A federal judge has reversed course and will now not restrict James O’Keefe from traveling to attend a conservative conference in California he told me on the radio recently in a story that has garnered national attention.

“Rick I will give you the breaking news story”, he said.  “I will be joining you in California on June 10th for the Eagle Forum Conference.  I have a very good lawyer named Michael Maddigan.  The judge has granted my request for work purposes.  My mission is a good mission (referring to his non-profit called Project Veritas).  There’s a lot of people we’re training now, so even if they stop me, they’re not going to stop us.”

O’Keefe said his presence at the conference falls under the category of ‘charity work’ since he will be teaching attendees ‘How To Be An Effective Citizen Journalist’ on behalf of his non profit Project Veritas.  To this he said of the mainstream media,

“They don’t do journalism, they just write down what the politicians say… they just do stenography.”…”We are redefining the genre.  We’re changing the game.”

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Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? Within the next several months (perhaps sooner), the odds are President Obama’s National Mediation Board will find that Delta Air committed unforgivable sins during multiple union election campaigns last fall, causing the unions to lose the elections.  As a result, employees at Delta will be subjected to more union elections until they—in the minds of union bosses—vote the right way (to unionize). It doesn’t matter what the facts are—Delta’s conduct could have been as pure as virgin snow—the NMB will rule that (at least several) of the elections must be rerun.

Why? Because that is the goal and has been the goal all along (at least since 2009). In other words, the NMB “investigations” into Delta’s conduct is nothing more than a show—a sham—a kangaroo court in the vein of Fidel Castro’s trials of political opponents before the firing squads.

Following last November’s defeat of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) attempt at unionizing Delta’s flight attendants (the third union failure in ten years), the AFA-CWA filed “interference” charges against the airline, alleging the carrier improperly influenced flight attendants decision. The Machinists union (which is currently in a pitched battle against the AFA-CWA at United) also alleged interference in the elections it lost at Delta.  In all, unions lost at least nine known elections at Delta in 2009. (more…)

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) unwittingly highlighted the corruption inherent in congressional earmarks today, in an op-ed published in the Chicago Tribune.

Calling for Congress to “raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires,” Schakowsky quoted a constituent who supports her:

“Our country is not really broke,” said Cynthia Carranza, who directs a food pantry in Niles. Carranza has watched the increase in hungry people at her food pantry door even as government support for her program is slashed. “We’re an incredibly rich and prosperous nation. But our wealth is skewed to a very few fortunate at the top. We’re not broken, just twisted.”

Carranza’s support for government redistribution of wealth is no surprise. She may complain about the rich, but she has benefited richly from federal largesse: Carranza’s food pantry was the recipient of a $250,000 earmark requested by Schakowsky for FY 2011 in the run-up to last year’s congressional election.

Schakowsky laments that “government support” for the Niles Township Food Pantry has been “slashed,” but she certainly knows that is not the whole truth.

Schakowsky slipped the earmark request into a transportation, housing and urban development appropriations bill loaded with earmarks by other representatives. (The same bill was used by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) to direct $1 million to the National Council of La Raza for “Capitalization of a Revolving Loan Fund to be Used for Nationwide Community Development Activities.”)

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Breitbart tells TODAY’s Matt Lauer the incredible truth behind the Anthony Weiner press conference and the thinking behind the decision to release the original photo:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Recently it was concluded that the era of recovery under Obama is dead. In fact, it was never really born. President Obama chose more regulation and more spending as means to reverse our declining economy. Businesses are loath to hire, invest, and expand it an unfriendly, insecure environment. To show this is more than just election time rhetoric consider this point. “About 6.2 million Americans, 45.1 percent of all unemployed workers in this country, have been jobless for more than six months – a higher percentage than during the Great Depression.”

There has been no recovery; in fact, things have gotten worse since Obama has held office.

As a result, he has lost the bin Laden “bounce“. An accomplishment that he should have been able to hang his hat on. However, perspective and priorities are what a president must contend. A bad economy his foremost in people’s mind. After all, the daily lives of millions hinge on opportunity and financial security. The awesome action in taking out bin Laden was a blip on the radar when it comes to what really matters. It doesn’t put people back to work, raise wages, or keep people in their homes. Obama owns this economic mess and now he and his fellow Democrats are prepared to trademark it.

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Giving handouts to Wall Street and big banks has become a reflexive action for members of Congress. One would think that billions in bailout money would be enough to satisfy the appetite of those in Washington who want to placate the bankers.

Apparently not. The big banks are still hungry and Congress is poised to feed them again.

The Senate has passed patent reform legislation that the House is prepared to vote on sometime this month. The bill contains a provision, authored by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that would empower the bankers to blatantly steal patents without just compensation to the patent holders.

Inventors get shafted and the bankers make off like bandits – again.

The American patent system was designed to protect small inventors. It has been a cornerstone of American prosperity since the founding of the Republic. Changing the system is controversial and a significant portion of the conservative movement opposes the legislation outright. But they are swimming upstream.

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Scott Conroy, from Real Clear Politics is here to discuss the Sarah Palin world tour, her upcoming movie and whether or not she will officially join the race for President.

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:

Palin Plans to Meet Key Early-State Leaders
Palin’s Indecision: Maybe She’s Telling the Truth
New movie on Palin resembles a political commercial
Palin’s Secret Weapon: New Film to Premiere in June
Scott Conroy at Real Clear Politics

Follow Brad on Twitter
Follow Ben on Twitter
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Not satisfied with staging government takeovers of the financial sector and the healthcare system, the Obama administration is now moving on to the Internet.

We recently uncovered documents from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that show officials at the FCC colluded with the radical leftist Free Press organization to publicly push a new plan to regulate the Internet under the FCC’s so-called “net neutrality” program.

In December 2010, the FCC voted 3-2 to advance its “net neutrality program” – a decision that seems to fly in the face of an April, 2010, federal appeals court ruling that the FCC had exceeded its authority in seeking to regulate the Internet and enforce “net neutrality” rules.

And what is the “net neutrality” debate really all about?

Supporters of “net neutrality,” including Free Press, are trying to make the ridiculous claim that high-speed Internet access is a “civil right,” and are recommending new government regulations to provide taxpayer-funded broadband Internet access to all populations, especially those deemed “underserved.”

Opponents of “net neutrality” realize the program is designed to impose greater government control over the Internet and will result in less access, not more.  It will also stifle innovation.  Moreover, opponents of “net neutrality,” also dispute the claim that Internet access is a basic civil right protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Judicial Watch uncovered internal correspondence showing unusual coordination by some officials at the FCC and Free Press in pushing the “net neutrality” agenda in the run-up to the controversial FCC vote in December:

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Congressman Wiener is in a tough spot.  It is a spot of his own making, but it is tough.  He now has some serious thinking to do, beyond his Congressional seat.  He certainly should resign, and not just because Republicans have been run out for lesser offenses, but because he is compromised.  Even voters who would vote for a man as smug, arrogant and malicious as Mr. Wiener deserve good representation.  I do not think they can have it from him.   However, should he decide to remain in office and take his chances with voters in 2012, he needs to answer some more questions and then take a new stand without question.

As a lawmaker, I found myself pulled into issues I never expected.  One issue really stuck with me.  There was a young man raised in relative affluence, groomed to take over  his father’s dental practice.  He went away to the best schools, studied hard, made the grades, and picked up a habit.  Shortly after returning home, he went to meet a 13 year old girl for sex.  The girl turned out to be a cyberdetective.  The cop was hired in part due to a funding program I created.  The laws used to prosecute and sentence him were also enhanced through my legislation.  His arrest was not something that I celebrated.  I found it really sad.   It made a chilling point that I make anytime I speak at the University level or elsewhere;  The only thing possibly worse than your child becoming the victim of a predator is your child becoming the predator.   Mr. Weiner is an addict, bent on a destructive path from which he could not extricate himself.  I cannot celebrate this either.  This is sad.

I was drawn to the issue of stopping sexual predators because Bill O’Reilly once challenged our state saying “Missouri is a state that does not care about kids”.  He was referencing the critical Megan’s Law and Jessica’s Law recommendations and the fact that Missouri scored so poorly in adopting them.  The words resonated for me because my brother, a probation officer for sexual predators often told me the frustrating stories of people our state turns loose.  So, having that wonderful honor of being a public servant, and  ability to do something about it.  I went to work.  Congressman Wiener should too.

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From The Associated Press:

So far, House Democratic leaders haven’t publicly demanded Rep. Anthony Weiner resign after admitting he sent suggestive photos of himself in his underwear via Twitter and then lied about it to everyone within earshot. But they’ve made it clear they’d appreciate it if he’d go away. And soon.

In statements within an hour of Weiner’s stunning admission on Monday, not a single Democrat volunteered support for the man long mentioned as a possible future mayor of New York. And notably, none chose to comment on his defiant vow: “I am not resigning.”

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the party leader, said she was “disappointed and saddened.” She and other Democrats called for an ethics committee investigation to determine whether Weiner had broken any House rules.

Other Democrats said they agreed.

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For ten days, America watched a sitting Congressman lie about Tweeting a lewd photograph to a co-ed in Seattle and compound that lie day after day after day. We also watched as he sat back and did nothing as those who blew the whistle on his misdeed and accurately reported on the story were attacked, both personally and professionally, by the organized Left. Motives were questioned, personal attacks were launched, and innocents were accused of various crimes–all in the name of Representative Anthony Weiner’s “innocence.”

One human being to another, it’s impossible not to feel bad for anyone forced to watch their dark side exploded across every newspaper, web site and cable news channel throughout the country. Most of all, you have to feel for his wife and family. However, there’s just no getting around the fact that Weiner chose to confess his lies only after he was left with no other choice. Monday morning he woke to find that at least two women were speaking out to the media, and that a series of increasingly explicit and embarrassing photographs had posted right here at Big Government.

What was Rep. Weiner supposed to do? The gig was up whether he liked it or not. His lies had been completely exposed, and therefore the only possible move he had left was to make a full confession, apologize to anyone and everyone, refuse to resign his office, and hope that this public act of contrition would finally put this all behind him. But because of his timing — because his lies had finally caught up to him and his back was up against a wall — I don’t necessarily buy it. In fact, based on his appalling behavior over the last 10 days, there’s no doubt in my mind that if the likes of Salon’s Joan Walsh, Daily Kos’ Markos Moulitsas, Media Matters, and certain members of the MSM had succeeded in their smear campaigns against Andrew Breitbart and others, Weiner would have allowed these people to be destroyed based on his own lies and likely savored every moment.

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Today, in 1628, the English Petition of Right became law. It spelled out rights enjoyed by the people which could not be negated by the monarch. Yeah, we’re approaching that place again.

UPDATE II: Now with video.

UPDATE: Rep. Weiner has admitted full responsibility for the Twitter pic posted to his account. There was no hack. There was no prank. He even apologized to Andrew Breitbart. Exact quote, “I apologize to Andrew Breitbart.”

Retracto is currently in training. Going to be a busy week for him making the rounds of the media.

Rep. Anthony Weiner called a press conference for 4pm EDT. BigGovernment.com publisher Andrew Breitbart was in New York for previously scheduled meetings and went to the presser as an observer. Rep. Weiner was, unfortunately for him, late for the conference. The press then asked Andrew to go to the podium to take some questions. It was surreal and awesome.  According to FoxNews, a Weiner staff ran through the hotel halls screaming, “Breitbart’s here. Breitbart’s here.”

Breitbart:

Weiner:

BigGovernment.com and BigJournalism.com have reported throughout the morning about the emergence of new details in the Weinergate saga, after a young woman came forward with new information that tends to undermine severely the theory that Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) was the victim of a “prank” or a “hack.”

The following photograph, reminiscent of that posted by former Rep. Chris Lee (R-NY) on Craigslist earlier this year, was allegedly sent to the young woman on Friday, May 20, 2011 via a Yahoo! email address that she claims was an alternate alias for Rep. Weiner:

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No, this is not a Weinergate post.

Public school teachers in Milwaukee want taxpayers to pay for their erections.

The latest:

In March, it was announced with much fanfare that the Milwaukee teachers’ union was dropping it’s controversial Viagra lawsuit against MPS.

However, the MacIver News Service has learned that the effort to force MPS to provide coverage for erectile dysfunction treatments has arisen again, albeit in a different venue.

The Milwaukee Teachers Education Association’s (MTEA) decision earlier this year came just eight months after filing their August of 2010 suit in Milwaukee County Circuit Court wherein they argued  that the board’s policy of excluding erectile dysfunction drugs from their health plan coverage was discriminatory against men.

In December of last year MPS employee Henry Sampson filed a complaint with the Equal Rights Division of the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development, arguing that excluding coverage for the gender-specific diagnosis of erectile dysfunction violated the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA). At this time it is unknown whether union officials were aware of Sampson’s pending complaint with the State when they dropped their lawsuit in Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

On May 4th, the Equal Rights Division found that there was probable cause to believe the Milwaukee Board of School Directors violated the WFEA and discriminated against Sampson on the basis of his sex.

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