News of the Week
Wisconsin ***************Unintended consequences in Wisconsin If public-sector unions continue to fight for concessions from states, American workers will pay the price *************** Suspect Located In Wisconsin GOP Death Threats; Female Suspect Has Confessed Posted by Lady Liberty The Wisconsin authorities actually located one of the loons who sent the Wisconsin GOP members death threats. *************** On Wisconsin! How Republicans won the battle of Madison. By STEPHEN F. HAYES AND JOHN MCCORMACK It was Wednesday, March 9, and Governor Walker had decided to visit the Wisconsin State Capitol before he headed off to give his “Ag Day” speech that afternoon. *************** Why I'm Fighting in Wisconsin We can avoid mass teacher layoffs and reward our best performers. But we have to act now. By SCOTT WALKER In 2010, Megan Sampson was named an Outstanding First Year Teacher in Wisconsin. A week later, she got a layoff notice from the Milwaukee Public Schools. Why would one of the best new teachers in the state be one of the first let go? Because her collective-bargaining contract requires staffing decisions to be made based on seniority. *************** Sen. Ron Johnson denounces 'mob rule' By Jennifer Rubin Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a former businessman and now a freshman senator, held a conference call Thursday afternoon with a small group of bloggers. For a freshman, he's entirely fluid on the issues and easily navigates between specifics and larger themes. *************** Behold! Your Public Sector Unions at Work. Everywhere you turn these days, your public sector unions are hard at work, protesting cutbacks to public sector unions. Andrew Klavan exposes the charming charm of your unionized civil servants. *************** Why do these people, many of whom are professionals, feel no fear in expressing such death wishes in the open? You have seen the video of Twitter death wishes directed at Sarah Palin, by people who did not feel the need to hide their identities. So like clockwork, death wishes (threats?) are being tweeted about Scott Walker, again often using real names. *************** Justice Department investigating death threats against Republican senators, representatives By Mike Johnson and Jason Stein Madison --Seventeen Republican Senators in addition to Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald received the email threat that stated they should put their "things in order because you will be killed and your families also will be killed." *************** Wisconsin Republican Lawmakers Get Death Threats By Jon Byman MADISON - The State Department of Justice confirms that it is investigating several death threats against a number of lawmakers in response to the legislature's move to strip employees of many collective bargaining rights. *************** 'This Is War' Could Michael Moore be on to something? By JAMES TARANTO "This is war," Michael Moore declared last night on MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow Show." The porcine propagandist referred to the Wisconsin Senate's 18-1 vote earlier in the evening in favor of legislation, supported by Gov. Scott Walker, that would strip politicians of the power to reward government employee unions for their political support by committing taxpayer money to their members' extravagant pensions and other fringe benefits. *************** The Left’s Next Moves in Wisconsin *************** Unions Storm Madison, Break Windows: Capital in Chaos *************** Wis. GOP bypasses Dems, cuts collective bargaining By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Wisconsin Senate succeeded in voting Wednesday to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from public workers, after Republicans outmaneuvered the chamber's missing Democrats and approved an explosive proposal that has rocked the state and unions nationwide. *************** Michigan workers jam Capitol to protest union plan (Reuters) - In a scene reminiscent of Wisconsin, hundreds of pro-union protesters jammed the Michigan state Capitol on Tuesday to oppose a bill that would give emergency managers authority to break labor deals to revive failing schools and cities. *************** Arab Revolts *************** Pro-Gadhafi forces claim more territory: Libya TV Forces loyal to Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi are steadily advancing on rebels trying to oust him, winning back territory rebel forces seized earlier, Libya TV reported Sunday. *************** Libyan government forces retake Zawiya Ras Lanuf, Libya (CNN) - Libyan government soldiers made headway Thursday against rebel forces, retaking the city of Zawiya, just west of the capital city of Tripoli, after a week of attacks. *************** The latest from a Source inside the Egyptian Demonstrations The situation is balkanized and highly dangerous and may not calm down, even in six months. The source him or herself had been in physical danger and been shot at. Business is at a standstill and the demonstrators are being blamed. On the good side, Christians have been demonstrating along with Muslims in Tahrir Square. *************** Saudi police open fire at protest By SARAH EL DEEB, The Associated Press CAIRO -- Saudi police opened fire Thursday to disperse a protest in the mainly Shiite east, leaving at least one man injured, as the government struggled to prevent a wave of unrest sweeping the Arab world from reaching the kingdom. *************** U.S. spy chief sees Gaddafi forces prevailing long-term WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Thursday that the better-equipped forces of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will over the long term prevail. *************** Morocco king vows sweeping reforms Morocco's King Mohammed VI announces constitutional reform plan by June Morocco's King Mohammed VI announced a planned constitutional reform on Wednesday and appointed a committee to work with political parties, trade unions and civil society groups to draw up proposals by June. *************** Anti-government protesters may have been hit with nerve gas, doctors say Yemenis protest against the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa, where demonstrators were allegedly fired on with nerve gas by government forces. Source: AFP DOCTORS from the scene of violent anti-government protests in Yemen's capital said that what was thought to be tear gas fired by government forces on demonstrators may have been nerve gas, which is forbidden under international law. *************** Yemeni army storms university, wounding 98 AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The Yemeni government escalated its efforts to stop mass protests calling for the president's ouster on Tuesday, with soldiers firing rubber bullets and tear gas at students camped at a university in the capital in a raid that left at least 98 people wounded, officials said. *************** 'Syrian mercenaries, warplanes aiding Gaddafi' By JPOST.COM STAFF AND REUTERS Report: Libyan rebels shoot down two Syrian planes; Gaddafi hires paid fighters from Eastern Europe, Arab countries. *************** Kuwaiti protests on Tuesday aim to remove PM By Eman Goma KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwaiti youth groups will take to the streets on Tuesday to demand the removal of the prime minister and for more political freedom in the Gulf Arab state, the world's fourth largest oil exporter. *************** Knives, petrol bombs return to Cairo streets Activists face attacks for first time in weeks in Cairo Protesters seeking end to state security apparatus Ministers of interior, foreign affairs and justice named *************** Saudi Arabia detains Shi'ites as clerics ban protests By Andrew Hammond DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi security forces have detained at least 22 minority Shi'ites who protested last week against discrimination, activists said on Sunday, as the kingdom tried to keep the wave of Arab unrest outside its borders. *************** Yemen: The Most Dangerous Domino By Bobby Ghosh / Sana'a *************** Obamacare *************** Socialized medicine in theory and in practice By Charlie Martin I lived in Canada for several years, on and off, and one thing I learned as an American was that the Canadian health care system is the most wonderful health care system in the world, except for when it was actually you that’s sick. I’ve got a half dozen examples, but the one I’ve always thought was most telling was a distant cousin who had a gynecological problem that led to hemorrhaging. She was taken to the emergency room, received prompt palliative treatment that stopped the bleeding, and was given an emergency appointment with a gynecologist. *************** Number of healthcare reform law waivers climbs above 1,000 By Jason Millman The number of temporary healthcare reform waivers granted by the Obama administration to organizations climbed to more than 1,000, according to new numbers disclosed by the Department of Health and Human Services. *************** "Hide the Decline" Eerie Coincidences in Failure of NASA Climate Monitoring Satellites The failure of two NASA satellites built to study climate change raises the unlikely — but still possible — specter of sabotage. *************** Waxman Angrily Assails G.O.P. ‘Science Deniers’ By JOHN M. BRODER There are few more powerful forces in nature than Henry Waxman in righteous fury. The California Democrat, scourge of the tobacco industry, the pharmaceutical business, the oil lobby and other malefactors of great wealth, is trying to adjust to his new role in the minority in the House. It is not going well. *************** Losing the War on Reporting the Mexico Narco Violence By: Joseph J. Kolb When a 9-year-old student in an El Paso, Texas after-school program asked staff member Abril Holguin if he could call his parents to see where they were, Holguin saw the expression of fear on his face and knew what it meant. The child's mother, a reporter, and father, a photographer, both with El Diario newspaper, were on assignment again across the border in Juarez, Mexico. Even at 9 years old, the little boy knows the risks of reporting in what has been called the "deadliest city in the world" by human rights organizations. *************** China Flexes Muscles in the South China Sea Good analysis by NIGHTWATCH of some events taking place in the South China Sea. Philippines-China: The Philippine military on 2 March sent two military aircraft to patrol the ocean and air space near Reed Bank, a long time Philippine-occupied territory in the South China Sea. The Philippines took the action in response to the behavior of two Chinese patrol boats which harassed a Philippine ship searching for oil, according to Philippine military commander Lieutenant General Juancho Sabban. *************** Report: Too many whites, men leading military By Pauline Jelinek - The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is too white and too male at the top and needs to change recruiting and promotion policies and lift its ban on women in combat, an independent report for Congress said Monday. *************** MSNBC’s Cenk Uygur Won’t Read Chart That Says ‘Black Separatists’ Are A Hate Group It’s a cliche in American politics to attack the other side with some variation of “you can’t handle the truth,” but sometimes it’s hard to find any other way to describe moments when prepackaged political views and hard data collide. MSNBC host Cenk Uygur had one such moment today as he refused to read data on a chart by his guest’s institution that showed black separatists groups were in the top three kinds of hate groups in America today. *************** National *************** Nuclear Renaissance Threatened as Japan’s Reactor Struggles ***************By Jim Polson, Kim Chipman and Mark Chediak (Bloomberg) -- Global expansion of nuclear power may draw more scrutiny and skepticism as the world watches Japan struggle to prevent a meltdown at a reactor damaged by a record earthquake, a former U.S. atomic regulator said. *************** Japan Nuclear Crisis Could Cause Reassessment in U.S. By STEPHANIE SIMON The U.S. nuclear power industry believed it was poised for a renaissance. *************** As Berkley eyes Ensign’s Senate seat, Legislature sharpens redistricting knife By Anjeanette Damon A quiet excitement is brewing among Democratic leaders in the Legislature over the prospect of Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., running for the U.S. Senate. *************** Good, short situationer from Dan Weintraub on Gov. Jerry Brown’s complicated attempt to close California’s budget gap. Key graf: The governor, for instance, has called Republicans “disloyal to California” for refusing to put his tax plan on the ballot. A handful of Republicans who were negotiating with the governor, meanwhile, threw up their hands earlier this week and said the negotiations were going nowhere because Brown refused to cross his public employee union supporters. *************** Vicious Assault Shakes Texas Town By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr. CLEVELAND, Tex. — The police investigation began shortly after Thanksgiving, when an elementary school student alerted a teacher to a lurid cellphone video that included one of her classmates. *************** Black Panther Leader Justifies Gang Rape of 11-Year-Old Hispanic Girl… CLEVELAND, Texas (Fox) — Racial divisions have surfaced in the town of Cleveland, 40 miles north of Houston, ever since last Thanksgiving’s alleged gang rape of an 11-year old Hispanic girl. *************** Amazon Cuts IL Ties Over Sales Tax Collection Amazon.com has made good on its threat to cut ties with Illinois affiliates because of a new law requiring the online store to collect sales taxes. *************** What Happens When You Stick Your Head Into a Particle Accelerator Today I found out what happens when you stick your head into a particle accelerator. *************** Iowa House passes collective bargaining bill DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The Iowa House has approved a bill that overhauls the state's collective bargaining law and reduces workers' negotiating rights. *************** Alcohol Detectors Could Come Standard With a New Car A new law under consideration would call for installation of a device that would allow six violations before stalling the car *************** President of China? Obama's lament. “Mr. Obama has told people that it would be so much easier to be the president of China. As one official put it, ‘No one is scrutinizing Hu Jintao’s words in Tahrir Square.’” *************** My Visit to An American Rare Earth Metals Mine The electronic future is buried under the ground in Missouri *************** Hunter: Reid's crazier then Sheen By PATRICK GAVIN It was only a matter of time before the nation's fascination (or disgust) with Charlie Sheen entered the political discours *************** Paul wants government hands off his toilet By DARIUS DIXON If the federal government can support abortion rights, why can’t it also support light bulb choice, Sen. Rand Paul asked Thursday morning. *************** CRS Report: U.S. is Leader in Fossil Fuel Resources Oil, gas, and coal are the energy sources of the past, present, and future *************** Pelosi: GOP Cutting NIH Funding Will Hurt Their “Biblical Power to Cure”… *************** Indiana House Republicans Put Twist on “Country Roads” House Republicans in Indiana put twist on John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” with their version I-74. It is good for a laugh, and it is also nice to see that House Republicans are not letting the Democrat walkout ruin their spirits. *************** President to Call for Big New Ed. Spending. Here’s a Look at How that’s Worked in the Past Posted by Andrew J. Coulson According to the Washington Post, "President Obama will propose a major increase in funding for elementary and secondary education for the coming year in Wednesday's State of the Union address." This, "senior White House aides said... fits into a broader effort by the administration to focus scarce resources on the nation's long-term economic health." *************** The Monsters of McMinnville, Oregon: Radical teachers’ union gets MEAn Teachers' Union Bullies Have Woman Fired, Then Boast About It! *************** Chileans anticipate Obama’s arrival with Joker Posters Obama is taking yet another tax payer funded junket to South America between March 19th and 23. He will visit El Salvador, Brazil, and Chile. Brazil is a far left controlled country, I don’t know what El Salvador’s government looks like as the country is about as stable as Mexico. And then there’s Chile. It doesn’t look like at least some people in Chile are exactly excited about America’s joker visiting their country. In preparation for the annointed one’s first to Chile on March 21st, the Chilean resistance to the New World Order crime syndicate has been handing out several Obama Joker posters all over Santiago. *************** Nevada State Fair ending after 136 years amid budget crunch Associated Press The board of directors for the Nevada State Fair in Reno says there won't be one this summer. Board members say budget shortfalls leave them no choice but to bring an end to the fair for the first time in 136 years. *************** Is Nevada’s Higher Education Retirement Plan A Pension Reform Model? By Sean Whaley CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval is seeking significant changes to Nevada’s public employee pension plan in the 2011 legislative session to reduce the ongoing and long-term financial cost of the benefit to the state and taxpayers. *************** The Protocols of the Elders of NPR by Roger L Simon As well they should, Nation Public Radio is backing and shuffling fast to cover the public humiliation of the promulgation of a video showing NPR execs playing funding footsie with two putative donors masquerading as representatives of a Muslim Brotherhood front group. Full video *************** By Matthew Boyle - The Daily Caller A man who appears to be a National Public Radio senior executive, Ron Schiller, has been captured on camera savaging conservatives and the Tea Party movement. *************** Democrats attack Republican candidate's children By Art Robinson In an effort to do my part in rescuing our country from the out-of-control Obama administration, last year I ran for Congress in Oregon's 4th District against 12-term incumbent, far-left Democrat Peter DeFazio, co-founder of the House Progressive Caucus. *************** Wilson to run for Bingaman's U.S. Senate seat By Barry Massey, Associated Press SANTA FE - Former Republican Congresswoman Heather Wilson plans to enter the race for New Mexico's U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Jeff Bingaman. Two sources close to Wilson confirmed to The Associated Press that Wilson will announce her candidacy Monday. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid upstaging her formal announcement. Economy
& Taxes *************** BEER Act Formally Introduced By Two Senators March 12th, 2011 Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) today introduced legislation to reduce the beer excise tax for America’s small brewers. The Brewer’s Employment and Excise Relief (BEER) Act will help create jobs at more than 1,600 small breweries nationwide, which collectively employ nearly 100,000 people. Idaho and Massachusetts are home to dozens of small breweries. *************** Forget $100 oil. $100 uranium is a real problem. Raise bore drilling at Canada's McArthur River, the world's largest high-grade uranium mine. By Richard Martin, contributor FORTUNE -- Just after Christmas, the container ship Altona, bound for China and carrying a load of 770,000 pounds of uranium concentrate (also known as yellowcake, the transportable form of uranium that will eventually be processed into nuclear fuel), ran into a storm in the South Pacific, between Hawaii and the Midway Islands. After three days of gales and heaving seas, the crew discovered that the containers in the hold had shifted and two drums of yellowcake had been smashed open. There was loose uranium in the hold. *************** Gross Eliminates Government Debt From Pimco's Flagship Total Return Fund By Susanne Walker Bill Gross, who runs the world’s biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., eliminated government-related debt from his flagship fund last month as the U.S. projected record budget deficits. *************** ‘No Way Out’ of Debt Trap By Veronique de Rugy This is a depressing but spot on interview with Bill Gross, founder of PIMCO, about our debt situation. He concludes that we should brace ourselves for higher interest rates in the very near future. *************** 11 Reasons Why a Government Takeover of the Internet Is Bad for Jobs & Our Economy Posted by Michael Ricci The new House majority is set to move one step closer today to reversing a government takeover of the Internet that would stifle private-sector job creation and undermine entrepreneurship. A House Energy & Commerce subcommittee is holding a hearing and a markup on a resolution of disapproval that stops the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from imposing its controversial network neutrality rules. *************** Obama’s Green-Jobs Fantasies by John Stossel The green movement sounds so good, when you listen to most of the media. They tell us that the green movement is full of selfless heroes. They say that clean energy will help save the planet and create jobs. Much of the public believes, and President Obama is spending lots of your money on subsidies for “clean” energy. This is pie-in-the-sky nonsense. *************** Deficit Really $2.1 Trillion? By Louise Radnofsky If the federal government kept its books like a private company, the deficit would be $2.1 trillion, not $1.3 trillion, a congressional panel is hearing today. *************** The Bullet Train to Bankruptcy Researchers and residents are growing suspicious of high-speed rail in California. Californians have a reputation for questioning authority. And increasingly, they appear to be questioning the High-Speed Rail Authority, which voters empowered in 2008 to issue $9.95 billion in bonds and build the nation’s largest such system. *************** GOP Sen. Lugar says he'll support House Republican spending cuts By Alexander Bolton Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), who faces a Tea Party-backed challenge in his 2012 primary, has withdrawn his stated opposition to House-passed spending cuts. *************** Reid: Save federal funding for the cowboy poets! File this under: Did Harry Reid just say that? In the middle of his tirade against House Republicans' "mean-spirited" budget bill on the Senate floor Tuesday, the Senate Majority Leader lamented that the GOP’s proposed budget cuts would eliminate the annual "cowboy poetry festival” in his home state of Nevada. (See also: Reid’s prostitution lecture bombs.) *************** HATCH, SENATE COLLEAGUES INTRODUCE NATIONAL RIGHT TO WORK ACT Bill would stop discrimination against millions of workers who don’t want to join unions *************** International Earthquakes Put Japan's Nuclear Reactors on Red Alert*************** The 8.9-magnitude earthquake that shook Japan early March 11 blew out the cooling systems of two nuclear reactors there. An inability to cool the reactors could cause radiation leaks, and both power plants are "bracing for the worst,” according to government officials. *************** Euro leaders agree closer economic coordination Euro leaders agree closer economic coordination, debate on overall crisis response continues *************** The Dismaying Johns Fostering Case By Anthony Daniels A respectable black couple from Derby, England, called Mr. and Mrs. Johns, wanted to foster a child aged between 5 and 10. In the 1990s, they had already successfully fostered 15 such children and now, after a break, wanted to resume. *************** Lukashenko's torture chambers by Michael Weiss The world may be captivated by the spectacle of Arab self-determination, but it's important to remember that dictatorship still wheezes and kicks in Europe, too, in the form of the ex-Soviet satrapy of Belarus. Last December, that country's dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, held his own sham presidential election which, thanks to his maintenance of a Stalinist terror state, he stood very likely to "win" without the aid of a battery of vote editors. *************** U.K.: Hundreds of council tax protesters storm courtroom in attempt to make citizens' arrest of judge By Daily Mail Reporter Action was in support of a man challenging his council tax bill Police had to come into court to rescue judge from the chaos *************** A European Arrest Warrant for a crime that hasn't happened *************** Lawrence Solomon: Don’t count on constant electricity under renewable energy, says UK electricity CEO Lawrence Solomon Wind power will require lifestyle change Electricity consumers in the UK will need to get used to flicking the switch and finding the power unavailable, according to Steve Holliday, CEO of National Grid, the country’s grid operator. Because of a six-fold increase in wind generation, which won’t be available when the wind doesn’t blow, “The grid is going to be a very different system in 2020, 2030,” he told BBC’s Radio 4. “We keep thinking that we want it to be there and provide power when we need it. It’s going to be much smarter than that. *************** Opinion *************** The Man Who Defined Deviancy Up Policing, religion, changes in gang life? Why has crime dropped since James Q. Wilson wrote about 'broken windows' in 1982? By HOLMAN W. JENKINS, JR. Notwithstanding his status as America's greatest thinker on crime, punishment and social order, James Q. Wilson's toleration for minor deviancies, his own and other's, is notable. *************** A European's Warning to America The perils of following us toward greater regulation, higher taxes and centralized power. By DANIEL HANNAN On a U.S. talk-radio show recently, I was asked what I thought about the notion that Barack Obama had been born in Kenya. "Pah!" I replied. "Your president was plainly born in Brussels." *************** Living in harmony a mixed blessing AUSTRALIA officially celebrates Harmony Day on March 21, but I see festivities kicked off at least a month ago. Who knows? One day we may, like China, end up celebrating Harmony Day all year round. Beijing is big on the idea of harmony. "Harmonious Society" is perhaps the most well-known slogan of today's Chinese Communist Party. Throughout the country banners and public announcements, many eerily similar to those used in Australia, celebrate what a harmonious place China claims it is building. *************** At Least 82 Percent of Education Is Politics Posted by Neal McCluskey The big schooling story is U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's assertion that this year 82 percent of public schools could be identified as failing under No Child Left Behind. That's a huge percentage, and also hugely disputed. But the real story here, as always, is that government control of schooling is all about politics, not education. *************** Ten impolite questions By Rod Pennington 1. If we’re paying $15,000 per student and there are 20 kids per classroom, that generates $300,000 for the school per year. If they’re only paying the teacher $50,000 where is the other $250,000 going? *************** Social Security: 5 Enduring Myths that Must Go By ERIC SCHURENBERG, The Fiscal Times Social Security isn’t the only cause of America’s fiscal problems, but it is Exhibit A in why it is so hard to fix them. No serious solution to our debt can ignore a program that will tax and spend about 4.8 percent of GDP this year and account for about 20 percent of all federal spending — and that within a few decades will count almost a third of the population as beneficiaries. But it’s maddeningly difficult to have a reasoned conversation about Social Security when policymakers — let alone taxpayers and recipients — can’t agree on the program’s effect on the budget. *************** Want Education Reform? Start With Higher Ed Under liberal rule, it's corrupt, cushy, and ripe for competition. *************** Who You Gonna Believe, Saul Alinsky Or Your Lying Eyes? Today Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman spoke at a fundraiser for the Center for American Progress, an Obama-administration front headed by John Podesta, who led President Obama's transition team. Waxman, who is nothing if not a team player, hewed to the Obama administration line *************** Liberty and Serenity Implications of All-Powerful Interstellar Governments I suppose that, coming from a filmmaker's standpoint, I am generally less enthused by television because the directing, the mise-en-scene, is so typically poor. *************** Sherrod Brown's worst nightmare isn't that Hitler-Stalin speech By: Hugh Hewitt Josh Mandel is a 33-year-old veteran of the Iraq War, where he served two tours while a U.S. Marine. Mandel is a graduate of the Ohio State University and Case Western Reserve Law School. He served two terms in the Ohio legislature. *************** |
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