Teachers union dues back gay marriage, ACORN

A recent Wall Street Journal editorial noted that the National Education Association’s California chapter has contributed more than one-third of all money raised by opponents of that state’s proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as exclusively the domain of man-woman couples.

The high school dropout rate is 1-in-4 in California and 1-in-3 in the Los Angeles public school system … so you might think the California Teachers Association would have other priorities (than gay marriage).

Yet last week the union donated $1 million to the “No on Proposition 8” campaign.

“What does this have to do with education?” said Randy Peart, a public school teacher in San Juan.  “Why not put that money into classrooms, into making a better place for these kids.” (more…)

Freddie, Fannie mess rests at Dems’ doorstep

Cut through the doubletalk that obscures the financial mess in Washington and on Wall Street, and these points are obvious to everyone paying attention:

• Congress used the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to force banks to make risky loans to “help” people buy houses they could not afford.

• As early as 2001, President Bush and Republicans warned that Freddie and Fannie’s financial house was unstable and could wreak havoc on the economy.

• Fannie and Freddie spent more than $200 million lobbying Congress to ignore the problem.

• Subservient Democrats, like Barney Frank, dutifully declared that Freddie and Fannie were safe and sound and blocked reform. (more…)

U.S. Chamber figures out it’s in a fight

While many Colorado businesses are feeding the hand that bites them, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has figured out that it can’t count on Democrats to do what’s right for business if that inconveniences trial lawyers, labor unions, radical environmentalists or any other liberal-left special interest.

Kimberley Strassel’s Potomac Watch column in the Wall Street Journal notes that the U.S. Chamber may spend $40 million to help Republican efforts to deny Democrats a supermajority capable of overriding a filibuster and thereby passing the looney liberal wishlist. (more…)

Voters shouldn’t reward labor’s lies

Politicians and campaigns are masters of “spin” – selectively presenting facts in a way that leads the target audience to believe what the spin doctors want them to believe.

Like it or not, spin is unavoidable because everyone has a unique perspective, formed by their own experiences and beliefs.

But there’s spin, and then there are lies — outright, premeditated, willful lies that have no basis whatsoever in truth. (more…)

Initiatives do taxpayers no favors

“Government is the great fiction through which everyone endeavors to live at the expense of everyone else.” — Frederic Bastiat.

Contrary to popular belief, the citizen initiative process is not inherently – or even incidentally – conservative.  Like government, the initiative is merely a reflection of the attitudes and principles of the people.

Today, the people are not conservative – skeptical, irascible or cynical, perhaps, but not conservative. (more…)

Obama’s tax redistribution scheme

Barack Obama continues to promise tax cuts to 95% of taxpayers — and the fawning liberal lapdog media still cannot understand that these numbers just don’t add up.

As Alex Brill and Alan Viard explained recently in The American, Obama’s “tax cuts for the middle class are actually marginal rate hikes in disguise.”  That is, Obama’s “tax cuts” don’t provide incentives to work or invest or create new jobs.  Instead, Obama’s tax scheme actually provides disincentives to work or earn more.

Rather, Obama’s tax plan does not cut marginal tax rates for anyone who earns even $25,000 or as high as $125,000.  Quite the opposite, the Obama tax scheme results in higher taxes for people in every income level who actually pay taxes. (more…)

Lightning: Musgrave flashes, Markey burns

In between innings of the Phillies-Dodgers playoff game, I switched over to watch a few minutes of the 4th Congressional District debate between Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave and her Democrat challenger, Betsy Markey.  To my surprise, I watched the rest of the debate and didn’t get back to the game.

Let’s just say that anyone who thinks Sarah Palin is a lightweight better not be caught saying good things about Betsy Markey, whose biggest concerned seemed to be her annoyance that many of her campaign speeches are recorded by Marilyn’s campaign staff.  (Gee, Betsy, did you get the nasty footage of Marilyn for your commercials from the Tooth Fairy?)

Marilyn provided substantive answers, compared to Markey’s sweet nothings. (more…)