Stat of the Day: Wisconsin Edition

by: Zappatero

Thu Jun 07, 2012 at 16:06:25 PM MST

We'll be talking about Tuesday's Wisconsin recall election for a long time to come.

The results were a historic setback for organized labor, which failed to oust Gov. Scott Walker in a citadel of modern progressivism. And how it must have stung that 38% of union households voted for Mr. Walker, up a point from 2010 when he was first elected.

Breaking News: Eric Cantor And Jethro Bodine Separated At Birth!

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Thu Mar 31, 2011 at 06:30:40 AM MST

Bondeism started as a way for me to highlight the nitwittery of the Republicans in the 111th Congress. They say and do really gob smacking things and I post about comparing them to that gormless but loveable hillbilly Jethro Bodine. But I have to wonder if I have actually, through some unintended and accidental sorcery called this disease into reality (I'm probably taking too much on myself with that, still)?

It is one thing to misinterpret the Constitution, it is open for interpretation and people can be honestly wrong, but it is quit another for a Member of Congress in a leadership position to propose action that is completely outside the boundaries of the Constitution. Which is exactly what Eric Cantor is doing.

He is proposing and will force the House to bring to a vote a measure he is calling the "Government Shutdown Prevention Act". What this Act will say is that if the Senate does not pass a budget measure by April 6th, then HR 1, the Republicans draconian and job slaughtering bill (which, by the way the Senate has already voted down) will become the law of the land.

I hear you all going "But, but, but... Doesn't the Senate have to pass a bill and the President sign it for it to be law?" Why, yes, yes it does. It seems that the raven haired, square jawed Virginia Republican who is the House Majority Leader does not understand how the body he has been part of for a decade now works.

If there were an "All Time Jethro Bodineism Award" it is certain that Rep. Cantor would be earning himself a place in the nominees. It is easy to dismiss this as insane and a stunt, but I see a bigger picture emerging among Republicans nation wide.

The lawless behavior of Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin has shown that he and his Republicans have a shocking disregard for the laws of their state. They have broken and bent the rules to pass their union busting bill and have even defied a court order in the implementation of the law.  

When What You Study Makes You A Political Target, Labor Edition

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Wed Mar 30, 2011 at 06:36:19 AM MST

At what point does your work make you a target for political harassment? As a blogger I get a small amount of hate mail and a moderate amount of harassing mail (the two are different, one you can see the person foaming at the mouth, the other you can see their grin at wasting your time), but that is kind of par for the course.

However a troubling trend has started from the Right with regards to State University professors. They are nominally State employees, so the Right as begun to use Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to look at all of the e-mails of professors.

It all started with Ken "the Cooch" Cuccinelli, the Attorney General of Virginia, talking about going after a climate science researcher in the totally discredited "climate gate" incident. Since then there have been FOIA requests of a William Cronon of University of Wisconsin in connection with the illegal and unethical actions of the Republicans and Gov. Walker in that state.

Now it is spreading.
Talking Points Memo first reported and now the
New York Times is picking up the story of several conservative groups in Michigan who are asking for a wide swath of e-mails from three professors from the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University.  

Letter to Scott Walker

by: peacemonger

Fri Mar 25, 2011 at 14:22:08 PM MST

Thank you for your assistance in bringing together workers from every walk of life: teachers, firefighters, police officers, government employees, nurses, union members, people of faith, civil rights activists, environmentalists and many others. Thank you for giving us a reason, and a renewed commitment, to publicly declare that we stand together in solidarity to protect the middle class, and to ensure justice for workers. Thank you for helping us find our voice for democracy, and our passion for equal opportunity to the American Dream.

Don't let these 'Democrats' get away with it either

by: wade norris

Sun Mar 20, 2011 at 12:55:14 PM MST

Republican Über Strategist: "This will be a role model"

by: Zappatero

Mon Mar 14, 2011 at 12:19:56 PM MST

COOPER: He (Wisconsin Governor Walker) can still go after collective bargaining rights six months down the road if he wanted to?

SPITZER: Absolutely. Absolutely.

ROLLINS: He's going to get this. He's got a Republican majority that wants the same alteration that he does. And so, you know, it may take a month. It may take three weeks, whatever. And I think at the end of the day, the public is behind him in Wisconsin, and the public's behind him nationally. And I think the 29 Republican governors all have fiscal problems. This is going to be a role model.

He was there for Reagan, he was there for Bush I and Bush II, and he's here now doing his dirty work under the covers and behind the scenes. President Bush was surprised to see see us hippy scum protesting his visit to Colorado Springs in 2004, and I'm sure few noticed, but I saw the Bastard Rollins come in early to prep the World Arena in Colorado Springs for Bush's final push toward re-election.

Republicans are looking at 29 laboratories for the cold-blooded murder of the middle class. If they fail in Wisconsin, they'll try elsewhere. And if anyone thinks they won't try it in Colorado they have another thing coming. So long as Ed Rollins can make his Lexus payment he'll be plotting the demise of America's Middle Class..... come hell or high water.

On Taking It Back, Or, Wisconsin Recalls, Explained

by: fake consultant

Mon Mar 14, 2011 at 00:22:10 AM MST

Unfortunately, other important news has forced itself to the front of the line, and it's going to demand that we break schedule, whether we like it or not.

That's why today we're going to be talking about Wisconsin, and how workers there are fighting back against the State's Republican legislators and Governor, who seem to have gone out of their way this past three weeks to govern without the consent of the governed.

It's kind of chilly today in Wisconsin...but I can assure you, things are heating up fast-and it ain't because of spring.

Governors, Mayors, and organizations that support unconstitutionally concentrating power

by: Fong

Tue Mar 08, 2011 at 14:42:44 PM MST

Speaking of which, you should really check out this .pdf of education-related responses from five of Denver's mayoral candidates. The most agenda-revealing question is:

If DPS is proven to be going in the wrong direction, the Mayor should take responsibility and work towards shared governance or Mayoral control of the city's public schools (like Chicago, DC, NYC, Boston, LA(partial) and a growing number of cities).

Now, if that isn't a loaded question, I dunno what is. First, what's proof? Who gets to decide? Second, it assumes that concentrated Mayoral power is a viable option which indicates that organizations that would support such takeover are more than willing to compromise community power and input so as to further whatever agenda they have. Third, big city name-dropping pressures candidates into thinking well FUCKSTICKS! I don't want Denver to not be like those big cities. Everyone who's anyone wants Denver to move away from being a cow metropolis and more towards a massively-sprawling-rent-too-damn-high-perpetual-importer-of-resources-at-the-expense-of-the-natural-world-killing-machine! I have to say yes to concentrated Mayoral control now or I'll look like a dirty hippie!

Anyhoo, below the fold is a related comic from Salon which I found via Joel's Hindbrain:

It's Not Just Union Busting, Its Failing To Honor Contracts

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Thu Mar 03, 2011 at 07:47:00 AM MST

The reason they like this is that most contracts are made with a vast difference in power and that it lets the party with the most money and power put limits on the party with less. Take cell phone agreements. You probably know (or maybe you don't) that when you sign up with a phone company you're generally giving up the right to sue them over any complaint you might have.  

SCFL Calls For General Strike If Walker Plan Is Passed!

by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said

Mon Feb 28, 2011 at 07:40:45 AM MST

As the protests in Madison have continued and even grown in the face of an obdurate Governor and even a major winter storm they have not been alone. This weekend there were rallies in all 50 states in support of the public employees unions.

That first-term Governor Scott Walker has overreached in this labor dispute. It is one thing to want to get concessions out of Labor when times are tight (though maybe he should have not given away massive tax cuts in the first place) but to try to end the right of workers to bargain collectively is a bridge too far.

With public sentiment firmly on the side of Labor, and protests growing not shrinking it is hard to see what the Governor can do other than back down. But that is not preventing one union from both planning for the future and turning up the heat.

The Capital Times is reporting that the South Central Federation of Labor, which has 45,000 members, is endorsing the idea of a general strike if and when Gov. Walker's union busting plan is passed. This is a pretty big step but it is one that I am glad to see.

Without the right to collectively bargain, you are not a union. At that point there is not a lot left to do but deny management the fruit of your labor if they will not agree to recognize your right of collective barging. It is how Labor initially established their rights in the first place. Since that was more than an entire working life time ago, it is probably time to remind folks like Gov. Walker what it looks like when you can't run your schools or state offices because all the qualified and trained people are gone.

We know that Walker, who fancies himself the new Reagan, has given some thought to what he would do if there were a strike. He has had his National Guard commanders preparing to have troops do some of the work at the state level, but it is really unclear if they would be able to keep the State going.