In many respects, Dan L. Duncan was the embodiment of the American dream, the self-made man incarnate. He transformed $10,000 and two propane trucks into a natural gas empire and a personal net worth of $9 billion—making him the richest person in Houston, and the 74th wealthiest individual in the world. Even though Duncan died last March, his story provides the “only in America” narrative that seems to be lacking in this brave new era of big government and dwindling faith in the individual.
Recently the Obama Administration hired former Houston police chief Harold Hurtt to coordinate state and local activities for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As The Heritage Foundation pointed out at the time, Hurtt seemed like an odd choice to head up an important position with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Hurtt is, after all, a well-documented supporter of “sanctuary city polices,” which puts him at odds, at least philosophically, with the agency’s mission. Seems like we’re not the only ones who noticed that the Obama Administration and the …
Last month the Obama administration hired former Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt to coordinate state and local activities for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On the surface, Hurtt’s selection seems like a strange decision. One of his primary duties will be to “oversee and promote partnerships between federal and local officials” on immigration enforcement — responsibility that seems incompatible with Hurtt’s well-publicized opposition to having local police assist with immigration enforcement. Hurtt’s support for “sanctuary cities” is also hardly in sync with the agency’s mission. As the new state …
If Congress drafts a law and no one can understand it, can individuals be punished for breaking it? Increasingly, to the detriment of all Americans, the answer is yes. Since our nation’s founding, a core principle of our system of justice has been that no citizen should be subjected to criminal punishment for conduct that he did not know was illegal or otherwise wrongful. This principle is embodied in the requirement that the government must prove a defendant acted with intent, or at least knowledge, before subjecting him to criminal …
It’s hard not to sympathize with organized labor—at least to some extent. After all, during the 2008 elections, unions donated roughly half a billion dollars to Democrats, and so far have few legislative victories to show for their efforts; the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), the Respect Act, and the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act have all stalled in Congress. Union leaders were further outraged by last month’s bipartisan Senate vote against Craig Becker, President Obama’s nominee to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Rather than accept another setback, however, …
For some time now, it’s been clear that Organized Labor—and the SEIU in particular—is adamantly opposed to allowing its members to have any say over union representation. Thanks to a lawsuit filed against the SEIU, new details are surfacing that demonstrate the lengths to which big labor is willing to go to quash dissent amongst its membership. The lawsuit filed by the OSO Group, an international security company that bills itself as the “first commercial counter-espionage group established in the private sector,” alleges that the SEIU owes the company $2.2 …
Quid Pro Quo. The American Heritage Dictionary defines this Latin phrase as “an equal exchange or substitution.” Here’s another definition: When 17 United States Senators and Representatives accept contributions in excess of $359,000 during the 2006 and 2008 congressional elections from political action committees (PACs) funded by several major labor unions. Then, these same Member of Congress—hailing from both sides of the aisle—co-sponsor the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). What’s even more troubling than the fact that EFCA’s co-sponsors have all taken money from Organized Labor is that these major …
What does creating an “enduring legacy for America’s wild places,” have to do with denying employees the right to vote by secret ballot during a union organizing election? Nothing—or so it seemed until the earlier this week, when the Sierra Club began urging its members to support the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). In the March 17 issue of Currents—Sierra Club’s weekly electronic newsletter—the group urges its members to support EFCA. Their rationale?
“Since when is the secret ballot a basic tenet of democracy?” – James Phillip Hoffa, March 10, 2009. Before ramming the Employee Free Choice Act down the throats of American workers, maybe Jim Hoffa and his Teamsters should have cracked open the history books. The secret ballot, like democracy itself, was born in classical Antiquity. Ironically, given Big Labor’s backing of EFCA, modern usage of the secret ballot originated within the organized labor movement: A demand for secret ballot elections was one of the six original points of Chartism—a U.K. …
As conventional wisdom reminds us: You are known by the company you keep. So what is one to make of the AFL-CIO and Jobs with Justice, two labor-movement heavyweights, allying themselves with the International Socialist Organization (ISO)? According to the ISO’s North Texas branch, last night, the AFL-CIO and Jobs with Justice met with the ISO tonight to discuss “why we need the [Employee Free Choice Act] and how we can win it.” After all, the ISO hardly seems like the type of group Big Labor would want to have …
