The Week

In Florida, Santa waved to the kiddies from a helicopter. Maybe People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals took away his reindeer? The chopper developed a mechanical problem, landed hard, flipped, and burst into flames. Santa’s fake whiskers caught fire and his pillow-belly got snagged on the seatbelt. These unsuspected hazards urgently call for a new federal bureau and scads of regulations to keep Mr. Claus safe! Fortunately, the pilot wriggled free and pulled Santa out, and both sprinted to safety just before the helicopter blew up.

How much money would John Sweeney have had to spend on the 1996 election if union members had had a say in spending it? Four years ago, the state of Washington conducted an experiment. Voters passed a ballot initiative making it illegal to dock an employee’s wages (e.g., through union dues) for political purposes “except upon written request of the employee.” The Washington Education Association found that contributions to its PAC fell by five-sixths. (The WE A tried to funnel dues through a “Community Outreach Program,” a PAC by another name, but the state took a dim view of this.) Divide Sweeney money by six, and the Democrats would have picked up only one House seat. And they might have lost another ten seats in the Senate.

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In Florida, Santa waved to the kiddies from a helicopter. Maybe People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals took away his reindeer? The chopper developed a mechanical problem, landed hard, flipped, and burst into flames. Santa’s fake whiskers caught fire and his pillow-belly got snagged on the seatbelt. These unsuspected hazards urgently call for a new federal bureau and scads of regulations to keep Mr. Claus safe! Fortunately, the pilot wriggled free and pulled Santa out, and both sprinted to safety just before the helicopter blew up.

How much money would John Sweeney have had to spend on the 1996 election if union members had had a say in spending it? Four years ago, the state of Washington conducted an experiment. Voters passed a ballot initiative making it illegal to dock an employee’s wages (e.g., through union dues) for political purposes “except upon written request of the employee.” The Washington Education Association found that contributions to its PAC fell by five-sixths. (The WE A tried to funnel dues through a “Community Outreach Program,” a PAC by another name, but the state took a dim view of this.) Divide Sweeney money by six, and the Democrats would have picked up only one House seat. And they might have lost another ten seats in the Senate.