The American Patriot Blog: February 2011

Monday, February 28, 2011

Scott Walker responds to Obama: You sound a little like a union boss, you know that? « Hot Air

Oh, now, no he doesn’t. Union bosses are known for making thinly veiled violent threats, like the time his pal Trumka reacted to a strikebreaker being shot dead with a wink-wink about not playing with matches if you don’t want your fingers burned. The One doesn’t say stuff like that; he sits back and lets other people say it, then does his above-the-fray shtick by pleading for civility towards those on his side. Much more nuanced.

Walker’s office issued this statement:
“I’m sure the President knows that most federal employees do not have collective bargaining for wages and benefits while our plan allows it for base pay. And I’m sure the President knows that the average federal worker pays twice as much for health insurance as what we are asking for in Wisconsin. At least I would hope he knows these facts.
“Furthermore, I’m sure the President knows that we have repeatedly praised the more than 300,000 government workers who come to work every day in Wisconsin.
“I’m sure that President Obama simply misunderstands the issues in Wisconsin, and isn’t acting like the union bosses in saying one thing and doing another.”

I’m intrigued that Walker is willing to swipe at Obama after the White House decided to retreat from organizing union protests. Presumably he figures that the more he can enlarge the scale of this problem — public-employee unions everywhere bloating budgets and bleeding taxpayers dry — the more sympathy he can stir up at home for tough action on collective bargaining. A public feud with the avatar of bloated government in D.C., whose coming campaign will be bankrolled by PEUs, is a neat shorthand for that.

For your viewing pleasure, here’s Joe Scarborough warning this morning that it seems … “un-American” to deny any group the right to come together and negotiate. Never mind the fact that Walker’s proposal is limited to public employee unions and even then only to benefits (CB for wages would still be legal). He’s right in this sense: It’s really not the unions that are the malfeasors in the little racket they’ve got going. They’re doing precisely what they’re organized to do. It’s the corrupt Democratic mayors and governors, alleged guardians of the public fisc, who are happy to give away the farm in wages and benefits in return for de facto kickbacks in the form of campaign contributions. That’s why Walker is so intent on ending collective bargaining for benefits in lieu of accepting the union’s offer to take a cut in its next contract. If he doesn’t do something structural to change this, the next crooked liberal to succeed him in office will start handing out candy again. Click the image to watch.

Iran threatens London boycott over 'racist' Olympic logo - Fourth-Place Medal - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports

By Chris Chase

Iran is threatening to boycott of the 2012 London Olympics because it claims the official logo for the gamesresembles the word "Zion," which is a biblical term for Jerusalem.

Bahram Afsharzadeh, the secretary-general of Iran's National Olympic Committee, says he sent a letter to IOC president Jacques Rogge in which he condemns the logo as "racist" and calls upon other Muslim countries to join in protest.

The logo was unveiled four years ago to mass criticism, almost all of which had to do with the awkward, bulky design and not pro-Zionist conspiracy:

If you're reading vertically rather than horizontally and think an irregular pentagon resembles the letter "I" then you can sort of make out "zion" in the logo. Although if you read counterclockwise from the bottom left it also looks like "Izzo," which may draw copyright complaints from Jay-Z and cries of protest from Ohio State fans.

"There is no doubt that negligence of the issue from your side may affect the presence of some countries in the games, especially Iran, which abides by commitment to the values and principles," Afsharzadeh said in the letter to Rogge.

Iran lecturing the IOC on commitment to sporting values and principles is laughable. This is the same nation that's refused to send athletes to compete against Israelis for the past three decades. Complain about the logo all you want but stop with the false piety.

The IOC rejected the complaint.

"Our response is as follows: The London 2012 logo represents the figure 2012, nothing else," a spokesman said.

Wis. gov. to outline ultimate intentions in budget - Yahoo! News

By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press – 37 mins ago

MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's explosive proposal to take nearly all collective bargaining rights away from most public workers represents just one piece of his vision for the state's future. Now he's ready to reveal the rest.

With the union rights proposal stuck in a legislative stalemate thanks to runaway Senate Democrats, Walker planned to forge ahead with the Tuesday release of his two-year spending plan that will include major cuts to schools and local governments to help close a projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall.

Tens of thousands of protesters have demonstrated for two weeks against the Republican governor's collective bargaining proposal, which he calls necessary to free local governments from having to bargain with public employee unions as they deal with the cuts he'll outline Tuesday.

Schools last week started putting teachers on notice that their contracts may not be renewed for next year given the budget uncertainty. Walker has confirmed he will propose cutting education aid by about $900 million, or 9 percent statewide.

"All of this turmoil, all of this chaos, are examples that Walker's proposals are too extreme," said Mary Bell, president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council. She said more than 2,000 teachers had received nonrenewal notices as of Monday.

Labor leaders and Democratic lawmakers say Walker's proposal is intended to undermine unions and weaken a key Democratic voter base. The state's largest public employee union filed a complaint Monday alleging Walker has engaged in unfair labor practices by refusing to negotiate.

The Wisconsin State Employees Union complaint asked the state labor relations board to extend its contract and require Walker's administration to engage in collective bargaining.

Walker insists Wisconsin is broke and has nothing to offer. He spent another day touring the state Monday, renewing his threat of deeper cuts and layoffs if his proposal isn't passed by Tuesday. If the state misses that deadline, it won't be able to save $165 million through debt refinancing, which was a key part of his bill, Walker said.

Walker has warned he will start issuing layoff notices to state workers as soon as this week if the bill isn't passed, but he hasn't said who would be targeted.

School leaders are bracing for more bad news.

The governor is expected Tuesday to announce a new revenue limit that would require a $500 per-pupil reduction in property tax authority. The limits, in place since 1993, have gradually grown to reflect increasing education costs. That part of Walker's proposal alone would reduce the money available to the state's 424 districts by 7 percent, or nearly $600 million, based on a study done by University of Wisconsin-Madison economics professor Andrew Reschovsky.

"When you make unprecedented and historic cuts like these to schools, it means teachers are laid off, class sizes are larger, course offerings are reduced, extracurricular activities are cut, and whole parts of what we value in our schools are gone," state superintendent Tony Evers said in a statement.

In Janesville, a district with about 10,000 students, the school expects to get about a $5 million cut in aid, said David Parr, president of the local teachers union.

The district already is considering laying off up to 60 of its teachers to deal with a nearly $10 million budget deficit this year, Parr said. The teachers also have been asked to re-open contracts that are in effect until mid-2013, he said.

"If we don't reopen the contract, that means they would have to cut teachers," Parr said. "That's the bottom line. There aren't a lot of options left."

An analysis by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards determined the changes stripping workers' collective bargaining rights wouldn't take effect until an existing agreement expires or is extended, modified or renewed.

Teachers in Janesville are terrified to reopen their contracts, Parr said.

"The whole district is walking on eggshells," Parr said. "Teachers are upset, aides are upset, the administration is upset, school board members are upset."

A large state aid cut also could force Milwaukee Public Schools, the state's largest district, to lay off teachers. Their four-year contract runs until 2013. Reschovsky's analysis says the district stands to lose $60 million under Walker's revenue limit reduction alone.

A spokesman for the district declined to comment.

Wisconsin's average teacher salary of about $48,000 ranks in the top half of states nationally, though it remains significantly behind the $60,000 average salaries in the top-paying states of California and Connecticut, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. Wisconsin students also rank in the top half nationally on standardized tests, scoring a full percentage point better on the ACT college entrance exam.

Walker's stalled collective bargaining proposal would require state workers to contribute 5.8 percent of their salaries toward pensions and double their health insurance contribution beginning April 1. Those changes would be expanded to nearly all other public workers, except those operating under existing union contracts, beginning July 1.

The higher benefit contribution would equate to an 8 percent pay decrease for the average worker. The state would save $30 million this fiscal year and $300 million over the next two years.

Walker said not realizing those savings would mean laying off 1,500 workers between now and July and 12,000 state and local employees over the next two years.

The statewide teachers union and state workers unions, in an attempt to compromise with Walker, have said they will agree to the benefit concessions as long as they retain collective bargaining rights. The bill takes away collective bargaining except over wage increases that don't go above the rate of inflation.

Sen. Jon Erpenbach, one of the 14 Democrats who fled to Illinois, scoffed at Walker's layoff threat, saying such a move ignores that public employees have agreed to abide by the financial concessions demanded by the governor.

"He's not even conceding the fact that they've given them the money," Erpenbach during a Monday interview in Chicago. "He's threatening their livelihoods. He's treating them like poker chips."

Erpenbach and other Democrats who fled say Walker's unwillingness to deal motivates them to stay away. The bill passed the Assembly on Friday following a three-day filibuster.

"There's a compromise here, I just really think there is," Democratic Sen. Jim Holperin said Monday. "We continue to seek it."

___(equals)

Associated Press writers David Lieb in Madison and Dinesh Ramde in Chicago contributed to this report.

Obama: Flexibility OK, but health care law remains - Yahoo! News

By BEN FELLER, AP White House Correspondent – 30 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Anxious to ease deepening political tensions with the states, President Barack Obama on Monday told governors he wants to speed up their ability to enforce his signature health care law on their own terms. But his concession goes only so far: He warned he won't allow states to weaken the law.

He also told them not to vilify their own states' public workers while struggling with spending cuts.

Hosting governors of both parties on his own turf, Obama offered them what they often request: more flexibility as they cope with painful budget dilemmas. Declaring that he would "go to bat for whatever works," Obama supported letting states propose their own health care plans by 2014 — three years faster than the current law allows.

Yet this would be no change to the fundamental requirements of a federal law that has divided the nation and prompted about half the states to try to overturn it through lawsuits. To gain new powers, states would first have to convince Washington that their plans would cover as many people, provide equally affordable and comprehensive care and not add to the federal deficit.

More broadly, Obama sought to send a message — both cooperative and pointed — as leaders at all levels of government grapple with huge economic pressures. The yearly gathering of the president and the state chief executives came as budget disputes are roiling, most notably in Wisconsin, where dramatic protests have raged for days.

Calling for shared sacrifice, Obama said public workers understand they must absorb their share of budget cuts. But he delivered a sharp message to governors seeking to strip away union protections, saying: "I don't think it does anybody any good when public employees are denigrated or vilified, or their rights are infringed upon."

Wisconsin's governor, Scott Walker, was not at the White House but rather in his home state as a nationally watched budget showdown rolled on. He called for Democratic lawmakers to return to the state by Tuesday and vote on his bill that would end most collective bargaining rights for public employees as part of a plan to plug a $3.6 billion shortfall.

Republican governors generally gave a thumbs-down to Obama's pledges of flexibility on the health care law, which requires Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty beginning in 2014.

"I was disappointed," said Texas Gov. Rick Perry, chairman of the Republican Governors Association. "Pretty much all he did was reset the clock on what many of us consider a ticking time bomb" that could "crush our budgets."

The GOP governors' group is airing TV and radio ads in Wisconsin supporting Walker and criticizingDemocratic state senators who have relocated to Illinois to block enactment of his agenda.

"Oklahoma wants to do Oklahoma's own plan," said that state's Republican governor, Mary Fallin. Asked whether Obama's plan was flexible enough, she said: "We'll see."

The closer Republicans look at the details, the less flexibility they will see, said economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin, leading domestic policy adviser to 2008 GOP presidential candidate John McCain. "If you can't control eligibility or the benefits package, it's like saying: 'Here's the bill, you go figure out how to pay for it,'" he said.

Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Obama's offer has no more flexibility. "It's a head fake," said Steel.

White House officials said the administration was not backing away from the individual coverage requirement, but that the provision, ultimately, is only a means to an end. If states can show they'll achieve the same goals through a different approach, the administration is willing to sign off. White House officials said they still believe the individual mandate is the best way to meet the law's coverage and affordability targets.

The idea to move up the date for state experimentation did not start with Obama. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown have already proposed it in legislation. But the president gave it a prominent endorsement. "I think that's a reasonable proposal," the president said. "I support it."

Republican governors control most of the 26 states that have sued to stop Obama's health care overhaul, his signature domestic accomplishment. They say it would cost their states too much money. Court rulings so far have been mixed, upholding the law more times than not. Last month in Florida, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson ruled the law was unconstitutional.

During the state executives' closed session with Obama, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said she told the president that 29 governors were seeking an expedited Supreme Court handling of the federal health care law challenge, following the Florida decision. "We've got to get answers for these governors," Haley said in an interview with The Associated Press.

For his part, Obama showed no give on the law's core elements. He said was convinced the law would cut costs, end insurance industry abuses and "cover everybody."

"I am not open to refighting the battles of the last two years or undoing the progress that we've made," Obama told the governors when reporters were in the room. "But I am willing to work with anyone, anybody in this room, Democrat or Republican ... to make this law even better."

Over the next two-and-a-half years, states face an estimated $175 billion more in budget gaps that they have no choice but to fill. Unlike the federal government, states are required to balance their budgets. Their upcoming problems will be caused partly by the loss of money as the nation's 2009 emergency economic stimulus law, or recovery act, dries up.

Obama noted that point and sympathized with the states' budget crunch. Here, too, though, Obama took the governors to task for those who have criticized the costly stimulus law.

"It is undeniable that the recovery act helped every single state represented in this room manage your budgets," he said, "whether you admit it or not."

___

Associated Press writers Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Philip Elliott, Julie Pace and Liz Sidoti in Washington and Jim Davenport in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.

Rioting Anarchists Attack Seattle Police With Fireworks, Flares & Fire Extinguishers | The Blaze

We first brought you video featuring angry protests in Seattle about two weeks ago. Protesters were upset after a police officer was not charged in the shooting death of a local woodcarver. Now, the anger has turned to violence, and local anarchists are celebrating it.

KOMONews.com: Overturned fencing and caution tape are left behind in the aftermath of the Saturday night riot.

KOMO reports out of Seattle:

A roving gang of rioters smashed property and attacked Seattle police with fireworks, flares and fire extinguishers Saturday night near the site where an officer shot a woodcarver to death last August.
The incident began at about 9 p.m. as an officer drove through the intersection at Boren Avenue and Howell Street and came upon a group of what appeared to be anarchists gathering there.
As the officer passed through, the group discharged a fire extinguisher at his vehicle.
Other officers responded and found a group of 25 to 30 gathered in the intersection, setting up fencing and putting up caution tape. They painted “F— The Pigs” on the street and on a nearby building.
The rioters also placed makeshift tire-flattening spikes in the intersection, then began walking east on Howell toward the East Precinct.
As they walked away, the group left behind cans of paint, paint rollers, flags and makeshift paint “bombs” fashioned from light bulbs.
By 9:20 p.m., the same group of about 30 anarchists gathered at E. Pine Street and Boylston Avenue, blocking vehicle and pedestrian traffic as they walked up the street.
As the gathering became more rowdy, rioters displayed signs encouraging violence against police.
One anarchist tossed a large firework at a patrol car, which bounced off and detonated. The explosion could have injured them or other persons nearby, police said.
Keep reading at KOMONews.com …

The local group Puget Sound Anarchists bragged about the incident on its website:

Our intention as anarchists, is purely conflictual in nature, in so, we intended to create the space for agitation and attack. There was no public call outs made, in order to use the element of surprise on our enemy, the police. Seemingly this worked successfully, but also, it should be noted that it wasn’t just the surprise but also our presence of no compromise in the streets that kept the cops at bay. What we lacked in numbers we made up for in our ability to be flexible and act quickly.
Our dreams are in the streets!
Against the police and the prison world they maintain!

Cap to the Hill has more pictures from the riot — here’s a sample:

And the official SPD release [language warning]:

Rioters caused property damage to local businesses

On 2/26/2011, at about 9:00 p.m., an officer was transporting a prisoner to the West Precinct, when he came upon a group of what appeared to be anarchists gathering in the intersection at Boren Ave / Howell Street. As he passed through, he reported that the group had discharged a fire extinguisher at his vehicle.
Other officers responded and found a group of 25-30 gathered in the intersection, setting up bicycle type fencing and putting up caution tape. They painted “Fuck The Pigs” on the street and on a nearby building.
They had also placed a couple of dozen large staples that had been fashioned into tire flattening spikes in the intersection. When Officers arrived, the group walked off E/B on Howell, then apparently up into the East Precinct.
When they walked away, the group left behind cans of paint, paint rollers, flags, and of most interest, several light bulbs, from which the ends had been removed, which were filled with paint. It is speculated that they were readied as paint “bombs” possibly to be used against the Police, or as a means to further damage property.
At approximately 9:19 p.m., this same group of approximately 30 people gathered at E. Pine St. and Boylston Ave. They moved east- bound , using the E/B lane(s), blocking vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
There was no notification of a permitted planned march/demonstration. Within the group were displayed signs encouraging violence against police. Members of the group threw a large firework at a patrol unit. It bounced off and detonated. The explosion could have injured them or other persons nearby. Officers continued to monitor the group’s progress to Broadway and then northbound.
The rioters began pushing trashcans and paper boxes into the street and rearranging traffic safety cones. Several lit flares were thrown at monitoring patrol cars. Fire extinguishers were sprayed into the street traffic creating further hazards. Rioters attempted to break windows at a Bank in the 300 block of Broadway Ave. E.
Parked cars were attacked and at least one visibly damaged. Most of the rioters were dressed similarly in black clothing articles, and many wore bandanas or masks to conceal identity. The actions of the rioters created significant traffic delays and congestion, as well as threatening traffic and pedestrian safety. The rioters began to disperse at E. Republican St., many fled E/B.
Officers captured three subjects in the area of the 500 block of Federal Ave. E. The suspects were booked for rioting, pedestrian interference, and obstructing.
There were many victim businesses affected by this riot. Among the businesses was a Bank, a local Newspaper Company, a local print publication, an unidentified vehicle owner(s), and Sound Transit, (Light Rail construction in 1800 block of Broadway Ave.

“Capitalism is an imperfect system that is impossible to maintain,” the Puget Sound Anarchistsexplain in a post earlier this month. “It wrecks the earth, our bodies, and our spiritual selves by demanding a humanity that is calculated by industry/government. That is why it has it‘s own security to enforce it’s doomsday fiscal politics: the police. If liberal democracy and capitalism worked, why would this force be necessary?”

“We demand no more police. We demand no more Guardians of Tourism and Capital. This means the entire system must give way to let us determine our own lives.”

Farrakhan: Mideast uprisings will come to US - Chicago Breaking News

Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan predicted on Sunday that America faces imminent uprisings that mirror those in the Middle East.

“What you are looking at in Tunisia, in Egypt … Libya, in Bahrain … what you see happening there … you’d better prepare because it will be coming to your door,” Farrakhan said in a booming voice, thousands of followers cheering in his wake.

Farrakhan also called on President Barack Obama to allow protesters to march, urging the president not to attack innocent people when they do.

The controversial minster spoke to a packed house at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont as part of the 81st annual celebration of Saviours' Day, which marks the birth of the faith’s founder, W. Fard Muhammad.

The keynote address, titled “God will send saviours,” capped a weekend of workshops focused on health, preparing for natural disasters and unidentified flying objects. The Nation of Islam believes in a UFO called “the wheel” or “the Mother Plane.”

Farrakhan has described a 1985 religious experience in which he ascended into a flying saucer and heard the voice of Elijah Muhammad predicting historical events that came to pass.

For about four hours, Farrakhan spoke and jumped from topic to topic, citing religious texts.
He praised Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard.

Farrakhan extolled the virtues of Scientology and its auditing process, which is considered spiritual counseling by its members.

“L. Ron Hubbard is so exceedingly valuable to every Caucasian person on this earth,” Farrakhan said.

“… L. Ron Hubbard himself was and is trying to civilize white people and make them better human beings and take away from them their reactive minds … Mr. Hubbard recognized that his people have to be civilized,” Farrakhan said to a cheering crowd.

bschlikerman@tribune.com