This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Unions

  • Katie Ann Blanchard, Army Nurse doused in gasoline, set on fire and stabbed by civilian co-worker.

    For over  a year Lt. Blanchard had warned her command that 54-year-old Clifford Currie was a threat to her safety.

    At approximately 5:10 p.m. on September 7, 2016, a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (NP) at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, heard screaming from an office adjacent to hers at Munson Army Health Center. The civilian NP ran into the hallway and found 26-year-old 1LT Katie Ann Blanchard, an active duty Registered Nurse (RN) and mother of three, on fire from the waist up. (Details of the attack from the FBI Criminal Complaint, dated 8SEP16 can be found here.)

    The smell of gasoline filled the hallway. The NP could see another coworker, 54-year-old Clifford Currie, in the office with Katie.  He was clutching a straight-edged razor in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. Currie, a short, rotund man weighing well over 200 pounds, was screaming at Katie and stabbing at her face even as she was engulfed in flames.

    The NP rushed in and attempted to help Katie put out the flames and get away from Currie. Both the NP and Katie fell to the floor while struggling with Currie, who continued to stab at Katie while putting his foot on her neck and hollering incomprehensibly.

    A Doctor from a neighboring office heard the commotion and rushed to assist. She and the NP struggled to restrain Currie, who continued to stab at Katie. Even with Katie’s two heroic female co-workers fighting him, Currie was hell-bent on continuing his assault as Katie lay smoldering on the floor.

    Clifford Currie: Employee of American Federation of Government Employees Union

    One would think the horror of this event would have some kind of closure because Clifford Currie was found guilty this past week of Assault with Intent to Commit Murder. He is facing 20 years in federal prison and will be sentenced in October.  Sadly there is much more to become outraged about when it comes to this case.

    For most of the thirteen months that she worked with Currie, she tried to have him disciplined or removed before his disturbing behavior would eventually escalate to her attempted murder.

    Katie was Currie’s immediate supervisor, and she wrote over twenty negative counseling statements for Currie stemming from his consistently abysmal work performance, complaints directly from patients, and his outright negligence in performing his role as the Exceptional Family Member Program Care Coordinator. Katie repeatedly communicated to her command that she felt unsafe with Currie at work, and she felt untrained to deal with his combative attitude and escalating threats.

    Currie overtly threatened Katie on multiple occasions prior to the September 7, 2016, attack.

    Katie and her husband before she was brutally attacked.

    Clifford Currie was a member of AFGE (American Federation of Government Employees Union).  It is being reported that his Union President, Audrey Harris, has loudly stated to multiple employees at Munson Army Health Center, that Katie “deserved” what she got.  She did not deserve to be doused in gasoline, lit on fire, stabbed and beaten.  It is my understanding that Audrey Harris  is still employed with the AFGE Union Local 738.

    When Katie’s initial Section Chief transferred from Leavenworth, her new Section Chief took Katie’s pleas for help seriously. She endeavored to stop Currie before he escalated by going to the next Officer in the Chain of Command. But this Section Chief’s effort to put a stop to Currie’s behavior using the proper protocol was met with an admonishment that both she and Katie were acting irrationally as women and needed to come with facts—and not emotions.

    It appears to me that Clifford Currie is not the only one that should be held accountable for what happened to Lt. Blanchard.

    Before and After picture

    It seems the Command and AFGE need to have their altitude adjusted.   There is much more to this case.  Google is your friend.  I am not sure who should be contacted if anyone wishs to voice their concern, but I think this guy:

    Michael Kelly – National Vice President, District 9
    Phone: (405) 670-2656
    Fax: (405) 677-8481
    kellym@afge.org

    Seems like a good place to start.  I will post some links below.

     

    Toxic Command: US Army Ignores Nurse’s Yearlong Pleas for Help; 1LT Survives Attempted Murder by Deranged Civilian

    http://fox4kc.com/2017/08/08/man-convicted-in-fort-leavenworth-attack-in-which-he-set-woman-on-fire/

    http://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2016/09/12/leavenworth-hospital-employee-accused-of-setting-supervisor-on-fire/

    https://www.afge.org/

    https://www.facebook.com/KatieAnnBlanchard/

     

  • Cali SB 807; Tax Exempt Teachers

    Cali SB 807; Tax Exempt Teachers

    WARNING: This is not Fake News, read at your own risk.

    Legislators in California recently introduced a bill that would offer educators major tax breaks in an effort to keep them in the classroom and combat the state’s growing teacher shortage.

    The measure quickly drew fire from taxpayer advocates who criticized it as politically inspired favoritism.

    Democratic senators Henry Stern of Los Angeles and Cathleen Galgiani of Stockton earlier this month introduced Senate Bill 807, which would exempt teachers from paying the state income tax – which would be the equivalent of a 4 percent to 6 percent salary increase – after five years in the classroom.

    I thought major tax breaks were for the hedge fund guys and zillionaires?

    “You’re not going to be able to get paid $50,000 a year and go live in the Bay Area, go teach at the local school…. we think it’s a pretty creative tool, we’ll see how the fiscal conservatives in this house want to approach this,” Stern told Fox 40.

    Are college freshmen or the new Yale PC term “first years” threatened with getting their kneecaps busted if they don’t pick a teaching career path these days?

    Fiscally conservative groups, including the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, criticized the bill. Jazz Shaw, writing on the group’s website, said that for lawmakers to pick certain groups to get privileged treatment is a slippery slope.

    “If you take an entire class of people based on their occupation and say that they are somehow ‘more deserving’ than everyone else and should be exempted from paying state income taxes, what other groups might qualify? It’s not hard to imagine quite a few of these ‘deserving’ professions being rather quick to have their hands out,” he wrote.

    You think? What about the doctors that save our lives? Police Officers? Wal-Mart greeters? Electricians? Pool Cleaners? Professional poker players? Pot dealers in Colorado? Perhaps they are jealous that illegal aliens and hookers dodge paying state income tax. It’s really anyone’s guess.

    The bill is expected to enter committee review by the end of the month and has so far faced no opposition from lawmakers in either party. It is unclear, however, what the estimated loss in tax revenue to the state would be if the measure is approved.

    No opposition? California teachers should ask the NEA leadership if they struggle to pay for housing, food and private schools for their children. Who would have thought that a union had fat cats up top like the meanies in Corporate America. Good grief. If this passes, like always, the middle class will carry the burden. I did notice the token male in the top four.

    LILY ESKELSEN GARCIA, NEA PRESIDENT
    Salary Breakdown (2015)
    Total Compensation
    $416,633.00
    Gross Salary: $303,934.00
    Allowances: $77,197.00
    Official Business: $20,594.00
    Other Compensation: $14,908.00

    BECKY PRINGLE, NEA VICE PRESIDENT
    Salary Breakdown (2015)
    Total Compensation
    $371,278.00
    Gross Salary: $268,594.00
    Allowances: $58,678.00
    Official Business: $35,903.00
    Other Compensation: $8,103.00

    JOHN STOCKS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
    Salary Breakdown (2015)
    Total Compensation
    $407,264.00
    Gross Salary: $304,709.00
    Allowances: $77,974.00
    Official Business: $23,972.00
    Other Compensation: $609.00

    PRINCESS MOSS, NEA SECRETARY TREASURER
    Salary Breakdown (2015)
    Total Compensation
    $429,851.00
    Gross Salary: $327,195.00
    Allowances: $62,962.00
    Official Business: $39,273.00
    Other Compensation: $421.00

    National Education Association Salaries

    Speaking of housing and food, during the crash of 2008, then NEA Secretary-Treasurer Lily Eskelsen received a base salary of $248,349 and allowances of $54,285 for a total of $302,634. Also at that time, NEA President Reg Weaver raked in a whopping $686,949. I bet they struggled to make mortgage payments on their beach houses that year and could only eat out six days a week, bless their little hearts.

     

    Legislators in California introduce bill to exempt teachers from state income tax

     

  • So, What Do Montana Teachers Have to Say About Plagiarism?

    They’re obviously against it, right?  I mean, it’s one of Academia’s cardinal sins.

    So they must be aghast at the prospect of a plagiarist being elected to the US Senate, right?

    Not so fast.  According to Eric Fever, president of the Montana Education Association-Montana Federation of Teachers, it’s no big deal:

    Husband, father, soldier, straight talking, no bullshit Democrat, Walsh is in his own words “no academic.” His bout with plagiarism proves that. But his bout with plagiarism has harmed no one but himself.

    I can’t wait to see how Montana teachers react to the “it didn’t hurt anyone else” excuse when they catch someone using an obviously-plagiarized paper for their classwork.  Based on the above, I guess they’ll give the perp a pass – as well as a passing grade.

    And Fever is hardly alone.  Here’s a quote from an article posted by Montana teacher Don Pogreba on his blog Intelligent Discontent:

    Let’s get one thing out of the way: it was plagiarism. Some, eager to defend Senator Walsh, have suggested that because he cited the material in footnotes, he wasn’t plagiarizing, but that’s a too-generous, and incorrect assessment….

    A person’s ethics are hardly defined by one error in judgment.

    I guess Pogreba hasn’t gotten around to reading the 9-page DAIG 2010 Report of Investigation concerning Walsh’s other little bit of “interesting” conduct while serving in the MT ARNG.   That report substantiates different misconduct on Walsh’s part that IMO also calls his ethics into question.

    Or perhaps Pogreba is simply OK with politicians using public resources improperly, and using their public position for for private gain.  As long as he agrees with their politics, of course.

    Ya know, for some reason I keep hearing an old Randy Newman tune playing in the background when I read those articles:   “It’s Money That Matters”.   But then again, I tend to hear that every time a union flack opens his or her mouth these days.

     

  • “Look for, the Union label . . . .” (Redux)

    Think unions give a damn about their members, and look out for their best interests?  Really?

    Well, if you still think that – you might want to look at this.

    “Care about their members” my azz.  All unions care about these days is dollars and influence. It’s been that way for some time now.

    Maybe unions today ought to adopt this as their jingle:


  • Publick Ejukashun Inn Shikahgo

    Here’s what appears to be a photo of a prom invitation for a Chicago-area high school, Paul Robeson High School:

     

     

    Sad. Just freaking sad.

    But what’s sadder even than that is the fact that the average salary for teachers in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system is approx $76,000 per year. Seriously.

    The average household income in the city of Chicago? It’s barely $46,400. And in the area where Paul Robeson High is located, it’s lower (it’s in a poor area with high unemployment).

    Oh, and did I mention that the teachers in the CPS got raises totaling 17% over the last 3 years, courtesy of their 2012 contract negotiations?

    Further:  4 of 10 entering CPS freshmen never graduate from high school. Yeah, not all of that is on the schools.  But a 40% dropout rate, system-wide?  Really?

    I guess those teachers are really earning their pay in CPS.

    “I work for the union
    ‘Cause she’s so good to me . . .”

     

    (Edited to add:  bonus points for anyone who IDs the musical reference in the quote at the end of the article. [smile])

  • Oh, That Ain’t Workin’ . . . .

    What would you say if you heard about situations where employees could

    • be drunk (or be caught in possession) up to 3 times before getting fired
    • show up for work drunk up to 5 times before being fired
    • show up drunk at work, act lewdly and in complete violation of their profession’s ethics, and later be reinstated
    • not show up for the job for which hired, and still get paid
    • unlawfully share the personal information of coworkers for political purposes
    • make videos actively discouraging potential new employees from applying for work
    • hold unlawful secret meetings

    Me?  I’d say:  “Look for the Union label . . . . “

    Yeah, there’s a reason unions are dead set against right-to-work laws, and loves those union shops.  It’s called “riding the gravy train.”

     

     

    (Hat tip to watchdog.org for the above.  One correction to their article:  their link to the reinstatement story is broken due to a typo.  Here’s the correct link to the reinstatement story.)

  • Death gratuity payments on hold while leftist groups are given exemptions from shutdown

    The selective manner in which budget items are prioritized and laws are enforced by the federal apparatus under the leadership of the Obama administration is getting sleazier by the day. We already know that death gratuity payments for service members killed in the line of duty have been suspended as “non-essential”.

    Are they, from the perspective of the legion of Washington bureaucrats enforcing federal governance, actually essential? Probably not. Yet, it’s part of the American ethic and, just maybe, a good idea too. It’s why Congress is already moving to reinstate the funding by law, one of the many ethical and simply good pieces of funding that the Congress has sent to Obama to be reinstated.

    The odd thing is while this “non-essential service” is falling victim to Obama’s “no negotiation” strategy it comes to light that at the same time leftist union backed immigration amnesty groups are managing to have a previously scheduled rally on the supposedly shutdown national mall today. How? Courtesy of an Obama administration exemption. Imagine that.

  • Right to Fight

    Michigan union thugs are getting their hackles up and working themselves into a frenzy in Lansing, here’s the video from Fox News;

    Old Trooper sends a video of our buddy Michael Steven Crowder getting pummeled by union thugs;

    The Michigan Legislature on Tuesday gave final approval to contentious “right-to-work” legislation, in the face of raucous protests in the capital and stern warnings from Democratic lawmakers.

    “There will be blood, there will be repercussions,” State Democratic Rep. Douglas Geiss, speaking on the House floor on Tuesday, warned ahead of the votes.

    Yeah, when you’re out of ideas, turn to violence.

    ADDED: Michelle Malkin’s video gallery of the thuggery.