Summer Jobs for Students – FIGHT THE TEA PARTY

The Democratic National Party recruits students for JOBS that will promote their progressive agenda this summer.  Not only that, this will lay their framework for the 2012 election.  I know we are UNPAID volunteers  and we WORK everyday, but we must be talking to our neighbors as well to counteract this push.  Education is the key!

http://www.grassrootscampaigns.org/jobs.php

Republic vs Democracy

I can’t link this video here.  Please click on the link to vodpod in the third column to view video.

 

Republic vs Democracy, posted with vodpod

 

ACLU, Muslim Group Sue FBI Over Surveillance

Why do we need the Patriot Act?

Published February 23, 2011

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — A former FBI informant who infiltrated a California mosque violated the constitutional rights of Muslims by conducting “indiscriminate surveillance” because of their religion, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles was filed by the ACLU of Southern California and the Los Angeles office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. It named the FBI and seven of its agents and supervisors, the Washington Post reported.

The lawsuit alleges ex-FBI informant Craig Monteilh was ordered by his supervisors to target Muslims for surveillance, violating their First Amendment right to freedom of religion. The lawsuit seeks class-action status, unspecified damages and a court order instructing the FBI to destroy or return the information Monteilh collected.

Monteilh infiltrated an Orange County mosque and helped build a case against an Afghan-born man who was arrested on terrorism-related charges in 2009.

The lawsuit claims that Monteilh’s handlers, FBI agents Kevin Armstrong and Paul Allen, instructed him to collect e-mail addresses, phone numbers and other detailed information about Muslims and “explicitly told Monteilh that Islam was a threat to America’s national security,” according to the Post.

Through an FBI spokeswoman, the two agents declined to comment to the newspaper.

In an e-mail to The Associated Press, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said she could not comment on assertions made in the lawsuit or pending litigation, but she emphasized that the FBI does not target religious groups or individuals based on their religion.

“FBI agents do not direct others to break the law or to conduct activity outside the authority granted them under the United States Constitution,” Eimiller said.

The agency “does not investigate houses of worship or religious groups, but people who are alleged to be involved in criminal activity, regardless of their affiliations,” she added.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/02/23/aclu-muslim-group-sue-fbi-surveillance/#ixzz1FD0w4Ot5

EPA Land Grab

The EPA’s War on the Constitution and Property Rights.

EPA Land Grab, posted with vodpod

Wisconsin employees stripped of rights? By: Rob Wagner

   The din in Wisconsin is being heard round the country as state senators flee their tyrannical governor, and the people

rise up in popular support of freedoms long held dear.  Or is that really the way it is after all?  Consider the following

facts:

 

   Fact #1: Forced unionism is unfair to individuals

 

     What other organization or entity in the United States has the right to force an individual to become a member

thereof and to charge those members for the privilege?  The budget bill under consideration in Wisconsin would

liberate most state employees from being forced, as a condition of employment, to join a union and pay union

dues.  Percy Greaves Jr. states, “[L]abor unionism, as now practiced, is not only the enemy of employers, investors

and consumers, but it is primarily the enemy of competent job seekers who, as a result of union action, must remain

underpaid or unemployed.”

 

     Sources: “Wisconsin Close to Repealing Monopoly Bargaining”, Greg Mourad, National Right to Work Committee

     http://www.nrtwc.org/wisconsin-close-to-repealing-monopoly-bargaining/

     Feb 22, 2011

 

     “On Labor Unions”, Percy L. Greaves, Jr., The Freeman

     http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/on-labor-unions/

     Feb 24, 2011

 

   Fact #2: Granting special privileges to unions produces unfair monopolies

 

     State employee unions may command 80 to 100% of market share, and currently in Wisconsin they are given

special privileges not available to other collective service or labor entities found in the private market.  This sort of

unfair advantage tends to foster monopoly power – and monopoly power drives up costs, and decreases competition

and product quality.  Employees are no longer hired on the basis of personal qualifications but by union rules

that result in under-qualified and under-motivated employees.

 

     Sources: “Unions and Collective Bargaining Must be Abolished”, “SharpShtik”, National Right to Work – Blog Comment 

     http://www.nrtw.org/en/blog/new-right-work-podcast-mark-mix-talks-wiscons

     Feb 22, 2011

 

     “Extra, Extra! Teacher union rules hurt kids – poor kids especially”, Matthew Ladner, Goldwater Institute

     http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/article/5488

     Feb 24, 2011

 

     “Chopra on the Chopping Block”, Thomas C. Patterson, Goldwater Institute

     http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/article/1979

     Feb 24, 2011

 

   Fact #3: Many unions do not adequately represent their members

 

    In a nationwide poll of 760 union members in October 2010, it was found that 60% opposed the political expenditures

of union dues in the 2010 elections.  Moreover, 59% said they would vote to replace their union leadership

if allowed to vote by secret ballot.  Eighty (yes, 80) percent of respondents favor voluntary union membership and dues

collection.

 

     Source: “Poll: Union Members Overwhelmingly Oppose Union Boss Political Spending on 2010 Midterm Elections”,

     National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc.

     http://www.nrtw.org/en/press/2010/11/luntz-union-member-poll-11012010

     Feb 22, 2011

 

Additional Reading:

    “Unions on the Run”, Charles W. Baird, The Freeman

     http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/the-pursuit-of-happiness-unions-on-the-run/

 

 

   Fact #4:  Forced unionism is economically unproductive

 

     The National Institute for Labor Relations Research has published a fact sheet detailing various measures of

economic well-being and progress between states with laws that enforce forced unionism, and those with laws

that protect an individual right to work.  Here are a few of the statistics:

 

Percentage Growth in Real Personal Income 1999 – 2009

     Right to Work States - 28.3%

     Forced-Unionism States – 14.7%

 

Growth in the Number of People Aged 25+ Who Have Completed a Bachelor’s Degree 2000 – 2009

     Right to Work States – 31.8%

     Forced Unionism States – 24.0%

 

Welfare (TANF) Recipients Per Thousand Residents – 2009 Calendar Year Average

     Right to Work States – 7.6

     Forced Unionism States – 17.3

 

Percentage Growth in the Number of People Covered by Any Form of Private Health Insurance 1999 – 2009

     Right to Work States       +1.0%

     Forced Unionism States    -5.7%

 

     Another study, by economist Richard Vedder, found that from 2000 to 2008 forced unionism states lost over

four and a half million people to right to work states.

 

     Sources: NILRR Fact Sheet, National Institute for Labor Relations Research,

     http://www.nilrr.org/files/NILRR%20FACT%20SHEET%20RTW%20States%20Benefit%202010.pdf

     Feb 22, 2011

 

     ”Wall Street Journal: As More States Consider Right to Work, Will GOP Cave to Big Labor?”,

     Article quoted by Nick Cote, National Right to Work

     http://www.nrtw.org/en/blog/wall-street-journal-more-states-consider-02032111

     Feb 22, 2011

 

     Contemporary forced unionism, particularly in the public sector, has become a giant, defying basic principles

of economics and crippling both business and government with it’s mighty clutch.  “Government-employee

unions, ” writes Thomas DiLorenzo a professor of economics at Loyola University Maryland, “have played a key

role in causing bankruptcy in most American states. . .”

 

     Source: “The Political Economy of Government Employee Unions”, Thomas J. DiLorenzo, Mises.org

     http://mises.org/daily/5072/The-Political-Economy-of-Government-Employee-Unions

     Feb 24, 2011

 

   Fact #5: Methods Matter

 

     As President Franklin Roosevelt once stated, “Action looking toward the paralysis of government by those

who have sworn to support it is unthinkable and intolerable.”  Indeed, Wisconsin citizens must not tolerate the

actions of their duly elected senators who have fled the state in defiance of the people and of Governor Walker,

rather than face reality.  Nor should they tolerate the teachers who have abandoned their classrooms in order to

protest at the state capitol.  This is an outrage, and ought to be dealt with sternly both for what it is and also

because of the example it is setting for students, that honesty and learning can be discarded on a whim, that

dependability and contract are unimportant.  The deceitful actions of these union workers ought to be rewarded

with the opportunity to demonstrate their worth in the private sector.

 

 

Sources: “Public Unions Force Taxpayers to Fund Democrats”, Michael Barone, The Washington Examiner,

     http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/02/public-unions-force-taxpayers-fund-democrats

     Feb 24, 2011

 

     “The Big Payback”, Frederick M. Hess, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

     http://www.aei.org/article/103223

     Feb 24, 2011

 

 

 

Additional Reading

 

“A History of Labor Unions from Colonial Times to 2009″, Morgan Reynolds, Mises.org

http://mises.org/daily/3553

 

“Lawmakers Walk Out on Legislatures, But No One Walks Out On a Union”, Joseph G. Lehaman,

Mackinac Center for Public Policy

http://www.mackinac.org/14637

 

“On Freedom of Association”, Charles W. Baird, The Freeman

http://www.thefreemanonline.org/featured/on-freedom-of-association/

 

 

“Where Would General Motors Be Without the United Automobile Workers Union?”, George Reisman, Mises.org

http://mises.org/daily/2124

 

To download a printable copy of this information visit <www.healthcarepedia.info/rtw>.

 

We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow’s end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now…. THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS

This passage from Chapter XV of The Screwtape Letters:

We sometimes tempt a human (say a widow or a scholar) to live in the Past. But this is of limited value, for they have some real knowledge of the past and it has a determinate nature and, to that extent, resembles eternity. It is far better to make [humans] live in the Future. Biological necessity makes all their passions point in that direction already, so that thought about the Future inflames hope and fear. Also, it is unknown to them, so that in making them think about it we make them think of unrealities. In a word, the Future is, of all things, the thing least like eternity. It is the most completely temporal part of time—for the Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays. Hence the encouragement we have given to all those schemes of thought such as Creative Evolution, Scientific Humanism, or Communism, which fix men’s affections on the Future, on the very core of temporality. Hence nearly all vices are rooted in the future. Gratitude looks to the past and love to the present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead.

A Grassroots Call to Action: What’s the Plan?

A Grassroots Call to Action: What’s the Plan?, posted with vodpod

 

The Philosophy of Liberty: Property

The Philosophy of Liberty: Property , posted with vodpod

 

How to Renew Michigan By Joseph G. Lehman | Feb. 10, 2011

(Editor’s note: The following commentary is an edited version of a letter President Joseph G. Lehman recently sent to Mackinac Center supporters.)

Gov. Rick Snyder and the new Legislature face one overriding priority — to get the state’s fiscal house in order. Not only is that goal extremely important, it’s most urgent as well. A state that cannot pay its bills cannot even perform the most basic, core functions of government.

We’re helping with that top priority. As we had hoped and planned, the new crop of leaders is asking for the Mackinac Center’s ideas. Policymakers have met and conferred with our analysts dozens of times — more in the last eight weeks than in the previous year.

Our biggest idea for immediate cost savings is to bring balance to public-sector benefits. Taxpayers can save $5.7 billion every year just by benchmarking public employee benefits to private-sector averages. That’s enough to close the deficit, eliminate the state business tax, fix the roads and still have hundreds of millions of dollars left. It can be done without cutting a single government program, eliminating one government job or reducing any public employee’s wage.

We’ve also updated “101 Recommendations to Revitalize Michigan” with a Top 10 list. And Education Policy Director Michael Van Beek demolishes union talking points with his report on seven common myths of school funding. The MEA doesn’t like to admit that per-pupil spending continues to increase. Annual operating costs average $11,337 for every child in the system. Ever-increasing chunks of that are consumed by deluxe, lifetime pension and health benefits for the adults in the system. Our Viewpoint commentaries also cover these ideas and more.

Although we judge lawmakers more by their actions than their speeches, Gov. Snyder’s State of the State address contained some true high points. Those included his calls to replace the Michigan Business Tax with a lower and much simpler levy, stop unneeded ergonomic regulations, and end the archaic law requiring retailers to waste money on inefficient, low-tech item pricing just as we recommended during the Granholm administration.

We don’t expect to agree with any governor on everything, but we agree on some big things right now, namely cutting spending to get the budget back in balance and cutting taxes to get the economy moving again. The sense of unity and energy at the top levels of state government is palpable. It’s good to see them focused on fundamental issues like taxes and spending rather than grandiose ideas to centrally plan the economy and our lives.

Once the budget is balanced, we’ll return our attention to longer-range ideas that won’t just stop Michigan’s slide, but will turbocharge its ascent — ideas like eliminating the cap on charter public schools, enacting a universal education tax credit, implementing a right-to-work law, and getting Michigan out from under unconstitutional and unaffordable federal health care mandates.

This could be the most pivotal year in more than two decades in Michigan. I hope you take a moment to appreciate how our ideas for free markets and limited government are taking center stage in the state’s policy debate.

#####

Joseph G. Lehman is president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a research and educational institute headquartered in Midland, Mich. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author and the Center are properly cited.

Top 10 Budget Recommendations [Mackinac Center]