Stoical support:
"Jesus loves you but not this bill" — a little breaching of the wall between church and state:
"Pretend it's college and drop out":
(Enlarge.)
"Open For Business = Closed For Negotiatins" [sic]:
(Is anybody going to apologize for laughing at "Teabonics" — the misspellings on Tea Party signs? I mean, this is a demonstration for unionized teachers. They should spellcheck the hell out of their signs.)
(The first 2 pics were taken by Meade, the rest are by me. All taken today.)
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55 comments:
Teabonic orthography? What can one expect from the managers of the lowest academic performance in the industrialized world?
My sister and I both grew up in WI. She and I are on opposite poles of the political spectrum. She posts this link from a WI Rep. Please comment...
http://markpocanwi.blogspot.com/2011/02/walkers-trojan-horse.html#comments
Is anybody going to apologize for laughing at "Teabonics" — the misspellings on Tea Party signs?
No.
Inconsistency and hypocrisy are the norm in our politics today.
(And you know that, I'm pretty sure. You've certainly highlighted enough examples.)
Unionized teachers means high pay and tenure for incompetents.
Negotiatins is spelled like "cretins".
They're the creatures who are supposed to be negotiatin' :)
Are they still drumming?
Did they pick up their mess this time?
Painter dude looks dead serious. Check out the crest on his jacket. He's probably a steward or a chaplain.
Union people sure seem to have a lot of free time to protest, especially them gubmint types.
Nice work if you can get it.
Walker should fire every teacher who is not a work Friday morning.
Just saw some moron try to debate Stuart Varney on O'Really. Varney had him reduced to squawking, "Shut the state down, shut the state down...", over and over again, like Long John Silver's parrot.
These are the people who want to run our lives.
"Pretend it's college and drop out."
Shameful. Walker has more horse sense than many of the asses there today.
No one bothers to snark that one of the Democratic Senators who organized the vanishing act, Jon Erpenbach,"attended" UW-Oshkosh from 1979 to 1981 and started out as a "radio personality."
(Link fixed.)
No tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, huh?
Well, I'm no millionaire. Not even a billionaire.
In fact, the union guy holding that sign probably makes more than I do and probably lives in a nicer home than I do.
So, if he can be resentful of people richer than him, does that mean I can rightfully be resentful of him and his union comrades?
If that is how the game is played, sorry pal, but compared to me and many like me, it is you union racketeers who are the evil rich. And it is time to bring you down.
My 5th grade homeschooler got a kick out of editing our local fifth-grade teacher's website.
She reported the following errors:
"Calender of Events"
"November Calender"
"preperation" [misspelled twice]
"for My Language arts students"
"Ledgend of the Guardian's"
I'm glad the local education system gives us so much free material on which to practice our spelling skills.
This is the school that fails to make "adequate yearly progress" according to our state standards, and yet I have to obtain permission from them to homeschool my children.
The superintendent of schools has this on her welcome page:
"Charter schools and home instruction drain resources from public education while diverting state and federal dollars to another education model."
I feel so bad about being a drain on her precious system. /s
"Charter schools and home instruction drain resources from public education while diverting state and federal dollars to another education model."
Presumably, this is a bad thing.
So, if he can be resentful of people richer than him, does that mean I can rightfully be resentful of him and his union comrades?
Yes you can!
If they want to play class warfare, then by all means, give them class warfare. They certainly don't seem interested in equality.
I'm interested in seeing who shows up Saturday to protest-to see if the protestors are willing to protest on personal, unpaid time.
Durbin welcomes Wisconsin senators to Illinois.
Perhaps Durbin can introduce the Wisconsin legislators to two Illinois solutions: (1) across-the-board increases in state income taxes; and (2) 9.5% sales taxes.
"They should spellcheck the hell out their signs"
I'm no highly educated college professor but isn't there a word missing from that sentence between "out" and "their"?
Spelling and grammar...so confusing.
Spelling and grammar...so confusing.
These critics, they go to war with the army they have.
By the way, rent is too damn high!
Good spelling and grammar aren't job requirements for law professors. (And based on the last contract I paid a lawyer to write and the last one I was asked to sign, this applies to lawyers in general.)
Gerry, perhaps you're missing the irony. Hint: follow the link on "Teabonics". Professor Althouse is pointing out a double standard. She doesn't have to be perfect to point out that nobody's perfect.
The guy leading CPAC to a rally in solidarity with the people of Egypt apparently has a CD.
It's great stuff.
Here's his interview with Andy Breitfart and Dana Loesch.
Breitbart loves the guy.
Really, these conservatives are quite serious.
Here's your daily dose of Jimmy!
Really, it's hard to bust up the unions when the rent is too damn high.
The govt fiscal problems shouldn't even be a partisan issue? Isn't it so obvious and basic arithmetic that something has to give and the govt workers have to take their turn in the barrel. Jeez - grow up people - thank God you will still have a pretty cushy job and a reliable paycheck. Is it a big deal that maybe you have to cut out your premium cable channels or get the hair done once a month not twice? Americans are too damn infantile in many cases. Grow up - take the high road and do your share to get the country through this crisis. Stop being no good bastards!
This is just a case of life imitating IowaHawk. Some years ago IowaHawk had a satirical piece about how the Terrorist Wing of the National Education Association had kidnapped the Secretary of Education and was holding him hostage in the NEA's headquarters in DC. The piece had a television reporter interviewing the hostage negotiator and asking if the negotiator knew what the NEA people were demanding. The negotiator responded that the NEA had sent out a demand letter but it was so full of misspellings and grammatical errors that no one could figure out what they wanted.
(Is anybody going to apologize for laughing at "Teabonics" — the misspellings on Tea Party signs? I mean, this is a demonstration for unionized teachers. They should spellcheck the hell out their signs.)
I guarantee you my grandmother (a retired schoolteacher) would not have needed spell check for negotiatins!
"Pretend it's college and drop out."
That's from the group playing hooky from school.
The TA union is AGAIN telling everyone to cancel classes for tomorrow. This morning, signs were posted everywhere throughout our building advocating that our students walk out of class to protest the bill. Right before 10:00 AM, a bunch of the TAs walked through the hallways as classes were starting and poked their heads into the classrooms to tell students to leave class and to go to the capitol.
Luckily, tomorrow my class will be in a classroom with a locked door. If my students don't feel like attending, that's fine, but I will not have anyone try to disrupt my class for their own political gain.
I've never forgiven my high school English teacher for "correcting" my spelling of Yoknapatawpha when in fact I got it right. She sure was awesome, though.
Parents should get in the habit of showing their kids how much they pay in taxes every year for income tax, real estate, etc. Then maybe kids would have a little more respect for money and be less willing to give more money to the state. And students would be less eager to join in protests like these.
President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus package during a meeting with congressional leaders Friday morning - but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. "I won," Obama noted matter-of-factly, according to sources familiar with the conversation.
Hey protestors - you got your vote in November. You lost.
The state is broke and cuts need to be made. A great % of the state costs are employees so to make any decent cuts employee payroll costs must be cut - straight forward math.
Teacherbonics? Edubonics? Department Of Public Education in action. (See "acronym")
"Pretend it's college and drop out."
Shocking: Self-important twenty-something champions of "the working man" were not aware that most of the people with whom they were throwing a tantrum did not attend college at all.
Makes one wonder what actually goes on in the classroom anymore.
"Jesus loves you but not this bill" — a little breaching of the wall between church and state:
Oh Em Gee! That sign was in the Capitol Building! Where's Annie Laurie Gaylor to raise some hell!?
"Charter schools and home instruction drain resources from public education while diverting state and federal dollars to another education model."
Waitaminit. This is a lie. We home-educate our children and we still pay taxes to support public education. There's no resources being drained by homeschoolers. In fact, we're making it easier for these teachers by keeping their classrooms smaller, right?
Drew,
Here's her poorly-formatted rambling screed:
http://www.culpeperschools.org/division_co.php
I don't always enjoy homeschooling. For all her whining, her schools fail to make the grade, so I have no other choice.
She has one underlying good point: they're not simply educating, they're also expected to provide social work.
Some years ago, during a strike by Chicago teachers, a TV reporter approached a striker holding a sign and innocently asked what he taught. The answer was one for the ages. "I teaches English."
The longer the strike and the more strident it becomes, the more support the governor and legislature of Wisconsin will gain.
Excellent advice regarding kids and taxes. I have done this with both my children, allowing them to comprehend, not understand, what our various governments want monetarily, but also how the tax code picks and chooses winners. I like to think that this instruction caused my oldest to be a proud libertarian, even as a freshman at college. Of course, he is studying chemistry, not sociology or anything like that.
As a teacher and someone who has been at the Capitol the last few days, I won't apologize for making fun of Tea Party folks and their horribly misspelled signs.
I won't apologize because I stood around with my colleagues the last few days and made fun of the people with misspelled signs.
The worst offender I saw (not a misspelling) was a sign that read "Recall the US Supreme Court i.e. the men" - as someone with a MA in Political Science, I really wanted to march over to the idiot and correct the numerous things wrong with his sign. Alas, I stood and cheered as firefighters and cops showed solidarity against a bill that would strip me of my ability to ever make more in real dollars than I will AFTER a 10% pay cut.
I have worked in the private sector longer than I have worked in the public sector. My wages were higher, my benefits were fine. I left to become a teacher because I thought it was important to perform a public service and I love working with students.
Didn't their Saint Obama say that we're all going to have to sacrifice?
Or is his 'for thee but not for me' cop out being applied here?
You wonder what will happen if people really find out what these people are paid and what their benefits are.
The legacy of pay for play Democrat Union snuggles.
I remember when public service actually involved service.
Public unions should be banned outright, across the country.
With a Political Science degree you're lucky to be earning anything.
Poor spelling crosses all party lines as do dogs; they are not mutually exclusive-- especially if the sign boards do not include spell-check :) In terms of closing down the UW, I taught three classes yesterday that had full attendance, and will hold office hours today; I am willing to pay more for health etc, but see no reason why the unions should be denied the right to bargain.
but see no reason why the unions should be denied the right to bargain.
And I see no reason why they shouldn't. There are inherent conflicts of interest.
I see various places on der interwebz calling for the Wisconsin and surrounding Tea Party organizations to descend on Madison for a counter-protest. While logically, it's what it is, a counter-protest and nothing more. Tactically, however, it's a horrible idea. The Tea Party movement, thus far, is unmarred by violence. Unions, on the other hand...well, let's just all admit they have a colorful past. Getting these two groups in anything like close proximity, under these circumstances, is just begging for trouble. I can imagine the Tea Partiers yelling at each other not to punch back, but if it gets groady enough, you have to defend yourself.
Bad idea. Despite the media coverage, my sense is that the public isn't with the teachers on this one.
Dave,
If you ask anyone in the private sector, the last five years haven't been a piece of cake.
Simply put, the government is spending more than it's taking in. That includes your salary. If you would preferred to be laid off as a result of this, then that's the choice you're making by protesting now.
Your neighbors are struggling and might lose their house that they'd hoped to raise their children in. Yet you want them to pay more in taxes for the sake of a higher salary for yourself.
I think you need to carefully re-examine the hours that you work, including your benefits, and truly compare them to the private sector. I think you'd find you do quite well. Do you get a pension? That's unheard of in the private sector.
A timely article in the Chicago Tribune: Lost, the Common Good.
Greta Van Sustern interviewed a high school kid who was trying to organize students in support of the demonstrations. His solution for the budget deficit ? Tax the rich. The teachers are probably doing more harm in the classroom than in the capitol.
Jane -
I left a job in the private sector within the last five years to re-enter the education world. I had a better wage, very good benefits, and there was an employer match for the 401(k).
I think it is an absolutely reasonable point to say that my neighbors pay my salary - I get that - but I also work for my salary. I've done the math several times on my salary and the amount of work I put in.
It amounts to about $17/hour. Including the amount of time I work outside my contract hours (weekends, evenings, etc.) the math works like this - $37K divided by my hours (12 hours x 180 days of school - I obviously don't work 12 hours every school day, but I do put in 60 hours a week during school weeks, and more time in the summer and vacation weeks). This does not include time I spend as a volunteer coach and a volunteer at school events. My benefits are very good. I guess the issue comes down to how we choose to value education. I think I do a very good job. I'm fair with my students, I challenge them, and I hold very high expectations. I know my subject content very well and my students leave prepared for college. I think I am the type of teacher that parents would want their students to have - indeed, many parents have told me as such.
But again, my issue is not with my compensation. My issue is that right now, if I continue to work hard and do well at my job, my wife and I MAY be able to better our station in life. We bought our first home and as our family grows, we would eventually like to buy a nicer one - perhaps in a better neighborhood. If collective bargaining is abolished I will NEVER MAKE MORE THAN I DO NOW (in real dollars). Crushing collective bargaining will erase my chance at the American Dream.
Is this the message we want to send to people who might want to educate our children. I have one daughter, and another on the way. I fear that their teachers won't have the same passion, training, and love for the job that many of my colleagues do.
This is in response to Bender: I was the person photographed holding the sign that said "NO tax cuts for millionaires & billionaires." I'm NOT a union member, but I'm sure you won't believe that. I am a stay at home parent. I've worked in the private sector. Non-union and union. The union was much better, however the non-union wages were close to the union wages because the union set the bar for what people made in my line of work. Everyone benefitted from the union. Even non-union workers. I was a road construction laborer and damn proud of it! My wife is the breadwinner in our household now. She has been for the past 10 years. I'd like to believe that it has helped my children to have a parent at home. We are NOT rich. My wife continued to make more money in her career and we felt it would be better for me to stay home with our children. SHE is a state worker. Now you go "Ah hah!" She has been asked by private companies to come work for them at a much higher wage but with less stability and very small benefits. Hence the trade- off. She chose less pay with better benefits over more pay with less benefits. Also, she is NOT in a union. The very rich have decimated the private sector by either sending jobs to other countries or forcing workers to accept slashed benefits or no benefits plus lower wages or they threaten to send their jobs away too. And before you wonder what I do when my children go to their wonderful public schools in Madison, WI, I volunteer in my community and do all the stuff my Mom did to keep our household running. Also, I support Madison teachers 100 percent. The wealthy that have backed the Republicans have taken from the private sector and have made you resent the public sector. They are laughing as they watch the middle class eat each other alive! If big money wins, what next? They WILL want more. They always do.
To Bender: My wife just got home from work early, 6:00 P.M. I want to clarify something. My wife does NOT work for the State of Wisconsin. She used to until recently. I thought the foundation she works for was part of the State of Wisconsin, but they work as a partner with the State. Even though they are private they still have the "State of Wisconsin" in their name. Shows how much of a dunder head I can be. As my wife says, "you never listen to me." I think I've been listening pretty well over the last 2 decades of our marriage. I listened well enough to correct my last comment. Hooray for me!
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