Green Energy Plan Wastes Millions at L.A. Community Colleges

I've been busy and meant to post on LAT's series on the bond program boondoggle at the Los Angeles Community Colleges, but this one's too good to postpone. See, "Colleges Green Energy Plan Proves Wildly Impractical; Blunders Devour $10 Million":

Larry Eisenberg had a vision. "Amazing," he called it. "Spectacular."

The Los Angeles Community College District would become a paragon of clean energy. By generating solar, wind and geothermal power, the district would supply all its electricity needs. Not only would the nine colleges sever ties to the grid, saving millions of dollars a year, they would make money by selling surplus power. Thanks to state and federal subsidies, construction of the green energy projects would cost nothing upfront.

As head of a $5.7-billion, taxpayer-funded program to rebuild the college campuses, Eisenberg commanded attention. But his plan for energy independence was seriously flawed.

He overestimated how much power the colleges could generate. He underestimated the cost. And he poured millions of dollars into designs for projects that proved so impractical or unpopular they were never built.

These and other blunders cost nearly $10 million that could have paid for new classrooms, laboratories and other college facilities, a Times investigation found.

RTWT. The incompetence is astounding.

And the full series is here: "Billions to Spend: Complete Coverage." And columnist Steve Lopez has this: "Times community college investigation unearths shameful waste."

The district's bond program had incentives for corruption built in from the beginning. There was literally no independent oversight from outside citizens' groups. See the intitial report, "The price of poor planning, weak oversight." Years ago, when my college got its bond program approved by the voters, the administration ended up going with a new contractor after just about a year. I heard all kinds of stories of lush spending with the bond money, for food and Starbucks coffee, and it was probably worse, but should news like that get out to the community there'd be hell to pay. As it is my college's South Quad complex is often ridiculed as the Taj Mahal amid state budget cuts that have put student needs on the backburner. As for the Los Angeles District, it's like an early-20th century big-city machine --- and a Democrat thing, dontcha know! The Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley held fundraisers for board member Miguel Santiago: "Reelect Miguel Santiago--Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees." And the L.A.'s Democratic Party & Courage Campaign endorsed longtime board member Mona Field: "March 8 Election Recommendations from Pacific Palisades Democratic Club." And get this, Mona Field's got a long record of corruption: "Incompetence and Corruption at LA Community College District Must End":

We have lived through an era where public officials and union leaders lost – indeed gleefully destroyed – their moral compass. The cities of Los Angeles, Inglewood, and others teeter on the brink of bankruptcy because elected city officials and public unions have engaged in years of “mutual money massage”.

The public unions commit funds and campaign resources to “friendly” candidates and those candidates, when elected, have given away the public treasury in the form of outrageous pay hikes and rich pension plans no longer seen in the private sector.

And "LACCD Board President Mona Field Admits to Misuse of Bond Funds."

Added: "Candidates for L.A. Community College District board urge greater scrutiny of system."

Kinda like Chicago and the Obamacrats.

PHOTO CREDIT: "The clock tower at East Los Angeles College was built crooked. It cost an additional $157,000 to fix. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times / November 3, 2010)."

Madison is Only the Beginning! Communist Michael Moore Calls for Revolution at Wisconsin Protest

More (Moore) "imaginary communists."

At WTAQ News Talk, "Michael Moore Joins Thousands in Capitol Union Rally":

Moore told the crowd, which was smaller than it has been the last two weekends of the ongoing protests, that the nation was awash in wealth, concentrated in the hands of a few, but the public has been cowed into not standing up for itself.

"Madison is only the beginning," Moore said. "The rich have overplayed their hand.

"There was no revolt, until now here in Wisconsin," he added.

At Gateway Pundit, "WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE!… Communist Michael Moore to WI Protesters: Let’s Start a National Revolution Against the Rich."

Clean Up in Madison Today — UPDATE!

I reported earlier that Wisconsin's GOP Senator Glenn Grothman "went on MSNBC last night and rebuked the filthy dirtbag protesters as a bunch of slobs" (video here). That was a response to progressive cobag Thers at Whiskey Fire, who claimed, after an anarchist mob nearly lynched Grothman, "that this is a damned disciplined protest." Well checking over at Firedoglake last night, it turns out that cobag Thers, one of Hamsher's Henchmen, took another dishonest dump on conservatives with this screed: "At Least We’re Not the Ones Trashing, You Know, The Planet..." Look, you gotta give it up for Thers just for the lulz. What's always interesting with Thers and the FDL demons is how liberal the F-Bomb is thrown around as a source of neo-communist authority. Of course, I've smacked down Thers mercilessly, in his own comment thread, after he self-douched himself with some lame attempt at debunking the progressives' big lie. But here's the gist from last night, in any case:

In a fascinating yet idiotic development, the “Wisconsin Tea Party” has decided that they are going to descend upon Madison and “Take Out the Trash.” You see, the tea-morons are convinced the labor rights protesters are filthy disgusting hippies who have littered the capitol with discarded Marijuana Roaches and used Kotex products. The reason the tea-morons believe this is that they are nitwits who not merely believe inane Fox News propaganda, but masturbate to it.

And in a fit of crazed neo-communist self-congratulation, Thers cites Ann Althouse as an authority on how "clean" the progressive scumbags have kept the Capitol, only to turn around and slam her as demented:

Hell, even noted wingnut-celebrated birdbrain Ann Althouse says there’s no trash, contra the Kotex-mongering of a certain famous hard-right slob of a junkie sex-tourist deejay. And Althouse is opposed to the protesters to the point of dementia! (Though dementia is, of course, the mental region she typically inhabits anyhow.)

Right. Thers is fail.

Senator Grothman nailed it when he called these freaks out as a bunch of pigs. And Chicks on the Right sums up:

Those idiots in Madison took SHARPIE MARKERS to the marble in the statehouse, you guys. What a bunch of freaking animals.

Anyway, Althouse just updated. Meade's been to the Capitol and we should have some fresh reports out of Madison shortly. Look for updates:

UPDATE: Athouse updates, "What the hell is "It's Time to Take Out the Trash Day"?":

I assume "take out the trash" is intended as a double entendre, and the person who named this group intended to call the protesters "trash." They are not trash. They are people you disagree with, who have chosen a means of expression that you disagree with.

Now, it's a great idea for Tea Party folk to come down to the Capitol to express themselves and to pick up any litter that they find around the place, inside and out. That doesn't take any special expertise. But if you believe the place is strewn with litter, you are just plain wrong. Meade and/or I have been down there every day for the 2+ weeks, and we're not seeing trash. I have been blogging about this for many days, after a picture of mine showing litter on one of the first days went viral on the internet. The protesters got the message and were extremely diligent picking up trash after that point. Not knowing that makes you look ignorant.

It'd be nice to be in Madison for a direct report, but I'm going to disagree slightly with Althouse. Fact is the double-entendre works perfectly for me --- the protesters are trash. Senator Grothman nailed it initially when he hammered the anarcho-commies as scumbags and slobs. Frankly, they probably wouldn't have been cleaning up their junk had not Althouse called them out in the first place. What's even better, though, is getting cobag Thers all riled up. I mean, for someone who always calling out tea partiers as, if you'll excuse my language, "fuckety, fuck fuck fuck fucked," you gotta love how the douche cites Althouse in a fit of righteousness:

Fail yourself, dumbass. "But if you believe the place is strewn with litter, you are just plain wrong."

The Althouse pictures you post are from February, though above them you take care to say she "just updated."

You're even a bigger clown than Althouse. Congratulations.

Hey, you gotta love it. Citing a demented clown to attack an even bigger clown who's got your number.

Man, that's gold!

THERS = EPIC SELF-DOUCHE COMMIE SCUMBAG.

The best!

UPDATE II: I've got a new post, "Bwahahahaha!! THERS = SELF-DOUCHE Got Da Althouse Fevah!!!"

Planned Parenthood Hijacks Girl Scouts

A mom knocked on our door last weekend with her daughter asking if we'd like to buy some Girl Scout cookies. My son answered the door himself, and I asked him what kind he liked and he picked the peanut butter patties and the thin mints. The woman's daughter, in her brown Girl Scout outfit, was smaller than my son, probably about 7 or 8 years old. Then last Monday, walking out to the parking lot from my college, a young man had a big wagon filled with boxes of Girl Scout cookies. I asked him if I could buy a couple, and after I paid him he called his daughter over. She was rolling down the grass hills out in back of the administration. He wanted her to say "thank you" for buying some cookies. She ran over and said thanks then galloped back over to frolic on the lawn. She was also about 7 or 8 years old. This is what I have in mind when thinking about the Girl Scouts. But apparently the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts has been distributing "Healthy, Happy and Hot" brochures sponsored by Planned Parenthood. These were sent out as part of a U.N. panel on Commission on the Status of Women.

Way to go progressives! Sex guides for little girls. It doesn't get more morally bankrupt than this.

The Stand Firm page has a report, "Girl Scouts Distribute Planned Parenthood Sex Guide at UN Meeting."

Also, at The Other McCain, "Forget the Thin Mints: Now Girl Scouts Learning to Be ‘Healthy, Happy and Hot’."

Calls for Dismissal of Professor Bassam Frangieh at Claremont McKenna

I'm just learning of this huge dust-up at Claremont McKenna College over the extremist views of Bassam Frangieh, Professor of Modern Arabic Languages. Frangieh is a signatory to a 2006 statement of solidarity for Hezbollah. The statement is another classic in the global genre of anti-Israel exterminationist propaganda. It's also signed by Omar Barghouti, the top spokesman for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanction (BDS) Campaign Against Israel, and Norman Finklestein, the former DePaul University professor and Israel-bashing terrorist enabler.

It turns out there's been a growing campaign in the Claremont McKenna community to get the university's administration to rebuke Professor Frangieh, and some letter-writers are working for a dismissal on the grounds that Claremont McKenna is sponsoring outspoken supporters of international terrorism. See for example, "An Open letter to Claremont McKenna President Pam Gann":

I have written several emails to both you, President Gann, and Professor Frangieh asking you (or him) to refute these charges; - defend yourselves. I've done that because here in America, unlike under the rule of these terrorist groups Frangieh apparently supports, you are innocent until proven guilty. People here have the right to defend themselves. Over the course of more than a month, the only response I received from CMC (and by the way from neither you or Frangieh) was an email from an administrator saying that this is a "difficult situation." Simply put, it's hard to assume that these accusations are indeed anything but true when they are never publicly denied by your Office or Frangieh himself. Sadly, President Gann,it appears under your leadership Frangieh's hate-speech will continue to spread to the CMC students and faculty. In my last still unanswered email, I respectfully asked you to respond to just two things:??" 1) Does CMC support Mr Frangieh's endorsement and support for terrorist groups- Hamas and Hezbollah?? 2) If the man feels that these charges are unwarranted, why does he not do the school a favor and publicly denounce the Hamas and Hezbollah? "

I again received no reply ...

I will ask you again, if these accusations against Professor Frangieh are indeed lies, please come out publically in his defense. Have Frangieh publicly denounce these terrorist groups-immediately. Put this issue to bed! Otherwise you leave reputation of all the Claremont Colleges at risk and the Claremont community questioning your ability to keep CMC as a premier institution of higher education.

If these claims are false defend them publically. If they are true remove this man from campus!

Respectfully,

Leon Corcos
Tuition-paying Parent

The full letter is at the link. (Hat Tip: Gary Fouse.)

Folks should also check the Claremont Conservative, where author and Claremont McKenna student Charles C. Johnson is doing an heroic job in exposing the university's spineless submission to moral bankruptcy.

Andrew Breitbart's, Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World!

Available for pre-order, at Amazon.

Click on the image to enlarge:

And from Andrew at Big Government:

I can think of no better way to upset the lefties in your life – and please the inner you – than pre-ordering my forthcoming coming-of-rage® book, Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World. Learn how I went from left to right, then decided to take on the world and become an unexpected culture warrior.

Public Sector Collective Bargaining

Via Nice Deb:

Queers for Palestine Party to End Apartheid!

Talk about FUBAR. It doesn't get more screwed than international Israel Anti-Apartheid week, but New York's Israel-bashing clowns have the goods on the new low of lows. Turns out that tonight was supposed to be an epic anti-Israel night at NYC's LGBT Community Center. But the gay Jew-bashers got cancelled. The center's director, Glennda Testone, issued a statement: "MESSAGE FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GLENNDA TESTONE ON DECISION TO CANCEL SIEGE BUSTERS WORKING GROUP ROOM RESERVATION":

Upon receiving feedback from a number of Center members and constituents with a variety of opinions on this event, the Center had to consider how renting space to this particular group was interfering with our primary focus of service to the LGBT community. The group is not LGBT-focused, nor was the event focused on LGBT people or issues. As a non-LGBT issue began to distract from our core mission, we asked the group to move the event. As for the status of the group going forward, we have decided not to rent space to the group for the same reasons.

So now the "Seige-Busters" Anti-Apartheid organizers are holding a protest against the LGBT Center itself:

WHOSE SPACE?! PROTEST the LGBT CENTER'S DISCRIMINATION.

• Stand up for anti-Occupation queers, Palestinian queers and self-determination!
• Stand up for the right to organize against the Israeli occupation!
• The LGBT Center belongs to all of us. Safe space for queers and ideas, not for donors!

Bring noise and glamor to take back our community's home

There's background at Gothamist, "Pro-Palestine Group Protesting Outside LGBT Center," and Village Voice, "'Party to End Israeli Apartheid!' Still On at Gay Center, Activists Vow, But With Picketing, Not Dancing."

I'll check for news of the protest, but seriously, I guess progressive Jew-hating homosexuals have to act up just to act up! Ironic how they're not protesting the real anti-gay governments of the Mideast:

Wisconsin Protests: It's an Occupation, Not a Sleepover

From the anarcho-communist Burnt Bookmobile, "We call for the further occupations of workplace, university and government buildings."

It's amazing sometimes how little real reporting the lamestream press is doing on Wisconsin. Althouse has had the most comprehensive coverage by far --- and she's fair too, being a good person and all. Progressives are not good, of course, and they continue to hold protests in Madison, defacing and destroying public property, and costing taxpayers tens of thousands (if not millions) of dollars. Tea partiers are planning a big clean-up tomorrow, and hopefully Gov. Walker will get a budget passed and progressives can clear the hell out. They'd stay longer if they could, since their ideological program is an end to property rights and private morality. This clip from the MacIver Institute really captures what anarcho-communists are all about.

"Inevitably, the time will come when we will have to leave this space. But if that wasn't so, would you ever leave?"

RELATED: At New York Times, "Wisconsin’s Legacy of Labor Battles":

The protesters who camped out in the Wisconsin Capitol building in Madison for nearly three weeks hung a handwritten placard over the marble bust of Robert La Follette, the state’s titan of progressivism.

“What Would Bob Do?” it begged, a plaintive appeal to recall the state’s history on the forefront for workers’ rights as the protesters try to fend off Scott Walker, the new Republican governor, who insists that he will not compromise in his bid to all but eliminate collective bargaining for public unions.

What would La Follette do? Interesting. Discover the Networks has this:

Many who today call themselves "progressives" sincerely trace their political roots to the Progressive Parties of Teddy Roosevelt, Henry Wallace or Robert La Follette, Sr. But many others on the left nowadays call themselves "progressives" as a deceptive euphemism for more precise, less popular words that describe their real political objectives and ideology --- words such as "socialist," "Marxist," or "Communist."

And "anarcho-communist."

Majority of 53 Percent of Americans Describe Democrat Agenda as Extreme

Well, yeah.

These people are freakin' commies.

At Rasmussen, "Just 32% See Democrats' Agenda as Mainstream":

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Voters shows that just 32% describe the agenda of Democrats in Congress as mainstream. Most (53%) say it is more accurate to describe that agenda as extreme, down slightly from 57% last August. Another 15% are undecided.

Tea Party Group to 'Take Out the Trash' at Wisconsin State Capitol

Upstanding Americans are getting tired of the scumbag anarcho-communists defacing, destroying, and polluting the public realm. On Facebook, "It's Time to Take Out the Trash!" And Gateway Pundit comments:

Wisconsin tea party members are planning a “It’s Time to Take out the Trash Day” at the Wisconsin State Capitol to clean up after the smelly slobs who defaced the capitol building during their two weeks of protesting and sleepovers.

Americans Support Making Public Employees Pay More for Benefits and Retirement Programs

There's been a lot of buzz surrounding public opinion polling on Wisconsin. The New York Times earlier showed that 3 in 5 respondents favor the rights of union members to collective bargaining. Plus, with Rasmussen showing that Gov. Scott Walker's approval has dropped to 43 percent, the progressives have gotten excited. One result here is a stepped up left-wing advertising blitz in Wisconsin. Greg Sargent reports, "New ad turns up heat on Wisconsin Republicans as Walker's poll numbers sink." The ad's sponsored by the neo-communist Greater Wisconsin Committee, "Stop Walker's Budget!":

No doubt the standoff has emboldened progressives, and some of the polling trends may be helpful to Democrats. Yet I'm still not convinced that progressive fleebagging and thug protests are winning the battle for public opinion. While Americans are hesitant to restrict collective bargaining rights, there's huge support for greater employee contributions to public sector benefit and retirement programs. See the recent Wall Street Journal poll:

The poll shows 68% of the respondents would like public employees to contribute more for their retirement benefits and 63% want these workers to pay more for their health care.

And Quinnipiac University National Poll, "Democrats, Republicans Divided On Gov't Worker Pay."

The McCain-Collins Institute for Therapeutic Breast-Staring

While Scott Eric Kaufman is wallowing in progressive self-loathing, the boys of the babe-blogosphere have reached a consensus: The science of breast-staring has been settled.

See The Other McCain, "My Health Secret, Revealed!" And Dan Collins at POWIP, "Announcing the McCain-Collins Institute of Therapeutic Breast Staring."

And if anyone's not feeling well this morning, head over to Sports Illustrated for a pick-me-up with "Kate Upton Bodypainting."

Mike at Cold Fury recognizes the achievements: "We all owe a great debt to the Collins-McCain Institute for their fine work in this exacting and exciting field of study."

RELATED: Instapundit has the research: "STUDY: Staring At Breasts Increases Heart Health. I’m pretty sure this is just the same bogus report that resurfaces every couple of years. But why take chances?"

Sarah Palin on Fox News March 4th, 2011

She talks entitlements in this snippet from O'Reilly Factor. And at Conservatives for Palin, "Governor Palin Talks to Bill O'Reilly":

But see The Blaze, "Palin Swipes Christie: There's No Courage in Spending Cuts When You're Broke" (from a Fox Business News interview).

Chris Matthews' Gay Love Obsession Man Crush on Barack Obama

At Bare Naked Islam, "Is Chris Matthews’ ‘man crush’ on Obama turning into a gay love obsession?":

Regime Change Libya?

GrEaT sAtAn"S gIrLfRiEnD gets the neocon-crazy photo-credit, at "Libyavention."

But see Wall Street Journal, "U.S. Wavers on 'Regime Change'"

WASHINGTON — After weeks of internal debate on how to respond to uprisings in the Arab world, the Obama administration is settling on a Middle East strategy: help keep longtime allies who are willing to reform in power, even if that means the full democratic demands of their newly emboldened citizens might have to wait.

Instead of pushing for immediate regime change—as it did to varying degrees in Egypt and now Libya—the U.S. is urging protesters from Bahrain to Morocco to work with existing rulers toward what some officials and diplomats are now calling "regime alteration."

The approach has emerged amid furious lobbying of the administration by Arab governments, who were alarmed that President Barack Obama had abandoned Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and worried that, if the U.S. did the same to the beleaguered king of Bahrain, a chain of revolts could sweep them from power, too, and further upend the region's stability.

The strategy also comes in the face of domestic U.S. criticism that the administration sent mixed messages at first in Egypt, tentatively backing Mr. Mubarak before deciding to throw its full support behind the protesters demanding his ouster. Likewise in Bahrain, the U.S. decision to throw a lifeline to the ruling family came after sharp criticism of its handling of protests there. On Friday, the kingdom's opposition mounted one of its largest rallies, underlining the challenge the administration faces selling a strategy of more gradual change to the population.

Administration officials say they have been consistent throughout, urging rulers to avoid violence and make democratic reforms that address the demands of their populations. Still, a senior administration official acknowledged the past month has been a learning process for policy makers. "What we have said throughout this is that there is a need for political, economic and social reform, but the particular approach will be country by country," the official said.

Right.

A learning process. Frankly, White House foreign policy is FUBAR, as Niall Ferguson noted a couple of weeks ago at Newsweek. A U.S. carrier group off the Egyptian coast might have sent a signal for Mubarak to step down a lot sooner than he did, and a Marine landing at Suez might have bolstered the opposition, and perhaps crushed forces loyal to the Muslim Brotherhood. Of course, anything along those lines could have led to a long-term U.S. occupation and an intense outcry around the Arab world. What's interesting is that despite all of these dangers, folks keep raising the prospects of U.S. military action in the region. See Micah Zenko, at Foreign Policy, "No-Go: A No-Fly Zone Over Libya Will Not Be Easy or Painless." And the roundup at New York Times, "Should the U.S. Move Against Qaddafi?"

Mike Huckabee Walks Back Natalie Portman Criticism

Huckabee screwed up.

The Other McCain has the story, "Huckabee: ‘Hey, Maybe I Shouldn’t Have Trash-Talked Luke Skywalker’s Mom’" (at Memeorandum and Politico):

We have no reason to believe that Natalie Portman became pregnant with any intention of “making a statement” or “pushing the envelope.” If Huckabee, the former Baptist minister, wishes to condemn fornication and bastardy, or to talk about the societal impact of our nation’s epidemic of fatherlessness, OK. But why drag the Star Wars star into this argument? Portman was already catching grief from the feminist ax-grinders for having declared motherhood “the most important role of my life.”

Good rule of thumb in politics: Find out what side of the issue feminists are on, and get on the other side. (If feminists ever bothered to denounce Islam’s brutal oppression of women, I might have to consider joining the Taliban. But feminists are too busy whining about “pay equity” to notice that Muslims are still stoning women to death under sharia law and forcing girls into arranged marriages.)

More at the link.

And for the "feminist ax-grinders," check Mary Elizabeth Williams, at Salon, "Is Motherhood Natalie Portman's 'Greatest Role'?"

Big Labor's Lies: Richard Trumka's Bald-Faced Falsehoods on Wisconsin's Budget Stalemate

The transcript's here, from PBS NewsHour last night, "AFL-CIO's Trumka: No American Should Face Choice Between Rights, Job." But it has to be seen to be believed. In a response to Judy Woodruff's questioning, Trumka issues a series of categorical falsehoods regarding the budget negotiations and political situation in Madison:

Here's the key passage, from the transcript:

JUDY WOODRUFF: You know, Rich Trumka, the way he and other governors frame this, though, is they're saying, this is an argument between all of the citizens of the state, in this case Wisconsin, versus the public workers. And he said, when it comes down to that balance, public workers should be willing to give some.

RICHARD TRUMKA: Well, you know, they have been.

He asked for cuts, and they agreed to all the cuts that he asked for. Remember this. Those public employees are citizens as well. This is a concerted campaign by a number of Republican governors to vilify public employees.

They first -- this governor, Walker, first said that Wisconsin employees are paid too much. Well, now we know from study after study that the public employees are paid less than private employees. And then he said it's about the pension plan. And then we find out that his pension plan is nearly fully funded, 100 percent of assets versus liabilities.

And then he says, well, I need these cuts. And they agreed to them. And then, again, the most outrageous thing that he did was say that to these employees, I'm going to lay you off unless you give up your rights.

Now, no American should be subject to that. We ought to be doing more to build the middle-class, not less. And what he's trying to do is take away nurses, firefighters, EMTs, snow plow drivers, their ability to come together to make their way into the middle class.

Now, debunking Trumka's claims one-by-one.

First, Trumka claims Gov. Walker is unwilling to negotiate on the budget, but according to a Wednesday report from Reuters, "Wisconsin governor says open to budget negotiation":

Wisconsin's Republican Gov. Scott Walker said on Wednesday his proposed two-year budget was open to negotiation, but only if absent Senate Democrats end a two-week standoff over a bill that reduces the powers of public sector unions.

Senate Democrats left Wisconsin on February 17 to avoid a vote on Walker's proposals to eliminate collective bargaining for most public sector workers and require annual votes of workers for the unions to exist.

Frankly, it's the fleebaggers who've refused to negotiate, and have become a laughingstock throughout the deadlock.

Second is Trumka's dishonest response on Wisconsin's public sector compensation. The state's workers make more than those in the private sector, and to evade the point Trumka suggests that "we know from study after study that the public employees are paid less than private employees." But according to a Tuesday report from USA Today, "Wisconsin one of 41 states where public workers earn more":

Wisconsin is one of 41 states where public employees earn higher average pay and benefits than private workers in the same state, a USA TODAY analysis finds. Still, the compensation of Wisconsin's government workers ranks below the national average for non-federal public employees and has increased only slightly since 2000.

So again, Gov. Walker's right about union pay relative to Wisconsin's private sector compensation.

And on the state's public pension system, Trumka claims that public workers' pensions are "nearly" fully funded but neglects to mention that the state pensions are 100-percent tax-payer funded and that current projections show they'll be unable to make expected payouts to retirees. See, "Public worker retirement system sputters with market":

By most accounts Wisconsin has one of the best public worker retirement plans in the country. Established in 1951, it has grown into the nation’s 9th largest public pension fund and the 29th largest pension fund of any kind in the world. Nearly 560,000 current and past public employees are covered — everyone except Milwaukee city and county workers, who have their own pension fund.

The WRS offers a variety of payout options for retirees under a complex set of calculations. But basically, public employees in Wisconsin can retire with full benefits at age 57 after 30 years of service. Protective services employees like firefighters or police can retire at age 53 after 25 years on the job.

The goal, according to Dave Stella, secretary of the Department of Employee Trust Funds, is to replace 75 to 80 percent of income in retirement through a combination of a state pension, Social Security and personal savings. The average payout for WRS participants is roughly $1,900 per month.

“The system has served the state well,” says Stella. “You’ve got to give some credit to the Legislature for setting it up like it did.”

Taxpayers in Wisconsin currently cover virtually all pension plan contributions for employees, a benefit gained through contract negotiations that workers say makes up for lower pay in the public sector.

All told, taxpayers across 1,469 units of government paid an estimated $700 million in 2009 to meet required retirement contributions for their public workers. That figure, which is recalculated each June, is expected to climb as the state spreads investment losses from the pension over the next several years.

But a faltering stock market has put pressure on pension plans to meet their investment targets. Recent reports estimate public pensions nationwide are underfunded to the tune of $1 trillion, although Wisconsin is considered one of the best funded.

If the stock market does not begin to produce better results, the state could be left with three difficult choices:

• Future retirees could be forced to accept reduced payments.

• Governments, or their employees, could have to increase their contributions.

• Retirement ages for active employees could be pushed back, although not for those who’ve already reached their retirement age and are still working.

“Any of the above would be outlets for bad news,” says Keith Bozarth, executive director of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, which manages the pension fund.

Given that analysis, it's easy to see why Big Labor Thug Richard Trumka is reduced to lies and distortions. Gov. Walker's plan eliminates collective bargaining over pensions because state worker plans are not only bankrupting the state, but have created a public-sector aristocracy with many state workers able to retire at phenomenal benefit levels while in their 50s. This is the nation's public sector crisis in a nutshell. Union benefits and power are too costly and harmful to state interests, so progressive thugs resort to lies to defend them. As Daniel DiSalvo has indicated, "Showdown in Madison":

Traditional democratic theory holds that elected officials, carrying out the will of the people as expressed in competitive elections, should determine public priorities and how public policy is carried out. But if elected officials must bargain with unelected ones—the representatives of permanent government employees—to get anything done, voters turn over decision-making power to people whom elections cannot hold accountable.

Furthermore, public-sector unions reduce government effectiveness. Collective bargaining over working conditions makes government more rigid and rule-bound. It limits the discretion of elected officials, reducing innovation and experimentation. Government unionism also has a ratcheting effect on salaries and benefits, causing them to increase in ways largely detached from broader economic conditions. The result is long-term structural debt, which crowds out spending on other priorities.

'If You Are One of the Many People Who Criticized Me and Meade for Selfishly Jumping Ahead of a Line, It's Time For an Apology'

First I'm posting the viral viddy of Wisconsin Democratic Representative Nick Milroy, who's seen being tackled by police. He claimed he was entering the Statehouse to retrieve clothing, but it looks like a helluva lot more than that. A little civil resistance solidarity? And the dude's an elected official, sheesh? Or as Jammie puts it, the surprise here is that a "Wisconsin Democrat was actually trying to do some work":

Anyway, Althouse has the must-read post on developments, "Who started the restriction of access to the Wisconsin Capitol, which the state court judge has ruled unconstitutional?":

If you were critical of Meade and me for refusing to wait in line and insisting on walking right into the Capitol building, then you need to read the judge's order, which says that the restriction of access "violates the State Constitution."

Instead of meekly following instructions — which, oddly enough, the anti-Walker protesters did — we felt immediate outrage and expressed it. If you are one of the many people who criticized me and Meade for selfishly jumping ahead of a line, it's time for an apology.

Let me remind you what happened. I started it. On Saturday, February 26th, the day with the largest crowd, there were "'about 70,000 people' at the Capitol, but they were mainly outside":

I walked right up to the nearest door, and a "volunteer" in an orange vest told me to go wait in a line to go in some other door. This door was for... I didn't quite catch who the special people were who got to go right in the door I'd walked up to, but I said, "This is a public building. You're saying there are 2 kinds of people — ones that get right in and ones that go wait in line? Who are you?" He was obviously not a uniformed city official. I was all "Who are you?" and "How dare you!" and, after a few seconds, I (and Meade) got right through that door ...

Hey, don't mess with Althouse!

Plus, at Gateway Pundit, "It Begins… WI School President Threatens Private Business For Printing Pro-Walker T-Shirts," and Hot Air, "Fleebagging the hot new fad?"

Britney Spears V Magazine Photoshoot

She looks fabulous, "Britney Forever":

Over a decade ago, she emerged as a teen music sensation—the very definition of sexy, exuberant pop in our age of excess, and the template for a legion of imitators. But Britney was no flash in the millennial pan. Through crisis and controversy, she has adhered herself to our consciousness simply by doing what she does best: crafting irresistibly danceable, instantly unforgettable hits, over and over (and over and over and over) again. In 2011, Britney is still Britney, and she’s back with an album designed to get us moving. Again.

Britney's interviewed at the link.

Perhaps this will generate some Rule 5 links from The Other McCain.

And see the other friends of American Power: Amusing Bunni's Musings, Astute Bloggers, Bob Belvedere, CSPT, Dan Collins, Eye of Polyphemus, Gator Doug, Irish Cicero, Left Coast Rebel, Mind-Numbed Robot, Legal Insurrection, Lonely Conservative, PA Pundits International, Pirate's Cove, Saberpoint, Snooper, WyBlog, The Western Experience, Yankee Phil, and Zion's Trumpet.

BONUS: American Perspective and Maggie's Notebook.

And top that off with Theo's Bedtime Totty.

And a special shoutout to Blazing Cat Fur, whose got some lovely Friday blogging: "Because it's Friday and it's....Patricia Velasquez..."

And also a big thanks to Proof Positive, who's very generous on the linkage.

As always, drop your link in the comments to be added to the roundups.

Protesters Leave Wisconsin Capitol

Today's a big showdown day in Wisconsin. I'll have updates later. Meanwhile, at Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, "Overnight protesters leave Capitol":

Madison — With a final group hug and a rousing rendition of "Solidarity Forever," the last large group of demonstrators left the state Capitol Thursday night, hours after a judge ordered their removal.

The more than two-week occupation ended peacefully, as Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs gently prodded and patiently waited for around 50 of the last holdout protesters to file out of the rotunda.

"We have to get back to normalcy," Tubbs said. "I'm asking you tonight to please leave."

At 9:58 p.m., about an hour after the main group left, the last five protesters exited the building. No arrests were reported.

"This proved the people are right and the governor is wrong," said Jeff Fox, 53, of Minong.

State officials claimed that damage to the Capitol from the days of demonstrating reached $7.5 million. But no one could back up that figure with any evidence, and some scoffed at it.

Earlier Thursday, in a historic ruling after three days of testimony, Dane County Circuit Judge John Albert issued an interim order calling for the immediate removal of overnight demonstrators and putting state officials on notice that improved access to the building has to be in place by Monday morning.

The decision came after testimony from citizens, legislators, law enforcement and state officials.

More at the link above.

Bring Bush! Libyan Rebels Beg U.S. to Bomb Muammar Gaddafi

At Pamela's, "Libyan Protesters Beg for Bush: 'Bring Bush!'":

Has Katie Couric bit off her tongue yet? Not to worry, the jihadists she so enthusiastically defends and abets will do it soon enough.

Just as the world is undergoing a seismic shift in the arab regimes and dictatorships, the American media landscape is desperately in need of a revolution. The old media must be overthrown.

You'll notice that Reuters buried the lede.

"Bring Bush! Make a no fly zone, bomb the planes," shouted soldiers

Imagine that. Ayatollah Obama has achieved what would have been thought to be impossible: worldwide calls for the return of George Bush. They pleaded for Bush in Iran, too, when they were being slaughtered in the street while Obama ....... ate ice cream.

Wisconsin Assemblywoman Michelle Litjens - All Class After Dirtbag Dem Threatens Her With 'You Are Effin Dead'

From John Hayward, "You Are Effin Dead: The media protects a Democrat with silence":

Last Friday, in the Wisconsin State Assembly, a sixty-hour Democrat filibuster ended with a vote they claim they were too tired to understand. This prompted Democrat representative Gordon Hintz to turn to Republican Michelle Litjens and shout, “You are f**king dead.”

Hintz is a fine, upstanding statesman, who occasionally wanders into massage parlors which have been caught up in prostitution stings, and is cited for sexual misconduct. He apologized to Litjens several days later, and she graciously accepted his apology. In an interview with conservative radio host Laura Ingraham, Litjens remarked that “the Democrats are screaming that we need to be civil towards each other,” but “they’ve been throwing fits on a regular basis looking like a group of toddlers throwing a temper tantrum.”

You would think something like this would be a pretty big story, especially since the union troops Hintz supports are becoming increasingly aggressive in their occupation of the state capitol. After millions of BTUs worth of hot air were unleashed about “tone” and “civility” in the wake of the Tucson shootings, an actual death threat from an elected representative is a significant event. No “heat of the moment” defense would be accepted from a Republican under similar circumstances, especially if a male Republican cited for sexual misconduct were threatening a female Democrat.

Amazingly, as Noel Sheppard at Newsbusters documents, there has been a near-total media blackout of this story. If local conservative talk radio hadn’t made a big deal about it, there would be no national awareness at all… and as of this morning, no major network except Fox has discussed it.

Maybe it’s not so amazing, since the exact same thing happened in January, when budding netroots superhero Eric Fuller started lobbing death threats at a town hall meeting in Tucson. The Soros operatives at Media Matters suddenly stopped touting him as an absolute moral authority, and flushed him down the memory hole in unison, while the mainstream press never really talked about him at all.

In both cases, you have inconvenient nut jobs making hash of a Narrative the media regard as Deep Truth, which must not be contradicted by any stories that would confuse the public. The narrative that would not have survived extensive coverage of Eric Fuller was the “Climate of Hate,” supposedly conjured by conservative witch doctors and beamed directly into Tucson killer Jared Loughner’s skull. The Narrative in Wisconsin is the “peaceful union protest,” in which the hapless victims of Governor Scott Walker’s heartless evil spend their days handing out cookies and lemonade, while they wait for the public they love and serve to rescue them ...

Governor Walker Will Begin Issuing Layoff Warnings to Unions

At the video, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley says she supports Governor Scott Walker's budget reform agenda.

At at New York Times, "Wisconsin Governor Says He Will Begin Issuing Layoff Warnings to Unions":

Scott Walker, the Republican governor of Wisconsin, said Thursday that he would begin issuing layoff warnings to unions representing 1,500 state employees on Friday if his bill to sharply reduce collective bargaining rights and benefits for public sector employees remained at an impasse in the Legislature.

Republican leaders in the Senate, where the bill has been stalled since Senate Democrats left the capital two weeks ago to block a vote, passed a provision that they said allowed law enforcement officers to detain the missing Democratic senators if they were seen anywhere in Wisconsin and take them to Madison.

Both measures were aimed at increasing the pressure on Democrats, who hold a minority in the Senate and oppose the bill. But the efforts also significantly raised the stakes in a fight that has grown into a national referendum on unions and public workers and has spread to Ohio, Indiana and elsewhere.

In Wisconsin, no one in either party seemed eager to consider the images that now appeared possible: hundreds of ordinary workers getting word that they would soon be out of work, and senators arriving at the Capitol in handcuffs. Still, no one in either party seemed willing to budge.

“No one is going to come back today,” said Fred Risser, one of the Senate’s 14 Democrats who left the capital last month after realizing that the cuts to collective bargaining were likely to pass the Senate, but that no vote could be taken without at least 20 members — and thus at least one Democrat — in attendance.

Fleebaggers. Scumbags. Progressives. Screwing over Wisconsin. Typical.

Anti-Semitism's Many Expressions

At Jerusalem Post:

In Anti-Semite and Jew, anti-Semitism famously argued that anti-Semitism is best understood as a “criminal passion” as opposed to an idea. “It is not a point of view based rationally upon empirical information calmly collected and calibrated in as objective a manner as is possible.”

Rather, wrote Sartre – in 1946, in the shadow of the Holocaust – anti-Semitism is “an involvement of the mind, but one so deep-seated and complex that it extends to the physiological realm, as happens in cases of hysteria.”

Judging from a recent spate of high-profile anti-Semitic verbal attacks, all sharing the common theme of emotional outbursts, Sartre seems to have it at least partially right.

TV and movie star Charlie Sheen, currently in a fit of personal turmoil, lashed out in a radio interview at Chuck Lorre, the Jewish creator of the TV show Two and a Half Men. Sheen derisively noted during his hate-filled, nonsensical rant last week that Lorre’s Hebrew name was Chaim Levine, as though this somehow explained his aversion to the man.

Then there was John Galliano, chief designer for Christian Dior, whose behavior, according to sources quoted by The New York Times, “had become erratic” and who had of late “been drinking heavily,” apparently due to professional pressures. Last week, a video surfaced of Galliano taunting a patron at a Paris bar who he thought was Jewish.

“I love Hitler,” the designer declared in a slurred voice, adding that “people like you would be dead” and “your mothers, your forefathers” would all have been “gassed” if Hitler had had his way.

This week, it was WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s turn. British journalists, including the editor of The Guardian (who is not Jewish), were engaged in a Jewish-led conspiracy to smear his organization, Assange reportedly told Private Eye’s editor in a telephone call. Assange, currently under pressure as he anticipates multiple legal battles and a Swedish arrest warrant, was reacting to a Private Eye report that one Israel Shamir (aka, Adam Ermash or Jöran Jermas), an employed WikiLeaks associate in Russia, was a Holocaust denier.

In each of the cases, Sartre’s description of anti-Semitism as “an involvement of the mind, deep-seated and complex,” rings true. Gripped by emotional crises that undo usual political correctness, these men’s visceral, irrational hatred of Jews is exposed in all its vileness.

I'll say.

More at the link.

PREVIOUSLY (WITH VIDEO): "Natalie Portman Condemns Dior Designer for Anti-Semitic Slurs."

Michael Moore: Rich People's Money a National Resource

Video at The Blaze: "Really Rich Dude Michael Moore Says Wealthy Americans’ Money is Not Theirs its ’Ours‘ ’A National Resource’ We Need To Take It From Them."

And from Peter Wehner's essay at Commentary, "Michael Moore vs. Abraham Lincoln":

Both Michael Moore and former labor secretary Robert Reich have done us the favor of speaking candidly about their economic views. If you listen to both men, you’ll gain a fairly good insight into the modern liberal worldview.

It consists of several elements. The first, as articulated by Moore, is that money you earn is not really yours; it’s a “natural resource” that belongs to others. That is the basic starting point for those like Moore. Second, the collectivist impulse among the left is extremely powerful. Third, higher taxes have almost talisman-like powers. Regardless of our economic circumstances — whether we’re experiencing strong growth or a nasty recession — higher taxes are always called for. Fourth, liberals view higher taxes first and foremost as a matter of “fairness” rather than growth. One cannot help but conclude that many liberals would accept lower growth rates and fewer jobs in favor of more redistribution of income. And fifth, America is a nation seething with class resentments. “An angry population and an angry populace could just as easily turn their anger toward the very rich,” according to Reich. “Again, it is in the interest of the people at the top to actually call for a more equitable distribution of the gains of economic growth and a better tax system: a tax system that is fair.”

As against the views of Moore and Reich are the views of Lincoln ...

RTWT at the link.

Commie scumbags, but what's new?

Rising Political Star: Exclusive Interview with Congressman Allen West

From Erick Stakelbeck, at Big Peace:

The retired Army Lt. Col and I discussed homegrown jihad, Iran, the Muslim Brothehrood, Israel, healthcare, the national debt and much more.

And the take-no-prisoners approach that has made West a rising political star is on full display.

Chris Wragge, CBS 'Early Show' Anchor, Gets Hot On-Air Fantasies for Actress Vanessa Hudgens

Another case for academic douchebag Scott Eric Kaufman.

Hudgens is 21 years-old and fabulous, but see Greg Hengler, "CBS Anchor Entertains Pornographic Fantasies of H.S. Musical's Vanessa Hudgens":

40-year-old Chris Wragge, anchor for CBS's "Early Show," could not restrain his pornographic fantasies from the family-friendly, national network television show. As you will see and hear, he tries to move on quickly after drinking a nice cold glass of stupid.

Protesters Storm Wisconsin Capitol!

Here's Althouse's video, where she notes that:

Not long before the crowd of 100 protesters stormed the building (or was let in by the police), Meade got through the line and into the building. I've edited the video he shot, which shows the conditions of the hallways and even a men's room — and everything looks quite clean and undamaged. In the rotunda, the protesters have formed a circle and are discussing what they will do ...

Apparently protesters have been ordered off the grounds.

But here's the report from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, "Demonstrators Suddenly Enter Capitol" (via Gateway Pundit and Memeorandum):

A group of perhaps one hundred protesters has entered the previously restricted and quiet Capitol and is now chanting, “Our house, our house.”

David Noyce of Madison said that he entered the building with the demonstrators after someone let them in and that a policeman flashed him a thumbs up as he entered. The protesters entered just as Gov. Scott Walker was about to start a news conference in a separate room of the building.

“It’s about time,” Noyce said, when told that a Dane County judge would be issuing an order to open the Capitol.

The protesters have been stopped by phalanx of police on the ground floor of the west wing and prevented from reaching the rotunda and joining the separate group of protesters who have been spending the night in the Capitol.

Social Conservatives Are Mad

Says Richard Land, "Americans Don't Want a 'Truce' on Social Issues." And he's right. I'm mad that yet another progressive anti-truth shout-down successfully suppressed a conservative advertising campaign. As the ad's sponsor Life Always indicates:

... in today’s public square, it is sometimes forbidden to actually tell the truth, or even to tell one’s side of the story, without being shouted down. It’s like the old Ibsen play, The Enemy of the People. The man who discovers that the town’s water supply is unsafe is cast out of town for telling the truth. Telling the truth makes him the enemy of the people.

Right.

Truth is the new hate speech.

In any case, here's Richard Land:

There is a deep longing in large segments of the American populace for a restoration of a morality that emphasizes personal obligations and responsibilities over rights and privileges. Such a society will have a restored moral symmetry in which exemplary personal and professional behavior is rewarded and less exemplary behavior is not. As Jesus reminded us, "Man shall not live on bread alone."

RTWT.

Land is going after squishy cons like Mitch Daniels, who want a truce on social issues during a time of fiscal crisis. And while Land indicates that conservatives overlap on the issues --- economic, foreign, and social policy, the three legs of conservative program --- folks who abandon moral issues are CINO (Conservative-In-Name-Only), IMHO.

Twenty Years After Rodney King Beating: Video Ushered Police Into YouTube World

At Los Angeles Times, "LAPD's Change in Focus":

In the wake of the videotaped police attack on motorist Rodney King, the department has learned to embrace video scrutiny.

It was shortly after midnight, 20 years ago Thursday, when George Holliday awoke to the sounds of police sirens outside his Lake View Terrace apartment. Grabbing his clunky Sony Handycam, he stepped out on his balcony and changed the Los Angeles Police Department forever.

The nine minutes of grainy video footage he captured of Los Angeles police beating Rodney King helped to spur dramatic reforms in a department that many felt operated with impunity. The video played a central role in the criminal trial of four officers, whose not-guilty verdicts in 1992 triggered days of rioting in Los Angeles in which more than 50 people died.

The simple existence of the video was something unusual in itself. Relatively few people then had video cameras, Holliday did — and had the wherewithal to turn it on.

"It was just coincidence," Holliday reflected in an interview a decade ago. "Or luck."

Today, things are far different and the tape that so tainted the LAPD has a clear legacy in how officers think about their jobs. Police now work in a YouTube world in which cellphones double as cameras, news helicopters transmit close-up footage of unfolding police pursuits, and surveillance cameras capture arrests or shootings. Police officials are increasingly recording their officers. Compared to the cops who beat King, officers these days hit the streets with a new reality ingrained in their minds: Someone is always watching.

"Early on in their training, I always tell them, 'I don't care if you're in a bathroom taking care of your personal business…. Whatever you do, assume it will be caught on video,' " said Sgt. Heather Fungaroli, who supervises recruits at the LAPD's academy. "We tell them if they're doing the right thing then they have no reason to worry."

More at the link.

Folks will tell different stories about this, but Rodney King resisted arrest. Was the police reaction excessive? Perhaps, although a federal court trial found otherwise, and the rest is history. I was more shocked by the Los Angeles riots than by the alleged police brutality in the beating. Of course, maybe I'm not in a good position to truly understand it, not being an oppressed minority, and all that, or a conflicted middle-class white feminist struggling to overcome her racial privilege, like Melissa McEwan:

Twenty years later, it's still the same victim-blaming I was hearing about Rodney King, even as he sat in a wheelchair convalescing from his physical injuries. (He has nightmares to this day, and, while currently sober, has struggled with alcoholism.) Twenty years later, same old shit.

But, twenty years on, I am a different person than I was then. Working through my privilege is an ongoing process—it always will be—but what happened to Rodney King was so much more difficult for me to understand and culturally contextualize then, and it's not just because I was a teenager; it's because I was a privileged white teenager who hadn't yet begun in any meaningful way to examine her privilege.

Somehow that sounds inauthentic to me, but that's progressives for you --- they're all FUBAR all the time.

RELATED: At CNN, "Rodney King, 20 Years Later." (At Memeorandum.)

Protest Islamic Hate: Mobilization Against Annual Israeli Apartheid Week 2011

At Jay Currie, "Anti-Islamic Apartheid Week."

And no surprise, but the University of Ottawa is sponsoring Anti-Apartheid Week. Last year Ann Coulter cancelled an appearance at the university after left-wing (thug) protests. Blazing Cat Fur updates: "Dear Lying Sack of Shit Hypocrite..."

Also, "Islamic States Apartheid Week":

* ISLAMIC STATE APARTHEID WEEK * Join *JDL* to counter the campus lies against Jews and highlight the truth of Islam.