Free Republic

General Motors has posted its most profitable year ever in 2011, coming a long way since being bailed out in 2008 and going bankrupt in 2009... And as a reward of the banner year, GM "says union workers will get $7,000 profit-sharing checks."

On Wednesday the Arizona Senate Government Reform Committee discussed a package of bills that are intended to curb public employee union corruption. SB 1485 would prohibit government bodies from collectively bargaining with public employee unions. SB 1487 would end the practice of automatic payroll deductions for union dues. SB 1486 would ban the practice of compensating public employees for union work.

This past Monday, the infamous SEIU, which represents county workers in Fresno California called a three-day strike. At issue was a dispute over pay cuts, which prompted the County’s Board of Supervisors to impose its offer. While only a quarter of all workers participated in the strike–the majority choosing to ignore the SEIU’s strike call–the strike was not without its incidents. On Monday, County Supervisor Phil Larson was sitting in a McDonald’s having a cup of coffee with two (unidentified) men, when SEIU protesters entered the McDonald’s surrounded Larson and began a confrontation. The incident was filmed by a SEIU...

DEARBORN HEIGHTS — A figurative beat down turned literal beating has led to the felony arrests of a group of local high school football players. Police arrested four Star International Academy seniors Wednesday on aggravated assault charges stemming from an altercation in the team’s last game of the season. The players -- Mohamed Ahmed, Fanar Al-Alsady, Hadee Attia and Ali Bajjey, all age 17 -- are accused of gang-beating Lutheran Westland’s quarterback as time expired in Lutheran’s 47-6 drubbing of Star on Oct. 21. According to numerous witness statements gathered by police, Lutheran’s quarterback was set to take a knee...

The White House is standing by the Transportation Security Administration in its standoff with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and his father, Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) The elder Paul called the TSA a "police state" Monday after Sen. Paul was reportedly detained by TSA after he refused to take a pat-down from TSA officials at the Nashville International Airport. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday that he didn't have any reaction to Paul's comment about "police state."

Seven teenage boys were packed into the Toyota Corolla, sitting on top of each other, when the car pulled over on the 1500 block of East Luzerne Street in Juniata Park. It was about 10:30 Tuesday night, and the youths were looking for a fight, police said. It had started in school with an argument between some of the friends in the car and three teenage brothers, spilled onto Facebook with threats, and escalated into plans to settle the matter with a physical battle. As the teens waited in the car, a man in a gray hoodie came out of...

... Those who spoke at the rally were short on specific solutions, but clearly criticized Governor Rick Scott. "He gets up there and promises us that he's going to get us 700,000 additional jobs, 700,000 of them. Where are they?" said Richard Lydecker of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party.

Public Education is on the chopping block again. Apparently this year’s 8% cut to education wasn’t enough. Florida Legislators are predicting a $1.2 billion shortfall for the 2012 fiscal year and are looking at education funding to cut more money! The January Council of Stewards meeting will be held on January 26, 2012.

 If truly dispicable acts are now the norm for PayPal (EBAY), Scott Thompson should kick off his new Yahoo (YHOO) gig with a dog fight. Sharing a heartbreaking account of a buy gone horribly wrong, Helen Killer of the hilarious Etsy send-up Regretsy posted an email from a reader who saw a treasured item destroyed at the behest of PayPal. Reader Erica writes in describing a recent sale she made to a buyer in Canada. The item in question was a pre-WWII French violin worth $2,500. The buyer, however, disputed the label -- which isn't uncommon, Erica claims, but shouldn't...

<p>CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- Authorities say nine people were shot when a fight broke out at a Chattanooga nightclub, where some 400 teens and adults were attending a Christmas party. Police say all those shot are expected to survive.</p> <p>Chattanooga police said in a press release Sunday morning that an off-duty officer who had been working at Club Fathom fired shots at a suspect who pointed a gun at him, but the gunman got away. The officer was not wounded.</p>

(CBS/AP) WALL TOWNSHIP, N.J. - A New Jersey 20-year-old and his teen friend are charged with aggravated assault after a video of them allegedly beating, taunting and stealing from a homeless man surfaced on YouTube. The video - embedded below - purportedly shows Taylor Giresi, 20, punching and kicking a homeless man on what appear to be two separate occasions, as he and the 17-year-old cameraman laugh. The attackers later steal the man's bicycle. "About to go beat up this bum," says a man on the video before the assault, according to the Associated Press. "Just dive on him! Dive...

Senate Republicans appear likely to block confirmation of President Obama’s two latest nominees to the National Labor Relations Board, which is increasingly under fire for being too friendly to unions. The nominees, Sharon Block and Richard Griffin, are “clearly a boon for big labor,” the SenateRepublican Policy Committee said in blog post. “Considering the NLRB’s controversial actions over the last year, it is highly unlikely that Senate Republicans will confirm any additional board members — Republican or Democrat,” said RPC analyst Allison Dembeck. Mr. Griffin is general counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers. He also has served since...

Union militants are threatening and harassing the courageous charter school teacher who is leading the fight to defend Wisconsin's new government-sector Right to Work law. With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, Kristi Lacroix and two other civil servants filed an amicus brief and a motion to intervene against union lawyers' spurious lawsuit seeking to overturn Wisconsin's monopoly bargaining reforms. WISN-TV in Milwaukee reported that "she has been blistered by negative and vicious emails and phone messages at school and on Facebook, including one suggesting she get protection."

Less than two months ago I was the guest on a radio program out of Fairbanks Alaska called Patriot's Lament (click here to view the video). Two of the hosts were David Giessel and Joshua Bennett. David and I had become good friends ever since we met at the recent Casey summit. Being a young anarcho-capitalist, we had him on Anarchast (click here to view). Living in Alaska, they had been very curious about my libertarian hideaway in southern Mexico (AcaCondos) and David had made plans to visit this December. That was, until, the FBI with 30 strong wearing body...

JONESBORO, Ga. (CBS Atlanta) – Police charge two caregivers at a Jonesboro facility with waterboarding an 89-year-old woman. Clayton County police said Jermeller Steed and Cicely Reed held down Anna Foley after an argument that started over ice cream. They’re said to have allegedly held down Foley in a locked shower room, flooding her face with the hand-hold shower nozzle in 2008. According to WGCL-TV, Foley was undergoing treatment at the facility for dementia. A co-worker witnessed the event and blew the whistle. The technique slowly drowns subjects by blocking the air passages with flowing water while the subject is...

A valiant straphanger who confronted three thugs for spitting on the train was beaten as laughing passengers filmed the sickening attack. Daniel Endara, 25, was coming home from his birthday celebration on Nov. 8 when the trio barged onto the L-train and harassed fellow riders near the Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues Station in Brooklyn, authorities said.

From the Desk of Rand Paul Dear Concerned American, They snickered when I said I came to the U.S. Senate to change Congress. But their laughter stopped when I sponsored the National Right to Work Act to free U.S. workers from forced unionization and break Big Labor's multi-billion dollar political machine forever. President Barack Obama and Big Labor allies in the Senate are now feverishly scheming to bury the National Right to Work Act without a vote. So I have a question for you. Will you be the sledgehammer? Your signature on the petition to your Congressman and Senators is...

Police have launched an investigation after a man was caught on video knocking out an older man at the Chicago Avenue Red Line stop while others laughed and mimicked the attack. The assault occurred in April, but the video has only recently surfaced on the Internet.

NY: 10/1/2011 — Police Arrest More Than 700 Protesters on Brooklyn BridgeMadison, WI: 10-27-2011 — Madison Occupiers Lose Permit Due to Public MasturbationPhoenix: 10/28/2011 — Flier at Occupy Phoenix Asks, “When Should You Shoot a Cop?”NY: 10/18/2011 — Thieves Preying on Fellow ProtestersNY: 10/9/2011 — Stinking up Wall Street: Protesters Accused of Living in Filth as Shocking Pictures Show One Demonstrator Defecating on a POLICE CARNY: 10/7/2011 — Occupiers Rush Police … MoreCleveland: 10/18/2011 —  ‘Occupy Cleveland’ Protester Alleges She Was RapedNY: 10/10/2011 — ‘Increasingly Debauched’: Are Sex, Drugs & Poor Sanitation Eclipsing Occupy Wall Street?Seattle: 10/18/2011 — Man...

Madison - The costs of protecting the state's top two leaders have more than doubled since Gov. Scott Walker and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch won election - a product of the state's increasingly polarized politics and the changing circumstances of the state's first family. A top official in the Wisconsin State Patrol and a spokesman for Walker said the increased costs were mostly because of death threats against the Republican governor and lieutenant governor and their families. But Walker's office also acknowledged that other factors like the increased security for Walker's two homes and younger family played a role. The...

Occupy DC protesters violently injured peaceful Tea Party go-ers (some elderly) and attemped to force entry into the Washington Convention Center on Friday (Nov 4, 2011), where Americans for Prosperity is hosting their "Defending the American Dream Summit." The protesters also formed roadblocks, surrounding the convention center and only allowing non-luxury cars to pass. Parents with their children were caught in the violence. Some injured... Auto/pedestrian accidents occured as Occupy protestors rushed into the streets hurling profanities at drivers and attempting to block drivers' paths. This has to stop...

Guys like Bill Cellini don't get indicted in Illinois. And the puppet masters don't sit at the defense table in federal court, tapping their fingers, waiting for the jury to pronounce judgment. *snip* They're Democrats, they're Republicans. They're the bosses of the Combine. *snip* All involved should know that their ((prosecutors)) work is appreciated, by every taxpayer in this thoroughly corrupt state who've wondered how the puppet masters of the Combine keep getting away with it. On Tuesday, they didn't get away with it. And Bill Cellini went down.

Occupy Oakland protesters claimed victory after they shut down one of the nation's busiest shipping ports - escalating a movement whose tactics had largely been limited to marches, rallies and camps. In a five-hour stand-off protesters vandalised businesses and smashed bank windows, as they tried to shut down the city - and police appeared to respond using tear gas and flash bang grenades. The California demonstrators blocked operations at the city's port and stopped traffic on Wednesday in protests against economic inequality and police brutality, marred by scattered vandalism. Police in riot gear arrested dozens of protesters who had marched...

In late September 2009, ATF Phoenix Group VII supervisor Hope MacAllister walked into the Lone Wolf Trading Company. She had a message for the owner Andre Howard, according to sources familiar with the investigation into Fast & Furious in both DC and Arizona, and the message was this: "The amount of weapons you sell is about to dramatically increase." Howard, the sources say, was cautioned that "he might not have enough stock" to supply the straw buyers that MacAllister somehow knew were on the way and that "he should stock up on what they wanted." MacAllister seemed to know "exactly...

AN 84-YEAR-OLD ex-university official savagely attacked by four young punks during a walk in Wissahickon Valley Park earlier this week theorizes that the beating he endured was a cruel game of "get the old geezer."Jim Shea, a former vice president of university relations for Temple, from 1968 to 1983, walks up to five miles on Forbidden Drive, in Fairmount Park, three times a week, but that type of stamina wasn't enough to stave off the lowlifes who not only beat him bloody, but dealt a blow to one of the things he holds most dear - his pride. Shea was...

As the national media continues to promote the idea that these absurd "Occupy" protests demonstrate some groundswell of popular opinion, reports continue to emerge from localized media showing how ugly these encampments are becoming. A report out of Cleveland that  police are investigating a rape claim made by a 19-year-old woman last weekend has received little attention. Do you suppose if a rape claim was made against a tea partier that it would receive more attention?It's gotten so bad in Baltimore that organizers are discouraging alleged victims from going to the police (maybe they should go to Sheriff Biden).Meanwhile,...

I think we can pretty well agree that Obama and his supporters are very much like a typical gang of street thugs. Every well known gang has a name and a logo that they paint and tattoo everywhere. This is our chance to help the Obama administration out by submitting our suggestions for their 2012 gang name and logo.

The union representing 280,000 U.S. letter carriers is hiring the man who designed President Obama's auto bailout, a sign of the deepening battle looming over how to restructure the U.S. Postal Service. The National Association of Letter Carriers said it retained Ron Bloom, the president's former "car czar" who orchestrated the bailout and restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler LLC, and led the Treasury's oversight of the companies. The union also has hired investment bank Lazard Ltd., assembling a restructuring team experienced in analyzing large, complex, financially troubled institutions and proposing solutions.

Location of Protest: Stonefly Brewery 735 E. Center St. Milwaukee, WI Time of protest- 4 PM to 7 PM Created By Sara Conrad More Info ''I don't regret setting bombs,'' Bill Ayers said. ''I feel we didn't do enough.'' William Ayers has been invited to be the keynote speaker at Rethinking Schools' big 25 year anniversary bash. What are they celebrating? Sticking together from the ol' days of pot smoking and building bombs to teaching the youth of America, apparently. ...See More

Former Gov. Joe Kernan says a signature on a petition to place Barack Obama's name on Indiana's 2008 primary ballot isn't his, putting him among dozens of dubious signatures found in a newspaper's investigation. Kernan, a Democrat who campaigned for Hillary Clinton during the 2008 primary, told the South Bend Tribune that he didn't sign the Obama document. "No, not at all," the former South Bend mayor said when asked whether the signature next to his name on the Obama petition looked like his own. "Nor does the printing look like mine." The Tribune reported Wednesday that it has talked...

MYFOXNY.COM - A brawl between four girls and several police officers was caught on tape and posted to YouTube. In the clip, NYPD officers are attempting to arrest the girls who they say had jumped the turnstile and boarded the subway at 125th Street and Lenox Ave. One girl is seen swinging a bag at the officer while others try to pull away as they're being handcuffed. One of the officers pulls out and swings his billy-club in a defensive move as he is attacked. The person who posted the clip says it happened around 9:40 p.m. on Friday October...

Breaking on Fox ...

Protestors [sic] are assembling in New York and around the country to let billionaires, big oil and big bankers know that we’re not going to let the richest 1% force draconian economic policies and massive cuts to crucial programs on Main Street Americans. Out-of-touch Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor said he is “increasingly concerned by the growing mobs.” Mobs? That must be what Republicans refer to as the middle class, or maybe the millions of unemployed Americans across the country. As Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters, “The message of the American people is that no longer will the recklessness...

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/gov/2618821815.html The Working Families Party (WFP) (www.workingfamiliesparty.org) is New York's most energetic, independent and progressive political party. Formed in 1998 by a grassroots coalition of community organizations, neighborhood activists, and labor unions, we came together to build a society that works for all of us, not just Wall Street CEOs and the well-connected. WFP is independent from corporate and government funding and in-addition we are community based; community funded and equally uninfluenced by both major parties. Our agenda focuses on economic and social justice, corporate accountability, job creation, environmental protection, and investment in education and healthcare. For the past twelve...

South Florida Occupy groups were preparing to gather this weekened in Miami and Fort Laurderdale to plan their actions. Occupy Fort Lauderdale's Facebook page said the group will meet from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday in front of the Broward Main Public Library, located at 100 South Andrews Ave.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Police are searching for teenage thugs targeting subway riders. There have been at least three armed attacks recently. CBS 2′s Dave Carlin has seen pictures of the suspects and knows what they’re after. A team of baby-faced bandits, young enough to still be in high school, is making life quite stressful in Gotham’s underworld. Police circulating surveillance camera stills of four teenagers, including one female, allegedly working subway stations together, sometimes with a fifth suspect who has not yet been caught on camera. “They look pretty young and it’s sad because they have such a great...

   THIS IS WHAT A MOB LOOKS LIKE October 5, 2011I am not the first to note the vast differences between the Wall Street protesters and the tea partiers. To name three: The tea partiers have jobs, showers and a point. No one knows what the Wall Street protesters want -- as is typical of mobs. They say they want Obama re-elected, but claim to hate "Wall Street." You know, the same Wall Street that gave its largest campaign donation in history to Obama, who, in turn, bailed out the banks and made Goldman Sachs the fourth branch of government....

According to Daily Kos, The New York Transit Workers Union (TWU) voted to support the Wall Street Protestors at their meeting last night. A member of TWU Local 100 told a reporter that they would join the protest Friday at 4PM.

A massive drug raid in Roswell last week targeted dozens of people at homes across the city. But one of those homes didn't have what police were looking for, and their unexpected visit left the people inside shaken and upset. It started shortly after Nancy Parker's husband came home from work Friday evening. "There came this huge bang on the door, front door, sounded like the door was going to fall in," recalled Parker. She said her husband opened the door to multiple officers in raid gear with guns drawn. "We were completely shocked, upset," she continued. "I was panicked...

We Are Heroes, Who Need to Create a Crisis: SEIU’s Stephen Lerner at Progressive Summit Tells Unions, Community Organizers and Students They Need to Escalate Protests, Break Laws, Occupy Abandoned Houses and Spread the Crisis All Over U.S.

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Lopez, of Coon Rapids, and two married couples he knows were attacked by a gang of 10 men ages 16 to early 20s, shortly after the group of friends left the Aqua nightclub in the city's Warehouse District early Sept. 2. The brazen assault took place not more than 30 feet from the 1st Police Precinct station on Fourth Street between Hennepin Avenue and First Avenue North. Now, if I were going to get assaulted, I would think that being next to a police station would be the best place to be. Help is next door, right? Not that morning,...

The Ralphs supermarket chain has decided to shut down all of its Southern California stores for an undetermined amount of time if grocery workers go on strike, while Albertsons plans to close up to 100 of its stores.

FR thread on new attackwatch site TURN YOURSELF IN YouTube

What you expect. Our local ladies at play.posting from iPad so being brief

The 2011 NFL season is barely underway, and already handicappers are predicting who will play in next February’s Super Bowl XLVI; some are picking the Philadelphia Eagles to represent the NFC. At the same time, certain football moralists are ragging against the new contract inked by the Eagles’ quarterback, Michael Vick. They should get off Michael Vick’s rear end and let him play football. [ ... ] Liberals and conservatives alike frequently speak in support of rehabilitation and second chances; but such rhetoric often falls victim to prejudices against individual persons who have been convicted of crimes. In this instance,...

This occurred at International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU Local 21)ILWU Local 21 617 – 14th Avenue, Longview, WA 98632 Dan Coffman, President Shelly Porter, Sec.-Treas. Longshore phone: 360.423.0950 fax: 360.423.5498 email: ilwu21@iinet.com Meeting date: 2nd Wed. each month

We linked yesterday to Dana Loesch’s post on a violent attack by union longshoremen in Washington: Earlier this morning 500 or so members of the AFL-CIO stormed a port in Washington, vandalized the facility, reportedly cut the brake lines of train cars, and held six guards hostage. Shockingly, no one was arrested. Earlier that week a judge issued a restraining order against this same group after they clashed with police while brandishing bats and issuing death threats. Remarkably, this union violence seems to have received hardly any national news coverage. Local reporters did follow up on the story, however, and...

News Release from: Cowlitz Co. (WA) Sheriff's Office SHERIFF GIVES MORE INFO ON PROTEST INCIDENT-CAR JACKING Posted: September 9th, 2011 6:01 PM Kelso, WA - With officers far outnumbered by protesters, Sheriff's deputies, police officers and Washington State Patrol troopers had to back off to a defensive position during Wednesday's ILWU rally due to threats to their safety. "Our teams of 4 or 5 officers were confronted by baseball bat and axe handle wielding protesters." Said Cowlitz County Sheriff Mark Nelson. "They had their protest signs attached to bats and axe handles. When we attempted to make simple, misdemeanor arrests...

This occurred at International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU Local 21)