ObamaCare Bear Attacks Congress

A grizzly bear is rampaging through the halls of congress. Elected officials and their aids are trying to escape injury to their health.

OK, not exactly...

The grizzly disaster, ObamaCare Bear has lawmakers and staff heading for the doors to save their health insurance from being mauled.

From SLOBs blogger Beers with Demo Congress, like, totally bummed they will be subjected to their own law:

We can't quite ever recall a more delicious lede for a straight news piece.

From Politico earlier this morning:

Dozens of lawmakers and aides are so afraid that their health insurance premiums will skyrocket next year thanks to Obamacare that they are thinking about retiring early or just quitting.

In fact, the whole article is so wondrous we might just reprint the entire piece and provide running commentary. Go ahead and read while we luxuriate in our Schadenfreude...

Go read and share this article.  It's better than the Man of Steel movie trailer.

Obama Backing Unions Kill Twinkies UPDATE

UPDATE November 21, 2012 1:06 PM Pacific Standard Time:

Per Hostess Brands Information:

Hostess Brands Inc. announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York today approved its emergency interim motion for the orderly wind down of its business and sale of its assets.
...
For employees whose jobs will be immediately eliminated, additional information can be found at this website, which also contains a copy of the Company’s wind down motion and information for customers and vendors.

November 21, 12 12:02 AM Pacific Standard Time:
It is now official Obama backing unions killed Twinkies.


Per Hostess Brands Information:

Irving, TX – Hostess Brands Inc. announced today that a mediation today with the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers Union was unsuccessful. The Company will have no further comment until a hearing scheduled for tomorrow at 11 a.m., EST, before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

We knew that Hostess was headed for liquidation while the media laid America's "last chance" hopes upon doomed mediation. Fellow SLOBs author Left Coast Rebel wondered "When will the federal government and the Obama Administration propose a bailout for Hostess and their 18,000 union workers?" The answer is NEVER.


Judge Robert Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y. will make a final determination if Hostess can shut down and liquidate. BusinessWeek reports:

Hostess, based in Irving, Texas, is asking the judge for approval to shut down 36 bakeries, 242 depots, 216 retail stores, and 311 hybrid depot-store facilities, according to court filings. There are 58 other leased or owned sites used for storage, warehousing of products or parking. The plants are in 22 states, stretching from Alaska to New Jersey.

The demise of Hostess was obvious for two reasons. First and foremost, we reported that the bakery union,

"...feared a deal would pull down wages and benefits throughout the industry, without saving Hostess."

So, we decided to enjoy our last Twinkie. Second, the bakery union is a big Obama backer. This means they are entitled progressives. Unfortunately, the bakery union is not big enough or rich enough to get an Obama bailout.

How do we know the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers Union is a big Obama donor. They gave $75,000 of their now 18,500 unemployed former Hostess workers' money in Obama backing political donations. That's right, they didn't spend the money on accountants or financial consultants, they spent it on Democrats elections.

Lets do a little OpenSecrets.org investigation of where the money went. Exciting stuff!!

First, who reported bakery union donations? (click to enlarge)

Where did the AFL-CIO Workers' Voices spend that money? (click to enlarge)

Total For Democrats: $3,323,379
Total Against Democrats: ($3,782)
Total For Republicans: $1,171
Total Against Republicans: $3,563,351

Where does American Bridge spend the money? (click to enlarge)

As a super PAC, American Bridge can accept unlimited donations and is largely funded by major Democratic donors and labor unions. Billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros, a well-known supporter of liberal causes, is the group’s largest donor.

CREDO Mobile? Where do they spend political money? (click to enlarge)

This movement has raised more than $70 million for progressive nonprofit groups that are working on the front lines of social change.

Progressive Colorado Voters is obviously extremist left, but who is America Votes Action Fund? (click to enlarge)

Opposes Democrats: $0.00
Opposes Republicans: $44,409.84
Supports Democrats: $44,157.67
Supports Republicans: $0.00

On to President Obama's #WarOnWomen fund, Women Vote! (click to enlarge)

Electing Women for Progressive Change

Whoa, we seem to be in a loop now, but one last peek behind the lefty iron curtain, who is Majority PAC? (click to enlarge)

Majority PAC is fighting to protect the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate in 2012. 

Ok, that is enough of that. It is time to return to informing America that President Barack Obama sold weapons to Al Qaeda in Benghazi. Weapons that Ambassador Stevens was trying to get back. Weapons that are now targeting Israel.

Hostess Liquidation Gives Union "Last Chance"

Per The Wall Street Journal via Business Insider:

Judge Robert Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., asked attorneys representing Hostess and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International union whether mediation could help

"Moving to a liquidation is also a significant economic hit, and I think that many people, myself included, have serious questions as to the logic behind the decision to strike and a concern that it may be as a result of differences as far as information and goals," he said.
"I'm giving the union, as well as the debtors and their lenders, the last chance."

“To me not to have gone through that step leaves a huge question mark over this case, which I think–I may be wrong–but I think will only be answered in litigation. And that’s no one’s desired outcome,” the judge said.

ABC News explains why the baker's union may not budge:

After Hostess’s unions had agreed to more than $100 million in annual cost concessions during Hostess’s previous bankruptcy, the bakery union thought it made little sense to agree to further cuts. It feared a deal would pull down wages and benefits throughout the industry, without saving Hostess.

“Our consultant said the debt load on the company was too heavy, and that we would be back in bankruptcy and facing liquidation in 12 to 16 months from now, even if we took more concessions,” David B. Durkee, the union’s secretary-treasurer, said.

...

“There was this whole theory that the company was bluffing about liquidation and there was some white knight that was going to come and buy the company” Mr. Hall [of the Teamsters] said.

Now, Hostess and the bakery union will meet at the offices of the company’s lawyers. Representatives for the Teamsters and the company’s bankruptcy lenders were also invited to attend. If the two sides cannot agree, Hostess’s lawyers are expected to appear in court on Wednesday morning to seek approval of their liquidation plan.

As we heard during the presidential election, Barack Obama saved General Motors by keeping them out of judicial bankruptcy in favor of a political bankruptcy that stole money from creditors and bond holders in favor of the unions. As fellow SLOBs author Left Coast Rebel puts it,

'When will the federal government and the Obama Administration propose a bailout for Hostess and their 18,000 union workers?

If it was the "failed policies of the past" that got GM into "this mess," it must be the "failed policies of the present" that has Hostess facing liquidation. Fair is fair.

How to Promote Freedom on TheSLOBs.org

The San Diego Local Order of Bloggers are San Diego's Finest Tea Party Bloggers. We developed a website (http://www.theslobs.org/) to help the public quickly gather and share original ideas, news and commentary through social networking. This blog, Doo Doo Economics, is a member blog and uses theSlobs.org website to share news and commentary from this website and a diverse collection of Tea Party inspired freedom lovers.

   

Figure 1: Article ShareThis interaction



Often the associated bloggers work on the same story from different points of view. It is common for a Randian Objectivist, a fiscally conservative Democrat, an Independent and a Republican to write about the same topic. The San Diego Local Order of Bloggers is an excellent source for news reporters and commentators to find interesting topics and perspectives.

      

Figure 2: Facebook Article Sharer



TheSlobs.org website is integrated with Facebook and Twitter. It automatically Tweets new articles from the Doo Doo Economics twitter account. Facebook.com/TheSLOBs is the location of the automatically updated Facebook page. An Android mobile application is also available.

  

The automatic publishing features are useful, but user social interaction is the strength of the site. Each individual article features a shareThis link to provide access to a wide range of social networking websites. Each member blog and the most recent associated articles links to a special page with additional social interaction options.



Figure 3: Share to Facebook Groups

The San Diego Local Order of Bloggers website has its own social interaction control area on the far right side.  Controls include RSS Feed, ATOM Feed, Facebook 'likes', Google+, Stumble Upon, Twitter, and a link to the Android mobile app.



How To Share Information from http://www.theslobs.org/

The majority of users today are on Facebook, so that is our starting point. My recommendation is to join "facebook groups" aligned with your interests. You may then share articles to those groups.  Sharing posts from theSLOBs to Facebook groups is just a click away.

Click the ShareThis link as shown in Figure 1. (You may click figure images to enlarge.) Figure 2 displays the Facebook sharer pop up window. You may need to fill in your user name and password here, but this is a Facebook.com webpage.  Change the "Share:" location to "In a group." Fill in the "Type a group name" box, per Figure 3, and hit the "Share Link" button.



Figure 4: "like" confirmation

 Alternatively, you can access social interactions by clicking the article or blog name. This is a framed page. You can leave the frame at anytime by clicking "Remove Frame" at the top. This page is useful for measuring how much social interaction your favorite articles have accumulated. Due to the nature of theSLOBs website, the articles are hot-off-the-press and you are likely to be the first of your friends to find interesting topics.

 

Figure 5: Tweet from Framed view page.


Here you can "like" (Figure 4) or Google+ the article or blog and it will show up on your "Wall." You may also Tweet about the article. Figure 5 shows a typical tweet of an post by Liberator Today. Notice the importance of hash tags (#) and @ symbols in reaching a large audience. Hash tags are automatically entered from the article's content, but you can edit the tweet to your heart's content.

 



Figure 6: Link to San Diego Local Order of Bloggers Facebook page

Finally, The San Diego Local Order of Bloggers website is always improving. Some recent improvements include linking to additional blogging lists, improved advertisement placement and a Facebook page link as seen in Figure 6. The goal of the website is to promote freedom and the men and women who work to preserve it. We all want to know "what can I do" to contribute in the effort to save America. Hopefully this tool will help you contribute by spreading the call for freedom. 

We Tea Party bloggers are not paid.  We work to protect and preserve the U.S. Constitution and our values. We are tireless out of duty, honor, pursuit of truth and justice, and love of our friends and families. All of us are driven by our belief in you.

 

The Progressive Ends Justify the Vile, Hateful, Divisive Means

The left has recently deployed some interesting tactics against conservatives and the popular American movement known as the Tea Party.  These tactics are psychological in nature and devised to exploit the differences between conservative and non-conservative Americans.  The primary strategic objective is classical divide and conquer for the 2012 election.  Lets look at some of the tactics recently deployed.

Exploit Conservative fears

Recently a union group formed called Californians Against Identity Theft. They have deployed thugs to stand next to volunteers collecting ballot signatures for causes that will weaken unions. The thugs then claim that ballot initiatives are "ripe with identity theft" to scare hard working conservatives away. This is clear intimidation and it is buttressed by a large radio advertising campaign.

Ballots do not collect social security numbers, bank account numbers or other information more sensitive than an email or physical address. Ballots are not ripe with identity theft, but conservatives generally have more to lose than non-conservatives.  This tactic is vile, but well considered as the intimidation can be targeted to talk radio and specific ballot initiatives while allowing rank and file leftist supporters unaware and unafraid of losing what they do not have.

There is an elitist left-wing class that is susceptible to fear of identity theft. This tactic could be reversed with a radio campaign on public radio, either informing elitist lefties to the outrageous tactics or targeting a specific ballot initiative that is favorable to progressive or union causes. 


Exploit Religious Differences

Typically conservative Americans are known as "god fearing" and another tactic this month emerged to divide along religious denominational lines.  Specifically the Huffington Post, LA Times and other far left outlets accused Michele Bachmann, as a member of a Lutheran "confessional" church, of believing that Catholics are not Christian. Of course, neither Michele Bachmann nor her church are anti-Catholic.

There have been long standing differences between many religious denominations and the left is pushing to exploit these age old fault lines.  This assault is targeted at religious conservatives and completely avoids the typical secular humanist progressive.  This tactic also advances the narrative that all religious people are extremists and crazy, a core communist tenet.

Again, exposure of this vile tactic is an embarrassment to all left thinking Americans. We must remember that not all "liberals" are progressives or communists. Most political correctness indoctrination focuses upon a "you care and are thus superior" appeal to the human predilection to see one's self in the best possible light. Revealing the "ends justify the means" hypocrisy of the left is very damaging to the feelings of progressive followers.

Update 8/4/2011:
An article has come to my attention titled: Secretary Of State Clinton Working With U.N. To Criminalize “Defamation Of Religion.”

(the) aim at developing a legal basis for the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution which help in enacting domestic laws for the countries involved in the issue, as well as formulating international laws preventing inciting hatred resulting from the continued defamation of religions.

This is more insane promotion of "Islamophobia" narrative, as a phobia is an irrational fear and not a fear based on a global political movement based on a history of violence and intolerance. With such laws, progressives could harass, fine or imprison people of faith who discuss denominational differences. Thus raising such differences to the forefront of political debate and fracturing any religious conservative political coalitions.  This is a very dangerous alliance between groups who hunger for power and control, Sharia Law proponents and progressives.


Terrorists!!!

This tactic is so reactionary that I will not waste our time on it.  The very group that cannot recognize Islamic Jihad is accusing the general public, as embodied by the Tea Party grassroots movement, of being Jihadist terrorists. This may gain traction with MSNBC pundits trying to grab attention but it is just the nuclear fall-out from the Obama accusation that the Tea Party will not let him spend the country into bankruptcy.


Conclusion

The 2012 "billion dollar election" is heating up. The progressive left knows that it is facing an embarrassing and de-legitimizing defeat and is now a cornered animal. They have cornered themselves by not thinking independently and adhering to childish communist economic tenets. However, the drive to survive is bringing out the creative tactics that can only be described as "the progressive ends justify the vile, hateful, divisive means."


P.S.
Please visit the San Diego Local Order of Bloggers (http://www.theslobs.org/)  It is an excellent site to find informed and original Tea Party inspired ideas.

Leftist Insanity: Reagan was left of Obama

Steve Benen of Washington Monthly's political blog has jumped the shark in his attempt to support Politico's David Rogers' irrational article titled "Ghost of Gipper looms over GOP."  Fellow SLOB, Left Coast Rebel, wrote an excellent summary entitled Re-Writing the Reagan Legacy, but lets focus on another aspect of the story.

Doo Doo Economics began as a blog about the insanity of raising taxes during a recession. In this context, reading David Rogers and Steve Benen today was mind numbing. These leftist articles actually made me dumber. For a moment, I forgot that the factual context of the Reagan tax increases were after one of the largest and most successful tax rate reductions in American history and a huge economic expansion that threatened America with inflation. Raising taxes can offset inflation by cooling down an overheating economy. The political left has become so intellectually dishonest that they audaciously manufacture out-of-context idiocy that increases ignorance.

Does the left feel so invulnerable that they deny the existence of facts? Do they deny the existence of the ability to look up economic statistics on the very internet on which they post upon? Do they think that they are so much smarter than their readers that their words will be accepted as truth through sheer ignorance?  These questions are rhetorical but this topic is much deeper than just another dishonest leftist post. These posters are professional leftists writers pursuing assigned talking points.

It seems that honest political debate in America has degenerated into an assault upon our intelligence by propaganda artists on the left. Rank and file American liberals still want to make the world a better place. The traditional debate, focused on the best method to improve our world, is still the main street debate. Unfortunately, it is clear that power hungry, "progressive" elitists feel so empowered that their motives are now transparent. They feel entitled to their positions and are willing to rule others through the only tactic that has ever worked to enslave, lack of education.

In the modern context, enslaved Americans are taught to read, but not how to think. Children are educated on what to think and miseducated on historical, economic, philosophical and political reality. The most important historical, philosophical, military and psychological tome in western history, aka The Bible, is shunned in favor of pop misinformation designed to leave people ill prepared to rule themselves.