Remember, Teachers are all about the kids… but too bad their union isn’t. The Daily News in Longview, Washington That $13.2 million grant Washington state won last year to enhance the teaching of Advanced Placement courses in math and science is history. It’s lost because of the financial incentives it would have provided for teachers who [...]

Why should unions work in each state to unionize public employees when they can just get Congress to do it all at once nationwide? If the U.S. Senate passes the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, it will allow police, firefighters and paramedics in every city of more than 5,000 people to unionize and bargain for pay, benefits and work rules. The House already passed the measure (H.R. 980) in 2007 by a vote of 314-97. The bill has 11 Republican co-sponsors in the Senate, which may signal enough bipartisan support to ensure its passage. President Bush has vowed a veto. The Wall Street Journal recently pointed out that the bill will lead to legal challenges, increase the public tax burden, harm public security, and have the effect of forcing certain employees into supporting or contributing to a union. Liberty, which used to be priceless and non-negotiable, now seems subject to debate. Are union clout and political contributions worth more to certain senators than upholding personal rights?

Yeah we were a little late to the party this time, sorry about that. We have a great reason that a fancy song was written about that you can find HERE. Anyway, episode 6 of the Get Free Podcast is now live. This week we sit down with EFF's newest staffer, Sonya Jones, to discuss the "protection" of the WEA for it's teachers. They were SO "protective" that they lost many fine teachers extra income. Guess why? Click here to go to our RSS Feed. Click here to download the MP3. Remember to visit us on Facebook and to leave us comments. Also register with us on Itunes and give us a review. And don't forget to comment.

We Oink Reporters LOVE it when a pork loving rag of a media outlet squeals for bacon. Take Tulsa World’s column titled Earmarks Eyed, for example.

For some inexplicable reason, six members of Oklahoma’s seven-member congressional delegation seem to understand the value and importance of helping to fund much-needed projects across the state, while one holdout continues to maintain a stance that helps other states at the expense of Oklahoma.

In reality English, this means that Tulsa World editors are throwing a fit because other states get more pork than they do.

Coburn repeatedly has refused to explain himself to Tulsa World staff, so we have to deduce his reasoning from other sources. He seems to espouse a hard-line ideology on federal spending that won’t permit him to consider even the most deserving of projects.

Can we get a round of applause?

Of course, no one could expect less of organized labor but to attack Republicans, even John McCain. But the amount of money proposed to be spent to destroy McCain really makes one wonder if every last union member would approve of such vast expenditures of their dues money? To answer that question, the AFL-CIO, for its [...]

Eddie Wong, former media and social justice investment consultant to the Democracy Alliance, has decided to move over to the Historic preservation realm.

Eddie Wong takes over the effort to convert the immigration station - often called the Ellis Island of the West - to a place where visitors can learn about the history of immigration to the western United States.

“I’m delighted to be the new executive director, particularly since my own father passed through the immigration station as an immigrant to the United States in 1928,” said Wong, 57. “The preservation and restoration of the Angel Island Immigration Station will allow the site to take its rightful place as one of America’s most important historic landmarks.”

The barracks are undergoing a $15 million restoration and there are plans to reopen them to the public in the spring of 2009, complete with interpretive exhibits.

This isn’t huge news by any means, but we here at Left Watch always try to keep an eye on the movements of those heavily involved in the far left money machine.

Wong previously served as a media and social justice investment consultant to the Democracy Alliance, a network of progressive donors. He was also the executive director of the National Asian American Telecommunications Association from 1996 to 2006. Prior to that, he worked as the western regional director of the National Rainbow Coalition.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) suffered a stinging rebuke when nearly 47% of the nurses at three St. Rose Dominican hospitals in Nevada voted to join a rival union this week. It wasn’t enough to decertify the SEIU — 50% was necessary — but with nearly half of the members voting against the union, [...]

Those are the 80-year-old rust buckets DOT decided to retire for safety reasons in November, three weeks after DOT assured the legislature they were in generally good condition.  Not that this will help the state ferry system, but we are always looking out for the Washington Department of Corrections, too.  Sea-going prisons anybody?  And if one of them sinks....   OK, now I'm just getting cruel, but majority legislators really aren't big on building new "big houses."    

Tim Gill, a man who’s mission is to “Stop the Rick Santorums of tomorrow before they get started”, is dabbling into politics at the state level… all the way over in Oklahoma!

Jim Roth continues to lead in raising money for his bid to win a full six-year term on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, campaign reports show.

Contributors include Tim Gill, a top gay and lesbian equal rights movement fundraiser, who gave the maximum donation of $5,000.

Gill, an entrepreneur and software developer from Denver, was among those identified by state Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, as helping contribute $30 million in 2006 to local and state races to help defeat conservative candidates.

Tim GIll has been said to be “the nexus of an aggressive new force in national politics”, so his involvement in Oklahoma races has to make you wonder what his special interest is in this particular candidate.

Roth, a former Oklahoma County commissioner, raised $100,141 during the first quarter of this year, according to his campaign committee’s report filed with the state Ethics Commission. He had $112,482 at the start of the reporting period. He spent $44,298 during the reporting period from Jan. 1 through March 31, his reports show. He has $174,475 on hand.

In addition to Gill, major contributors listed on Roth’s report include Edmond attorney Reggie Whitten, Denver entrepreneur Jared Polis, and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., retiree James Stepp, $5,000 each; El Reno attorney Mark Henricksen, $3,000; and Ronald Ansin, a business executive from Harvard, Mass., $2,500.

Food for thought…