Students, union members, and others protested the new governor's budget plan. I was working, but Meade went down and took a lot of video, which I've edited:
There's singing of the national anthem at the beginning and end of this video. In between, there's some chanting — "You know what's disgusting? Union busting!" — and "Don't Stop Believing" and drumming and so forth.
February 16, 2011
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Since there was drumming I am now convinced that Scott Walker is wrong.
You know what's disgusting, sneaky snake Obama busting the Israeli government's political control over Jerusalem. If his lips are moving, then he is lying. Nobody is lying to this Teacher's PAC which wants to keep political control over Wisconsin.
God how I wish the CTA (California Teachers Association) gets destroyed. Blood sucking parasites all.
All the Broohaha at the Capitol deflected attention from yesterday's election results. Here in Dane County, the conservative candidate, Eileen Bruskewitz, was one of the two top voter getters in a seven-person primary race for Dane County Executive.
That's amazing.
I think I was won over by the singing of- Journey's Just a Small Town Girl...
On a serious note-if those were the music teachers-they're just begging to get fired.
Glee! They're singing Journey!
Did anyone else notice that a certain blog that I actually read sometimes was mentioned on Glee yesterday? It was awesome.
(The Satorialist). It got a guffaw from me. The Sartorialist said that Brittany S. Pears was a trendsetter. Brittany has all the good lines.
On a serious note-if those were the music teachers-they're just begging to get fired.
Madison has far fewer music teachers than it did when my kids started school. Budget cuts. And the previous super, ironically named Art, hated the arts.
It is the end of an era.
The rubber stamping of perpetual increases in public spending are, it seems, over.
All except for the shouting.
When does Meade work?
/via Instapundit
Video: "We…really have little idea why our teachers brought us here to protest some dude"
http://pajamasmedia.com/tatler/2011/02/16/video-we-really-have-little-idea-why-our-teachers-brought-us-here-to-protest-some-dude/
ever tried to pill a hog away from the feeding trough? it's not easy...
If we are to be successful in convincing unorganized workers, as well as employers, congressmen, and the general public of the merits of labor's program, it is necessary that every union man and woman first understand the social and economic facts of our modern industrial life. If we are to ask the the membership of our union to decide economic questions intelligently and on their merits, it is first necessary that they have adequate knowledge of such questions. We have long since recognized that fact in our requirements for citizenship. Before an immigrant can be admitted to full responsibility of American citizenship, he must know something of the history and constitution of our country. Before a new member of the union can fully serve his organization, it is essential that he know its history and aims; also the problems confronting organized labor.
--Preface to ITU Lessons in Printing. Trade Unionism Unit VI (1958)
(I thought there was a little bit of something for everyone in there).
They brought bongo drums?
All they need to complete the drum circle are some ankle bells.
Hippie wanna bees.
God.......please let the 60's die a quiet death. Let us restore sanity and live in peace.
I have an idea..
Why don't they just raise taxes and shrink the tax base by forcing people to leave. Do that again and again, every year, until you only have union workers left.
It works for California.
You get the feeling the choreography for these things haven't really changed in 40 years.
Irene said...
... Eileen Bruskewitz, was one of the two top voter getters in a seven-person primary race for Dane County Executive.
Yes, Irene, that really was amazing.
As I looked out on the crowd today, I wondered how many of the people there at the Capitol bothered voting yesterday. Probably fewer than 3%.
And how many there today voted for conservatives or Republicans last November.
One.
Me.
Meade, our polling place was empty yesterday.
Glad to see Justice Prosser do well, too.
I'm with TosaGuy.
You know that where there's drumming, there's a lot of especially deep thinking going on.
Also, possibly, hacky sack.
Not a lot of drumming at the Tea Parties.
Ah ha! Therein lies the crux of our disagreement!
This video shows students from Madison‘s East High School claiming their teachers brought them to protests at the State Capitol and also openly admitting that they really don’t know why they’re there:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/shocking-vid-wis-hs-students-admit-teachers-bringing-them-to-protests-but-dont-know-why-theyre-there/
Drumming is good. For keeping warm.
I was speaking with my mother, who lives in Wisconsin and I think she saw this the way I did, that the teachers and state employees are showing their a$$ to the rest of the state.
What an extraordinary lack of creativity demonstrated by the participants.
I can't help thinking that union membership and/or government employment does something horrific to the human mind.
I never thought Journey's imploring others to "believin'" would ever be "music to my ears" but, if it means the end of the nonsense is near, so be it.
And so long, hippies!
The Story Of The Impossible
Whatever happened to the great escape
The finest enemy.
Crafted with pride by monsters on the train.
The world is great to suckers
We have the story of the impossible
A tale passed on so frail
One of make-belief
Maybe impossible to achieve
And really close
Who sew the lion's hungry in the cage
With the confidance of a clown
The little man who rises on the stage
As he falls without a safety net
We have the story of the impossible
A tale passed on so frail.
One of make-belief
Maybe impossible to achieve
And really close
Whatever happened to the great escape
And all the plans we make
Crafted with pride by Monsters on the train.
The world is great to suckers.
We have the story of the impossible
A tale passed on so frail.
One of make-belief
Maybe impossible to achieve
But oh so close
Silly irresponsible children, stomping their feet and holding their collective breath.
You are still broke, and daddy and mommy don't have enough money to bail you out, even if they wanted to.
Piss meet wind. And it's about time.
@chicklet
I tried to send you an email about ITU information that I think you would find very interesting: on your web site, but I am evidently tech challenged. so sorry.
Nirvana - Rape Me
MadisonMan
Glee is a darn good show I missed the last episode.
The Satorialist-I'm more partial to his girlfriend Garance.
Garance Dore in fact. I found his blog through her. How backwards is that?
I was trying to get why they might do that song.
Madison has far fewer music teachers than it did when my kids started school. Budget cuts. And the previous super, ironically named Art, hated the arts.
That explains it.
I sensed real feeling during the chants... not so much during the national anthem.
Walker should fire all the teachers, then use their salaries to buy IBM's Watson...who can then teach all the little children...
First lesson (in fun robot voice): Know at all times why you are where you are! Because when you're in the backseat of a car that gets pulled over with twelve blocks of heroin in the trunk, "I don't know why I'm here" isn't going to do anything in your favor.
Why is music taught in schools at all? It is entertainment, not a life skill. I can't read music or play an instrument, and don't miss it a lick. Every penny that was spent trying to teach me music in elementary school was an utter waste.
Silly irresponsible children, stomping their feet and holding their collective breath.
You are still broke, and daddy and mommy don't have enough money to bail you out, even if they wanted to.
"... but... but... but bongos absolutely TRUMP all of that boring, mathy-y 'economics'-type stuff!"
Psychologists refer to this inexplicable (and, evidently, unshakable) mental aberration as DAD, or Desi Arnaz Derangement. In the most pernicious cases, those afflicted frequently punctuate their incessant, imbecilic poundings with full-throated yowlings of: "BABALUUUUUUUUUUU -- !!!"
Tragic, really.
I wonder if you will be so condescending and smarmy when Walker sets his budget axe on the flagship University and decides that even tenured professors can go.
@Freder
Bottom line, the spending spree must stop, somewhere.
Its incredibly easy to spend other people's money, on other people, isn't it???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RDMdc5r5z8
wv - molock
Moldavian dummies
These people don't know what they're doing.
Drumming isn't enough.
You've got to form a circle. Some sort of invocation by a Native American shaman is essential. The feather blessing thing is recommended. Best to build a big bonfire.
The musical part of the program should include a rousing rendition of Country Joe's "Fuck" anthem, with the words altered to fit the occasion.
And, don't Bogart that joint.
Drumming is fine but I again note that there are no puppets. There can be no social justice without puppets.
Frederer: I would be extra glad if the Gov. set his sights (sorry for the offensive violent implication) on the tenured and comfortable faculty and administration of the University of Wisconsin located in Madison. Thanks for asking.
I wonder if you will be so condescending and smarmy when Walker sets his budget axe on the flagship University and decides that even tenured professors can go.
Fred, you seem to have missed all those references to Althouse's salary.
She's been earning a very substantial living for decades. I'll bet she's got a bundle in the bank. She's also got a pretty hefty pension coming.
I don't think she's going to be skipping lunch, even if the Gov were to dismiss her tomorrow.
@Shouting
"And, don't Bogart that joint."
Its always worthwhile to weave in a Little Feat reference.
Just sayin'.
Freder Frederson said...
I wonder if you will be so condescending and smarmy when Walker sets his budget axe on the flagship University and decides that even tenured professors can go.
Aside from the fact Freder/Alpha/Montaigne doesn't know the meaning of smarmy, I have the feeling Mrs Meade could support herself just fine. Unlike some, she's shown the ability to turn a hand to diverse pursuits.
Something everyone should try to develop, instead of relying on the taxpayers.
shoutingthomas said...
I wonder if you will be so condescending and smarmy when Walker sets his budget axe on the flagship University and decides that even tenured professors can go.
Fred, you seem to have missed all those references to Althouse's salary.
She's been earning a very substantial living for decades. I'll bet she's got a bundle in the bank. She's also got a pretty hefty pension coming.
And your problem with that is...?
If she's done what you say, it's no more than what everyone should do - prepare for all eventualities, don't rely on any one source for her retirement.
Freder; you fail the logic test when you overlook the salient fact the Althouse has a skill. She could make more money outside of the university as a consultant and not have to put up with a bunch of whiney 20-somethings fighting tort reform.
It is obvious you have never been cross-examined by some law school putz-of-a-lawyer trying to make a point with pitiful plea; "How does that make you feeeeeel" while floundering with inconvenient facts.
Things of quality have no fear of time! That is a truism which trumps your appeal to the perpetuation of mediocrity on full display in Madison and your pathetic whining.
No more free rides for unions and your "binky" is toast.
They must have listened to Obama telling people to take a lesson from the crowds of Mohammedans in Egypt.
Shorter Alpha: "Class traitor! CLASS TRAITOR!!!"
Sauce so weak, it's actually just tapwater.
Here's what chronic overspending does to your city:
"A larger-than-expected exodus over the past 10 years reduced the population of Chicago to a level not seen in nearly a century.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday that during the decade ended in 2010, Chicago's population fell 6.9% to 2,695,598 people, fewer than the 2.7 million reported back in 1920."
Chicago, say hello (or, rather, goodbye) to:
St. Louis
Detroit
Cleveland
Saint Louis
Baltimore
New Orleans
Cincinnati
Pittsburgh
One thing ties them together: Overspending, usually by Democratic Party-controlled governments.
Pittsburgh and Detroit are half the size they were in 1950.
Madison saw an 8.6% increase in population since 1990. Curtailing spending might just save them from decline.
This was always going to happen to the Democratic Party controlled states.
Businesses were fleeing places like Michigan, Wisconsin, and California to places like Texas and Louisiana, where the business environment isn't punishing and the small businessman isn't treated as a tax donkey. Behind all of that is the shadow of China, acting as a magnet for businesses to flee the United States for the land of cheap labor and little regulation. What this portends for Obamaism and the Progressive Democrats is ominous, as the trend in the States acts as a bellwether for what comes later in National politics.
Even Governor Moonbeam is causing a debate between the Public Employee Union faction within his party and the "Public Investment In Roads" faction in the One Party State that is California. The Republicans aren't really part of the debate; but the debate has even begun out there. The Bell has begun to Toll for Progressivism.
Progressives such as Obama never counted on a fluid market in Labor and Capital. Their ideology was much more of a fit for the period when the United States was an autarky, between the end of the War and, say, 1967. The rise of global competition and the rise of the personal computer has put an end to the intellectual rationale for "Big Government". Progressives just don't know it yet.
They are fighting a rearguard action, much like Marxists in the late 1980's during the Gorbachev ascendancy. They just don't know it yet. Progressive politics and Wall Street looting have pissed away the seed corn of an entire generation. It's not just Obama that's pursuing archaic and obsolete politics, it's his entire cohort of True Believers. In the long run, they are about as relevant to the future as Bob Avakian and the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade. But the reality of the situation has yet to come crashing in on them quite yet.
It will. And when it does, the future will sweep them away into what we call the history books.
What the future will be, what Walter Russell Mead calls "liberalism 5.0", we don't quite know yet. But it will come. It just won't be what we are seeing in Washington now.
Why is music taught in schools at all?
I have always heard that people who learn an instrument have an easier time with math skills...
I think there is definately room for extracurriculars in school, but obviously we need to get the basics right as well. That's where we're falling down sometimes.
Racine Unified, the state's fourth-largest school district, just announced the cancellation of school due to staff absences. The announcement came at 6:15 a.m. when kids are already out waiting for buses. So now they are just holding kids who turn up at school until their parents can pick them up.
I got a hint yesterday when my 5th grader came home and said her teacher told them that she was feeling nauseous and wasn't coming to work today. Nice going teachers.
Brittany has all the good lines
My wife thinks I'm nuts because I think Brittany is hilarious.
"I wonder if you will be so condescending and smarmy when Walker sets his budget axe on the flagship University and decides that even tenured professors can go."
It's clearly understood by all of the faculty here (or at least should be) that budget considerations are the most likely reason a law-abiding tenured professor would be fired. We have been warned that such may be the case in the near future. Our department is (using the formula that the university administration goes by) understaffed by 9-10 positions (roughly 25 instead of 35). Some departments are overstaffed, though they would understandably squeal if they were cut back to 100% staffing before any other departments suffered any cuts (such squealing is understandable, but not defensible, IMO).
I certainly don't make nearly as much as Althouse, nor have I been a faculty member for nearly as long, so I don't really have much of anything money-wise (and I opted out of the defined benefits plan precisely because I didn't trust the state to keep a promise to pay me for decades after I'm retired). If I lose my job I can't leisurely search for some other endeavor, I have to get money coming in immediately, and I'll tote wood in the hot sun, flip burgers, and/or work at a grain elevator if that's what it takes.
If my position gets cut or the state decides it doesn't want to be in the higher education business, know what I'll do? Something else, that's what.
Wow, this is still a pretty big deal in Wisconsin, eh? I'll have to go review more of the photos. Nothing better than watching these "teachers" take off their masks and reveal their true selves.
Anyone know what would happen to a Wisconsin student who drew a picture of a teacher being hung to death and walked all over town with it? I'm guessing at least a 72-hour evaluation, probably an arrest. Wonder what'll happen to the fat hog teacher who drew the one of Walker being killed? A raise or a promotion?
In colleges Budget cutting has already become necessary because the tax collections are short due to a shortage of jobs that are not yet in China. The abuse is that class size is doubling and pay/benefit cuts are being applied while the super sized salaries of unnecessary Administrators are growing. The only thing that Administrators produce are "Reports" done by delegating additional work to the Professors who are already carrying a doubled student load.
It's tough work breaking unions, but worth the effort.
And the wheel in the sky keeps on turning.
the super sized salaries of unnecessary Administrators are growing. The only thing that Administrators produce are "Reports" done by delegating additional work to the Professors who are already carrying a doubled student load.
Somebody sent this to me at work yesterday.
She's also got a pretty hefty pension coming
I hope you (and she) realize that part of the idea behind busting the unions, which you are so gleeful about, is so that the pension commitments can be reneged on.
Here in Colorado the democrats are talking about cutting school programs. No talk of reforming the Teacher's Union Ponzi scheme PERA.
(Public Employees Retirement Association)
See - our kids can take the cuts, but our precious union workers cannot take even a tiny decrease in retirement bonanza. In fact, many school teachers in CO retire early and then double dip.
Yeah - because the democrat party cares so much for our kids and their education.
Shared sacrifice? My ass.
Our former governor ushered in the era of public union organization, even though the majority of the voters in CO were against it. Now our new governor is also in the tank with the union machine. The tax payers and our kids are screwed once again. Thanks democrat/union alliance.
I hope you (and she) realize that part of the idea behind busting the unions, which you are so gleeful about, is so that the pension commitments can be reneged on.
Who said I was gleeful about breaking unions?
We yokels in the private sector can't afford to pay the bill for the lavish salaries and benefits of the public sector. As has been pointed out in these comments, there is such a thing as mathematics.
Do you think that financial reality should enter into these discussions. Or, should we just continue to cave into the demands of public employees, even if it means continuing to tax the private sector into poverty?
The poisonous tone of your comments indicates to me that you are a spoiled child who refuses to admit that financial reality exists.
Here's what chronic overspending does to your city:
How come you never bring up the Republican/Libertarian paradise of Texas, which has one of the largest budget gaps in the country, close to 30 billion dollars? We know conservatism can never fail, only we can fail it, so what hell happened??
Gov. Rick Perry used federal stimulus money to pay 97 percent of Texas's budget shortfall in fiscal 2010--which is funny, because Perry spent a lot of time talking about just how terrible the stimulus was. In fact, Texas was the state that relied most heavily on stimulus funds, CNN's Tami Luhby reports.
Oh my!
As always, the GOP is in love with big government, as long as the GOP is in charge.
Why do Republicans hate our freedom?
Shanna,
I looked at the pictures of all the "managers."
Where in the fuck is the Diversity and Climate manager?
You racist!
I couldn't help but notice these rallies were about 20x as big as the biggest tea party rally in Madison.
Wasn't the tea party begging the government to listen to the will of the people, which was apparently evidenced by the size of their rallies?
Do conservatives no longer care about the will of the people?
Perhaps they never did?
The people of Wisconsin have spoken. They elected a Republican Governor who promised to try to heal the budget crisis. Of course, now the Teachers Unions hate the voters for forcing them to work, so they'll do everything short of rioting (physical cowardice will probably prevent them from acting on their violent impulses) to get back at the citizens of Wisconsin.
Take a good long look at the spittle-flecked "activists" outside the Statehouse. Those are the dregs who are supposedly educating your children. Disgusting.
Do conservatives no longer care about the will of the people?
Perhaps they never did?
Well, Steven, seeing as how I've spent most of my life listening to the left say that very thing, I'd say it's high time we started living up to our reputation.
As Trooper kept saying: "Fire them all." Win-win. Conservatives get to bust a union and Liberals get to continue whining about how mean Conservatives are. I can live with that.
Wasn't the tea party begging the government to listen to the will of the people, which was apparently evidenced by the size of their rallies?
The "people" elected Walker on his platform. Now he's acting. Good for him.
Not everybody can just leave work for 2 or 3 days for no reason without being fired. I don't think "size of rally" counts for all that much.
Meade, though our intentions differed, I, too, attended and bothered to vote.
garage,
What you have just described is *exactly* why the Tea Party exists. To be exact, irresponsible and hypocritical republicans
Once again, you make the mistake of assuming that everyone here is a loyal Republican.
The people of Wisconsin have spoken. They elected a Republican Governor who promised to try to heal the budget crisis.
This. Sort of. The Governor mostly campaigned as anti-Obama and anti-train, and I'll bring 250K jobs to Wisconsin. Anyway, the daughter was in tears about this whole thing yesterday, as she pretty much loves all her teachers, and I think she was pretty tired too and unwinding from a long day, and one thing we pointed out is that when you live in a Representative Democracy, there are things that sometimes happen that stick in your craw and you can either crawl into a hole or you can figure out a way to adapt.
Think the tea parties might have been larger if the attendees had been bused in on a union dime and paid to attend, like the teachers are?
@Steven - A bunch of state employees taking time off to demonstrate on their own behalf represents "the will of the people"? Really?
Scott Walker won a statewide election a few months ago, that seems a much better indication of the will of the people.
The people of Wisconsin have spoken. They elected a Republican Governor who promised to try to heal the budget crisis.
The people of your State voted for the Governor and the other Legislators and should expect that they do their duty and carry out the promises that they made to the voters.
Just because a bunch of greedy, spoiled, ill mannered union thugs can take off from work and drag a herd of children along with them as virtual body shields, does not mean that the Governor and Legislature should cave in.
Throwing a bigger tantrum should not trump the will of the voters.
The funniest thing in all this is how liberals expect the rest of us to see union members as an exploited, victim class, when exactly the opposite is true. Government workers and union members are the privileged class, and the rest of us know it.
We've been hearing about their vacation days, benefits and pensions for years now. Did they think we would just let them keep taking more and more, regardless of the consequences?
If my position gets cut or the state decides it doesn't want to be in the higher education business, know what I'll do? Something else, that's what.
Thank you. If only your colleagues would realize that this is daily reality for the rest of us!
Wasn't the tea party begging the government to listen to the will of the people
Yes.
The present rallies aren't "the people." Government employees are the government. So what we have here is a big group of the government telling the people their demands.
So, a gathering of the "government" that undermines public service and expectations should be opposed by The People who pay their salaries.
In effect, these teachers are not rallying against the government. They are the government who are rallying against the people--the people who pay their salaries through taxes.
You cannot rally against the people while claiming to be just one of the people.
This rally is not unlike the captains or owners of the East India company telling people they had to take the tea, for the high prices they were selling.
So, I'm curious about school funding issues.
When a student is absent for a day, they require a note excusing their absence, because unexcused absences mean that the district doesn't get money for them for that day.
Here we have teachers preventing students from attending classes, right? So, does the school district lose money for all the students who were absent on these days?
Anyway, the daughter was in tears about this whole thing yesterday, as she pretty much loves all her teachers,
THIS is what is wrong with the way the teachers and the teachers unions are handling this. They are brainwashing the children and USING them in the most cynical way for their own selfish purposes.
No one is going to harm your daughter's teachers. They may have to spend some of their money for the same things that the rest of us have to......retirement and health insurance.
They will be given the ability to choose whether to belong to the Union or not. They will be allowed a secret ballot, just like all voters should be allowed. They will not be able to strong arm the voters into ever increasing costs anymore because the negotiation of the two most budget busting items will be off the table.
It isn't going to KILL them. They aren't going to be tortured.
How DARE they make your daughter cry. What in the WORLD are they telling her at school.
If it were me, I would be down at the school and some heads would roll.
It is child abuse.....nothing less.
k*thy,
Thanks. Glad to know there were two of us. :-)
Also, taking a sick day means they are getting paid for their time.
Why wouldn't some tax payers sue the union or the teachers for fraud? I mean there are videos and pictures out there. If you're at the rally, you're not actually sick, so you are defrauding the taxpayers by being paid to oppose the taxpayers.
Anyway, the daughter was in tears about this whole thing yesterday, as she pretty much loves all her teachers,
Then maybe she should hold a bake sale so her beloved teachers don't have to pony up any additional money for thier benefits.
The Governor mostly campaigned as anti-Obama and anti-train
It's funny how recollections can vary from person to person. I seem to remember very little anti-Obama and a great deal of discussion on Wisconsin's budget problems. I guess, to some degree, that we all hear what we want to hear. I do agree that Walker was clearly against the train.
Scott Walker won a statewide election a few months ago, that seems a much better indication of the will of the people.
So did Obama, but that didn't stop tea partiers from crashing the gates, did it? By the way, Walker won by 128,000 votes in a state of 5.5 million people.
THIS is what is wrong with the way the teachers and the teachers unions are handling this. They are brainwashing the children and USING them in the most cynical way for their own selfish purposes.
Oh knock off the hyperbole. This is my daughter, and how she reacts to frustration. She has all the passion of any youth, and she feels things pretty deeply when she perceives unfairness. It's almost like she's a middle child, not the oldest. And I daresay she's got my bullshit detector, so she's got that going for her as well.
She reported she saw a person holding a sign I support Gov. Walker and she found the discussions between the woman holding the sign and others very interesting. From what she said, it seemed like a cordial, if animated, discussion.
garage, considering that the stimulus money was taken from the states in the first place - in the form of taxes, regulatory burdens, and costs offloaded via unfunded mandates - it's hardly hypocritical for a state to make responsible use of those funds when the federal government deigns to return it to them.
So did Obama, but that didn't stop tea partiers from crashing the gates, did it?
It also didn't stop Obama from passing massive legislation his political opponents opposed.
So, it's all the same. Like Obama said, winning matters.
The Tea Party went to the streets to make sure at least one party was willing to be different, and then to elect those people into office. So, if the people oppose this present legislation, let them change the state government.
Also, the tea party, as far as I can remember, didn't shut down major public institutions. So, there's that.
Oh knock off the hyperbole. This is my daughter, and how she reacts to frustration. She has all the passion of any youth, and she feels things pretty deeply when she perceives unfairness. It's almost like she's a middle child, not the oldest. And I daresay she's got my bullshit detector, so she's got that going for her as well.
I've got to agree with DBQ.
Using children as human shields to advance your political agenda is revolting.
Stop doing it.
So did Obama, but that didn't stop tea partiers from crashing the gates, did it?
"Crashing the gates" has such a sinister sound.
Winning elections and bringing a Republican majority to the House... well, let's not mention that.
MadMan, OK, but that's not how you characterized her reaction upthread.
You made it sound like she was worried for her teachers like kids are for the polar bears.
Also, don't know why expecting teachers to contribute toward their own benefits--like the rest of us--is unfair?
garage mahal said...
Yes, Garage, but these Teachers are being paid by the Government while they are "striking". Do you not see the difference? Not to mention that this one rally produced more violent and hateful signs than months of Tea Parties. Real nice people you hang out with. Do you guys tell a lot of Hitler/lynching jokes when nobody else is around?
Garage,
The problem with your argument about Texas is that it misses some key points. The first point is that Texans paid more in federal taxes than they received back, even with the stimulus money. So, it is not Texas overspending that's the problem. Second, imagine what would happen if Gov. Perry refused to take back any of the tax money the federal government took from Texans? Yep, Texans would have had a budget shortfall that would have to be corrected. The good news is, Texas actually has a "Rainy Day" fund, which brings me to the final point. Texas doesn't have a debt other than its obligation as part of the federal union. In fact, Texas has money saved and put aside.
So please Garage, tell us more about your ignorance of Texas. Wisconsin teachers may be calling in sick, but I'm happy to school you.
By the way, Walker won by 128,000 votes in a state of 5.5 million people.
Except 5.5 million people didn't vote. 2,160,832 did vote. Walker got 52.25% of the vote. Barrett got 46.48%. That's a 5.77% difference, otherwise known as a landslide.
52% landslide!
52% landslide!
Yes, garage. Especially when the defeated candidate only gets 46%. That's how it works. Barrett got his ass handed to him, just like McCain got his handed to him by Obama by a similar margin.
This is the reality of elections, garage. Get with the program. Drum circles are not democracy in action.
52% landslide!
Yep. Time says so.
I personally think calling such an election a landslide contributes to the hyperbolization of the English language. But who am I to argue with a credible national news source?
Busting public employee unions is awesome, not disgusting. The Military can't have a union and we have much more harsher working conditions. Other public employees don't need one. The only people who will miss the PE unions will be the Democrats and fatcat union bosses and other leeches dependant on forced union dues.
I don't care if private employees unionize, thats between them and the company.
But who am I to argue with a credible national news source?
Wait. I thought you were talking about Time Magazine.
Also, don't know why expecting teachers to contribute toward their own benefits--like the rest of us--is unfair?
The teachers don't get their message out clearly. This is about their right to bargain collectively.
It's very easy to say Oh, they just want to keep their cushy benefits but that's not actually what the protests are about. There's shoddy reporting, or deliberately bad reporting.
Using children as human shields to advance your political agenda is revolting.
Oh as if you could stop my daughter (or her classmates) from doing this. High School Senior != Child.
I had to laugh when I asked her who was organizing the facebook group about it at West, and she said the guy's name and then snapped He thinks he has to be in charge of everything!.
"It's very easy to say Oh, they just want to keep their cushy benefits but that's not actually what the protests are about."
It's easy because we've all seen this play out dozens of times. If those cushy benefits were still in place, the Teachers would be in their classrooms right now. That's the reality.
They don't need "collective bargaining", they need a collective "do your fucking job".
If my recollection is correct, Tea Party demonstrators were not allowed to enter the Capitol with signs. How is it that union protestors are being allowed to sleep in the Capitol building and carry signs?
I learned while listening to the radio this morning that collective bargaining was a civil right. And to think, I've lived all these years without knowing my civil rights were being violated. Who knew?
There really are two Americas. Just not the ones that john Edwards talks about.
This is about their right to bargain collectively.
Fine, but it is the union who is failing to connect the dots. All we've really heard is the equivalent of:
1. Scott Walker is attacking our right to collectively bargain!!!!
2. ???
3. It's the end of public education!!! THE CHILDRENS!!!
Maybe we need a "Walker is like Obama" tag.
This is about their right to bargain collectively.
They do not have that right since they are a part of the government. Private companies and workers do have that right.
This is about the rights of the taxpayers to not be coerced by the government.
I was working, but...
On behalf of Wisconsin taxpayers, Thank you.
"Republican/Libertarian paradise of Texas, which has one of the largest budget gaps in the country, close to 30 billion dollars?"
BS!
The Texas legislature meets only 140 days every two years, all Texas budget numbers cover two years.
If we in Texas do nothing we would have in two years a $24 billion deficit. Of course, we have $10 billion in savings also that we don't plan to touch.
The difference between Texas and states run by garage-like idiots is that there is no possibility that our Legislature or Governor will significantly raise taxes.
Instead Texas is cutting state spending to match state income!
There are going to be layoffs of government workers, state services will be cut.
In my blue home town of Austin the school district is looking at laying off 1000 employees and closing several recently constructed schools, all because the local school board has been spending like drunken sailors.
Cuts in the red part of Texas, which is most of it, will be much less.
And in two years we'll be in far, far, far better shape than any of the pathetic blue states.
There is a reason most new jobs in the U.S. are in Texas.
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