“To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” – Thomas Jefferson Longtime readers of my work know that I’ve been exposing the compulsory-union dues racket since my days as a columnist at the Seattle Times. Here’s my 1999 column on how public school teachers in Washington state challenged their union over their political dues power grab. Here are your rights as a union worker. Here is a backgrounder on the permissible use of forced dues. As I wrote on Labor Day in 2010, free speech not only means the freedom to voice your political views, but also the freedom from being forced to pay for someone else’s. U.S. Supreme Court precedent established by the D.C.-based National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation guarantees the right to full financial disclosure from a union and a right to challenge the figures in court if they disagree. More and more rank-and-file union members have been speaking up against the confiscation of their dues for political purposes they oppose. Remember this Chicago SEIU member from 2010 ? Or this letter from a Wisconsin teacher last year? As events have unfolded in Wisconsin, I have been reflecting on my nearly 10 years in public education. My parents were both teachers and I greatly admired the work they did with their own students. I began with that same passion for teaching that they instilled in me, but am finding it more and more difficult to keep that flame alive. The hold that unions have over the public educational system is nothing short of toxic. Year after year, I have a lot of money taken out of my paychecks for union dues. What do I get for my money? I am bombarded with emails and flyers “urging” us to vote for candidates that coincidentally always have the letter (D) after them. I get to be lectured to by union reps about the evil Republican candidates are and why they know what is best for me. Now I am being hit with email after email “urging” me to stand with the teachers of Wisconsin. One teacher who is very tight with our union replied to our district making fun of Republicans directly. You might ask why I don’t forward this to human resources, but the repercussions would be brutal. The truth is that any teacher who does not hold down the talking points of the unions, DNC or Obama White House needs to keep quiet to keep their job. The vitriol I heard over the Bush years was deafening but acceptable and expected. I can hardly remember a week that went by where teachers, sometimes in front of students, were not making fun of Republicans. I’ve personally been the subject of much ridicule and scorn from fellow teachers and will continue to be as long as I am in public education. I believe in what I am doing in my own classroom by focusing on educating students, but as time goes by it is becoming more and more likely that I will leave education all together. Not because of students, but because of the unions and the teachers that support them. Frustrated in Minnesota Well, today on Capitol Hill, more brave union members are testifying about the Big Labor money machine forcibly fueled with their hard-earned money. You can watch the proceedings live at 10am at the House Oversight website . You can read the prepared testimony of Mr. Terry Bowman of Ypsilanti, Michigan, Ms. Claire Waites of Daphne, Alabama and Ms. Sally Coomer of Duvall, Washington here . Chairman Darrell Issa’s opening statement: Every worker should have the choice to decide whether their money is taken from their paychecks and used to fund political activity. When this occurs, a worker should also have the right to know how their money is spent. Individual freedom and personal choice are cornerstones of our democratic government—they are also at the heart of union participation in America. Today’s hearing will examine the process by which union dues are collected and how transparent unions are about this process. The Committee’s focus is not an examination of the validity of unions or their right to exist, but rather an effort to ensure that the political activity of unions does not infringe the freedoms of workers. Because of recent court decisions and a systematic effort by the Obama Administration to reduce union transparency and reporting requirements, union workers do not currently know how much of the money from their paycheck dues is being funneled to SuperPACs or used for other political activity. The Administration has also drastically reduced the Department of Labor’s ability to effectively audit labor organizations. These actions will have far-reaching consequences. I welcome the union workers who have agreed to testify today and appreciate their willingness to speak their mind about what they see as unjust restrictions on their freedom of choice in our democracy.
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On Capitol Hill today: Union members testify against forced dues racket
More leaked e-mails. Skeptics falling from the sky. Another U.N. climate-change conference. What’s the latest in the fight over global warming? In feature for the new issue of The Blaze magazine , Liz Klimas takes a look at the state of the war over global warming and the international community’s plans to ostracize “deniers” and force their agenda on the U.S. economy and government. What was the impact of the message war at the most recent U.N. climate-change conference? The most notable outcome of the conference was that for the first time the three countries considered the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world—the United States, India and China—agreed to enter into a treaty to reduce emissions that would be considered “a legal instrument” that could be subject to “legal force.” Emission targets for countries will be set by 2015, meaning discussions will continue, with enforcement of said targets coming in 2020. Lord Christopher Monckton, a leading, vocal skeptic of man-made climate change and head of the U.K. Independence Party took issue with many of the details that he says are “anti-Western,” such as the establishment of an “International Climate Court” that would “have the power to compel Western nations to pay ever-larger sums to Third World countries in the name of making reparation for supposed ‘climate debt.’ The court will have no power over Third World countries.” He also blasted the conference’s rhetoric such as “the rights of Mother Earth” and the “right to survive.” The agreement also establishes a Green Climate Fund to which countries will pledge billions of dollars to help developing countries reduce emissions and adapt to the challenges that could be expected to come with global climate change. Get the full scoop on the global-warming crowd’s attempts to smear skeptics and to implement a worldwide plan that will impact the liberties of all Americans only in The Blaze magazine .
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Climate Wars: Leaked emails and a UN climate conference — What could go wrong?
It may seem that a different politician tarnishes his career almost every other week thanks to social media, but rarely do you hear about schools punishing students for opinions made on their personal Facebook pages. Syracuse University’s School of Education has now effectively expelled a graduate student from its teaching program after he expressed resentment in his Facebook status for a community leader’s complaint that student teachers were coming from Syracuse rather than historically black colleges. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) reports: “On July 20, 2011, Werenczak was student teaching with Danforth Middle School when he was introduced to a member of the city’s Concerned Citizens Action Program (CCAP). Shortly afterward, in the presence of Werenczak and one other white student teacher, the CCAP member, who is black, said that he thought that the city schools should hire more teachers from historically black colleges. Werenczak later discussed the remark on Facebook , saying, ‘Just making sure we’re okay with racism. It’s not enough I’m … tutoring in the worst school in the city, I suppose I oughta be black or stay in my own side of town.’ Werenczak further wrote that ‘it kind of offends me that I’m basically volunteering the summer at Danforth, getting up at 630, with no AC, to help tutor kids and that’s not enough.’ While Werenczak was summoned to a meeting with administrators shortly before the school year began, he was not charged with any infraction of Syracuse’s rules and never received a disciplinary hearing. On September 7, however, Social Studies Education Coordinator Jeffery A. Mangram sent Werenczak a letter stating that the School of Education (SOE) was effectively expelling Werenczak because he had ‘posted on [his] Facebook page comments the SOE finds unprofessional, offensive, and insensitive not only to the Danforth School but also to the SOE and Syracuse University.’” For his actions, Werenczak would be expelled, had the option to voluntarily withdraw, or could gain a chance of “ad-admittance” by taking part in a special course of diversity training, attend counseling for “anger management,” and write a “a reflective paper that demonstrates the progress and growth you have made in relation to issues regarding cultural diversity as well as your own personal growth.” To stay in school, Werenczak complied with all three conditions by December 14. However, FIRE reports that on January 3 the School of Education(SOE) had not even yet formed a committee to review the case. On January 4, Werenczak was warned that if he took action to push SOE to act, it would “further delay the process.” “FIRE wrote Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor on January 10, pointing out that SOE’s action ‘profoundly violates Syracuse’s express promises of freedom of speech.’ Syracuse promises in its Student Handbook that ‘[s]tudents have the right to express themselves freely on any subject’ and that ‘Syracuse University … welcomes and encourages the expression of dissent.’ Syracuse has failed to respond, leaving Werenczak’s future in limbo.” The nonprofit educational foundation notes that this is not the first time Syracuse has punished a student for online speech: “In the fall of 2010, Syracuse University College of Law student Len Audaer was threatened with expulsion and faced a months-long investigation for his role in a fake-news parody blog about life in law school. In January 2011, FIRE named Syracuse one of the worst universities in the nation for free speech in The Huffington Post . Syracuse dropped all charges against Audaer in February 2011.” Syracuse responded in January 2011 to the article by FIRE in regards to the fake-news blog parody and the Huffington Post list. “The content of the website was not as harmless and carefree as some public commentators have suggested,” writes Syracuse University Vice Chancellor Eric F. Spina. “In fact, the blog contained false, mean spirited attacks, by name, against uninvolved, innocent, private individuals. ” “Syracuse University places a high value on free speech and due process, but also places a high value on the rights of all of its students to study and learn in an environment free from harassment, intimidation and ridicule,” Spina concluded. Between what happened at the law school last year and Werenczak’s current case, FIRE Vice President of Programs Adam Kissel does not take much stock in the university’s assurances. “Syracuse’s promises of free speech and due process are rapidly becoming some of the biggest jokes in higher education,” said Kissel. “I can see why Werenczak might be disturbed about his job prospects after hearing a remark that implicated his race. But it’s impossible to see how any reasonable person in the School of Education could use such a mild, off-campus expression of offense to destroy a student’s career.”
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Syracuse May Expel Student for Complaining on Facebook About Community Leader’s Controversial Race Comment
Well, it’s not a new story, by any means. But the progs are going to play it to the hilt to slam Romney for either spineless serial flip-flopping or closet anti-homosexual bigotry. As long as Romney doesn’t flip back to the frothy pro-gay radical rim station extremism for the general election, he should be okay. See Huffington Post, ” Mitt Romney Campaign Disavows Pro-Gay Rights Flyer From 2002 .” And at
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Watch an Iowa Coffee House Owner Toss a Group of Occupiers Out of Her Shop
The Obama administration on Thursday launched a free hotline for people busted on immigration violations to call. (AP File Photo)
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Obama Administration Launches Free Hotline for Suspected Illegal Immigrants
A police chief accused of stealing $714 from a former stripper’s wallet after a car chase is now facing a federal lawsuit that alleges he “violated her constitutional rights.” The ex-stripper, Justina Cardoso, 21, filed suit on Dec. 22 claiming Col. John Whiting, 57, violated the rights protecting her from illegal searches and granting her due process. The 21-year-old Cardoso, who lives in Pawtucket, R.I. and performed at the Satin Doll strip club in Providence, is seeking $250,000 in damages from Whiting. Justina Cardoso (Source: National Confidential) What’s the story behind this? Whiting was driving to work in an unmarked police SUV on Aug. 28 when he tried to pass Cardoso’s Ford Explorer. It was raining and driving conditions were poor. Maybe it was because he “aggressively” passed her Explorer, which had slowed down to get around a fallen tree, that one of its 3 passengers decided to throw “an object at his vehicle,” the three-decade veteran of law enforcement told police. As anyone who has ever had a rational thought knows, throwing something — anything! — at another car (whether it’s a marked squad car or not) is a terrible idea. Whiting turned on his emergency lights and tried to get the Explorer to pull over. Cardoso’s vehicle took off and the officer pursued. Why in the world didn’t the Explorer just pull over? Well, perhaps it was because Cardoso “had just spent the night with a man who paid $600 for her company at a Comfort Inn” and that on her way home she had picked up two men, one of whom was driving the Explorer, according to the New York Times . Or maybe it was because Cardoso had an outstanding warrant related to a “drug-fueled extortion plot that can only be described as idiotic, and another pending charge for the illegal possession of controlled substances allegedly found in her Coach purse,” according to the Times. So how did the chase end? The green 1999 Ford Explorer veered onto a dead-end street, ran out of road and smashed into a parked pickup truck. All three passengers in the Explorer immediately fled the scene leaving Whiting alone with the Explorer and a Coach pocketbook stuffed full of cash. This is where Whiting made his mistake. Cardoso’s lawsuit claims Whiting illegally went through her SUV after the crash and took money from the Coach wallet she had left behind. There was a total of $714 dollars which police say she earned at the Satin Doll and from the man who paid her for “her company.” Whiting later admitted to a Pawtucket officer that he stole money from a pocketbook “loaded with cash” that he found inside the SUV, investigators wrote in an affidavit. The Pawtucket officer said Whiting gave him the money and told him to spend it in Las Vegas and not discuss it. Whiting, has been suspended without pay from his job as North Providence police chief since he turned himself in to state police in September. He was charged with one count of larceny over $500 and two counts of obstruction of justice. He pleaded not guilty earlier this month to charges that he stole money and then tried to cover it up. His next court date is Feb. 16. Col. John Whiting (Source: turnto10.com/NBC10) “He spent 29 years in the Pawtucket Police Department, where he was respected if not universally liked, earned a law degree, and won praise for his work in a case against a corrupt, politically connected police officer,” writes the Times . “Finally, in 2008, he landed a prestigious police chief job, in North Providence.” But now his long and proud career has been permanently tarnished for allegedly stealing a measly $714 and trying to cover it up; adding insult to injury, he’s also being sued for a quarter of a million dollars by an ex-stripper whose privacy he allegedly “violated.” So what about Cardoso? After the car chase, she was arrested on a warrant for an unrelated criminal matter. She pleaded no contest last month to three charges in an extortion and blackmail case and to one count of marijuana possession. Cardoso, who the New York Times describes as a “runaway” and as being involved in the kinds of incidents that create first-name relationships with the police, was given a five-year suspended sentence in the blackmail case and a year of probation in the drug case. Defense attorney John Grasso has said she avoided jail time by getting treated for drug abuse. He also said she is pursuing a GED. Grasso added that Cardoso stopped working at the Satin Doll after Whiting’s arrest and was unable to find new work as a stripper. Her stolen earnings and SUV were returned, but Cardoso could not afford to keep the vehicle, Grasso has said. Ah, there it is. Perhaps her decision to sue the police chief was influenced more by the fact that she can’t pay her bills and she has a rap sheet a mile long than by feeling he ” violated her privacy .” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Ex-Stripper Sues Police Chief for ‘Violating her Constitutional Rights’
