Thursday, February 17, 2011

Barker's Newsbites: Thursday, February 17, 2011


Who doesn't love imported cheese...?!?!

And domestic cheese...!

CHEESE...! CHEESE...! CHEESE...!
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8 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://blog.heritage.org/2011/02/16/morning-bell-putting-politics-over-security-obama-moves-to-unionize-tsa/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

Tuesday night, on a purely partisan 47–51 vote, the Senate rejected an amendment that would have stopped government unions from organizing Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees.

* DAILY NEWBITE READERS KNOW THIS ALREADY - BUT IT BEARS REPEATING.

The vote was made possible by an announcement two Fridays ago by President Barack Obama political appointee and TSA Administrator John Pistole.

Pistole rejected TSA’s original policy that collective bargaining’s inherently adversarial process would impair TSA’s ability to protect American air travelers.

Pistole’s decision, coupled with Democratic control of the Senate, will net the labor movement - a majority of whom already work for the government - 45,000 new members and $18 million a year in dues that are ultimately paid for by you, the taxpayer.

(*HELPLESS SHRUG*)

Pistole’s order would initially allow the TSA union to collectively bargain over work rules but not wages and benefits. But that will surely change. ... More government unions breeds more campaign cash for liberals, which breeds more government spending and agencies, which breeds more collective bargaining for those government employees, and the cycle continues.

(*NOD*)

The move to unionize TSA was coupled with the unilateral decision by the Obama administration to “freeze” the Screening Partnership Program (SPP) which allows airports to privatize their security screening forces while maintaining federal rules and security methods. ... This move is directly contrary to the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, which statutorily grants this ability to airports through TSA, and was made without congressional authorization.

* AGAIN, FOLKS, OBAMA IS DELIBERATELY ENGAGING IN EXTRA CONSTITUTIONAL BUREAUCRATIC END RUNS AROUND THE SEPARATION OF POWERS DOCTRINE.

[T]he Obama Administration itself estimates that the cost of the collective bargaining process will run $5 million to $8 million a year.

* BUT THAT'S A MINOR DISTRACTION IN THE GREATER SCHEME OF THINGS!

[T]hen there is the cost to U.S. security: In 2006 the NTEU sued Customs and Border Protection for failing to "collectively negotiate" before making personnel changes at the ports of Houston and New Orleans.

(*ROLLING MY EYES*)

The TSA is slow enough as it is. The American people don’t have the time for TSA to spend weeks bargaining over officer assignments and schedules.

(*NOD*)

February 17, 2011 at 9:52 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_c814c77a-3600-11e0-b9e0-001cc4c03286.html

Saying those who didn't see it coming must have been in a "coma," Gov. Scott Walker unveiled sweeping legislation that would severely curtail public employee rights and dramatically change the way Wisconsin negotiates with unions going forward.

* I KNOW THE PHRASE "CURTAIL RIGHTS" ELICITS A VISERAL NEGATIVE REACTION... (*PAUSE*)... AND SO DO THE REPORTERS AND THEIR EDITOR RESPONSIBLE FOR PHRASING THEIR OPENING PARAGRAPH THIS WAY. (*SMIRK*)

Officials alerted the Wisconsin State Employees Union on Friday that expired collective bargaining agreements would be canceled March 13.

* AGAIN, FOLKS... IT'S ALL HOW IT'S PHRASED. BOTTOM LINE, ONCE SOMETHING "EXPIRES" THEN "CANCELATION" IS A MUTE POINT - NOW ISN'T IT? (*SNORT*)

The news came on the same day the governor unveiled a budget repair bill that would remove nearly all collective bargaining rights for nearly all public employees in the state and make it easier for employers to fire workers that engage in some form of labor unrest.

* NOTE: THE "EMPLOYER" HERE IS THE GOVERNMENT ITSELF. (*SIGH*) NOW SINCE GOVERNMENT IS THE LEGAL "PROTECTER" OF RIGHTS IN THE FIRST PLACE... (*SHRUG*)

Walker said Friday his proposals were necessary to help the state overcome the $137 million hole in the current budget, and eventually help the state make up the $3.6 billion shortfall projected for the next biennial budget.

* FOLKS... THE MATH IS THE MATH. THERE'S AFFORDABILITY AND THEN THERE'S UNAFFORDABILITY.

By ending state employees' ability to negotiate for their pensions and insurance rates, the governor will be able to increase employee pension contributions to 5.8% of salary and more than double their health insurance contributions.

* WOW...! THAT SURE SOUNDS DRACONIAN, HUH?! ACTUALLY... NOT SO MUCH. WISCONSIN TAXPAYERS WILL STILL BE SUBSIDIZING FULLY ONE HALF OF EACH WORKER'S PENSION "CONTRIBUTIONS." AS TO THE DOUBLING OF HEALTH INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS... WE'RE TALKING ASKING WISCONSIN STATE GOVERNMENT WORKERS TO PAY 12.6% OF THEIR HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS... LEAVING TAXPAYERS ON THE HOOK FOR THE OTHER 87.4%. (NOT SO "DRACONIAN" AFTER ALL, HUH?)

Walker said those increases alone would save the state $30 million this fiscal year and ten times that much going forward. He also said the change would allow him to avoid employee furloughs and layoffs. Walker said he would likely have had to fire 1,500 people and cut about 200,000 children off Medicaid to make up the difference.

He said those numbers get even worse going forward, perhaps costing more than 5,500 people their jobs in the next biennial budget.

* ONCE AGAIN, FOLKS... THE MATH IS THE MATH. AT A CERTAIN POINT YOU'VE GOTTA QUIT KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD AND DEAL WITH REALITY.

February 17, 2011 at 11:50 AM
William R. Barker said...

http://blog.heritage.org/2011/02/15/morning-bell-obama-budget-doubles-down-on-deficit-spending-failure/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

[S]ince 2001 federal education spending has...increased by 100%.

[G]oing back to 1970, it has almost tripled.

[W]hat have been the results of this federal “investment” in our future? Nothing. Department of Education spending has completely failed to raise student achievement over the past 30 years.

(*SHRUG*)

* COMMON KNOWLEDGE TO THOSE OF US WITH... er... KNOWLEDGE.

(*GRIN*) (*WINK*)

* AND WHAT IS PRESIDENT OBAMA'S RESPONSE TO THIS REALITY...???

Standing in front of a Baltimore County middle school Monday, President Barack Obama said, “Even as we cut out things that we can afford to do without, we have a responsibility to invest in those areas that will have the biggest impact in our future. And that’s especially true when it comes to education.”

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

Accordingly, the President’s budget includes a $13 billion increase in Department of Education spending from the 2010 budget.

(*JUST BANGING MY HEAD AGAINST THE WALL*)

* FOLKS... YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS SHIT UP!

Since President Barack Obama was sworn into office, total entitlement spending has grown 4%, total discretionary has soared 16%, and the national debt has exploded 43%.

(*BANGING MY HEAD AGAINST THE WALL EVEN HARDER*)

Over that same time the United States economy has lost 3.3 million jobs.

(*CONTEMPLATING SUICIDE*) (*NO... HOMICIDE*)

The fiscal year 2012 budget released yesterday by the President doubles down on this failed record.

* YEP... DEFINITELY HOMICIDE...

The White House is trying to portray this document as a spending cut. Specifically, they claim the President’s budget reduces 2012 discretionary spending by 5%.

But as Heritage Foundation scholar J. D. Foster details, these “cuts” are made possible only by three gimmicks: (1) redefining Pell grants as mandatory spending, (2) reclassifying $54 billion of surface transportation spending from discretionary spending to mandatory spending, and (3) reducing funding for Iraq and Afghanistan by $38.2 billion in 2012.

* THAT DIRTY SON OF A BITCH, OBAMA... (*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

* BTW, EVEN THOUGH #3 - THE IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN FUNDING - SOUNDS LIKE A REAL CUT... IT'S NOT. ALL NECESSARY FUNDING FOR ONGOING IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN OPERATIONS THAT'S NOT COVERED BY SPECIFIC BUDGETARY FUNDING WILL BE FUNDED THROUGH "CONTINGENCY" FUNDING... THROUGH "SUPPLEMENTARY" FUNDING. WE KNOW THIS BECAUSE THAT'S THE WAY IT'S ALWAYS DONE.

* AGAIN, FOLKS... OBAMA IS - LITERALLY - A SERIAL LIAR. WE PROVIDE EXAMPLES ALMOST DAILY. WE COVERED THIS YESTERDAY AND WE'RE CONTINUING TODAY.

Reversing these budget tricks not only wipes out the entirety of President Obama’s claimed $77 billion in spending cuts; it actually reveals them to be a $31 billion increase in discretionary spending. This is moving the ball in the wrong direction, and the American people know it.

The president himself will tell you that spending levels under President Bush were unsustainable and yet objects to returning program budgets to even 2008 levels.

(*SMIRK*) TWO-FACED JERK!

In November 2010, Americans demanded an adult conversation about what government does and how much of our money it spends. ... The status quo is no longer affordable.

February 17, 2011 at 4:01 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://blog.heritage.org/2011/02/17/morning-bell-is-this-program-worth-bankrupting-my-child/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

Under President Barack Obama’s fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget, by 2014 net interest payments on our debt will surpass the amount spent on education, transportation, energy, and all other discretionary programs outside defense... combined.

* YES, FOLKS! YOU READ THAT RIGHT! "COMBINED!"

Over the next decade, every citizen will be paying more than $2,500 a year in interest alone.

* WHILE CONTINUING DEFICITS ARE STILL PREDICTED TO CONTINUE ADDING TO THE DEFICIT YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR...

Yesterday, liberals succeeded in restoring funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighter Grant (AFG) - $510 million - and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) - $310 million - programs.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*) $510 BILLION + $310 BILLION = $820 BILLION.

Both of these programs are inherently suspect on federalism grounds alone, but let’s set aside that issue for a second and just talk spending.

At the bare minimum, all taxpayers should expect that the federal government will not waste their money on ineffective programs. Safety is vitally important. But if a safety program isn’t keeping us safe, it’s just wasting our money.

* HARD TO ARGUE...

Both COPS and the FEMA fire grant programs are complete wastes of money.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis (CDA) collected data from 1999 to 2006 on 10,033 fire departments and, using regression analysis, estimated the impact of fire grants on fire casualties. The CDA evaluation found that AFG grants had no impact on fire casualties.

Research by The Heritage Foundation has demonstrated that COPS failed to add 100,000 additional officers to America’s streets and was ineffective at reducing crime.

Why are we bankrupting our children to pay for these completely ineffective programs?

* BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS AND THE AVERAGE AMERICA AUTOMATICALLY TENDS TO FAVOR SPENDING ON "SAFETY," "DEFENSE," AND "EDUCATION" WITHOUT KNOWING OR CARING WHETHER THERE'S ACTUAL SAFETY, DEFENSE, OR EDUCATION TO BE FOUND VIA SPENDING ON THE SPECIFICS IN QUESTION.

President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s “Great Society” era Head Start program is not only ineffective but plagued by fraud.

Our kids can all enjoy the Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon, and the National Geographic Channel, but taxpayers are still forced to pay for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. (With Elmo on everything from books to lunch boxes to clothes, it is high time PBS started paying their own freight.)

The 1974 the Community Development Block Grant program has become a $6 billion source of funding for wasteful pork-barrel projects like the Mark Twain House and Museum, the Salvador Dali Museum, and the Helen Keller Birthplace Foundation. Is it worth bankrupting our children to build yet another museum?

The Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration spends billions of dollars a year on programs that are so ineffective that the Labor Department stopped studying them. If these programs can’t prove they create jobs, then why we are bankrupting our children for them.

In 1991, P.J. O’Rourke quipped: “The budget grows because, like zygotes and suburban lawns, it was designed to do nothing else.”

When that sentence was published our national debt was about $4 trillion.

Today it is more than $14 trillion.

February 17, 2011 at 5:11 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1317384

“[60 Minutes] correspondent Lara Logan was repeatedly sexually assaulted by thugs yelling, ‘Jew! Jew!’ as she covered the chaotic fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo’s main square Friday.”

Powerful reporting on an important story. Two problems: It didn’t run until yesterday, and CBS didn’t run it. The quote is from the New York Post. (And it was The Wall Street Journal that reported “the separation and assault lasted roughly 20 to 30 minutes.”)

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

* FOLKS... WHAT DO I OFTEN TELL YOU ABOUT THE CORRUPT MEDIA...?

CBS? They sat on their own story.

For five days, as reporters reveled amid giddy celebrations in Tahrir Square, and as President Obama praised President Obama’s handling of the Egyptian crisis, CBS reported nothing.

(*LAUGHING OUT LOUD*) "AS PRESIDENT OBAMA PRAISED PRESIDENT OBAMA..." HA! HA! HA! CUTE!

Only when other media had the story did CBS "break" the news that its own chief foreign correspondent was the victim of a brutal and sustained sexual assault.

* FOLKS... YA JUST CAN'T MAKE THIS SHIT UP!!!

Five days of silence - not even “60 Minutes” coverage of the Egypt story.

No mention of the “mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy” who attacked their own reporter.

How is that not news?

* WELL... REMEMBER... THE MEDIA TEMPLATE WAS THAT THE CROWD REPRESENTED "THE GOOD GUYS." RUNNING THE STORY WOULD DAMAGE THE TEMPLATE. (CBS's NEW MOTTO: "ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS THE TEMPLATE!")

[L]iberal columnist Richard Cohen of The Washington Post wrote, “The sexual assault of a woman in the middle of a public square is a story ... particularly because the crowd in Tahrir Square was almost invariably characterized as friendly and out for nothing but democracy.”

* COHEN IS BY AND LARGE A GOOD MAN - INTELLECTUALLY HONEST.

Watching the same complicit media we all saw, Cohen notes most journalists covered the mobs “as if they were reporting from Times Square on New Year’s Eve, stopping only at putting on a party hat.”

Even CBS’s own statement said Logan was “covering the jubilation” and was attacked “amidst the celebration.”

(*PURSED LIPS*)

Having 200 “good guys” gang assault a female reporter while screaming “Jew! Jew!” doesn’t fit the narrative. Is that why CBS sat on the story?

* UMM... IN A WORD... "YES."

(For the record, Logan isn’t Jewish.)

February 17, 2011 at 5:29 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704657704576150422736017058.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

A federal judge ordered the Obama administration to decide within 30 days whether to grant a set of five permits for deep-water drilling projects in the Gulf of Mexico, saying the administration's inaction on the requests is "increasingly inexcusable."

The order, by Judge Martin Feldman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, ratcheted up the pressure on the administration, which last fall lifted a months-long moratorium on deepwater drilling but has yet to grant any permits to drill new oil or natural-gas wells at depths greater than 500 feet.

* TRANSLATION: THE MORATORIUM REMAINED... IT SIMPLY WAS NO LONGER CALLED A MORATORIUM. (*SMIRK*)

"The plaintiff's operations in the Gulf of Mexico are threatened with endless disability," Judge Feldman wrote. "As the first anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster draws near, any reason that would have justified delays has, under a rule of reason, expired."

Rep. Doc Hastings (R., Wash.), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, applauded the decision. "The president's de facto moratorium is destroying American jobs, hurting our economy and forcing businesses to move overseas," he said. "With gasoline prices rising, the administration needs to resume American offshore energy production now."

February 17, 2011 at 7:59 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704657704576150730638265932.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsTop

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said he won't implement the federal health-care overhaul after a judge in Florida struck down the law as unconstitutional.

(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

Governor Parnell, who sought the advice of his attorney general amid concerns implementing the law would violate his oath of office, told the Juneau Chamber of Commerce the state would pursue lawful, market-based solutions to making insurance affordable and accessible to Alaskans.

(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

He said the Florida judge's ruling is the law of the land, as it pertains to Alaska, barring implementation of the federal law here.

(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

February 17, 2011 at 7:59 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703373404576148330979109912.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

Taxpayers wanting the whole story of how Countrywide Financial used its VIP loan program to grease politicians and reward its partners at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may soon have it.

Thanks for this belated act of political hygiene go to [Republican] House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, who Wednesday issued a subpoena to Bank of America, which bought Countrywide during the financial crisis.

* HIP-HIP-HORRAY! (NOTE: REITERATING WHAT WAS COVERED IN A SEPARATE NEWSBITE YESTERDAY.)

By March 7, the bank will need to produce all documents related to the company's VIP program, also known as the "Friends of Angelo" program in honor of former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo.

(Mr. Mozilo ran the subprime factory at the center of the housing bubble.)

Sweetheart loans for his "friends" at Fannie, Freddie and on Capitol Hill were part of a strategy to keep the mortgage party going, with minimal oversight of the loans originated by Countrywide and then guaranteed by Fan and Fred (and taxpayers).

In 2009 (,while in the minority,) Mr. Issa persuaded then-Oversight Committee Chairman Ed Towns (,a democrat,) to issue a similar subpoena. But to protect the less-than-innocent, Mr. Towns asked that names be redacted.

(*SNORT*) FOLKS... AGAIN... YA CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!

The identities of political "friends" in the House were sent only to the ethics committee, where they seem to have fallen down a well. Senate names were not shared with anyone.

(*SMIRK*)

Mr. Issa's new subpoena seeks the whole story, unredacted.

(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

February 17, 2011 at 7:59 PM

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