Free Republic

Unions are supposed to protect the little guy, but we’ve allowed the bigwigs to start exploiting members for political interests, or for their own gain. With the announcement that the 20-year general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters will abruptly end his re-election bid, the organization’s reputation as a political force is in trouble. On Aug. 28, federal investigators served the IAFF a flurry of subpoenas, which the Wall Street Journal reports are part of a criminal probe focused on illicit payouts to Schaitberger from the firefighters’ pension fund. IAFF President Harold Schaitberger is, indeed, feeling the heat.The...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. congressional Democratic leaders accused President Bush on Friday of shortchanging domestic defense as he marches toward war with Iraq and warns of increased risk of terrorist attacks at home. Flanked by a dozen firefighters at a Capitol Hill news conference, the lawmakers asked Bush to submit to Congress within seven days a supplemental spending request for homeland security that they said should total billions of dollars. "It is shameful that the heroes who rushed to defend the Pentagon and the World Trade Center on September 11th have to come to Washington over and over again, hat...