Obama’s Class Warfare Strategy Is Working With Americans ( He is so full of crap hes comparing capitol gains to their taxes. The already paid taxes on that money )

Posted by Adam On October - 4 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

Demonstrations against the financial elite on Wall Street, which began Sept. 17, are gaining momentum. Stars like Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon are now making appearances to rally the crowds. And unions, including the New York-based United Federation of Teachers and the Transportation Workers, are now joining the New York marches. Smaller rallies against corporate riches have hit the streets of Chicago and San Francisco and other U.S. cities.

“Would you rather keep … tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires or would you say let’s get teachers back in the classroom?” President Obama asked in a blunt political push for his jobs bill before an Ohio audience last week. “Now, the Republicans… they said, ‘Well, this is class warfare.’ You know what? If asking a billionaire to pay their fair share of taxes, to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare, then you know what? I’m a warrior for the middle class. I’m happy to fight for the middle class.”

Oct. 3: President Obama gestures during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington. From left: Obama, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

Related Stories: Obama Calls on Congress to Pass Jobs Bill, Not ‘Now’ But This Month

The Republican counterattack is to label Obama a failed leader resorting to class warfare. He is a desperate politician who is now “pitting one group against another,” in the words of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).

But a Fox News poll out last week said the president and fellow Democrats are gaining with voters by calling attention to the nation’s class divide.

“Do you think Barack Obama’s political strategy for re-election is designed to bring people together with a hopeful message, or drive people apart with a partisan message?” the poll asked.

Fifty-six percent said the president is pursuing his campaign strategy to bring people together. That majority of registered voters included 53 percent of independents and 68 percent of self-described moderates. It also includes 58 percent of people who earn over $50,000 annually.

Similarly, USA Today reported last week that a Gallup Poll found 66 percent of Americans favor the president’s call to increase taxes on individuals earning over $200,000 and 70 percent want to end corporate tax deductions to pay for his proposed American Jobs Act.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post released a poll showing that the class division strategy is hurting the Republicans. It found 47 percent of Americans agree that the GOP represents the interests of the nation’s rich.

The power of the Democrats’ populist appeal against the upper class is currently on view in the Massachusetts Senate campaign. Elizabeth Warren, the consumer advocate running for the Democratic nomination, is a powerful class warrior.

Warren is the architect of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a fervent advocate for tax equality. Early polls show her running even with or slightly ahead of Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass). Brown has been one of the Senate’s biggest recipients of campaign contributions from bankers, mortgage lenders and hedge fund managers. Last year, Forbes magazine named him one of Wall Street’s favorite members of Congress.

In a video that has gone viral, Warren refutes Republican charges of class warfare, saying: “There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there, good for you. But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for.”

On the other side of the debate, the GOP is keeping to their old, familiar refrain. Led by Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), they insist that the best way to stimulate the economy is to give even more money to the wealthy in the hope they will create jobs and stimulate the economy.

Americans reject the argument and so do the facts. Corporate profits are the highest they have ever been. Despite the recession, the rich have been doing extremely well with the richest 400 Americans having more money than the bottom 150 million.

Yet unemployment and underemployment have persisted with no change. If the GOP theory of trickle-down economics were true, then the rich should be creating jobs like crazy and stimulating the economy in the process. They have not.

The president and his party are in the early stages of reclaiming the mantle of economic populism from the Republicans and the Tea Party. So far, the Democrats decision to join the pitchfork brigade looks to be a winning strategy.

Feds Say Public Was Never in Danger in Massachusetts Man’s Thwarted Terror Plot

Posted by Adam On September - 29 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

Federal officials say the public was never in danger in a Massachusetts man’s alleged plot to blow up the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol using remote-controlled airplanes filled with explosives.

They say the explosives delivered to Rezwan Ferdaus were always closely monitored.

The 26-year-old was arrested Wednesday and accused of plotting to blow up the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol, as well as attempting to assist Al Qaeda in attacking U.S. troops overseas.

The Secret Government Bank That’s Financing More Solyndras ( wow sounds like this should be illegal )

Posted by Adam On September - 28 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

Sitting at the center of the Solyndra scandal is an off-balance-sheet bank at the Treasury Department that dates back to 1973.

This little-known government bank, the Federal Financing Bank [FFB], had a zero balance in 2008 for green energy projects, but now, with little Congressional oversight, it is giving out billions of dollars in loans to White House pet projects often at dirt-cheap interest rates below 1%.

In July alone, the government bank, which had $61 billion in assets, lent nearly three quarters of a billion dollars in taxpayer funds with no Congressional checks and balances.

Plus the bank is funding the insolvent U.S. Post Office; the White House’s expensive green car projects at Ford Motor, Nissan and Tesla Motors; a $485 million loan to an expensive solar project that’s lost $160 million over the last three years that’s backed by Google, BP and Chevron; plus the FFB is funding the teetering HOPE housing bailout program, which gives delinquent mortgage borrowers breaks on their loans.

And according to KPMG’s audit report of the bank, the FFB is losing billions of dollars in taxpayer money because it is forgoing collecting interest costs on already inexpensive loans that are financing projects at agencies like the Agriculture Dept.

What’s scary for taxpayers is this: The FFB can borrow unlimited amounts of taxpayer money from the Treasury for these kinds of political pet projects. Under the 1973 “FFB Act, the bank may, with the approval of the Secretary, borrow without limit from the Treasury,” says the bank’s audited statements from KPMG.

The Treasury Department’s inspector general is now investigating the bank over its $528 million loan to Solyndra. FFB’s chairman of the board is Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and the bank’s board executives are Treasury officials.

Who is getting the FFB’s green energy money? As the White House and Democrats in Congress rail against tax breaks for oil companies, the FFB gave taxpayer loans to green companies with high cash burn that were spilling red ink.

For instance, Solyndra was still getting loans from the FFB up until it filed for bankruptcy. It got $3 million in loans at a 0.89% rate just a month and a half before it filed for bankruptcy protection.

The FFB is also giving loans to risky solar companies as well as to a money-losing solar energy outfit backed by companies such as Google, Morgan Stanley, Chevron and BP that has spilled $160 million in red ink for the last three years.

In the month of July alone, the FFB gave a $12.5 million loan to Abound Solar; 60% of Abound’s balance sheet will come from federal taxpayers, or $400 million in guaranteed federal loans.

FFB also gave a $117,330 loan to the struggling Kahuku Wind Power and more than $77 million to the Solar Partners companies, which are due $485 million in White House approved loans.

The Solar Partners companies are units of BrightSource Energy, which is building a massive solar-powered energy plant near the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino, California.

BrightSource lost $45 million in 2008, $44 million in 2009, and $72 million in 2010, even though it has rich backers that include Google, Chevron, Morgan Stanley and BP, among others, says FOX News analyst James Farrell.

Besides the green energy projects, the FFB provides a backdoor government bailout of the US Post Office, which has been spilling red ink. The FFB has lent the US Post Office so far $12.6 billion. The Post Office faces an estimated $10 billion shortfall this year, as the Internet, companies like FedEx and UPS, and high retiree health-benefit costs slice into its bottom line.

And the government bank gave loans to car and car parts manufacturers to retrofit their plants to make green cars. The FFB lent Ford Motor $163 million for its green car programs. The FFB is now financing projects at Fisker Automotive, Nissan North America and Tesla Motors, with $528.6 million, $1.4 billion and $465 million in federal loans, respectively.

However, the FFB’s balance sheet is backed by U.S. taxpayers, “except for loans to the U.S. Postal Service,” says KPMG’s audited statements for the bank. Because you, U.S. taxpayers, are the cushion for the bank, unlike other banks, the FFB “does not maintain a reserve for loan losses,” says the KPMG report.

Not booking loan loss reserves would get any other bank in trouble with federal bank regulators such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Why can the FFB get away with this?

Because the KPMG report says the bank told it in true Pollyannish fashion that “no future credit-related losses are expected,” even though Solyndra clearly disputes that optimistic bureaucratic resolve. (The bank did earn $449.5 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010, up slightly from $444.2 million in fiscal 2009.)

Why was this federal government bank created in the first place? Congress launched the FFB in 1973 to “reduce the costs of Federal and federally assisted borrowings,” smoothing the way for the government’s fiscal policies — fiscal policies which at the time were wading into the private credit markets like never before.

At the time, the federal government first began to see an avalanche of Congressionally approved off-budget financing for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Sallie Mae. These quasi-government operations began to help grease loans for housing and for students by aiding loans securitized as bonds in the secondary markets. Banks packaged these loans as securities and sold them on to Fannie, Freddie and Sallie Mae.

These bonds though began to compete with Treasury securities, and Congress at the time feared Treasury would have to offer higher yields to attract investors away from those securities. The Vietnam war was still going, and the government was struggling to pay for the war and at the same time was battling a deep recession that had hit the U.S. economy, along with an oil shock exacerbated when OPEC plus Egypt, Syria and Tunisia hit the U.S. with an oil embargo due to its support of Israel in the Yom Kippur War with Egypt and Syria.

So to keep the government’s borrowing costs low, Congress launched the FFB and gave it broad statutory authority to purchase any “bonds issued, sold, or guaranteed by federal agencies,” says KPMG’s audit report. The bank then became a vehicle through which all sorts of federal agencies could finance their programs.

Since then, the FFB has helped finance a broad range of government operations, from agricultural to military programs, to now green energy projects.

Congress almost got the FFB in hot water beginning in 2006 when lawmakers pressured then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to open the window at the FFB to help finance student loans.
At the time, Sallie Mae was posting losses as students in droves began defaulting on their high-priced college loans.

A slew of lenders, about a seventh of the student loan market at the time, had stopped giving federally guaranteed student loans. Sallie Mae then pressured lawmakers such as Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) to give student lenders a bailout via the Federal Financing Bank, but President George W. Bush frowned on that, and the effort went nowhere.

And now it’s the White House’s use of the FFB for green energy projects that will likely raise eyebrows.

The FFB lent no money to green companies backed by Department of Energy guarantees from 2007 to 2008, even though it could have done so starting in 2007 under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, signed into law under President George W. Bush.

That act authorized $42 billion in federal green energy loans, notes FOX News analyst Farrell.
Under the 2005 law, the government could make federal loans for companies battling greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as nuclear power projects.

The FFB then began giving green loans backed by the Dept. of Energy after the Obama Administration’s stimulus bill of 2009 was enacted. After stimulus was signed into law by President Barack Obama, the FFB then began funding clean energy programs, backed by $2.4 billion appropriated by Congress. Under this program, Solyndra got $528 million.

The FFB doesn’t just fund green energy projects. It also funds the Home Ownership Preservation Entity (HOPE) Fund, enacted under the Bush Administration to help distressed borrowers avoid foreclosure by reducing their mortgage payments.

The bank is going full bore in helping to fund the White House’s foreclosure bailouts via buying HOPE bonds, a program that could hit $300 billion in federal costs.

The bonds essentially give investors a stake in government housing bailouts. But what should give taxpayers pause is this: the Treasury Secretary can issue HOPE bonds “without any limitations as to the purchaser of the issuance,” KPMG’s audited statements note.

Translation: The Treasury can willy nilly issue these bonds, and the FFB then buys the HOPE bonds that investors don’t’ want.

“Due to the cost of issuing special purpose bonds to the public, the Secretary of the Treasury has decided to issue the HOPE bonds to the bank,” KPMG notes in its report.

That means those bonds now sit on FFB’s balance sheet, more than $492 million worth. “The bank (FFB) borrowed funds from Treasury,” says KPMG’s audit, “to purchase the HOPE bonds.”

The amounts involved can rise to $300 billion, because the Hope for Homeowners Act authorizes Treasury to issue up to $300 billion in HOPE bonds. “FFB does not have the money to buy the bonds, so it has to borrow money from Treasury to buy the bonds,” notes FOX News analyst Farrell.

However, KPMG notes in its report that “the purchase of HOPE bonds is consistent with the core mission of the Bank.”

The FFB also acts as essentially a slush bank for federal loans, an operation that helps clean up the balance sheets of other federal agencies. KPMG notes that the “lending policy of the bank is flexible enough to preclude the need for any accumulation of pools of funds by agencies.”
But the FFB also lets federal agencies slide on interest costs they owe the bank on loans, even though their interest rates are dirt cheap.

For instance, the FFB has been hit with losses on loans to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, loans the Agriculture Dept. received to service rural utilities. The Agriculture Dept. is stiffing the FBB on interest it owes on these loans, a cumulative $1.7 billion in losses here.

The bank also lets the General Services Administration [GSA], as well as “Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” and the Veteran Administration slide on interest costs on their loans, too. The bank lets them defer interest costs “on their loans until future periods,” the KMPG report says.

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Arizona Woman Fighting for Health Care for Immigrant Husband Who Suffered Brain Damage ( No way US Taxpayers should have to cover this )

Posted by Adam On September - 28 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

A Phoenix woman is fighting to get health care for her husband, an undocumented immigrant who was in the process of obtaining legal status before he suffered brain damage while playing soccer.

Evelyn Saenz-Cornelio, 23, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that her husband, Jesus Armando Cornelio of Mexico, collapsed Sept. 19 while playing soccer at a park with his 13-year-old brother.

Saenz-Cornelio, who was born in Mexico but was raised in Phoenix and is now a U.S. citizen, said that doctors at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center told her that her husband’s brain was without oxygen for about 13 minutes after he collapsed, causing severe brain damage.

She said Cornelio, a 23-year-old construction worker, had obtained an employment authorization card and a Social Security card from the U.S. government and had an appointment this week for a final interview to get a permanent resident card.

She said the hospital told her Friday that Corelio’s health care bill was at $120,000 so far and that Arizona’s Medicaid program wouldn’t cover his health care costs, telling her that she would either have to take him to Mexico for treatment or put him in hospice care, which could mean death.

But Saenz-Cornelio said the hospital gave her husband a one-week extension Tuesday. After that, she said she isn’t sure what she’s going to do.

Spokespeople at Banner Good Samaritan released a statement saying that its staff is focused on Cornelio’s care and could not comment further to protect Cornelio’s privacy.

Monica Coury, a spokeswoman at Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Arizona’s Medicaid program, said federal law prohibits undocumented immigrants from health care coverage. Even if Cornelio had obtained the permanent resident card he was seeking, an immigrant must be a legal permanent resident for five years to be covered, she said.

“They’re federal rules, it’s not a state issue,” Coury said. “All this individual has is employment authorization and a Social Security number. That doesn’t meet the requirement.”

Saenz-Cornelio said doctors gave her little hope last week that her husband could recover but that over the weekend he made astonishing strides, including opening his eyes, squeezing family members’ hands, yawning and coughing — all things he hadn’t done since Sept. 19.

She said although Cornelio has not spoken, he is recognizing people in the room and responding to some of their prompting.

“I have to learn to be strong, and right now that’s what I keep in my head: ‘He wants you to be strong, to stay positive,’” she said. “I have to have faith that little by little, he’s going to get better and show the doctors and nurses that he wants to be here.”

She said Cornelio came to Phoenix when he was 10 years old in 1998, and that the two first met in the sixth grade. They began dating at 16 and were high school sweethearts.

They married at 22 and were trying to have children and get Cornelio legal status in the U.S. when he collapsed playing soccer.

She said Cornelio has played soccer all his life and had initially qualified for a scholarship to attend Phoenix College. But it turned out that he was ineligible because of a 2006 voter-approved Arizona law that says illegal immigrants can’t get in-state tuition or financial aid funded by state coffers.

Saenz-Cornelio described Cornelio as always having a positive attitude and being incredibly responsible.

“He was like an adult stuck in a teenage body ever since I met him — his way of thinking, looking at life, his goals, his plans for himself and me,” she said.

“He’s my best friend, he’s my husband,” she added through tears. “He’s my everything.”

Lydia Guzman, an immigrant-rights advocate, said Cornelio’s story shows the importance of solving some of the nation’s toughest issues, including immigration and health care.

“This young man is stuck in the middle of all this turmoil,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Man Suspected of Murdering Young Massachusetts Mom May Be In U.S. Illegally, Police Say ( Her family needs to sue the gov. and the DOJ )

Posted by Adam On September - 27 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

Police say the man who allegedly stabbed a young mother to death inside a Massachusetts apartment complex Monday may be in the country illegally, MyFoxBoston.com reports.

Marcela Almeida, 41, was arrested for allegedly stabbing 24-year-old Patricia Frois during a domestic dispute inside their apartment in Marshfield.

Almeida reportedly fled the crime scene, sparking a massive manhunt and causing at least three area schools to go on lockdown.

Authorities later found Almeida hiding in a backyard shed not far from the crime scene, according to the website.

Almeida’s citizenship status is now under investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Police say the man has a Brazilian passport and that immigration officials have no record of anyone under his name having entered the country legally.

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Top 3: last week’s most popular posts

Posted by BA Team On September - 26 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

Infographic: our spending superheroes?

Friday Funnies: 5 jokes about the economy

Government shutdown looms. Again?

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This week the Chicago Tribune and WGN TV have found up to 23 retired union operatives that are collecting millions in taxpayer dollars because they had pals in government tweak the state’s pensions laws to favor them.

Posted by Adam On September - 23 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

Now this is the sort of corruption we are used to seeing in Illinois, eh? This week the Chicago Tribune and WGN TV have found up to 23 retired union operatives that are collecting millions in taxpayer dollars because they had pals in government tweak the state’s pensions laws to favor them.

These former government workers that were government union members got pliant politicians to alter the pensions laws to say that their pension remuneration would be calculated not on the lower pay they received when they retired from government, but from the much higher salary they received when they worked as union operatives. These folks worked as union bosses at the same time as working on the clock for government.

The “luck” of former union boss and Dept. of Streets and Sanitation worker Thomas Villanova is a typical example. Villanova last worked full-time for the city in 1989 and made $40,000-a-year. But he was also a union big wig making $198,000 annually upon his retirement in 2008 at age 56. His city pension, it appears, was calculated on the union salary of $198,000 instead of his real salary of $40,000 — itself obviously a no-show job in the first place.

Villanova stands to make millions off the taxpayers.

Speaking of making millions, as mentioned above, the media folks also found some 20 more government union members that could make a combined $56 million in unearned pensions off the taxpayer’s back.

One of these crooks even retired at 50-years-old, then was hired back by the city for one day so that he could bump up his pension returns!

Worse, I was listening to a local Chicago radio program and one of the reporters involved in this story was saying that there may be several hundred more union/government workers that are similarly getting cushy, undeserved riches from the state pension system.

All this at a time when the pensions system is about to crash because it is so deeply in the red.

Now, don’t imagine that these sort of sweetheart deals between politicians and government unions are only happening in Chicago. These deals are endemic throughout government at every level. From your smallest city to the county, state, and federal government, these union thugs are ripping us all off on a daily basis.

Without question, this is the sort of unethical, even criminal, double dealing that you get when government employees are allowed to unionize. These people are cozy with government officials and other elected folks, donate money to their campaigns so that rules can be changed in their favor, then live off the taxpayers for decades. And for the cash in their pockets, politicians bend to union wishes every time. All the while the taxpayers get raped repeatedly.

Government workers should never, ever be allowed to unionize. Even Franklin Delano Roosevelt knew that!

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Boeing factory turns sour for Obama

Posted by Adam On September - 23 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

In many ways, Boeing should be a boon to President Barack Obama. In a faltering economy, the aerospace titan opened a $750 million factory in South Carolina and hired thousands of workers to build the world’s most fuel-efficient commercial jet.

But instead, it’s become a drag on his job creation agenda and a boon for candidates seeking the GOP presidential nomination.

In a case that has become a cause célèbre among Republican lawmakers and 2012 hopefuls, the National Labor Relations Board has accused Boeing of opening its South Carolina shop in a “right-to-work” state to retaliate against union worker strikes at its main manufacturing base in the Seattle area. An Obama appointee is now asking a judge to order Boeing to relocate all 787 Dreamliner production to Washington state — a move that’s feeding the GOP narrative that Obama’s Big Government is meddling with job creation, just as the first plane nears its first commercial flight.

“It’s like a lightning rod,” said Gary Chaison, an industrial relations professor at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. “The Boeing case is so dramatic. All the anti-union forces and all anti-Obama people are coalescing.”

At the same time the president was selling his American Jobs Act in the Rose Garden last week, Mitt Romney was visiting Boeing’s South Carolina factory. The former governor of Massachusetts drew loud cheers for suggesting that any stimulus package should include legislation telling the board to drop its complaint.

“It’s an egregious example of political payback where the president is able to pay back the unions for the hundreds of millions of dollars they have put into his campaigns at the expense of American workers,” Romney said.

Newt Gingrich toured the new plant and called for cutting the NLRB’s funding, while Jon Huntsman did his own swing through the manufacturing facility, advocating that the president step in before it scares business from South Carolina. Rick Perry has accused Obama of stacking the board with “anti-business cronies.”

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has been driving this debate in her early-voting state, made a surprise appearance at a Michele Bachmann town hall to ask her opinion. The candidate warned, “If the NLRB would also be continuing their current stance, they may not last very long.”

Congress has also jumped into the fray. This week, the House passed a bill that would strip the board of its enforcement power, but the Senate Appropriations Committee narrowly rejected a GOP amendment to deny funding for the NLRB to pursue any order threatening Boeing’s South Carolina production.

Despite the assertions of his critics, Obama’s hands are tied — and the case could get dragged out for years with delays and appeals. Beyond vetoing any congressional proposals, if they make it to his desk, the president has little influence over the complaint or the board’s acting general counsel Lafe Solomon.

“We are an independent agency. It would be inappropriate for the White House to get involved,” said NLRB spokeswoman Nancy Cleeland. “There has not been any communication with the White House about this case.”

Obama broke his silence about the complaint this summer but walked a careful line in his response.

“We can’t afford to have labor and management fighting all the time, at a time when we’re competing against Germany and China and other countries that want to sell goods all around the world,” Obama said at a June press conference. White House spokesman Eric Schultz declined to comment on the law enforcement actions of an independent agency, referring questions to the NLRB.

The case originates with an unfair labor charge filed by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Engineers last year, declaring that Boeing was illegally punishing its Washington state members for exercising their right to strike. Since 1977, the union has gone on strike five times, including a 58-day walkout three years ago.

In April, Solomon filed his complaint at the behest of the union. Then in June, an administrative law judge in Seattle denied Boeing’s request to dismiss the case.

What happens next hinges on Boeing’s intent. While companies can move a factory anywhere they choose, the law prohibits it if a move rebukes employees for exercising their federally protected right to unionize or strike.

Boeing officials deny violating any labor laws, arguing the main reason for choosing South Carolina was to lower production costs and that it has hired 5,000 union workers in Washington since the complaint was filed.

At the same time, the company’s top executives have mentioned past strikes as a reason for the South Carolina move on several occasions. Most explicitly, the chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes told The Seattle Times, “we can’t afford to have a work stoppage every three years.”

The legal battle hasn’t stopped the aerospace company’s production lines, as it gets ready to deliver its first Dreamliner to Japan’s ANA. In South Carolina, the factory’s 1,000 workers have begun the final assembly process on the factory’s first Dreamliner. The goal is that by 2013, the company will be churning out 10 planes a month — seven in Washington and three in South Carolina.

Obama’s one hope for respite is for the two parties to reach a settlement. Cleeland of the NLRB said that while general counsel is not planning to withdraw the complaint, he is willing to participate in any discussions at the request of either Boeing or the union. The NLRB settles about 90 percent of its cases, she said.

The union is willing. “We are and have been open to settlement negotiations,” said spokesman Frank Larkin.

But Boeing isn’t budging. “We feel facts are so strongly on our side,” Boeing spokesman Tim Neale said, adding, “It’s really hard for us to envision what a settlement would look like that would be reasonable.”

And while it’s gotten a bunch of attention from Congress, Neale said Boeing is “not seeking a legislative remedy here.”

In fact, congressional Republicans’ best intentions might go awry should Boeing lose the trial and appeal its case to the full board. In December, there will be three vacancies on the five-person board, as Republicans continue their vow to block Obama appointees. But if there’s a Boeing appeal, the board will fall short of a quorum needed to take it under consideration.

Bill Gould, who served as chairman of the NLRB under President Bill Clinton, noted that even when Republicans controlled both chambers of Congress during his tenure, the NLRB still had strong GOP advocates like the late Sen. Mark Hatfield of Oregon.

“We don’t have anyone on the Republican side of Congress like Sen. Hatfield anymore,” he said. “They’re gone. The dominant voice is that tea party voice. That’s produced extremism even above and beyond what I experienced in [the] ’90s. It was extreme, but not quite like this.”

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Amid Drug Cartel Violence, El Paso Students Make Daily Trek Across Border

Posted by Adam On September - 21 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

The drug war violence that has driven many to stay away from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, but hasn’t scared off one group – the college students who make daily trek over the Mexican-U.S. border to attend school in El Paso, Texas.

The University of Texas-El Paso sits only a couple of hundred yards away from line that straddles the neighboring countries. During the 2010-2011 school year, 1,400 Mexican nationals were enrolled, administrators reported – many crossing the border everyday.

University students fear the commute, however. Yet the panic isn’t only about being robbed or struck by bullets in crossfire – it’s being set up by the Mexican cartels to unwittingly smuggle drugs.

“It could be easy for a person to put something in your bike or car,” said graduate student Alonso Fierro.

Students worry about this traveling to and from El Paso.

“I revise the trunk, and I revise under the car, the tires,” said Martha Rayas, who graduated from UT-El Paso with a bachelor’s degree and is now pursuing a Master’s in linguistics.

Fierro and Rayas recalled the story of a Mexican teacher who made a daily commute from Juárez to teach at an El Paso elementary school. Traffickers placed narcotics in her vehicle; Mexican officials discovered them and arrested her in Mexico.

The teacher was later released, but students have made it a daily habit to check their vehicles’ trunks and underneath their cars to make sure drugs aren’t strapped on.

Mexican national students believe it’s worth the risk, however, to attend the American university. Rayas, for example, wanted the opportunity to improve her English.

Still, in addition to the dangers involved making the daily cross, the wait time to cross a port of entry could last two hours. Some commuters choose to buy a yearly $122 Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) express lane pass that cuts their wait time to as little as 20 minutes.

Mexican students attending the University of Texas-El Paso who cannot afford out-of-state tuition can apply for Texas in-state tuition through a tuition assistance program called Programa de Asistencia Estudiantil.

Violence in Juárez has changed everyday habits for people who live there. Fierro said he only leaves home to go to school and work. He rarely stops anywhere in public for more than a few minutes.

“I don’t go to public places anymore. I just go to my house, be with my wife,” he said. “If I want to get something to eat I will just pick it up and take off.”

Less than a month ago he was robbed in a Juárez restaurant.

“Somebody opened the door for me and I said ‘thank you,’” he added. “And they said, ‘no, it’s not thank you. You should drop to the floor and give me your stuff, and give me your cell.’”

He said the robber got away with his cell phone – but they threw back his wallet because he had no cash on him.

Despite the violence of making the daily commute through Juárez, both students told Fox News Latino it is worth it for their education.

“You have the opportunity to get in contact with a lot of cultures,” Rayas said.

Mexican national students attending American universities are required to obtain student visas. Rayas said they are not automatically granted U.S. temporary workers visas, however, after graduation.

As far as the danger, Rayas added that the students, believing in the power of numbers, travel in packs.

“We stick together,” she said.

Patrick Manning is a Junior Reporter for FoxNews.com based in El Paso.

Government Immigration

Charles de Garmo: Mexico not so sympathetic toward illegal immigrants as United States

Posted by Adam On September - 20 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

One Friday when Congress was on vacation and President Barack Obama was out the door on his way to a Martha’s Vineyard vacation, he had his press staff make a conference call to reporters around the country announcing a change in immigration law. This was done without congressional approval and suddenly changed the immigration status of 300,000 illegal immigrants awaiting deportation hearings.

It also changed their work status and allows them to apply for work permits and join the workforce competition with legal Americans. One of those affected was an illegal immigrant activist who lives in Indiantown. The story in your newspaper made me wonder what would happen if you or I were in his country, how would I be treated and what are the immigration rules in Mexico?

The Mexican General Law of the Population is very strong on illegal immigration.

According to multiple published reports and presentations, it states:

Noncitizens cannot in any way participate in political affairs of the country.

It will “bar foreigners if they upset the equilibrium of the national demographics.”

“No outsiders are allowed that are an economic burden on society.”

“No criminals or those who are mentally unfit.”

“Those seeking Mexican citizenship must have a birth certificate, have a bank statement proving economic independence, pass an exam and prove they can pay for their own health insurance.”

“Entering the country illegally is a felony punishable by two years in prison.”

“Document fraud is punishable by fine and imprisonment.”

“Alien marriage fraud is prohibited.”

“Avoiding deportation is a severe crime and being caught re-entering the country after being deported is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.”

“Law enforcement officers on all levels are empowered to enforce immigration laws including deportation.”

“Any illegal immigrant of foreigner can be deported by these same officers without due process at any time.”

“All foreigners must possess and show identification whenever asked by law officers or be considered illegal.”

Along with these rules, a National Catalog of Foreigners tracks all outside visitors and foreign nationals. A National Population Registry verifies the identification of every citizen. There is no clamor for “comprehensive immigration reform” because pro-illegal immigration speech, flag waving or rallies are a punishable crime.

When it comes to abuse of illegal immigrants, Mexico is notorious for human rights violations. According to the Red Cross, Central Americans illegally trying to reach the United States are routinely beaten, robbed and raped by the National Police. Cubans reaching the shores of Mexico are robbed and promptly returned to Cuba over the complaints of left-wing social justice groups and the Catholic Church.

These all seem like laws any rational country would implement to protect itself against illegal immigration. We have some of these laws on our books already but when Arizona tried to implement them, the state got sued by the federal government.

And to add insult to injury, we had Mexico’s president Felipe Calderon filing a friend of the court brief accusing the state of Arizona of “racial discrimination” and in “violation of human rights.” We have our law enforcement officers, ranchers and border patrol being marked for death by drug cartels. Instead of our president standing up and saying he won’t stand for these threats, he stands on the side on the other side and sues taxpayer of America.

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Congress’s Free Pass on Insider Trading

Posted by Adam On September - 15 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

The Galleon insider trading case has made top headlines everywhere, but what hasn’t been as extensively covered is how U.S. lawmakers are excluded from the same insider trading rules that govern Wall Street.

Unbeknownst to many people, current insider trading laws do not apply to nonpublic information about current or upcoming congressional activity. But a reintroduced bill called the STOCK Act (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) aims to change that. The bill was first introduced in 2006 by Rep. Louis Slaughter (D.-N.Y.). Under the proposed rule, government workers would be banned from stock, commodity or bond trading based upon their access to privileged information.

Given the U.S. government’s massive intervention in the financial system over the past several years, it is perplexing that rules governing the financial transactions of members of Congress aren’t already in place.

If passed, here’s what the STOCK Act would do:

Prohibit members or employees of Congress from buying or selling stocks, bonds or commodities futures based on nonpublic information about pending or prospective legislative action.
Prohibit those outside of Congress from buying or selling stocks, bonds, or commodities futures based on nonpublic information about pending or prospective legislative action if that information is obtained from a member or employee of Congress.
Prohibit members, employees, or persons with nonpublic information from disclosing information about any pending or prospective legislative action if they believe that information will be used to buy or sell stocks, bonds, or commodities futures.
Require members of Congress and employees to report the purchase, sale, or exchange of any stock, bond, or commodities future in excess of $1,000 within 30 days. Members and employees who choose to place their stock holdings in blind trusts or mutual funds are exempt from this reporting requirement.
Require firms that specialize in “political intelligence” and obtain their information directly from Congress to register with the House and Senate, much like lobbying firms are now required to do.

Here’s an example of the type of financial conduct that is currently legal that would be banned under the proposed STOCK Act: Congressman A learns that the chairman of the Appropriations Committee has decided to provide a multimillion dollar defense contract for Company B in the Defense Appropriations bill. This information has not been released to the public, but will almost certainly drive Company B’s stock price up when it becomes public knowledge. Congressman A buys stock in Company B and makes a huge profit.

Individual or professional investors who traded like Congressman A would most certainly be prosecuted, fined and perhaps jailed.

Thomas Newkirk, a former official with the SEC’s enforcement division, told the Wall Street Journal several years ago: “If a congressman learns that his committee is about to do something that would affect a company, he can go trade on that because he is not obligated to keep that information confidential…. He is not breaching a duty of confidentiality to anybody and therefore would not be liable for insider trading.”

Until the STOCK Act passes, double standards with insider trading rules governing the personal financial transactions of congressional members will continue to reign.

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“Pass WHAT Bill Mr. Obama?”

Posted by Adam On September - 10 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

17 times he said it in his speech this week. 17 times he said it.

17 times he repeated some variation of the need to “Pass this bill now, Pass this bill, Pass this bill right away, Pass this bill immediately.”

He referred to it as “his” bill, or rather, “the bill that he would be sending to Congress.” Of course this implies that President Obama had indeed written a bill, and would thereby be… um… sending it to Congress.

He was so excited at the possibility of passing the bill that the day after he said it 17 times, he jumped on Air-Force One and starting saying it again in other parts of the nation.

Now never mind the fact that what he said this bill would do, was almost exactly what he said his stimulus bill would do in 2009. Never mind the fact that when he then asked for nearly $800 billion in stimulus monies that he pledged unemployment would be kept at under 8%. Never mind the fact that since passage of that first stimulus package the unemployment number has been between 9-10% for 26 of 28 months. And certainly never mind the fact that even though he claimed in his speech this week that this bill would already be paid for.

There is I suppose the little matter of the Associated Press scoring the fact check on the President’s speech and that on four of it’s most important ideas they claimed he was being untruthful. But how would anyone even know?

“Pass this bill right away,” it bellowed out repeatedly some seventeen times in the halls of Congress, and across network airwaves who saw their ratings take on some resemblance of an EKG reading of someone who was in cardiac arrest.

“Pass this bill,” we were told, if we cared about teachers losing their jobs, infrastructure developments that need to be completed immediately, and the idea that people would be put back to work.

Pardon my diversion here, but didn’t we hear that the first stimulus “saved or created” some 389,000 teachers’ jobs in California? Weren’t we already told that, “infrastructural development” jobs (they were called “shovel ready projects” previously) were awaiting, only to have the President himself candidly admit that, “shovel ready” wasn’t exactly, “shovel ready?”

“Pass this bill now,” we have been commanded, if we want to see unemployment benefits be extended from 99 weeks to 144 weeks. That’s 2 years to 3 years as the now standard length of time someone could go without working and not need to?

It must have been important for the President to say 17 times that his bill needed to be passed, and passed post haste.

Except for the one tiny little detail. That one almost completely insignificant little speck of a thing.

Evidently there is no bill.

At some point in the near future, no doubt after a solemn weekend, when Americans can and should be united in their efforts to remember our loss on 9.11.2001, that President Obama will return from his travels, only to remember that he forgot something.

But for now we’ve been told, we’ve been commanded, we’ve been instructed, and we’ve been charged, “Pass this bill now!”

Then again how big of a step is it from passing a bill to find out what’s in it, by finally getting to read it, and passing a bill only to find out how to write it.

Perhaps former Speaker Pelosi could lend her help to the White House?

Or maybe he could revisit School House Rock? They’ve got a really educational little ditty called, “How a bill becomes a law!”

Maybe he should watch it 17 times…

Kevin McCullough is the nationally syndicated host of “The Kevin McCullough Show” weekdays & “Baldwin/McCullough Radio” Saturdays (9-11pm EST) on 289 stations. His newest best-selling hardcover from Thomas Nelson Publishers, “No He Can’t: How Barack Obama is Dismantling Hope and Change” is in stores now.

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House chairman: Obama uncle’s got ‘backdoor amnesty’

Posted by Adam On September - 9 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said Friday that President Obama’s half-uncle, an illegal immigrant who was picked up but has reportedly been released from jail, appears to have benefited from the new “backdoor amnesty” the administration announced last month.

“It appears there is a double standard — one for President Obama’s family and one for everyone else,” Rep. Lamar Smith, Texas Republican, said. “Last year, President Obama’s illegal immigrant aunt was granted asylum and now his illegal immigrant uncle has been released from [the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency] custody, even though he was arrested by authorities for drunk driving.”

Mr. Smith said the case will be the first “test case” for a new Homeland Security policy announced last month that gives immigration authorities more discretion to let illegal immigrants go, rather than pursue efforts to deport them.

The Boston Globe reported Friday that Onyango Obama, the half-brother of the president’s father, was released from jail Thursday after being held for more than two weeks on an immigration detainer after he was arrested on a drunk-driving charge.

Asked about the case last week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters she couldn’t comment on a specific matter and didn’t know enough about the incident.

A White House spokesman said last week that he did not expect the man to receive special treatment.

The Globe said it was unclear where the president’s uncle was.

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Twelve Words to Describe Obama’s Jobs Speech

Posted by Adam On September - 9 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

Thursday night’s show by President Obama struck me as…

Presumptuous: He demanded – 17 times – that Congress immediately pass a bill no one has seen.

Tired: The speech contained little new, just mostly recycled ideas or extensions of current programs that haven’t worked.

Small: Its proposals, while expensive, offer little hope of really jump-starting the economy.

Mind-boggling: Mr. Obama wants to drains hundreds of billions from Social Security for another stimulus.

Slippery: It will all be paid for, the president said, but it’s up to a Congressional committee to figure out how.

Misleading: These were just GOP ideas. Really? Republicans have proposed another $450 billion stimulus bill, Mr. Obama?

Arrogant: He refused to consult in advance with anyone on the Hill, even refusing a meeting request from the House Speaker and Majority Leader.

Self-centered: The only job he’s really concerned about is his own. If he really wanted a bipartisan package, he would have worked with Republicans to come up with one.

Unnecessary: The president would have been better off traveling the country this week to lay out proposals, surrounded by people he could claim would might benefit.

Completely political: Before he spoke, Mr. Obama sent supporters an email titled “Before I head to the Capitol” that ended with “You should donate today.”

Hyper-partisan: This speech – especially its angry tone – was aimed at setting up the Republicans for blame next fall. Then he’ll say the economy would be better if the GOP has just done what I ordered them to do.

Misguided: Mr. Obama is betting his re-elect on a massive spending bill.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln enjoyed the show.

All News Barack Obama Government

Big labor VS Taxpayers

Posted by Adam On September - 8 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

Co-authored with Trey Kovacs

Until recently, union bosses—not elected representatives—have been in control of the government employee compensation process. Using taxpayer dollars they obtain through mandatory dues, they elect the management they later negotiate with. However, across the country in states such as Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan, taxpayers are fighting back and the tide of Big Labor control is starting to change.

Now there is a new online tool to give taxpayers and policy makers critical information on which states favor Big Labor. The Competitive Enterprise Institute and Crossroads GPS recently launched a “Big Labor versus Taxpayer Index” that analyzes 1,150 labor laws and regulations throughout the country and exposes states that make coddling Big Labor a top priority.

For the first time ever, government union members outnumbered those in the private sector in 2009. These unions are at the forefront of the movement for more expansive and expensive government. They use collected forced dues to lobby for greater pay, lavish benefits and more members. They also have a legal monopoly over public services and, if they strike, can deprive citizens of essential services such as education and safety.

The result is a vicious circle. Politicians cater to government unions, and these unions in turn support these politicians’ election campaigns. Once these pro-Big Labor candidates are elected, they can provide the increased pay and benefits to government employees that is demanded by their unions. The unions then collect dues from their members, which enables them to give more political support to friendly politicians, and the cycle goes on.

Politicians can put the interest of government unions ahead of taxpayers in a multitude of ways. Below are a few examples rated by the index on how Big Labor can be put head of citizens.

Collective Bargaining

Collective bargaining strengthens government unions’ labor monopoly in the public sector, manipulating the price and availability of public services. Big Labor uses the process of collective bargaining to exert control over budget and spending policy of state governments. Collective bargaining combined with political activity, enables unions to act as unelected government officials who lobby and negotiate for more government jobs and greater government employee pay and job security.

The gains that unions have made in the government sector are bankrupting states and municipalities. Government employees’ lavish compensation, unsustainable retirement benefits, and ironclad job security put enormous financial burdens on the taxpayer. Government workers, on average, earned 46 percent more in salary and benefits during the past decade than did similar workers in the private sector.

States that have long provided strong collective bargaining privileges to government employee unions today have high rates of union density and unsustainable pension liabilities. New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York all have union density rates of 55 percent or higher in the government sector. The high union density rates lead to some of the highest liabilities for government employee retirement funds.

Government employee unions’ are a relatively recent phenomenon. Until recently, even strong union advocates dismissed the notion of public sector unionism. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once wrote, “All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service….The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee organizations. The employer is the whole people, who speak by means of laws enacted by their representatives in Congress.”

Former AFL-CIO President George Meany put it more bluntly: “It is impossible to bargain collectively with the government.”

Paycheck Protection

Most of union bosses’ power comes from their ability to collect compulsory dues from employees in order for them to keep their jobs. The dues payments are used to lobby for union leaders’ preferred political agenda: bigger and more expansive government. For many union members, this means that their dues go to promote political agendas they do not support. Paycheck protection laws help to curb this undemocratic practice by requiring union bosses to obtain written consent from union members before they can use their dues for political activity.

Government employee unions’ spending is massive. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) was the largest outside spender in the 2010 election cycle. On its list of top all-time political donors, the Center for Responsive Politics lists AFSCME second. The National Education Association (NEA) fifth, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) sixth, and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) 10th. In short, government-sector unions constitute a permanent, well-funded, self-supporting lobby for bigger government, funded mostly from forced dues.

Secret Ballot Elections and Card Check

The secret ballot is a bedrock principle of democracy. The use of the secret ballot in union elections is paramount to maintaining employee rights. However, those rights are not protected like they are in elections for government officials. Big Labor’s preferred method of elections is card check. This circumvents the secret ballot by allowing a union to be certified for a group of workers by getting a majority of them to sign union cards. Card check occurs publically and usually in the presence of union organizers, which opens the door to coercion and intimidation.

Binding Arbitration

Binding arbitration is the process by which the unilateral decision of an unelected bureaucrat can determine the compensation and conditions of government employment. Some states mandate binding arbitration when collective bargaining negotiations reach an impasse. This policy usurps voters’ right to have the final say on how their state and local governments spend tax dollars.

Binding arbitration allows union negotiators to submit unreasonable offers in the hope that an arbitrator will make concessions to labor, as is often the case. In many cases elected officials have no power to overturn the arbitrator’s decisions, thus thwarting the electorate’s will.

Open Meetings Laws

Open meetings laws give the public accessibility to government sector collective bargaining negotiations, in order to hold both union officials and state negotiators accountable to the taxpayer. By enforcing transparency, open meetings laws limit the harmful aspects of collective bargaining and binding arbitration.

An informed citizenry versed in the workings of government is needed to ensure the proper use of tax dollars. Currently, however, only 11 states provide access to government sector collective bargaining sessions.

Public Employee Pension Underfunding

Pension underfunding is the amount each state government owes to fulfill its pension commitments to its employees. Collective bargaining, binding arbitration, and elected officials’ appeasement of union officials have led to an epidemic of unfunded state pension liabilities across the nation. According to a recent study by the Pew Center for the States, 31 states are below the 80-percent threshold needed for a pension system to be considered well funded. This debt directly affects taxpayer; as those states will require a tax increase of $1,000 or more per household to fully fund their pension systems if they make no other policy changes.

Project Labor Agreement Bans

Project labor agreements (PLAs) are government construction contracts steered to unionized construction firms. This practice eliminates fair and open competition. Under a PLA, a construction firm must agree to sign a union collective bargaining agreement, whether it is unionized or not, before it can bid on a government construction project. PLAs cost taxpayers. They can increase government construction costs by up to 18 percent.

Strike Policy

Government sector unions’ right to strike is detrimental to the free flow of commerce and maintenance of public services. Lack of strike prohabitions allow union officials to hold the taxpayer hostage by threatening the withdrawal of essential government services. When public safety employees are allowed to strike it endangers all citizens. This allows the union to gain generous concessions from government officials that end up creating unsustainable contracts which often lead to state budget strains.

Taken together these criteria can illustrate which states favor taxpayers or continue to handout favors to Big Labor. The index is an excellent way for citizens across the country to learn where their political leaders stand. The index is already having an impact. Think tanks and policy makers across the country are using it to share ideas about how to improve their states’ labor policies.

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Cain says Democrats have taken ‘race card to new low’ ( Agreed )

Posted by Adam On September - 2 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

By Geneva Sands-Sadowitz – 09/01/11 01:17 PM ET

Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain said Democrats have taken the “race card to a new low,” in their verbal attacks of the Tea Party.

“The Democrats have no results to run on, they have no plans that are working. The president doesn’t have any plans that are working; he’s broken a lot of promises. All they have left, Greta, is name-calling to try and intimidate those that might associate with the Tea Party. … They have taken the race card to a new low,” Cain said to Fox News’s Greta Van Susteren on Wednesday.

The former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza was responding to Rep. André Carson’s (D-Ind.) recent remarks about the Tea Party. At a town-hall meeting Carson said that Tea Party-affiliated members of Congress see African-Americans as “second-class citizens” and would be happy to see blacks “hanging from a tree.”

Cain called those comments were “disgusting” and “despicable.”

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Labor Department Agreements Protect Illegal Workers ( Maybe they should protect prostitues and drug dealers as well )

Posted by Adam On September - 1 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis has overseen a number of signed agreements between U.S. agencies and foreign officials pledging to give migrant workers the full protections of U.S. workplace laws — regardless of their legal status — and she says her department will uphold them.

“No matter how you got here or how long you plan to stay, you have certain rights,” Solis said at an event unveiling the latest agreements on Monday in Washington.

Solis says foreign workers need to know their rights, so that they can lodge complaints without fear that they will be fired or deported. She believes the signed agreements with countries like El Salvador and Mexico will serve to “remove those fears.”

Critics of the move say the policy flies in the face of U.S. laws on both immigration and labor, and find the pledges especially worrisome in a time of high unemployment.

“Obviously everyone wants workers protected in the workplace, that’s not the issue,” said Phil Kent, national spokesman for Americans for Immigration Control. “The problem is the bending over backwards to help and promote black market labor.”

Solis defends the agreements, saying that current U.S. law protects all workers.

“Previous administrations, both Republican and Democrat, have held to that, so I’m not doing anything different,” she said.

But critics argue that regardless of which party advocates for the written agreements, the policy is wrong. They also note that the Labor Department’s own website states that businesses may only hire workers who are U.S. citizens or those who are in the country legally.

Kent says it’s also a slap in the face to immigrants who try to go through proper legal channels for naturalization, saying they must ask themselves whether it’s worth it to immigrate legally.

“Why did I bother to go through six, seven years of this to become a citizen when you have people like Secretary Solis and the Obama administration just thumbing their nose at the law — and the American worker?” Kent said, describing how legal immigrants may respond.

In addition to the agreements already signed with countries in Central America, Solis says there are also plans to enter into similar partnerships with governments in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean.

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Woman Allegedly Arranged Sex Between Husband and Child to Claim Extra Money

Posted by Adam On August - 24 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

A Florida woman is accused of arranging sex between her husband and a 12-year-old girl in hopes the child would become pregnant, leading to extra state benefits for the woman’s household, the Jackson County Floridan reports.

Alicia Ann Bouchard, 41, of Jackson County, reportedly faces charges of being a principal to sexual battery, soliciting sexual activity with a child, and being a principal to child abuse in the case.

Bouchard allegedly arranged sex between the child and her 26-year-old husband, telling the girl that “the worse that could happen is you would get pregnant,” according to the complaint.

The complaint goes on to state that the girl said she had been sexually active with Matthew Bouchard in the presence of his wife, the newspaper reports.

Matthew Bouchard allegedly said his wife’s goal was for him to impregnate the girl so that she could claim extra money from state benefits.

Matthew Bouchard is charged with sexual battery on a child 12 years of age and is being held in the Jackson County jail along with his wife.

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America’s Third War: The U.S. Cut a Deal With the Sinaloa Cartel, Say Court Documents

Posted by Adam On August - 5 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

U.S. federal agents allegedly cut a deal with the Sinaloa drug cartel that allowed it to traffic tons of narcotics across the border, in exchange for information about rival cartels, according to documents filed in federal court.

The allegations are made by Vicente Zambada-Niebla, a top ranking cartel boss extradited to the U.S. last year on drug charges. He is a close associate of Mexico’s most wanted man, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and the son of Ismael “Mayo” Zambada-Garcia.

Both remain fugitives, in part, because of the deal Zambada- Niebla made with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, according to a defense motion filed last Friday in the case.

Alvin Michaelson, the Los Angeles attorney representing Zambada- Niebla who wrote the brief, refused comment.

The deal allegedly began with Humberto Loya-Castro, a Sinaloa cartel lawyer who became an informant for the D.E.A. after a drug case against him was dismissed in 2008.

According to the motion, the deal was part of a ‘divide and conquer’ strategy, where the U.S. helped finance and arm the Sinaloa cartel, through Operation Fast and Furious, in exchange for information that allowed the D.E.A. and FBI to destroy and dismantle rival Mexican cartels. Operation Fast and Furious is the failed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives anti-gun trafficking program which allowed thousand of guns to cross into Mexico.

“Under that agreement, the Sinaloa Cartel, through Loya, was to provide information accumulated by Mayo, Chapo, and others, against rival Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations to the United States government. In return, the United States government agreed to dismiss the prosecution of the pending case against Loya, not to interfere with his drug trafficking activities and those of the Sinaloa Cartel, to not actively prosecute him, Chapo, Mayo, and the leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel, and to not apprehend them.”

Zambada- Niebla was arrested in Mexico City in March 2009 and extradited to the U.S. in February to stand trial on narco-trafficking-related charges. The indictment claims he served as the cartel’s “logistical coordinator” who oversaw an operation that imported tons of cocaine into the U.S. by jets, buses, rail cars, tractor-trailers, and automobiles. Zambada-Niebla is now being held in solitary confinement in a Chicago jail cell.

The motion claims Mayo, Chapo and Zambada- Niebla routinely passed information through Loya to the D.E.A. that allowed it to make drug busts. In return, the U.S. helped the leaders evade Mexican police.

It says: “In addition, the defense has evidence that from time to time, the leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel was informed by agents of the DEA through Loya that United States government agents and/or Mexican authorities were conducting investigations near the home territories of cartel leaders so that the cartel leaders could take appropriate actions to evade investigators- even though the United States government had indictments, extradition requests, and rewards for the apprehension of Mayo, Chapo, and other alleged leaders, as well as Mr. Zambada-Niebla.”

In 2008, “the DEA representative told Mr. Loya-Castro that they wanted to establish a more personal relationship with Mr. Zambada-Niebla so that they could deal with him directly.”

In March 17, 2009, Loya set up a meeting at the Sheraton Hotel in Mexico City with two D.E.A. agents, identified as Manny and David. There, the four men met and Zambada-Niebla claims he received immunity from an indictment out of federal court in Washington D.C.

“There is also evidence that at the hotel, Mr. Zambada-Niebla did accept the agreement and thereafter in reliance on that agreement, provided further information regarding rival drug cartels. Mr. Zambada-Niebla was told that the government agents were satisfied with the information he had provided to them and that arrangements would be made to meet with him again. Mr. Zambada-Niebla then left the meeting. Approximately five hours after the meeting, Mr. Zambada-Niebla was arrested by Mexican authorities. “

Experts who reviewed the document say the U.S. typically has written agreements with paid informants that spell out each other’s responsibilities. They doubt Zambada-Niebla had one, although Loya probably did. The defense here is hoping to obtain DEA reports that detail the agencies relationship with the Sinaloa cartel and get the agents on the stand.

In response in court, the U.S. doesn’t dispute that Zambada-Niebla may have acted as an informant – only that he did not act with D.E.A. consent.

The D.E.A. and the federal prosecutors in Chicago had no comment.

Former D.E.A. director Karen Tandy told Fox News “I do not have any knowledge of this and it doesn’t sound right from my experience.”

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Insider Trading: How members of Congress can cheat, yet see reward

Posted by admin On July - 22 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

Insider trading is what happens when investors know more about a stock than they should, and use that knowledge for their own benefit. Investors often frown on this practice, and for good reason: it is illegal and punishable with fines and jail time.

However, why is insider trading illegal?

One possible analogy is preparing for a school test; students are expected to study for a test and hope that their knowledge will result in choosing the right answers for a good grade. Similarly, traders and investors in the markets hope that their decisions will result in their stock doing well. When some students come in with the answers to said test, they have an unfair advantage over the persons who have chosen to study and take the ‘fair’ path to success.

In academics, this would be cheating, and students who have chosen to prepare for the test legitimately would hope that these cheaters see punishment for their actions. However, even in these situations, sometimes these charlatans are lucky enough to succeed and reap the benefits of their “hard work.”

Members of Congress are most analogous to these ‘special’ students, as they have been, and continue to, “cheat” on their stock market tests with continued success and few repercussions from the U.S. court system. Unfortunately, students such as Martha Stewart and her broker, along with former hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam have not been as fortunate. These ‘cheaters’ were caught.

So what makes Congressional representatives, as well as their staffers, able to cheat on these tests and see reward, while average Americans see only punishment? Maybe it is because members of Congress think that this is a ‘perk’ of their positions in office. However, it should not be the case, especially considering that Congressional members should represent the interests of ordinary Americans, rather than themselves. In most circumstances, cheaters see castigation for their infractions.

Sadly, Congressional members are not subjected to these ‘circumstances,’ and for the most part, they prefer to keep it that way; even the Securities and Exchange Commission thinks as much, preferring to call it “outsider trading.”

Perhaps Gordon Gekko was correct when he stated in “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” that greed has now become legal. However, that movie also posed this question when it comes to stocks and investing: is it about the game, or doing the right thing?

The movie’s ultimate resolution resulted in Gekko choosing the latter; it would be wise if members of Congress did the same.

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SEC’s lease of unneeded office space subject of second hearing

Posted by Adam On July - 18 - 2011 1 COMMENT

SEC’s lease of unneeded office space subject of second hearing

By Vicki Needham – 07/05/11 05:39 PM ET

House lawmakers are expected on Wednesday to grill federal regulators over a decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission to spend more than $550 million to rent office space it didn’t need.

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro and David Kotz, the SEC’s inspector general, who released a scathing report in May over the deal to lease 900,000 square feet of space before having the necessary funding in hand, will testify before the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, the second hearing in less than a month on the matter.

“Unfortunately, examples of waste abound in our management of federal real property, but the SEC’s massive half-a-billion-dollar lease for space it did not need goes far beyond mismanagement,” said Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), chairman of the subpanel.

“It is hard to comprehend how easily the SEC can just commit to spending over $500 million of the American people’s money and have no answers when questioned by Congress,” he said, prompting the need for a second hearing to get more details.

Kotz’s report showed that the agency’s Office of Administrative Services “conducted a deeply flawed and unsound analysis to justify the need for the SEC to lease” the building and that “OAS grossly overestimated” the amount of space needed for the SEC’s intended new headquarters, including an estimated 800 new workers at a cost of $557 million over 10 years.

Witnesses in the report described an environment “in which inexperienced senior management make unwise decisions without any input from employees with significant knowledge and experience.”

According to the report, Schapiro was opposed to the deal and wanted new employees placed in regional offices, a point she’ll most likely make during the hearing.

The report found that the SEC also might have violated the Anti-Deficiency Act by committing the agency to spend funds Congress hadn’t approved.

At the last hearing, on June 16, lawmakers slammed the SEC’s decision to lease the space in anticipation of getting full budget funding to expand under the Dodd-Frank financial law.

Under Dodd-Frank, the SEC’s budget is expected to be covered by fees collected from the financial industry, beginning next year.

Not only is the SEC taking heat from lawmakers, the landlord of the building says the agency owes them nearly $94 million in damages allegedly caused by its actions.

During that same meeting, Kotz said he thought the reason for obtaining the lease in the renovated former Transportation Department headquarters was for “a beautiful space with fancy views.”

Jeffery Heslop, SEC’s chief operating officer, said during that June hearing that it was obvious by the fall of 2010 that a fiscal 2011 continuing resolution going through Congress wouldn’t include funds to hire additional staff, and so the commission withdrew from the lease and found substitute federal tenants that don’t depend on congressional appropriations for their leases, including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

While acknowledging that the SEC made mistakes in obtaining the lease, Heslop pointed out that the SEC hasn’t paid any rent.

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.), the panel’s top Democrat, said she was shocked about the details surrounding the lease, and will press for passage of legislation to revoke the SEC’s authority to manage its own leases. The General Services Administration manages most leases for the federal government.

All News Government Government Waste

cool email i got Lets spread the word

Posted by Adam On July - 14 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government – lest it come to dominate our lives and interests”. – Patrick Henry – I have totally cleaned this e-mail from all other names, sending it to you in hopes you will keep it going and keep it clean. This is something I will fight for and I hope you all read it all the way through. You will be glad you did. The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971…before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc. Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land…all because of public pressure. I’m asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise. In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around. Congressional Reform Act of 2011 1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office. 2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fundmove to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participat

I have totally cleaned this e-mail from all other names, sending it to you in hopes you will keep it going and keep it clean. This is something I will fight for and I hope you all read it all the way through. You will be glad you did.

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971…before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land…all because of public pressure.

I’m asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.

Congressional Reform Act of 2011

1. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fundmove to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12.

The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

es with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose. 3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do. 4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%. 5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people. 6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people. 7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

All News Government Government Waste

Taxpayer funded beer bash for DOJ

Posted by Adam On June - 30 - 2011 1 COMMENT

With the real unemployment rate above 16 percent, it is a perfect time to throw a lavish party for high paid federal employees at Eric Holder’s Department of Justice. At least Eric Holder thinks so.

The Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department, the same unit that dismissed the slam dunk voter intimidation lawsuit against the New Black Panther Party and forced Dayton (OH) to hire firefighters who flunked employment tests, is throwing an alcohol-fueled bash during work hours for 815 employees.

I have obtained the invitation posted internally to all 815 Civil Rights Division employees. It reads:

“It’s Time to Get Together, So Save the Date – It’s time to open up and let the sun shine in!”

I’ll wager if a Freedom of Information Act request was sent to DOJ about the costs of the beer bash and lost employee time, there wouldn’t be much sunshine.

The invitation continues:

“The Civil Rights Division will host a get-together on Thursday, June 30th in the Main Justice Courtyard, from 3:00 p.m. Until 6:00 p.m. Beer, wine and snacks will be served. Come on out and enjoy the weather and say hello to your co-workers! Hope to see you there! (Rain/extreme heat date: Wednesday, July 13th, 2011 – Great Hall). Please contact Kathy Anderson in the Executive Office by email or on 202-514-5577 if you have any questions. “

Sounds like fun, courtesy of the United States taxpayers. Instead of working, hundreds of federal employees will be tapping kegs. Instead of earning their GS-15 ($123,758 – $155,500) salaries, they will be sipping Chardonnay while other Americans drive trucks, mow lawns or continue their long desperate search for employment.

The Main Justice Courtyard is in the center of the Robert F. Kennedy DOJ building and has fountains and landscaped terraces. It also has two large drive-thru open air gates on 9^th and 10^th street where members of the public could actually come and watch the party, and loudly petition the government about their grievance for holding such a tone-deaf party.

If that happens, you can bet the party will move to “extreme heat date” in the quiet confines of the Great Hall, inside the building.

Also invited to the party are numerous Senior Executive Service employees making $145,700 to $199,700. This Division has gone on a hiring spree since the inauguration and hired over 130 new high paid attorneys even though Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez informed employees they don’t have enough money from Congress to do it, even while DOJ holds employee scavenger hunts and pays for days at the ballpark watching Washington Nationals games.

After President Obama joked about the failed stimulus plan and the not-so shovel ready recipients of trillions of dollars, it seems an odd time for federal employees to be imbibing on the taxpayer’s dime during work hours. Then again, they probably didn’t count on “much sunshine.”

All News Government

Access to House Gym One of Many Perks for Ex-Rep. Weiner ( That needs to stop right away. Run out of office and then given access to the floor so he an be a lobbyist )

Posted by Adam On June - 30 - 2011 ADD COMMENTS

Rep. Anthony Weiner can still get his demons out at the House gym, though he resigned from Congress a week ago in the wake of a lurid Twitter scandal.

As an ex-member of Congress, the New York Democrat will enjoy certain perks in the nation’s capital for the rest of his life — in addition to a pension that could easily be worth $1 million over the next several decades.

On the list of facilities he’ll have access to is the House gym, the location where several photos of Weiner in various states of disrobe may have been taken. He’ll also be allowed to use the Library of Congress, eat in House restaurant facilities and park on the House side of the Capitol — space permitting. And in case he has a hankering to deliver a thunderous speech, former members typically are afforded floor privileges while Congress is in session.

For the time being, Weiner is working on honing his mental state more than his abs. The New York Post reports that Weiner is about to enter an “intensive” rehab program, as he and wife Huma Abedin try to salvage their marriage.

Abedin is pregnant, and Weiner has said they have no intention of splitting up. A former colleague told the Post the ex-congressman is “headed next” to the rehab program.

Weiner resigned after admitting to sending lewd photos over the Internet to several women.

All News Government

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SEC’s lease of unneeded office space subject of second hearing

SEC’s lease of unneeded office space subject of second hearing

cool email i got Lets spread the word

Taxpayer funded beer bash for DOJ

Access to House Gym One of Many Perks for Ex-Rep. Weiner ( That needs to stop right away. Run out of office and then given access to the floor so he an be a lobbyist )

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…do you think it's good or bad pork?

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