Category: Labor

Obama supported company gets U.S. Loan and builds cars…. In Finland

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This ought to be a lesson to every last Democrat who voted for Obama and Biden.

The Video:

The Story:

With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work.

Vice President Joseph Biden heralded the Energy Department’s $529 million loan to the start-up electric car company called Fisker as a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs. But two years after the loan was announced, the job of assembling the flashy electric Fisker Karma sports car has been outsourced to Finland.

“There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle,” the car company’s founder and namesake told ABC News. “They don’t exist here.”

Henrik Fisker said the U.S. money so far has been spent on engineering and design work that stayed in the U.S., not on the 500 manufacturing jobs that went to a rural Finnish firm, Valmet Automotive.

“We’re not in the business of failing; we’re in the business of winning. So we make the right decision for the business,” Fisker said. “That’s why we went to Finland.”

via Car Company Gets U.S. Loan, Builds Cars In Finland – ABC News.

Here is the real-world translation to that last line in that story; we did not want to have to deal with the labor unions in this United States, so we moved our manufacturing overseas.

Take note my Democratic Party friends who happen to read this blog, all two of you.  This is what happens to the Democrats and their union counterparts, when they elect internationalist Democrats, who really do not give a care about what happens to American workers.  Internationalist Democrats and their Republican counterparts, the globalists — like Richard Nixon, who do not care about American workers, they are corporatists, who support crony capitalism.

This right here is a perfect example of why the relations between the Democratic Party and the labor unions are frosty at best.  That is because the Democratic Party for the last few instances that they have won elections, have been putting internationalist Democrats into the White House.  This type of a Democrat talks a nice game, and puts out platitudes to the American autoworkers and their representatives in the unions; but when the “Rubber hits the road” so to speak, things change.  They begin showing their true colors and start doing things to kick dirt in the face of the American worker.

I do not write this as a Conservative mocking the left, goodness no.  I write this as someone who has a father, who is a retired General Motors worker, who is a member of the UAW.  If anyone would know how the Democratic Party has treated the American autoworker in the last 30 years, it would be me.  There was a time in this Country, when the Democratic Party used to respect the American autoworker and would literally step in front a train to defend them.  Sadly, that time has passed, as the unions have lost their influence amongst the Democratic Party.

The loss of that influence in the Democratic Party is partially due to the actions of the internationalist Democrats, like Bill Clinton, who signed into law NAFTA and TAFTA.  Some of that loss of influence is also due to the declining membership roles within the UAW and other said unions.  Either way, it is sad transition in America, when our politicians in Washington D.C. put interests abroad before interests here at home.

Some of my readers, all three of you, might be shocked to see that I do not take a more mocking tone on stories like this and here is why I do not; Pat Buchanan said it best once, on one issue that I actually agree with him on — the American worker.  Pat once said, “As goes Detroit, goes the Nation,” and you know what?  Pat Buchanan is right about that, the United States of America used to be a manufacturing marvel.  We produced everything ourselves, and other Countries used to come here to see how we did it all.  Sadly, those times have come and gone, due to many reasons, a list of which is longer than the length of this blog entry will permit.

What is solution you ask, I know what it is; but most of the people who will come here to read, will not agree with it.  However, I will give the solution.  Firstly, the solution is NOT to bust up the unions, as they have as much right to proper representation, as the company owners have a right to make a profit.  The solution to the problem is to get rid of these idiotic so-called “Free Trade” agreements.  Secondly, the solution is to impose strict tariffs on EVERYTHING and I do mean everything that is manufactured overseas and imported into our Country.

These actions would do a couple of things; firstly it would protect the American workers from the globalists who want to undercut the American worker to make a quick dollar on the backs of cheap sweatshop labor in foreign countries like China.  Secondly, it would solve our Nation’s revenue problem by creating a reliable source of income; one of which we did have in this Country for a very long time, before the globalists ripped it out, in favor of trade agreements.

Further, the solution is in whom we elect; Republicans and Democrats alike need to elect those who put America’s interests first, and not the interests who those abroad.  To be fair, Republicans have done this too in this past and we as Americans need to watch what these new crop of Republicans really represent; do they represent the interests of the crony capitalists or do they have the American people’s interests in mind?  Supposedly, the Tea Party movement brought some of this “America First” type of populism to the Conservative movement, but as of late, it seems that the Tea Party was nothing more than a passing fad.  I just hope the people, who went to these protests, use the principles that were promoted at the Tea Party rallies, at the ballot box come November 2012.

Others: Michelle Malkin, New York Times, New York Magazine, The Heritage Foundation, Questions and Observations, Fantastical Andrew Fox, RedState, The Strata-Sphere, Hot Air, Sky Dancing, Conservatives4Palin, americanthinker.com, Big Government, Weasel Zippers, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, JammieWearingFool and Betsy’s Page

Welcome to my World: 6 Million people age 25-34 live with parents, up 25%

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I’m 39 and I still live at home and yes, it sucks. You know, I’ve been called a leech, a shit stain and alot of other names. But honestly? Is it my fault? No, it’s the economy around here and leaders in Washington D.C. that have screwed the Country into the ground.

I saw this via Drudge:

WASHINGTON — Call it the recession’s lost generation.

In record-setting numbers, young adults struggling to find work are shunning long-distance moves to live with Mom and Dad, delaying marriage and buying fewer homes, often raising kids out of wedlock. They suffer from the highest unemployment since World War II and risk living in poverty more than others — nearly 1 in 5.

New 2010 census data released Thursday show the wrenching impact of a recession that officially ended in mid-2009. It highlights the missed opportunities and dim prospects for a generation of mostly 20-somethings and 30-somethings coming of age in a prolonged slump with high unemployment.

“We have a monster jobs problem, and young people are the biggest losers,” said Andrew Sum, an economist and director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. He noted that for recent college grads now getting by with waitressing, bartending and odd jobs, they will have to compete with new graduates for entry-level career positions when the job market eventually does improve.

“Their really high levels of underemployment and unemployment will haunt young people for at least another decade,” Sum said.

via Recession yields a lost generation of workers – Business – Stocks & economy – msnbc.com.

Honestly though, my folks do not mind me living here; they like the help and I am an only child; so, there is not another brother or anything, who can help. So, I live here, until this economy recovers. Another thing too, in 2004, I filed for bankruptcy and I did start over. I made the stupid mistake of getting into a lot of debt, when I was younger with a credit card. Needless to say, I learned my lesson there. I have a debit card now, and if I zap that back account, I am screwed. So, I have the motivation to not screw that up!

On a related note, on the economy; the man who came to fix our A/C here, told me that he is lucky if he gets like 25 hours a week with the company he is with. Now keep in mind, this is not a trainee or anything that, this dude was certified in A/C and Heating. He has the license and everything; and he is not even getting 40 hours a week of work. That, my friends, is how screwed up our economy truly is. 🙁

Those who have a job are lucky to get enough money to put food on the table, and those of us, who cannot find a job are basically left out in the cold. This is why I have such a big problem with all this union protectionism crap that the left is touting. I respect the Unions at all and what they fought for, many years ago. But, we are living in a different would and the prosperity of that era; which the unions took advantage of, is gone for good.

So, that is why, when I see stuff like this here; my heart breaks, because it is not the wealthy people who are going to suffer. It is going to be the working class people and the poor; who are going to suffer the most. The thing to remember is this; it all trickles down, sooner or later. The wealthy lose, the jobs dry up and people suffer. The bad part is, Government cannot fix it. it has to fix itself. The sad part is, it usually takes a LONG time for it to fix itself.

This, is the folly of Progressivism; the belief that Government can fix something that it did not break, in the first place.

 

Mixed Bag: Jobs bill to make not hiring long term unemployed illegal

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I call this one a mixed bag, for a number of reasons that I will explain after the quote and what I write might surprise you.

President Obama’s American Jobs Act, which he presented to Congress on Monday, would make it illegal for employers to run advertisements saying that they will not consider unemployed workers, or to refuse to consider or hire people because they are unemployed.

The proposed language is found in a section of the bill titled “Prohibition of Discrimination in Employment on the Basis of an Individual’s Status as Unemployed.” That section would also make it illegal for employers to request that employment agencies take into account a person’s unemployed status.

It would also allow aggrieved job-seekers to seek damages if they have been discriminated against. This provision in particular prompted Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) to argue that Obama’s proposal is aimed at creating a new, special class of people who can sue companies.

“So if you’re unemployed, and you go to apply for a job and you’re not hired for that job, see a lawyer,” Gohmert said on the House floor. “You might be able to file a claim because you got discriminated against because you’re unemployed.”

via Obama’s bill makes it illegal to discriminate against unemployed – The Hill’s Floor Action.

I see that other blogs are ballyhooing about this one; and even as someone who has been unemployed since 2005, I can see why this would be a bad idea.

First off, most unemployment cases like this, would be tossed out of court. Because unless it is a union shop, there is no guarantee of employment, ever. In other words, no employer is obligated to hire anyone, ever. As much as I know that being employed sucks and being unemployed since 2005 sucks even worse; it would be very hard to prove that some company did not hire me because of that reason. One would have to establish that an employer knowingly did not hire you, because of your extended employment. In lawyer terms, it is called “proving malice,” I believe. But, again, I am not a lawyer.

Here is why I call it a mixed bag: The only way this would be a good thing; would be if you did have definite proof that an employer was not hiring you, for being long term unemployed. However, to be, that just seems wrong. No one, who owns a business, should be obligated to hire anyone, ever.

Second of all, putting myself into the shoes of an employer; if I knew that Congress was going to pass this sort of a law or did pass it — I would be very leery of hiring anyone who had been unemployed for any length of time. In fact, if you did not have a job, when you applied, I would not bother even calling you, for fear of being sued.

Thirdly, from what I have been reading, this “jobs bill” is basically D.O.A. — the Republicans are not going to pass it. Speeches or not, the thing will die in Congress.

So, file this one under, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

If it is worth anything at all; I even told this one to my lifelong Democratic Party voting Mom, and she even said, “That’s crazy! They won’t pass that!” 😀

Others: Weasel Zippers and JammieWearingFool (Via Memeorandum)

 

 

 

The politicization of 9/11 by the left

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You remember a few days ago, when I said I did not want to really do anything special on 9/11;  because of the politicization of 9/11 by the left and the right?

Well, here’s an example of what I am a talking about…..from the left.

This is from the AFL-CIO website and this is the AFL-CIO’s President —

Sept. 11, 2011: A Day to Commit to Activism

A Message from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

All of us will remember the horror and anguish we experienced 10 years ago. Whether we lost loved ones ourselves—family members, union brothers and sisters—or felt the shock of a society that lost nearly 3,000 people and was forever changed, we need no reminding.

Instead, I would like to reflect on doors that were opened on Sept. 11, 2001, and what has come of them in the 10 years since.

Working men and women rushed through doors to danger and became America’s everyday heroes. Firefighters, construction workers, nurses and EMTs—all kinds of professionals and volunteers—were there not just on the fateful day but some for weeks and months and even years after. And we swore we would never forget.

Doors opened within us to each other. We came together. We flew the flag. We comforted one another. In our grief, we found the best in ourselves.

What an overwhelming sense of unity we shared, all across our nation. And it was this unity that allowed us to begin healing and rebuilding. There is no time in my memory of a more proud example of what we can accomplish when we work together. Solidarity, the cornerstone of the union movement, flowed through all of us and carried us through.

But other doors opened, too—doors to hate, suspicion of “others” and self-centered greed. Our fear was twisted into something much more dangerous.

The unity that had helped us survive faded as divisiveness took root. I look around today in amazement at just how far apart our nation has become—the endless possibilities that came with our unity have all but vanished.

Just 10 years after 9/11, despite our vows, the public servants, construction workers and others who lost their lives or still suffer with the cancerous remnants of the Twin Towers haven’t just been forgotten. They’ve been vilified. The extremist small government posse has turned them into public enemy No. 1, as though teachers and firefighters, EMTs and nurses and union construction workers ruined America’s economy.

In state after state this year—with the heroism of 9/11 less than a decade behind us—politicians targeted the paychecks, benefits and basic rights of these workers in a rabid campaign to shift government support to tax breaks for the wealthy and already profitable corporations.

Wealthy CEOs, anti-government extremist front groups and frothing talk show hosts—from the Rush Limbaughs and Glenn Becks to the Koch brothers, Karl Rove’s American Crossroads group, Americans for Prosperity, the Club for Growth, FreedomWorks and the American Legislative Exchange Council—also pushed open the door to hate.

Make no mistake—setting workers against workers is a highly profitable endeavor. How many times during the vilest state attacks on public workers did we hear the question: “Other people don’t have pensions. Why should he?” Prompting that question required twisting the American psyche—which, by its founding nature, seeks to lift the common good. The appropriate question should have been, “Why doesn’t everybody have a pension?” followed by collective action for retirement security.

We’ve seen the costs of hatred in ill-thought wars, in shameful attacks on immigrants and our LGBT neighbors. We saw it in the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. We saw it in the racism that has found overt and covert expression since Barack Obama began his run for office—from outright declarations of people who said out loud they would never vote for a black man to the ridiculously persistent obsession with our president’s birth certificate. Regardless of his policies or priorities, President Obama is shadowed by the drumbeat of suspicion based on his “other”-ness. And those suspicions are fed and watered constantly by forces that were threatened by his message of “hope and change.”

We’ve seen the cost of greed in the recklessness of financial institutions that created the greatest economic collapse since the Great Depression and the devastating jobs crisis that persists today.

But I remember that other door that opened on 9/11—the door to our better selves, to our understanding that we are one and our values require us to care for one another.

That’s what sent 347 firefighters to their death at the Twin Towers 10 years ago. It’s also what sent firefighters to stand with teachers in Wisconsin even though Gov. Scott Walker had exempted them from his attack on public employees. It’s what moves employed people now to demand good jobs for the 26 million Americans who are looking for work. It’s what gives us the courage to take on a crumbling economy and the politicians preaching austerity and ignoring our jobs crisis—to take them on and say, “We are America. We are better than this. And we are one.”

Brothers and sisters, friends, I hope you will join me in marking this solemn anniversary by committing to redouble your activism on behalf of America’s everyday working heroes. We will rise or fall together.

If I were a relative of a 9/11 victim — I would be wanted to this self-centered asshole’s head on a platter. 😡

 

Follow Up: Left claims that FOX NEWS edited Hoffa’s comments

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The problem is —- it does not matter one lousy iota.

For back story on this go here.

Now for the unedited version of the clip and yes, I do know where it is from; and you can zip it with the objections. I am getting to a point here:

Now for my explanation as to why this silly little argument of context does not matter one lousy iota.  Whether the liberal left wants to be intellectually honest about this or not —- the phrase “let’s take these sons of bitches out” is a call to violence — Period, end of discussion.

The problem now is this, what is going to be the liberal left’s reaction and response, when some liberal thug shows up at a Tea Party protest, start harassing people; and some Conservative pulls out a gun, and shoots him dead?  Further, what is going to be the left’s reaction and response when some person, who grasp on reality is not that of a normal, sane, rational person — and he shows up at a union organized rally somewhere, with a assault rifle and starts shooting people?  What will left do then?  Will they blame Hoffa?  Will they denounce their own? No, what they will do is blame the right for editing a video and accusing the right of ginning up the rhetoric.  It is a classic Neo-Liberal, Frankfurt Institute of political correctness response.

This is a classical liberal tactic; Fox News and the Conservative Blogosphere took the bait and now we have this; this sort of nonsense right here makes me want to pack in it with Blogging.  This whipping of the political arenas into virtual bloodlust for the other side is most disgusting.  Both sides do it; and it totally pisses me the hell off.  I am not a man who enjoys violence at all.  In fact, the only reason I would ever want to own a gun, is for personal protection — not to carry around with me, unless I had to.

Further, another thing that really angers me is the fact that the President of the United States will not say one damned word to denounce Hoffa’s comments at all.  It is because the Obama Administration has its nose square up the ass of the labor movement — for votes. Not that he honestly gives two flips about the actual ordinary people of the labor movement, you know the actual workers?  You see, the President, along with Hillary and Bill Clinton are what is known as internationalist Democrats.  They see American in the context of the international community, not America for the great Country she is.

So, do not expect the White House to issue any sort of denunciation of these remarks.  Because this is, what the White House wanted and the right, as they are prone to do — took the bait and ran with it.  I hope that this does not turn into a huge issue, because the Liberals need something desperately to hold against the right, as liberal policies have failed Americans and the Democrats need a cover, badly.

UPDATED: The coming 2012 battle?

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The video is over at Real Clear Politics. (H/T Drudge)

Quotable Quote:

“We got to keep an eye on the battle that we face: The war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They’ve got a war, they got a war with us and there’s only going to be one winner. It’s going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We’re going to win that war,” Jimmy Hoffa Jr. said to a heavily union crowd.

I got a bad feeling about this coming 2012 election. It’s going to get ugly on both sides, I am afraid.

Others: Big Government, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Proof Positive, And So it Goes in Shreveport, Associated Press, Scared Monkeys, Pajamas Media, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Sipsey Street Irregulars, The Lonely Conservative and HotAirPundit

 Update: I’ve posted a follow up to this posting. Please, go check it out! Thanks. 😀

UPDATED: More union vandalism and violence against business owners

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As some of you know, my Father is a retired General Motors worker and a 31 year member of the U.A.W.

Which basically makes me the son of a Union member.

Which is why this story here makes me even the more sick to my stomach.

The Video:

The Story via The Daily Caller:


King Electrical Services owner John King was shot by a person who appears to be from one of the many unions who have targeted his workers, Toledo News Channel 11 WTOL reports. King is the largest non-union electrical contractor company in the area of southeastern Michigan near the Ohio border.

He has a long history of being on the receiving end of union-related violence, and this case doesn’t appear to be any different. Before shooting him, the gunman etched the word “SCAB” into the side of King’s SUV.

The altercation started when King woke up late last Wednesday to find someone in his driveway. He described the intruder as a “silhouette figure” because he didn’t see the person clearly enough to offer a description. The individual was attempting to vandalize his SUV. When King went outside his Lambertville, Mich., home to confront the person, the vandal shot him in the arm.

The Labor Union Report Picks up the rest:

Until Wednesday, the worst of the union attacks on King and his business came in the mid-eighties during the UAW strike at AP Parts. During a lull during the lengthy strike, King’s business was picketed by more than 50 IBEW picketers. This was at a time when he only had eight or nine employees. One of his employees, whose car was trashed by the union picketers, was also beaten up by IBEW thugs.

Unfortunately, the vandalism has never stopped. This year alone, he’s had to report three incidents of damage to police. This doesn’t include the incidents of stalking he and his men have to go through while they’re working.

In one incident earlier this year, rocks were thrown through the front windows of his shop, one of which had the word “kill” written on it.

Last Wednesday, however, the attacks on Mr. King became much more serious when he was awakened late in the evening at his home in Monroe County, Michigan and saw that the motion lights in his driveway had come on. When he looked out his front window, he saw a figure near his SUV and went outside.

As soon as he got outside his front door, King yelled at the individual who was crouched down by King’s vehicle. As soon as King yelled, the suspect stood and, without hesitation, fired a shot at Mr. King.

Luckily for King, as he yelled, he also stumbled. If it weren’t for that, however, John King’s injuries might have been much, much worse. In fact, he might have been killed.

Upon scrambling back into his house, King got to his cell phone and called 911. However, due to the pain in his knees and shoulder from falling, King was unaware that he had been shot in the arm.

At first, King thought that his assailant was merely trying to break into his vehicle. Little did he know, however, that the perpetrator was targeting him–because of his non-union company.

The night of the shooting, police recovered a shell casing from a small caliber handgun. In addition to the shell casing, police also found a Swiss Army knife that police say was likely going to be used to slice the tires on King’s SUV.

While neither the police, nor Mr. King can say which union was behind the attack, it is very clear by the word ‘scab’ scrawled on his SUV that it the attack was union-related.

“The police have been very thorough,” King says. “I cannot praise the Monroe County Sheriff’s department enough.”

The Monroe County Sheriff’s office is encouraging anyone with information to call 734-240-7530.

In addition, Mr. King is offering a $10,000 reward for information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.

I seem to remember that Obama said to his union supporters, something about “getting in their faces:”

Now, Do I believe that this is what Obama had in mind? Yes I do. You can expect this sort of violence, as long as Obama is up for reelection. This and the media straight up lying about racism on the right.

As I said last night. We have 14 more months of this to endure — 14 more months. 🙄

Here is hoping, however, that this thug or thugs are caught and hopefully, this business owner arms himself. I mean, because without a gun; this guy is a sitting duck.

Let me also say this; I have been around unions for a very long time. I have never, ever, heard of any of the U.A.W. guys ever taking part in anything like this; ever. At least not in the local that my Dad is in. I have heard of union violence in other locals; but never in the one my daddy is involved with. I also believe that whoever did this; should be publicly exposed. Because stuff like this, makes the labor movement look bad to the rest of the world. Hell, my daddy is not a vile criminal like that, he worked for 31 years at General Motors, played by the rules and made something of himself.

I could go on here and carp on about how the Unions are inherently corrupt and so forth; but, I will not, even I know better than that. I believe this most likely is an isolated incident with a local labor union, who might have some members who are a bit shady. What needs to happen is, that the Government needs to investigate this local and see if they were involved. But, that will not happen under the current Presidential Administration.

Update: Ed Morrissey over at Hotair.com covers this; for which I am very grateful and adds this haunting video:

Tense Verizon Strike Continues: MyFoxNY.com

Ed Also says this:


It’s worth pointing out that “open season” is a hunting term. Remember when crosshairs on a map made Sarah Palin responsible for all political violence regardless of what the facts were? The actual violence that occurred in Michigan seems a lot more connected to unions, and the same will be true if a violent incident occurs in New York in the Verizon dispute. Will the national media shriek about unions being the cause of political violence and demand sanctions against them? Don’t hold your breath.

I also should note, the it is not lost on me where this happened. It happened in the Monroe, Michigan area. Which is about 20 miles to the south of me or so; as the crow flies. This is a new low for the Labor movement in Michigan. I can honestly say, that I am ashamed of being from this state. 🙁