POWIP Piece of Work In Progress

Right Wing Nut Arrested for Bomb Plot

A 20-year-old Saudi national was arrested in Lubbock, Texas, on Thursday for allegedly researching and acquiring materials to make explosives, law enforcement sources told CNN.

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari planned to target the home of former President George W. Bush and other sites, the sources said.

He faces a federal charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, the justice department said.

Just another teabagging yahoo.

UPDATE: Details from the affidavit.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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Wisconsin “Budget Repair” Bill To Come To Vote

Details at Hot Air.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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Van Jones Calls for MoveOn Marches on All Fifty State Capitols

From HuffPo via Kosmonet.

Moveon.org & Van Jones call for Saturday march on ALL 50 state capitols

"According to Jones, writing in the Huffington Post:"

"Reinvigorated by the idealism and fighting spirit on display right now in America’s heartland, the movement for “hope and change” has a rare, second chance. It can renew itself and become again a national force with which to be reckoned."

"Over the next hours and days, all who love this country need to do everything possible to spread the “spirit of Madison” to all 50 states. This does not mean we need to occupy 50 state capitol buildings; things elsewhere are not yet that dire. But this weekend, the best of America should rally on the steps of every statehouse in the union."

2/24/2011 8:09 AM

So . . . whatcha doing on Saturday?

It's the principle of the thing:

Average federal pay is distinctly higher than private-sector pay. After adjusting for part-time work and the cash value of payment in kind, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reports a wage and salary premium in 2008 of 33 percent for the military and 58 percent for civilian government. It wasn’t always that way. All of the military premium and nearly half the civilian premium were created between 2000 and 2005.

These premiums were needed to improve recruitment and retention. In 1997, the Congressional Budget Office concluded that the government paid 22 percent less than the private sector for similar jobs. Bolstering the military after 9/11 was also a priority.

For reasons of efficiency and fairness, the extra pay might have been coupled with reducing the job security and trimming the benefits that federal employees traditionally enjoy. It was not. On the contrary, the federal benefit edge has widened. It is not easy to measure how much, for the government refuses to publish direct comparisons. However, a few months ago, Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute deduced from BEA statistics that from 2000 to 2008, benefits grew a whopping $16,000 per full-time federal civilian employee, versus $3,000 per private employee. Federal benefits are now more than four times private benefits.

When the public sector is such a shambles, recruitment and retention aren't so hard.

You can't make this up. Half of Detroit's public schools are shutting down, Libya's burning, and the White House is holding an homage to Motown tonight. And Harry Reid calling on Republicans to "join us" in creating jobs.

Ambassador Susan Rice skips UN meeting on Libya.

Aaaaaand while 5000 NYC teaching positions may get the ax, United Federation of Teachers spent $1.4 million last year on a gala 50th anniversary party. It's like they're taking belt-tightening lessons from the White House.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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Some More Recent Historical Context for Wisconsin-Union Dispute [UPDATEDx4]

Over the past week, we've gotten a lot of hits for our post on Wisconsin teacher salaries in context, but fewer for the recent Wisconsin history in which one needs to place Walker's pending legislation to limit public union bargaining power. I'm returning to the subject, because, like Mitch Daniels, some of the folks on the conservative side of the blogosphere are having second thoughts about the extent of Walker's initiatives:

Politifact digs deeply and concludes that Walker's union-busting proposals (as contrasted with the cost-sharing proposals) were not part of his campaign and really did come out of right field. I had reluctantly reached that same conclusion (on much less research) on Monday.

Below, you have Enoch's post on just what it was he believed that he was voting for when he cast his ballot for Walker, but, as usual, there's more to the story, and it has to do with self-dealing in Milwaukee County, where Walker became County Executive, despite the entrenched unionism, after an enormous pensions scandal involving his predecessor, F. Thomas Ament:

Discussions began in earnest in April 2000, after Ament’s re-election, when the pension fund was awash in money. “I think we all felt very rich because the fund had done so well,” says Supervisor Mark Borkowski.

Dobbert’s early memos to Ament included a proposal to allow veteran employees to get an annual pension equal to 90 or even 100 percent of their final average salary. This was a radical change in county government, which had always barred employees from getting more than 80 percent of their final salary.

To get around this, Dobbert created a plan that technically left people at 80 percent but then applied a 25 percent increase on the back end – not when computing their years of service but in figuring their final average salary. The net effect: Dobbert, Ament and all other employees who started before 1982 could collect 105 percent of their final average salary, directly contradicting a county ordinance still on the books.

The 25 percent increase is contained in numerous memos and is understandable to anyone who has mastered the seventh-grade skill of figuring percentages. Ament was then earning $125,000, and his salary, by previous ordinance, would rise to $168,000 by 2008. Even at the old standard of 80 percent, Ament would have gotten an annual pension payment of $149,000, plus paid-up health insurance for life.

But Ament opted for 105 percent, which would increase his annual pension to $186,000 a year, far more than retired American presidents, who get a mere $166,700 a year (and no paid-up health insurance for life).

To help finance this magnificent benefit, the memos show that Ament rejected an idea to provide a 3 percent cost-of-living increase in the pension payment for retired county workers, which would have cost $1.85 million per year. They would get nothing. The administration also dumped a proposal to give every employee a lump-sum pension payment of $1,000 for every year worked.

This latter idea would have treated all employees equally regardless of their salary level. For Ament, who would have 40 years of service by 2008, this would have yielded a lump-sum payment of $40,000. Instead, Ament and Dobbert selected the backdrop plan, which was skewed to offer the best benefits to those with the highest salaries and the longest terms of service. Ament now says his lump sum could be cut back to $641,000 because of IRS rules, but independent actuary Joan Gucciardi says that even with this rule, Ament could have still collected $2.3 million if he served until 2008.

Scott Walker defeated the union candidate in Milwaukee County as a result of this grotesque pilferage. Meanwhile, as Dan Riehl notes, WEAC, the Wisconsin Educational Association Council, has been forced to pay back taxes owed the state, and may prove to have been gouging on the health insurance it provides to teachers in the state. It's this pattern of self-dealing that most bothers Wisconsinites, and that reached its apex in the lame duck session, when outgoing Governor Doyle and the Dem State Senators tried to renegotiate contracts with 17 unions in order, among other things, to give them effective control over their workplaces without all that intrusive governmental oversight.

According to this article in the WSJ, Obama and company are sitting the States vs Unions battle out, having received a warning shot across their bow. That would be prudent, but whether you believe it or not is up to you. That the administration didn't see criticism of a state's attempt to balance its budget would necessarily invite comparison to the hot mess that Obama sent to Congress doesn't say much for them. In other words, stupidly.

It does invite the question, though, whether Obama realizes that Card Check is dead, or whether he thinks he needn't weigh in on individual states and have his ass handed to him repeatedly, because he's going to push it through.

Keep floating that meme balloon, boys. I predict another long, hot summer for The Won, especially considering how summer travellers are going to feel, caught between the TSA and soaring gas prices.

Related: Brent crude tops $120 in overnight trading.

UPDATE: Ament's Lament:

“I probably never will be able to run again for office.”

Just. wow.

UPDATEx2:

In fiscal 1998, according to the NCES, Wisconsin spent $7,123 per pupil in its public primary and secondary schools. In the Department of Education's National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading test that year, Wisconsin public school eighth-graders scored an average of 266 out of a possible 500. As a result of that test, only 33 percent of Wisconsin's public school eighth-graders earned a rating of "proficient" or better in reading.

By 2008, Wisconsin was spending $10,791 per pupil in its public primary and secondary schools. Yet, in the 2009 NAEP reading test, Wisconsin public school eighth-graders again scored an average of only 266 out of a possible 500. Only 34 percent earned a rating of "proficient" or better in reading.

When the $7,123 per pupil Wisconsin spent in its public schools in 1998 is adjusted for inflation, it equals $9,408 in 2008 dollars. Thus, even though Wisconsin increased per pupil spending by $1,383 dollars from 1998 to 2008 (from $9,408 to $10,791), it did not gain a single point on its average eighth-grade reading score.

Wisconsin had similar results in math. In 1996, the state's public school eighth-graders scored an average of 283 out of 500 in math. In 2008, they scored an average of 288 out of 500 -- or 1 percent higher than in 1996.

And regarding SAT scores:

Consider Wisconsin’s third-place ranking in the SAT. It sounds great -- but only 4 percent of graduates in the state took the test in 2010, and those that did likely did so because they had a particular need to take the SAT as they applied to certain colleges. And that means that Wisconsin SAT takers were a self-selecting group, probably more academically advanced than average.

As a result, it’s fairer to look at Wisconsin’s ranking on the ACT, which was taken by 67 percent of graduates in 2009. And that ranking was 13th in the nation -- not bad, but well short of the 2nd place finish cited in the Facebook post.

Meanwhile, in the five non-collective-bargaining states, the SAT was the more widely taken test, and in those rankings, the non-union states placed between 34th and 49th nationally. Meanwhile, for the ACT -- where participation ranged from 15 percent to 50 percent -- the rankings in the non-union states ranged from 22nd to 46th.

So, on neither test did the five non-collective bargaining states perform as well as Wisconsin did, and in general those five states clustered in the bottom half of the national rankings. Given these statistics, it’s reasonable to say that Wisconsin outperformed the other five states significantly -- but not as overwhelmingly as the blog and Facebook posts suggest.

UPDATEx3:

Wisconsin’s teachers are required to teach children about the history of the labor union movement and collective bargaining in the United States, per a law former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle signed in December 2009. Wisconsin’s Assembly Bill (AB) 172 requires the state’s teachers to incorporate “the history of organized labor in America and the collective bargaining process” into their lesson plans.

You know what? I've got a little less trouble with this idea than some people probably do, since I'm convinced that this has a bit more substance than the plight of the polar bear. On the other hand, I'm sure that if you look through the material, you're not going to find anything about labor unions' ties to organized crime or the rubber-roomed perverts who stay on payroll to do nothing because they can't be fired, or how taxpayers' money is used to lobby against their best interests when unions can mandate dues be extracted from paychecks.

UPDATEx4:

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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O’bama on Dignity – Death Panels? Puleez M*tha F**ka!

I almost inadvertently spit up my coffee when watching the tube this morning. A replay of the president's speech on Libya contained this morsel:

As one Libyan said, “We just want to be able to live like human beings.” We just want to be able to live like human beings. It is the most basic of aspirations that is driving this change. And throughout this time of transition, the United States will continue to stand up for freedom, stand up for justice, and stand up for the dignity of all people.

From VerumSerum.com

The parents of 13 month old Joseph Maraachli have been told by the Canadian court system that they are to take their son off of the ventilator system that is keeping him alive.  Joseph is in a vegetative state.  Joseph’s parents have rejected the court order, hoping to take their son into the United States to see if anything can be done to help his condition.

Dignity of all people, indeed.

Prayers to 13 month old Joseph and his parents. God help us all.

Enoch_Root

AKA. Bobby Donn Brubaker (the most popular man in Mesa, AZ), the Umbrella of Terror, Jack Ketch.

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Scott Walker… Wisconsin Governor – Doing What I Expected

One of the craziest things I have heard floated by the Left is that Governor Walker's initiatives are a surprise... that somehow he duped the voters into voting for him and that he is somehow now undertaking policies that run counter to what voters expected. This is not so in the least. It is a sad attempt to discredit Wisconsin voters. It is a canard designed to undercut the validity of the election in November. The piggies on the Left never tire of floating lies... even when the truth is so very obvious to anyone armed with a search engine.

Governor-elect Walker campaigned for 18 months on controlling state spending, part of which is bringing public sector benefits in line with the private sector. He would simply like all options on the table as he works to fulfill the promise he made to taxpayers," more

On November 4th of 2010 I posted what I expected Walker to do with the vote I cast for him:

1) ACCOMPLISHED - IN SPITE OF THE LEFT'S TANTRUMS - Kill off Governor Doyle’s “car-speed rail” project – which no one in Wisconsin wants – at least no one who isn’t feeding at the trough of the State.

2) IN PROGRESS - Photo ID – requiring a photo id be presented before casting a ballot – which 80% of the State Electorate (including Democrats, to their credit) favors and Doyle and his slime ball cronies killed time and again (one wonders precisely why).

3) Combined Reporting Repeal – this measure is a business killer… a job killer. And Scott will repeal it.

4) Concealed Carry – Wisconsin is one of only 2 states in the Union which still resists concealed carry, in spite of the stats demonstrating the positive benefits of “permitting” law-abiding citizens to do so (Illinois is the other).

5) Minimum Mark-Up Law – relating to gas prices… the State Govt actually mandates that gas stations mark-up their gas no less than X%.

6) IN PROGRESS - Hey Teachers’ Union – say hello to my little friend.

What is driving the Left absolutely bonkers is that Walker is no ordinary politician. He means what he says and says what he means. He does what he says he will do.

What people outside of the state and many "out state" cheeseheads do not seem to grasp is the iron dedication this man has and his unwavering sense of mission.

I cannot put into words adequately the types of tactics he was the target of during his time as Milwaukee County Executive. I also cannot put into words how dysfunctional Milwaukee County Government is and was and always has been.

That Walker was able to govern as he did in Milwaukee despite the open hostility to every single reform he championed is nothing short of amazing. Milwaukee County benefited immensely by Walker's calm, unshakable, principled manner in which he governed.

Recognizing his unusual talents as a leader, the Left tried dreadfully hard to de-rail his bid for Governor. Why? Well, ask yourself why the Chicago Bears (already having had won the division) played their starters for an insignificant game against the Packers (still hunting for a Wildcard Playoff spot).

Walker is mellow... on the surface, I imagine... fiercely determined... singularly focused.

Just watch. Just watch. He walks very softly...

He will accomplish all that he said he would accomplish before the election. Perhaps he will accomplish even more. But he is doing what he said he would. And he won on that very plank. We may be kind and gentle and unassuming up here in Wisconsin... but we ain't dumb. We voted for Mr. Walker because we know exactly what we are up against and we know he is the man for the job.

Years from now, Mr. Walker will be POTUS. Just watch.

RELATED:

National Education Association’s retiring top lawyer, Bob Chanin, speaking at the NEA’s annual meeting in July, 2009:

Despite what some among us would like to believe it is not because of our creative ideas. It is not because of the merit of our positions. It is not because we care about children and it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power.”

AND THEY ALMOST HAD ME FOOLED...
From RedState.com

Here’s a question that Democrats will never answer: isn’t there supposed to be a government of, by, and for the people? Apparently not. According to the thugs, it’s a government of, by, and for unionized public employees, their unions, and members of the Democratic Party, the people who pay the bills be damned.

Enoch_Root

AKA. Bobby Donn Brubaker (the most popular man in Mesa, AZ), the Umbrella of Terror, Jack Ketch.

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Has Clawback Finally Clawed One of Obama’s?

The laughable idea of clawback on the part of the government, when people like Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Franklin Raines and Mistress of Disaster Jamie Gorelick benefitted so fully turned serious this month, with talk that SEC's David Becker stepped down because he is named in a suit by folks scammed by Bernie Madoff.

More rats flee:

Cathy Zoi Flees the Republicans

Cathy Zoi (Obama’s Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy) was previously CEO of Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection, where she helped create Gore’s “We” campaign and the “Repower America” campaign (“100% clean electricity within ten years”). [http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/96404]

As Obama’s ASEERE, she had serious conflicts of interest: “participating substantially in decisions impacting companies in which she is heavily invested. This flouts ethics requirements and would be a violation of U.S. criminal law.” [http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/dept-of-energys-cathy-zoi-still-flouting-the-law-still-stonewalling-the-investigation-pjm-exclusive/?singlepage=true]

On Feb 23, 2011 she is leaving Obama’s government. “The New York Times mentions nothing about Zoi's conflicts of interest. Her departure may be a sign that she sees greener pastures elsewhere now that Republicans have taken over the House and she might be subject to inquiries regarding her conflicts from Chairmen of various committees, particular from Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who has expressed a strong interest in investigation corruption in the administration.” [http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/02/rats_leaving_sinking_ship_doe.html]

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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Wisconsin Senate Schedules Voter ID Bill

They're refusing to take phoned-in votes.

Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald announced this afternoon that Senate Republicans will no longer recognize absent Dems who call in to participate in committee hearings.

Fitzgerald made the announcement after Senate Org approved scheduling voter ID for a vote tomorrow and dipped the bill in Finance.

Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, warned Dem leaders Mark Miller and Dave Hansen at yesterday's Org meeting that he may no longer extend the courtesy to them of phoning in for committee meetings. Transportation and Elections Chair Mary Lazich also refused yesterday to recognize Dem Jon Erpenbach for a vote on the voter ID bill in committee.

-- By Andy Szal

via La Malkin on Twitter

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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If I were building a conservative cable network

. . . and wanted people to subscribe (I know that's a stretch, but stay with me, here) the first thing I'd do is get together with Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin and buy Firefly.

Or, heck, you could say $10 of the annual subscription would go toward that, or whatever. It's kind of got a small-government message, don't you know. Just saying.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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Union Supporters Getting Their Thug On

Tabitha Hale from Freedom Works gets a face full of true nobility from this dude:

As far as I know, there's not been any physical violence at the Wisconsin rallies.

There's been a lot of speculation about the stupidity of the doctors in Madison who were handing out bogus medical excuses for protesters. It comes down to their wearing Madison goggles. When you live there, you're surrounded by fellow bien-pensants so continuously that you lose all perspective.

The camera phone has changed all that.

Stacy has a lot more in his round-up.

UPDATE: Van Jones weighs in.

Charming. SEIU protesters get racist with black tea partier in Denver:

More charming people edumacate bad Jew who's not promoting the healing of the world:

Meanwhile, Breitbart is naming names.

Jimmie Bise on the goon who pushed Tabitha Hale:

Now, here’s the thing. That goon was there as a member of the Communications Workers of America union to protest the “budget repair” legislation proposed in Wisconsin by Governor Scott Walker. However, the CWA is a private union, not a public sector union that would be affected by the bill and today’s protest was at the FreedomWorks HQ in Washington, DC, nowhere near Governor Walker or Wisconsin.

So why were they there? It’s not like they could influence Governor Walker’s decision, nor the decision of any Wisconsin legislator. Their presence wouldn’t change a single poll number in a state hundreds of miles away.

But there was a reason they were there, and it’s as nasty and un-American as you can imagine. FreedomWorks, as you may know, has been heavily involved in helping Tea Parties get off the ground all over the country. As a result, its employees have been the frequent target of attack by the left. Though it was not directly involved in this past weekend’s counter-demonstration beyond this post on the group’s web site, apparently someone powerful on the left felt it was, and so they sent their doltish minions to intimidate FreedomWorks’ employees.

Dan Collins

Dan Collins is a dude who blogs. He used to blog elsewhere. Now he blogs here.

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