Democrats on Tuesday begin their new push for an immigration bill, hamstrung by the image of legalizing millions of illegal immigrant workers at a time when the unemployment rate stands at 10 percent — more than twice what it was the last time Congress tried to act.

“It certainly will confuse the debate a lot more, but at the end of the day what we have to understand is fixing this system will be good for American workers,” said Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union, which is one of the major advocates for legalizing illegal immigrant workers…

More at the link.

H/T  Michelle Malkin

Even before U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was sworn in, Big Labor insiders like AFL-CIO lawyer and Obama appointee Deborah Greenfield were busily dismantling useful union financial disclosures produced by former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.  It’s another Big Government – Big Labor partnership aimed at keeping individual workers, whom they claim to represent, in the dark.Why the hurry? Perhaps Union Bosses wanted to prevent the Virginia GOP and inquisitive people like Patrick Semmens from visiting DOL’s UnionReports.gov website that clearly reveals the Big Labor-ACORN collusion.  Semmens discovered that teachers’ union bosses gave about $500,000 to the same Brooklyn ACORN office exposed on BigGovernment.com.  Both the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) awarded ACORN service contracts.

That’s right; union bosses gave teachers’ forced union dues to the same ACORN that appeared to have no problem facilitating child prostitution.  No wonder Solis’ Big Labor friends want to shutdown financial disclosure!…

More at the link.

H/T Hot Air

…Earlier this month, Humana sent a one-page letter to its customers enrolled in its Medicare Advantage plans, which offer private options to Medicare beneficiaries. Humana noted that, because of spending cuts proposed by Democrats, “millions of seniors and disabled individuals could lose many of the important benefits and services that make Medicare Advantage health plans so valuable.” The Kentucky-based company also urged its customers to contact their Representatives. Pretty tame stuff, as these things go.

Mr. Baucus took it as a declaration of war. He complained to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal health-care agency, which on Friday duly ordered Humana to cease and desist. CMS claimed the mailer was “misleading and confusing” and told the company it has opened an official probe as to whether the mailer violated laws about how the insurers that manage Advantage plans are allowed to communicate with their customers, as well as other federal statutes.

“Please be advised that we take this matter very seriously and, based upon the findings our investigation, will pursue compliance and enforcement actions,” CMS concluded, ominously. Humana could be fined or booted from Medicare Advantage altogether…

So did Humana mislead its customers?  No:

…In fact, the Baucus draft legislation slashes $123 billion over the next decade from Medicare Advantage, which Democrats hate despite the fact that almost one-fourth of beneficiaries have chosen it over traditional fee-for-service Medicare. One reason seniors like it is because private insurers focus on quality and preventive care and try to manage benefits, as opposed to simply paying bills…

Hang on a minute, says House Ways and Means Committee ranking member David Camp:  Camp Demands Answers from CMS on Its ‘Gag Order’ on Those Providing Accurate Information About President’s Planned Medicare Cuts

…The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has initiated an investigation into at least one provider of a Medicare Advantage (MA) health care plan for informing its enrollees that Medicare cuts proposed by the President and congressional Democrats could alter their benefits.  In addition to this investigation, CMS has since banned all MA health plans from providing similar information to beneficiaries.

“It looks likes CMS is engaged in government intimidation, pure and simple,” said Camp.  “Seniors know the Presidents’ Medicare cuts will impact their benefits.  CBO has confirmed these cuts could negatively impact Medicare benefits and increase seniors’ costs.  But when health care plans try to share that information with their enrollees, the Administration slaps a gag order on them.  It is a total abuse of power.”…

The intimidation doesn’t stop with the Senate.  More spontaneous outrage–oops–civilized political discourse from the left is scheduled for today: From the Washington Times, Health reformers targeting ‘enemies

…But Health Care for America Now (HCAN), which is backed by a coalition of labor unions and liberal groups including ACORN and MoveOn.org, organized the protests to target insurance companies and drafted the plan, which describes the demonstrations as part of its “insurance enemies project.”

The document, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, details specific talking points, tactics, props and strategies to stage the protests. It lists goals that include action that “mobilizes our base by animating existing anger about private insurers.”

The HCAN field plan dictates that each protest will include a minimum of 30 participants, target only health care insurers CIGNA, WellPoint and United Health Care and showcase what it calls “victims,” or people who have either lost insurance, can’t afford it or were denied coverage because of pre-existing medical conditions…

…Another tactic described in the document is “vigils featuring faith leaders [or] clergy” who visits insurance company office with the demand. For props, it suggest using “spokespeople who can wear clerical uniforms.”

It directs the protesters to “escalate by increasing the involvement of congregations to take small actions; hosting more vigils that invite the insurance companies to repent.”

The HCAN demonstrations are planned throughout the country, with flagship protests in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Milwaukee – cities in which the targeted health insurance companies have a large corporate presence…

More at the links.

H/T Ace of Spades

…The Senate version opens the door to implement forced unionization schemes pursued by former Govs. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois in 2005 and Gray Davis of California in 1999. Both men repaid tremendous political debts to Andy Stern and his Service Employees International Union (SEIU) by reclassifying state-reimbursed in-home health-care (and child-care) contractors as state employees—and forcing them to pay union dues.

Following this playbook, the Senate bill creates a “personal care attendants workforce advisory panel” that will likely impose union affiliation to qualify for a newly created “community living assistance services and support (class)” reimbursement plan.

The current House version of ObamaCare (H.R. 3200) goes much further. Section 225(A) grants Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius tremendous discretionary authority to regulate health-care workers “under the public health insurance option.” Monopoly bargaining and compulsory union dues may quickly become a required standard resulting in potentially hundreds of thousands of doctors and nurses across the country being forced into unions.

Ms. Sebelius will be taking her marching orders from the numerous union officials who are guaranteed seats on the various federal panels (such as the personal care panel mentioned above) charged with recommending health-care policies. Big Labor will play a central role in directing federal health-care policy affecting hundreds of thousands of doctors, surgeons and nurses…

Much more at the link.

Is nothing sacred? Astroturfing churches?

Via Michelle Malkin,The AFL-CIO helping spread the big government Obamacare message:  Take Part in Labor in the Pulpits this Labor Day Weekend

Labor in the Pulpits /on the Bimah /in the Minbar expresses in a very clear way the bonds between religion and labor. Every major religion teaches respect for work and the moral duty to care for the poor and foster social justice-the same goals that the union movement holds.

Those shared goals create a natural bond between us. That bond is even stronger this year as we stand poised to bring about real change in our country from reforming health care to stopping wage theft and making our workplaces more democratic.

More at the links.