Biden Asleep at the Switch
To require Catholic hospitals and colleges to provide birth control “is an unprecedented, outrageous and unacceptable attack on religious freedom,” said Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, in a statement.
Cardinal designate Timothy Dolan said in New York, “The federal government should do what it’s traditionally done since July 4, 1776, namely back out of intruding into the internal life of a church.” Vice President Joe Biden, the first Catholic vice president, didn’t say much other than that the White House is working to address concerns raised by the Catholic Church.
Tim Thomas Gets It
Boston Bruins MVP goalie Tim Thomas posted on Facebook:
I Stand with the Catholics in the fight for Religious Freedom.
“In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
– by Martin Niemöller, prominent German anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor, best known as the author of the poem “First They Came…”
Barbell Strategy
I’ve written about Tim Thomas making the political statement of the year by skipping the White House photo op. I’ve also written about my barbell strategy to help retain the young families and retirees in the state of Rhode Island. It could apply to almost any state in New England or to Michigan, where Thomas is from. Tim Thomas tells it like it is. There’s an untapped groundswell of support for a libertarian/Republican leader like him. I’d love to help him make it happen.
A Lose-Lose Comptroller Election
Someone who doesn’t get it is New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. He was on NPR’s Here and Now defending defined-benefit pensions, reasoning that recipients spend the money in New York anyway. So it’s good for the economy? Give me a break; they’re off to Florida.
You know, what’s sad is that in November of 2010, New York voters had a choice between DiNapoli or Republican Harry Wilson. How Wilson got through as the Republican candidate is beyond me. Wilson was President Obama’s point man for the GM bailout. Last year, teamster president James P. Hoffa, in retaining Mr. Wilson, wrote in a letter to union members dated February 28, “This team was led by turnaround expert Harry Wilson, the lead architect of General Motors’ restructuring, and they drove a great deal of progress in the last several weeks.… A critical reason for bringing in Harry’s team is to fully scrutinize the company’s operating assumptions and plan—this was one of his key roles in restructuring GM.”
Life’s Not Fair in New Jersey Education
With sweet pensions to support, it’s no wonder New York and New Jersey have the highest per-pupil education spending in the country. New Jersey Education Union Director Vincent Giordano, who makes $555,000, was asked why poor families don’t have a choice to get out of failing schools. He said, “Well life’s not always fair and I’m sorry about that.” But apparently he’s not sorry about collecting union dues and monopolizing the school system with collective bargaining.
Public-Sector Collective Bargaining in Your State
Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity CEO Mike Stenhouse writes, “A study released this week by the Goldwater Institute details the crippling financial impact of public-sector unionization. The study projects that a ban on collective bargaining and contracts could save Ocean State taxpayers $252 million per year in excessive government worker compensation. These savings are more than double the estimated state budget shortfall currently facing Rhode Island.”
Obama’s Non-Recess Recess Appointment
In “Obama’s Union Point Man” Phil Kerpen of the National Review Online writes, “While a lot of attention has been focused on the procedural defect of these appointments … there has been far too little attention paid to the most radical of these appointees: Richard Griffin.” This is Obama’s nod to failed card check legislation. Kerpen continues,
But with a difficult reelection on the horizon that will depend heavily on support from union bosses, this year Obama took his union pandering to another level, installing Griffin with far less scrutiny than Becker received. There was no vetting of Griffin’s background. In fact, Obama named him as an appointee only on December 15, 2011—less than three weeks before the Obama non-recess recess maneuver. He never went through the normal background check performed by the Senate. He never filled out the usual questionnaire, or met with any Republican senators.
This is how an Obama-empowered executive branch will work around the U.S. Constitution.
