Bret Jacobson

Articles by Bret Jacobson

Obama, You're No Jack Kennedy

Uh-O. Obama’s administration has run afoul of words by John F. Kennedy on Big Labor and protecting employees. You have no doubt been following the fight over the unconstitutional recess appointments by the Obama administration to the National Labor Relations

Action Alert: Rein In The Rogue NLRB

You may be aware of this week’s NLRB showdown, where two Democratic Members of the National Labor Relations Board will try on Tuesday to overhaul rules governing 6 million workplaces and about 100 million working Americans to make it easier

New Evidence Says 'Yes We Cain'

With Herman Cain grabbing top headlines at The Drudge Report and Gallup reporting that he has statistically tied Mitt Romney for the GOP nomination, the question is whether the math-genius-turned-businessman can really become the Godfather of America’s political system. Some

'Solar Decathlon' Sign Powered by Gas Generator

Americans are catching on to the absurdity of the far Left’s “greening” of our economy. In some cases, like the Solyndra scandal, it amounts to the Taxpayer cash being flushed away on economically unsound alternative technologies that we *hope* will

Diary from the Days of Madness

Someday we’ll all look back at this and laugh. Or cry. These are the dark days for small business and would-be entrepreneurs, who need only to open the newspaper, click on their iPad, or flick on the TV to see

UPDATE: Union Goon Only Supports 'Some' Violence?

When one is embarrassed by their own words, an oft-used option (at least in DC) is to retreat into claims of being misrepresented. So it goes after we recently brought you the troubled Tweets of former HuffPo writer, labor activist,

Who Says Union Goons Are Violent?

Like many, you may know that union bosses put up inflatable rats outside businesses they are trying to intimidate into handing over their workers. But this week — in true turnabout-is-fair-play style — someone put up an inflatable rat outside

Union Corruption: There's No App For That

Remember that time the Department FOR Labor spent taxpayer money for a broken mobile app that actually could have shortchanged some workers? Well, their latest foray into mobile apps ought to be just as embarrassing. This week the DOL, busy

Obama Referendum: The Countdown Begins!

We’re right at the 500-day countdown mark for America to choose the right path … or, as Ronald Reagan called it, “a time for choosing.” [youtube qXBswFfh6AY] Check out the Gipper’s famous — and eerily relevant — speech nominating Barry

Obama NLRB Officially Goes Round The Bend

Hey, remember that one time — like a couple days ago — that we recapped some of the craziest things the National Labor Relations Board wants to do? Well, today, it announced a massive campaign to rewrite the rules on

Your Handy Guide To Obama Board's Attack on Workplace Democracy

Andrew Breitbart, proprietor of this here outlet, is already getting plaudits for his presentation at this year’s RightOnline convention (you can see his speech here). But the weekend event also held lots of policy and digital advocacy conversations, including one

AFL-CIO: Yeah, You Can Call That Socialist

Good news! We’re all one step closer to being able to call socialism by its name! According to a Bloomberg report, AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka “said he’d like to see the U.S. become more like a European nation that provides

Wisconsin Union Boycott Threats Border on Illegal

You may have seen news that Wisconsin’s AFSCME public-sector union is threatening businesses with possible boycott if they refuse to voice support for the union position. Obviously, it’s pretty galling — and potentially illegal. The Journal-Sentinel reported that AFSCME Council

Is Obama Regulatory Reform Real?

By now you’ve probably heard that the president has gotten religion on the economically damaging effects of the regulatory state. Today, I argue wait and see is still the rule with this government as there are major rolls of red

Union Bosses Scheme to Be Girl Scouts' Next 'Tagalong'

The same sort of deception and unfairness by Big Labor that would have allowed union organizers to replace workplace elections with coercion-prone “card check” is rearing its ugly head, and this time it may be Girl Scouts who pay the

Union Snow Job Just Glimpse of Coming Blizzard

The New York Post is reporting that unionized public employees were encouraged to slow the process of digging out of the recent snowstorm to demonstrate their labor leverage in hopes of grabbing more taxpayer largess. Think that’s shocking? Just wait

Our Dire Straits: Money For Nothin'

It’s pretty clear the administration owes union bosses big, and the payoffs may take many forms. There was the failed attempt to push card check by legislation and now through the National Labor Relations Board. In the meantime, though, the

Fed Government: Mostly Bad

A picture’s worth a thousand opinions as Gallup compiles Americans’ view of the federal government thusly: Gallup: Overall, 72% of responses about the federal government are negative, touching on its inefficiency, size, corruption, and general incompetence, with the most common

The Devil At Breitbart's Doorstep

An American businessman who has been the target of a relentless attack by SEIU union thugs wrote today about the lessons we should all take from Breitbart’s recent run-in: On Saturday, September 18th, Andrew Breitbart faced a situation similar to

Hope, Change, and the Uninformed Public

If you can’t beat ’em, beat up on ’em is apparently the new playbook for the Democrats. John “He even looks French” Kerry, now the senior Senator from Massachusetts, voiced his view of Americans today: “We have an electorate that

Obama: Let's Cut Carbon (And Jobs)

The big news of the day is that President Obama’s proposal to target the energy industry for particular tax punishment will kill 150,000 jobs. As Ed Morrissey notes, that’s high-paying union jobs. American jobs. Uh oh. For years, groups like

SEIU To Famous Latina: Get Back In The Fields

Rep. Tom Price has warned that card check could be one of a series of unpopular policies Democrats may try to ram through in a lame duck session this year. He’s right, and we should be worried. Cap and trade

VIDEO: ObamaCare's Negative Impact on Doctors

Have friends and family who don’t think the government getting involved in healthcare is a bad idea? Send them this video from the Heritage Foundation: [youtube 77Lf7k-Q-jo] Read more here.

Unions Shouting Fire(man) In A Crowded Theater

Immediately following the 9/11 attacks in New York City, Americans were reminded just how brave and important first responders, including fire fighters, police, and EMTs, are to us. Nearly a decade on, though, Big Labor and politicians are using them

Bob Casey's (Union) Bailout

The Free Enterprise Alliance’s Halt The Assault campaign has been raising red flags about Sen. Bob Casey’s dangerous bill granting the full faith and credit of the United States Treasury to bail out multi-employer pensions (a favorite of unions). Thankfully,

Unions: Getting The Munchies After Smoking A Bowl

Over at Forbes I recently wrote about the union plan to organize your neighborhood fast food joint, which could turn the process of ordering a Number 3 with Coke into a culinary trip to the DMV. Well, maybe now we

Will We Just Be Printing Money?

What do you call a man who’s donated to Bill Halter, a supporter of card check? You may call him the next head of the Government Printing Office (yes, there’s still a publicly run entity for smearing ink on pages).

Playing Rough: DC v. Sex

At the same time Gallup has released numbers that Americans believe the country’s moral outlook is bleak, another D.C. type has been taken down by sex — or, more accurately, the hypocrisy of having sex when running on moral rectitude.

Get Combative (Jersey Style) For Small Government

Fantastic rant from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on fighting on — not shutting up — when it comes to doing the job for smaller government. [youtube O70vGKpX-2Y] Hat tip to Halt The Assault, which has a good video of

Crash Ahead? Obama Bails Out Railroad, Airline Unions

The AP is reporting that the Obama administration has changed a 76-year-old rule to make it easier for unions to claim dues members in the airline and rail sectors — since, you know, those are such vibrant industries right now

Your Neighbor May [Heart] Socialism, Progressive Trumps Capitalism

Pew has some new, eye-opening numbers. There are some positives — family values, civil rights, civil liberties, states’ rights all test well — and some negatives, with socialism getting high marks among 44 percent of Democrats. The incongruity is truly

Arizona: Real Anger, But Real Wrong

Arizonans have a right to be angry that the federal government hasn’t done enough to close off illegal immigration and fix the current system to allow for a reasonable path to citizenship for foreign workers. But ask yourself: what’s the

Spit Take: Andy Stern Says Unions Don't Cost Taxpayers A Dime

The most dangerous place in D.C. may well be between retiring SEIU president Andy Stern and a microphone, but the next-most-dangerous place may be as a taxpayer paying for his work. Now, in an exit interview with the Washington Post’s

Queen vs Obama, Pelosi and Reid: Bureaucrats Want It All!

The Free Enterprise Alliance has launched a new campaign called Halt The Assault, which asks federal bureaucrats and Big Labor to stop attacking the engine of jobs and our economy: small business. Check out their new video featuring President Obama,

For First Time, Energy Trumps Hippies

What happens in economic lean times? It helps clarify the mind on how we spend scarce resources and, in particular, it forces us to reconsider costly “feel good” environmentalist policies. So it’s not entirely surprising to get the news from

Prelude To Card Check? President Racks Up Dems on Key Labor Board

Card check is dead, right? Wrong. This weekend the president named a key SEIU lawyer to the quiet but crucial National Labor Relations Board through a controversial recess appointment. By doing so, the president has gone well outside the norm

Health Care Deform Would Be More Than a Pest for Caterpillar

The president’s health care bill isn’t going to come cheap for us as taxpayers or employers. In fact, the latest estimate from Caterpillar is enough to make you want to climb into a cocoon. Dow Jones reports: “Caterpillar Inc. said

Ergo Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Some want to regulate what you eat, some want to regulate what you say, and some want to regulate how you type your TPS reports. Those around long enough to remember the 1990’s will grumble to recall the battle over

Shame On You, Big Labor

There are serious protests going on in Albuquerque by a local Carpenters union. But one company is fighting back and the story is starting to get interesting. It turns out things aren’t exactly as they seem: So temp employees without

Tides Foundation: General Support, Major Concern

Not enough people know about the Tides Foundation, which is one of the original “philanthropic” donation launderers for donors who don’t want to be tied to fringe activist groups. Frankly, there’s too much to tell, but they’re the sugar daddy