Chicago Teachers May Strike on Monday; News Coverage Doesn’t Disclose Their Current Pay, Initial Demands

Published September 8, 2012 | By Iowadawg

Less than 48 hours from now, Chicago’s teachers, whose union head insists, as quoted by the Associated Press, that “we are here to negotiate for better schools in Chicago,” may walk off the job, leaving the children entrusted to them to languish in half-days of activities unrelated to learning “staffed by non-union and central office workers.”

There seems to be an unwritten rule that news coverage of these matters not discuss the current earnings of those who are threatening to strike. In a writeup of over 900 words, AP writers Tammy Webber and Don Babwin stuck to that script, and also failed to tell their readers the size of the raise union negotiators initially requested.

[snip]

Chicago Teachers Union Demands 30 Percent Pay Raise

It takes a lot of nerve to ask for a 30 percent pay raise. You’d better be sure you had a banner year. Yet in Chicago, where just 15 percent of fourth graders are proficient in reading (and just 56 percent of students graduate), the teachers union is set to strike if the district does not agree to a 30 percent increase in teachers’ salaries.

The average teacher in Chicago Public Schools—a district facing a $700 million deficit—makes $71,000 per year before benefits are included. If the district meets union demands and rewards teachers with the requested salary increase, education employees will receive compensation north of $92,000 per year.

According to the Illinois Policy Institute, the average annual income of a family in Chicago is $47,000 per year. If implemented, the 30 percent raise will mean that in nine months, a single teacher in the Chicago Public School system will take home nearly double what the average family in the city earns in a year.

While the union bemoans the longer school day and is demanding a hefty pay raise as a result, taxpayers will be left holding the bill for a 30 percent salary increase and wondering whether $92,000 is appropriate compensation for public school employees.

I don’t have to wonder. It’s not.

[snip]

EASTWOOD HANGS ‘EM HIGH!

J. T. Hatter at the American Thinker:

Paint Your Wagon! Clint Eastwood just dropped another nuke on Obama. In the latest issue of The Carmel Pine Cone (Sept 7-13, 2012) American’s favorite actor said,

“President Obama is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,”

The Pine Cone is the weekly newspaper for Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula. Clint Eastwood was the Mayor of Carmel, California from 1986 to 1988 and didn’t run for a second term. Clint was elected in a landslide with 72% of the vote. President Ronald Reagan called Clint to congratulate him on his victory. Mayor Eastwood accomplished all of his campaign promises while in office and cleaned out a lot of the bureaucracy and red tape that riled him enough to run for office in the first place. You don’t mess with The Enforcer.

Maybe Obama should look up from his teleprompter and take a peek at the High Plains Drifter riding his way. The Pale Rider told the Pine Cone in last Tuesday’s interview,

“Romney and Ryan would do a much better job running the country, and that’s what everybody needs to know. I may have irritated a lot of the lefties, but I was aiming for people in the middle.”

That’s Heartbreak Ridge for Obama. Eastwood was talking about his celebrated appearance at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, where the Honkytonk Man took the podium and carried on an impromptu dialogue with an empty chair he brought on stage as a prop. The empty chair represented Obama. Eastwood’s skit was a riot. Most Americans laughed so hard it hurt. Liberal heads exploded. An empty chair for an empty suit. Eastwood struck a national chord that has been reverberating ever since. The Sudden Impact of Eastwoods’ comic skit blew a big hole in Obama’s hopes for election.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

“I had three points I wanted to make,” Eastwood said. “That not everybody in Hollywood is on the left, that Obama has broken a lot of the promises he made when he took office, and that the people should feel free to get rid of any politician who’s not doing a good job. But I didn’t make up my mind exactly what I was going to say until I said it.”

This is The Good, The Bad and The Ugly all rolled into one tidy package. The good is that not all the Hollywierdos are radical, hate-America leftists. That is good news. The bad is that Obama has broken virtually all of his campaign promises; like cutting the deficit by half in his first year on office (his budget has a 1.3 trillion dollar budget deficit for 2012-and he can’t even get his fellow Democrats to vote for it. Not even For a Few Dollars More); free public health care for all (ObamaCare robbed Medicare of $716 billion, and never delivered on the “public option.”); that he would end the recession and bring in a booming economy (he made both infinitely worse); that there would be no new taxes for anyone earning under $250k/year (a blatant lie); and so on. One long string of broken promises and an empty chair.

Clint’s final, ultimate insult was ugly indeed. Clint Eastwood said President Obama should be fired for his incompetence and abysmal performance. That’s right. Clint Eastwood said President Obama should be fired. Onstage at the RNC Eastwood turned to the empty chair and said,

“I think if you just step aside and Mr. Romney can kind of take over. You can maybe still use a plane,” Eastwood said.

Ouch. Obama should put some ice on that. Perhaps he and Michelle can leave the White House on Two Mules for Sister Sarah, if a plane isn’t available. Don’t go away mad, Eastwood seemed to be saying, just go.

Every Which Way But Loose

In A Perfect World, Obama’s unicorn campaign promises could even come true. But The Rookie is discovering that he is Unforgiven, and that Americans are desperate to see the last of Obama and the Pink Cadillac he rode in on. The main question Americans have is not whether or not we can survive the current economic downturn, but whether or not we can survive another four years of Obama and the Democrats. Eastwood echoed this sentiment brilliantly.

You can’t accuse Clint Eastwood of Hollywood scripting for his remarks at the RNC: his speech was entirely off the cuff, according to the Pine Cone. Even Romney’s aides didn’t know what Clint was going to say.

“They vet most of the people, but I told them, ‘You can’t do that with me, because I don’t know what I’m going to say,’” Eastwood recalled.

“I got to the convention site just 15 or 20 minutes before I was scheduled to go on,” he said. “That was fine, because everything was very well organized.”

After a quick trip through airport-style security, he was taken to a Green Room, where Archbishop Dolan of New York sought him out to say hello. Then he was taken backstage to wait for his cue. And that was when inspiration struck.

“There was a stool there, and some fella kept asking me if I wanted to sit down,” Eastwood said. “When I saw the stool sitting there, it gave me the idea. I’ll just put the stool out there and I’ll talk to Mr. Obama and ask him why he didn’t keep all of the promises he made to everybody.”

And Clint Eastwood made American history that night by talking to the empty chair, a perfect metaphor for President Obama. It was Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby and the American people loved it. A viral Twitter campaign declared National Empty Chair Day, on Labor Day Monday. Millions of Americans put empty chairs on their front lawns and all over to support Eastwood and show their contempt for Obama. It will likely become a new American holiday. Politicians will beware National Empty Chair Day and the increased scrutiny sure to come with it. The Obamazombies have been viciously lashing out at Eastwood ever since. But does Bronco Billy care?

Here are Dirty Harrys’ concluding remarks at the RNC.

“We don’t have to be — what I’m saying, we do not have to be metal (ph) masochists and vote for somebody that we don’t really even want in office just because they seem to be nice guys or maybe not so nice guys, if you look at some of the recent ads going out there, I don’t know.

(APPLAUSE)

But OK. You want to make my day?

(APPLAUSE)

All right. I started, you finish it. Go ahead.

AUDIENCE: Make my day!

EASTWOOD: Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Thank you, Clint. The American people love you.

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Liberals want you to believe that Republicans are racist. Hear why musicians like Bebe Winans are right, and commentators like Touré are wrong, on this ZoNation.

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Obama More Flexible on Medicare Than Rhetoric Suggests

In his convention speech in Charlotte, President Obama vowed to block the Republican Medicare reform plan because “no American should ever have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies.”

Sebelius indicating to crowd how high the Obama lies stack up

But back in Washington, his Health and Human Services Department is launching a pilot program that would shift up to 2 million of the poorest and most-vulnerable seniors out of the federal Medicare program and into private health insurance plans overseen by the states.

The administration has accepted applications from 18 states to participate in the program, which would give states money to purchase managed-care plans for people who are either disabled or poor enough to qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. HHS approved the first state plan, one for Massachusetts, last month.

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Hate to break it to obama, but the islamists of the USA and the world beg to differ as they are at war with us, regardless of what you say.

WEEKLY ADDRESS: Coming Together to Remember September 11th – WhiteHouse.gov

This week, we mark the eleventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks. It’s a time to remember the nearly 3,000 innocent men, women and children we lost, and the families they left behind. It’s a chance to honor the courage of the first responders who risked their lives — on that day, and every day since. And it’s an opportunity to give thanks for our men and women in uniform who have served and sacrificed, sometimes far from home, to keep our country safe.

This anniversary is about them. It’s also a time to reflect on just how far we’ve come as a nation these past eleven years.

On that clear September morning, as America watched the towers fall, and the Pentagon burn, and the wreckage smoldering in a Pennsylvania field, we were filled with questions. Where had the attacks come from, and how would America respond? Would they fundamentally weaken the country we love? Would they change who we are?

The last decade has been a difficult one, but together, we have answered those questions and come back stronger as a nation.

We took the fight to al Qaeda, decimated their leadership, and put them on a path to defeat. And thanks to the courage and skill of our intelligence personnel and armed forces, Osama bin Laden will never threaten America again.

Instead of pulling back from the world, we’ve strengthened our alliances while improving our security here at home. As Americans, we refuse to live in fear. Today, a new tower rises above the New York skyline. And our country is stronger, safer and more respected in the world.

Instead of turning on each other, we’ve resisted the temptation to give in to mistrust and suspicion. I have always said that America is at war with al Qaeda and its affiliates — and we will never be at war with Islam or any other religion. We are the United States of America. Our freedom and diversity make us unique, and they will always be central to who we are as a nation.

Instead of changing who we are, the attacks have brought out the best in the American people. More than 5 million members of the 9/11 Generation have worn America’s uniform over the past decade, and we’ve seen an outpouring of goodwill towards our military, veterans, and their families. Together, they’ve done everything we’ve asked of them. We’ve ended the war in Iraq and brought our troops home. We brought an end to the Taliban regime. We’ve trained Afghan Security Forces, and forged a partnership with a new Afghan Government. And by the end 2014, the transition in Afghanistan will be complete and our war there will be over.

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Barack Hussein Obama’s War on Israel

Here’s a rather chilling (30-min) video about Obama’s hostile and antagonistic relationship with Israel.

Article here.

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White House to miss deadline for report on ‘fiscal cliff’ budget cuts

The White House on Friday said it will miss the legal deadline for delivering a report to Congress on the spending cuts from sequestration that are scheduled to take effect in 2013.

Spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Air Force One that the report will be coming next week.

Under the terms of the Sequestration Transparency Act signed in August, President Obama was to tell Congress by Friday how the administration plans to implement the $109 billion in automatic cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act.

The Office of Management and Budget has repeatedly failed to make legal deadlines. It delivered its presidential budget proposals and mid-session updates late both this year and last year.

Republicans have tried to tie the tardiness to the failure of the Senate to pass a budget resolution for the last three years.

“Like the [Sen. Harry] Reid majority, the White House has shown astonishingly little regard for budget law in this time of crisis,” said Stephen Miller, a spokesman for Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala), who co-authored the transparency law.

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Ann Romney: birth control, gay marriage not “what this election is going to be about”

DAVENPORT, Iowa – Ann Romney told KWQC TV6 News Friday that birth control and gay marriage are issues that “distract from what the real voting issue is going to be at this election.” Mrs. Romney says the election is about “the economy and jobs.”

Mrs. Romney, speaking to KWQC morning anchor David Nelson, said she wanted to speak about women’s issues, echoing the theme of her recent speech at the Republican National Convention. “My message, really, was ‘women, I hear your voices.’”

“I wanted to make sure that women of America knew that we have been across this country for the last year and a half and we are very aware of how tough it is for them,” Mrs. Romney said. “I think all of us know that women work harder than anyone and that they hold down jobs, they are raising the kids, they’re trying to get food on the table and everything else and they’re really being stretched.”

When asked if she believes a lesbian mother should be allowed to marry her partner, Mrs. Romney said, “I’m not going to talk about the specific issues. I’m going to let my husband speak on issues.”

When asked if she believes that employer-provided health insurance should be required to cover birth control, Mrs. Romney said “Again, you’re asking me questions that are not about what this election is going to be about. This election is going to be about the economy and jobs.”

“I’m here to really just talk about my husband and what kind of husband and father he is and, you know, those [birth control and gay marriage] are hot-button issues that distract from what the real voting issue is going to be at this election.”

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This is called being a dumbass….

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And the obama regime has made it official American policy to coddle up to these freaking killers.

In an article published on the occasion of Ramadan on the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) website, MB member Hussein Shehata, a lecturer at Al-Azhar University, praises the jihad war against the Jews – “the descendants of apes and pigs” – in Palestine; against the Americans in Iraq; against the Russians in Chechnya; and against the Muslims’ enemies in Kashmir, Bosnia, Eritrea, and Somalia. He adds that the Day of Judgment will arrive when the Muslims defeat the Jews and liberate Jerusalem.

The following are excerpts from the article:

Praising The Traits Of The Jihad Fighter

“Fasting [during Ramadan] is one of the most powerful means to educate the human spirit for jihad. Fasting involves a spiritual effort to act in a way contrary to what is accepted, and to completely abandon desires… It also schools the Muslim in patience, resilience, endurance, and sacrifice, which are all traits of the jihad fighter. [...]

“We call upon those who fast… to remember their brothers, those who wage jihad for the sake of Allah: in Palestine, against the Jews, the descendants of apes and pigs; in Iraq, against the Americans; in Bosnia-Herzegovina, against the crusader Serbians; in Chechnya, against the Russians; in Kashmir, against the idolatrous Indians; in Eritrea, against the Zoroastrian Habeshas; in Somalia, against the arrogant Americans; and everywhere in [the lands of] the Islamic ummah, against those who fight the Muslims.

“We call on Allah to receive our martyrs’ souls, to liberate our prisoners, to rescue those who are arrested for His sake, to accept jihad from those who fast, and to let them conquer their desires and their enemies, and cause them to rejoice in the liberation of Jerusalem.”

Keep reading…

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indypendenthistory:

Henry Fonda enlisted in the Navy to fight in World War II, saying, “I don’t want to be in a fake war in a studio.” Previously, he and James Stewart had helped raise funds for the defense of Britain. Fonda served for three years, initially as a Quartermaster 3rd Class on the destroyer USS Satterlee. He was later commissioned as a Lieutenant Junior Grade in Air Combat Intelligence in the Central Pacific and was awarded the Navy Presidential Unit Citation and the Bronze Star.

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This is very nsfw? Risque for sure! But it is Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts democrat, the one who says then says she isn’t part Cherokee. Doing the naked rain dance.