Sunday, August 01, 2010

The exquisite combination of Democrat leadership and public sector union bosses: East St. Louis police layoffs to let the criminals 'run wild'

It's happened in Oakland and in Cleveland. Now East St. Louis is paying the price for decades of unsustainable liberal policies.

Joseph Tracy said he’s tired of going to funerals. And now, he suspects he’ll be going to more of them... "It’s open field day now," said Tracy, the pastor of Straightway Baptist Church here. "The criminals are going to run wild."

Gang activity. Drug dealing. Cold-blooded killing. Tracy worries that a decision to shrink the police force by almost 30 percent will bring more of everything... The pastor voiced his concern on Friday at a raucous special City Council meeting at which East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks announced that the city will layoff 37 employees, including 19 of its 62 police officers, 11 firefighters, four public works employees, and three administrators. The layoffs take effect on Sunday.

Why were such dramatic steps needed? Take a guess.

City officials wanted police and fire unions to accept a furlough program that would have required employees to take two unpaid days in each twice monthly pay period. If accepted, emergency responders would have seen a pay cut of about 20 percent for the rest of the year.

Parks said the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement...

East St. Louis has been crippled by crime and poverty for decades... The police already rely on other agencies to handle some of the heavy case load. For example, the Illinois State Police routinely work on the city’s homicide investigations.

...Worries about East St. Louis’ crime rate got little sympathy from Councilman Roy Mosley, who gave a 10-minute speech on Friday blasting the city’s police officers.

"We don’t have the money," Mosley said. "You lay off when you don’t have the money. The money’s gone." ...Mosley complained that police officers take patrol cars home, park them in other jurisdictions, and misuse the city’s gasoline.

...The union plans to fight the layoffs and work to get the jobs back.

Mish puts the insanity in stark terms:

"...the union does not care how much blood is spilled as long as its senior officers get paid. Let's do the math. 19 layoffs out of a force of 62 is a massive 30+% layoff. Where is the sense of comradeship? Where is the share the pain fellowship? The union is willing to toss 30% of its membership to the dogs. That's what this has come down to."

Worse still: these are the same kind of out-of-control public sector union bosses -- like Andy Stern -- that control the White House and the Democrat Party.


The Inspired Leadership of Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D): Federal Stimulus Dollars Went Overseas to Outsourced Call Centers

If you want another delightful example of Democrat leadership in action, please consider Ohio Governor Ted Strickland's masterful performance spending your great-grandchildrens' money.

It turns out that hundreds of thousands in federal stimulus money that was originally sent to Ohio, ended up funding overseas call centers. Foreign customer service reps were handling thousands of requests for rebates related to that delightful "cash-for-coffee-makers" program. You know, the one meant to replicate the historic success of the "cash for clunkers" program that revived the auto industry.

A Texas company hired to administer Ohio's popular appliance rebate program used hundreds of workers in El Salvador to process applications and to answer customers' calls.

...Parago Inc., based in Lewisville, Texas, never told state officials that it would handle rebates from an offshore call center, she said. But state officials never asked, either.

...Strickland, a Democrat, said Thursday the state will do a better job of vetting companies that get stimulus contracts... President Barack Obama's stimulus package gave Ohio $11 million to provide rebates to consumers who buy energy-efficient appliances, including clothes washers, dishwashers and water heaters.

...Upon learning of the El Salvador call center, Ohio officials immediately contacted Parago and asked the company to process the Ohio calls within the United States, she said... But Parago, which has no domestic call centers, had already grabbed thousands of rebate applications, and disrupting the program would have jeopardized rebates to consumers, Patt-McDaniel said.

Isn't central planning wonderful?

As an aside, Strickland faces a formidable and accomplished fiscal conservative named John Kasich, a former Congressman, this November.

In 1995, when Republicans gained the majority in the United States Congress, Kasich was selected to become Chairman of the House Budget Committee. As Chairman, Kasich worked towards balancing the Federal Budget, and was the chief architect of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. As Chairman of the Budget Committee, Kasich presided over the only U.S. Budget Surplus since 1969.

In 1995, when Kasich assumed the position of Budget Chairman, the U.S. Federal Budget had a deficit of roughly -$163 billion, and upon the conclusion of his tenure as Budget Chairman, the U.S. Federal Budget had a surplus of roughly +$236 billion.

I know that liberals like to claim that Bill Clinton was responsible for the budget surplus -- he wasn't, of course, because who has ever heard of a Democrat trying to cut federal spending on anything besides defense? -- but the person responsible was Rep. John Kasich.

So if you've got five or ten bucks to spare, support Kasich's run against the leftist crank named Ted Strickland. Remember -- Strickland's the guy who used your family's money to staff up call centers in Latin America.

And now he claims he didn't know. Whether it was ignorance or incompetence, the end result was the same. Ted Strickland is a disaster of a governor.

Oh, and Mr. Strickland, if I may offer a word of advice: start researching outplacement services.


More Racist Teabaggers: Black Support for Obama Drops 9 Points, Hispanic Support Drops 12 Points -- All In Just 4 Months

I wonder what the race-baiters at the NAACP will say when they see the latest support for President Obama among blacks and Hispanics.

Gallup’s latest weekly compilation of polling data on President Obama’s job approval rating shows him at 85 percent among black Americans, down from a 94 percent approval rating among blacks as recently as March. The 85 percent figure is also Obama’s lowest-ever as president among African-Americans...

...Obama’s approval rating among Hispanics in the latest poll, 52 percent, is also his lowest rating among that group in Gallup’s weekly measurement. He was in the low-to-mid 60’s earlier with Hispanics earlier this year...

...Overall, Obama’s weekly job rating is 45 percent approve, 47 percent disapprove, down from a 51 percent approve, 42 percent disapprove in February...

In related news, his approval rating among ministers named Farrakhan remains at 100%.


Pic: New Patriot Journal.

The Bad Ad Awards

Via Wang Chung.

The Wife Was Really P.O.'ed This A.M. -- Chelsea's Wedding Extravaganza

The wife was on a roll this morning, pointing out some interesting facts about the immense Clinton wedding that took place this weekend.

"This damn wedding cost between $2 million and $5 million."

"They hold this wedding at the Astor Estate, with its porcelain bath fixtures, paying millions of dollars, and claim to be for the little people?"

"Here's the spokesman (Clinton) for Haiti and he's blowing ten grand on a cake?"

"And all of the liberals defending this extravaganza claim it stimulates the economy. Can you believe that? These are the same geniuses who tell us that trickle-down economics doesn't work!"

"Apparently Chelsea wanted a quiet little wedding. She's very publicity-shy. So why didn't they tone it down and donate the money to Haitian relief?"

"But, no, they had to hold an over-the-top, massive celebration when the American economy is suffering."

"There really are two Americas: the Democrat ruling class and everyone else."

"These people are such f***ing hypocrites it makes me sick to my stomach."

"And no one is pointing out a comparison to Jenna Bush's wedding."

"She had a small, discrete ceremony in Crawford, Texas."

"The whole thing probably didn't cost much more than Chelsea's cake."

"Oh, but the Democrats are for the little people. They feel for the common man."

"It's like the difference between Al Gore's multiple mansions and George W. Bush's simple ranch that really is a 'green', environmentally friendly home."

"And the media plays along, as usual. The American people know exactly what they would have done had Bush held this kind of shindig in an economy like this one."

"The media in this country suck."

Like I said, the wife was on a roll this morning. And she's right.


Related: There is a God!. Linked by: Michelle Malkin, iOwnTheWorld, Don Surber, Memeorandum, The Other McCain, American Power, So it goes in Shreveport, DaTechGuy and DBKP. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: Our Patrick Henry Moment Is Here

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. You can also install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget.

Nation

Our Patrick Henry Moment is Here: AT
Will Democrat Failures Lead To Second American Revolution?: IBD
Seven Heroes From Buchanan HS Make the Ultimate Sacrifice: RWN

AZ’s Appeal Delayed Until... After Elections: S&L
Why would the law stop Obama?: Surber
Detroit Mayor sends convicted murderer to police board: BlogProf

Economy

Swift Tax Dodgers: AmSpec
Summer of Corruption: Maxine Waters Edition: Malkin
Obama: You Know, That 2.4% Growth is Awesome!: RWN

ObamaCare Metastasizes: Moonbattery
Obama and the Age of Reagonomics: AT
Reality and the American Left: AT

The Subtle Creep of Sharia and Socialism: Pundette
Now You Can Be a Discriminated Against Black Farmer!: Riehl
What happened to those millions in CDC funding?: Beacon

Climate & Energy

Locally owned BP Station Pleads for Your Love: Althouse
Backing Al Gore into a corner... with kid gloves: OreLive
Oh Noes, Meat Crisis: UN Says Time To Eat Bugs: CBullitt

Media

JournoList: The View from Inside the MSM’s Cocoon: Driscoll
Nice Day For a White Wedding: Wizbang
America's First Black President Seriously Damaging Race Relations: AT

Frank Rich Must Be Exceptionally Well Paid: Driscoll
Maureen Dowd and the Left: All Race, All the Time: PJM
Kasich is Winning the Social Media War: ThirdBasePol

World

The Corruption: Wizbang
British Islamist Cleric Predicts “Rivers of Blood on the Streets” After TV Host Cracks Burqa Joke: WZ
Cancer Patient Nikki Phelps vs. Virginity Repairs in Britain — i.e., Islamic Hymen Replacement Surgery: AmPower

Mexican Cartel Puts $1MM Bounty on Head of Sheriff Joe Arpaio: GWP
Campus Apostate:Leaving UC Irvine's Muslim Student Union: PJM
Islam vs. the West: What You Need to Know: Kimball

Notice the Flags: Moonbattery
The Real Reason The ADL Is Against The Cordoba Mosque: LegalIns
Pakistan: 102 Honor Killings During First Six Months of 2010 in Punjab Province: WZ

SciTech

Microsoft rushes fix for Windows shortcut hole: CNet
Pushing Gravity: AT
Contest finds workers at big firms handing data to hackers: CNet

Cornucopia

Miguel Batista, Full Time Pitcher For Washington Nationals, Part Time Super Genius: Ace
The Girl Who Fixed the Umlaut: Ephron
'You are so dumb... you are really dumb... fo' real': BrutHon

Today's Larwyn's Linx sponsored by: Jesse Kelly for Congress in Arizona


Saturday, July 31, 2010

Nikki Phelps, R.I.P.

This is Nikki Phelps.

This is Nikki's family.

Bill Phelps, Nikki's husband, and her two boys -- Harry and Jack -- watched Nikki waste away and die from kidney cancer.

Tragically, Nikki's form of cancer was treatable with a drug called Sutent. But Nikki's health insurer repeatedly denied her the drug, claiming it was too expensive.

Who was this despicable health insurer? Was it Anthem, Blue Cross, Humana? No, it was none of those companies.

Nikki Phelp's insurer was was Britain's National Health Service (NHS), the model for Barack Obama and his hand-picked appointment for the head of Medicare, Donald Berwick.

Donald Berwick loves the NHS and has said as much. He thinks it is doing a bang-up job and has praised its practices endlessly.

Berwick was a recess appointment for his powerful post as President Obama knew that he would never have survived Senatorial confirmation because of his infamous, bizarre and blatantly socialist statements.

"I am romantic about the NHS; I love it. All I need to do to rediscover the romance is to look at health care in my own country... [it is] such a seductress... a global treasure."

"[Among] the primary functions [of health regulation is] to constrain decentralized, individual decision making [and] to weigh public welfare against the choices of private consumers."

"Please don’t put your faith in market forces... In the United States... competition is a major reason for our duplicative, supply-driven, fragmented care system."

Berwick has routinely mocked the very free market and private enterprise systems that produce 75% of all medical and pharmaceutical innovations on the planet. The breakthrough devices and drugs aren't coming from the U.K., a simple fact Berwick appears to have conveniently ignored.

Sutent, the very drug that could have saved Nikki Phelps, was manufactured by an American company. As are three-quarters of all pharmaceuticals.

Worse, the UK's cancer survival rates are horrific compared to those of the United States.

British cancer outcomes don't just trail U.S. results; "they rival those of Eastern European nations." A 2008 study showed that cancer survival rates in the U.K. trail far behind those of the United States. American men, for example, "have an 80 percent better chance of surviving prostate cancer than do their English counterparts... [and there are] similar disparities in comparative survival rates for victims of breast, colon and rectal cancers."

• Breast cancer mortality is 52 percent higher in Germany than in the United States and 88 percent higher in the United Kingdom.

• Some "56 percent of Americans who could benefit from statin drugs, which reduce cholesterol and protect against heart disease, are taking them. By comparison, of those patients who could benefit from these drugs, only 36 percent of the Dutch, 29 percent of the Swiss, 26 percent of Germans, 23 percent of Britons, and 17 percent of Italians receive them."

• "British cancer patients are substantially more likely to die of the disease than those in other western European countries because of poor access to the latest drugs, according to an authoritative report to be published today." (Cancer survival rates worst in western Europe: Telegraph (UK) 2007)

This is the health care system that Barack Obama, Donald Berwick and the Democrat Party intend to emulate. No free market innovation. No competition. No initiative. Only government rationing with a monopolistic, single-payer in charge of all health care delivery.

Like East Germany in the Sixties.

November is our last chance to stop the kind of madness that killed Nikki Phelps.


Related: Nikki Phelps vs. Hymen Replacement Surgery. Hat tip: Tiger. Linked by: Don Surber. Thanks!

Bill Balsamico: Restaurateur and Master of Political Correctness

Bill Balsamico owns the Casa D'Ice Lounge and Restaurant in North Versailles, Pennsylvania. Bill Balsamico is not the man you go to for political correctness.



Bill Balsamico is not "Papa B", but they have to be brothers from another mother.