Democrat Pleas; Card Check, Nonprofit Housing Advocacy Group; Union and Public Education

Congressman Robert Andrews (D-NJ) said, "I'm not accusing them of doing anything improper if they do bring it up. But good judgment would say: Let's extend this period of healing before the House returns to something as divisive as health care." Congressman G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) told the Washington Post: "I would hope that we would let some time go by before we get back on track with this conversation, but it's their call."  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo News reveals: The National Labor Relations Board on Friday threatened to sue Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah over constitutional amendments guaranteeing workers the right to a secret ballot in union elections.
The agency's acting general counsel, Lafe Solomon, said the amendments conflict with federal law, which gives employers the option of recognizing a union if a majority of workers sign cards that support unionizing.
The amendments, approved Nov. 2, have taken effect in South Dakota and Utah, and will do so soon in Arizona and South Carolina.
Business and anti-union groups sought the amendments, arguing that such secrecy is necessary to protect workers against union intimidation. They are concerned that Congress might enact legislation requiring employers to allow the "card check" process for forming unions instead of secret ballot elections.   http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110114/ap_on_re_us/us_unions_secret_ballots ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Detroit Free Press reports: Thanks to his nonprofit housing advocacy group, Collins and 149 other homeowners bought back their property at the Wayne County [Detroit] Treasurer's tax auction in October, in most cases for a fraction of what they owed in back taxes.
The feat, accomplished for the modest sum of $194,000, got noticed by other groups.
"We have hundreds of millions of dollars being thrown at the foreclosure problem in Michigan with less than impressive results," said Lisa Nuszkowski, outgoing director of the Michigan Foreclosure Task Force.
Read more: Coalition saves 150 homes from tax auction block with $194,000 | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/20110109/NEWS06/101090510/Coalition-saves-150-homes-from-tax-auction-block-with-194-000#ixzz1AZTJf9RK
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Townhall writes about: "Kids Aren't Cars" is a new short film series set for release February 1st. Using examples from the Midwest, it documents the impact organized labor has had on the American education system, creating a one-size-fits-all assembly line model that leaves students behind and treats teachers equally, stifling innovation and improvement.
See the trailer here.
Our government education system has been spending more and more each year, yet the results have been the same. While unions demand higher spending - which of course ends up in the pockets of their members - money is not fixing the problem.
Those that have been in the trenches gave shocking interviews - stories of money grabs by adults while children are left behind. An executive director of a literacy clinic in Detroit - where high school graduates go to learn how to read - compared the actions of the school board to the Ku Klux Klan. "If they were sitting up there in Klan robes," she said, no one would be tolerating what is going on, but the effect is the same. [Eight of the 9 school board members are black.]
We tell the story of two Indiana teachers recognized state-wide for their impact on students, only to be fired literally the next day because they lacked seniority. http://townhall.com/columnists/KyleOlson/2011/01/17/new_film_documents_unions_destruction_of_public_education
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