Short version: Glen Busch was the Chicago director of the nonprofit Coats for Kids, right up to the point where he (on his own personal Facebook page, and on his own time) made the completely accurate and noncontroversial points that Tucson shooter Jared Loughney was not, in point of fact, a right-wing crazy; and that later evidence that Loughney has left-wing beliefs didn’t prove anything about the situation, either.  A day later, Coats for Kids national president Paul Darby (of Virginia: guess where he and his wife Cheryl’s political contributions overwhelmingly went in previous election cycles*?) fired Busch for it.

That’s not the  (most) galling part: no, the most galling part is that Darby actually wrote Busch to tell him that “You have every right to make whatever comments that you wish as a citizen” while firing Busch for the comments that Busch made as a citizen.  It’s not actually contradictory - this sort of volunteer work is typically ‘at will,’ which means that Darby could have removed Busch for any reason, or none - but it’s incredibly tin-eared to remove a guy for (accurately) saying things on Saturday that the President of the United States essentially repeated the next Wednesday.  Honestly: unless there’s something here we’re not being told, my major problem with Ed Morrissey’s take on it is that it’s being too nice.

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The following is the first of a three-part series on the decline of unions.

Unions have never represented a majority of the American workforce. However, to listen to today’s union bosses, one might be led to believe that they did. Ever since their peak, in 1945, when unions represented a total of 35.5 percent of the workforce unions in the private-sector have been on an almost steady decline. The common fallacy is that the union decline is due to the Reagan Era. That, however, is a false narrative.

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On December 27, 2010, Alfred E. Kahn died. He was 93 years old. You might not know who Alfred Kahn was, but if you are an air traveler or work in the airline industry, you have been affected by his work. In fact, most likely, the vast majority of Americans have benefited by Kahn’s work without knowing who to thank. Alfred Kahn was a Cornell University economist and, according to the New York Times, “best known as the chief architect and promoter of deregulating the nation’s airlines.” More importantly, Alfred E. Kahn worked for President Jimmy Carter.

Kahn’s work in deregulating the airline industry during the Carter administration was an economic boon to tens of millions of middle-class Americans who, due to lower costs, were suddenly able to travel by air, rather than by car, rail or bus. Deregulation also lowered the costs for companies, as the increasing competition made business travel more affordable. By largely getting rid of bureaucratic inefficiencies and increasing competition, according to a Heritage Foundation study, prices fell 40% for travelers within the first 20 years of airline deregulation giving more and more of the American public the ability to fly affordably. Airline routes, instead of taking up to eight years to be approved (or disallowed altogether) under the old Civil Aeronautics Board were established much more quickly; and, perhaps most importantly, under deregulation, air travel became safer.

However beneficial Kahn’s work has been to the American flying public, it is only one of several keys to unlocking one of the biggest fallacies ever foisted on the American public. That fallacy is that the policies of Ronald Reagan are the primary cause of the fall of private-sector unions. The fact of the matter is, they are not. Reagan’s policies are not what has busted unions over the last 30 years. In fact, it is the work of Democrat Jimmy Carter and his deregulators that has had a far more detrimental impact on unions than Reagan ever did. In addition, it is also why, regardless of the efforts of union bosses and their Democrat stooges in Washington, despite a potential temporary upswing, no amount tinkering with the National Labor Relations Act will enable private-sector unions to regain their footing in a 21st Century economy.

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Jonathan Martin at Politco has an article out today that puts it’s sights attention on Sarah Palin again.  This time it is for not being as totally awesome as President Obama who gave a stirring and emotional speech at the otherwise unfortunately inappropriate memorial service.  From Politico:

At sunrise in the East on Wednesday, Sarah Palin demonstrated that she has little interest — or capacity — in moving beyond her brand of grievance-based politics. And at sundown in the West, Barack Obama reminded even his critics of his ability to rally disparate Americans around a message of reconciliation.

A Faulty Analogy is the assumption that because two things are similar in one or more aspects, they are necessarily similar in some other aspect. When a comparison between two things or ideas is presented as evidence for a conclusion, the point of comparison is important to the argument. However, simply because two ideas or things may be alike in some aspect that is not relevant to the issue, does not mean that these two are analogous in the point that is relevant to the argument. Two things or ideas may not be similar in their essential aspects, but they may be similar with reference to the point at issue.

Martin’s attempt to compare Palin’s plea for millions to stop blaming her for a shooting she did not influence or have anything to do with to Obama giving a non-controversial eulogy is a quintessential Faulty Analogy.  Their circumstances aren’t even remotely comparable yet Politico has awarded Obama the title of “winner.”

Jimmie Bise has a must read where he really nails them to the wall for their political hackery.

But it’s Martin that really had a missed opportunity.

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Former Governor Edwin W. Edwards (D) left the Federal Penitentiary in Oakdale, LA today, ending 8-1/2 years of confinement. He had been sentence to 10 years on racketeering charges, stemming from his involvement in the state’s casino licensing process. He will live with his daughter in suburban Baton Rouge, and the terms of his release require him to check in periodically at a halfway house.

Edwards has to keep his pie-hole shut until June. Statewide elections are in October. We’ll see how long Edwin’s political exile lasts. He absolutely craves the limelight.

On the positive side, it looks like he got fat in prison, plus he’s 83. The last Mrs. Edwards, Candy Picou, divorced him in 2004 but has left the door open to a rekindling of that relationship.

Wikipedia : In 2006, Candy Edwards gave birth to a child named Harrison Arthur Picou Low. The father is Brian Low (born 1975). Low and Candy are not married and she is still single. Candy has said that she brought the child to the prison on one of her visits with her for Edwin to see him. She said that he is very supportive of her. Candy Edwards continues to use her married name and works as a real estate agent. When asked if she and Edwin would ever get back together after his release from prison she said that “anything could happen”.

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(Via Patterico) Why, they’re so terribly, terribly concerned that the Republicans’ oft-stated - and reiterated - intention to have a House vote to repeal Obamacare might hurt us that the newspaper is writing articles giving us a friendly head’s-up about how bad an idea such a repeal vote would be right now.  And to back that up they got quotes from such disinterested, Republican-friendly individuals as Rep. Robert Andrews (D, NJ) (who was calling the 112th Congress the ‘Hypocrisy Congress‘ before it even started) , Rep. Chellie Pingree (D, ME) (who called the use of the term ‘job-killing’ “hate speech“), and Rep. John Garamendi (D, CA) (who took up the mantle of now-ousted Alan Grayson to accuse Republicans of wanting to kill people).  It makes me feel all tingly and bipartisan: how about you?

The GOP is not in a “bind” over this, ladies and gentlemen: we are merely showing some delicacy and tact in what are genuinely unique and trying circumstances.  But we are also aware that the Other Side is going to start howling anyway the second Republicans start up regular business again, so don’t expect significant delays along those lines.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

PS: Seriously, read that article again.  And note - again - that while there’s a lot of people out there ready to say that the Republicans should slow down or stop the drive to repeal Obamacare, none of those people are actual Republican legislators.

As we’ve witnessed over the past five days the left has pulled out all the stops to gain political advantage from the tragic shootings in Tucson.

We’ve endured the spectacle of the leftist punditocracy shrilly blaming opinions opposed to the Obama Administration for the actions of an obviously schizophrenic young man who has been described by his friends as a left wing doper who was disengaged from current politics. We’ve seen the addled superannuated “sheriff” lash out, blaming everyone in sight except his own department which had numerous contacts with the shooter in the past few years did bupkis, in fact they did less than bupkis.

Having failed to hang direct responsibility about our neck — an action very accurately described by Sarah Palin as “blood libel” — they moved on to Phase II which is “everyone needs to watch what they say… especially you wingnuts who are violent and since the left doesn’t say violent stuff so we’re okay.” This, too, has wilted under even the cursory scrutiny it was given by the press. Over the past decade the calls for the assassination of President Bush, the trashing of ROTC offices, the incitement of troops to mutiny, the daily scurrilous calls for violence by websites like DailyKos and by the now happily defunct Air America were part and parcel of what passes for speech on the left. That nothing happened is due more to the lack of manliness (with the exception of Amanda Marcotte) and ambition on the part of the left than any reticence to actually engage in violent acts.

Now they have moved on to Phase III which is “we need more gun control.” For reasons that are really unclear to me, one of our own elected officials, Peter King (R-NY) was among the first on this bandwagon by proposing a ban of the possession of firearms within 1,000 feet of certain government officials. Beyond the obviously unconstitutional nature of the proposal I was stunned to find this coming from someone I was just beginning to respect after his long history of actively supporting IRA terrorists.

A more likely suspect took up the cudgel today. E. J. Dionne writes an op-ed in today’s Washington Post titled Violent Talk Blocks Sane Gun Laws.

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As many of you know, your humble correspondent is a veteran of 32 years of service in the oil and gas industry, currently serving as the operations manager for a small Gulf of Mexico exploration and production company. This week, the President’s Oil Spill Commission published its 380-page report on the BP blowout and spill on the Deepwater Horizon. I won’t pretend to have read the thing, but there are a few recommendations and outcomes worth commenting upon.

Panel: More reform needed to prevent future spills

When asked about the likelihood Congress would enact some of its suggestions, especially with a Republican majority in Congress looking to curb government regulation and spending, panel co-chair and former Florida Democratic Senator Bob Graham said that the magnitude of the disaster “would override an ideological preference for less government, less government intrusion, less government cost.” …

The panel said Congress should draft legislation to create within the Interior Department an independent safety agency and a separate environmental office to evaluate the risks of oil drilling to natural resources. Such a change would not require any additional funding.

Two new bureaucracies, eh? Color me unsurprised.

Reading these government reports, one gets the impression that the oil and gas business would conduct itself like the Seventh Fleet on shore leave, were it not for the stalwart defenders of safety and the environment embodied in the Department of the Interior’s inspectors.

In the wake of the BP Spill, we’ve seen a raft of new regulatory initiatives from the BOEMRE, the Interior agency which has oversight responsibilities for offshore oil and gas operations. Many of the new regs have nothing to do with addressing the problems of BP or Transocean at Macondo. Some of the new requirements for drilling wells arguably don’t add a margin of safety and may even increase the risk of a well’s failure. Industry’s attempts to convince the regulators of this, however, have fallen upon deaf ears. There’s a new sheriff in town, and he aims to let everyone know who’s boss.

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What was billed as a “memorial service” in Arizona last night was more of a pep-rally and celebration of life. It was complete with sloganeering, bumper stickers, and t-shirts.

It is what was needed.

What’s more, Mr. Obama gave a stunning rebuke to his own base who’ve engaged in a horrific blame game all week.

But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized - at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do - it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.

Contrast that with what his supporters have been up to all week. It is disgusting. Let us also not forget that the President’s own Democratic advisors were hoping he would seize on this moment as a way to polarize the country against the right and the tea party movement.

While many will say parts of his speech were campaign-ish, let’s not forget that the President has failed miserably at every speech he has given as President. So a campaign style speech was the only way for him to deliver.

And I think he did as a President must do.

But can he himself, the man who implored Democratic voters to “punish our enemies” and only recently referred to Republicans as “hostage takers” live up to his own words?

This is, after all, a man who got his political start in the home of a terrorist who’d dedicated a book to Robert F. Kennedy’s killer — a man who never repented but who Mr. Obama then gave grant money to.

Will the President live up to his own standard? Everyone can change. Everyone can repent. Let’s hope this President will.

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RedState Morning Briefing
For January 13, 2011

Go to www.RedStateMB.com to get
the Morning Briefing every morning at no charge.

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Good evening. The Communication Workers of America are making a cowardly little statement in favor of Net Neutrality, as they simply must be team players even though they know the radical left’s agenda threatens to kill their own jobs, but for the most part the left still wants to move on from Net Neutrality. There are good reasons for that.

First, one of our predictions from before is already coming true. They’re coming after content, already. Louise Slaughter is pressing the FCC to institute a sweeping campaign of censorship online. Free Press is on the case, too. Speech that regulators disfavor must be “curbed,” she thinks. Remember when we were assured that the FCC should show “forbearance,” and that the FCC’s Net Neutrality power grab wasn’t a free speech issue at all, but just a network management issue? Of course. Of course.

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From: davidgoehring@gmail.com
Subject: Go F**k Yourselves
Date: January 12, 2011 9:57:50 PM EST
To: contact@redstate.com

What a bunch of freaking weirdos. Good God, and you actually have the gall to call yourselves Christians? You’re f**king fascists, and Jesus doesn’t love you.

I know, my use of the term on-target makes me a vitriolic, hateful rhetoric espouser in the eyes of some. It’s not conducive to the “new tone” we are all supposed to embrace for some unfathomable and delusional reason. Of course, this new tone doesn’t apply if one is speaking about Sarah Palin, who is apparently the cause of All Bad Things Ever, in perpetuity. Even here, we are on day three of no school due to snow. In South Carolina. Does Palin’s evil reach have no bounds?!

The Left and the media, as always concentric circles on a Venn diagram, attempted for days to spin a false and odious narrative placing blame for the shooting in Tucson on Sarah Palin and everyone like her. Because, vitriol. Or something. Days of vile political opportunism, on the backs of the dead. Days of disgusting smears the likes of which I’ve never seen before in my lifetime. Days of giddily and gleefully exploiting deaths, including those of a federal judge and a nine year old child, all in an attempt to score political points and to silence and demonize those with whom they disagree.

That the facts did not support such claims even one iota meant nothing. In fact, they absolutely ignored all evidence and truths and proceeded to just make stuff up. All focused on Sarah Palin, who miraculously manages to be a dumb old chick from the sticks and the most evil person alive. She’s kind of like George W. Bush that way, I suppose. Chris Matthews went so far as to put a graphic up during his show last night with Sarah Palin’s picture, reading underneath “Silent: On The Lam.” On. The. Lam. As if some fugitive, implying that she, along with the tea party, is somehow responsible for a massacre perpetrated by a madman.

Today, Sarah Palin released a video statement. It is a thoughtful, inspiring, dead-on (violent rhetoric!) response (the full transcript can be found here):

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