Discouraging Excellence: 9-yr-old reading champ’s success depresses other kids, told he should “step aside”

Tyler Weaver of Hudson Falls, NY, is the five-time consecutive winner of his local library’s reading contest. In this age of increased video-game skills and decreased reading skills, most would agree that such a story should be celebrated. Which is probably why Tyler’s mom contacted the local paper.

And that’s when it all went bad.

The paper called Hudson Falls Public Library Director Marie Gandron for a comment on 9-year-old Tyler’s success, and they got a doozy:

(The Hudson Post-Star) – During a phone call Tuesday to Gandron, the library director said Tyler “hogs” the contest every year and he should “step aside.”

“Other kids quit because they can’t keep up,” Gandron said.

Look (out) for the Union Label

One thing I’ve noticed (and you may have, too) is how unions are always portrayed by the media: unions are, without exception, good.  The companies? Oh, yeah, now THOSE are some serious bad guys! Movies as recent as North Country and Bread and Roses, or classic films such as Norma Rae and On The Waterfront (plus lots more) all show the same thing:

unions=sweetness-&-light; companies=evil/big meanies.

I could go chapter-and-verse on union tactics and strikes over the years (Union Relations was my major), but that would bore even me. Instead, let’s just look at a couple of their most recent activities.

From Businessweek.com:

A rule change by the National Labor Relations Board that allows for faster votes on union elections was thrown out by a federal judge who said the agency lacked a quorum when it approved the measure.

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The rule change, challenged in court by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, simplified and shortened balloting at a time when the unionized share of the workforce is falling, according to labor relations consultant Phillip Wilson. The compressed schedule could have cut the time permitted for voting in half to as few as 15 days, Wilson said.

That’s ….curious.

I just can’t fathom why unions would want less lead time for employees to find out all of the goodies that being in a union holds for them. Heck, if being in a union is so totally awesome, why would it matter? Maybe because giving employees a little more time to review the facts does make a slight difference in how the voting tends to go:

Unions win 87 percent of elections held 15 days or less after a request, a rate that falls to 58 percent when the vote takes place after 36 to 40 days, according to a February report by Bloomberg Government.

I wonder why?

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Next up: Unions working hand-in-hand with Big Daddy Government to get some free, federally enforced PR.

From the Daily Caller:

Last August, the National Labor Relations Board, which Obama packed with union lawyers from the private sector, issued a new rule requiring 6 million businesses to hang up posters advertising workers’ rights to organize.

The posters themselves read like a marketing campaign for unionization. Out of seven bullet points on the poster, the first six explain collective bargaining rights under the National Labor Relations Act, including the rights to strike and picket. ***Only the last point informs workers of their right not to join a union.

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Under the rule, if an employer does not take the action of hanging up the sign, it is considered an “unfair labor practice,” even in the absence of any evidence that the business owner did anything coercive.

The unions are on somewhat of a bad run right now, because they lost this one, too.

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The fact that the NLRB would attempt crap like this shouldn’t surprise anyone, certainly not after their attempted jihad on Boeing in South Carolina, which ended in somewhat of a draw. Obama implicitly approves of NLRB’s actions, since unions are a major part of his base. And the fact that you didn’t HEAR much about it means the media knows these were loser arguments. If they could have spun them as a positive, they would have. Count on it.

Add in the alliance that unions have forged with the Occupodos, and we can only guess at what they’ll come up with next. Both groups are looking for greater government intervention in every aspect of our lives, with the misguided notion that this somehow is a superior way to live.

Gotta admit, though: their sales pitch is tempting.

Support your local Occupod

Some of the commenters and I were having a conversation about this yesterday.

If the “Cleveland 5” was from the TEA PARTY, do you think today’s news would only be found on a few blogs and the local Cleveland news or, just maybe, some national news agency (like, ALL of them) would be gathered outside the courthouse right now?

But since it concerns the harmless, mostly-peaceful Occupoddos? Nothing to see here, folks….

From today’s newsnet5.com:

CLEVELAND – Dozens of members of Occupy Cleveland showed up at a Cleveland courthouse to support the five people charged in connection with an alleged plot to blow up a northeast Ohio bridge.

The five suspects — 21-year-old Connor Stevens, 24-year-old Joshua Stafford (aka “Skully”), 26-year-old Douglas Wright (aka “Cyco), 20-year-old Brandon Baxter (aka “Skabby”) and 37-year-old Anthony Hayne (aka “Tony” & “Billy”) – pleaded not guilty during their arraignment Monday morning.

The suspects had the charges — conspiracy and attempted use of explosive material to damage physical property affecting interstate commerce — read to them in open court.

In all, about 50 members of the Occupy Cleveland group went into courthouse. After the arrests were made, Occupy Cleveland said the five suspects were associated with the group, but they were “in no way representing or acting on behalf of Occupy Cleveland.”

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So, the Occupy Guys immediately distanced themselves from these 5 morons terrorists, since they didn’t represent the cause, …and then dozens of Cleveland Occupy members show up at the courthouse to show their support …..for the people who don’t represent their beliefs.

Uh-huh.

New slogan for the Occupoddos: “We blame the fact that we’re idiots on the 1%”.

AlfonZo Rachel on OWS

***Courtesy of johngalt and the guys over at YouViewed/editorial***

This 3-minute rant goes hand-in-hand with some earlier posts of ours on the Occupy movement, but with Zo’s unique twist.

Enjoy.

YouViewed/Editorial

Always a pleasure

View original post

Nothing to see here. Move along…

I really had no intention of writing anything else today, but I kinda/sorta promised I would address this as soon as possible.

Earlier this week, while we were highlighting the overt media disparity between the Tea Party and the Occupy crew (It’s the Tea Party… Run For Your Lives!), commenter ‘a2buckeye‘ pointed out that the 5 men who were arrested for planning to blow up a bridge were likely associated with Occupy Cleveland. I deliberately skipped including it in my list of Occupy violence since enough facts weren’t yet known as to their Occupy kinship.

Well, more facts have come to light, and ‘a2buckeye‘ was spot-on.

From Jim Treacher’s blog:

The federal probe that resulted last night in the arrest of five  purported anarchists for allegedly plotting to bomb an Ohio bridge began last  year at an Occupy Wall Street rally in Cleveland that was infiltrated by an  informant who was directed to attend the event by his FBI handlers.

It was at the October 21 OWS event that the informant first met Douglas  [“Cyco”] Wright, 26, who reportedly confided details of his group’s planned  attacks “against corporate America and the financial system,” according to court  filings…

Wright eventually served as the informant’s bridge to the four other men  busted in the bombing plot–despite the fact that the quartet was “unsure” about  the snitch for whom Wright vouched. Of the five men arrested, four were involved  in the Occupy Cleveland movement, according to their Facebook profiles, a news  story, and a federal criminal complaint.

Predictably, Occupy Cleveland has tried to distance themselves from these cretins. Good luck with that. Jim Treacher points out the obvious connections, including:

“…..how did Brandon “Skabby” Baxter spend his time when he wasn’t plotting to murder people? He was organizing an Occupy rally. Last weekend.”

Make sure you read his whole post (complete with video), which will be, …uh, …’problematic” for Occupy Cleveland to dispute.

Gotta love those lil’ Occupy darlings. They’re so cute at that age.

It’s the Tea Party…. Run for your lives!

I can’t believe they’re still at this.

The Democrats have a curious obsession with comparing the Tea Party to terrorists. This happened with stunning consistency for the past two years, especially during the 2011 Debt Ceiling debates. Even Vice President Joe “Foot-In-Mouth” Biden did it, as did Bill Clinton. It happened over, and over again.

Why? Because the Tea Party wants our country’s government to spend within our means? If you want to disagree, that’s fine. But calling that terrorism? I just don’t get it.

And now …….it’s happened again, this time in Oklahoma City, of all places.

From news9.com:

OKLAHOMA CITY -The chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party is refusing to back down from comments he made likening convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh to tea party activists.

   Chairman Wallace Collins on Tuesday described McVeigh as an anti-government “right-winger” and said he sees tea party activists in a “similar vein.” He previously told a Fox News reporter that if McVeigh were alive today, he would likely be a member of the tea party.

Oh, good grief.

As Bernie Goldberg said, this is coming from “….people who don’t call real terrorists ‘terrorists’ ”.

Have they still never SEEN a Tea Party?

Michael Graham, a radio talk-show host in Boston, wrote a book in 2010 titled That’s No Angry Mob, That’s My Mom. In it, Graham discussed various Tea Parties and their motivation: ordinary tax-payers pushed into action by the threat of higher taxes and increased government intrusion. Far removed from anyone’s definition of ‘terrorist’, these are non-violent, respectful, patriotic Joe & Jane Six-packs who want their government to not bankrupt the country.

Yep, they’re terrifying.

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Now, if it’s violence and various other illegalities that Chairman Wallace Collins (or anyone else) is looking for, there actually IS a movement that fits the bill, though the media is loath to describe them as such. Have you ever heard of the Occupy Wall Street kids?

It appears that these playful little scamps have run afoul of the law a time or three. The entire list is waaaaay too long to include here, so I’ll just borrow a partial one from verumserum.com as of mid-November last year:

Arson

• Occupy Fort Collins – Member arrested, $10 million in damage
• Occupy Portland –  Member arrested for throwing Molotov Cocktail
• Occupy Seattle – Suspicious fire at Bank of America 2.7 miles from camp
• Occupy Portland – Three men arrested with homemade grenades

Assault/Threats

• Occupy SF – 12 assaults in 24 hours
• Occupy LA – 4 assaults including two with knives
• Occupy Philly – Man punches woman in the face
• Occupy LA – Two assaults including setting someone on fire
• Occupy Berkeley – Police respond to three assault calls per night
• Occupy Wall Street – Three men threaten the life of a sexual assault victim
• Occupy Lawrence – Punch thrown
• Occupy Orlando – Knife fight sends man to hospital
• Occupy Portland – Multiple assaults within a 24 hr. period
• Occupy Toledo – Man assaults police officer after arrest
• Occupy San Diego – Woman assaults cameraman
• Occupy Victoria – Man dumps urine on city worker
• Occupy Vancouver – Two police officers bitten during near riot
• Occupy Oakland – Death threats
• Occupy Austin – Man in Joker make-up arrested for brandishing knife
• Occupy Oakland – Man sets his dog on reporter
• Occupy Oakland – Man pulls a knife in camp
• Occupy Wall Street – Photographer assaulted

Drugs/Dealing

• Occupy Boston – Two drug busts in a week
• Occupy Boston – Another drug arrest
• Occupy Boston – Heroin dealers busted were living with 6-year-old boy directly behind welcome tent
• Occupy Portland – First hand account “Drugs. Selling…Heroin. Meth.”
• Occupy Portland – Video of open drug use in the camp
• Occupy Portland – “I get high“

Fraud

• National Lawyer’s Guild member Ari Douglas pretends to be run over by a police scooter

Illness/Death

• Occupy Santa Cruz – Ringworm outbreak
• Occupy Atlanta – TB outbreak
• Occupy Wall Street – Zuccotti lung outbreak
• Occupy New Orleans – Man discovered in tent had been dead 2 days
• Occupy Portland – Body lice outbreak

Murder

• Occupy Oakland – Fatal shooting

Public disturbance

• Occupy Dallas – Protesters block bank entrance, 23 arrested
• Occupy Vancouver – Mob with bullhorn enters bank
• Occupy Wall Street – Protesters block bank entrance, four arrested
• Occupier takes a bathroom break in the street
• Occupy Vancouver – Occupiers disrupt debate, threaten riot when asked to leave
• Occupy Long Beach – Group disrupts city council meeting
• Occupy Boston – Three arrested for occupying Burger King
• Occupy Oakland – Yelling and nonsense at Burger King
• Occupy DC – Group storms AFP event, traps attendees inside

Rape/Sexual Assault

• Occupy Philly – Man arrested for alleged rape
• Occupy Wall Street – Two sexual assaults unreported to police
• Occupy Wall Street – Man arrested for sexual assault, suspect in rape
• Occupy Dallas – Sex offender allegedly rapes 14 year old
• Occupy Ottawa – Sexual assaults go unreported to police
• Occupy Lawrence – Sexual assault reported
• Occupy Toronto – Foot sniffer arrested
• Occupy Seattle – Man exposes himself to young girls
• Occupy Portland – Sexual assault
• Occupy Wall Street – Drunk gropes women in Zuccotti Park
• Occupy Cleveland – Rape reported after an overnight stay
• Occupy Glasgow – Possible gang rape
• Occupy Baltimore – Multiple reports of harassment
• Occupy Chicago – Man arrested for child porn
• Occupy LA – Man charged with exposing himself to a child

Sedition

• Occupy DC – Let’s have a coup by taking over the military
• Ted Rall wants occupiers to choose the path of violence
• Occupy DC – Mike Malloy incites crowd to cheer for President Bush’s execution

Suicide/Overdose

• Occupy Burlington – Man kills himself with handgun
• Occupy Salt Lake City – Man found dead with syringe in his tent
• Occupy Vancouver – Young woman dies of cocaine and heroin overdose
• Occupy OKC – Young man with history of drug abuse found dead

Theft

• Occupy Portland – Theft is ongoing
• Occupy Boston – Store owner suffers 4 break-ins since camp began

Vandalism

• Occupy Eureka – Protesters use local bank as a toilet
• Occupy Portland – Two banks vandalized, promises of more to come
• Occupy Oakland – Bank windows broken, Whole Foods vandalized, broken windows
• Occupy Boston – Banks vandalized with anarchist, OWS graffiti
• Occupy Portland – Spike in vandalism near camp
• Occupy SF: ATMs being smeared with feces
• Occupy Santa Fe: Banks vandalized with OWS-themed graffiti
• Occupy San Diego – Vendors cart vandalized with bodily fluids
• Occupy graffiti found on PA governor’s mansion

Remember: this is an old list. There’ve been plenty more “indiscretions” since, most recently on May 1st of this year:

“Dozens arrested during May Day protests across U.S.“

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Next time you hear someone painting the Tea Party as some amalgamation of horror-movie monster-meets-Hezbollah-member, keep in mind that actual Tea Partiers look like this:

…

And those harmless, loveable imps in Occupy Wall Street look like this: