Blog: The little act that is destroying the country

Blog: The little act that is destroying the country:
"In 1958, New York City mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. issued an executive order that permitted municipal employees to be represented by unions for collective bargaining.  
This order came to be called the “little Wagner act,” not because it was insignificant (its effects would be vast), but because it followed the “big” Wagner act, the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 authored by the mayor’s father, United States senator Robert F. Wagner, Sr.
When he became president, John Kennedy observed that Junior’s “little act” had revolutionized New York City politics.
Democrat officials and union leaders now shared an interest in lavishly spending public money on public salaries and pensions, which would circle back to the unions in the form of increased dues, and then back to the politicians themselves in the form of campaign contributions and advertising.
It was a virtuous circle in which all were winners, except the taxpayers who financed it.
With his Executive Order 10988 in 1962, President Kennedy imposed the “little Wagner act” on the entire country.
Now federal employees could join unions and negotiate wages, hours and overtime, vacations and holidays, work rules, and job security.
Other cities and states followed suit.
Politicians became entrenched with union support, the unions grew rich on Democrat largesse, the Democratic Party became the Party of Government, and the costs of operating government began to soar.
We’re still paying the consequences of that little act.  
Our national debt doubles every eight years.
But no amount of money, it seems, is enough to improve the performance of employees who cannot be fired.  
In recent years, we’ve learned of mind-numbing incompetence and spirit-sapping malfeasance by federal employees.

• In “Fast and Furious,” the ATF sold guns to Mexican drug cartels – then lost track of them with predictable consequences.  
• Homeland Security failed to find 95% of smuggled weapons and explosives in a security test.  
• The EPA accidentally poisoned Colorado’s Animas River with three million gallons of toxic sludge. The Department of Veterans Affairs wasted $6 billion on artwork, furniture, bloated contracts, and employee bonuses, while veterans died waiting for medical treatment.  
• Terrible tales of bungling have similarly tainted the CDC, the GSA, the IRS, the Pentagon, the Department of Justice, and the FBI, and even the Secret Service.

But nobody takes responsibility, nobody pays a price.
So when politicians tell us that some of us aren’t paying our “fair share,” and when we find out that we can’t dismiss even grossly incompetent “public servants,” well, that’s when our stomachs start to churn..."

Leaked Email: Clinton Campaign Plotted To Threaten Supreme Court Over ObamaCare Ruling

Leaked Email: Clinton Campaign Plotted To Threaten Supreme Court Over ObamaCare Ruling:

"Here's an interesting bit from the latest trove of Clinton campaign emails leaked out Thursday morning: Clinton operatives were conspiring in June 2015 on how to best threaten the Supreme Court to rule their way in King v. Burwell, the case that could have effectively ended ObamaCare.

On June 2, 2015, Neera Tanden, the president of the leftist Center for American Progress, emailed Clinton advisor Jake Sullivan her thoughts on how to put the most pressure on the Supreme Court to rule in favor of ObamaCare."

2 Simple Charts Show Which State Pensions Are Most Likely To Enforce Benefit Cuts

2 Simple Charts Show Which State Pensions Are Most Likely To Enforce Benefit Cuts | Zero Hedge
"A new research note from Moody's found that State pension funds were underfunded by $1.3 trillion at the end of FY15 but was expected to grow to $1.8 trillion at the end of FY17 as pensions continue to struggle with low returns...

Per the following chart, many states have racked up over $20,000 of liabilities per capita, a level from which it will be very difficult to recover absent benefit cuts, massive tax hikes and/or a federal bailout.

Looking at pensions on a standalone basis, New Jersey, Illinois and Alaska remain the most at risk with underfunded liabilities equal to over $10,000 per person living in those states.  Meanwhile, only Wisconsin and South Dakota have fully funded plans.

But, as the CATO Institute points out, the pension crisis is likely much worse than what most auditor reports would suggest because discount rates of 7.4% are unreasonably high.  CATO estimates that reducing the discount rate from 7.4% to 2.7% would increase state pension underfunded liabilities from $1.2 trillion to $3.4 trillion. 

Pension shortfalls are actually larger than these figures indicate.  Those are the officially reported figures, but financial experts think that the discount rates used to report pension liabilities are too high.  Higher discount rates reduce reported liabilities and create an overly optimistic picture of pension plan health.

In his study, Rauh recalculated pension plan funding using a 2.7 percent discount rate, rather than the official average rate of 7.4 percent.  His    recalculated  unfunded  liability jumps from $1.2 trillion to $3.4 trillion.  Similarly, Munnell and Aubry found that their unfunded pension liabilities  jumped to $4.1 trillion if plans are estimated using a 4 percent discount rate.  Under that assumption, the funding level of state and local pension plans averages just 45 percent.

Unfortunately, the pension ponzi becomes more and more unsustainable each year with funds simply borrowing from future benefit payments, which are almost certainly impaired in many states, while paying current benefit recipients in full.  While these types of "kick the can down the road" games can be played for a long time, eventually the massive underfundings will have to be addressed...and that will not be a pretty day.

AM Fruitcake

History for October 17

History for October 17 - On-This-Day.com
Arthur Miller 1915, Rita Hayworth 1918, Tom Poston 1927


Jimmy Breslin 1930 - Newspaper columnist, Evel Knievel (Robert Craig) 1938, George Wendt 1948 - Actor ("Cheers")


1777 - American troops defeated British forces in Saratoga, NY. It was the turning point in the American Revolutionary War.


1888 - The first issue of "National Geographic Magazine" was released at newsstands.


1931 - Al Capone was convicted on income tax evasion and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was released in 1939.


1945 - Colonel Juan Peron became the dictator of Argentina after staging a coup in Buenos Aires.


1973 - The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) began an oil-embargo against several countries including the U.S. and Great Britain. The incident stemmed from Western support of Israel when Egypt and Syria attacked the nation on October 6, 1973. The embargo lasted until March of 1974.


1979 - Mother Teresa of India was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.



1987 - U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan underwent a modified radical mastectomy at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.


1989 - An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter Scale hit the San Francisco Bay area in California. The quake caused about 67 deaths, 3,000 injuries, and damages up to $7 billion.

Emails: Clinton aides touted her 'cordial relationship' with Loretta Lynch | Washington Examiner

Emails: Clinton aides touted her 'cordial relationship' with Loretta Lynch | Washington Examiner:

"Hillary Clinton's campaign staff discussed her friendliness with Attorney General Loretta Lynch in March 2015, just a few months before the FBI opened a criminal investigation into Clinton's private email use.

The conversation, which was included among the roughly 9,000 emails stolen from the inbox of campaign chair John Podesta that have been published by WikiLeaks, involved a debate over whether Clinton should issue a statement in favor of Lynch's confirmation as attorney general. "

Boycott Leftism

Articles: Boycott Leftism:
"The Achilles heel of leftism is its dependence upon conservatives and other normal people using the institutions of society that leftism has invested, and so providing the audience and income needed for the left to use against us.  
These institutions conspire against the normal operations of the marketplace by declining to ever compete by offering an alternative to leftism.
...Football is an excellent example of how this works. 
College athletic departments, which once did not care a hoot about political correctness, now have either cadres of the left as their spokesmen or have utterly cowed and terrified administrators who dare not say a word against the messages of the left.
The college football players who enter the NFL find the same insinuation of leftist cant into every crevice of professional football.
Although the dopey former San Francisco 49ers' insulting behavior during the National Anthem is a conspicuous example of leftist venom, the cringing fear of offending the left seems to terrify everyone in football.
Well, let football be terrified instead of offending those Americans who watch football on television and pay for tickets to football games and buy sporting equipment endorsed by football players. 
There is evidence that this is happening. 
As Rick Moran noted in American Thinker on October 5, Monday Night Football ratings have dropped 19% this year.  
The same day, Rasmussen reported that a whopping 32% of Americans said they are less likely to watch NFL games because of the offensive Black Lives Matter glop.
What conservatives and other normal people have done to punish the NFL, they have done as well to punish those corporations that beg for their business but then reflexively follow political correctness in slapping down conservatives in other areas.
Cracker Barrel learned in just a few hours how deeply its customers were offended by corporate condemnation of Duck Dynasty and quickly issued a mea culpa before the losses in sales got too high or the perception that Cracker Barrel corporate bureaucrats really looked down on its customers got too focused.
Walmart, another business that would quickly go belly-up if conservatives stopped shopping there, also moved fast to change a decision not to bake a cake for a paying customer with "Blue Lives Matter" because that was deemed "racist."
If corporate offices learned that offending conservatives, Christians, patriotic Americans, and other groups seen as fair game today produced a permanent loss of consumer goodwill and sales, then corporate employees from CEOs down to store managers would be trained not to offend those who buy the stuff that pays their salaries.
What if conservative groups united to organize boycotts of all corporations who outrageously offend their values or use corporate funds to advance a radical agenda?...
Rean on!

Not good-----Islamists beat liberals in Morocco elections

Islamists beat liberals in Morocco elections:
"Rabat (AFP) - The Islamist party which has headed Morocco's coalition government since Arab Spring-inspired protests five years ago has beaten liberal rivals in parliamentary elections, results showed Saturday.
Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) took 125 seats out of 395, the interior ministry said after all ballots were counted.
Its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which had campaigned against the "Islamisation" of Moroccan society, won 102 seats, the ministry said.
Istiqlal, the party which historically fought for independence from France, came third with 45 seats.
...PAM spokesman Khalid Adennoun declined to comment but said that his party had filed "50 complaints" of voting irregularities, some concerning the PJD in Tangiers.
...A video shared on social networks also showed a man stuffing a ballot box, leading the PJD to file a complaint, media reported.
...The PJD came to power in 2011, months after massive street protests prompted concessions from the monarchy..."

Voter Fraud Is Real. Here’s The Proof

Voter Fraud Is Real. Here’s The Proof:

"This week, liberals have been repeating their frequent claim that voter fraud doesn’t exist. A recent Salon article argues that “voter fraud just isn’t a problem in Pennsylvania,” despite evidence to the contrary. Another article argues that voter fraud is entirely in the imagination of those who use voter ID laws to deny minorities the right to vote.

Yet as the election approaches, more and more cases of voter fraud are beginning to surface."

An Aircraft Carrier In Drydock

An Aircraft Carrier In Drydock | The Arts Mechanical:
"The US Navy’s large nuclear carriers need to be refueled at an interval of about every ten to fifteen years.
Since refueling is an involved process requiring the removal a significant amount of deck plating the ship typically undergoes a complete overhaul at the same time.
This takes about a year and means that the ship and it’s crew are placed into living  a different kind of life while the ship occupies the drydock.
...The US Navy has made this wonderful documentary of the USS Nimitz in drydock while undergoing the ROH process. 

This is a big project for a big ship. 

This is not a refueling overhaul, which typically done at Newport News, still it’s a year of refit and rebuilding..."

Clink link and watch the videos!

CUNY Prof Accused of Sexual Harassment Because His Syllabus Says Effort Is 10% of Grade

CUNY Prof Accused of Sexual Harassment Because His Syllabus Says Effort Is 10% of Grade - Hit & Run : Reason.com:
"A professor at the City University of New York's Brooklyn College was ordered to make changes to his syllabus because it amounted to sexual harassment.
The professor, David Seidemann has refused to comply, and for good reason.
According to Seidemann, a university administrator expressed three grievances about the syllabus. First, and most quizzically, the grading portion of the syllabus suggests sexual harassment.
It reads, "Class deportment, effort etc……. 10% (applied only to select students when appropriate)."
That's it. 
That's sexual harassment, Seidemann's department chair claimed.
Why?
No one explained it to him..."

Lunch video-----Is Islam a Religion of Peace?

Noon-toon

EXPOSED: How The Clinton 'Racism' Machine Used African Americans Will Make Them FURIOUS

EXPOSED: How The Clinton 'Racism' Machine Used African Americans Will Make Them FURIOUS:

"Among the many noteworthy trends of this election cycle has been the constant barrage of racism charges leveled against Donald Trump. Whether such charges are baseless, I will let the reader decide. However, there appears to be a systematic and concerted effort to paint not only Donald Trump, but any Clinton competitor, as a racist. The “R” word was hung around virtually everyone’s neck as Hillary perversely began to admit her own “white privilege” was a problem she was determined to overcome.

Racist. It’s a loaded word and an emotion-packed concept the left knows will serve as something progressives, hypocritically, constantly decry — an effective dog whistle to roust and rally the hounds of political war."

The Gelded Age :: SteynOnline

The Gelded Age :: SteynOnline:
Step forward, Richard Dreyfuss, star of Jaws, Mr Holland's Opus and (one of my favorites) American Graffiti:

Mark Steyn, a writer with an irritating case of the smart-alecs, has written a book I urge you read called America Alone. Just the first few chapters are a geo-political wake-up call, and he is not someone I agree with very much. But he quotes bin Laden: "When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature they will like the strong horse." And he quotes Donald Rumsfeld: "If we know anything it is that weakness is provocative."

We are on a clock we don't see or comprehend. We will not survive this century unless civic virtue is revived. We can discuss its origins all day—if we have the right to speak at all, and aren't dead under jihad.

That's an unusually robust formulation from today's Hollywood. I will leave it to Mr Dreyfuss to expand on what he means by "civic virtue". For my part, I explain in America Alone that what's needed is more civilizational or cultural confidence:

This book isn't an argument for more war, more bombing, more killing, but for more will. In a culturally confident age, the British in India were faced with the practice of "suttee" – the tradition of burning widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands. General Sir Charles Napier was impeccably multicultural:

'You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows.You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.'

Read on! 

Voter Fraud Is Real. Here’s The Proof

Voter Fraud Is Real. Here’s The Proof
"Data suggests millions of voter registrations are fraudulent or invalid.
That’s enough to tip an election, easily.
This week, liberals have been repeating their frequent claim that voter fraud doesn’t exist.
A recent Salon article argues that “voter fraud just isn’t a problem in Pennsylvania,” despite evidence to the contrary. 
Another article argues that voter fraud is entirely in the imagination of those who use voter ID laws to deny minorities the right to vote.
Yet as the election approaches, more and more cases of voter fraud are beginning to surface. 
In Colorado, multiple instances were found of dead people attempting to vote. 
Lots more here.
Your vote IS being stolen!

Mizzou considers quizzing profs on social justice bona fides

Mizzou considers quizzing profs on social justice bona fides:
"A preliminary proposal released as part of a system-wide "diversity audit" includes a suggestion that professors be evaluated on their "commitment to diversity and inclusion" when being considered for tenure.
The proposal also includes expanded definitions of sexual misconduct and a gender-neutral "preferred name" policy.
As part of its $1.1 million diversity audit, the University of Missouri has released a preliminary round of suggested practices that would expand on the its commitment to diversity and inclusion.
The system announced its plan to scrounge up $1.1 million for a diversity audit back in May, at a time when the university was beginning to see the effects of a semester of racial uprising, experiencing a drop of 2,200 in enrollment while facing a $32 million financial hole.
"Among the revisions are calls to implement a system-wide preferred name policy."  
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[RELATED: Enrollment drop from Mizzou protests worse than feared]
Now, the school has released a set of potential revisions to the system’s “Collected Rules and Regulations” put forward by the diversity audit.
Among the revisions are calls to implement a system-wide preferred name policy, which would extend beyond the school’s existing policy that allows students to be referred to by their preferred names on ID cards and diplomas.
Additionally, The Missourian reports that the diversity audit has also suggested expanding the definitions of both sexual misconduct and consent, though no specifics were mentioned..."

Judge Strikes Down Sandy Hook Suit Against AR-15 Manufacturer - Breitbart

Judge Strikes Down Sandy Hook Suit Against AR-15 Manufacturer - Breitbart:

"According to a Friday report from CBS New York, Bellis cited the 2005 Lawful Protection of Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which protects gun manufacturers from being sued in instances where the gun in question was legally made and sold. The AR-15 used in the Sandy Hook attack was legally made and was sold and registered to Nancy Lanza, Adam’s mother. He stole that gun from her, then shot and killed her before going to the school."

Scenes From The Apocalypse – Mass Muslim Illegal Immigration Ruins The Streets Of Paris-Steve Russo

Steve Russo:

"Scenes From The Apocalypse – Mass Muslim Illegal Immigration Ruins The Streets Of Paris

Paris survived occupation by Nazis. Whether it survives occupation by Muslim welfare colonists remains to be seen. But prospects are not looking bright.

Remember when the ultimate trip anyone could receive on the old Dating Game show was a trip to Paris? That was like getting the Cadillac on Let’s Make a Deal. I wonder what they would think now? Islamic refugees have destroyed the once beautiful city of Paris. They have no respect or care for the Parisian culture or the beauty of the city. They’ve littered it with garbage, violence, and forced THEIR WAY OF LIFE and religion down everyone’s throat.

The Paris you know or remember from adverts or brochures no longer exists. While no part of Paris looks like the romantic Cliches in Hollywood movies, some districts now resemble post-apocalyptic scenes of a dystopian thriller.

If no portable toilets are in reach, open urination and defecation are commonplace. Tens of thousands of homeless Illegal immigrants, undocumented or waiting for a decision of their asylum application, waste away trying to pass the time in the city. Although their prospects of being granted asylum as Africans are bleak, they’re hoping for a decision that would grant them an apartment, welfare and make France their new home.

This short video shows what these disrespectful hobos have done to Paris – and if we elect Hillary, the same thing will happen to our beautiful cities.https://twitter.com/LucidHurrican…/status/780031978733088768

This footage, taken with a hidden camera by an anonymous Frenchman in the Avenue de Flandres, 19th Arrondissement, near the Stalingrad Metro Station in Paris as well as areas in close proximity, shows the devastating effects of uncontrolled illegal mass immigration of young African males into Europe.…
https://youtu.be/Ek1ENuEyWHE

France is now paying the price for years of masses of migrants who they are unable to absorb. This is what President Hillary Clinton will bring. On the bright side, this should make vacationing more affordable. Rather than travel to romantic Paris, you can just visit Haiti instead, getting a similar experience while saving on airfare. https://youtu.be/UD7UA1d-WnA

AM Fruitcake