VICE News Defends Predatory Bakery in Illinois

 Vice News gets it all wrong once again.

MassResistance has been helping residents in the Illinois village of Lake on the Hills. A local bakery, Uprising Bakery, has been pushing left-wing nonsense onto the city.

Specifically, they have been hosting drag queens and their salacious performances. Fortunately, local residents have been protesting this public abuse. Of course, Vice News wants to stand with the perverts and creeps, so they wrote a glossy piece defending the creepy bakery and her owner.

But what's really going on here?

She Planned aDrag Event For Her Bakery. Now the Far-Right Stalks and Harasses Her.

One woman wanted to hold family-friendly drag events at her Illinois bakery. Now she’s the focus of a violent, rapidly escalating harassment campaign.

There is nothing family-friendly about drag shows. We are talking about creepy, sexually deviant men dressing up as garish, offensive parodies of women who perform explicit stage acts. There is lots of drinking and drug use involved, as well. There is no place for drag in the public square, and especially around families.

FAR-RIGHT PROTESTERS HAVE REGULARLY TARGETED THE UPRISING BAKERY & CAFE SINCE THEY STARTED HOSTING DRAG SHOWS. PHOTO VIA UPRISING BAKERY'S FACEBOOK.

It was an early evening in August, around 5 p.m., and Corrina Bendel-Sac was closing up at the bakery she runs at a strip mall in Lake in the Hills, an Illinois suburb.

She got into her car, and as she started to make her way home, she noticed something unusual. Another car was following her. No matter how many turns she took or how hard she tried to lose him, the car remained at a steady pace behind her vehicle. Bendel-Sac began to panic.

Rather than go home and reveal her home address where she lives with her kids, Bendel-Sac drove to a different neighborhood, pulled into a stranger’s driveway, and then called the cops to say she was being followed.

On first read, this story doesn't pass the sniff test. Did she file a police report? Is there any record of her calling the police for help?

Corinna Bendel-Sac, pro-predator bakery owner

Bendel-Sac, 31, had reason to be concerned. Ever since mid-July, when she announced plans for a family-friendly drag brunch at UpRising Bakery and Cafe, Bendel-Sac has found herself in the middle of a rapidly escalating harassment campaign from far-right extremists, conspiracy theorists, and MAGA types.

One again, there is absolutely nothing "family friendly" about drag queens bouncing around kids. If there is anyone who belongs in a category, it's Corinna, and she belongs in the same group in league with predators, perverts, and pedophiles who think that kids should get used to drag.

When news of the upcoming “Starry Night Drag Brunch” got out, Bendel-Sac was bombarded with threatening phone calls and messages trying to get her to cancel. A roving band of local culture warriors called “Awake Illinois” (who recently described their activism as “a civil war” that’s “mostly being fought by moms”), along with the far-right Proud Boys, organized a protest against the brunch.

 The words "far-right" get bandied about by left-wing rags like VICE because they think that anyone who disagrees with them is a Nazi. Of course, the Nazis were left-wing to begin with, but left-wing propagandists like VICE are not historically astute, either. For the record, there is nothing hateful about mothers who want to protect their kids. If anything shows how corporate and establishment the Left has become, it's their efforts to demonize parents who protect children. After all, the DOJ called parents "terrorists" for protesting abusive policies at their local school board meetings.

“Roving band of local culture warriors"? Really VICE? What would you call Antifa, then?

Then, on the eve of the brunch, a man with ties to the Proud Boys from a town 62 miles away allegedly smashed up the bakery, broke windows, and graffitied statements like “F-----s rape kids” and “Christ is King” on the walls. “This hero deserves a medal,” far-right personality Lauren Witzke wrote after police arrested 24-year-old Joseph Collins in connection with the vandalism. “These pedophiles deserve to rot in a cell.”

More about "proud boys" and all the upset about the vandalism of one bakery. Of course, where was VICE News when Black Lives Matter and Antifa were routinely looting stores and rioting in the public square? Do they defend those rampant criminal acts?

And how do we know that it was a "right-wing extremist" who vandalized the bakery? The left often sparks false accusations by destroying their property and staging hate crimes. Jussie Smollett, anyone? Besides all of this, the local police staged cameras around this bakery, and yet they didn't have definitive proof of who do what. Interesting ...

Despite continued hostility from the far-right, Bendel-Sac has remained undeterred and continued to host family-friend drag events at the bakery.

 That's not true. She cancelled one event during the summer already.

“We’re lovers, not fighters,” said Bendel-Sac. “We’re a little bit badass, and people are coming out to support us. A lot of people want us to be that safe space for everyone.”

Well, none of this is true.  One protester got ‘mooned’ by one of her supporters. Is that love?  Jim sits out there every day to share what is happening inside the bakery. He does not call people names and he gets out of the way when people drive through.

There is nothing bad-ass about grooming kids into sexual perversion. Bendel-Sac is a bad woman, certainly. And people are against children being invited into an adult show, not against the bakery or the business.  It's very simple.

Today, there’s a growing semi-permanent encampment of far-right protesters outside the UpRising Bakery—and each weekend it seems to get bigger, Bendel-Sac says. “Every weekend, it’s ridiculously tense,” she told VICE News over the phone as she was making brownies. “Outside, you have Westboro Baptist Church people, you have people putting ‘Jesus is King’ flags out, you have Trump flags, anti-LGBTQ flags.”

 That's good news for the protesters. There is no excuse for a bakery to push perversion on kids. Instead of just protesting, they should set up their own bakery and start bringing real role models to read to the kids and protect them from the drag queen perverts.

She’s gotten death threats and rape threats by phone, letter, and email. People have compiled dossiers on her, collecting information like what pets she owns and where she’s gone on vacation.

Where's the proof for any of this? Nowhere.

They’ve filed record requests with the school district that her kids attend. The protesters outside have called her a pedophile, and threatened to call child protective services on her. “People have gone to great lengths to target my kids,” Bendel-Sac said.

It's understandable why people are calling her a pedophile. Anyone who allows drag queens around kids is sick in the head and is grooming those kids for sexual exploitation.

Members of her family have since moved in with her, to offer additional support, and she now carries a taser wherever she goes. She’s also currently raising money to hire a security detail for future drag events.

 This is one sick puff-piece, all to defend a creepy woman who wants adult perverts to pray on children.

Since the beginning of this year, the far-right have waged a conspiracy-fueled campaign targeting family-friendly LGBTQ events, including drag brunches, drag queen story hours, and Pride celebrations around the country. They’ve used tired narratives bashing the LGBTQ community as inherently predatory, and incorporated QAnon themes about evil satanists operating child sex trafficking rings, to claim that bringing kids to those sorts of events is tantamount to “grooming.” This campaign has recently expanded to smear doctors specializing in gender affirming healthcare, openly LGBTQ school teachers, and the transgender community, and has joined neo-Nazis, Proud Boys, anti-vaxxers, MAGA types, and GOP political figures, in a rallying cry of “Protect Our Kids.”

 The vast majority of people across the country, including residents in deep-blue Illinois, do not want kids groomed at PRIDE events. Does that constitute the "vast right-wing conspiracy" that Hillary Clinton railed against twenty years ago?

And it's interesting to see VICE News list all the complaints against groups pushing to normalize homosexuality and transgenderism:

• Predatory
• Satanic
• Trafficking children
• Grooming

All of those attacks are pretty accurate, actually.

Bendel-Sac’s vision for UpRising Bakery when she opened in 2017 was a place where everyone felt welcome and that celebrated diversity. The way she felt she could communicate that message was by catering to a wide range of dietary restrictions through her baking. “We offer the exact same options, the same exact menu, same pricing, for all diets,” said Bendel-Sac. “Vegan, gluten-free, keto, sugar-free, all of that.”

 How can anyone feel "welcome" when a drag queen is going after kids? With that "semi-permanent" protest growing outside of the bakery, it's pretty clear that lots of people do NOT feel welcome in the bakery, and furthemore the bakery is not welcome in the city.

In late 2021, she decided to start hosting events at the bakery in the hopes of bringing in extra cash and deepening bonds with the community. “Due to COVID, it was getting harder for us to make ends meet. Pastries were not paying the bills,” said Bendel-Sac. “We have a really large space here, and bakeries tend to die down and close around 4 p.m.” So, she began holding karaoke nights, live music, and art classes.

She grooms kids for the money. No surprise there.

“Starry Night Drag Brunch” was going to be UpRising Bakery’s first drag event. Bendel-Sac, who identifies as bisexual, said she was aware of the firestorm raging nationwide over family-friendly drag events but thought hosting the brunch would be a good way to “engage the community, and reach out to a new part of the community to let them know we were here.”

 Bendal-Sac wants to sleep with men and women. Sickening. She has issues, and she wants to parade these issues before the public for some form of validation. And she is using kids to further this disgusting cause. This woman needs help, clearly!

After the bakery was vandalized, Bendel-Sac was forced to cancel the drag event. But by the next day, they’d reopened, offering a limited menu for customers. Supporters came from all over, and were queued outside.

 Supporters came from all over? It sounds like most of them were not even from the village.

A week later, Bendel-Sac received another blow—this time from the Lake in the Hills village council. She got a letter notifying her that her business was not zoned for entertainment events, and that if she continued to host such events she risked fines and a suspension of her business and liquor licenses.

She tried to avoid playing by the same rules as everyone else. Typical for LGBT agitators and malcontents. They are so convinced that they are perennial victims, that they have a right to dishonor and ignore the rules.

Bendel-Sac was furious. She posted a video to her Facebook, standing in front of the boarded-up windows that had since been covered in supportive messages from the community, explaining that two upcoming events— “Disney Karaoke” and ‘Resumé Writing Workshop”— had been canceled because of local government’s threats. In the video, she asked why, if she’d been holding events at the bakery for nearly a year, was it the drag brunch that ultimately prompted Lake in the Hills to take action. In a statement, the village said that they learned that Bendel-Sac was improperly holding such events after she advertised the drag brunch and “received strong negative criticism.”

It's shocking and sickening that anyone would go live and defend promoting a drag show on their property.

Bendel-Sac’s video drew 32,000 views and attracted the attention of the ACLU’s Illinois chapter, who helped her come to an agreement with local authorities. In early August, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker visited the bakery and added his name to the signatures covering the boarded-up windows.

Governor Pritzker is busy trying to cover up the fact that he is going to let thousands of violent felons out of county jails because he has all but gutted the bail laws in the state. So, to distract from his tough-on-law-abiding-citizens stance, he makes a visit to a bakery and shows his solidarity with drag queens.

Really.

And why is the ACLU going to great lengths to protect predators and perverts and creepy bakeries? I thought they wanted to protect the civil liberties of Americans?

“We must come together to combat the rising tide of hate against our LGBTQ+ neighbors and friends, including the recent hateful attacks at UpRising Bakery and Cafe,” Pritzker said. “Hate has no home here.”

In reality, there has been nothing but hate from the very LGBT "community" which Pritzker, Corrina, and the rest of her sordid troop of sexual deviants. LGBT activists routinely destroy property, harm law-abiding citizens, and they want to poison the minds of little children. If that is not hate, I don't know what is.

From there, Bendel-Sac began hosting drag events with increasing regularity. She said she felt a responsibility to stand up to the hostile climate and show that she wasn’t going to back down easily.

 The only ones who have backed down have been the village council, which refused to enforce their local ordinances.

“I am admittedly a pretty stubborn person,” said Bendel-Sac. “If you’re going to continue to hurt this community, and hurt these people, and not see the wrongs you’re doing and the hate you’re perpetuating, then I’m going to use my strength and my knowledge and my platform to fight back.”

 She needs to follow her own advice. The harm that Bendel-Sac is doing to the children and the parents who allow their kids to see drag queens is immeasurable. When does this perversion stop?

As the number of protesters outside the bakery each weekend grows, so do the number of counterprotesters. Some counterprotests have been organized by the local Parasol Patrol chapter, which is a network of LGBTQ activists whose tactics involve using rainbow umbrellas to create a division between far-right agitators and whatever group or business they’re targeting.

More groomers. The protesters need to find out who these "Parasol Patrol" haters are, report them, and start exposing them as the predators that they are.

Local police, who Bendel-Sac says have been very supportive, have been a near-constant presence at the bakery and have started putting up barricades on weekends to keep protesters and counterprotesters separate.

Bendel-Sac fears the situation may continue to escalate. “Especially with elections coming up, and tensions are rising every day, it’s pretty obvious,” said Bendel-Sac. “Even the police are getting more irritated with it, and the community is for sure. They live here and they’re tired of it, and now they’re starting to act out too.” For example, Bendel-Sac has noticed that some residents have started swearing at the protesters if they drive by, saying things like “Get the fuck out,” “Grow the fuck up”, or “Get a fucking job.”

Bendel-Sac has asked the counterprotesters to stay peaceful. “I go out there regularly and ask the people on my side to make sure they are not interacting or fighting back with words or anything else,” said Bendel-Sac. “Just pretend they’re not here. Just pretend you’re here to party in rainbow and that’s it.”

Final Reflection

VICE News is trash. There is no avoiding the obvious. Why would anyone defend a creepy bakery run by an LGBT activist? On top of that, we know that the "reporting" has no merit to it, since they throw around "far-right" against anyone who opposes the systematic grooming of children.

VICE News is a party to this abuse, and we should not be afraid to say as much.

On top of all of this, the parents in Lake in the Hills should demand full enforcement of all zoning ordinances in the city. Why does a bakery get away with flouting the limits on entertainment in their business, while other businesses are expected to play by the rules? This is all wrong--ALL WRONG.

Roll Call: The Five States to Watch for Election 2018 (Reflection)

Roll Call is another left-leaning political news rag, based in Washington DC.

The publication graces a number of desks and waiting rooms throughout Washington DC, especially in the House Offices.

For Election 2018, these articles are worth looking over to get a picture of how the press is evaluating the targeted House seats going forward.

5 States That Will Decide the House Majority

Watch these states to tell if Democrats are having a good election night

With a growing number of vulnerable House districts, there might be too much to watch for on election night. But by focusing on just a handful of states, you can get a pretty good idea of whether Democrats are having a good enough night to gain the 23 seats necessary to win back the majority.

Minnesota

Competitive races: 5

Target Democratic gain for a majority: 1

The Land of 10,000 Lakes is home to five competitive House races, which is remarkable considering there are only eight congressional districts total in Minnesota.

Netting one seat might not sound like a steep climb for Democrats (who are technically part of the state’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party), but it would be a significant feat considering they are defending three districts that President Donald Trump carried in 2016.

DFL Rep. Collin C. Peterson is likely to win re-election in the 7th District (rated Likely Democratic), but holding the open 1st and 8th districts (left behind by gubernatorial nominee Rep. Tim Walz and retiring Rep. Rick Nolan, respectively) will be more difficult. Both are rated Toss-ups at this stage, but Democrats might be fortunate to lose just one.

If they lose bot, this is YUGE news for us. Republicans are positioned in many ways to do very well in Minnesota. President Trump's MAGA Agenda has been essential to Minnesotans, troubled not just by higher crime and bad trade deals, but the refugee crisis of open borders and illegal immigration.

On their offensive map, Democrats are probably struggling to reach a majority if they can’t defeat Republican Rep. Jason Lewis in the 2nd District (Toss-up). But if they can knock off Lewis and GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen in the 3rd District (Tilts Republican), they’ll probably be able to gain a seat out of the state.

Minnesota bottom line: Democrats probably need to gain at least a seat, while breaking even would be a disappointment.'

Very happy to hear about this. I believe that this will be the year that Minnesota goes from blue state to red state, and for good. The Democratic Party no longer cares about farmers and laborers. The Republican Party does, and Trump has brought that working class bonhomie back!

California

Competitive races: 9

Target Democratic gain for a majority: 5

Unlike Minnesota, it’s virtually all upside for Democrats in the Golden State. There are at least nine legitimately vulnerable GOP districts, while the Republican takeover opportunities have either faded or have yet to develop.

I have to call "BullSh--t" on this one. No matter how pumped up the Democratic Party may feel about the races in this state, the incumbents whom they are targeting are not as week as pundits may think.

Dana Rohrabacher is facing a steep set of challenges, sure. However, local and national political sites have often listed Rohrabacher's seat as a toss-up, but he has continued to win his seat handily without serious problem or incident.

The most likely to flip right now is the 49th District (Tilts Democratic), which opened after GOP Rep. Darrell Issa decided against seeking re-election. Democrats are also optimistic about winning Rep. Ed Royce’s open seat in the 39th District (Toss-up), although Republicans, who are confident about their nominee, have a very different view of the race. Democrats also believe they’re likely to defeat GOP Dana Rohrabacher in the 48th (Toss-up). Losing any of those seats — especially the open seats in districts that Hillary Clinton carried in 2016 — would be a punch in the gut for Democrats.

Gil Cisneros, who is running for CD-39 to replace Ed Royce, is a under an ethical and criminal cloud for sexual misconduct. He is part of the #MeToo madness which has overwhelmed the Democratic Party. Young Kim served as Congressman Ed Royce's district director for 20 years before she ran for state assembly in 2014 and won. She lost her re-election bid, then sought a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors. She switched to Royce's seat

But the party also has good takeover opportunities against Reps. Jeff Denham (10th District), Steve Knight (25th District), and Mimi Walters (45th District). The three races are currently rated Tilts Republican, but winning at least one of them is reasonable for Democrats under reasonably good electoral conditions.

Denham is going to be fine. The Democrats have been pushing this line for the last four years. They are not going to dislodge Denham. He is too well-known in the district. Central Valley politicians hold virtually the same positions, whether Democrat or Republican. They form the best relationships with all interested parties in the region, and no one can get rid of them.

Reps. Tom McClintock (4th District), David Valadao (21st District), and Duncan Hunter (50th District) are all vulnerable, albeit for different reasons. Their races are rated Likely Republican. Valadao has been a particularly elusive target for Democrats, and defeating him would be as symbolic of the cycle as it would be important for the majority.

Tom McClintock should not be on this list. Period. This is a total joke.

As for David Valadao, see Jeff Denham, and then add another element: the Democrat running against him is a total left-wing progressive whose San Francisco values simply cannot connect with the Central Valley constituency which Valadao has represented since his days in the state legislature.

Valadao is going to be fine.

Steve Knight? Same thing. His challenger, Katie Hill, is essentially another Los Angeles liberal completely out of place in the Antelope Valley/Simi Valley region. They are way too left-wing for districts where the incumbents are well-know by name and legislative legacy.

California bottom line: Democrats need to gain five seats here, but could theoretically get close to half of the overall gains they need for a majority if they sweep the California races.

Verdict. Only one seat may be lost: CD-49, although very likely that election will not be decided until two weeks after the election. Democrats are not going to net five seats. Not going to happen.

New York

Competitive races: 5

Target Democratic gain for a majority: 2

When it comes to New York, Democrats need a takeover state of mind, but none of the vulnerable Republican seats are easy or guaranteed. If Democrats fail to oust Reps. Claudia Tenney (22nd District) and John J. Faso (19th District), it’s going to be a long night for the party. Both seats are currently Toss-ups, but both incumbents are polling in the low- to mid-40s in most surveys.

Incumbency is almost as long-lasting as reigning monarchy, especially in New York. Faso is a liberal-leaning Republican, anyway

GOP Rep. John Katko consistently turns potentially competitive races into laughers, but Democrats haven’t given up hope in the 24th District this year. Even though former Rep. Michael G. Grimm didn’t win the Republican primary in the 11th District, Democrats still have a credible challenger to Rep. Dan Donovan. And Rep. Chris Collins’ indictment for insider trading opens the door for Democrats in the open 27th District. All are rated as Likely Republican, and wins here would be indicators of a good night for Democrats.

The 27th will stay in Republican hands. A new candidate will ensure a higher turnout, though.

New York bottom line: Democrats have a handful of opportunities and probably need to gain at least two for a majority. If they win more, and races such as the 1st District against Rep. Lee Zeldin truly come into play, Democrats are having a great night.

Zeldin has been very attentive to the concerns of his constituents, and his legislative record has demonstrated enough independence to ensure that he is sold on Trump's issues, even if he is not solidly on the Trump train.

Pennsylvania

Competitive races: 9

Target Democratic gain for a majority: 4

Democrats had a handful of targets in the Keystone State before the new congressional map was put in place. Now, with a combination of new district lines and open seats, Democrats have at least seven takeover opportunities.

Pennsylvania is the state which has given me the greatest pause. The districts were strictly gerrymandered, and even then one of the seats which had been solidly Republican for decades suddenly fell into Democratic hands. Is it possible that Connor Lamb could get ousted when the requisite number of Republican voters finally show up to the polls?

The 5th and 6th districts (Likely Democratic), left open by GOP Reps. Patrick Meehan and Ryan A. Costello, are ripe for the picking for Democrats. Former GOP Rep. Charlie Dent left behind a seat (now the new 7th District), which is vulnerable (Tilts Democratic), probably more so now that the GOP candidate had to spend time fending off a misconduct allegation. And new Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb has an excellent chance of knocking off GOP Rep. Keith Rothfus in the 17th District (Leans Democratic).

Democrats are also excited about their chances in the 1st District (Tilts Republican) against GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and have longer-shot chances against Scott Perry (10th District) and Mike Kelly (16th District), with both races rated Likely Republican.

Democrats are likely to lose the 14th District, which constitutes a majority of the territory where Lamb won his special election. But Lamb lives — and is running — in the newly drawn 17th. So Democrats will have to subtract at least one from any gains elsewhere. Republicans also have a credible challenger against Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright in the 8th District (Leans Democratic), but it’s still too early to know if the congressman is in real trouble.

Pennsylvania bottom line: Democrats have a plethora of opportunities but will take at least one hit to their gains. They probably need to net at least four seats here.

They might get those four seats in Pennsylvania. One can only hope that Trump's victory in Erie County, which has never happened for a Republican, can intimate that Republican turnout will improve across the state on Election Night.

Illinois

Competitive races: 3

Target Democratic gain for a majority: 2

Illinois is on the list because Republicans' last greatest hope, Bruce Rauner, turned into the biggest failure, the most massive disappointment. He betrayed the Republicans and the conservative base he had pledged to work with on one issue after another.

Illinois has become a lost cause, and there is little else to blame besides Rauner.

There aren’t a ton of competitive races in Illinois, but they could be symptomatic of races around the country.

GOP Rep. Peter Roskam hasn’t had a competitive race in years, but he’s vulnerable in his 6th District (Toss-up), in part because of Trump’s unpopularity in the Chicago suburbs. Downstate, Trump carried the 12th District (Tilts Republican) handily by 15 points, but GOP Rep. Mike Bost is vulnerable, in part because Democrats recruited a strong challenger.

Bost is going to be fine. Roskam could be gone.

GOP Rep. Rodney Davis is also vulnerable in the 13th District (Leans Republican) and could suffer from increased college student turnout against the president. But the congressman isn’t in as bad of a shape right now as Roskam and Bost. If Rep. Randy Hultgren ends up in a neck-and-neck race in the 14th District, Democrats are having a solid night. His race is rated Solid Republican for now. Trump carried the 14th District — drawn to elect a Republican after the last census — by nearly 4 points, but the congressman hasn’t had a real race in years.

Congressman will do better than Presidents sometimes. The incumbency of being Congressman helps.

Illinois bottom line: Democrats need to gain two seats here for numerical and symbolic reasons. The party needs the numbers to get back to the majority, but winning in the suburbs is key (6th District), and seeing their top recruits succeed (12th District) would be good for morale as well.

Looking over the three seats analyzed by Roll Call, I think that Democrats are wasting their time on these incumbents. They won't win big in this state.

The article suggests that California has a lot of flip opportunities. I sincerely doubt that. The biggest chances of victory for Democrats will run through Pennsylvania.

Democrats have to win a net 23 house seats. They lost the special election for the Ohio race. They will win at least two seats in Minnesota, and perhaps two in Pennsylvania. That brings the number of seats which Democrats must clip to 27. Despite all the money they are spending in "swing" districts in California, the fact that Hillary Clinton supposedly "won" certain districts in California does not mean that a Democratic contender will knock out a Republican incumbent. The two races operate on different dynamics. Many Democrats were motivated to turn out for Hillary Clinton in California. 

Republicans up and down the state, however, were getting different messages from party leaders at the state and national levels. Trump fired up the base, but much of the political establishment did everything possible to minimize Trump and their connection to him. Some candidates openly defied their identification with Trump, refusing to endorse or even vote for him--and they lost. I also believe that their lack of enthusiasm for the national contender hurt the turnout for lower ballot races.

Congressman Mike Bost Celebrates Tax Reform Passage

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Bost Votes For Tax Reform  Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Mike Bost (IL-12) released the following statement after the House passed the final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the biggest reform of America’s tax code in 31 years: “There were two major things that I wanted to accomplish for Southern Illinois through tax reform: growing jobs and growing paychecks. This tax reform bill paves the way for both. We’ve reformed the tax code to let working families keep more of their paycheck to spend as they see fit. Whether that be saving for college, raising a family, or preparing for a rainy day, I trust the taxpayers to keep a closer eye on their hard-earned dollars than any Washington bureaucrat ever will. We’ve also taken steps to encourage businesses large and small to expand operations at home and invest in the American worker.” For individuals and families, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: Lowers individual taxes and sets the rates so people can keep more of their hard-earned money. Doubles the standard deduction from $6,500 to $13,000 for individuals and $12,000 to $24,000 for married couples. Continues to allow people to write off the cost of state and local taxes – up to $10,000. Doubles the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to $2,000. Provides support for graduate students by continuing to exempt the value of reduced tuition from taxes. Retains popular retirement savings options such as 401(k)s and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Preserves the mortgage interest deduction. Provides relief for Americans with expensive medical bills by expanding the medical expense deduction. For job creators of all sizes, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: Lowers the corporate tax rate to 21%– down from 35%, which today is the highest in the industrialized world. Allows businesses to immediately write off the full cost of new equipment to improve operations and enhance the skills of their workers. Establishes strong safeguards to distinguish between individual wage income and “pass-through” business income so Main Street tax relief goes to the local job creators it was designed to help most. Prevents American jobs, headquarters, and research from moving overseas by eliminating incentives that now reward companies for shifting jobs, profits, and manufacturing plants abroad.

Big Labor Facing Bigger Blows Next Year

Washington DC is getting serious about stopping Big Labor.

Here's a record of what the Washington Examiner had to record about what Washington DC has done

Republican-led Washington is mulling the most far-reaching changes to federal labor policy in seven decades in ways that could strengthen businesses and individual workers while weakening unions' labor power as well as political strength.

I am listening, and I love what I am reading. Big Labor reforms are essential for making America great again. We need to get this going!

The effort goes beyond rewriting parts of workplace law. The Supreme Court, the White House, leaders in Congress, and even state legislatures are all fundamentally rethinking its underlying principles: who it is meant to protect, and how and what the government's role in that should be.

Men and women have a right to form associations as they see fit. They also have a right not to join a union or a syndicate if they so choose. The major issue right now with unions rests on two problems:

1. Forced membership

2. Coerced dues

These two policies are inimical to individual liberty and must be curtailed.

Public sector unions should not exist, since they rely on taxpayer dollars entirely, and the assembly line of public works and responsibilities should never cease.

The move to reshift the balance of power is being led by conservatives and libertarians and has been building for years ... The push includes measures such as expanding the principle of right-to-work, which allows workers to refuse to join or otherwise financially support a union. Other changes would ensure all workplace organizing elections use a secret ballot and requiring unions to periodically be subject to recertification votes to ensure they still have their members' backing.

These are the reforms which Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker helped enact in 2011. Michigan and other states followed soon after with their own right-to-work reforms to ensure that workers retained their rights as individual citizens.

Who are the leaders in Congress seeking to keep unions accountable and make sure that they serve their working members, rather than the other way around?

"This is about giving individual workers a voice. If a union is doing a good job, it shouldn't have to worry about getting recertified. It should be easy," said Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., author of the Employee Rights Act, one of the main bills congressional Republicans are backing. "Nothing about what we are talking about would make it harder for workers to organize, if that is what they want to do."

The reforms are crucial for bringing balance and parity to elections, especially at the state and local level, since the Democratic Party relies excessively on Big Labor money--through forced, legal thievery, since members are forced to join and/or pay the dues.

But it would make it harder for unions to raise funds. Organized labor is a major source of campaign funding for the Democratic Party, giving more than $59 million in the 2016 election cycle alone, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Conservative groups put the total unions give to Democrats, liberal activist groups, and political action committees between 2012 and 2016 at $765 million.

That's too much money stolen from workers promoting candidates and causes which are hurting workers. This is wrong, and we cannot allow this perversion of our American labor community to be so abused.

The justices took up a similar case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, last year and split 4-4, leaving the Abood precedent in place. It is widely believed that Justice Antonin Scalia's death prevented the court from having a majority to overturn Abood. Janus represents a second chance for the court to do that now that Justice Neil Gorsuch has replaced him.

What are some other legislative accomplishments taking place in Congress to rein in Big Labor abuses?

On Capitol Hill, the Employee Rights Act has 111 co-sponsors in the House and 21 in the Senate, and Roe expects they will top last year's number, 137 co-sponsors. 

Other bills, such as the Save Local Business Act, by Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., would rein in the National Labor Relations Board, the main federal labor law enforcement agency, by prohibiting it from pursuing cases based on an expanded definition of "joint employer." 

What has President Trump been able to accomplish in the way of labor reform since taking office?

The White House, meanwhile, is steadily rolling back changes to the workplace rules instituted by Obama. Most notably, the Labor Department has reopened a rule that would vastly expand the number of workers covered by overtime, delayed implementation of the so-called "fiduciary" rule-making retirement investment brokers legally required to put their customers' interests ahead of their own, and rolled back the department adoption of the NLRB's joint employer rule. Trump also has given the NLRB is first GOP majority since President George. W. Bush's administration.

What about blue states? Is there any chance of reform taking hold for good in places like California or Connecticut?

What about ... Illinois?

Liberal Republican Governor Bruce Rauner has been picking a long-standing and somewhat winning fight against the Democratic machine eating the state out of its life and livelihood. There are so many residents leaving that other Rust Belt states are about to overtake the Land of Lincoln in terms of population.

George F. Will writes:

Its importance derives from this fact: Self-government has failed in the nation's currently fifth-most populous state (Pennsylvania soon will pass it). Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner will seek re-election with a stark warning: The state is approaching a death spiral — departing people and businesses suppress growth; the legislature responds by raising taxes; the exodus accelerates.

Illinois has basically turned into California, except with bad weather and good hot dogs.

The strangeness of the contest between Rauner and the likely Democratic nominee (J.B. Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune) is that Rauner's real opponent is a Democrat who has been in the state assembly since Richard Nixon's first term (1971) and has been speaker all but two years since Ronald Reagan's first term (1983). Michael Madigan from Chicago is the "blue model" of government incarnate. This model is the iron alliance of the Democratic Party and government workers' unions. Madigan supports Pritzker, who is committed to the alliance. This is the state of the state under it:

The corrupt Democratic Party and Big Labor, the public sector unions in general, and the SEIU in particular, and bleeding the state into a coma, and then the state will likely fold into itself and go bankrupt.

The unfunded pension and benefits liabilities are astronomical and untenable. The state is losing revenue faster than they can take it in. One tax increase passed--over Governor Rauner's veto--but already another budget-busting deficit has emerged.

The one Democrat who did not vote for Madigan for speaker this year says he's since been bullied. Another Democratic legislator — an African-American from Chicago's South Side, a supporter of school choice — broke ranks to give Rauner a victory on legislation requiring arbitration of an impasse with a 30,000-member union.

Bruce Rauner

These two independent votes are nothing short of a miracle in a state so blue that it will suffocate on itself. 

 Madigan enlisted Barack Obama to campaign against the heretic, who was purged. These were warnings to judges, who must face retention elections. They — including the one who refused to trigger arbitration by declaring a negotiation impasse — are, Rauner says, "part of the machine" in this "very collectivist state."

Judges are corrupt, elected by the same people drawing massive checks from the state coffers. This whole mess has to be cleared up any way possible.

Thuggishness has been normalized: Because Rauner favors allowing municipalities to pass right-to-work laws that prohibit requiring workers to join a union, Madigan's automatons passed a law (Rauner's veto stood) stipulating up to a year in jail for local lawmakers who enact them.

So much bullying, so little time.

In 2018, Rauner will try to enlist voters in the constructive demolition of the "blue model." It is based on Madigan's docile herd of incumbent legislators, who are entrenched by campaign funds from government unions. Through them government, sitting on both sides of the table, negotiates with itself to expand itself. Term limits for legislators, which a large majority of Illinoisans favor, would dismantle the wall.

One can only hope ... term limits have not been successful in California, as the growth of government has continued to skyrocket, and Republican opposition has diminished, even though Republicans still sit in the legislature.

Will neglects one major problem created by Rauner, actually quite a few. While running in 2014 determined to work as much as possible with conservatives and spare their views, he has consistently voted against their best interests. He signed off on sanctuary state legislation! He also signed off on bills which require medical personnel to perform abortions, even if they are morally opposed to such an evil practice.

Does Rauner really think that he is going to pull in any kind of support to ensure that the state does not go bankrupt? Republicans are burned by the betrayals on these moral issues, especially protecting illegal aliens within the state by shutting down communication between statewide law enforcement and ICE.

The base will not turn out for him the way it had catapulted him into victory in 2014. For all his efforts to destroy the power of the public sector union cabal, Illinois will be facing off against a corrupt liberal Governor in 2019, and the state will be done.

Pennsylvania

George Will mentioned that the population growth in the Keystone is soon to exceed Illinois.

Yet that state has not gone right-to-work ... yet. That could change next year, though, especially if voters get rid of liberal Democratic Governor Tom Wolf, who is entirely out of touch with the conservative voters in the state.

Here's a statement from this pro-free market activist:

Suppose you care for an elderly parent or grandparent at home. Should you be compelled to pay dues to a health care workers' union?

The idea may seem ridiculous, but Gov. Tom Wolf is trying hard to make it a reality.

He signed an executive order in 2015 creating a "direct care worker representative" for home care workers who receive state subsidies, a position promptly filled by a union-created group.

More forced unionism. But Pennsylvanians are waking up to this unjust program.

Whatever the courts decide, Pennsylvania lawmakers should pass right-to-work legislation, which ensures that employees are never required to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment.

The previous governor, Tom Corbett, should have done this when he had the chance. He had strong Republican majorities in both houses, and they were ready for all kinds of reforms. Corbett failed to enact free market and liberalization. Not only that, but the capital city Harrisburg went bankrupt, and then the governor wanted to raise taxes rather than cut costs.

In doing so, Pennsylvania would join the 28 states that already have right-to-work laws on the books - including our neighbor West Virginia, which adopted it just last year.

When a union has to earn its dues, rather than simply confiscate them, it is forced to prove its value to workers. So it should come as no surprise that from 2005 through 2015, union membership grew in right-to-work states but fell in non-right-to-work states.

Yes.

States with right-to-work laws have enjoyed stronger job growth. According to the Heritage Foundation, jobs in right-to-work states grew by 46 percent between 1990 and 2014, compared to just 20 percent in forced-union states.

Many companies won't even consider moving operations to a state without right-to-work.

Why we see more businesses fleeing California and other overwhelmingly blue states.

"About 35-to-40 percent of manufacturing enterprises in the automotive industry insist on operating in a right-to-work state," estimates David Brandon, president of The Pathfinders, a Dallas-based consulting firm. "Another 20-to-25 percent say it is a very important factor and will be used as a second or third-tier factor in site selection."

Pennsylvania has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation - only seven states are worse off - and our lack of worker freedom is one likely culprit. A study by the Competitive Enterprise Institute found that right-to-work laws increased economic growth rates by 11.5 percentage points between 1977 and 2012.

Yes indeed, right-to-work policies are pro-worker.

If state lawmakers won't act, then counties should consider passing right-to-work bills of their own. It wouldn't be the first time that counties have seized the initiative from state legislators.

This is the trend which Illinois is considering. They want to allow local and county jurisdictions to do as they see fit to end forced membership and coerced dues. Right-to-work zones turn into economic growth zones.

Even before Kentucky passed right-to-work legislation earlier this year, 12 of the state's counties had already approved it on their own. These counties won an important legal battle last year when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld local right-to-work laws.

There is one catch for other jurisdictions throughout the country. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals only covers a handful of states, and the federal rulings only apply to those states. The Ninth Circuit, for example, is notoriously liberal, with no interest in furthering a pro-freedom agenda

Counties fought to defend worker freedom because it brought proven economic benefits. Within six months of passing right-to-work laws, Kentucky's Warren County had received inquiries from 47 economic development projects representing at least 4,785 new jobs.

BAM!

That's exactly the sort of economic bump that's needed in a place like Erie County, which has lost almost 2,000 manufacturing jobs over the last three years. Passing right-to-work legislation would send a clear signal to employers and workers that the county is open for business.

Erie County, PA is a crucial political bellwether. As goes Erie, so goes the rest of the state in political contests. For the first time in decades, Republicans won that country--and Republicans carried the state. It was YUGE!

No one should be forced to support political causes or policies they disagree with. But that is what the ballot box is for.

It's all about principles and ideas. It's all about allowing individuals the freedom, the opportunity to choose their own path and their own representation. This country is founded on this fundamental freedom. No one should take it away.

Delaware

Another blue state, Delaware, wants to enact right-to-work, but the state legislature is still under Democratic control. Despite Republican chances at electing another state senator and thus taking back the upper chamber in Dover for the first time in 40 years, their efforts fell short.

Sussex County, Delaware enacted their own right-to-work ordinance, and immediately the Democratic Attorney General stepped in:

The Delaware Attorney General’s office has ruled against a Right to Work bill that claims to promote job growth in Sussex county. The Legislation proposed by the county council would have enacted a form of the controversial legislation.  The attorney general’s office has ruled that county government does not have the legal authority to enact such a bill.

There are growing precedents in the federal court systems which are permitting these local and county right-to-work zones. More efforts are proceeding to allow more federal circuit courts to rule, and rule in favor of, allowing local jurisdictions to expand freedom-to-work provisions despite opposition from state legislatures.

Proposed by Sussex County Councilman Rob Arlett, also state chair for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, the bill would have seen practices best suited for state-wide use implemented into a single county.

“If the state legislature is not even going to consider a Right to Work law for all of Delaware,” says Arlett. “It is my responsibility to find a path at the county level to pursue job opportunities for my constituents.”

Absolutely!

Arlett’s motion to create a Right to Work county is the latest effort of many spanning several years. In 2013, the then-Republican controlled General Assembly pushed to create Right to Work zones in hopes of boosting the state’s manufacturing industry. Legislators believed this would attract new companies who are looking to operate free of union interference. The bill failed to make it out of committee.

Right-to-work legislation faces a tough fight on many levels, even among Republicans as well as Democrats, who by and large are bought by labor unions. To the county's credit, however, we should be glad that someone with political power wanted to put forward a proposal which is pro-business and pro-worker.

Final Reflection

The Right-to-work fight is going full-steam ahead. Free markets and free enterprise, combined with better trade deals and an America First work ethic are all undermining the communistic impulse which has animated labor unions for the last 30 years. Cities, counties, and state governments are going bankrupt because they cannot afford the excessive pensions and benefits offered to public employees, including public safety officials as well as other government workers. Taxpayers have had enough with being raked over the coals to pay for perks which they cannot enjoy, and the private sector is weighed down by the government bullying.

Unions are not bad when they serve their workers. When unions force employees to join however, they are inherently bad, violating the independence of the employees and undermining the basic principles on which this country was founded.