It’s all over. The Democrats finally have owned up to what everyone else in America has known for the past two and a half years. Dual-hatted Congresswoman and DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Shultz claimed that her party “owns the economy.” She recently told POLITICO’s Mike Allen, “We own the economy. We own the beginning of the turnaround and we want to make sure that we continue that pace of recovery, not go back to the policies of the past under the Bush administration that put us in the ditch in the first place.”

Alright, that’s not exactly a total coming out of the denial closet, but it’s a start. Rep. Shultz is right about the first part of her statement. The Democrats, and in particular President Obama, own this economy. The “beginning of the turnaround” part is a bit disingenuous; however, unless the turnaround consists of dropping from 9.8% unemployment in November 2010 to 8.8% in March 2011. But not so fast. It’s back up to 9.1% today. Not much of a turnaround, unless Rep Shultz meant a turnaround of the turnaround.

How about that “continue the pace of recovery” comment? If you are one of the perpetually-unemployed (especially if you are one of the newly-unemployed during that turnaround from 8.8% to 9.1%) then you probably don’t exactly like the “pace of the recovery.” I suspect the 14 million unemployed Americans would tell Rep. Shultz to stop – don’t continue – the Democratic version of a recovery.

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BigGovernment has been informed by trusted sources that Rep. Anthony Weiner will step down today.

From The New York Times:

Representative Anthony D. Weiner has told friends that he plans to resign his seat after coming under growing pressure from his Democratic colleagues to leave the House in the wake of revelations of his lewd online exchanges with women, said a person told of Mr. Weiner’s plans.

The news comes as Democratic leaders prepared to hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to strip the 46-year-old Congressman of his committee assignments, a blow which would severely damage his effectiveness.

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Yesterday (6/15/2011) National Right To Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys filed Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges against the Machinist union (IAM) for their client Dennis Murray, who previously led a successful effort to decertify the Machinist union at Boeing’s Charleston facility.

Murray claims that the union’s current charges against Boeing and the resulting Obama appointee National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Lafe Solomon’s complaint against Boeing that would eliminate over 1,000 existing jobs in South Carolina are the result of retaliation against him and the workers of South Carolina by the IAM for previously voting out the union.

Has the NLRB become a tool of Big Labor as many argue? It certainly is going to extraordinary measures in this Boeing case to ignore the rights of SC employees and past NLRB rulings.

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The media and education establishment’s hair has been on fire over the thousands of layoffs that are occurring in American public schools. They’ve bought into the union line that school funding is in crisis, when in reality, spending is unsustainable.

Because of collective bargaining agreements, many school districts’ hands are tied and layoffs are the only option. They can’t save money by changing employee health insurance policies, or obtaining salary freezes or wage concessions, because the unions won’t allow it.

This all supposedly leads to what the unions denigrate the most (besides Republicans): larger class sizes.

The Obama education stimulus package accomplished two things: it temporarily maintained artificially large school employment levels and created the layoff “crisis” that school boards are now grappling with.  You see, the stimulus lasted for two years and provided money to keep unnecessary staff on the job. But then the money was cut off and schools could no longer afford to keep extra teachers on the payroll.

So school districts are now laying teachers off, some by the thousands.  And the layoffs may be justified.

Census figures, first dissected by the Education Intelligence Agency’s Mike Antonucci, show that government school employment rates have been increasing as student enrollment has been decreasing.

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Today, in 1858, Abraham Lincoln delivered his “House Divided” speech.

Here’s a chance to stop the Pigford fraud in its tracks – Rep. Steve King (R – IA) has introduced an amendment to halt Pigford Funding. This is about the multi-billion dollar “Black Farmers Settlement” that we’ve been exposing as a fraud for over six months at BigGovernment.com

The last time that King tried to introduce a bill to stop Pigford II funding last year, he was blocked by the Democrat controlled congress and it wasn’t allowed to come up for a vote. Now we have a chance to do the right thing and end the fraud.

You can make a difference, right now – this is a vote we can win.

You just need to make 4 quick calls, visit one site and then send and email or a Tweet.

1. Call your Congressman and tell them you support Rep. Steve King’s amendment to stop Pigford II funding. This is especially important if you have a GOP Congressman.

Not sure who your Congressperson is or how to teach them? Use this website.

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Congratulations to the Boston Bruins, winners of the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup – and especially to goalie Tim Thomas, a true Tea Party patriot!

Thomas, who recorded a shutout in the Bruins’ 4-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, wears the motto “In God We Trust” on the front of his face mask. On the back, Thomas sports a tribute to the Gadsden flag:

(Hat tip: S. T. Karnick)

In addition to displaying his support for the Tea Party on the ice, Thomas is a FreedomWorks donor, giving generously right before the historic November 2010 elections, according to the FEC.

Thomas, a native of Flint, Michigan, has also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the NHL playoffs.

A victory for Boston and the U.S.A.–appropriately recorded in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Let there be a true Boston Tea Party tonight!

Ok, Tea Partiers… this is a gift from the Guerrilla Hacker Gods – so please pass it along.

Obama’s team has decided to “raffle off” dinner with IMPOTUS.  That’s right… you can sit and tell the President directly to his face what you think about his agenda for America.

Here’s the fun part :  To make sure it doesn’t  run afoul of gambling regulations it is established essentially as a sweepstakes, which means “No purchase, payment, or contribution necessary to enter or win. Contributing will not improve chances of winning.”

The more Tea Partiers who enter, the more Tea Partiers are sitting at the table.  I’m sure we can push for open data on how many have entered in each; so we can make sure they haven’t juked the stats.  Once you run a sweepstakes you are required by law to give no favor to any entry.

Here are the rules.

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Congressman Steve King (R-IA) released the following statement after filing an amendment today to H.R 2112, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2012, that prevents any funds appropriated under the act from being used to settle claims associated with the controversial and fraud-plagued Pigford II program.

“In the 2008 Farm Bill, Congress limited taxpayers’ exposure to the Pigford II settlement program at $100 million, a figure that was deemed sufficient to resolve the racial discrimination claims leveled against the United States Department of Agriculture by black farmers,” said King. “Since that time, a lame-duck Democratic Congress agreed to President Obama’s request to pump an additional $1.15 billion into the Pigford II settlement program, doing so even though the program is rife with credible allegations of massive fraud that have not been fully investigated. This was an irresponsible act, and it violated Congress’s responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayers’ money.”

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To Err is Human..to really screw thing up you need government to take it over
-Unknown Conservative Philosopher

One of the arguments against government intrusion into every aspect of our lives is that a government can never run a business as well as private industry.

Lets face it, the government has no competition so there is no incentive to be efficient or to produce a superior product. For example the post office does not close unprofitable post offices because Congress tells them they can’t, the same thing with Amtrak and unprofitable train routes. Fannie and Freddie helped to create the housing bubble by supporting loans that were unprofitable but “politically correct.”

Another mistake made by government managers and political appointees, is they don’t listen to advice from “lower-level” employees, the ones closest to the consumer. Because they are closest to the end result, these are the people who can best predict the unforeseen consequences of a particular program. It was this failing, that allowed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fireworks (ATF) to green-light Operation Fast and Furious, which resulted in the deaths of Americans via Mexican Drug Cartel assassins using American Guns. According to a new report issued by the House Oversight Committee, the plan was executed over the objections of the ATF agents involved.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The story below involves an actual Missouri Family Court case; however, all names, dates and other case-specific personal details in the story have been changed in order to protect the identities of the innocent people involved. It is one of several cases about which details have been shared with me by individuals advocating for Family Court reform in the Show-Me State.

In a case that has dragged on for years, a Missouri Family Court judge seems to be doing his level best to ensure three young children end up in the custody of the wrong parent. Hanging over the case is one question: “Why?”

I refer to the biological parents in this case as “Jack and Jill.”

Jack has never been in trouble with the law, while Jill is the violent, drug- and alcohol-addicted, drug-dealing, ex-convict mother of his children.

Several law enforcement agencies in the counties where Jill roams are familiar with the woman. She has attempted suicide more than once, been arrested dozens of times, been imprisoned several times and, when not behind bars, continues to hang out with known drug dealers, prostitutes and other felons, according to court records, police reports and other official documents shared with me by people close to the case.

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@BigGovt Q1: Rep. Ryan, thx for the Twitterview! Kindly explain, in 140 chars or less, how your budget deals with entitlements like Medicare #ryanttv

@RepPaulRyan A1: Thx! Our plan: no more empty promises; saves Medicare w no changes 4 those 54+ & real reform 4 next generation #ryanttv

Follow @RepPaulRyan

@BigGovt Q2: Democrats say they have a Medicare plan in form of ObamaCare’s $500bn cuts. Is that a real plan? Will it keep Medicare solvent? #ryanttv

@RepPaulRyan A2. No PPACA raids Medicare to pay for ObamaCare & lets bureaucrats ration care. For truth on Medicare- http://tinyurl.com/3jl6bhh. #ryanttv (more…)

Welcome to Ask a Libertarian with Reason’s Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch. They are the authors of the new book The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What’s Wrong With America.

Go to http://declaration2011.com to purchase, read reviews, find event dates, and more.

On June 15, 2011 Gillespie and Welch used short, rapid-fire videos to answer dozens of reader questions submitted via email, Twitter, Facebook, and Reason.com. In this episode, they answer the question:

“Why ask a libertarian? Why now?”

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British MEP Daniel Hannan, who gained international recognition several years ago for his passionate denunciation of Keynesian economics in general and then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown in particular, visited The Heritage Foundation last week to discuss his new book. Provocatively titled “The New Road to Serfdom: A Letter of Warning to America”, it does not disappoint. Armed with firsthand experience with the failures of socialism in Europe, Hannan’s message to America is simple: Don’t repeat our mistakes.

Before his speech, he sat down with Heritage for an “In The Green Room” interview to discuss his warning to America. But despite Hannan’s deep concerns, he was clear that we have not yet reached the tipping point and remained optimistic that Americans can right the ship.

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Public school officials throughout Wisconsin can move ahead with plans to minimize the impact of pending cuts in state aid, now that the state Supreme Court has dismissed a lower court’s restraining order preventing Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill from becoming law.

Walker’s law severely limits the scope of teachers union collective bargaining in public schools. That was necessary because labor costs, largely tied to collective bargaining agreements, had been dominating school budgets for several years. And union officials around the state had displayed little willingness to accept contract concessions to help school districts save money.

Under the new law, the unions will have no power to interfere with school boards as they unilaterally eliminate labor costs and dedicate the savings to student needs. School boards will be able to dump many labor perks, like automatic annual salary increases for teachers, without laying off as many teachers or cancelling student programs.

Labor officials are accusing Gov. Walker and the legislature of attacking public education by cutting state aid to schools. But by limiting collective bargaining, the Republicans gave local school boards the tools they need to blunt the impact of state budget cuts and meet their basic responsibilities to students.

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson is joined by Pejman Yousefzadeh and Elizabeth Blackney to discuss the GOP presidential debate in New Hampshire, and John Mearsheimer’s new book, “Why Leaders Lie: The Truth About Lying in International Politics.”

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Bachmann, Gingrich, and Romney. Oh My! And Then There’s Rick Perry.
Exciting Things About Tim Pawlenty
The Awful, No Good, Very Bad Republican Presidential Debate
A tweet from Ben Domenech about the debate
CATO Speech: Why Leaders Lie: The Truth about Lying in International Politics
Why leaders lie
The Case of Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer

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Follow Elizabeth on Twitter

Federal prosecutors are taking their second shot at former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who is facing 20 criminal charges, including one count of attempting to “sell” former President Obama’s vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder.

The first time around, prosecutors short-changed their own case by refusing to call key witnesses to the stand, including former Obama chief of staff (and current Chicago mayor) Rahm “Rahmbo” Emanuel and Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. Blago, for his part, never took the stand. As a result, the jury deadlocked on all but one count—lying to the FBI. This time around, however, all three have been on the stand and under oath.

The prosecution has rested its case and Blago has testified in his defense. He was described as “combative and argumentative” during cross-examination by prosecutors. Now a jury will decide the fate of former Governor Blagojevich.

Judicial Watch’s blogger Irene Garcia has been on the ground in Chicago covering the Blago re-trial. Irene’s experience includes 13 years as a reporter at the Los Angeles Times. So Judicial Watch has a great onsite resource, reporting details that the other media will gloss over during this important Chicago/Illinois/Obama corruption trial. Here are some especially exciting excerpts from her detailed reports. (Click here to read them in their entirety):

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From Accuracy in Media’s Michael Watson:

In a tweet sent by White House media official Jesse Lee in direct response to AIM’s coverage of the Politico report on the elusive “green jobs” the President has promised, the press office sent “a few folks who disagree.”

The first item was an image of President Obama at a photo-op with workers at a solar energy plant. The second item is more interesting. Lee tweeted an article written for CNBC by “freelance journalist” Rob Reuteman which claimed that “everyone seems to agree there will be many more [green jobs] in the coming decades.” Reuteman claims that “market forces” in addition to regulatory mandates are creating such jobs.

Reuteman notes that “twenty-nine states have ordered their utilities to produce up to 30 percent of power through renewable energy in the next couple decades.” This is a mandate, not a market force.

Reuteman reports that the stimulus program “earmarked more than $70 billion in direct spending, tax breaks, and loan guarantees…most of it for ‘green energy.’” This too is not a market force but state intervention.

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A firestorm now rages in Texas over transparency and accountability in higher education. Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Public Policy Foundation have encouraged regents to peek inside the ivory towers, and the universities are responding. History argues that we must peek.

Perry wrote on May 13 that “efforts to protect taxpayers and get more results from our schools are not universally welcomed in academia. The attitude of some in the university world is that students and taxpayers should send more and more money, and then just butt out.” He adds, “Four-year graduation rates at Texas institutions of higher education currently average just 28.6 percent.”

Asserts the governor: “The big lie making the rounds in Texas is that elected or appointed officials want to undermine or deemphasize research at our colleges and universities. That disinformation campaign is nothing more than an attempt to shut down an open discussion about ways to improve our state universities and make them more effective, accountable, affordable and transparent.” Such a goal nationwide at all universities would be laudable.

A barn burning study last month from Richard Vedder’s Center for College Affordability and Productivity revealed that of the more than 4,200 faculty members at the University of Texas at Austin, the 840 most productive faculty members teach an extraordinary 57 percent of student credit hours, while the least productive 840 members teach only 2 percent of student credit hours.

But this disparity is not the greatest abuse.

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