Your Tax Dollars At Work: Another Vegas Junket, Baby!!!

What is it about this place?? (HT CBSChicago.com)



There's another Vegas Junket on the taxpayers dime to report. From CBSChicago.com:

"The Chicago Public Schools system is suffering from a $700 million budget shortfall. So why did some educators travel to Las Vegas just days after a travel restriction was ordered?

CBS 2′s Dave Savini and the Better Government Association investigated questionable spending of school tax dollars and how children are impacted.

Former Scammon Elementary School teacher Laura Hoffman is angry that 14 of her Chicago Public School co-workers went on an all-expense paid trip to a Las Vegas resort and spa for a conference last year.

“That’s what happened. Does it make sense? No,” Hoffman said. “I think parents need to be aware what is happening.”

Hoffman quit her job at Scammon Elementary last year and says school officials should not have spent the $15,000 on the conference in Las Vegas while city schools are hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.

The school’s principal, Mary Weaver, went on the trip with her staff and allegedly missed their own school’s report card pick up day.

Hoffman said that time is “the biggest night for teachers to talk with parents.”

That's pretty strong stuff. The usual school officials lavishing money on themselves trick. Then it gets twisted:

"Michael Presnell is one of the students who says he was not getting his services, until his family spent years fighting for them. He says he still is not getting all that he is supposed to get, but he is receiving more than other special education students.

“Some kids — they just ignore them,” said the teen, who added that some special education students were simply placed in a room where horrible things happened.

Edwina Meyer was in that room last fall when she says classmates repeatedly engaged in sex acts. Teachers back up her story and say the room lacked proper staffing."

Lacking proper staffing is the least of that school's problems. Yet, the CPS can't figure out why parents are angry all the time?? Now for the numbers:

"The Better Government Association’s Andy Shaw says action needs to be taken.

He says the entire Board of Education needs an intervention. An analysis of an internal CPS investigation found hundreds of thousands of dollars in wasteful spending by Chicago School Board members.

Tax dollars were spent on champagne costing $125 a bottle; thousands more on limousines, steak lunches and a food and liquor bill from a Soldier Field skybox event that alone cost more than $6,000.

“The Board of Education has to investigate this,” Shaw said. ”Someone is not doing their job.”

It's a lot more than just one person. Paraphrasing Ronald Reagan, we need to reduce the influence of teachers unions and school boards, and put the school back in the hands of the Principals, Teachers, and Parents.

Background Reading:

CBSChicago.com: Taxpayers Send Teachers To Vegas Resort

Your Tax Dollars At Work: Vegas Junket, Baby!!!

Where big kids go to play. (HT Michelle Malkin)



Here's an instance of what happeened in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas. From CBS4 - Denver:

"The CBS4 investigation learned that the Census administrators were flown to Las Vegas Aug. 24 and put up at the luxurious Treasure Island hotel and casino on the Las Vegas strip. Some of the managers stayed for two days, others stayed for three."

Looks like our money's going to Vegas against King Hussein's wishes. I wonder what's his take on this??

Speaking of King Hussein's check out this flashback from Michelle Malkin:

"Hey, remember when President Obama told Americans to stay away from Vegas…twice?

Flashback:

“When times are tough, you tighten your belts. You don’t go buying a boat when you’re trying to pay your mortgage. You don’t blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you’re trying to save on college. You prioritize, you make tough choices.”

And:

… “You are not going to be able to give out these big bonuses until you pay taxpayers back. You can’t get corporate jets. You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers’ dime.”

Census officials’ response: Yes, we can!"

Do you now understand why this country must get back to constitutional principles, and fast??

Background Raeading:

CBS4 - Denver: Investigation: 140 Census Bosses Took Vegas Trip
Michelle Malkin: Your Census dollars at work: $100,000 Vegas junket to Treasure Island, baby

Las Vegas To King Hussein: Your Economic Policies Suck

Resist. (HT AR15.com)



Recently King Hussein went to Las Vegas to stump for Harry Reid. It wasn't a very warm one as the mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, passed on meeting him. Casino owners have openly ripped him. More people are starting to understand that his policies are anti-business. From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

"While "Obamacare" doesn't go into full effect for four more years, taxes to support it kick in this fall, starting with a 10 percent tanning salon tax (why?) and a "1099" tax that's projected to suck an additional $17 billion out of private businesses in the next decade by making them file "1099" snitch forms for virtually everyone to whom they pay a few hundred dollars.

What about "cap and trade" and your carbon tax, still promoted by you and your legislative ramrod, Sen. Reid, even after much of the basis for worrying about climate change has been shown to be a hoax?

Your administration admits this legislation will artificially drive up power bills and other energy costs. Mr. President, is that supposed to help cash-strapped Nevada firms create new jobs? If it causes air fares and gasoline prices to soar, will that help bring the tourists back to Las Vegas?

Why so many costly bailouts, Mr. President? Why so much bypassing of America's fine bankruptcy courts? Was it because your union supporters objected to what might happen to their contracts, which helped sink firms like General Motors? Is that why you intervened to arrange for the government and the unions to take over that firm? How many other industries will now be taken over? We already know about health care. The banks, too?

And speaking of unions, is "card check" still in play? The prospect that workplaces could be unionized without a worker secret-ballot majority -- that's supposed to encourage local business investment and growth?

Meantime, the inflation caused by all this spending keeps prices and wages artificially high. Is that supposed to help?

Nevadans have a long tradition as hard-working frontier entrepreneurs. Nevadans would rather have a real, private-sector job than a handout. How many of your high-level appointees have any experience creating such jobs, Mr. President? Do you see that as a problem?"

We know that Barack Obama is a thin skinned person who can't take criticism very well. He's going to get a lot more of it in the next four months.

Background Reading:

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Welcome back, Mr. President Your economic policies suck