Free Republic

he president of the teachers' union in Miami-Dade County, Fla., is under federal investigation, union officials said on Friday, after reports that he had spent $350,000 in union money on a way of life that included $175 python-print pajamas from Neiman Marcus and a $49,715 three-week vacation to Australia, New Zealand and California. The union official, Pat Tornillo, who has been president of United Teachers of Dade for more than two decades, took an unpaid leave of absence after the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the union's office in late April.Union officials said that Mr. Tornillo, who earned $243,000 in...

Despite the trappings of a democracy -- a constitution, election schedules, rules for campaigns -- not a single ballot has been cast at the United Teachers of Dade in more than 20 years. Pat Tornillo held the title of president, but in reality he was king. Since the early 1980s, no one has challenged him or the slate of candidates drafted every three years by the union's Unity Caucus -- effectively the UTD's lone political party and Tornillo's power base. ''UTD's always been a fairly closed shop,'' said Artie Leichner, who teaches English and history to gifted ninth-graders at South...

Posted by Faith Hartzell on March 06, 19102 at 19:46:44: Dear friends and fellow gun owners... I do not often do this, but I am inclined to take up a very worthy cause on behalf of a gentleman who in my opinion, was treated very unfairly by the NRA#146;s Institute for Legislative Action during a recent election. Rather than explain the entire situation, I am forwarding a letter sent by this individual to James J. Baker of the NRA's ILA. I believe that you will be able to understand Mr. Crichton's situation better from his own words. Unfortunately, this very...