June 28 – National Review – Happy Janusversary
This past weekend marked the third anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Janus v. AFSCME ruling, which guaranteed the First Amendment rights of government employees, allowing them to opt-out of unions by withholding once-compulsory dues and fees — a blow to the coffers of Big Labor, a principal bankroller of Democratic politics and its ever-more-radical agenda.
Dec 18 – The Federalist – Report: Washington Is Inflating COVID Death Tolls, Even After Getting Caught Once Before
Analyzing more than 2000 death certificates from as early as September, investigators at Freedom Foundation found that 170 so-called COVID deaths listed no reference to the virus, while another 171 death certificates simply listed COVID-19 as a “possible contributing factor,” but not a direct cause of death.
Dec 18 – Ricochet – You Can’t Handle the Truth, or Numbers
People are impressed by numbers, especially large numbers. Paraphrasing a quote attributed to Josef Stalin illustrates the large number quandary; One man’s death is a tragedy, millions of deaths are a merely a statistic.
Dec 18 – Fox News Radio – More evidence states inflating numbers of COVID deaths
A positive test for the disease, even when it’s not a cause of death, is still counted. On Friday morning I saw a TV ticker and it listed in excess of 310,000 deaths in the United States attributed to the virus. Stand back for a moment and ask where the true number lies. Is it 250,000? Could it be 150,000? Could it be 50,000? From what I’ve seen the past nine months, asking these questions can get you in a lot of trouble.
Dec 18 – KFLD News Talk – Investigation Shows WSDOH Still ‘Inflating’ COVID Death Counts
Even before this was reported, the Freedom Foundation (An Olympia WA based think tank and watchdog group) began to investigate allegations WSDOH was counting anyone who had tested positive as a COVID death.
Dec 17 – RedState – More and More Fed-up Americans Are Defying COVID Edicts
Reports started coming out about over-reporting of COVID-19 deaths in states around the country. From Washington state to Colorado, from Florida to Kentucky, deaths were attributed to COVID-19 that, once examined, were clearly false.
Dec 16 – California Globe – Concerned Citizens Shout Down COVID Penalties at Sacramento County Supervisors Meeting
Ultimately, several board members were made sufficiently uncomfortable by the idea of fining people for failing to comply with COVID-19 lockdown dictates. It’s clear something changed during the hour when the supervisors had left the room.
Dec 11 – The News Tribune – Defiant Graham gym hit with state’s biggest COVID-19 violation fine: $9,639 per day
Knick speculated that L&I was going after him because he enlisted the help of the Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank that has been vocal in its opposition to Inslee’s Safe Start mandate and is a critic of the state Department of Health’s approach to the pandemic.
Dec 9 – KPER – Freedom group pushes anti-shutdown message on billboards across Washington state
One freedom group is trying to send Governor Jay Inslee a big message, literally.
Dec 4 – Washington Times – ‘They can take me to jail’: Washington gym owner fights Gov. Inslee’s coronavirus shutdown order
Mr. Knick, who is represented by the nonprofit think tank Freedom Foundation, posted a video afterward saying that he would resist the order, citing the hardship to small businesses.
Dec 2 – RedState – Without Censorship, There Can Be No Control
The Freedom Foundation has been stopped from promoting posts on Twitter. We have been blocked from boosting posts on FB. We are in litigation over being kicked out of public buildings for telling public employees about their rights not to fund unions and several local governments have blocked our emails in order to prevent public employees from hearing from us.
Nov 12 – California Globe – Government Unions Had a Surprisingly Bad Election Night in California
My organization, the Freedom Foundation, speaks directly to California state and local government workers every day to help them exercise their constitutional right to leave their union – and many of them do precisely because they are tired of seeing their dues wasted on political speech they disagree with.
Nov 5 – RedState – Newsom’s Latest COVID Regs Nuttier Than a Holiday Fruitcake
“All gatherings must be held outdoors,” the governor’s pronouncement demands, helpfully conceding that, “Attendees may go inside to use restrooms as long as the restrooms are frequently sanitized.”
Oct 27 – Bloomberg Law – Unions Win Same Share of 2020 Mail, In-Person Elections
Although the threat of coronavirus transmission may make it prudent to hold certain union elections by mail, the NLRB should seek to conduct elections in-person as soon as it’s safe to do so, said Maxford Nelsen, labor policy director for the Freedom Foundation, a conservative advocacy group.
Oct 26 – The Center Square – Seven California home health care providers appeal over SEIU taking Medicaid payments from their paychecks
While the efforts of the Freedom Foundation and NRWF have prompted the state Department of Health and Human Services to formally oppose unions skimming from Medicaid, they have continued to take money out of Medicaid payments. Stopping them from doing so will only happen after federal courts intervene, the foundations note.
Oct 22 – Inside Sources – Public-Sector Unions Resorting to Forgery to Preserve Their Monopoly
As a rule of thumb, most economists would agree that when a consumer is truly satisfied with the price and quality of a good or service, the seller shouldn’t need to have the federal government pass laws making the transaction mandatory.
Oct 21 – WCAX3 – New Vermont law aims to strengthen labor unions
“If you happen to make it through that 60-minute orientation and you don’t sign up for union membership, It’s entirely possible that you’ll start receiving phone calls or emails or maybe a visit to your home on a Saturday morning from union organizers trying to get you signed up,” said Max Nelsen, the labor policy director at the Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank.
Oct 21 – Redstate – Judge Forces Lifeguards Drowning in Union Dues to Keep Paying Against Their Will
Armed with the Janus decision, the California lifeguards chose to exercise their rights by submitting paperwork opting out of CSLEA. The union denied our request, however, citing a provision in its collective bargaining agreement we never saw and had not voted on.
Oct 19 – Legal Newsline – Freedom Foundation fights against alleged union misbehavior
Two appeals were filed in Oregon, and one in Washington state. But these are not the only such cases for the Freedom Foundation, which has offices in five states. It reports involvement in at least a dozen similar cases.
Oct 14 – Newstalk870 – Gov. Inslee Has Issued 349 Proclamations in 2020, Most for COVID
The Freedom Foundation says Inslee needs to issue one more proclamation, to call the special session immediately. Growing numbers of critics and legislators believe he is purposefully waiting until after the election Nov. 3.
Oct 13 – Herald and News – McNiven: Fairgrounds meeting was response to government overreach
The goal of the Citizens to Reopen Klamath County is simple: Give free agency back to the people. Each business needs sovereignty in how they operate, just as each person needs autonomy in their own health decisions.
Oct 11 – The Center Square – The Sunday Read: Whitmer timeline questionable when blaming Trump for Michigan plot
“Gov. Inslee’s draconian response has been disproportionate to the threats caused by COVID-19,” said Caleb Jon Vandenbos, an attorney for the Freedom Foundation, which is representing the plaintiffs.
Oct 7 – Big Country News – Five Washington businesses sue Inslee over COVID-19 restrictions
Five Skamania County businesses want to stop Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 restrictions, according to a lawsuit filed on their behalf by a free market think tank.
Oct 7 – Redstate – Biden Holding out Hope SCOTUS Pick Will Share His and Ginsburg’s Fealty to Labor
As president, Biden has promised he would repay his union benefactors by personally repealing Janus and the right-to-work protections already on the books in 27 U.S. states.
Oct 6 – The Sacramento Bee -Supreme Court nominee could reshape California’s gig economy law and unions. Here’s how
“We should be getting first hints fairly soon,” Nelsen said. “If they grant the review, it’s a good sign that the current majority, with or without Barrett, is interested in this issue.”
Oct 1 – The National Review – Biden’s Gift-Wrapped Union Agenda Would Make Bernie Blush
Government unions such as AFSCME routinely boast that, wherever collective bargaining exists in government, unions can use political action to “to directly elect our bosses.”
Whether you’re a worker who’s been ripped off by union bosses, or a patriotic American who wants to take on their undue influence on our political system, the Freedom Foundation needs to hear from you!
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The Freedom Foundation is more than a think tank. We’re more than an action tank. We’re a battle tank that’s battering the entrenched power of left-wing government union bosses who represent a permanent lobby for bigger government, higher taxes, and radical social agendas.
