Sweden's Consulate in Benghazi Bombed

Sweden became the latest target, in Libya, on Friday.

A car bomb exploded outside of the Swedish consulate, in Benghazi.

There were no injuries in the attack, as the consulate was closed, but the building was significantly damaged.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

India Braces For Cyclone Phailin

Cyclone Phailin is bearing down on India's eastern coast.

Concerns are high as the storm is showing signs of being the strongest storm to ever exist in the Indian Ocean.

Forecasts show that it could easily have winds around two hundred miles per hour.

Many analysts are comparing the storm to Hurricane Katrina, which struck the US in 2005.

More than six million people are in the path of the storm.

The Indian government began evacuations, on Friday, and placed the military on alert.

Supreme Court To Rule On Whether Forced Unionization Violates Constitution

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving forced unionization in Illinois. The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation ( MCLF) and two other organizations requested that the Court hear the case. The MCLF, along with The Cato Institute and the National Federation of Independent Business, have filed an amicus brief. The case was filed by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation on behalf of several thousand home based caregivers in Illinois who were shanghaied into a union in order to help fund the AFSCME and the SEIU.

“We were in the middle of a similar legal battle here in Michigan at the time and we knew that the same problem was occurring in other states,” Patrick J. Wright, director of the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, said. “It needs to be settled on a national level and the Supreme Court needs to make it clear that forcing people into a public-sector union against their will simply because a portion of their income is derived from public dollars is unconstitutional.”

The forced unionization of home based caregivers in Michigan ended last March, with the passage of a Right to Work law. But, before the law could go into effect, the SEIU pulled a fast one and skimmed more than thirty-four million dollars in “dues” from Medicaid checks intended to help the state’s most vulnerable residents. The SEIU tried to insert this scheme into the Michigan Constitution through Proposal 4, on last November’s ballot, but the organization is now under investigation. And, Prop 4 was defeated by fourteen percentage points.

“Unfortunately we’ve dealt with two dubious unionization efforts here in Michigan over the past four years,” Wright said, adding that, “unions for a while captured home based day care providers. It has occurred in other states and the Supreme Court has seen the value in weighing in on the matter.”

Wright argues that the Supreme Court should rule that forced unionization is unconstitutional, given that receiving public money does not make a person a public employee. “If the unions can get away with this, then who can’t they unionize? Doctors who accept Medicaid or Medicare? Grocers who accept food stamps? It’s preposterous that a private person could be forced into a public-sector union against their will just because their client receives government aid.”

The Labor Management Relations Act, commonly referred to as the Taft-Hartley Act, was passed in 1947 for the purpose of addressing unfair labor practices that ensued following the passage of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1935. The NLRA’s agenda benefited unions, but the same could not be said in regard to the rights of workers who opposed attempts to unionize workplaces. The government should not show preference for the rights of those who wish to be unionized over those who do not. 

Section 302 of Taft-Hartley addresses corruption between unions and employers by prohibiting employers from giving “any money or thing of value” to a union seeking to represent its employees. A forty year employee for the Mardi Gras greyhound racetrack and casino in Hollywood, Florida, Martin Mulhall, opposes the efforts of Local 355 to unionize the company’s employees. His wishes to not be unionized are just as valid and constitutionally protected as the desires of those who advocate unionization–and this epitomizes the Taft-Hartley Act. 

According to Trevor Burrus, writing for The Cato Institute:

“Mr. Mulhall alleges that, in violation of Section 302, Local 355 and Mardi Gras exchanged “things of value” in order to smooth the path to unionization. In exchange for the union agreeing not to picket, boycott, or strike against Mardi Gras, as well as for financially supporting a ballot initiative that legalized slot machine gambling, Mardi Gras agreed to support Local 355’s efforts to organize its employees. Specifically, Mardi Gras gave the union access to employee records and to its facilities in order to engage in organizing efforts during non-working hours. Additionally, and most crucially, Mardi Gras agreed to waive its right to a secret-ballot election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board as well as its right to contest any unfair labor practices committed by the union during the process of organizing the workers.

The question before the Supreme Court is whether these are ‘things of value’ exchanged in violation of Section 302.”

Cato has filed an amicus brief, in support of Martin Mulhall, and the National Federation for Independent Business has joined them. It is argued that not only are Mardi Gras’s concessions undoubtedly “things of value,” they are the sort of exchanges that the Taft-Hartley Act was passed to prevent. 

While unions do have the right to try to organize employees, they should not be allowed to encroach on the rights of dissenters.

Republicans Offer Extension in Exchange for Talks

After a meeting with President Obama, House Republicans made yet another offer to Democrats to end the government shutdown.

Their latest offer would stave off the debt default for six more weeks, until November 22.

In exchange they are simply asking that Obama and the Democrats sit down with them and negotiate.

White House spokesman Jay Carney responded to the offer by saying that the President refuses to negotiate with the Republicans.

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid also said that his Democrat Senators would not discuss things with the other party.

It remains a waiting game to see what happens first, either the Democrats must become civil and agree to discuss matters or the Republicans must cave in and watch the country sink further into debt.

Libya's Prime Minister Kidnapped and Rescued

Libya's Prime Minister was kidnapped early Thursday morning.

Ali Zeidan was taken at gun point by a group of one hundred and fifty militia.

Several other militias then banded together and forced their way into the building he was being held and escorted him to safety.

It is unclear what the purpose of the kidnapping was, since he was given up without an actual fight, but the incident clearly showed how unsecured Libya is.

US Army: Specialist Angel L. Lopez

Specialist Angel L. Lopez, twenty-seven of Parma, Ohio, died on October 5.

He was killed in combat, in Zabul province, Afghanistan.

Lopez was assigned to the 201st Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Denver Police Looking For Sexual Offender Who Escaped Custody

Denver Police are looking for forty-eight year old Eugene Martinez.

He was last seen just after noon, on Wednesday.

Martinez had been arrested for failing to register as a sex offender, after being paroled.

According to police he escaped from a secure room, while handcuffed, and they are not sure how he managed to do so.

Eugene is described as five foot four, one hundred and twenty pounds, with black hair, brown eyes, and a scar on his forehead.

When last seen, he was wearing a black zip up hoodie and black jeans.

The public is advised that Martinez is considered dangerous and anyone who sees him should call 911 immediately.

Anyone with information should call the Denver Police Department at 720-913-7867.

Man Voluntarily Mows Lincoln Memorial Lawn

For some Chris Cox has become a national hero.

The South Carolinian was spotted, on Wednesday, mowing the Lincoln Memorial's lawn and was ordered to stop, by police.

According to Cox, he has spent the last several days cleaning up the area around the memorial.

He took it upon himself to rake up leaves, clear a broken branch, empty trash cans, and now mow using his own supplies and equipment he purchased for the job.

Cox said he feels it is his duty to ensure that the monument is kept clean and that it would be a disgrace if the area slowly was covered with trash and unkempt growth.

His hopes are that other Americans will follow his example and take up the jobs of cleaning up other memorials, in DC and across the country.

1 Killed 44 Injured in Pennsylvania Bus Accident

One person was killed and forty-four injured in a Pennsylvania bus accident, early Wednesday morning.

Four of the injured are in critical condition.

It happened on westbound Interstate 80, near Williamsport.

According to witnesses, the bus rear ended a tractor trailer, impaling the front of the bus on to the back of the truck.

An investigation is underway to determine why the bus hit the semi.

Obama Agrees to Meet With House Republicans

President Obama has agreed to meet with House Republicans, on Thursday.

This meeting marks a change from his repeated statements that he will not negotiate with the Republicans.

Of course a meeting does not guarantee that he will actually try and work with the Republicans, only that he's feeling political pressure for refusing to talk with them.

It is unlikely that he will back down further, at least quickly, meaning that the government shutdown will continue.

However, this is the first time that Obama has shown he might actually consider one of the many Republican offers to get the government going again.

Obama's stubbornness in refusing to talk to Republicans has certainly ensured that the shutdown continued.