Regarding One Trick Ponies.

The cover from this month’s edition from my teacher’s union magazine:

Minnesota, like many other states, is about to become a “Right To Work” state, and it is the unions themselves that are unwittingly helping it to happen.

The unions and the democrat party have long had a nearly exclusive, symbiotic relationship. As long as the democrats remained in power, the unions were protected by the democrats; and in turn, the unions were free to act in a blatantly partisan fashion and be an unrepentant, militant arm of the democratic party.

Because of this relationship, the unions never had to worry about public relations. They could afford to be as-in-your-face-nasty-as-they-damned-well-wanted-to-be. Conservative rank-and-file members were summarily ignored. They didn’t care what the average non-union person thought. They didn’t care about winning the hearts and minds of the average American voter. They were quite comfortable in their roles as the enforcement/thug/footsoldier arm of the democratic party. But now that the democrats are largely out of power in Minnesota, as well as in a host of other state legislatures, the unions are suddenly finding themselves in the precarious position of being the toady left on a street corner whose protector has suddenly left the scene.

Now, given that “Right To Work” will no doubt make it on the ballot this November as a Constitutional amendment in Minnesota (and other states) , one would think that the unions’ very survival would depend on improving their public image. One would think that the unions would be running a full court press on public relations, running ads 24/7 extolling their virtues, and the services that their members provide to the public.

But instead, the public unions, including the teacher’s unions (of which I’m a member) have doubled-down on their self-serving, narcissistic thuggery. They haven’t yet awakened to the fact that with Right to Work going to the ballot this fall, it will no longer be the legislators (whom they used to have in their hip pocket) that they’ll have to convince. They’ll have to convince the very voters of Minnesota why they should remain a viable, omnipotent, political force.

Ergo, when the union leadership organize angry demonstrations like so many 60s hippie throwbacks or a cadres of Bolsheviks running roughshod in near-riotous mobs, they’re not doing themselves any favors. At the same time, they just don’t seem to have a clue as to just how precarious their position is, or how to fix it.

Up to this point, Minnesota’s teacher and other unions, having had the luxury of being able to act like spoiled teenagers; largely without consequence, have been virtual one-trick ponies in terms of defaulting to in-your-face, thuggish tactics to get demands met.

But as Minnesota native Bob Dylan once crooned, “Oh the times, they are a changing.”

If Minnesota’s unions want to survive, they better damn well change with them.

"Hello, Is This Thing On?"

Obama lifted his political skirt today as the media is now awash in how in a supposedly 'hot mic' unscheduled moment he told Russian President Dimitri Medvedev to pretty much 'chill out' and that he'd have much more 'flexibility' after winning his second term.

The main question to ask here, of course, is "Flexibility to do what?"

Well, perhaps candidate Obama can give us some clues:



In the full video, then-candidate Obama later stated that he is fully committed to the policy as outlined above, and that he will "keep (his) promises."

But before you go dismissing out of hand the notion that Barack Obama keeps any of his promises, consider this:

Obama promised that health care 'reform' will pass; it did so, even though via the auspices of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, we indeed did not find out what was in the bill until it was passed.

During the campaign, then-candidate Obama also promised that under his policies, the cost of electricity/energy will "necessarily skyrocket."

That too, has become reality.

There are some promises, of course, that Obama chose not to keep; and one could argue never intended to keep. One was that you'd be able to keep your doctor and your health plan under Obamacare; another that the public would never be forced to pay for an abortion under Obamacare; you know, lipstick-on-a-pig type stuff.

But make no mistake. Obama is a dyed in the wool socialist. Any promise he has made that will serve to further his neo-socialist agenda, and in the process compromise America's economic and military security (remember, America is arrogant and needs to be taken down a few notches), you can bet your bottom dollar (that is, if you have any dollars left when he's done with the economy) he will keep.

So, sleep peacefully under Obama's second term, knowing that he fully intends to bring the United States into the community of feckless, neutered, third-world nations.

How's that hopenchange working for you, anyway?

Thou Shalt Not Have Strange gods...

Eleven million taxpayer-funded dollars. Supposedly to help 400 people in Detroit find jobs. Even if every one of those 4o0 people found a job, that would be $27,500 in taxpayer money spent, per job. Ludicrous enough, no?

Well, what if only TWO (2) of those 400 people found jobs?

A chunk of an $11 million stimulus grant meant to provide low-income Detroit residents with clothing for job interviews reportedly aided just two people — far short of the 400 job-seekers the money was meant to help.

The findings were part of a new audit on the city’s Department of Human Services, according to The Detroit News.

That, my friends, comes to a cost of $5.5 MILLION dollars. Per job. Nice return on investment there, Barry.

Fast forward to yesterday (emphases added):

In the wake of lobbying by President Obama and Senate Democratic leaders, the Senate Thursday defeated legislation to speed up construction of a U-S.-Canadian oil pipeline.The White House victory came after the president started personally calling Democratic senators Wednesday night. The vote underscored the extent to which rising gas prices and energy supply have become a central political issue.

So, to Barack Obama, a stimulus program that costs taxpayers hundreds of millions, and which is a failure by any clear-thinking person’s standards is hailed as a success; while killing a program that creates at least 25,000 jobs, all without a dime of taxpayer money, is somehow considered a ‘victory.’

To Barack Hussein Obama, nothing can be successful; nothing can be true and real unless it is a direct machination of government. No matter how big the failure a government program is, it is still a success, because to a statist like Obama, nothing is possible, nothing is real unless it has its underpinnings in government.

To Obama, Government is reality. The government is the source of all that is good and just in the world. The private sector is what is contrived. To Obama, the private sector is an anomaly; an abomination that must be controlled so as not to infringe upon the government’s influence in people’s lives. The god of Government is a jealous god. Thou shalt not have strange Gods before it. Even religion itself takes a back seat to Obama’s real religion.

(image credit here)

After all, in order to appease the god of Government and to gain its good graces, one must certainly give alms:

More than half of Obama’s 47 biggest fundraisers, those who collected at least $500,000 for his campaign, have been given administration jobs. Nine more have been appointed to presidential boards and committees.

At least 24 Obama bundlers were given posts as foreign ambassadors, including in Finland, Australia, Portugal and Luxembourg. Among them is Don Beyer, a former Virginia lieutenant governor who serves as ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

….

Obama has appointed 59 ambassadors who were not career Foreign Service officers, and of those, 40 percent were bundlers.

Welcome to the church of Obama.

God help its heretics.

On Dalliances With The Devil...

It seems that the White House is now dictating what Catholic Doctrine really means…and Cardinal Dolan isn’t liking it:

The White House seems to think we bishops simply do not know or understand Catholic teaching and so, taking a cue from its own definition of religious freedom, now has nominated its own handpicked official Catholic teachers.

Welcome to the almighty church of Obama… Mr. Hussein, presiding.

They told the Church what to do in Maoist China… Communist Russia, Cuba… and even killed those who wouldn’t comply and staffed churches with their ‘state approved’ clergy. Obama is a Marxist. That’s what he does. What kills me is that the liberal Catholic priests and bishops actually SUPPORTED Obama, being the useful idiots that they are, even though it was widely known that Obama would be the most pro-abortion president–ever, and that he voted THREE TIMES AGAINST the born-alive protection act. But they thought their dalliance with the devil would be worth it if they could attain their unattainable ‘social justice’ nirvana fix here on earth. The same folks who brought you “liberation theology” are the same folks who have run our seminaries for too long now; the same element of folks who tolerated pedophiles in the priesthood; the same folks who not only turned a blind-eye to Marxism but encouraged it.

Even given the above, the Catholic church acts surprised–shocked–I say– when the openly Marxist President Obama starts telling them how to run things. This is a direct result of the Catholic Church worrying too much about establishing a non-attainable ‘heaven on earth’ via ‘social justice;’ via their support of Obamacare and other neo-socialist endeavors, and not enough about what was and should continue to be their true mission– the salvation of and preparation of souls for eternal life with Christ in Heaven.

I have had contact with some ‘priests’ who during the 2008 elections knew of Obama’s pro-infanticide predilections, but chose to support him anyway because of the ‘greater good’ that would supposedly result from his proposed social programs.

It was regrettably the ‘useful-idiot’ Catholic vote that helped Barack Hussein Obama first achieve presidential power.

As a Catholic, it will be a sad day, indeed, should the Catholic vote allow Obama a second term. It will not be a day that I left the Catholic church; rather, it will be a day that the Catholic Church left me.

So..when can Christians expect an apology from the Muslim World for this?

From here:

BREAKING NEWS THE IRANIAN PASTOR "YOUCEF NADARKHANI" HAS BEEN EXECUTED FOR REFUSING TO DENY CHRIST.

****UPDATE******

The original poster has apparently retracted this report from the Arabic speaking website.

I am happy that the Pastor is still alive, but the fact that he remains sentenced to death for his religious views remains a bigger abomination than does the burning of an already desecrated Quran.

A Little Walk Down Memory Lane...

Remember this...



Which was eerily similar to Iowahawk's earlier, prescient production?



You know, the car that carried the personal imprimatur of His Eminence, Barack Hussein Obama (pbuh)?



Well...like everything else "King Midas" has touched, it would appear that production of said unicorn-fart and fairy-dust powered car has hit a bit of a snag...

DETROIT -- General Motors Co. has told 1,300 employees at its Detroit Hamtramck plant that they will be temporarily laid off for five weeks as the company halts production of the Chevrolet Volt and its European counterpart, the Opel Ampera.

"Even with sales up in February over January, we are still seeking to align our production with demand," said GM spokesman Chris Lee.

Lee said employees were told Thursday that production would put on hold from March 19 to April 23.

The Chevrolet Volt, an extended-range electric car, is both a political lightning rod and a symbol of the company's technological capability.

Chevrolet sold 1,023 Volts in the U.S. in February and has sold 1,626 so far this year.

In 2011, Chevrolet sold 7,671 Volts, but fell short of its initial goal of 10,000.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/02/4307123/chevrolet-volt-production-halts.html#storylink=cpy

Illustrative, of course, that government mandate cannot and will not create demand; unless, of course, government begins to dictate available consumer choices.

But at that point, what's the point of living in the USA, anyway?

You Will Be Missed, Mr. Breitbart...

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Breitbart at RightOnline in Minneapolis this last summer. He was very approachable, down-to-earth.

Talk about a guy who made a difference.

He wasn’t just the guy to point at liberal institutions and expose that they had no clothes; he was able to point at liberal institutions and expose the fact that they had no soul, and shine the light of truth on their naked, ugly evil underpinnings. (i.e., Planned Parenthood). He did the job that self-respecting investigative journalists of yesteryear chomped at the bit to do, but that the current crop of parrot-’journalists’ shirk.

Truth in the world of journalism has lost its staunchest ally.