From Wisconsin to Libya

Why Walker took on unions' power

“Why is Scott Walker so afraid of collective bargaining?” asks Christian Schneider in the new edition of Wisconsin Interest. The answer, he writes, “can be found in the rise of the state’s teachers unions.”....

.....Gov. Gaylord Nelson radically changed Wisconsin in 1959 when he permitted public-sector unionization, but AN INFLECTION POINT NEARLY AS IMPORTANT WAS THE 1977 MEDIATION-ARBITRATION LAW THAT STEMMED FROM THE BITTER 1974 TEACHERS STRIKE IN HORTONVILLE. It ended public-sector strikes, but it also empowered a kind of pattern bargaining that let unions do a number of public budgets. That’s why the per-pupil spending line shifts to a radically steeper slope at that point.

Writes Schneider:

“Consider that in the 16 years prior to Hortonville, AVERAGE STATE PER-PUPIL SPENDING INCREASED 6.7% PER YEAR. POST-STRIKE, IT JUMPED TO 9.6% PER YEAR in the 16 years following the Hortonville clash.”

Schneider details the techniques, but the underlying reality is that collective bargaining has worked well for unions -- and wretchedly for taxpayers. They’ve slowly enriched the one at the expense of the other. He writes:....

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/118535169.html

Some interesting facts here. 6.7% increases will double what you spend in approximately 11 years. 9.6% increases doubles spending in 7.5 years. That is a huge difference which will break any system even a governmental one.



Tyranny of the Minority

Statehouse walkouts are not without precedent. In fact, they are a reasonably common occurrence. But they are largely symbolic gestures -- an attempt to demonstrate the minority's outraged disapproval of the majority's agenda. SELDOM DO THEY GO ON FOR DAYS, AND UNTIL NOW, NEVER HAVE THEY BEEN LEGITIMATE ATTEMPTS TO UNDERMINE THE ENTIRE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS BY GRINDING THE OPERATION OF GOVERNMENT TO A HALT.

Yet that is exactly what the Wisconsin Democrats attempted, and what their Indiana counterparts are still shamefully perpetrating. What is taking place in the Indiana Statehouse is far from a mere regional or petty statewide issue; IT IS A DIRECT ASSAULT ON THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS THAT DESERVES NATIONAL ATTENTION AND COLLECTIVE, BIPARTISAN SCORN. For while the Wisconsin constitution allowed the Republicans a procedural recourse to rectify the stalemate (something they employed when it became apparent the Democrats could not be lured back by compromise), Indiana Republicans have no such option.

For those who may be unaware, Indiana Statehouse Democrats staged a walkout a month ago to deny the large Republican majority the ability to enact legislation opposed by public and private union bosses - specifically right-to-work and public education reform laws. THE DEMOCRAT CAUCUS FLED ACROSS STATE LINES TO ILLINOIS (WHERE ELSE?), AND HAVE BEEN HOLED UP IN A HOTEL DEMANDING CONCESSION AFTER CONCESSION TO EARN THEIR RETURN. But even after capitulating to their juvenile fit and pulling the right-to-work law off the table, Republican leaders have been unsuccessful in luring the Democrats back to work.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/03/democrats_tyranny_of_the_minor.html


Perhaps it is time to make the unexcused failure to attend a certain number of sessions an offense punishable by ejection from the elected office the lawmaker is in.



Gorelick considered to head the FBI

The Obama administration reportedly is considering former Clinton administration official Jamie Gorelick, among others, to become the next director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Perez first reported the news last week, citing “U.S. officials” familiar with the situation.

GORELICK SERVED AS VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION (FANNIE MAE) WHEN THE GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED ENTERPRISE BEGAN BUNDLING SUBPRIME LOANS INTO SECURITIZED FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS. Prior to that, she served as deputy attorney general in the Clinton Justice Department under then-Attorney General Janet Reno from 1994 to 1997.

http://nation.foxnews.com/fbi/2011/03/23/woman-tied-911-fannie-mae-obamas-fbi-shortlist

Here’s a Democrat who hasn’t shown much in the way of ethics or good judgment and she’s being considered to head the FBI. Somehow it doesn’t surprise me from this administration.



Is Libya a stalemate?

IT'S THE NIGHTMARE SCENARIO: A STALEMATE. THAT IS WHAT BARACK OBAMA AND HIS 'COALITION OF THE UNWILLING' ARE FACING IN LIBYA, A U.S. OFFICIAL HAS WARNED.

The prediction came as Western warplanes hit Libya for a fifth night last night - but still failed to stop Muammar Gaddafi's tanks shelling rebel-held towns or dislodge his armour from a strategic junction in the east.

GADDAFI'S TANKS ROLLED BACK INTO MISRATA UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS AND BEGAN SHELLING THE AREA NEAR THE MAIN HOSPITAL, residents and rebels said, resuming their attack after their guns were silenced in daylight hours by Western airstrikes.....

....As the killing went on in Libya, anxiety is growing in Washington.

Unless Western forces take some kind of decisive action WE COULD BE FACING A FIGHT TERRIFYINGLY SIMILAR TO THE ONE THE U.S. HAS FOUGHT FOR NEARLY A DECADE IN AFGHANISTAN: with the U.S. military bleeding billions, an incalculable cost in human life, and negligible results.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369444/Libya-War-Obama-needs-order-surge-Gaddafi-mission-stalemate.html#ixzz1HW73Fyk2

It is time to give back the “Peace Prize.”



Why the GOP is Obsessed with 'Leadership'

Leaders do not operate in a vacuum. When they make strategic adjustments, their opponents do too. President Obama has prompted just such a pivot by Republicans.

THEY'RE CRITICIZING HIM NOT FOR THE DECISIONS HE'S MADE BUT FOR THE ONES HE HASN'T, and the ones he delayed. They are attacking him not as a liberal ideologue but as a man in full flight from any ideological definition. IF THEY ONCE SAID HIS PLANS WERE TOO BIG, THEY ARE NOW ASKING IF HE HAS ANY PLANS AT ALL….

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/03/24/why_the_gop_is_obsessed_with_leadership_109333.html


EJ Dionne is missing the point. Obama is acting as was feared he would react: like an amateur. All those promises of resetting our relationships abroad, getting those “axis of evil” countries to come to the bargaining table have not simply not happened, but the opposite seems to have happened. Obama is a foreign policy disaster.



Obama’s Presidency Still Hangs By a Thread

What a difference nine days makes—or not. Because the Obama presidency is again hanging by a thread, but this time the thread is not the result of inaction. It is, rather, THE RESULT OF TAKING ACTION SO INCOMPREHENSIBLE AND INCOHERENT THAT EVEN OBAMA’S OWN PEOPLE ARE FINDING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO DEFEND OR EXPLAIN (thus the already notorious coinage yesterday of the term “kinetic military action” to describe the firing of 170 missiles and the destruction from the air of Libyan facilities).

As of now, there’s no reason anyone would cast a vote in 2012 directly based on what happens in Libya. But handling something this peculiarly means THE PRESIDENT IS ON THE VERGE OF CONVINCING ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE THAT HE’S EITHER NOT THE MAN THEY VOTED FOR (ON THE LEFT) OR THAT HE’S IN OVER HIS HEAD (not only people who dislike him already but independents who took a chance on him in 2008).

And there are other gloomy portents on the horizon. Rasmussen Reports revealed yesterday that 23 PERCENT OF AMERICANS THINK THE COUNTRY IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK. The right-track number is among the most important in all of polling; IF IT’S NOT AT LEAST ABOVE 40 AT THE TIME OF AN ELECTION, AN INCUMBENT PRESIDENT DOES NOT HAVE A PRAYER OF WINNING A SECOND TERM. It’s a very long time (in polling terms) till Election Day 2012, but without question, Obama has a climb ahead of him.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/03/24/obamas-presidency-still-hangs-by-a-thread-but-for-a-different-reason/

Unless Obama changes soon, the American public will be convinced that he is not presidential material and he will be voted out of office.


Obama locked out of Oval Office

President Obama had some unexpected trouble at the White House on Wednesday: HE COULDN'T GET INTO THE OVAL OFFICE.

After returning from a five-day trip to Latin America, President Obama returned to the White House to find that some of the doors to the Oval Office were locked tight.

Staff at the White House appeared not to have known that the the president had returned early from his trip and HADN'T UNLOCKED THE DOORS, ACCORDING TO AN ABC NEWS AFFILIATE IN WASHINGTON.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/151659-obama-locked-out-of-oval-office


If Obama and the democrats are superstitious, this is not a good sign for 2012.


Obama’s Libyan Intervention Has Lowest Approval of Any Military Op Polled by Gallup in 4 Decades

President Barack Obama’s intervention in Libya’s civil war has not only failed to win the approval of a majority of the American people, according to a Gallup poll conducted Monday, it also earned the lowest public approval rating of any U.S. military operation polled by Gallup over the past four decades.

In fact, IT WAS THE ONLY U.S. MILITARY INTERVENTION POLLED BY GALLUP THAT RECEIVED LESS THAN MAJORITY APPROVAL FROM AMERICANS.


“The 47% of Americans approving of the action against Libya is lower than what Gallup has found when asking about approval of other U.S. military campaigns in the past four decades,” said Gallup's analysis of the poll.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-s-libyan-intervention-has-lowest-p-0

Nothing this man does seems to go right.



Political insiders don’t think the public knows what it’s doing

When it comes to policy, the political class doesn’t have a lot of faith in the public’s IQ. In the latest National Journal Political Insiders Poll, A SOLID MAJORITY OF POLITICAL OPERATIVES—59 PERCENT—SAID THE PUBLIC DIDN’T “KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE ISSUES FACING WASHINGTON to form wise opinions about what should be done.” There was a sharp partisan difference between the two parties: By more than a 2-to-1 margin, Democratic Insiders believed the public didn’t “know enough,” while a slight majority of Republicans thought they did.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/six-of-ten-political-insiders-believe-public-is-ill-informed-20110324

Doing some simple math, you can see the authors oversampled Democratic insiders (63%) to Republicans insiders (37%). If you do the math with the numbers mentioned that what it would take to have 59% be the percent that doubted the American public knowledge and wisdom at the polls.

Fox News and other things the left hates

CNN vs Fox News

As news in the Wisconsin union protests continues to develop, IT’S INTERESTING TO GET DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON THE SAME EVENTS. Are public school teachers unfairly being asked to make economic sacrifices and noble for standing up for themselves or are they selfishly calling in sick and wrong for forcing kids to miss out on school? Your answer might depend on which news channel you’re watching.

On Fox News, Mike Tobin interviewed some residents of the state who claimed that it was extremely easy to get a doctor to give them a sick note, thus enabling public employees to take off from work to protest without any risk. News anchor GREGG JARRETT RESPONDED, “THAT’S INCREDIBLE NEWS IF IT’S TRUE. THAT’S BASICALLY FRAUD BY DOCTORS INCIDENTAL TO THE BREACH OF A TEACHER CONTRACT, which prohibits them from calling in sick to protest.”

Over on CNN, THE STORY WAS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME, but the tone decidedly different. Casey Wian reported that “DOCTORS ARE WRITING NOTES . . . THEY’RE HELPING OUT THE TEACHERS. There’s some concern that some of those doctors may be putting themselves in jeopardy because they are writing notes for teachers who obviously aren’t sick.” Anchor Martin Savage just responded with “VERY INTERESTING.”

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-calls-doctors-writing-sick-slips-in-wi-fraud-cnn-calls-it-helping-out-teachers/


The left hates Fox News and this is the reason why. They are looking for soft pedaling of leftists and their allies. Anything less is obviously lies to them.



The Real Revolution

….BOY, DID DEMOCRATS MISREAD THEIR MANDATE! With very little hindsight needed, it's apparent to all but ideologically-blinkered liberals that the Democrats' gross overreach isn't what voters wanted or expected. VOTERS WANTED A REDO OF THE CLINTON YEARS. INSTEAD, IN THE PERSON OF BARACK OBAMA, VOTERS GOT AN AMALGAM OF FDR AND LBJ WITH A DASH OF NEVILLE CHAMBERLIN THROWN IN.



But here's the real kicker. Two years of Obama-Reid-Pelosi overreach and excesses may have been the table-setter for the real revolution now unfolding. Voters and taxpayers first needed to see the IRRESPONSIBILITY AND RECKLESSNESS OF UNALLOYED LIBERALISM to appreciate that conservative government is far superior. Thank you, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid.



Of course, the real revolution began last year with the 2010 midterm elections. Yes, the GOP made the largest gains in U.S. House seats since 1948. BUT THE UNDERAPPRECIATED STORY IS THAT THE GOP RACKED UP HUGE GAINS IN STATE LEGISLATIVE CONTESTS, AND FURTHER DOWN BALLOT, Republicans swept plenty of local offices. State legislatures control congressional redistricting. Republicans now dominate enough key statehouses to lock-in GOP congressional electoral advantages for a decade…..

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/02/the_real_revolution_has_begun.html

The Democrats spent 6 years lambasting Bush and the Republicans for prolific spending and then when they got into office rather than curtail it, they tripled it! No wonder the American public threw them out of power. They knew they had been lied to big time.



Wisconsin union debate could shape 2012 election

UNION SUPPORT WILL BE VITAL TO DEMOCRATS NEXT YEAR, especially in battleground states such as Wisconsin, to offset the flow of corporate funds into campaigns allowed by a 2010 Supreme Court decision. Last year, 11.9% of U.S. workers were represented by unions, down from 20% in 1983, the Labor Department says.

"IF WISCONSIN LEGISLATORS STAND STRONG, IT WILL EMBOLDEN OTHER STATE LEGISLATORS. IF THEY CAVE, IT EMBOLDENS THE UNIONS," says Ned Ryun of American Majority, which trains candidates who espouse its limited government philosophy. "This is the opening salvo of the 2012 elections."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-02-21-RW_publicunions20_ST_N.htm

Politically the events in Madison are monumental. First, the Public sector unions are being shown in a very bad light. Wages, benefits and motives are being laid bare by what’s happening. Second, the Unions are spending a lot of money to get their people to protest and that is money they won’t have to give to Democrats in 2012. And finally, this puts an even bigger wind at the back of the Republicans. They are addressing the deficits across the country, while the Democrats seem in denial to the needs and wants of the electorate.

Public Opinion on Governor Scott’s side

According to a new Rasmussen report, 48 PERCENT OF THOSE SURVEYED BACK WALKER WHILE 38 PERCENT ON UNIONS' SIDE. A near-majority believes that teachers, police officers and fire fighters should not be allowed to strike.

EVEN MORE STRIKING, A CLARUS POLL FINDS 64 PERCENT OF THOSE SURVEYED BELIEVE THAT GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO JOIN LABOR UNIONS.

My guess is that the longer that the teachers abandon their classrooms to demonstrate at Wisconsin's state capital in Madison and the longer that Democratic senators continue their self-imposed exile in Illinois to stymie Walker's Budget Repair bill, the higher those numbers will climb.

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/dennis-byrne-barbershop/2011/02/public-sides-with-wis-gov-walker-in-labor-dispute.html#ixzz1EeRCVX1N

This is not what the Democrats want to see. I agree with the comment that the longer this goes on the worse it will get for the Unions.


Wisconsin reveals class war between 'haves' and 'have yours'

…As talk turns to the 'new class war', the concept of a class defined not so much by its net worth or tax bracket as by its economic (and therefore political) DEPENDENCE ON GOVERNMENT WILL SHARPEN STEP FOR STEP WITH THE REALITY OF THIS CLASS, which will be hitting home in all its gruesome implications for those outside and inside it….

Anyone who responds to the current crisis by anointing unionized employees of the government as the epitome of 'the working man' is placing themselves, and I really do not say this lightly, at the mercy of socialism -- not just as an intellectual theory, but as an emotional promise of happiness. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A VIABLE, DURABLE LABOR PARTY IN THE US. BUT NEITHER HAS THE GOVERNMENT CLASS EVER BEEN SO BIG OR FACED SUCH AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT…..

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/02/wisconsin-reveals-class-war-between-haves-and-have-yours#ixzz1EayLwzsh




Facebook remark wasn’t racist, Hagan says

A Broadview Heights woman is accusing state Rep. Robert F. Hagan of using a term that some believe has a racist connotation on a social networking site.

Hagan, D-60th, of Youngstown, used the term “buckwheat” in a Facebook posting Saturday.

He said the posting wasn’t racist, and THE ATTACK ON HIM IS THE TEA PARTY’S ATTEMPT TO MAKE HIM LOOK BAD….

…The discussion continues, with Manias, Cook and Crowther, who is black, arguing for the need for cuts and Hagan against what’s bee n proposed.

Manias then wrote, “I’m guessing your (sic) from an entrenched area ripe with corruption. I don’t recognize your name as a Cuyahoga County resident, but I’m guessing you’re from the land of Traficant...”

Hagan responds that she’s not making sense. Two others comment and then Crowther returns to the discussion of public unions.

Then Hagan writes, “I RAN AGAINST TRAFICANT BUCKWHEAT ... SO TAKE YOUR PERSONAL SHOTS, AND SHOVE THEM WHERE THE SUN DON’T SHINE.”…

http://www.vindy.com/news/2011/feb/20/facebook-remark-wasn8217t-racist-hagan-s/


Surprised? Don’t be. This only garners publicity if it is a conservative who says it. And notice how Hagan blames the TEA Party.


Dionne blames Tea Party not spending for our troubles

….THANKS TO THE TEA PARTY, WE ARE NOW TOLD THAT ALL OUR PROBLEMS WILL BE SOLVED BY CUTTING GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS. Thus the House Republicans foresee nirvana if we simply reduce our spending on Head Start, Pell grants for college access, teen pregnancy prevention, clean water programs, K-12 education and a host of other areas.

DOES ANYONE REALLY THINK THAT CUTTING SUCH PROGRAMS WILL CREATE JOBS OR HELP AMERICANS GET AHEAD? But give the tea party guys credit: They have seized the political and media agenda and made budget cutting as fashionable as Justin Bieber was five minutes ago.

MORE STRIKING IS THE TEA PARTY'S INFLUENCE ON WASHINGTON'S POLITICAL ELITE, WHICH LOOKS DOWN ITS NOSE AT THE MORE EXTREME MEN AND WOMEN OF THE RIGHT when they appear on Fox News but ends up carrying their water…..

 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/02/21/is_it_really_time_to_cut_spending.html


Reading Dionne’s column I am struck by two things. First, how pathetic he sounds. And second how he out of touch he is with reality. I recommend you read this one.



House cuts could bring on Obama Veto shutting down the government

The vote in the early morning hours of Saturday by the Republican-led House to make historically large cuts in federal spending sets up a standoff with Senate Democrats and President Obama that COULD LEAD TO A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN NEXT MONTH.

THE HOUSE MOVED TO SLASH $61.5 BILLION FROM THIS YEAR'S BUDGET. Lawmakers voted 235-189, along mostly party lines, following four days of debate and consideration of hundreds of amendments in a rarely used open format that allowed each member an opportunity to shape the legislation.

President Obama has promised to veto the $1.2 trillion bill, which would fund the government until the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30 and makes deep cuts across nearly every agency

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/congress/2011/02/house-vote-slash-budget-could-lead-government-shutdown#ixzz1Eax9MSE5


I believe it will have the effect and I think the Democrats in desperation are trying to reenact the government shut down during the Clinton Administration which brought WJC back from the dead. I don’t think it will work this time. Back then, reducing spending was a good idea. Today it is needed to avoid a train wreck.



A new openness in the House of Representatives

…The CR was considered in an historic and unprecedented open process on the House floor that INCLUDED MORE THAN 580 AMENDMENTS OFFERED BY BOTH PARTIES AND A GRUELING 60-PLUS HOURS OF PUBLIC DEBATE. Of these amendments, 67 WERE ACCEPTED OR PASSED, changing the underlying legislation and reflecting the fair representation of the American people. In all, the successful amendments included more than $620 million in additional spending cuts.


“FOR FIRST TIME AFTER YEARS OF CLOSED-DOOR DEMOCRAT CONTROL, THE HOUSE WAS ABLE TO WORK ITS WILL IN AN OPEN AND TRANSPARENT FASHION IN FULL VIEW OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. Hundreds of amendments were considered, the debate offered everyone a chance to be heard, and the legislation now contains changes that reflect the many varied interests of families, communities, and businesses across the country. I am proud that the House has returned to a regular and fair democratic process, and look forward to continuing this effort throughout the Appropriations process this year,” Rogers said.


A LIST OF THE SUCCESSFUL AMENDMENTS TO THE CR (H.R. 1) FOLLOWS:


• An amendment by Rep. Rooney (R-FL) to eliminate $450 million in funding for the Alternate Engine, produced by GE-Rolls Royce, for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

• An amendment by Rep. Michaud (D-ME) to transfer $80 million from the Census Bureau to the Economic Development Administration, an agency within the Department of Commerce….

http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=264



Under Pelosi, the House would set up rules on every bill which basically limited debate, amendments, etc. The Republicans were basically squeezed out of any meaningful part. The Reps have not done that to the Democrats as the 580 amendments testifies to. Keep reading if you want to see the 67 amendments that were passed.



Manufactured News

Wisconsin is one of the most heavily-taxed states in the country, and its government employees are paid much better than the state’s taxpayers. Like many states, it's facing a budget deficit. BUT WHEN THE STATE’S NEWLY-ELECTED REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR, SCOTT WALKER, ATTEMPTED TO PLACE REASONABLE LIMITS ON GOVERNMENT-EMPLOYEE PAY AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, LIBERAL COMMENTATORS LIKE RACHEL MADDOW FALSELY CLAIMED THAT THE STATE’S BUDGET CRISIS WAS MANUFACTURED, and that Wisconsin was running a budget surplus.

This claim has now been debunked even by the liberal Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, which endorsed Obama in 2008 and John Kerry in 2004: “Our conclusion: MADDOW AND THE OTHERS ARE WRONG. THERE IS, INDEED, A PROJECTED DEFICIT THAT REQUIRED ATTENTION, AND WALKER AND GOP LAWMAKERS DID NOT CREATE IT.” Maddow blamed the state’s current deficit on business tax breaks supported by the Governor, but those cuts are a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the state’s overall budget; and as the Journal-Sentinel newspaper noted, “the cuts are not even in effect yet, so they cannot be part of the current problem.”

Despite being debunked by newspapers like the Journal-Sentinel, LIBERAL BLOGGERS AND TV COMMENTATORS CONTINUE TO MAKE THIS FALSE CLAIM THAT WISCONSIN’S BUDGET CRISIS WAS “MANUFACTURED” TO CREATE AN EXCUSE TO DESTROY PUBLIC-EMPLOYEE UNIONS. (Never mind that the proposals by Wisconsin’s governor would still allow far more collective bargaining in Wisconsin than is permitted in states like Virginia).

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/opinion-zone/2011/02/liberal-fairy-tales-about-wisconsin-no-its-budget-crisis-wasnt-manufactur#ixzz1EazK4IKp


Why would liberal bloggers continue to say the crisis was manufactured when that has been debunked? It’s fits the narrative they want to put forward and I find liberals do not consider facts to be truth.

Public schools for your children

MORE THAN 25 PERCENT OF PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS IN WASHINGTON AND BALTIMORE SEND THEIR CHILDREN TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS, A NEW STUDY REPORTS.

Nationwide, PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS ARE ALMOST TWICE AS LIKELY AS OTHER PARENTS TO CHOOSE PRIVATE SCHOOLS FOR THEIR OWN CHILDREN, the study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found. More than 1 in 5 public school teachers said their children attend private schools.

IN WASHINGTON (28 PERCENT), BALTIMORE (35 PERCENT) AND 16 OTHER MAJOR CITIES, THE FIGURE IS MORE THAN 1 IN 4. In some cities, nearly half of the children of public school teachers have abandoned public schools….

Public school teachers told the Fordham Institute’s surveyors that PRIVATE AND RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS IMPOSE GREATER DISCIPLINE, ACHIEVE HIGHER ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND OFFER OVERALL A BETTER ATMOSPHERE.

“ACROSS THE STATES, 12.2 PERCENT OF ALL FAMILIES — urban, rural and suburban — SEND THEIR CHILDREN TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS,” says the report, based on 2000 census data.

“PUBLIC EDUCATION IN MANY OF OUR LARGE CITIES IS BROKEN,” the surveyors conclude. “The fix? Choice, in part, to be sure.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/sep/22/20040922-122847-5968r/

This is the equivalent of people who work at a restaurant going out to eat –everyday. Or working at a Ford factory and driving a Toyota. But when vouchers are talked about at least one teacher in five has to have mixed emotions.



The next story will show you why this is happening.



The Bottom of the Teachers’ Union Barrel?

With state budgets collapsing around the nation, AN INCREASINGLY BRIGHT SPOTLIGHT HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON THE ACTIVITIES OF MANY PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS, PERHAPS NONE MORE SO THAN THE TEACHERS UNIONS. Since most of the news is rather alarming to say the least, here at Hot Air we feel obliged to bring you a true feel-good story of union activity to brighten your winter days. With that in mind, I invite you to look over this CNN video journal by reporter Steve Perry. (Video available at the end of this column.)

The story focuses on Central Falls school in Rhode Island, an educational institute in such a sorry state of affairs that their drop-out rates were staggering and many students didn’t even log enough classroom time to receive a grade. LAST YEAR, IN AN APPARENT SIGN OF THROWING UP THEIR HANDS IN DESPAIR, THE SCHOOL BOARD TOOK THE DRASTIC MEASURE OF FIRING ALL 88 OF CENTRAL FALLS’ TEACHERS.

UPDATE: I’ve been reminded that Ed covered the firing of the teachers last year with full details of just how badly the school was performing….

Fear not! IN CHARGED THE RHODE ISLAND FEDERATION OF TEACHERS, WHO NOT ONLY GOT ALL OF THEIR JOBS BACK… THEY LANDED THEM A RAISE. And all of this is taking place in a community which wouldn’t even qualify as “working class” by most standards. The average wages in the Central Falls region are very low. Steve Perry sat down with Supervisor of Schools Frances Gallo to ask her about it…..

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/02/20/the-bottom-of-the-teachers-union-barrel/


Now this story is the exception rather than the rule, but it is a horrible exception highlighting the worst of public employee unions.



AGW on the ropes

In late January HERTSGAARD EXPLAINED HIS BIG SCHEME TO “CONFRONT THE CLIMATE CRANKS” IN AN ARTICLE IN THE NATION.

“Our plan is to confront the climate cranks face to face, on camera, and call them to account for the dangers they have set in motion. WE WILL HIGHLIGHT THE LUDICROUSNESS OF THEIR ANTISCIENTIFIC VIEWS, which alone should discredit them from further influence over US climate policies,” he wrote.

The tables were turned, however, when instead of making Inhofe — whose cause célèbre has been questioning the global warming agenda — look foolish, THE SENATOR MADE MINCE MEAT OF HIS WOULD-BE AMBUSHER. Fortunately, Matt Dempsey, Inhofe’s communication’s director, was there to catch it all on camera.

Mark Hertsgaard later posted his own, highly edited version on his website. Not surprisingly, the full version tells a much different story than the edited version.

http://dailycaller.com/2011/02/18/sen-inhofe-turns-tables-on-global-warming-ambushers-and-gets-it-on-tape-video/#ixzz1EbFvWSeB



What is really funny is the “we will highlight the ludicrousness of their antiscientific views,” basically came down to a call to authority with absolutely no discussion of the science or how Inhofe violates it. Inhofe tells him correctly that “The science is mixed. We all know the science is mixed. “ Evidently Hertsgaard didn’t know it or even imagine it.



Meanwhile Green Jobs don’t seem to working out too well

Solyndra is in serious financial trouble. DESPITE GETTING A $535 MILLION BAILOUT - PART OF THE TAXPAYER-FUNDED “STIMULUS” - THE COMPANY SUBSEQUENTLY ANNOUNCED IT WOULD LAY OFF MORE THAN 17 PERCENT OF ITS WORK FORCE. It also had to close one of its manufacturing plants about a year after it got the money. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is launching an investigation.

That’s understandable. After all, it wasn’t supposed to turn out this way for Solyndra and other solar-cell producers. PRESIDENT OBAMA AND SEN. BARBARA BOXER BOTH CAMPAIGNED AT THE PLANT, TOUTING THE “GREEN JOBS” THAT WOULD FLOW FROM GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT in companies that produce renewable energy.

How that bit of economic magic was supposed to occur is a mystery. SOLYNDRA’S PRODUCTION COSTS ARE MORE THAN SIX TIMES THOSE OF OTHER PRODUCERS. Even with strong backing from Washington, the company had to cancel a $300 million initial public offering after a bad audit from PricewaterhouseCoopers

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/21/dark-days-for-solar-power/


The only good thing about this is that we didn’t invest even more in other green sinkholes.