PrairiePundit

NY Times: Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Union Fees The justices took on a case against public-sector unions that could deal a severe blow to organized labor. Forced dues fund the unions ehich in turn funds Democrat politicians who reward teh unions with incrased salaries and benefits and the tax payer is never at the bargaining table.  Making tghe dues voluntary would go a long way in reducing this corrupt bargain.  Wisconsin is a prime example of the benefits to the tax payer and the employees when the unions can't get the government to collect for them.

Washington Post: Hastert accused of paying victim of molestation The former House speaker allegedly paid a male ex-student to keep quiet about acts that took place decades ago, a federal law enforcement official said. If Hastert had gone to the FBI when the extortion effort began he would have been better off and the person demanding the hush money would have been the like recipient of an indictment.  So why didn't his alleged victim just bring a case against him?  I suspect because he thought he could get more doing it the way he did.  It will be interesting to see if any charges are filed against the recipient of the hush money.

National Journal: FASTEST-GROWING U.S. CITIES IMPORT THEIR COLLEGE GRADUATES Relying on outside talent can help feed dynamic economies, but it also exacerbates achievement gaps and social tensions. This is not a new phenomena.  I graduated from high school in a town in the Rio Grand Valley.  After graduating from the University of Texas, I went to Marine Corps OCS and did a tour in Vietnam before coming back to Texas to get my law degree.  I worked in Austin and later in Houston and had job offers in Washington DC and New York City.  It seemed like a typical career path for most of my classmates in college. Houston is a vibrant city with a l;ow unemployment rate, around four percent.  There was plenty of local talent also getting jobs there and they still do.

AP/Houston Chronicle: A sweeping border security bill that would accelerate the hiring of state troopers along the Texas-Mexico border is set to clear a major hurdle in the Capitol. The House on Wednesday is expected to give preliminary approval to the measure that would put retired troopers back on duty and explore putting more southbound checkpoints in the Rio Grande Valley. ... I suspect the south bound check points are to deal with catching the drug money headed back to the cartels in Mexico.  Having the troopers on the border is adding a deterrent dimension to the border security effort.   The federal Border Patrol seems to concentrate its efforts inland.

The Morning Call: When Mitt Romney suggested several weeks ago that he would win Pennsylvania, the challenge seemed almost insurmountable. But when Paul Ryan asked a raucous Pennsylvania crowd of GOP faithful Saturday afternoon if they were ready to help the Republican ticket win the state, he was serious about the prospects. "It feels really good to be standing in here with Pennsylvania today," the Republican vice presidential candidate said. Throughout Ryan's 30-minute remarks inside a Harrisburg International Airport hangar, the crowd was deafening, at times chanting, "Three more days, Three more days." A month ago, with President Barack Obama holding a 7- to 10-point lead over Romney in several Pennsylvania polls, the GOP likely did not expect to be having huge political rallies here with less than 72 hours until Election Day. For most of the year, Pennsylvania was widely considered a sure thing for the Democrats . But in recent days, the Republicans ha...