Hope n' Change Cartoons: HnC Vault: Mad Docs and Englishmen

Hope n' Change has updated one of their better 'toons from last year.... Rather than cut & pasting, I thought I'd link you to their original on their site!!!

Sit up and take notes now! Particularly in the update regarding the $6.7 Billion in temporary payments to buy seniors votes...... and then sock it to 'em after next years election!!


Hope n' Change Cartoons: HnC Vault: Mad Docs and Englishmen: "Originally published July 27, 2010 In order to make Obamacare a perfect copy of England's National Health Service, the president recently..."

Stick it to 'em, catching fire!

Apparently, this Post It Note campaign (see 'Stick it to 'em, below) is lighting up the landscape... My e-mail box, and comment box in the post down below is starting to fill with remarks regarding the spread of the Sticky Note , "NoBama 2012" campaign,

A third generation Irish-American friend from Boston sends:

Our wee 'Post it' notes are a tool,
To rid our great land of this fool.
- To show him the door,
- After year four,
Would be a 'regime change' most cool!

Another reader, Dick, from Maryland, is getting a rubber stamp made so he can ink print the back of every envelope he sends out between now and election day 2012 with this message!!!

Stick it to 'em!!!!

Who said you have to spend big bucks to get your political point across? Across the country, there is a movement afoot to 'Stick it To 'em' and remind folks just who we have to thank for our current miseries......

So, grab that little pack of 'Sticky Notes' that you aren't gonna use anyway --- pen in your thoughts (be nice now!) and every time you are hit in the face with the price of gas, milk, break, pork chops or other daily necessity --- Leave a Note!!!

Be the first on your blog..... ooops, first on your block to be forearmed and ready to 'STICK IT TO 'EM!"

"NOBAMA 2012!!!"



(Thanks and a tip o' the Stetson to Al of MD and 'TheBlaze' blog)
I'm on my way out the door with little sticky notes at Present Arms!!

Dumb Driver of the Week?

This ain't my story folks, I'm just reporting what was in the Naples Florida News today:

Florida motorists can get quite creative when trying to get out of a speeding ticket, but Jonathan Paul Rorech may have taken the cake.

The Naples man had what he thought was a fool-proof plan to get out of a ticket - make a prank 911 call.

After being pulled over by a Sheriff's deputy Tuesday, Rorech placed the emergency 911 from his cell phone and reported there was a shooting in the area and a victim was on the ground, the Naples News reported.

The call was dispatched to the deputy, who dropped what he was doing to attend to the alleged more serious matter, the police report stated.

Rorech, who was driving under a suspended license and had been going 45 mph in a 30 mph zone, drove away thinking he had pulled a fast one on the law.

Unfortunately for Rorech, the police have heard of caller ID.

When the deputy arrived at the address given for the fake shooting, the scene was empty and no one had heard any gunshots.

He realized that something was wrong. The deputy quickly retraced the call and got Rorech's voicemail.

Now instead of just a traffic ticket, Rorech was arrested for making a false 911 call.

Any of you Pilgrims think you can make a #911 call on your cell phone and not get your cell phone number trapped? I din't think so!!!

Breaking news -- inventor of the Teleprompter dies

Hubert (Hub) Schlafly, Emmy award winner and inventor of the Teleprompter, died on April 20 at the age of 91.

President "Obama said to be speechless"!!

Misery index, anybody?

I seem to recall during 'W's watch........ and even during Bush 41's watch.......... the main stream media, both print and TV, beat us to death EVERY DAY with the 'MISERY INDEX'.

Now, with inflation hyper-ventilating, food prices sky rocketing, gas pump prices approaching $5 a gallon, unemployment rates north of 9%...... where is the index in our daily news?

The answer is --- it is still being estimated every month............ but the MSM is sitting on it to keep us Sheeple from realizing what is happening to us........... and how miserable things really are!

Click here or up on the words 'Misery Index' (or even better, check both sites) to keep track yourself -- especially when Obamanation or one of his spokesmen at NBC/CBS/ABC or the NY Times .... tells you how great things are.......

Ain't it the truth!! Thanks to Ramirez, agin!

An old agnostics Easter sermonette..........

As an absolutely, firm minded, no doubt about it, decision made Agnostic, I was pleased to open my Easter Week HEB Grocery Ad six page flyer and find the 'Easter' word prominent on almost every page.

No word play, political correctness tip toeing, no mention of 'Spring' celebration, or 'Bunny Week'..... just flat out acknowledgement that it's Easter Week.

Now then, you may well ask...... why would an old reprobate and admitted agnostic give a rat's patoot about such things... and I would answer-

'Because this country was founded on Judeo-Christian ethics and all of us who have come along later in it's life, whether by birth or by immigration, should either subscribe to and acknowledge that foundation -- or go start a country of our own without this basis -- and see how long it survives!"

When George Washington took the oath of office as prescribed in Article II Sect 1 of the Constitution on April 29th, 1789, he didn't cozy it with the term 'affirm' instead of swear --- and he added at the end ---'So help me God." Words that have been lost in the casual oath taking ceremonies of late.

He then added some very serious comments about God, and seeking His blessing on this venture.

As I look around the world, I see a variety of Gods, and a greater variety of chaos and cruelty committed in some God's name..

I think I'll stick with the Ten Commandments, Christmas and Easter - thank you very much!!!

Happy Easter!!!

California Solution...........

I see in the Sacramento Bee today that California is currently paying $34,000 per year on average to incarcerate illegal aliens convicted of a crime.. This amounts to over a Billion Dollars per year for this cash strapped state.

Here' s a suggestion...... Massachusetts brags on being a 'sanctuary' state. Why doesn't California just send those 102,795 illegal felons to Harvard for $12,000 per year each....... and save 2/3rds of billion of California tax payer dollars each year....

Yo, Governor Moonbeam -- are you listening?

I'm jest trying to hep!! By the way, Gov, here in Texas our cost per alien inmate per year is just $12,000!! Of course down here, they don't get Organic vegetables with their tofu.........

You might need to click on this..........

What's good for the goose.......

RedState had a very short, and telling comment on a recent Bloomberg report on the excesses of CEOs pay. I'm not sure, but I think I am suppose to just quote a couple sentences and then link you to their article -- but I don't want y'all to miss any of this - so I'm including the whole (short) article...... and trusting you good folks to visit RedState.com for this and other interesting and timely articles!

One Year’s Worth Of Union Dues Could Support 265,447 U.S. Workers For A Year

Unions collected over $8.8 billion in dues last year. Workers could have used that money!

Posted by LaborUnionReport (Profile)

Tuesday, April 19th at 2:00PM EDT

13 Comments

Union bosses have been engaging in class warfare for so long now that it’s become standard for the media to echo the meme without challenge. An example of such mainstream Marxism is in today’s Bloomberg piece entitled ‘Runaway CEO Pay’ Could Support 102,000 U.S. Jobs, AFL-CIO Says. Bloomberg’s piece relies heavily on the AFL-CIO’s Executive Pay Watch, which was set up years ago to conduct a haves vs. have nots class warfare campaign to eventually have CEO pay limited by law or regulation. This was something union bosses accomplished to some degree with last year’s “Wall Street Reform.”

However disdainfully un-American it is to argue whether someone makes too much money in what was once the nation known as the land of opportunity, sometimes you have to roll with the pigs in the pigsty to show how stupid their arguments are. So here goes:

Here is the AFL-CIO’s statement:

In 2010, Standard & Poor’s 500 Index company CEOs received, on average, $11.4 million in total compensation. Based on 299 companies’ most recent pay data for 2010, their combined total CEO pay of $3.4 billion could support 102,325 median workers’ jobs.

Using a simple calculator, it is easy to determine that the “workers’ jobs” would pay $33,227 per year (about $16 per hour), not counting union dues, of course.

Given the AFL-CIO’s penchant for pushing an eat the rich ideology, it seemed worthwhile to use the unions’ own logic to run our own set of numbers to determine how many workers’ median jobs one years’ worth of union dues could support.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2010, there were 14.7 million union Americans belonging to unions. While that only represents 11.9 percent of all wage and salary earners, there is a substantial amount of dues money flowing to unions.

If we were to use a conservative figure of $50 per month for union dues, in 2010, unions collected $735,000,000 per month in union dues from America’s unionized workers. Multiply $735,000,000 by 12 months and you get a whopping $8,820,000,000 that was collected in union dues in 2010.

Divide $8,820,000,000 by $33,227 and you’ll find that if unions did not take union dues from workers in 2010, 265,447 workers’ jobs could have been supported.

Since union dues only go to support the salaries and benefits of union bosses, their staffs, and their golf courses, airplanes, and other costs, perhaps the argument really needs to be reversed. Rather than creating or saving jobs, given that unions do not produce a product and can actually be attributed with being masters of manipulation, buying politicians, killing companies, pushing policies that stifle growth, as well as creating huge pension and health care deficits, perhaps it’s really time to rein in union dues.

_________________

“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

You really ought to read this again, Pilgrims, and share the facts and numbers with your Liberal friends tonight at Happy Hour................... Thanks again, REDSTATE.COM !!

My public service post of the day.....

In keeping with my continued efforts to keep America informed - I am pleased to offer this space for the broadcast of Obamanation's first commercial for his re-election campaign - 2012. I humbly present it here!

Today's big 'DUH' !!!!

This morning, the day after Tax Day, here are two headlines juxtapositioned right next to each other on the Drudge Report this morning.... Coincidence? I think not...........

45% of households pay no income tax...

43% say tax level 'about right'...

Without clicking on either link, I just gotta assume that they are both the same groups! Ya think?

Happy Tax Day Pilgrims!!!

I'm not sure if was on purpose or just a total accident that on Tax Day 2011, I opened up the Drudge Report this morning and the screaming headline in bright red print is:

"S&P MOVES USA OUTLOOK TO NEGATIVE"

Following the story inside, it appears we have been dropped from a 'stable' rating to negative. "saying it believes there's a risk U.S. policymakers may not reach agreement on how to address the country's long-term fiscal pressures. "

I would beg to differ with Standard & Poors.............. every slack jawed, limp wristed, pencil necked economic wonk in the District of Columbia knows 'how' to solve our financial problems... they just lack the cojones or the American spirit and patriotism to do it!!!!

I am reminded of the old one liner about the oil men in Houston who once cried.... "Lord, just give us one more boom, and I promise we won't blow it this time!"

If Kate Smith were still alive, I'd ask her to belt out 'God Bless America', one more time -- but this time as a prayer -- not a patriotic song!

IowaHawk goes classic Ernie Ford.....

As much as I am a Tennessee Ernie fan, I find that turning the sound down a little bit helps from letting the mind get distracted from the message in this video! Thanks to Iowahawk.com for sharing it with us........................ About that national debt..........................

Chevy/Ford Educations @ Cadillac Prices? Why? Your money subsidizes it!!

I don't know about y'all, but ole Pecozbill thought that the location of Obamanation's budget speech the other day was what my grand kids would call ........ 'harmonious' or some such. That he chose George Washington University to deliver this obvious campaign opening salvo on common sense was apropos, indeed!

George Washington University (GWU) is one of the highest (overpriced) universities in these United States of America. With annual costs to the student in excess of $50,000 (that would be pushing a quarter million bucks for four years in earning a bachelor's degree) it is in a rare class. On the other hand, as ratings go, it is rated at the bottom of the barrel.

In terms of dollars-to-value, GW ranks in the basement. U.S. News, which does not sort by tuition, has it as the 51st best university in the country. Forbes takes cost into consideration when ranking colleges. We have GW as the, get ready: 291st best college.

Would you fill up your brokerage account with shares of what Morningstar calls the 291st best mutual fund? Or pay Mercedes prices for the 51st best car rated by Consumer Reports?

Speaking of overpriced education, and I just was of course..... let me pose a question here: Why is it that with the gob'mint spending $150 Billion of our tax dollars sending kids to school every year, that same gob'mint never raises hell about the skyrocketing tuition and added costs of those colleges and universities. They sure are quick to shout about gas prices or the cost of a movie ticket or medical costs --- or what Walmart's profits were last year, but although college tuition fees have skyrocketed way past the rate of inflation, they say nothing............NOTHING!!

Look at this little article, and then click on the easy to read graph....

Disproportional inflation of college costs

"Disproportional inflation" refers to inflation in a particular economic sector that is substantially greater than inflation in general costs of living. This kind of inflation for medical costs in recent decades is well known. However, that of college tuition and fees exceeds that of medical costs.

The following graph shows the inflation rates of general costs of living (for urban consumers; the CPI-U), medical costs (medical costs component of the consumer price index (CPI)), and college and tuition and fees for private four-year colleges (from College Board data) from 1978 to 2008. All rates are computed relative to 1978. ^[13]

Just in case you can't see the fine print in this chart, that top orange line is the rate of inflation for college tuitions, the yellow line is the rate of inflation for medical costs and that green rather flat line at the bottom shows the real Cost of Living increase over this period!

I'm gonna let y'all stew on this for a few days, like I have and also invite any comments you might have.... because I think there is room for a whole passel of comments to be made! We are talking about over a Trillion of our tax dollars over the next ten years -- as we sink in the muck and mire of national debt!!!!!!!!!

Hey Pilgrims...................

Do you give a rat's patoot whether that's a Jackass or an Elephant up that tree sitting on our Grandkids future? I sure don't!! All I can say is -- get off your big ass and move forward with this country! Don't confuse us with that group that gives a big elephant/jackass turd who's leading the parade..... we're in trouble!!!

Git up and move your fat butts!!!

Don't you just wanna smack 'im up side the head....

We have a Secretary of the Treasury --- one each Timmy (Toilet Boy) Geithner --- who sits in front of Congressional Committees and stamps his feet, squinches his eyes, holds his breath, and says, 'If you don't raise the debt limit, you suck and will ruin the country" or some such.....

Keep in mind, Timmy's bosses are Obamanation and Joltin' Joe who both spoke against and voted against similar debt increases in the past... Of course, that's before they were spending the money!

Seems to your truly, that if the Congress were to just approve weekly increases as were needed to meet debt interest......... but not allow Timmy, BO, and company - a blank check to send money to their friends in ACORN, Unions, Panthers, et al....... maybe we could dig our way out of this hole we been diggin!

I don't care if the GOP's been digging, or the Dimmocrats --- let's quit diggin!

I'm just saying........... ya understand?

The 'Old Gray Lady", She ain't what she used to be......

We are all old enough to remember the days when the Gray Lady, the New York Times, completed it's self assigned mission............'ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO PRINT'

My My, how times have changed, and how the Gray Lady's skirts get raggedier and raggedier as each day goes by.......... or maybe they just get shorter and shorter as she becomes easier to 'buy' for Ten Cents a Dance.

As GatewayPundit points out this morning ......

Oops… NY Times Admits That Obama’s Economic Policies Have Failed – Then Quickly Scrubs the Line
Posted by Jim Hoft on Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 5:05 AM

The New York Times released a rare and honest appraisal of of Barack Obama’s failed economic policies yesterday.
Economix Blog reported:
At a time when the economy should be rebounding the latest GDP number for the first quarter of 2010 shows that the Obama economic policies have failed.

When 2011 began, Macroeconomic Advisers, a forecasting company, expected that America’s economic output would shape up to rise at a 4.1 percent annual rate in the first quarter, the highest pace in over a year.

But economic reports coming in over the last few months have been increasingly disappointing.
But, that wasn’t posted long.
The water carriers for the Obama regime quickly scrubbed that “Obama failed” line from their article.
Here’s the latest update:

They erased the whole first paragraph and replaced it with, “And the year started out so very hopeful.”
How that ever slipped by the editors in the first place, we will never know.

Between accusations of plagiarism among their reporters and columnists, their new Paywall, and this kind event showing them to be the DNC's in-house newsletter.... I'm glad my dear old Dad isn't here to see it unfold........

One of my neighbors had his ole' dog 'put down' and 'caused me to dig out this piece I wrote years ago, it still goes on.....

An Autobiography

By Patch, the Dog

Snatched from my mother’s breast when I was just six weeks old

My master took me to his home wherein my new life would unfold

His little kids squeezed my sides and pulled my tail and ears

But if I yelped or gently nipped they’d both bust out in tears

Learning where to pee and when, was strongly brought to bear

My nose rubbed in it, my backside whacked, I rapidly learned where

But the then, I had to learn, was at master’s convenience

Don’t bark or scratch at the back door, or look for any lenience

I grew older, as did the kids, and learned those pet dog tricks

Sit up and beg, stay, down boy and “Patch go fetch that stick”

Don’t misunderstand dear reader, I really loved these folks

Would gladly give my life for them despite what stuff evokes

In later years we moved up to a house with hot tub and a pool

In finer digs, “Patch stays outside” became my mistress’ rule

With everyone gone the whole day thru, I’d pace from gate to gate

Alas it seems I wore a path around the pool, my master grew irate

Now I lay here chained to a tree, my world is eight feet ‘round

My old bones ache, the fleas abound, here on the cold hard ground

But my tired ears perked up today there might be good news yet

I heard master ask for a sleeping date, with Doc Kervorkian the vet!!

Goodbye….

Pecozbill - 2002

Two headlines today - NANNY STATE RUNS AMOK!!

Two side by side headlines today help personify what the hell is wrong with this country today!!

The Chicago Tribune headlines the story of public schools banning brown bag lunches! I recall the Greatest Generation surviving on these same brown bag lunches -- but probably without as much nutrition as today!


Then the next headline from the Washington Post reports on the controversy over chocolate milk for crying out loud!! Let 'em drink Obamanation Kool-Aid is the cry I guess!

How about we let 'em eat their bag lunches, their chocolate milk and then encourage them go out and run around in the school yard playing dodge ball instead of sitting on their chubby butts in the revisionist social studies classes?

Just sayin....!

Eat the rich!!!!!!!!

During these days of infighting in Washington, Gob'nor Moonbeam out in Mexifornia calling it a Civil War, and other handwringing.... it a pure dee plumb pleasure to see somebody put all this red meat rhetoric we keep hearing into perspective and common sense ....... This video is 9 minutes long -- but it flies Pilgrims, it flies!!

"Hope n' Change" has got it right!!!

This was originally published June 6, 2009,

The President has proposed massive cuts for Medicare and Medicaid to help fund his plan to make sure that everyone will have healthcare that will be subject to massive cuts.

Update 4/10/2011

Isn't it interesting that when Obamacare passed with $500 billion in cuts to Medicare (not just the $300 billion cited above), the democrats claimed it could be done without any consequence to seniors...but when Paul Ryan's budget proposed a smaller $400 billion in cuts, those same democrats (and much of the media) reacted as if he were suggesting genocide (or in this case, geriatricide)?

The difference is a simple one: the liberal Left knew that Obama was lying about ever actually instituting the cuts...and they know that Ryan is telling the truth.

There is no plan possible which can cut Medicare costs that won't have some pain involved. That being said, Ryan's plan would have less pain for seniors - and Americans in general - because it would allow Medicare to continue as a functioning service instead of collapsing entirely, which is currently an economic certainty.

At Hope n' Change, we're really hoping that the GOP is ready to fight for Ryan's budget tooth-and-nail. And while we don't expect Obama and the democrats to drop their games and hypocrisy (now or ever), we hope they'll at least start getting called on it.

Thanx to the originators of Hope n' Change and other folks like them for keeping massive lies like this in the public minds. Back in the days when all of our news came from Cronkite and his liberal fellow travelers, we would never hear 'the other side of the story'. Now that we do, we need to keep reminding ourselves and others every time those Dims and their hand puppets in the media spew their lies...... OF THE FACTS!!!

(Thanx and a tip o' the stetson to AF vet, Al of Md)

For all of you who are pleased that our 'leaders' made a budget deal.....

......here is an interesting little factoid to stew on!

CNSNews.com) - The federal debt increased $54.1 billion in the eight days preceding the deal made by President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R.-Ohio) to cut $38.5 billion in federal spending for the remainder of fiscal year 2011, which runs through September.

The debt was $14.2101 trillion on March 30, according to the Bureau of the Public Debt, and $14.2642 on April 7.

Since the beginning of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2010, the national debt has increase by $653.4 billion.

Don't let those billions and trillions numbers put you to sleep - Pilgrims..... it's real money!! And we should be holding somebody responsible! Dammmmmittt!

That $14,2642 number should read, $14, 264, 200, 000, 000 American dollars!!!!!

So, they solved the crisis and Obmanation can go on his much needed vacation.... meanwhile...

About that Wisconsin Supreme Court election........

The Dims never seem to let the little things in our Democratic-Republic get in their way. You know, like laws, the Constitution, elections, and all that falderal.

But it appears that now that assistant attorney general Joanne Kloppenburg's victory speech was jest mite premature! Matter of fact, you could say it was a mite presumptuous, a mite insulting, or a mite stupid. But I'm sure she did it on the good advice of the Wisconsin Unions and their designated spokesmen at the Wisconsin Dimocrat Party headquarters.

The only thing dumber than her victory speech was the lame excuses given for the faulty vote count. Oh Well -- I'm sure the Dims are saying - no harm no foul! Or something equally arrogant! (btw - anybody reading this really believe that several thousand voters in Madison Wisconsin voted for Ms Koppenburg but din't bother to vote in the Madison Mayor's race?)

I thought that Justice Prosser's comments today were generous, gentlemanly, and non-accusative... but that's just me I reckon!!!

Obamanation votes..... Unions - Yes!! Troops - No!! ?

An interesting post by Greg Richards on the AmericanThinker.com today:

Billions for unions - not a penny for the troops

Greg Richards

The Pentagon has announced that paychecks for the military will not be cut during a government shutdown.

The military is actively engaged in three wars, the last of which Obama started himself. It is beyond belief that Obama now plans not to pay the military during a government shutdown especially while troops are active in the field.

Is this the true Obama agenda? Is this the Democrat agenda? Billions for union pensions but not a penny for the troops? Courting demoralization and defeat in the field?

Yes, we get it that after government resumes, the pay will be made whole. But much of the military has young families that live from paycheck to paycheck. And even without that factor, stopping pay is a breach of the implicit contract between our troops and the American public.

It is simply beyond belief that the president sees this as executing his duties as Commander-in-Chief. This is a disrespect for the troops that leaves one reaching for an unprintable vocabulary. It is a breach of faith that we should remind him and the Dems in the Senate of every day from now on. They see the country as nothing more than a sugar daddy to be plundered and have no respect for those sacrificing for its future.

Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/04/billions_for_unions_not_a_penn.html at April 08, 2011 - 10:34:13 AM CDT

I suppose I should have just printed the headline and linked you to the source.... but it seems to be a succinct and accurate description of where this country is and where it is heading and I wanted to make sure you didn't lose any of it.............

Why do you ask?

Once again, Annie hits the bullsh...... er, Bullseye right on target!

THANKS FOR RAISING MY TAXES -- WHAT ELSE CAN I DO FOR YOU?
by Ann Coulter
April 6, 2011

When Wisconsin Democrats fled the state in order to avoid voting on splendiferous public sector union contracts, did they happen to notice that the rest of the country is in the midst of a massive recession?

For years, Democrats have been using taxpayer money so that their buddies in public sector unions never have to know when there's a recession. People who are already suffering have to suffer more so that those who are doing pretty well don't have to suffer at all.

The high salaries and magnificent benefits paid to government employees are used to fund the public sector unions, which then funnel a portion of that money back to the Democrats, who vote for the pay packages of government workers. The unions function as a pass-through from the taxpayers straight to Democrats running for re-election.

As a result, taxpayers are paying people to continually raise their taxes.

In 2010, three of the five top campaign contributors to the Democrats were public sector unions. Service Employees International was No. 2 at $11.6 million in campaign contributions to Democrats, the National Education Association was No. 3 at $8 million, and the American Federation of Teachers was No. 5 at $7 million. (To put that in perspective, that's even more than the $1 million given to Obama in 2008 by his second-largest contributor, Goldman Sachs!)

Liberals don't love big government because they think it's efficient, compassionate, fair or even remotely useful. They support big government because they are guaranteed the support of nearly everyone who works for the government.

Public sector employee contracts are written by the union and rubber-stamped by Democrats -- and the taxpayers only find out years later that public school teachers are allowed to get a full year's pay for 30 days' work over three years after they retire -- as is the case in Green Bay, Wis., where one out of every 12 teachers retired this year to take advantage of the "emeritus" scam.

This is what all the commotion is about in Wisconsin. Republican Gov. Scott Walker isn't even trying to eliminate collective bargaining for government workers' salaries. He only wants to eliminate collective bargaining over their conditions of employment, which has led to massive inefficiencies.

Thanks to union grievance procedures, the union representing school crossing guards filed a formal complaint over a sweet old man volunteering to get the kids across the street in Wausau, Wis. Warren Eschenbach, an 86-year-old retiree, had been volunteering each morning as a crossing guard at a school near his home. But according to the union, only a highly paid government employee should be permitted to do that job.

Fifth-grader Megan Sichterman, told WAOW, an ABC affiliate, "I was really sad because all the kids really like him. He's really nice to everybody, and I was kind of scared at the same time that we wouldn't see him on the corner anymore."

Even in the middle of the battle over collective bargaining rights for government unions, just last month the snowplow operators' union filed a grievance against Racine, Wis., to demand paid days off for snowplow operators ... after a snowstorm.

After a massive storm shut down the city for two days, snowplow operators thought they deserved two paid days off on account of all the snow, like other government employees got.

The snowplowers' union also filed a grievance against the city for hiring private plowing services to help with the snow removal. Perhaps it was that troublemaker Warren Eschenbach showing up with a snow shovel and volunteering to help clear the streets.

No government snowplow operators were laid off and plenty of them worked overtime after the blizzard -- but the union thought Racine should remain immobilized by snow for a week so that government snowplow operators could get even more overtime.

In the private sector, a company that capitulated to such ludicrous union demands would go out of business -- as would have happened to General Motors if the government hadn't taken it over. Offered substandard products at exorbitant prices, the consumer would buy from a competitor.

But with government, the consumer has no choice: We have to buy from the company store. Government employees will always have more passion and commitment about increasing their own salaries and perks than will the taxpayers, who have to worry about their own jobs and salaries. The public -- especially the taxpayer -- will always lose.

That is simply a fact about government jobs that can't be avoided. What doesn't make sense is to implement a system that invites this kind of mutual back-scratching between the Democrats and public sector unions -- to wit, collective bargaining where there is no "management," but only co-conspirators against the taxpayers on both sides of the bargaining table.

For more of Annie's stuff - click here.

I must have fallen through the looking glass.....

....every time I turn around Obamanation does something else that makes me wonder if he fails to plan or plans to fail..... Just the latest (aside from him flying out of DC for fundraisers to kiss Al (The Hustler) Sharpton's ring in the middle of budget talks) is his appointment of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz as chair of the Dim National Committee.

Some call her hard hitting, I just see a loud mouthed Chuck-you Schumer in drag. When she can't make a point -- she talks over, or louder or longer. She is belligerent, bellicose and needs a comb! Hell she makes former DNC Chair Terry McCauliffe look like a gentleman and Howard Dean as sane!!

Here is an example of her expert debating ability. Remember, this was last fall before the American voters swept the Dims into the dingy corner of minority status in the House!! Effective? I think not....

How about a little history lesson and a little credit given where it is due!

Passing along a good read....... regarding OIL!

I came across this well written, well foot noted post on FloppingAces.net this morning. Since it was posted by a 'guest poster', I can't offer an opinion on the author, his sources or background. But I can sure tell you that he puts the question of foreign oil right where it belongs, "Where the rubber meets the Road" ! Here, you judge for yourself...

Obama’s incoherent oil policy [Reader Post]

By: DrJohn

2diggsdigg obama snake oil Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" height="450">

The price of oil reached a 30 month high of $108 per barrel on April 1.

Almost as if a signal was given, a host of articles appeared recently all saying exactly the same thing.

You Can’t Drill a Way to Cheap Gas

We can’t drill our way to energy independence

The United States can’t drill itself to energy independence

In 2006, Obama said of oil dependence:

We cannot drill our way out of the problem.

All assert that increasing domestic oil supply will have no effect on prices and cannot solve our dependency on foreign oil. All are entirely wrong.

Recently Stephen Hayward of the WSJ described Barack Obama’s oil policy as “incoherent.” That’s being kind.

The US has loaned Petrobas of Brazil $2 billion to drill for oil and Barack Obama recently granted it a permit to drill in US Gulf waters even though Obama has largely shut down US Gulf oil exploration. Obama then told Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff

“We want to help you with the technology and support to develop these oil reserves safely, and when you’re ready to start selling, we want to be one of your best customers.”

You might be wondering “Why don’t we do that with domestic oil companies and create more jobs here?”

I am.

In 2007 the US imported 3.6 billion barrels of oil which would cost over $380 billion at today’s prices. You might be wondering “Why doesn’t Obama want to keep that money here in the US?”

I am.

Ironically, while Obama claims to want to reduce our foreign oil dependence by one third over ten years his policies are focused like a laser beam on securing and subsidizing additional sources of foreign oil.

Brazil is oil independent. In 1980 Brazil imported 77% of its oil and today imports none. How did they do it?

They drilled their way to oil independence.

Over the last two decades Brazil increased its oil production 876%, mostly from offshore oil production, even as consumption doubled. For some mystical reason Obama, Democrats and the authors above deny that increasing oil supply will result in lower oil prices yet Obama is considering tapping into the Strategic Oil Reserve, which would increase oil supply and guess what?

Lower oil prices. Temporarily, that is.

Obama asserts that it’s in the US interest to seek oil from Brazil:

But President Obama said Saturday during his visit to Brazil that an energy partnership with the nation will offer major benefits for the United States. Obama, in announcing a “Strategic Energy Dialogue” with Brazil, noted that the country has nearly twice the oil reserves as the United States and lauded its stability compared to some other oil-exporting countries.

(emphases mine)

What Obama is not telling you:

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Al Qaeda operatives are in Brazil planning attacks, raising money and recruiting followers, a leading news magazine reported Saturday, renewing concerns about the nation serving as a hide-out for Islamic militants.

Utterly, totally incoherent.

Well stated DrJohn.... I hope you'll forgive me for cutting and pasting it ....I'm trying to give you full credit...... I sure didn't write it! For more like this item Pilgrims .... go to "FloppingAces.net"