Labor Backs John Fritchey and SEIU PAC and their mouthpieces set to Endorse Feigenholz

Well, Mr. Speaker, Mike Quigley came up to about here on Mickey Rooney and so Mickey says to Quigley, 'Allan Ladd tried to stuff me on the court and I sailed over him! Sailed I tells Ya, Punk! I'll spot you six! Let's see what you got!'

State Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago) won the endorsement today of the Illinois AFL-CIO, which includes 1,500 unions with almost 1 million members. . . .Besides the Illinois AFL-CIO, Fritchey also has claimed the endorsement of the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the clout-heavy International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150.

The AFL-CIO endorsement "is recognition of what I've done for people who work hard every day to support their families," Fritchey said.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2009/02/unions-divided-in-race-to-replace-emanuel.html

Yep, Labor backs John Fritchey including the great folks of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 ( those are skilled Tradesmen who go through years of training and experience and earn their salaries by dint of their labors and honest collective bargaining - SEIU bullies spineless and gullible politicians to raise taxes for their rank and file), which is the home trade of Chicago Federation of Labor leader Dennis Gannon - a real Union Man.

Sara Feigenholz will be endorsed by the Leon Trotsky Re-enactors of SEIU and the Boiled Beets Progressive Networks of Illinois.

Italian American Hall of Fame Boxing to Benefit St. Jude's Hospital

Don't Miss this opportunity to be a huge part of 'The Sweet Science!' Help St. St. Jude's Hospital for Children! Get a great Wednesday Night's sporting glow and meet with the giants of Boxing - Boom-Boom Mancini and fight promoter Burt Sugar.

Leo High School Boxing Club with fight under the banner of Celtic Boxing Club directed by Leo Boxing Coach Mike Joyce. Get ready to watch the talent Rumble!

"Mr. Foster and Leo were there for me when I needed it, and I made up my mind then and there that I'm going to be here for Leo kids." - Leo's Cannon

2004 Class A Champions Leo High School coached by Leo Man Noah Cannon - That's Frank Clair who went on to Star at Loyola University! Did I mention that I wrote a book about Leo High School? Dan McGrath Leo '68 could write rings around me with Flu, Elephantitis and a bum tooth on a bad day.


Chicago Tribune Sports Editor Dan McGrath ( Leo High School 1968) is the king of the declarative sentence. Today, Dan McGrath features Leo High School Basketball Coach Noah Cannon, as part of an on-going series dedicated to African American heroes.

Noah Cannon was following his usual routine that September morning in 1994: chocolate milk and a doughnut from Linda's Grocery on his way to senior-year classes at Leo High School, where he was the starting point guard.

Some neighborhood thugs had other ideas. They jumped Cannon as he left the store, demanding money, and his last memory of the confrontation is a whiskey bottle smashing into his head above his left ear. It nearly killed him.

Cannon staggered east on 79th Street, bleeding severely. A fellow student dashed into school to alert Bob Foster, then principal of Leo, who had the kid call for an ambulance while he tended to Cannon.

"The turning point in my life," Cannon says. "Mr. Foster and Leo were there for me when I needed it, and I made up my mind then and there that I'm going to be here for Leo kids."Cannon returned to Leo to teach history and help coach basketball after graduating from Elmhurst College. In 2003-04, his first season as head varsity coach, Leo won the Class A state title. Despite an all-male enrollment of less than 300, it's poised to make a run in 3A this season with a 19-2 record and the Catholic League North title.

Leo High School has a rich and active history of Courageous and Committed men and woman who give back to Life.

Dan McGrath is the best prose craftsman in American journalism - elegant, understated, honest, clear and accurate. Facta Non Verba!

Constable James Quinn,CPD Gets Justice - Well Done Mr. Rick Barrett and Ald. Ed Burke!

Justice may come to a Chicago Constable, James Quinn, who died in the line of duty, but denied the simple justice of recognition since 1853. Two men former DEA agent Rick Barrett and Chicago's most well-read public servant Alderman Ed Burke have championed the infamy of past and present Chicago Administrations to do simple honor to a law enforcement officer. Well done gentlemen!

Constable Quinn succumbed to injuries sustained in two previous incidents in which he was attacked and severely beaten while in the discharge of his duties.

The first attack occurred after he served a warrant on a man in a notorious hideout for criminals known as the Sands. Constable Quinn was walking the prisoner to the Watch House when the man asked to return inside to retrieve his property. As the two walked back inside the establishment's owner attacked him, breaking one a rib and injuring his jaw. The prisoner escaped during the attack.

The following evening an arrest warrant was delivered to Constable Quinn to be served on the subject who had escaped his custody the previous evening. Upon his return to the Sands, Constable Quinn came upon the subject who had assaulted him the night before, and was again attacked by this man. Quinn was thrown to the ground and kicked several times suffering fractured ribs and a punctured lung.

Despite being critically injured, Constable Quinn reported to roll call the following morning. He returned to the Sands a third time, resulting in the arrest of the original suspect and the owner who had attacked him.

Police officials have long debated the circumstances of Quinn's death. Opponents believe that he died during a drunken fight in The Sands, a shantytown of brothels and saloons that is now the Streeterville neighborhood. Supporters insisted that the officer went to the area to arrest a thief and that unreliable witnesses concocted the fight.Constable Quinn's condition worsened throughout the day, causing congestion of the brain. He succumbed to the injuries the following day.

The suspect was arrested, convicted and sentenced to 5 years in prison for killing Quinn.

Constable Quinn had been elected Constable of the Ninth Ward only 9 months earlier. In 1853, the Constable served a dual role as police officer during the early stages of the Chicago Police Department.

Constable Quinn's widow and three children were compensated $50 from city funds after the Police Department ruled that Quinn was "killed in the discharge of his duty."

Today's Tribune recounts the possible turn-around in justice denied to one of the many who go in harm's way in the public good.

In 2007 the Chicago History Museum conducted an 11-month investigation into the officer's death at the urging of the City Council, led by Ald. Edward Burke (14th). Historians determined that he indeed died in the line of duty.

Weis said Thursday that the department's Honored Star Committee, made up of senior department staff, recommended Quinn be added to the national memorial. Weis said he decided that there was enough evidence, even if not definitive, that Quinn was killed in the line of duty.

"No one will ever probably know exactly what happened" 150 years ago, Weis said. "It was definitely the preponderance of the evidence that convinced me that it was an in-the-line-of-duty death."

"I'm just elated," said Rick Barrett, the former DEA agent who has petitioned the Police Department for years to consider Quinn's death for the honor. "We never gave up the fight because we truly believe in 'never forget.' "

arozas@tribune.com

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-constable-quinnfeb06,0,7750774.story

Mark Brown and Red Fred Down on Vallas - That is Good!

Fred Klonsky, brother of President Obama adviser and proud radical Red Mike hates Paul Vallas. Fred and Mike Klonsky* are the sons of Robert Klonsky a Communist veteran of the Spanish Civil War.

Fred Klonsky is not a Vallas Partisan.

Quoth the Park Ridge Trotsky, 'After screwing the CPS, even pissing off his patron The Mayor, he fled to Philadelphia. By all accounts, he made that struggling urban system even worse. Run out of Philly, he ended up in charge of the privatization of New Orleans public schools.

Now Typhoid Paul, switching to being a Republican, wants to do to Cook County government was he’s done to Chicago, Philly and NOLA schools.

Only Vallas could make a local hope for the victory of the corrupt present head of the Board, Todd Stroger.'

Fred, I like your spleen! Sounds like me on Quigley. Howsomeever, Vallas is a good guy and Quigley the polar opposite being just that. Now, Fred, really,'By all accounts, he made that struggling urban system even worse. Run out of Philly, he ended up in charge of the privatization of New Orleans public schools.'

Most accounts say Paul Vallas did very well - in Philly and in Louisiana.

Ain't that something! Quigley hates Vallas; therefore, Brown hates Vallas. Klonsky hates Vallas; Reds and the Boiled Beets Progressives ( Hyde Park Deep Thinkers,SEIU and their cadres) who lap up Red doctrine will hate Paul Vallas - doctrinally speaking of course. And Stroger and Daley and . . .Hate on one side and Love o t'other! I love Paul Vallas! Man crush. Admire. Like a hole bunch. Trust. Gets my vote.

Mark Brown tries to muddy the waters with race-baiting innuendo in his column this AM and tries to get Paul's goat, but Vallas turned Mark Brown into Feta.

Well the true colors are out - Brown against Vallas and the Red Klonsky's want no Paul.


*

Our lasting visual memory of Dorothy has her standing in a midst of a room full of young activists in 1966. Cigarette in hand and using that throaty voice to rally us against the latest act of injustice or brutality against the community by the guardians of the capitalist system. She was scolding, encouraging and praising. She was one of those veterans of the struggle that was able and willing to cross the generational divide.

For us red-diaper babies and SDS activists coming of age in the radical movement in L.A. in the 60s, Dorothy was at once a revolutionary role model, a leader, teacher, critical friend and a member of the family.

Dorothy taught us that being a revolutionary was a life-long proposition, a genuine commitment to siding with the underdog, fighting racism, war and every form of social injustice and inequity. She taught us to stand firm on matters of principle, while being good at uniting with those in the movement with whom we disagreed. We probably didn't learn that last one well enough. Sorry Dorothy.

We often disagreed but loved the give and take. We always knew that when push came to shove, she would be there in the front lines of the battle. That give and take with mutual love and respect went on until she died. News of her passing saddens us, along with a whole generation of L.A., activists that Dorothy trained, led and nurtured.
She will always be a part of us.
In struggle,

Mike, Fred & Susan Klonsky
September 22, 2006

http://web.mac.com/richardhealey/iWeb/Dorothy/Comments/C11589BF-7FDF-435C-B2E3-2ADD1A871749.html

Paul Vallas - Meets The Opposition in Mark Brown and What Lies Beneath

I believe that Mark Brown, who is fed scoops of news by the Uriah Heep of Illinois Politics, Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, pounced early on news that Paul Vallas would return to challenge Todd Stroger for President of the Cook County Board as a Republican, in order to put some root rot under Paul's path.

Click my post title for Mark Brown's column.

In his column today, Brown catalogues career Democrats who switched parties to advance their holds on the public imagination - Aurelia Puchinski, Ed Vrydolyak, Bernie Stone & etc. - as means of poisoning the well for Vallas. Mark Brown has had a long detestation of the 19th Ward and got embroiled in a dispute with a Mike Quigley challenger Miss Daly some years back*. Miss Daly's father as I recall had words for Mark Brown. It got ugly - for Mark Brown.

Ugly lasts and so Mark Brown seemed to go after Paul Vallas and his motives. 'Why GOP?' asks Mark Brown.

Well, gee Mark, the Chicago and Cook County Democrats did handsomely for Paul Vallas, prior to his exile in Philly, his attempt to get on the ballot against Blago in 2006, and his subsequent voyage to Louisiana. Paul Vallas is a Greek American and that means that his memory is sharper than any Irish grudge holder ( and that is longer than the odds on any Subway World Series). Paul Vallas remembers the people who were threatened by his work ethic, skills, honesty and energy. He knows who is slapping his back. Vallas understands what lies beneath a newspaper writer's questions and from whence those questions sprung up.

Paul Vallas gave Brown a terse and honest answer, 'Vallas also emphasized that this state's Democratic establishment, with the exception of the Sheahans, abandoned him in 2002 against Blagojevich, then blocked him from running for governor in 2006 because of his residency.' The Sheahans are great people - loyal, honest, energetic and did I mention that they are loyal? So is Paul Vallas.

Vallas will do well. He knows the ground - some of it is solid and some paths are sink holes.

*
Author: Mark Brown
Date: March 6, 2002 - ( Contemporary to the Blago Dreamscape Campaign for Goveronor!)
Publication: Chicago Sun-Times
Page: 2
Word Count: 1023
Excerpt:
Mary Ellen Daly is a 27-year-old manager of an Oak Street bridal shop who wants to unseat Cook County Commissioner Michael Quigley, the leading troublemaker on the County Board.

“I’m not very experienced, obviously,” she said last week when I asked about her background in politics, which by her own account is limited to handing out literature, hanging up campaign signs and stuffing envelopes for other candidates.

Odyssey - Paul Vallas Returns to Ithaca ( Palos Heights)

The wandering Greek and his Dutch Bride with the Micks of Beverly in March 2002.

The Illinois Greek Peregrine, Paul Vallas, is coming home from his journeys in the land of Polypehemus ( Philly) and the Laestrygonians ( Louisiana) after many years and many labors to right the schools of those cities - this is classic:


Tell me, O Muse, of the man of many devices, who wandered full many ways after he had sacked the sacred citadel of Troy. Many were the men whose cities he saw and whose mind he learned, aye, and many the woes he suffered in his heart upon the sea, seeking to win his own life and the return of his comrades. Yet even so he saved not his comrades, though he desired it sore, for through their own blind folly they perished—fools, who devoured the kine of Helios

Paul G. Vallas is currently superintendent of the Recovery School District of New Orleans, Louisiana.

He first gained fame as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). During his tenure from 1995 to 2001, he led an effort to reform the school system, and his work was cited by President Bill Clinton for raising test scores, improving relations with the teachers' union, balancing the budget, and instituting several new programs included mandatory summer school, after school programs, and expanding alternative, charter, and magnet schools.

The position of CEO of the CPS was created by Mayor Richard M. Daley after he successfully convinced the Illinois State Legislature to place CPS under mayoral control. Vallas had previously directed the budget arm of the Illinois State Legislature and served as budget director for Daley.

Controversy plagued Vallas towards the end of his reign as CPS CEO. Following criticism from the mayor, and the election of a union president who ran on an anti-Vallas platform, Vallas resigned in 2001 and ran for Governor of Illinois as a Democrat. Vallas placed second in the Democratic primary, losing narrowly to now-Governor Rod Blagojevich while running ahead of former state Attorney General Roland Burris.

Following the election, Vallas was appointed CEO of School District of Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, he presided over the nation's largest experiment in privatized management of schools, with the management of over 40 schools turned over to outside for-profits, nonprofits, and universities beginning in Fall 2002.
In 2005, Vallas considered challenging Blagojevich again for Illinois governor in the Democratic Primary but decided against it. He then signed a two-year contract (2007-2008) as superintendent of the Recovery School District of New Orleans, Louisiana.

On April 28, 2008 he appeared before the City Club of Chicago and on Chicago news shows discussing a possible run for governor in 2010.[1][2][3]

February 2009 Vallas publicly announces to Carol Marin of his interest in running as a Republican for Cook County Board President and discloses his plan to return to Cook County at the end of 2009 to run in the 2010 election.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Vallas

Waiting for the return the peripatetic Hellene is the Dutch girl, Sharon, who raised his three boys, Paul, Gust, and Mark and kept his hearth ever-ready from the return of man who 'fixes things.' Paul Vallas is returning to repair Cook County Government and take the reigns of the President of the Cook County Board from from young Todd Stroger.

Cautionary note to those who would contend with Paul - lay off the kine of Helios - that is some bad beef.

Lache pas la patate, Frere Paul Vallas !

OooooooooWeeeeeee Some folks is Hot that Canille Paul tipped the pieroge and rows North Home! Seems the folks in Ray's Chocolate City found out about Frere Paul's plans to Passer un bon temps on Todd Stroger, the Cook County Democratic Organization, and the Twin Menaechmi of the County Board -Menaechmus Quigley and Sosicles Claypool:

Recovery Schools Superintendent Paul Vallas will leave New Orleans by the end of the year to run for president of the Cook County Board in Illinois, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Vallas is from Chicago, and his family has lived there since he took the helm of the state-run district in the summer of 2007.

Last year, Vallas had publicly flirted with the prospect of returning to Chicago to run for governor. After dropping that idea, Vallas said he planned to stay in New Orleans through the 2009-10 school year. But he never signed a contract with State Superintendent Paul Pastorek, and seemed to be keeping his options open.

Great to have you back, Paul! Keep your neck on a swivle! They will come at you from everywhere -GOP and Democrats. Your friends and Illinois have waited long enough!

To my Cajun neighbors -Ça va et C'est la vie !

Cook County - Laissez les bon temps rouler ! Somebody -wake up Todd and tell Todd - very slowly.

President Obama's Free Credit Reports Dot Com Stimulus Bill Going Down Like An Italian Battleship!

NOW INSTEAD OF LOOKIN FLY AND ROLLIN FAT
MY LEGS ARE STICKING TO THE VINYL
AND MY POSSE’S GETTING LAUGHED AT
F-R-E-E THAT SPELLS FREE
CREDIT REPORT DOT COM BABY!

Sing It, Son!

The $819 billion bill that passed in the House last week is two-thirds spending and one-third tax cuts.

Much of the $550 billion in spending is divided among these areas: $142 billion for education, $111 billion for health care, $90 billion for infrastructure, $72 billion for aid and benefits, $54 billion for energy, $16 billion for science and technology, and $13 billion for housing.

Oh yeah, that's going Stimulate up a storm!

President Obama's Plan to Stimulate the Economy Only Simulates the Economy - Pretend We Have Money!

The Stimulus Package Bill is facing McConnell and McCain armed with Clubs and Chains and all the President has are the Doofi who are the metaphorical and political equivalent of the Dweebs in the Free Credit Report Dot Com Commercials ( in fact most of the Progressives remind me of these musical irritants)- Sen. Harry Reid and Illinois Gems Senators Dick Durbin and Tombstone Burris.

John Fritchey Earns Support and SEIU Set To Buy Feigenholz

John Fritchey tells Mike Madigan, 'SEIU will give Sara about this much money - Yeah, about Mike Quigley's height. It's not much, but it's something.'


SEIU is a PAC disguised as a union. SEIU is largest membership of unskilled and low skilled workers organized to to provide dues used to buy political hacks.

I believe that SEIU is a danger to the American Standard of Living. SEIU depends upon tax-levies to raise the salaries of its tax-salaried employees. Those taxes are paid by pipe-fitters, fire fighters, police officers, nurses ( who manage to avoid SEIU), teachers, engineers, carpenters, mill-wrights, plumbers and electricians. Trades workers stand in danger of losing their autonomy and apprenticeship programs, if they play ball with SEIU.

N.B. Read Chicago Daily Oberserver's many columns about this -

http://www.cdobs.com/archive/featured/coercion-in-the-name-of-free-choice,2715

John Fritchey wins endorsements. Sara Feigenholz is beholden to SEIU - the class warriors opposed to the American Middle Class.

Organized labor is splitting its vote in the race to succeed Rahm Emanuel in Congress.

AFSCME, the big government workers' union, quietly endorsed state Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, over the weekend, according to Henry Bayer, who heads the union's Chicago regional unit.
[...]
But another labor group which also represents such workers, SEIU, is leaning heavily toward Ms. Feigenholtz, with an announcement scheduled as soon as later this week, according to sources who should know.

Bale & Blago - Why are these Dark Nits Never Seen Together!

'Well, $%%^ You Hickey, you $%$^^&&%$er! Take your &$#@ opinions and $%%$ing allusions and %^$# yourselves you #$%66er!' Mother#$%$er you can't $%%&&ing write at #$%^ing all.

Sincerely,

Christian Bale & Rod Blagojevich

Thanks for dropping in Boys!
BTW-
Chris, we have Blago on Fitzy's Tapes - the folks can get your's on FOX by clicking my post title.

Eric Zorn's Primary Move Would Bring Political Hacks to Baseball and Softball Diamonds

Eric Zorn makes a pretty good case for moving the political Primary season to June - June Brides, School's Out and Summer neighborhood baseball/softball is under way!

Zorn noted the traditional jump-off for political season:

The case for February or March is nearly the opposite. Lengthening the entire political season weeds out the dilettantes and flashes in the pan, and an extended general-election campaign gives major candidates and voters plenty of time to get to know one another and the issues.

And in presidential-election years, the states that hold early primaries stand to have more influence in the national nominating process.

The case against February/March is that the cash required to campaign for roughly a year gives even more advantage to insiders and incumbents than they already enjoy. Further, since normal people don't pay attention to politics until after the winter holidays, the primary campaigns are too brief to give challengers a good shot.

And we can hold a separate presidential primary if we really think it makes a difference.

Eric Zorn holds for June Primaries.

However, He neglects the fact that millions of voters are at parks throughout Illinois all through June. Fat Tommy's Hot Dogs in Kennedy, Beverly and Mount Greenwood Parks boiled furiously in the tanks and the taste is untainted by political wannabees saucing the buns with palm card polemics.

The traditional Primary season is meant to spur the jockeying for places in the St. Paddy's Day Parades.

A June Primary would louse-up America's past time and T-Ball. Play not Politicians!

Also, January and February winds and sleet are just the thing needed to test the mettle of Reformers and Toss-the Bums-Out amateurs. Folks are home, generally, and know when Steve, Eddie and Eileen the precinct captains are stuffing the doors and railings and find welcome with the neighbors who gladly sign the petitions.

It is just the fine frosty season to slam the door on the Grassroots Goofballs who emerge from Volvos driven down from Evanston to shill for the clown who will get buried on election day.

Eric Zorn is thoughtful. Who said politics needs to be so?

SEIU Group Thought Tattle on Pages of Progress Illinois by Fellow Traveller Dan Bliss - Mercy Sakes Abounding - Bliss Bound for Gulag?

"The class struggle is the central conflict of the world; all others are incidental. When that power of the working class is once achieved, as it has been only in the Soviet Union, I am for maintaining it by any means whatever. Dictatorship is the obvious means in a world of enemies at home and abroad. I dislike it in principle as dangerous to its own objects. But the Soviet Union has already created liberties far greater than exist elsewhere in the world. … [There] I saw ... fresh, vigorous expressions of free living by workers and peasants all over the land. And further, no champion of a socialist society could fail to see that some suppression was necessary to achieve it. It could not all be done by persuasion. … [I]f American champions of civil liberty could all think in terms of economic freedom as the goal of their labors, they too would accept 'workers' democracy' as far superior to what the capitalist world offers to any but a small minority. Yes, and they would accept — regretfully, of course — the necessity of dictatorship while the job of reorganizing society on a socialist basis is being done." Roger Baldwin - American Marxist, Founder of ACLU, and Advocate of Group Think Progressives

Unions - Real Trades Unions and American Labor gave America the standard of living being eroded by taxes and Advocacy Politics. Advocacy Politics is played by monster tax-salaried Political Action Groups like Services Employee International Union and the blind gutless elected officials who serve their leadership. This PAC posing as a Union is not meant to move unskilled workers into the Middle Class through education and collective bargaining. SEIU is a Marxist operation dedicated to Class warfare and the erosion of the middle class through taxes. Emphasis my own - well who else?

Take a look at the 'group think' erosion feared and repressed by SEIU operative Jerry Morrison's responses to Dan Bliss who whines on about not getting his proper endorsements from Progressive Forces in Illinois. Dan, you lost an election - didn't get enough votes.

However, the power of the reaction to invited contributor Bliss's essay Lessons On Building A Progressive Movementis most telling.

1. Dan Bliss blithely informs the boiled beets Progressives that his failure was their failure.
2. Has SEIU manfully backed his candidacy Progress Illinois would be Arcadia!
3. SEIU don't cotton to out-of-step remarks.

Read the excerpts of their exchange here and click my post title for the full magilla:

jerry morrison/SEIU State Council (not verified) on Sun, 02/01/2009 - 15:08


First of all Daniel ,I take exception to your characterization of the Progressive organizations that seemingly dismissed your candidacy. Many of the organizations you mentioned in your column like SEIU, AFSCME, IEA and Sierra Club ARE the Progressive movement in Illinois and nationally. We have funded, staffed and helped organize the civil rights movement, anti war movement, environmental movement, women and gay rights movements, the immigrant rights movement, not to mention, creating and funding this very blog where you have seen fit to question our commitment to the Progressive Movement. You may not want to hear this Dan but there are a couple real simple reasons why you didn't enjoy the support of the established Progressive organizations in Illinois.

First, your opponent has been a strong supporter of our members and has gone against her own party time and again demonstrating that support. My job is to improve the lives of the 165,000 members of SEIU not help further your personal political ambitions. We support Progressives wherever they exist including the few that still reside within the Republican Party. Second, and you might not like to hear this Dan, but the first anyone in the Progressive community ever heard of you was when you decided to run for office. Prior to running had you ever met an SEIU member? Did you support our members struggles in any substantial way?

You still may be elected someday Dan. I only hope when you do you have a more sophisticated understanding of the political process and the Progressive Movement you so passionately claim to represent.

reply
Daniel Biss (not verified) on Sun, 02/01/2009 - 19:54


Hi Jerry :)

Obviously we mean different things when we use the phrase "progressive movement." Part of that has to do with where we sit and what our roles are, and a lot of that has to do with plain old semantics. Perhaps I should have used the phrase "new progressive movement" consistently throughout my post, or maybe I should have said "grassroots progressive movement" or something. Certainly there's some new collection of infrastructures that have appeared in the last decade, resulting in substantial growth of the movement, and whenever that happens, growing pains and internal divisions are inevitable. I was referring to one side of one of those divisions.

If you seriously want to retroactively debate whether you made the right call with your endorsement, I guess I could do that, although frankly I don't see the point and there may be a better forum to do so than the comment thread of a blog. If you go back to my post, you'll see that I was careful not to say that SEIU made the wrong call. You'll also see that I described SEIU as a valued ally. Perhaps your comment would have benefited from a similarly civil tone.

reply
jerry morrison (not verified) on Sun, 02/01/2009 - 22:31


Daniel, you apparently still don't get it. If there are "internal divisions within the Progressive Movement" as you contend I would ask what have you done to bridge that divivde, if it does exist? As far as I know you have never asked to meet with SEIU members to offer your support in their struggles. I don't remember you turning out your friends and allies in support of the Big Box Living Wage Campaign or man the picket line during our nursing home contract fight. I don't say this to embarass you, but if you apsire to a leadership role in the Illinois Progressive Movement you need to know that there are responsibilities that go along with that priviledge.

You may ask, what has SEIU done to bridge this perceived division within the movement? First and foremost we created Progress Illinois so that Progressives would have a unique online voice in the ongoing political debate.

As far as retroactively debating the SEIU endorsement in your race I see no need to do that what-so-ever. I am proud of the decision we made to back your opponent and would recommend
we do it again in a heartbeat. I only wish you had followed your own advice about debating this issue in another forum. Unfortunately, you chose to use the space we provided you at this blog to question the integrity of some of the most Progressive organizations in the state merely because they did not support your candidacy.

This may surprise you Dan but as a young organizer I ran for office against a longtime alderman and, like yourself, enjoyed very little institutional support from the Progressive community. But, unlike you I did not question their motivations but set out to better understand these organizations and their members ongoing struggles. In retrospect these groups made the right decision in my race just as most Progressive orgs. did in yours.

Proclaiming one's self "the Progressive candidate" in a race is not enough to garner the support of the Progressive community.

Dan, why don't you spend some time doing the nuts and bolts organizing necessary to help build a vibrant and strong Progressive Movement here in illinois. Once you have demonstrtated your understanding of the issues and your commitment to something bigger than yourself I am sure that you will make real progress with Illinois Progressives.

Seeing Progressive organizations as "valued allies" is a two-way street Dan. It requires something from you first, BEFORE you ask for political support. Anyway, I am glad Progress Illinois has afforded you this opportunity to make your commitment to Progressive values known. I hope the dialogue leads to some work. There is plenty to do brother.

reply
Daniel Biss (not verified) on Mon, 02/02/2009 - 00:20


Jerry,

I'm also glad that Progress Illinois granted me this opportunity, and that you joined the discussion . These dialogues are very valuable.

I don't think this is the venue to provide detailed responses to your questions about my past actions on behalf of the movement; hopefully we can focus on broader movement-building questions rather than focusing on one fairly obscure former candidate. Like most passionate supporters of the progressive movement, I've worked hard on behalf of the causes you describe, and like anyone who's honest with themselves, I would like to have done more and intend to do more in the future.

Just one last clarification: my post didn't question anyone's integrity. Indeed, I singled out organizations whose integrity was, I thought, unimpeachable.

Thanks again,
Daniel

Danny Boy - it is cold in Siberia! Cold here, too - but nice.

John Fritchey Stands Up Against Boiled Beets Progressives

I don't vote in the Illinois 5th Congressional District. I vote in the 3rd District and cast my last vote for Dan Lipinski; prior to that I backed Honest John Kelly against Lipinski in the Democratic Primary, Honest John Kelly is a genuine working man. However, Dan Lipinski listens to his constituents and votes their will. His Dad was a hell of a Congressman and an effective public servant.

Up north, the Progressives, the boiled beets partisans, who spout ideological doctrines that can be cut and pasted from their campaign wall-papers which originate on sites like Emily's List, Progress Illinois, and Planned Parenthood have rattled worry beads and burned incesne to Sara Feigenholz - God loveher. Sara's minions are the grassroots of Progressive ism - the Boiled Beets Crowd. Someone boils the beets and the chosen mouthpieces lock-step behind them.

I prefer candidates ( Democrat or Republican) who actually understand government, but, more importantly, the people of their neighborhoods - the people they are supposed to serve.

John Fritchey seems like my kind of guy.

Lately, John Fritchey has really impressed me by going to the root of campaign nonsense, clever dealing and wheeling, and speaking with an honest and open heart.

His big challenger is the Grassroots/Boiled Beets Progressive turnip Sara Feigenholtz. Feigenholtz sprouted up recently with gobs of cash and endorsements from the trendy rubber stamps of NOW and Emily's Listand also appeared on Blago's Clout List - Lord Have Mercy!

At a weekend forum, John Fritchey recalled a conversation that he had with Rahm Emmanuel and noted that Rahm-bo was looking for a place holder, while he "Yes We Cans" with President Obama as his Chief of Staff.

CHICAGO--Yes, President Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel did express an interest in running for his congressional seat again someday, a candidate for his seat said Sunday.

State Rep John Fritchey, D-Chicago, said he spoke with Emanuel when he was deciding whether to run for Emanuel's seat.

"He had commented to me that he may be interested in running one day again for the seat," Fritchey said. "I told him that should I be fortunate enough to run, and should I be fortunate enough to win the seat, I would look forward to campaigning against him."

That would mean having Rahm-bo toss the kitchen sink, the pantry, a bag of old laundry and some dusty jars of Emma Goldman's Old Fashioned Boiled Beets* at you John!
Honest John Kelly, from the 3rd District could catch them like Belushi caught empty beer bottles in Animal House and come at Emmanuel with the sharp edges, but you might be too much of a gentleman. John Fritchey handled the syrupy and goofy Gerald Rivera like a gentleman, when discussing Blago's years of honey-dipping under the watchful eyes of Progressive Movement. John, You should have gutted the louse on the spot. You are a gentleman.

Hell, Blago was a Progressive Darling ( Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, You-Name-It Coalition for Higher Taxes and Mobilized Meatheads) for two terms and SEIU was a huge cash cow and activist assembly line for the lad.

John Fritchey has come out swinging and has created a wedge-issue -Privatization of public holdings.

"Privatization of public assets is like selling off your furniture in order to pay your mortgage," Fritchey said to loud applause from the 500 observers. "I don't think it's a prudent fiscal policy. In the long run what you are going to see are parking meters that cost $6 an hour, airport concessions that have tripled in price and its going to cost you five times what it used to cost you to cross the Skyway. Your job as a congressman is to represent the people... not simply to be accountable to Mayor Daley and take what he says as gospel."

Sara Feigenholtz will need to consult the hoary pages of Boiled Beets Doctrine.

*Jesus, I hate boiled beets -pickled beets, raw beets, par-boiled beets, off-beets. Beets can't stand 'em - they'd gag a maggot.

John Fritchey - The Best to Replace Rahm Emmanuel in the 5th District

Il. Representative John Fritchey describes Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley to Speaker Mike Madigan - Speaker wonders, 'They really stack it that short?'
Rep. John Fritchey ( D -17th District) warned about Blago years ago, when Sara Feigenholtz was busy lining up to smooch the impeached/convicted and booted Governor Rod Blagojevich' s clout pimpled fanny.

Yesterday the Sun Times reported that Sara Feigenholtz not only grabbed favor from Blago, but from Gov. George Ryan as well - sic semper Progressives!

Progressives tend to be people who wear their hearts on their sleeves while digging their own greasy fingers into public coffers. IVI-IPO beauties like Hyde Park Porkers Bill Singer and Larry Bloom always give me a giggle.

Now, Jan Schakowsky ( whose hubby did a few semesters in Terra Haute Federal Pen for Check Kiting and later ran Camp Obama) has a play mate running for the Progressive boodle and endorsements.

She was endorsed by baby slayers of Emily's List and Blago's List:

State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz is positioning herself as a progressive Democrat in the race to succeed Rahm Emanuel in Congress representing the North Side of Chicago and some of the west suburbs.

But one of her opponents is making sure voters know Feigenholtz's name appears on two "clout lists" -- lists of people who allegedly secured jobs for friends from then-Secretary of State George Ryan in the 1990s and from then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration.

State Rep. John Fritchey, a rival in the 5th Congressional District race, has been highlighting that connection in calls to voters.

Feigenholtz noted that Fritchey doesn't mention that many elected officials in Illinois -- including Emanuel, who is now President Obama's White House chief of staff -- also found their names on the list for acts as small as writing a letter of recommendation for people who got state jobs. That's what Feigenholtz said landed her on both clout lists.

In 1996, Feigenholtz's name appeared on a list made public in Ryan's corruption trial in which her name was linked to getting Gina Pianetto a job with the Secretary of State. On the Blagojevich list, Feigenholtz's name, misspelled "Sara Fagenholtz," appears next to a notation regarding the hiring of Suzanne Maso as a $40,000-a-year public aid intern in 2003.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/1407378,CST-NWS-fifth01.article

Not only that, Sara Feigenholts is dollars over the Uriah Heep of Illinois politics - Mike Quigley - The Terror of Tiny Town!

In an early measure of strength, several candidates trying to succeed Rahm Emanuel in Congress reported fundraising totals today that suggest the brief but competitive primary campaign will attract plenty of money.

An aide to state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) said she would report raising nearly $325,000. She had not yet filed with the Federal Election Commission late Saturday.

Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley raised $138,000 and had nearly all of it to start the year.

Quigley also has signed up Chicago businessmen Bill Brandt and Henry Feinberg as his fundraising chiefs, a spokesman said. Brandt played a prominent fundraising role for Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, and he has longtime ties to former President Bill Clinton. Feinberg is a former chairman and CEO of Rand McNally.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2009/01/feigenholtz-stockpiles-campaign-cash-in-emanuel-race.html

More John Fritchey can distance himslef from the boiled beets Progressives the better voters will like him. John Fritchey was early and often in his criticism of Blago.

Quigley would take the ring-pop out of the mouth of a pre-schooler and blame someone in the 19th Ward.

Sara Fegeinholz is genuine Progressive nitwit with tons of ugly money in her fanny pack. Dines on clout and sups with Grassroots.

Voters ought to back John Fritchey! Hey, Geraldo Rivera Hates Him! That should beworth a few thousand votes.

Leo High School Hero Bob Hanlon Played for 1948 Chicago Cardinals and 1949 Steelers - Both 2009 Superbowl Teams!

The late Bob Hanlon, long time Leo High School teacher/coach, played for both of today's Superbowl Teams - in 1948 Navy Veteran Bob Hanlon who began his college career at Notre Dame was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals and the next year Hanlon played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In 1941, Hanlon was star of the Leo High School Kelly Bowl City Championship over public school powerhouse Tilden - Leo would also win the 1942 City Championship with Hanlon again carrying the ball.

95,000 witnesses

Leo stormed to a 39-6 halftime lead and smashed Tilden Tech 46-13 before 95,000 in the 1941 Prep Bowl at Soldier Field. Coach A.L. Cronin's team (11-0) was led by quarterback Babe Baranowski, halfback Ed Hayes, fullback Bob Hanlon and linemen Jim Arneberg, James Gallagher, Larry Forst, Chuck Mehmel and Frank Lauro. Hanlon scored on a 73-yard run.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/preps/highschool/935251,CST-SPT-spot07.article

1948 Chicago Cardinals

1949 1948 1947
11 - 1 (pythagorean: 9 - 3 .831)


Coaching:
Jimmy Conzelman 11 - 1 (playoffs:0 - 1)


1948 Draft
1 (11, 11) - Jim Spavital, Oklahoma State, B
3 (10, 23) - Bill Smith, North Carolina, T
5 (10, 35) - Jay Smith, Southern Mississippi, E
7 (10, 55) - Jim Cason, Louisiana State, B
8 (10, 65) - Jim Camp, North Carolina, B
10 (10, 85) - Carl Weisner, St. Louis, E
11 (10, 95) - Gene Corum, West Virginia, G
12 (10, 105) - Clarence Self, Wisconsin, B
13 (10, 115) - John Hollar, Appalachian State, B
14 (10, 125) - Bob Hanlon, Loras, B *
15 (10, 135) - George Petrovich, Texas, T
16 (10, 145) - Jim Still, Georgia Tech, B
17 (10, 155) - Clay Davis, Oklahoma State, C
18 (10, 165) - Harry Caughron, William & Mary, T
19 (10, 175) - Jerry Davis, Southeastern Louisiana, B
20 (10, 185) - Gene Dwyer, St. Ambrose, E
21 (10, 195) - Harry Waters, Colorado College, B
22 (10, 205) - Dick Monroe, Kansas, C
23 (10, 215) - H.M. (Hindu) Reynolds, Southern Mississippi, E
24 (10, 225) - Dick Wedel, Wake Forest, G
25 (10, 235) - Paul Shoults, Miami (OH), B
26 (10, 245) - Fred Wendt, Texas-El Paso, B
27 (10, 255) - Doug Belden, Florida, B
28 (10, 265) - Ray Stackhouse, Xavier, T
29 (10, 275) - Bernie Reid, Georgia, G
30 (10, 285) - Jim Powell, Tennessee, E
31 (8, 293) - Bob Polidor, Villanova, B
32 (7, 300) - Bill Fischer, Notre Dame, G

*
Bob Hanlon

Height: 6-1 Weight: 195 Deceased

Born: 8/24/1924 Springfield , OH

College: Loras

Experience: 2 Seasons
TCKL
0
SCK
0.0
FF
0
INT
4
Profile
Career Stats
Game Logs


* Tackle data not available before 2001

Career Stats more
Season Team Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
G GS Total Solo Ast Sck SFTY PDef Int Yds Avg Lng TDs FUM Lost
1949 Pittsburgh Steelers 12 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3 29 9.7 -- 0 -- --
1948 Chicago Cardinals 10 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 1 25 25.0 -- 0 -- --
TOTAL 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 4 54 -- 0 0 0 0


*

A Name is No Crime - Unless You Come from Kerry

"I heard a County Kerry farmer interviewed on Irish Radio, ... and they asked him, "Do you believe in the Pookah yourself?"
And he said, "That I do not! and I doubt much that he believes in me either!"

~ Robert Anton Wilson


"A jug of wine, a leg of lamb and thou! Beside me, whistling in the darkness."

http://countykerrylogic.blogspot.com/





The FBI - Most Wanted List*:
Edward Eugene Harper
Usama Bin Laden
Jason Derek Brown
James J. Bulger
Emigdio Preciado Jr
Robert William Fisher
Victor Manuel Gerena
Glen Stewart Godwin
Jorge Alberto Lopez-Orozco
Alexis Flores

The FBI is offering rewards for information leading to the apprehension of Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Check each fugitive page for the specific amount.
Notice: The official FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list is maintained on the FBI World Wide Web Site. This information may be copied and distributed, however, any unauthorized alteration of any portion of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives posters is a violation of federal law (18 U.S.C., Section 709). Persons who make or reproduce these alterations are subject to prosecution and, if convicted, shall be fined or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.

A couple of economists reported in Social Science Quarterly this week that there's a link between having an unpopular name and ending up in trouble as a teen boy.

To figure this out, Shippensburg University economics professors David Kalist and Daniel Lee (both of whom, it must be noted, have very popular names) gathered up four years' worth of boy names (15,000 in all) from one state's birth records and compared them with the first names of about half of that state's juvenile delinquent males born in those years. They found that the more unpopular the name, the more likely it was to be associated with kids who ended up with substantiated charges in the juvenile justice system.

Kalist and Lee take pains to point out that simply having an unusual name is not going to lead to a boyhood of crime. "It is not that the name is causing the crime," Kalist said.

Instead, he said, it looks like troubled families—the kind that tend to raise troubled kids who end up in the juvenile justice system—also tend to give those kids unusual names.

So go ahead and name your boy Rocky (No. 914 on the Social Security Administration's list of 1,000 popular names for 2007), Bentley (No. 990) or Blaze (No. 876). Your family's solid, right?

Naming a son can be a terrible problem for some parents. My own parents ( Pat and Ginny) found this out when they named my brother Kevin. You see, in Irish families especially those with roots in the Culchie(an old Gaelic term "cúl a' tí", meaning the back of the house.) ** West of Ireland ( Donegal, Sligo,Mayo, Galway, Clare, and the bogmen of the Kingdom of Kerry) where families tend to give boys the same name for generations; thus Michael Patrick, Michael Joseph, Michael John, and have Mickey Pat, Mickey Joe, & etc. or a family brand set of names like the Hickey Clan. The Hickeys of County Kerry can be distinguished by these male cognomens - Lawrence, Sylvester, Barthlomew, Patrick, John, and Michael with very few exceptions.

Last year I took My Love to a Hickey Wedding - an event of lavish welcomes and warm embraces by the women, who dance every dance, and the men to tend stand with hands and forearms locked at the groin and nod ascent or damnation to their male counterparts and dance when bidden to do so by their better halves. The young woman who holds my affections comes from Ohio and is unfamiliar with the Chicago Irish tribal subtleties. At one point in the evening, the band leader called into the microphone, 'Will Pat Hickey go to the photographer's set-up for a picture with the bride' and me and twenty of my cousins showed up.

The Hickeys tend to have waves of children and all the males bear the same names handed down for generations with multiples of given names spiced by the baptism names and the concomitant nicknames attached to weaknesses, foibles, quirks, sins or physical traits. Patrick the son of a Patrick might become the diminutive Padgin *** or 'Little Pat'( pronounced as Pat Sheen in Chicago dialect) and he may have seven to ten cousins bearing the exact same handle. Hence Red Pat, Paddy Piss-in-His -Britches, Paddy Mike, Larry's Pat, Paddy the Goat, Pig-eyed Little Sneak Paddy, Pat The Girl's Rump and Run, or Father Patrick,O.S.A. Who is Still in Orders e.g.

When my brother Kevin (Caoimhín in Irish and means 'fair begotten'), a very blond man, was born my mother and father named him Kevin after St. Kevin of Glendalough, which is no where near County Kerry. Lovely.

My Grandfather ( Lawrence) a genuine Kerry Bogman, roared in response 'Christ Jesus Almighty! And where did the two of them come up with a bollocks of a name like that, so?'-as if my parents had named the wee man Caligula or Adolph. Kevin is a rock-solid Union Man and gifted carpenter who has only generous bones to match his expansive heart.

Remember, it is for the deeds one does in this life that a name bears honor, shame ignominy or whatever the hell else follows in the wake of your deeds - Unless of course the Family are Kerrymen. ' I see no Sylvie, or Bateen or Mossy up above on the names in the FBI Listing, so.' Like the story . . .

* Please note that there are No repeats of the first name in the Ten Most Wanted List

**The term in Ireland is often a derogatory one used by those living in the capital (Dublin) for anyone who lives "outside of the pale" or "down the country"

In Hiberno-English, culchie is a term sometimes used to describe a person from rural Ireland. It usually has the pejorative sense of "country bumpkin", but is also reclaimed by some proud of their rural origin, and may be used by either side in banter between town and country people. Dublin GAA fans call supporters of any other of the county teams from Ireland as culchies, fans from counties in the north are called nordies. Dublin's fans are themselves called Jackeens in retort. In large cities such as Cork, Limerick and Galway, the term may be sometimes allocated to anybody who comes from outside an urban area. The same is true for Belfast and the rest of Northern Ireland, where the term is also popular.[1] Generally the term is more humorous than abusive in rural areas, as opposed to the more offensive term "muck-savage".

*** - Your humble correspondant was tagged Patrick Francis Hickey - My father is Patrick Eugene Hickey; thus, Padgin and subsequently as 'Dipshit,' 'Useless Amadaun (,Amadaun; Irish for 'fool'. It also refers to the court jester of the Sidhe - the people of the hills of Irish legend. The Amadaun is beautiful and graceful, but can kill with merely a thought.) and more than universally - Hickey,

Douce Saint-Valentin d'amour! Entre deux coeurs qui s'aiment, nul besoin de paroles -Two hearts in love need no words- Desbordes-Valmore.

A Woman's Poem:

Before I lay me down to sleep,
I pray for a man, who's not a creep,
One who's handsome, smart and strong.
One who loves to listen long,
One who thinks before he speaks,
One who'll call, not wait for weeks.
I pray he's gainfully employed,
When I spend his cash, won't be annoyed.
Pulls out my chair and opens my door.
Massages my back and begs to do more.
Oh! Send me a man who'll make love to my mind,
Knows what to answer to 'how big is my behind?'
I pray that this man will love me to no end,
And always be my very best friend.



A MAN'S POEM:

I pray for a deaf-mute gymnast nymphomaniac with huge boobs who owns a bar on a golf course and loves to send me fishing and drinking. This doesn't rhyme and I don't give a shit.

.

Get Your Blago Pez Dispenser - 'It Actually Feeds You!'

Given the significant financial set-back to Rod Blagojevich incumbent upon the conviction of said Rod Blagojevich by the Illinois Senate yesterday, this fund-raising novelty might have appeal to nostalgia buffs, political wannabees, community activists, tooth assassins and shrinking Blagojevich extended family.

Blago Pez - It Actually Feeds You! Charge My Heart, if this won't be a top seller!

SEIU Helped Create the Blago We All Know - Watch Them Now

Progress Illinois, SEIU's Junior Commissar Mikey Mouse Club, is huffing and puffing about more grassroots reform now that Blago has been 86-ed by the State of Illinois.

In our latest feature article, Adam notes that Rod Blagojevich's removal from office could clear the way for some far-reaching -- and much-needed -- campaign finance restrictions in Illinois. On WTTW's Chicago Tonight yesterday, former state comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch echoed that sentiment. She highlighted the "window of opportunity" created by Blagojevich's departure and cited caps on campaign contributions as "essential." Watch it: Netsch's observation that "it can't just be legislators" pushing these sorts of reforms is very important. Grassroots and institutional support is going to be crucial. And to that point, I want to highlight the fact that SEIU Illinois (which sponsors this website) is itself pushing for strict restrictions on campaign contributions, which bodes well for the cause.

Oh Heavens Yes, Gracie! Josh, you are a dilly!


SEIU you will recall was mired deeply in Blago's Honey-Dipping Governorship and SEIU figures in Federal Prosecutor Fitzgerald's Criminal Complaint against the only Governor in Illinois History Impeached and Convicted by the Legislature.

Andy Stern's SEIU will be there, to quote Tom Joad from Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath to troll for and make new Blago. Make no mistake.

Here is a lovely compilation of SEIU/Blago Bedroom Eyes from the World Socialist Website -published by International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI)them own selves!

In any event, Blagojevich and the SEIU have a lengthy and mutually beneficial relationship. The Wall Street Journal notes that the union “was an early and strong supporter of Mr. Blagojevich, backing him over several other candidates [for Illinois governor] in 2002.” As a condition of its support, the SEIU won a pledge from Blagojevich that once in office he would issue an executive order directing the state government to negotiate a union contract with home health-care workers.


Shortly after taking office, the new Illinois governor signed an order allowing as many as 20,000 such workers to unionize. They were signed up by the SEIU. Blagojevich also appointed Balanoff to the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, which approves hospital construction projects.


A second executive order, signed in February 2005, allowed collective bargaining for child-care workers. “The day after it received a letter from the governor’s office saying that a union election could be held, SEIU submitted 18,000 cards from workers it had signed up” (Wall Street Journal). The workers involved are highly exploited, suffering from low wages and a lack of benefits.


Officials of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) complained of the “special relationship” the SEIU had with Blagojevich. The latter union was the number one contributor to the governor’s re-election bid in 2006, donating more than $900,000, or some 5 percent of his total campaign fund.


The SEIU also has a close relationship with the president-elect. The union’s political action committee “spent at least $26 million on Mr. Obama’s behalf in the presidential campaign, making it by far the largest single PAC donor in the campaign” (New York Times).


The union, in the words of the Washington Post, has “become an omnipresent force in Democratic politics.”


An SEIU spokeswoman, Michelle Ringuette, defended the contributions. “Many unions make political donations to political candidates,” she told the Times, “in the interest of making sure we have elected officials who represent the interest of working families, men and women who get up and go to work every day.”


Neither Blagojevich nor Obama represent “working families,” although they may posture along those lines. Their policies defend the interests of big business and the corporate-financial aristocracy. The present corruption scandal provides a glimpse into the reality behind the rhetoric of Democratic Party politics: corrupt, well-heeled individuals pursuing their own selfish goals.


Moreover, the SEIU and the rest of the American union bureaucracy do not make use of their members’ dues money in the form of contributions to Democratic candidates to advance workers’ interests, but to safeguard their own incomes and privileges.


Stern and the SEIU have recently made a specialty of reaching contracts with governments and corporations that benefit themselves and the employers, at the expense of union members. (See Backroom deals by US service unions strip workers of rights)


The SEIU broke away from the sclerotic and discredited AFL-CIO promising a new brand of dynamic unionism, with a special emphasis on organizing the unorganized. As the WSWS noted last May: “However, this has nothing to do with defending or improving conditions, but involves colluding with employers to impose union membership on low-paid workers, who are denied the right to vote on union certification and in some cases don’t even realize they are joining a union.”


The union has set itself up as a kind of labor contractor, offering employers “labor peace” in exchange for the right to collect dues.


In its contract with California nursing home chains, reported the San Francisco Weekly, the SEIU agreed that workers would have no input regarding hours, vacations, pay, layoffs, staffing levels or any other matter concerning their jobs. The newspaper reported, “The employers may outsource work performed by union members, and speed up, reassign, or eliminate jobs at will. The employer may eliminate vacations, or any time off, as the employer sees fit.”


The SEIU went on to use this arrangement as a model for other “organizing” efforts in Washington and New Jersey.


At the time of his arrest Blagojevich was reportedly preparing to issue another executive order that would have allowed 1,200 workers who care for the developmentally disabled in Illinois to organize. Spokeswoman Ringuette told the Wall Street Journal that the SEIU “was aware of the executive order but didn’t know what role, if any, the union played in developing it.”