Marijuana legalization is up for a vote in Illinois. Both sides are present in Illinois to lobby for or against marijuana legalization. Guess who else was out there? Our old friend Kevin Sabet-Sharghi. Leader of Smart Approaches to Marijuana aka SAM. Using the word "smart" to describe this group is like using the word "tiny" when discussing a large person. To prove it the Kev himself made the following statement:
“We think marijuana is taking cues from Big Tobacco,” Sabet said. “This is not about mom and pop stores growing weed, this is all about Wall Street and Silicon Valley, rich white guys who want to get richer off marijuana.”
“I hope we’ll have more balance in this debate, we talk about both revenue and cost, we do a comparison,” Sabet said. “We’re advocating to slow down legalization, smarter policies, more prevention, a holistic way to look at substance abuse.”
Source
2nd paragraph: IOW blah blah blah.
I don't usually take this route but it is difficult to take this guy seriously. Yes he made both a racist and sexist statement. Has anyone else brought this up? As of right now at posting time: no they haven't. I guess the anti-choice,anti-freedom types like the Kev and his cohorts have to rely on both racism and sexism to promote their cause. The more things change the more they stay the same.
Showing posts with label illinois. Show all posts
Showing posts with label illinois. Show all posts
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Friday, September 23, 2016
Congresswoman kills vets
Illinois Rep. Tammy Duckworth, who is also running for the Senate this November against Senator Mark Kirk, was campaigning instead of attending to grave issues at the Department of Veterans Affairs while serving as the department’s assistant secretary. Records provided by Kirk’s re-election campaign show while the VA scandal regarding outrageous waiting times and mistreatment for the nation’s combat veterans was unraveling, Duckworth, a veteran herself, traveled extensively to campaign for Democratic leaders in the Senate.
In March 2010, Duckworth mixed official travel with political travel as she campaigned for Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid’s re-election. Although expenses for Duckworth’s trip totaled $3,955, Reid’s campaign only reimbursed the VA $813.97 initially. In addition, the VA owed Reid’s campaign $105.33, according to the Office of General Counsel Review, causing Duckworth to keep $708.44 of the reimbursement. Reid’s political action committee (PAC)—Searchlight Leadership PAC—donated $3,500 to Duckworth’s House campaign in 2012, and $10,000 to Duckworth’s Senate campaign this year.
A year later, Duckworth traveled to Montana to campaign for Senator John Tester, who won re-election the following year. Tester returned the favor and donated $2,400.40 to Duckworth’s 2012 House campaign. This year, Tester’s PAC—Treasure State Pac—donated $10,000 to Duckworth’s Senate campaign.
As Duckworth collected the dough, problems at her agency were only becoming sticky. In 2009 the VA disclosed that, due to poorly disinfected equipment, at least 10,000 veterans who underwent colonoscopies in Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida were exposed to potential viral diseases. Thirty-seven tested positive for two forms of hepatitis, while six tested positive for HIV. Then-VA Director Eric Shinseki initiated disciplinary actions and required hospital directors to provide written verification of compliance with VA operating procedures. Shinseki resigned in May 2014.
In 2011, as Duckworth campaigned for Tester, nine Ohio veterans tested positive for hepatitis after routine dental work at a VA clinic in the state. A dentist at the VA medical center in Dayton acknowledged not washing his hands or even changing gloves between patients for 18 years. That same year, in Pennsylvania, there was an outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease at the VA hospital in Oakland, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Over the next two years, at least five veterans died. Two years later, the newspaper disclosed VA records which showed evidence of widespread contamination of the Oakland facility since 2007.
According to a CNN report, at least 19 veterans died at VA hospitals in 2010 and 2011 due to delayed waiting times for simple medical screenings like endoscopes and colonoscopies. According to a VA internal document acquired by the network, 82 veterans—during that time period—died or were dying or suffering serious injuries because of delayed diagnosis or treatment for those procedures.
The Duckworth campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Source
This is disgraceful. If this woman is a vet she sure doesn't have much time or compassion for her fellow vets. If she is a Democrat and campaigning for Democratic candidates then she is campaigning for those that hate the military because they are a bunch of '60's radicals. What she did is shameful and should be investigated.
In March 2010, Duckworth mixed official travel with political travel as she campaigned for Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid’s re-election. Although expenses for Duckworth’s trip totaled $3,955, Reid’s campaign only reimbursed the VA $813.97 initially. In addition, the VA owed Reid’s campaign $105.33, according to the Office of General Counsel Review, causing Duckworth to keep $708.44 of the reimbursement. Reid’s political action committee (PAC)—Searchlight Leadership PAC—donated $3,500 to Duckworth’s House campaign in 2012, and $10,000 to Duckworth’s Senate campaign this year.
A year later, Duckworth traveled to Montana to campaign for Senator John Tester, who won re-election the following year. Tester returned the favor and donated $2,400.40 to Duckworth’s 2012 House campaign. This year, Tester’s PAC—Treasure State Pac—donated $10,000 to Duckworth’s Senate campaign.
As Duckworth collected the dough, problems at her agency were only becoming sticky. In 2009 the VA disclosed that, due to poorly disinfected equipment, at least 10,000 veterans who underwent colonoscopies in Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida were exposed to potential viral diseases. Thirty-seven tested positive for two forms of hepatitis, while six tested positive for HIV. Then-VA Director Eric Shinseki initiated disciplinary actions and required hospital directors to provide written verification of compliance with VA operating procedures. Shinseki resigned in May 2014.
In 2011, as Duckworth campaigned for Tester, nine Ohio veterans tested positive for hepatitis after routine dental work at a VA clinic in the state. A dentist at the VA medical center in Dayton acknowledged not washing his hands or even changing gloves between patients for 18 years. That same year, in Pennsylvania, there was an outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease at the VA hospital in Oakland, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Over the next two years, at least five veterans died. Two years later, the newspaper disclosed VA records which showed evidence of widespread contamination of the Oakland facility since 2007.
According to a CNN report, at least 19 veterans died at VA hospitals in 2010 and 2011 due to delayed waiting times for simple medical screenings like endoscopes and colonoscopies. According to a VA internal document acquired by the network, 82 veterans—during that time period—died or were dying or suffering serious injuries because of delayed diagnosis or treatment for those procedures.
The Duckworth campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Source
This is disgraceful. If this woman is a vet she sure doesn't have much time or compassion for her fellow vets. If she is a Democrat and campaigning for Democratic candidates then she is campaigning for those that hate the military because they are a bunch of '60's radicals. What she did is shameful and should be investigated.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Keep Hillary off the Illinois ballot
From Stop Hillary PAC:
Without your help, Hillary Clinton will become the next President of the United States.
In the next 24 hours our legal team will be in court in Illinois battling Hillary's legal team.
If we win – Hillary will be kept off the Illinois ballot and will automatically lose Illinois 190 electoral votes.
I only have a chance of winning, with your immediate help.
Will you help Stop Hillary PAC keep Hillary off the ballot or will you stand aside and let her win?
We have 24 hours to finalize our legal strategy – can compete with Hillary's Washington lawyers.
I need your immediate help if we have any chance to win. This is important, the future of our country is at stake.
The Clinton campaign is fighting tooth and nail to stay on the Illinois ballot. But Stop Hillary PAC is working to keep her off.
We have made great progress over the past few days.
Will you keep Hillary off the ballot with an emergency contribution?
Here is the deal. We need the resources to mount an aggressive campaign to fight back against Hillary and her Beltway lawyers.
We have 24 hours. 24 hours to knock Hillary off the ballot and seriously damage her chances of becoming the next President of the United States. Will you fight Hillary or let her win?
They have hired a massive law firm to defend Hillary. They think if they bury us in paperwork and motions, that we will give up and walk away.
I need you. Without your help, Hillary Clinton will stay on the ballot. When you look back at this election in December, will you be able to tell your kids and grandkids that you played a part in keeping Hillary out of the White House.
The time is now. Step up.
Thank you,
Donald
P.S.
Without your support,Hillary is guaranteed to win Illinois. How will you feel if Hillary wins Illinois and you did nothing to stop her? Will you step up and Stop Hillary or will you let her go again?
Without your help, Hillary Clinton will become the next President of the United States.
In the next 24 hours our legal team will be in court in Illinois battling Hillary's legal team.
If we win – Hillary will be kept off the Illinois ballot and will automatically lose Illinois 190 electoral votes.
I only have a chance of winning, with your immediate help.
Will you help Stop Hillary PAC keep Hillary off the ballot or will you stand aside and let her win?
We have 24 hours to finalize our legal strategy – can compete with Hillary's Washington lawyers.
I need your immediate help if we have any chance to win. This is important, the future of our country is at stake.
The Clinton campaign is fighting tooth and nail to stay on the Illinois ballot. But Stop Hillary PAC is working to keep her off.
We have made great progress over the past few days.
Will you keep Hillary off the ballot with an emergency contribution?
Here is the deal. We need the resources to mount an aggressive campaign to fight back against Hillary and her Beltway lawyers.
We have 24 hours. 24 hours to knock Hillary off the ballot and seriously damage her chances of becoming the next President of the United States. Will you fight Hillary or let her win?
They have hired a massive law firm to defend Hillary. They think if they bury us in paperwork and motions, that we will give up and walk away.
I need you. Without your help, Hillary Clinton will stay on the ballot. When you look back at this election in December, will you be able to tell your kids and grandkids that you played a part in keeping Hillary out of the White House.
The time is now. Step up.
Thank you,
Donald
P.S.
Without your support,Hillary is guaranteed to win Illinois. How will you feel if Hillary wins Illinois and you did nothing to stop her? Will you step up and Stop Hillary or will you let her go again?
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Stop Hillary PAC takes Hillary Clinton to court
From Stop Hillary PAC:
I have good news and bad news!
Stop Hillary PAC has just heard back from the Illinois Court, and our case to take Hillary off the ballot is progressing.
The good news: after months of preparation and some very late nights, Stop Hillary PAC is dragging Hillary Clinton into court!
The bad news: we're about to go up against what is most certainly one of the highest paid campaign law firms in the country – and they're going to try and bury us.
They will try to win at all costs.
That's where you come in...will you chip in even $3 to help us take Hillary head on in court?
Or donate another LEGAL FUND amount:
Thanks,
Donald
I have good news and bad news!
Stop Hillary PAC has just heard back from the Illinois Court, and our case to take Hillary off the ballot is progressing.
The good news: after months of preparation and some very late nights, Stop Hillary PAC is dragging Hillary Clinton into court!
The bad news: we're about to go up against what is most certainly one of the highest paid campaign law firms in the country – and they're going to try and bury us.
They will try to win at all costs.
That's where you come in...will you chip in even $3 to help us take Hillary head on in court?
Or donate another LEGAL FUND amount:
Thanks,
Donald
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Police brutality at Homan Square
Secret Police Facility “Black Site” Discovered Inside America, Detaining & Torturing Americans
By Jay Syrmopoulos on February 24, 2015
Chicago, Ill. – In a startling report from the Guardian, details have been revealed about Chicago police detaining American citizens at “black sites.” These sites are similar to those used by the CIA around the world to interrogate/torture alleged terrorists.
The stunning revelation of the Chicago Police Department operating what amounts to an off-the-books interrogation facility is threatening, to say the least. The facility apparently operates outside the bounds of the U.S. Constitution, and its discovery exposes the very real and present danger of the threat posed by the police state to American freedom and liberty.
Housed in a warehouse on Chicago’s west side, Homan Square has long been the home to secretive police work. Attorneys as well as protesters, tell a tale of being systematically being denied their constitutional rights.
According to the Guardian,
Alleged police practices at Homan Square, according to those familiar with the facility who spoke out to the Guardian after its investigation into Chicago police abuse, include:
• Keeping arrestees out of official booking databases.
• Beating by police, resulting in head wounds.
• Shackling for prolonged periods.
• Denying attorneys access to the “secure” facility.
• Holding people without legal counsel for between 12 and 24 hours, including people as young as 15.
At least one man was found unresponsive in a Homan Square “interview room” and later pronounced dead.
In addition, no one is booked into Homan Square. Thus, there is no way of allowing anyone to account for their whereabouts as would typically happen at a precinct. When attorneys attempt to gain access due to a client being inside, they are summarily turned away from the “secure facility.”
“It’s sort of an open secret among attorneys that regularly make police station visits, this place – if you can’t find a client in the system, odds are they’re there,” said Chicago lawyer Julia Bartmes.
According to Chicago civil-rights attorney Flint Taylor the practices entrenched in the operation of Homan Square violate both the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
“This Homan Square revelation seems to me to be an institutionalization of the practice that dates back more than 40 years,” Taylor said, “of violating a suspect or witness’ rights to a lawyer and not to be physically or otherwise coerced into giving a statement.”
According to Eliza Solowiej of Chicago’s First Defense Legal Aid, one man had his booking information changed in the central booking database. He was then taken to Homan Square with no record of the transfer. After his stint at Homan Square, he was taken to the hospital with a head injury, and she was finally able to find him.
“He said that the officers caused his head injuries in an interrogation room at Homan Square. I had been looking for him for six to eight hours, and every department member I talked to said they had never heard of him,” Solowiej said. “He sent me a phone pic of his head injuries because I had seen him in a police station right before he was transferred to Homan Square without any.”
Then, in a case that highlights the extremely ominous nature of Homan Square, 44-year-old John Hubbard was pronounced dead on February 2, 2013 after being found “unresponsive inside an interview room.”
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office “could not locate any record for the Guardian indicating a cause of Hubbard’s death. It remains unclear why Hubbard was ever in police custody,” the Guardian reports.
We are clearly teetering on the brink of total despotism and violations of the Constitution. This egregious practice must be investigated and prosecuted by the Department of Justice if they hope to keep the social fabric from unraveling.
James Trainum, a retired Washington DC homicide detective, who now studies national policing issues for the Innocence Project and the Constitution Project said,
“I’ve never known any kind of organized, secret place where they go and just hold somebody before booking for hours and hours and hours. That scares the hell out of me that that even exists or might exist.”
The egregious nature of this clear and present danger to American liberty cannot be overstated. According to Tracy Siska, a criminologist and civil-rights activist with the Chicago Justice Project,
“The real danger in allowing practices like Guantánamo or Abu Ghraib is the fact that they always creep into other aspects,” Siska said.
“They creep into domestic law enforcement, either with weaponry like with the militarization of police, or interrogation practices. That’s how we ended up with a black site in Chicago.”
Revelations like this case show how easy it is for constitutional protections to be completely disregarded and how quickly the slide into tyranny can occur.
Let’s get the word out and wake people up, by sharing this article wide and far. The time has come to unite and demand the systemic changes necessary to create a more just society and sustaining liberty.
Source
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Illinois wants to penalize citizens for recording police and other public officials aka politicians
From Fight For The Future:
Illinois just passed a vague law that discourages people from recording their interactions with police by making it a felony to record cops and other government officials in certain circumstances.
The right to record our interactions with law enforcement and government officials is a basic freedom. It protects all of us from abuse. But the legislature of Illinois just hastily passed an amendment attached to a totally unrelated bill that will actually increase penalti es that people face if they record police or other officials in situations where they have a “reasonable expectation of privacy.”
The problem is that the bill’s language is so vague that it will leave Illinois residents wondering whether and when they have the right to record their interactions with police. This will have a chilling effect, and if it becomes a trend it and poses a threat to our First Amendment rights. Worse, this bill grants new authorities to police and informants to secretly record conversations without a warrant.
Sign the petition to the Governor of Illinois: veto the bill that makes it more illegal to record the cops than for them to record you.
People from across the political spectrum all agree on one thing: we want more transparency and accountability from our government. Anytime a state passes a law that limits our freedom, it’s important that we push back to prevent it from becoming a dangerous trend.
Please click here to sign the petition, and then forward this email to as many people as you can.
More than 10,000 people have taken action on this in just the first few hours of us learning about the bill. If everyone signs and shares this we’ll almost certainly strike a major victory for free speech and privacy.
Sincerely,
-Evan, Tiffiniy, and Holmes
Fight for the Future
Corruption and shoddy legislation in the Land of Lincoln? No tell me it's not so. I mean how can it be when Illinois has produced such esteemed leaders:
I mean with such esteemed leaders,especially a mayor of one of the safest cities in America. Oh no,how can this possibly be.
Illinois just passed a vague law that discourages people from recording their interactions with police by making it a felony to record cops and other government officials in certain circumstances.
The right to record our interactions with law enforcement and government officials is a basic freedom. It protects all of us from abuse. But the legislature of Illinois just hastily passed an amendment attached to a totally unrelated bill that will actually increase penalti es that people face if they record police or other officials in situations where they have a “reasonable expectation of privacy.”
The problem is that the bill’s language is so vague that it will leave Illinois residents wondering whether and when they have the right to record their interactions with police. This will have a chilling effect, and if it becomes a trend it and poses a threat to our First Amendment rights. Worse, this bill grants new authorities to police and informants to secretly record conversations without a warrant.
Sign the petition to the Governor of Illinois: veto the bill that makes it more illegal to record the cops than for them to record you.
People from across the political spectrum all agree on one thing: we want more transparency and accountability from our government. Anytime a state passes a law that limits our freedom, it’s important that we push back to prevent it from becoming a dangerous trend.
Please click here to sign the petition, and then forward this email to as many people as you can.
More than 10,000 people have taken action on this in just the first few hours of us learning about the bill. If everyone signs and shares this we’ll almost certainly strike a major victory for free speech and privacy.
Sincerely,
-Evan, Tiffiniy, and Holmes
Fight for the Future
Corruption and shoddy legislation in the Land of Lincoln? No tell me it's not so. I mean how can it be when Illinois has produced such esteemed leaders:
I mean with such esteemed leaders,especially a mayor of one of the safest cities in America. Oh no,how can this possibly be.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Union thugs put child at risk
From the National Right To Work Committee:
Big Labor will do ANYTHING to stuff its pockets with more forced-dues cash . . .
. . . even when that means coming between a mother and her developmentally disabled child!
I can't tell you how much it angers me to even have to write those disgusting words.
So when Illinois mom Pam Harris first told Foundation attorneys exactly what the union bosses were scheming to do to her and her family in 2011, I didn't hesitate to offer free legal aid.
But now, with only five days left until Foundation Staff Attorney William Messenger argues before the United States Supreme Court, I MUST ask for your generous tax-deductible support right away.
I can't make any promises. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
But I can tell you the union bosses are shaking in their boots about the possible ramifications of this Supreme Court fight!
You see, the Pam Harris case started in 2009 when disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich issued an Executive Order handing his Big Labor buddies a windfall, expanding their monopoly bargaining powers over home healthcare workers.
That Executive Order was expanded by Governor Pat Quinn two years later, ultimately classifying Pam Harris and thousands of others just like her all across Illinois as state employees who can be required to pay union dues or fees.
But Pam Harris isn't a state employee.
She's a stay-at-home mom taking care of her son, Josh, who requires 24/7 care due to his rare Rubenstein-Taybi condition.
As part of a state Medicaid program, she receives financial support to care for her son.
Now, the union bosses say that means she should be forced to accept Big Labor lobbying as her voice at the state capitol and pay forced dues!
Mrs. Harris has stated time and again her main concern is Big Labor suddenly stepping in and telling her how to care for her son.
I don't know about you, but I can't imagine Big Labor's work rules in that environment.
And the audacity for Big Labor to claim that moms should be forced to pay union dues just to take care of their kids is shocking to me!
But worse, it's all being done in the mad rush for money and power.
Forcing healthcare workers under Big Labor control has long been a top Big Labor priority in expanding their government-sector reach.
As I've already explained, classifying men and women like Mrs. Harris as a government-sector employee is a real stretch.
But in states like Illinois, where Big Labor has monopoly bargaining power over almost all government employees, the results have been devastating.
Wasteful work rules, public sector strikes, skyrocketing tax rates, bloated pensions and bankruptcies are all the inevitable result of union boss monopoly control.
Big Labor is literally champing at the bit to bring this madness to the home healthcare industry.
In fact, they've already started.
Today, roughly one-quarter of home healthcare workers are controlled by Big Labor.
In fact, home healthcare workers represent roughly one-third of the SEIU's total membership.
And with large segments of the U.S. population aging, the demand for home healthcare workers is expected to dramatically increase by nearly 70% by 2020!
According to the Wall Street Journal, 75% of these workers will be taking care of a family member or friend!
Yet Big Labor wants every one of these workers to pay up for the "privilege."
I'm sure you can see what a massive forced-dues cash cow this could be for Big Labor -- unless you and I stop them in their tracks.
That's why this National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation case is so critical.
As Foundation attorney William Messenger will argue, Pam Harris must not be forced to pay union dues or fees just to take care of her developmentally disabled son.
Neither should any other home healthcare worker in Illinois.
Winning that argument alone would be a huge victory.
And my hope is it will begin undoing the creeping insanity of Big Labor control of home healthcare workers all over the United States.
That possibility alone has Big Labor shaking in their boots.
But Foundation attorneys won't stop there.
Foundation attorneys are already pushing the envelope -- to argue no government-sector worker anywhere should be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment.
If successful, this would usher in Right to Work reforms all over the country.
This would be an ENORMOUS ruling!
Today, a majority of workers toiling under forced unionism in the United States are government-sector workers. Thus, more than half of Big Labor's $14 BILLION in annual dues income could be put at risk!
Of course, it's quite possible the Court won't be willing go that far.
After all, in cases like these, before unpredictable and ideological Justices, just being "right" isn't enough.
But if Foundation attorneys prove successful -- even in freeing Illinois' home healthcare workers like Pam Harris from the specter of forced unionism -- it will be a BIG victory in this critical 2014 election year.
Union bosses have enacted similar schemes in 18 states already, and you can bet that if the court doesn’t put an end to this forced-dues cash grab now, they won’t stop there.
Let's not fool ourselves.
Despite Big Labor's phony claims, a fat chunk of the one BILLION dollars the union bosses spend every election year on politics comes from men and women like Pam Harris.
These workers are forced to cough up union dues or fees ultimately used to supportt candidates they vehemently disagree with.
And then you and I get stuck with those Big Labor-bankrolled politicians -- tax-and-spend politicians like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton who are more concerned with paying off their Big Labor cronies than in doing what's right for America.
That's why I think this case could be so incredibly important -- and it's why I'm counting on your help.
The truth is, with the flood of Big Labor power grabs under the Obama administration, your Foundation has had its hands full.
Today, the Foundation is involved in over 230 active cases!
Each time I'm approached by someone like Mrs. Harris, I have to make a decision.
After all, with coffers stuffed with forced-dues dollars from millions of workers nationwide, I know Big Labor isn't short on cash.
Meanwhile, I'm watching our legal costs grow and grow.
And each new case means more resources are needed -- resources the Foundation is trying to raise.
But I just can't say no.
These cases -- especially the one we're set to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court next week -- are just too important to the future of our fragile Republic!
I hope you agree.
If you do, I hope you'll agree to your most generous tax-deductible contribution right away.
In fact, I hope you'll agree to $25. Or perhaps even more.
I know that's a lot. But the stakes couldn't be higher.
As I've stated, this case has the potential to be THE farthest-reaching case your Foundation has ever taken on.
Our staff attorneys are literally working around the clock to ensure every word spoken before the U.S. Supreme Court is a rock solid defense of freedom.
But if $25 is just too much, won't you please agree to $15 or at least $5?
I hope you will.
But time is running out. The countdown is on.
So please agree to your most generous contribution of $25, $15 or at least $5 TODAY!
Sincerely,
Mark Mix
President
P.S. With only five days left until Foundation Staff Attorney William Messenger argues before the United States Supreme Court, I MUST ask for your generous tax-deductible support right away.
BILLIONS of forced-dues dollars for Big Labor's political machine could be at stake!
So won't you please agree to your most generous contribution of $25, $15 or at least $5 TODAY?
Please act IMMEDIATELY!
To Donate
Big Labor will do ANYTHING to stuff its pockets with more forced-dues cash . . .
. . . even when that means coming between a mother and her developmentally disabled child!
I can't tell you how much it angers me to even have to write those disgusting words.
So when Illinois mom Pam Harris first told Foundation attorneys exactly what the union bosses were scheming to do to her and her family in 2011, I didn't hesitate to offer free legal aid.
But now, with only five days left until Foundation Staff Attorney William Messenger argues before the United States Supreme Court, I MUST ask for your generous tax-deductible support right away.
I can't make any promises. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
But I can tell you the union bosses are shaking in their boots about the possible ramifications of this Supreme Court fight!
You see, the Pam Harris case started in 2009 when disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich issued an Executive Order handing his Big Labor buddies a windfall, expanding their monopoly bargaining powers over home healthcare workers.
That Executive Order was expanded by Governor Pat Quinn two years later, ultimately classifying Pam Harris and thousands of others just like her all across Illinois as state employees who can be required to pay union dues or fees.
But Pam Harris isn't a state employee.
She's a stay-at-home mom taking care of her son, Josh, who requires 24/7 care due to his rare Rubenstein-Taybi condition.
As part of a state Medicaid program, she receives financial support to care for her son.
Now, the union bosses say that means she should be forced to accept Big Labor lobbying as her voice at the state capitol and pay forced dues!
Mrs. Harris has stated time and again her main concern is Big Labor suddenly stepping in and telling her how to care for her son.
I don't know about you, but I can't imagine Big Labor's work rules in that environment.
And the audacity for Big Labor to claim that moms should be forced to pay union dues just to take care of their kids is shocking to me!
But worse, it's all being done in the mad rush for money and power.
Forcing healthcare workers under Big Labor control has long been a top Big Labor priority in expanding their government-sector reach.
As I've already explained, classifying men and women like Mrs. Harris as a government-sector employee is a real stretch.
But in states like Illinois, where Big Labor has monopoly bargaining power over almost all government employees, the results have been devastating.
Wasteful work rules, public sector strikes, skyrocketing tax rates, bloated pensions and bankruptcies are all the inevitable result of union boss monopoly control.
Big Labor is literally champing at the bit to bring this madness to the home healthcare industry.
In fact, they've already started.
Today, roughly one-quarter of home healthcare workers are controlled by Big Labor.
In fact, home healthcare workers represent roughly one-third of the SEIU's total membership.
And with large segments of the U.S. population aging, the demand for home healthcare workers is expected to dramatically increase by nearly 70% by 2020!
According to the Wall Street Journal, 75% of these workers will be taking care of a family member or friend!
Yet Big Labor wants every one of these workers to pay up for the "privilege."
I'm sure you can see what a massive forced-dues cash cow this could be for Big Labor -- unless you and I stop them in their tracks.
That's why this National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation case is so critical.
As Foundation attorney William Messenger will argue, Pam Harris must not be forced to pay union dues or fees just to take care of her developmentally disabled son.
Neither should any other home healthcare worker in Illinois.
Winning that argument alone would be a huge victory.
And my hope is it will begin undoing the creeping insanity of Big Labor control of home healthcare workers all over the United States.
That possibility alone has Big Labor shaking in their boots.
But Foundation attorneys won't stop there.
Foundation attorneys are already pushing the envelope -- to argue no government-sector worker anywhere should be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment.
If successful, this would usher in Right to Work reforms all over the country.
This would be an ENORMOUS ruling!
Today, a majority of workers toiling under forced unionism in the United States are government-sector workers. Thus, more than half of Big Labor's $14 BILLION in annual dues income could be put at risk!
Of course, it's quite possible the Court won't be willing go that far.
After all, in cases like these, before unpredictable and ideological Justices, just being "right" isn't enough.
But if Foundation attorneys prove successful -- even in freeing Illinois' home healthcare workers like Pam Harris from the specter of forced unionism -- it will be a BIG victory in this critical 2014 election year.
Union bosses have enacted similar schemes in 18 states already, and you can bet that if the court doesn’t put an end to this forced-dues cash grab now, they won’t stop there.
Let's not fool ourselves.
Despite Big Labor's phony claims, a fat chunk of the one BILLION dollars the union bosses spend every election year on politics comes from men and women like Pam Harris.
These workers are forced to cough up union dues or fees ultimately used to supportt candidates they vehemently disagree with.
And then you and I get stuck with those Big Labor-bankrolled politicians -- tax-and-spend politicians like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton who are more concerned with paying off their Big Labor cronies than in doing what's right for America.
That's why I think this case could be so incredibly important -- and it's why I'm counting on your help.
The truth is, with the flood of Big Labor power grabs under the Obama administration, your Foundation has had its hands full.
Today, the Foundation is involved in over 230 active cases!
Each time I'm approached by someone like Mrs. Harris, I have to make a decision.
After all, with coffers stuffed with forced-dues dollars from millions of workers nationwide, I know Big Labor isn't short on cash.
Meanwhile, I'm watching our legal costs grow and grow.
And each new case means more resources are needed -- resources the Foundation is trying to raise.
But I just can't say no.
These cases -- especially the one we're set to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court next week -- are just too important to the future of our fragile Republic!
I hope you agree.
If you do, I hope you'll agree to your most generous tax-deductible contribution right away.
In fact, I hope you'll agree to $25. Or perhaps even more.
I know that's a lot. But the stakes couldn't be higher.
As I've stated, this case has the potential to be THE farthest-reaching case your Foundation has ever taken on.
Our staff attorneys are literally working around the clock to ensure every word spoken before the U.S. Supreme Court is a rock solid defense of freedom.
But if $25 is just too much, won't you please agree to $15 or at least $5?
I hope you will.
But time is running out. The countdown is on.
So please agree to your most generous contribution of $25, $15 or at least $5 TODAY!
Sincerely,
Mark Mix
President
P.S. With only five days left until Foundation Staff Attorney William Messenger argues before the United States Supreme Court, I MUST ask for your generous tax-deductible support right away.
BILLIONS of forced-dues dollars for Big Labor's political machine could be at stake!
So won't you please agree to your most generous contribution of $25, $15 or at least $5 TODAY?
Please act IMMEDIATELY!
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