Thaddeus McCotter, GOP Candidate

A new individual has entered into the GOP nomination fray. His name is Thaddeus McCotter. Yes, it is an unusual name. But he bears watching.

Click here to get a good rundown on Rep McCotter.

I have been in conversation with a fellow blogger who really likes this guy and we have exchanged thoughts on the various candidates. My blogger friend really seems to like McCotter. As an individual who has yet to make up his mind as to the candidate that I plan on supporting, I do try to keep myself educated. So I have done a little digging. By and large, I do like many of his policies. However, he does have one tripping point that kind of bugs me. He is a pro-union guy. On the other hand, considering that many of the folks that he represents work in the auto industry, it is quite understandable why he votes the way he does.

I know that I have blogged many times railing against the unions. I do need to clarify something. I am not necessarily anti-union. As I have pointed out several times, the unions had their time and place and they were a driving force that built the middle class in America. Where I have the problem is that the leadership within the unions have become socialist in nature and are more focused on social agendas than they are on the workers (union members). It seems they are no longer focused on worker safety and compensation, but more so on how to drive a business into the ground.

SEIU Thuggery Handbook Exposed

As many of you have read here, I from time to time, like to point out when union thugs at in violent manner. This is to show the peace loving, tolerant side of the left. Click on Union Thugs over under Categories over on the left side of the blog.

Although unions were once a good thing, providing a giant shove forward for the middle class, they long ago lost their way. No longer is a union a there to protect workers from so-called exploitation at the hands of “evil business owners”. They have become a leader in the socialist and communist movements in the USA.

One of the leading culprits is the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). These are the folks that beat up Kenneth Gladney, who was selling Tea Party memorabilia outside a convention. The men accused of beating Gladney were recently acquitted of the crime despite strong video evidence their attack on him was unprovoked.

In an interesting exposure, it was recently discovered that SEIU has put together a handbook on how to intimidate owners and managers of businesses SEIU wishes to organize. This booklet details ways to make it difficult for businesses to operate by interfering with potential customers and other facets of support to the businesses. The following is excerpts from a column by F. Vincent Vernuccio of the Washington Times.

SEIS’s manual details how “outside pressure can involve jeopardizing relationships between the employers and lenders, investors, stockholders, customers, clients, patients, tenants, politicians, or other on whom the employer depends for funds.”  The union advises using legal and regulatory pressure to “threaten the employer with costly action by government agencies or the courts.”

It details the use of community groups to “damage an employer’s public image and ties with community leaders and organizations.” SEIU recommends going after company officials personally. Not mincing words, SEIU states, “It may be a violation of blackmail and extortion laws to threaten management officials with release of ‘dirt’ about them if the don’t settle a contract. But there is no against union members who are angry at their employer deciding to uncover and publicize factual information about individual managers.”

The “dirt” includes charges such as “racism, sexism, exploitation of immigrants or proposals that would take money out of the community for the benefits of distant stockholders.” SEIU recommends “[l]eafleting outside meetings where [targeted managers] are speaking, their homes, or events sponsored by community organizations they are tied to are some ways to make sure their friends, neighbors, and associates are aware of the controversy.” (Source: Washington Times)

Because unions favor Obama (not necessarily the union members themselves), and drive millions of union member dues his way, the Obama Administration will do nothing to curb this. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is passing rules that will make unionization of a business easier by shortening the time between first contact of employees by the union to the time a vote can happen. The NLRB is also loosing rules that will allow unions to further intimidate owners and managers. Union leadership such as Richard Trumka (AFL/CIO President) have bragged that he’s “at the White House a couple of times a week, two, three times a week,” and that he has “conversation every day with someone at the White House or in the administration.”

Until there is an administration that is not beholden to the union leadership, this kind of tactic will continue.

Hypocrisy, Thy Name is the Main Stream Media

Don’t know if you are following the whole Rupert Murdoch story, but Ann Coulter has done a very nice job of exposing democrat/liberal/progressive hypocrisy. When Newt Gingrich was Speaker of the House, a conversation between him and another member of Congress was illegally taped, the released. No call from the media for heads to roll. When an entire news division devoted time and effort to develop a complete fabrication about George Bush back in 2004, no one called for the resignation of the president of the network.

Oh Yes, Those Civil Progressives

Here is a lesson in civility:

“I will kill you and your family”

“Oh my God, This woman is so f---king stupid. Some please shoot her in the head, again and again. And again.”

“I’m going to kill the pastor.”

If I had a gun I would have gunned you down along with each and every other supporter…”

“We’re going to kill you.”

“You’re dead. Maybe no today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon…you’re dead.”

“I’m a gay guy who owns guns, and he’s my next target.”

“I warn you, I know how to kill, I’m an ex-special forces person.”

“Get ready for retribution all you bigots.”

“Burn their f---king churches to the ground, and then tax the charred timbers.”

(Source: World Net Daily)

Cain Campaign Hits A Serious Bump

The state of the Herman Cain campaign is really not in a good place. I had some high hopes for this guy. I certainly hold him in higher regard than I do Romney. Not sure he was completely electable, but he had that certain something. I liked that he spoke plainly and from the heart. I liked his experience running a major company. I also liked that he did work in banking, although some balk at his job with the Kansas City Federal Reserve.

It was that plain spoken attitude that has more than likely done him in. One too many gaffes. In today’s media environment, you certainly cannot be a conservative candidate and hope to get away with speaking things that could be considered questionable.

Auto Industry Balks at Increase Mileage Standards

In case you are interested, there are negotiations going on right now that will have an impact on what kind of car you will be driving in the future and the cost of the that car.

The Obama Administration and the auto industry are currently working on vehicle and mileage standards, with the opening “bid” at over 56 mpg by 2025.

The Environmental Protection Agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the California Air Resources Board, which has led the nation in setting rough standards, are proposing regulations that would require new U.S. cars and trucks to attain an average as much as 56.2 miles per gallon by 2025, roughly double the current level. That would require increase in fuel efficiency of nearly 5 percent a year from 2017 to 2025. (Source: Seattle Times)

…

Automakers say the standard is technically achievable. But they warn it would cost billions of dollars to develop the vehicles, and they express doubt that consumers would accept the smaller, lighter – and in some case, more expensive – cars.

I really have my doubts that folks in the Obama Administration give a dang about whether people will be willing to accept these cars. I think I can say with confidence that the prevalent thinking is “so what, if these are the only cars available, what are the rabble (that would be you and me) going to do, not buy a car?” Most of these people who are making these rules don’t live in the real world. These people have never had to work real jobs, jobs where people need trucks and the ability to haul their work with them. I would guess they have forgotten what it is like to have to haul your family around from school to practices to grandma’s house. You ride around in a limo often enough and you tend to forget that people actually have to drive families from place to place.

US automakers are beginning to stand a little more firm against Obama and his crew. A couple of years ago, when the auto industry was in serious danger of faltering, Obama was able to get increased mpg concessions (35 mpg by 2016) from the “Big 3” (actually, Ford wasn’t on board since they didn’t need the bailouts) as part of the bailout deals. Now that the industry is on a little firmer footing, they are pushing back a little.

Lobbyists are in full swing. Auto companies are seeking a standard at the lower end of the range by the government, citing studies that say meeting stiffer regulation would add thousands of dollars to the cost of a new vehicle and require a significant downsizing of vehicles in all classes. They also want certainly that there will be a single national standard and that California will not be permitted to pursue a tougher standard.

…

Companies could receive credit for using low-polluting air-conditioner refrigerants, building cars that can run mainly on biofuels, putting solar panels to provide cooling powers and other gimmicks. (Source: Seattle Times)

Just so you are aware, that while the links provided will take you to the Seattle Times web page, the linked story actually originated at the ultra-liberal NY Times.  I point this out because there are a few turns of phrases that caught my eye. Things like “other gimmicks” and “Lobbyist in full swing” were purposely put in this story by a writer that I would be willing to bet fully supports these job killing and possibly industry killing mandates.

The Civility from the Left Continues

For whatever reason it is just impossible for the left/liberals/progressives to behave in any sort of civilize manner. The other night on “Real Time with Bill Maher” two of his guests showed us why the left is such paragons of tolerance. Be forewarned, the following and the video at the links has language you probably don’t want your mother to hear.

First up is, umm, comedian Marc Maron:

“I don’t want to be crass, but I just hope that Marcus Bachmann (Republican Presidential hopeful Michelle Bachmann’s husband; PACNW Righty adds) takes all that, ya know, that rage that comes from repression and denial and brings it into the bedroom with her,” Maron said. “I hope he f^%& her angrily, because that’s how I would. And I’ve thought about it.” (Source: Daily Caller)

Next to spew his hatred for anything remotely conservative was gay-rights activist Dan Savage:

Illegal Immigrants Costing California Billions

Of all the states that are currently in a serious financial crisis, California is probably the worst. They are struggling to put together a budget, they are raising taxes and users fees, they have furloughed government workers and reduced the work week. They are so far in debt, that meeting their retirement obligations is looking like it will be mission impossible.

Add to this crushing budget woes is an illegal immigration population that is taxing the state-run hospital system. In 2010, the state of California spent $1.25B to treat illegal immigrants. Because of this cost, the state has asked the federal government, which also has no money, to bail them out.

Here is an idea. Stop treating them. I realize this is cold and I know it is against the law to turn away anyone, regardless of their immigration status, from receiving treatment. But this is just plain crazy. California and other states are spending billions of dollars to treat people that don’t even contribute to the system. I know there are liberals/progressives out there that say the illegals pay taxes. This might be true in some cases, but by and large, these folks are paid under the table.

Catching Your Own Drinking Water

Here is an interesting little story out of Seattle. I did not know that King County, in which Seattle resides, requires you to purchase your drinking water from the city. This requirement falls under a code administered by the health board. As the code is currently written, an individual can capture rain water to be used for drinking purposes only to supplement the water supplied by King County utilities. I guess if I had really thought about this a government that requires you purchase (and taxed) a necessity isn’t really all that surprising. And when you throw in a liberal city like Seattle, it continues to make sense that purchasing a necessity through a government entity is going to happen.

There are some changes afoot however. Recently, there was a proposal to allow individuals to capture rainwater as their primary source of drinking water. Are there stipulations? Of course there are stipulations, you silly people.

-A rainwater catchment system that serves as the only source of drinking water for a single family residence and that complies with each of the following conditions:

--The health officer finds that requiring connection of the plumbing system to an approved public water source or to an approved private well would cause undue hardship.

--Application for a rainwater catchment system source approval shall be submitted for review on forms provided by the health officer. The applicant shall pay to the health officer the rainwater catchment system review fee as specified in the fee schedule, payable after completion of the application review.

--Application for a rainwater catchment system source approval shall be prepared by any one or more of the following:

---a professional engineer authorized under a current, valid license to practice in Washington state;

---an environmental health professional holding a current, valid registration from either the Washington Environmental Association or the National Environmental Health Association;

---a King County licensed water system designer holding a current, valid license to design water systems in King County; and

---a rainwater designer holding a current, valid accreditation from the American Rainwater Catchment System Association. (Source: Seattle PI)

The list of requirements goes on for several pages and is filled with the typical legal gobbledygook that will bore you to tears. But the bottom line is that you cannot have a sewer hook up and you must be on a septic system if you wish to capture rainwater and use it as your sole source of drinking water. So even if you want to live off the grid, the county is still going to get its money because the county health department has to approve a system that won’t touch the county’s system. But they do it for your own good of course because you are not smart enough to take care of yourself.

The list of restrictions is going to make this nearly impossible for anyone but the truly hardy and far off the grid homesteaders. King County, far and away the most populous county in Washington isn’t exactly brimming with homesteaders and those living off the grid. Based on the stipulations, folks living within a sewer system or a well will not be able to take advantage of this change in the code.

California Court Decision Overturned

Last week I blogged about how a California Appeals Court was going to force the military to immediately end the Clinton-era Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy and to implement the law that allows gays to serve openly. This appeals court is notoriously liberal, continuously rendering decisions that fall to the left of the political debate. As is normal for a liberal institution, they don’t bother to account for how the decision will impact the vast majority or even the impact on those they are supposedly favoring.

Oddly enough the Obama Administration does understand. Obama and his group have actually sided with the military and with reason with respect to orderly ending DADT and execution of the new law. For now, the DADT policy is back in effect until the military can get the training/indoctrination completed and certify the repeal of DADT.