The so-called "Employee Free Choice Act," is as Orwellian a name for any law we've ever seen. The proposed law before Congress, in fact, is not about free choice at all; rather, it seeks to restrict the free choice of those who don't want to join a union, in a most underhanded way.

Democrats love the law for what it will do for their bread-and-butter Big Labor friends: It will take away employees' right to a secret ballot when voting on whether to form a union.

Democrats and union bosses know that public votes on unions will put crushing pressure on intimidated workers to vote in favor of forming or joining unions.

And what kind of reprisals might the workers risk if they vote against the union?

This is precisely what Big Labor bosses are demanding as payback from the large Democratic congressional majority that they helped get elected.

Apparently the Democrats don't care who they sell out as long as they win the election.  This time, they've REALLY made a deal with the devil.

Here's how it would work: Under current labor rules, if you are approached by a couple of burly, threatening-looking 200-pound guys asking you to sign a petition to establish a union shop at your place of work -- and you are opposed to the idea -- you can smile nicely and sign the petition, safe in the knowledge that you can vote against the union in the privacy of the voting booth. But under card check, you wouldn't get a chance to cast a secret ballot. The petition would empower labor bosses to form a union shop if more than 50 percent of workers signed on.

What could be more un-democratic than abolishing the secret ballot? That's what they do in dictatorships.

Union bosses claim that secret ballot elections are unfair because of management coercion and intimidation. This is simply not true. Government investigations have uncovered no evidence of widespread management abuse. And workers themselves say they have no problem with the National Labor Relations Board's oversight of union elections.

Seventy percent of union and non-union employees favor the secret ballot, but that matters not.  The objective here is to ensure that union membership increases while the power and wealth of union leadership does likewise. This is nothing more than an attempt to legalize worker intimidation.  It is an attempt that must fail. I suggest a call, FAX, or email to your Senators and Representative.  Allow me to quote Edmund Burke yet again, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."  So don't just sit there, DO SOMETHING!

US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.

Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).

Disturbing doesn't cover it!

"How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't understand the American experience?" he added.

Now there's a head scratcher.  I think my response to that would be... They can't!  Raise your hand if  you're worried!

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2008 –

Military Family Appreciation Week begins tomorrow, and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, issued a message today noting the observance. Here is the text of the chairman’s message:

“This month, as we celebrate our blessings, and give thanks for our freedom to enjoy them, we take great pride in honoring November 21-28, 2008 as Military Family Appreciation Week.

“Families serve just as their uniformed service members do. And the military family has rarely faced as many challenges as our families do today. After seven years of war, hundreds of thousands of families have served through multiple deployments in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, as well as many other locations throughout the globe.

“But the love and support of our military families do more than allow us to serve abroad. Our families serve at the very center of American society. They are the bedrock of a free republic which provides for a common defense – and their commitment to the values of hard work, self-sacrifice, and moral virtue is a source of great pride and inspiration for us all.

Thank you from a grateful nation!