regarding ACORN.
After the undercover prostitution sting videos first surfaced in September the American public began to realize that ACORN is a vast criminal conspiracy whose reach extends to the highest levels of the U.S. government.
Obama said at the time he was barely aware of ACORN's problems. "This is not the biggest issue facing the country. It's not something I'm paying a lot of attention to," he told ABC's George Stephanopoulos.
...Two of ACORN's most important financial backers also visited the White House.
Radical billionaire George Soros, who funds ACORN through his Open Society Institute, visited the White House four times this year.
Soros acolyte Gara LaMarche, president of the Atlantic Philanthropies, dropped by the executive mansion twice.
LaMarche's Bermuda-based charity has pumped $25 million into an ACORN front group called Health Care for America Now (HCAN) that is pushing for socialist healthcare.
Democrat Strategist On Fox Complains About Being Ganged Up On (NewsBusters)
This can't possibly be a proud moment for Democrat strategist Steve Murphy.
Appearing on the Fox News Channel with host Jamie Colby Wallack and political analyst Angela McGlowan on Sunday, Murphy actually complained, "It's tough debating two folks here...Two against one, not fair and balanced."
It's tough debating two folks here...Two against one, not fair and balanced.
Just imagine if every time an outnumbered conservative appearing on any mainstream political talk show used that as an excuse for losing a debate.
Nice job, Steve. Please don't show that video to your kids until they're A LOT older.
Jeremiah Wright at his scary best, AGAIN! See the video and comments. The corrupt 'Fringe' media will not report on these telling remarks. --- -Controversial New Video of Obama’s Pastor- Accuracy in Media by Cliff Kincaid
A new video of Jeremiah Wright has surfaced, showing Barack Obama's pastor of 20 years praising Marxism and discussing his ties to communists in El Salvador and Nicaragua and the Libyan government. Equally important, Wright is being introduced in the video by Robert W. McChesney, co-founder of Free Press, an organization which has come under scrutiny for its links to the Obama Administration...
PHILADELPHIA — The Yankees were so different nine years ago, when they won their last World Series, so different and yet somehow the same. They revolve now around a constellation of imported superstars with extravagant contracts, primarily Alex Rodriguez. But their grinding ethos is unchanged.
A two-out, three-run, ninth-inning rally in Game 4 of the World Series on Sunday night has brought the Yankees to the edge of a title. They ripped the heart from the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies in a 7-4 victory at Citizens Bank Park, taking a three-games-to-one lead in the World Series.
“This is a team that is hard to keep down,” General Manager Brian Cashman said. “They keep coming and keep coming. The Phillies are the same way. That’s one thing we know: they are just as tough. But we’re proud that we have the same character.”
A. J. Burnett will face the Phillies’ ace, Cliff Lee, in Game 5 on Monday. This is the ninth time the Yankees have taken a 3-1 lead in the World Series, and they won the previous eight.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 27% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President.
Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -13 (see trends).
Following release of the House health care plan by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 42% of voters now support the Congressional effort while 54% are opposed.
Tricia Lyons, a candidate for Toledo City Council, said Wednesday she was quitting her campaign for council because of the demands from a business that she started. Ms. Lyons, an independent who helped organize the conservative coalition Teamwork Toledo and the April 15 Tea Party rally held in International Park, finished among the top 12 in the Sept. 15 primary elections and is on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
"I'm really overwhelmed right now and I could not focus on the job I would be required to do for Toledo City Council," Ms. Lyons said.
Linda Howe, Lucas County elections director, said it's too late to remove a name from the ballot or to add the name of the 13th place finisher, Mark Clark, to the ballot. She said that, in the past, signs have been posted at polling places informing voters when candidates have withdrawn.
Ms. Lyons said that she was discouraged by the lack of voter interest in the election and that she has no realistic chance of moving up from 10th position in the primary to become one of the top six who will win seats Nov. 3.
And she said that the combination of her job as an account executive for an auto parts supplier and a new business marketing gourmet sea salts have made it impossible for her to campaign, or to function as a councilman if she was elected.
David Cavazos has been named the new Phoenix city manager and will begin his new responsibilities Friday, Nov. 6. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and the City Council met at Phoenix City Hall in an executive session to consider the selection of, and interview finalists for, the position of city manager. Cavazos, 49, is the first Hispanic to hold the job. He joined the city in 1987 as a management intern and was economic-development manager from 1991 to 1997. From 1998 to 2000, he served as deputy director of the Aviation Department and later the assistant Aviation director from 2001 to 2003. Cavazos served as acting Aviation director from 2004 to 2005, with his most recent position as deputy city manager.
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NJ.Com Reporter Uses Offensively Childish Term 'Teabagger' 7 Times in Story (NewsBusters)[McClatchy Owned?]
To read the way Jamie Duffy of NJ.Com gleefully tossed around the crude and childish term "teabaggers" seven times in a local story about a tea party in Morristown, New Jersey, you would think she was some snarky teenage intern who enjoyed using that vulgar pejorative.
However, according to her profile, Duffy has been around a long time so she has no such excuse for her juvenile behavior in print:
Jamie Duffy is a social correspondent for The Star-Ledger and MorristownGreen.com. She lives in Morris County with her husband and two sons. She spent 10 years abroad, two in England and eight in France. She has a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Corzine campaign denies connection to man arrested on drug charges (MORE LIES AND TRASH FROM NJ.COM)
NJ.com - A Paramus man claiming to work for Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign was arrested Friday night on drug charges after police found Ecstasy tablets in his car, authorities said.
A Corzine spokeswoman said the man does not work for either the governor's campaign or the Democratic State Committee.
Jason Shih, 25, was pulled over on Route 17 by East Rutherford police around 11:30 p.m. Friday for allegedly talking on his cell phone. Police found 19 Ecstasy tablets and hundreds of small glassine bags used for distributing drugs, police spokesman Capt. William Schanel said.
Schanel said Shih told police he was an official in Corzine's campaign, and several tickets to today's rally with President Obama at Newark's Prudential Center were found in his car.
"As he's exiting the vehicle, he's stating, "It's not mine,'" Schanel said. "He just said, "I'm assistant deputy director of Gov. Corzine's campaign, and they rented this vehicle for my use.'"
Schanel said the vehicle was rented, but said it is unclear who rented it.
REAL STORY :
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ (WABC) — Jason Shih, an Assistant Deputy Director to the campaign of NJ Gov. Jon Corzine was arrested last night on drug charges.
The 7Online report said Shih was “an Assistant Deputy Director.”
http://tinyurl.com/yca6uy8
Shih admitted the car was “rented by the campaign.” Shih told police he was an official in Corzine’s campaign, and several tickets to tomorrow’s rally with President Obama at Newark’s Prudential Center were found in his car.
“As he’s exiting the vehicle, he’s stating it’s not mine,” Schanel said. “He just said I’m assistant deputy director of Gov. Corzine’s campaign, and they rented this vehicle for my use.”
Records available on the website opensecrets.org show that Shih was paid $420 by the Democratic State Committee for “field consulting services” in November 2006.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/paramus_man_claming_to_work_fo.html
Old-school corruption--House Democrats' ethics problem (The Washington Times)
Before taking control of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history."
However, with dozens of mostly Democratic lawmakers and various staff under investigation by the House's twin ethics bodies, the majority clearly values political power over clean government.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Charles B. Rangel, 20-term New York Democrat, and Defense Appropriations subcommittee Chairman Rep. John P. Murtha, 19-term Pennsylvania Democrat, are the poster children for how failed ethics cops protect old-guard lawmakers.
While under investigation by the ethics committee, they continue to hold onto power in the face of obvious signs of corruption.
SEIU’s Stern Tops White House Visitor List (WSJ)
Promising “transparency like you’ve never seen before,” The White House released its visitor log this evening under a new voluntary disclosure policy.
The log chronicles 481 visits to the White House from individuals ranging from Jay-Z to Bill Gates from January through July.
The list includes William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Michael Moore, Robert Kelly (R. Kelly), Malik Shabazz, and Michael Jordan.
Will Corzine Allies Steal the Election in New Jersey? ACORN, Dirty Tricks and Absentee Ballot Fraud (Biggovernment.com)
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is locked in the political fight of his life. With just hours left before voting, polls show a neck-and-neck race between Corzine and GOP candidate Chris Christie, with Independent candidate Chris Daggett pulling significant support.
Obama and VP Biden are making last ditch pitches for the embattled governor. But evidence is building that Corzine’s campaign may see its only salvation is in rigging the election.
The first sign is a straight-up dirty trick. Daggett’s run for office is certainly convenient for Corzine, as he will help split any anti-Corzine vote.
And, as a Corzine political appointee, one wonders if his candidacy wasn’t a set up to begin with. Now, in the final days of the campaign, it appears state democrats are paying for robo calls supporting Independent Chris Daggett. First reported here, the robo calls attack Christie (but not Corzine) and promote Daggett. At the end of the call, it is mentioned that the calls are paid for by a “project of the NJSDC.”
No idea what that acronym stands for, but New Jersey State Democratic Committee, isn’t too big of a stretch.
More interesting is the fact that the return number on the calls is the same number that was used to promote Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley’s election in closing days of the 2006 race.
More telling that the fix is in, however, is the sudden appearance of ACORN on the scene. Not by name, mind you, as their reputation is so tarnished that even New Jersey Democrats don’t want to be associated with them.
More than 3 Million Registered Voters are Dead, 12 Million More Ineligible, Analysis Finds (CNSNews.com)
Regardless of how lively an election season might be, a new study shows that more 3.3 million voters on current registration rolls across the country are dead.
Another 12.9 million remain on voter registration lists in an area where they no longer live.
The analysis was conducted by the Aristotle International Inc., a technology company specializing in political campaigns, developing software and databases for politicians.
In total that means about 8.9 percent of all registered voters fall under the category of “deadwood” voters on the rolls, the term for voters who should no longer be eligible to vote in a precinct.
Not only does this raise concerns about potential voter fraud, but from the interest of campaign consultants, ineligible or expired voters could lead to a waste of resources, said John Aristotle Phillips, CEO of Aristotle.
“Some states have bigger problems than others,” Phillips said. “With deadwood exceeding one in seven votes in some counties, candidates might as well spend a day a week campaigning in the cemetery.”
Acorn's Ally at the NLRB Obama appoints an SEIU man with ties to Blago (WSJ)
One of Big Labor's priorities in Washington is to place allies in key government jobs where they can overturn existing labor policy without battles in Congress.
This is a very good reason for the Senate to hold a hearing on the nomination of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Mr. Becker is associate general counsel at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which is most recently in the news for its close ties to Acorn, the disgraced housing shakedown operation.
President Obama nominated Mr. Becker in April to the five-member NLRB, which has the critical job of supervising union elections, investigating labor practices, and interpreting the National Labor Relations Act.
In a 1993 Minnesota Law Review article, written when he was a UCLA professor, Mr. Becker argued for rewriting current union-election rules in favor of labor. And he suggested the NLRB could do this by regulatory fiat, without a vote of Congress.
Yet now that he could soon have the power to act on this conviction, Mr. Becker won't tell Congress if this is what he still believes.
PA, Georgia, NY, Illinois STILL giving money to ACORN (Reuters)
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congress has already voted to defund the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, otherwise knows as ACORN, and the IRS and Census Bureau have severed their relationships with the organization as well.
However, ACORN, which according to their Web site maintains "more than 1,200 neighborhood chapters in about 75 cities," continues to receive taxpayer money through the states.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the nation's largest non-partisan, individual membership association of state legislators, has identified several states which provide funding for ACORN and its affiliates, including New York ($415,000), Pennsylvania ($205,000), Georgia ($104,000), and Illinois ($100,000).
Politico Allen's Idea Of 'Real Toss-up': Hoffman Ahead By 17% (NewsBusters)
When you're an MSMer, you're an MSMer all the way--even when faced with facts that might make you like, well, ridiculous . . .
Mike Allen, appearing on Morning Joe, has declared the NY-23rd race a "real toss-up" despite a new poll from a respected organization showing Doug Hoffman with a 17-point lead.
The claim by Allen, Politico's chief political correspondent's, was so absurd that, on the spot, host Joe Scarborough offered 3:1 odds to Allen and anyone else wanting to place a few kopeks on Dem Bill Owens.
Barack Obama faces triple election defeat on anniversary (telegraph.co.uk)
Republicans are confident they can score three strikes against Barack Obama in elections on Tuesday in what could be a springboard for a party revival.
Victories in the governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey and a contest for a vacant House of Representatives seat in New York would deliver a blow to Mr Obama almost exactly a year to the day since he won the presidency.
A rejection of Democrats in all three contests would be a major setback for Mr Obama because he has invested a large amount of time and personal political capital by campaigning extensively in the two governor elections.
Hillary's tax philosophy.
(Daily Times)
“The percentage of taxes on GDP (in Pakistan) is among the lowest in the world... We (the United States) tax everything that moves and doesn’t move, and that’s not what we see in Pakistan,” she said.
California to withhold a bigger chunk of paychecks (LA Times)
Starting Sunday, cash-strapped California will dig deeper into the pocketbooks of wage earners -- holding back 10% more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear.
Technically, it's not a tax increase, even though it may feel like one when your next paycheck arrives.
As part of a bundle of budget patches adopted in the summer, the state is taking more money now in withholding, even though workers' annual tax bills won't change.
Think of it as a forced, interest-free loan: You'll be repaid any extra withholding in April.
Royal Bank of Scotland to be 84% nationalised (Sunday Times)
Alistair Darling is preparing to plough billions more of taxpayers’ money into Royal Bank of Scotland to take the government stake in the bank from 70% to as high as 84%
A Treasury announcement this week will confirm RBS is signing up to a controversial deal to pump £270 billion of problematic loans into a state-backed insurance scheme.
Michael Caine switches allegiance to Conservatives (too much crime in UK)Telegraph
British film icon Sir Michael Caine has abandoned his support of the Labour party and announced he will vote Conservative at the next general election.
Michael Caine as Harry Brown
The actor, 76, a former Labour supporter, condemned the “terrible state” that has been allowed to develop in Britain and said he planned to change his allegiance at the next election.
For his latest film, Harry Brown, about violence on Britain’s streets, Sir Michael spent time with a gang from a tough inner London estate, who were hired as extras.
He told a Sunday newspaper: “It's a big problem. The country is getting more and more violent and this film is a wake-up call, a warning to us all.
Geithner: The Deficit Is Gigantic, But We'll Deal With It Another Time
(The Business Insider)
On Meet The Press, Tim Geithner acknowledged the monster deficit, and said it had to be dealt with... but that was really a problem to be solved at some point down the road.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledges the federal budget deficit is too high, but that the priorities now are economic growth and job creation(?).
Asked repeatedly on NBC's "Meet the Press" whether this means taxes will rise, Geithner avoided giving specifics.
He did say President Barack Obama is committed to dealing with deficit in a way that will not add to the tax burden of people making less than $250,000 a year.
The White House has not decided how to reduce the red ink, Geithner said in an interview broadcast Sunday.
"Right now we're focused on getting growth back on track," he said. "And we're not at the point yet where we have to decide exactly what it's going to take."
That’s Weird?...NY Times Now Thinks Commies Are Bad, or Something (GatewayPundit)
That private meeting at the White House with far left propagandists already paid off for Barack Obama.
Obama-lackey Frank Rich hit the keyboard immediately after the pep rally and released this hit piece on conservatives today comparing them to communist mass murderer Joseph Stalin.
(In his article)Of course, Rich drops the “teabagger” line later in his post as well, as if he doesn’t know its a nasty slang word for a sex act.
But, as Ed Driscoll noted, Rich’s attack is a bit confusing considering it comes from the NY Times.
After all, the ‘paper of record’ published 13 glowing reports on Joseph Stalin’s wonderful achievements in the 1930’s as millions of Ukrainians starved to death.
But a paradox emerges: does Rich consider “Stalinist” a good or a bad thing? From Duranty copping a Pulitzer by shilling for Uncle Joe himself, to Pinch Sulzberger backing the NVA because “It’s the other guy’s country” to, just last month, Thomas Friedman pining for Communist China, it’s certainly hard to tell.
Is the NY Times suddenly making a stand against socialism?...With Barack Obama in the White House?
Why is Newspaper Circulation Down?
(PATTERICO)
Last week, Patterico posted a chart that shows a significant decline in newspaper circulation over the past 20 years. A recent Rasmussen poll suggests a reason for some of the decline:
“A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 85% of U.S. voters trust their own judgment more than the average reporter when it comes to the important issues affecting the nation.
Only four percent (4%) trust the average reporter more. Eleven percent (11%) aren’t sure.”
One reason people don’t trust reporters is that, when it comes to elections, they believe reporters try to slant the news to fit their political goals:
“Two-out-of-three voters (67%) say most reporters when covering a political campaign try to help the candidate they want to win.
Just 21% say most reporters try to offer unbiased coverage. These findings are identical to those found throughout last fall’s presidential campaign.
Just before last November’s election, for example, 68% of voters said most reporters try to help the candidate they want to win, and 51% believed they were trying to help Democrat Barack Obama. Just seven percent (7%) thought they were trying to help his Republican opponent, John McCain.”
ACORN at the White House (American Spectator)
Of particular significance is the visit by ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson who met with White House political director Patrick Gaspard in March. The purpose of the meeting with Gaspard, a former ACORN employee himself, was not disclosed.
Levenson, who is also a registered lobbyist for New York ACORN, is the charming fellow whom Glenn Beck threw off his set May 6 for calling the TV host a racist. He's been helping to coordinate ACORN's public disinformation strategy which relies heavily on lies and misdirection.
It is worth noting that Levenson's visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue wouldn't in itself be untoward except that Obama claims -- unconvincingly -- to be out of the loop regarding ACORN.
After the undercover prostitution sting videos first surfaced in September the American public began to realize that ACORN is a vast criminal conspiracy whose reach extends to the highest levels of the U.S. government.
Obama said at the time he was barely aware of ACORN's problems. "This is not the biggest issue facing the country. It's not something I'm paying a lot of attention to," he told ABC's George Stephanopoulos.
...Two of ACORN's most important financial backers also visited the White House.
Radical billionaire George Soros, who funds ACORN through his Open Society Institute, visited the White House four times this year.
Soros acolyte Gara LaMarche, president of the Atlantic Philanthropies, dropped by the executive mansion twice.
LaMarche's Bermuda-based charity has pumped $25 million into an ACORN front group called Health Care for America Now (HCAN) that is pushing for socialist healthcare.
Democrat Strategist On Fox Complains About Being Ganged Up On
(NewsBusters)
This can't possibly be a proud moment for Democrat strategist Steve Murphy.
Appearing on the Fox News Channel with host Jamie Colby Wallack and political analyst Angela McGlowan on Sunday, Murphy actually complained, "It's tough debating two folks here...Two against one, not fair and balanced."
It's tough debating two folks here...Two against one, not fair and balanced.
Just imagine if every time an outnumbered conservative appearing on any mainstream political talk show used that as an excuse for losing a debate.
Nice job, Steve. Please don't show that video to your kids until they're A LOT older.
Jeremiah Wright at his scary best, AGAIN! See the video and comments. The corrupt 'Fringe' media will not report on these telling remarks.
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-Controversial New Video of Obama’s Pastor-
Accuracy in Media
by Cliff Kincaid
A new video of Jeremiah Wright has surfaced, showing Barack Obama's pastor of 20 years praising Marxism and discussing his ties to communists in El Salvador and Nicaragua and the Libyan government. Equally important, Wright is being introduced in the video by Robert W. McChesney, co-founder of Free Press, an organization which has come under scrutiny for its links to the Obama Administration...
http://www.aim.org/aim-column/controversial-new-video-of-obamas-pastor/
(NYT)
PHILADELPHIA — The Yankees were so different nine years ago, when they won their last World Series, so different and yet somehow the same. They revolve now around a constellation of imported superstars with extravagant contracts, primarily Alex Rodriguez. But their grinding ethos is unchanged.
A two-out, three-run, ninth-inning rally in Game 4 of the World Series on Sunday night has brought the Yankees to the edge of a title. They ripped the heart from the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies in a 7-4 victory at Citizens Bank Park, taking a three-games-to-one lead in the World Series.
“This is a team that is hard to keep down,” General Manager Brian Cashman said. “They keep coming and keep coming. The Phillies are the same way. That’s one thing we know: they are just as tough. But we’re proud that we have the same character.”
A. J. Burnett will face the Phillies’ ace, Cliff Lee, in Game 5 on Monday. This is the ninth time the Yankees have taken a 3-1 lead in the World Series, and they won the previous eight.
Daily Presidential Tracking Poll (-13)
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 27% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President.
Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -13 (see trends).
Following release of the House health care plan by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 42% of voters now support the Congressional effort while 54% are opposed.
(Toledo Blade)
Tricia Lyons, a candidate for Toledo City Council, said Wednesday she was quitting her campaign for council because of the demands from a business that she started.
Ms. Lyons, an independent who helped organize the conservative coalition Teamwork Toledo and the April 15 Tea Party rally held in International Park, finished among the top 12 in the Sept. 15 primary elections and is on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
"I'm really overwhelmed right now and I could not focus on the job I would be required to do for Toledo City Council," Ms. Lyons said.
Linda Howe, Lucas County elections director, said it's too late to remove a name from the ballot or to add the name of the 13th place finisher, Mark Clark, to the ballot. She said that, in the past, signs have been posted at polling places informing voters when candidates have withdrawn.
Ms. Lyons said that she was discouraged by the lack of voter interest in the election and that she has no realistic chance of moving up from 10th position in the primary to become one of the top six who will win seats Nov. 3.
And she said that the combination of her job as an account executive for an auto parts supplier and a new business marketing gourmet sea salts have made it impossible for her to campaign, or to function as a councilman if she was elected.
(KPHO)
David Cavazos has been named the new Phoenix city manager and will begin his new responsibilities Friday, Nov. 6.
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and the City Council met at Phoenix City Hall in an executive session to consider the selection of, and interview finalists for, the position of city manager.
Cavazos, 49, is the first Hispanic to hold the job.
He joined the city in 1987 as a management intern and was economic-development manager from 1991 to 1997. From 1998 to 2000, he served as deputy director of the Aviation Department and later the assistant Aviation director from 2001 to 2003.
Cavazos served as acting Aviation director from 2004 to 2005, with his most recent position as deputy city manager.
The Fresno Bee lays off all of the metro circulation employees, 51 people lose their jobs starting 12/28/09. Going to "super agents".
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