Hello Wisconsin
 

Taking it to the streets!

A fitting tune.

Althouse frowns on the freedom (no links from me to her).

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

I have nothing substantive to add, but I'd like to compliment the That 70's Show reference, and add that Alex Chilton by the Replacements is much better than anything Alex Chilton did with Big Star.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

That is one of my favorite Replacements tunes, but I would never disparage Big Star especially when they put out songs like this: Oh My Soul.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Thugs and morons, practicing the politics of intimidation and (in the case of the MIA democrats) cowardice.

Cheers to the left showing what it really is.

Hopefully this will be Armageddon for the teacher's unions. Time to crush them for good.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Hey, this has morphed into a music thread. Take your authoritarian anti-freedom hate back to your dead thread. Here's a song for ya:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhNP5...eature=related

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Wow. A little work stoppage and protest marching in response to a know-nothing teabagger trying to roll labor relations back to the nineteenth century and immediately it's "thugs and morons."

But of course ....

... violent, eliminationist rhetoric is seen by the operative as perfectly acceptable, when directed at those he does not agree with.

Cheers to the full metal wingnut for showing what he really is.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

LOL! First I've heard of this. Can't wait.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Of course. Peaceful protests against Scott Walker's transparently partisan union-busting constitute "the politics of intimidation." Spare me.

Way to stick it to the man, dude. I can hardly think of a more malevolent political force than midwestern public schoolteachers. Bear in mind that when you start talking about public employees in Wisconsin, I think of Marge Gunderson.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

See, when I think of the police force from "Fargo" I think of Marge's partner Lou, who failed to ascertain that DLR meant dealer plates. "Not sure I agree with your police work there, Lou." And Marge Gunderson was from Minnesota, by the way!

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

I know, I know. But come on, I'm from North Carolina. It's all cold up there and the people all say "bag" wrong. I can't be expected to make fine distinctions between Midwesterners when it would prevent me from making such a fun movie reference. And if any Midwesterns are at all bothered by this, I invite you to compare my intelligence unfavorably with a sack of hammers.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

I am starting to wonder whether there is something to that NAFTA superhighway conspiracy theory, because Wisconsin suddenly seems to be importing stupid by the tractor trailer load from Texas.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Even if you got the state wrong, Fargo references are always welcome. Fargo is one of the best movies of all time.

"Wisconsin Gov. Walker Ginned Up Budget Shortfall To Undercut Worker Rights"
 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...alker_2010.jpg

From occasional B'head Brian Beutler at TPM (emph. added):

Hat tip to Roy Edroso, who adds some useful commentary.

(pic. source)

Re: "Wisconsin Gov. Walker Ginned Up Budget Shortfall To Undercut Worker Rights"
 

Who's the thug-moron again?

Re: "Wisconsin Gov. Walker Ginned Up Budget Shortfall To Undercut Worker Rights"
 

Certainly not the Republican governor of Wisconsin!

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

I think goes well beyond not letting a crisis go to waste.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Yes, it is thugs--the people who are showing up at the homes of lawmakers. And it is morons--the college kids who don't even know why they're there.


There's nothing violent about it. Teacher's unions have been a disaster for the American education system and it's time to destroy the public-sector unions. The unions are trying to hold the state hostage and in doing so, they're showing themselves to be exactly the sort of legalized mobsters that conservatives have long recognized them to be.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

What else would you call thugs who show up at lawmakers' homes?

Teachers unions exist to keep bad teachers in jobs and prevent good teachers from being paid better. They're a cancer on society. We need plenty of changes in our education system--longer school days, longer school years. And a demolishing of the teachers unions.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Teabaggers?

Oh, wait, I forgot. IOKIYAR.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

You might actually have an argument if you'd resist crude, dehumanizing terminology. But that's too much for a crass Neanderthal such as yourself.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

The truth is, my argument so effectively demolishes your talking point that you are reduced to whimpering about a term your side was dumb enough to pick for itself.

I'll also observe your heavy use of violent, eliminationist rhetoric, in this thread as elsewhere, and encourage you to contemplate that thing about motes, beams, and eyes.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Exactly how does it "demolish" my argument?

My argument is this: showing up at the homes of legislators is thuggery.

Your response is this: Ur guyz do it!!!

Sorry, not quite demolishing my point there, BJ. Good luck next time.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

You asked what else besides "thugs" we should call people who show up at a legislator's house to protest. I proposed another term, recalling an instance you applauded when it was your guys doing it. The exposure of your hypocrisy is thus how your talking point was demolished.

Your petulance, not to mention your pathetic attempt at snidely declaring victory, is an admission that this is so.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Where did I applaud it?

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

What thugs? How many? Which lawmakers? Give me a link. And so long as the protests are non-violent, and I've heard nothing to say that they are, I don't see what the big deal is. These legislators are engaging in a nakedly partisan union-busting campaign that has nothing to do with the state's budget deficit. I think they can deal with a few people on their lawns with signs.

Teachers Unions exist to keep good teachers from being paid better? If getting better pay for good teachers without harming the rest, then I'm sure that Teachers Unions would support it. But that's not the deal on offer and never has been. Also, would you kindly explain to me why teachers unions are a blight on america, but firefighters and police officers unions aren't?

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Honkie, please. Do not deny that you were filled with admiration for the teabagger antics during the HCR debate. And at minimum, if you did not, on this site (not that I can be bothered to look), applaud this specific act, you certainly did not ever condemn it or anything else like it.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

The problem is that the TU have explicitly said that they will not support merit-based pay. And, they continue to defend horrible teachers. If I recall the stats correctly (just saw Waiting for Superman), 1 in 74 doctors will lose their license. 1 in 94 lawyers will lose their license. Yet only 1 in 2500 get fired.

As for the protesters going to homes, here's one reference:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/us/17wisconsin.html

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

lol so, being that you are utterly devoid of any supporting evidence, you turn to the standard talking points. Try again when you can actually support your arguments. Unlike you, I don't hold different standards for my side and the opposition. Showing up at the homes of legislators is thuggery.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

I notice you do not deny the central point: that you approved of protesters going to legislators' houses when it was teabaggers doing it, and only condemn it when the legislators are Republicans. I've given you several opportunities here to walk back your own hypocrisy, by saying that you would also describe Hateway Pundit and his crew as thugs. You have not done so.

Once again, your pathetic attempts to be snide indicate that you can't respond to the truth of this main point.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

No, that is simply false and you are either intentionally lying or too dumb to realize it. I'm guessing the latter.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Once again, your pathetic attempts to be snide indicate that you can't respond to the truth of the main point: you only condemn protesters as "thugs" when they're not on your side.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Actually I made it abundantly clear that I believe that showing up at the homes of legislators is thuggery, no matter who does it. Unlike you, who only condemns people on the right.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Ah, the tooth has finally been pulled!

You did not actually make it "abundantly clear," or even give the slightest hint that you believed so until just now, but I am delighted to hear you describe Hateway Pundit's actions as "thuggery."

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

This is pretty weak tea for your contention that they defend horrible teachers. I also fail to see why the fact that teachers unions want to make their members' jobs more secure makes them a cancer on American society or means that they shouldn't have collective bargaining rights.

While we're talking unions, I'd like to ask you something. Do you believe that unionization can ever be a good thing? Should any workers, public or private, have collective bargaining rights? Are there any unions that you think have had a salutary effect on society?

Fair enough, some protesters have gone to homes of lawmakers. If I were in Wisconsin I'd head to the state capitol building myself, but this doesn't strike me as particularly problematic. And it certainly isn't enough to justify writing off everyone that's protesting as thugs. This is democracy in action, buddy. Deal with it.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Are you familiar with teachers unions? This is what they do. They fight for all teachers jobs. In Milwaukee, they forced a principle to rehire teachers who were caught on video NOT teaching.
There are plenty of stories like this:
http://www.projo.com/education/conte...1.3a65218.html

Except lacking individuals having the courage to stand up to the teachers unions. There's the tragedy of Fenty's defeat in DC and the destruction of all that he and Rhee were working toward.

We're dealing with the education of children. As it stands now, teachers get tenure after one year, making it virtually impossible to fire them. Even if it is overwhelmingly demonstrated that they are not good at their job, they can not be fired. As a result, their students suffer. Why do you support this??

We need merit-based pay. There's no way around this. We need to fire bad teachers. Teachers unions will fight this to the death. They've proven that.
I think that private sector unions accomplished some very reasonable things but that by and large their time has come and gone. I'm not necessarily opposed to CB for private sector companies, but I am absolutely, utterly opposed to public sector unions.

I don't view this as democracy whatsoever. This is union thuggery. This is a special interest group trying to shut down the government to prevent a law from being passed through the democratic process. That's not even getting into the cowardly fleabaggers currently using taxpayer funds to hang out outside of the state.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Wow. Interesting how quickly freedom of speech, the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, democratic principles and the American people go down the drain when they are in the wrong side of operative's political views.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

"There's A Riot Going On!"

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

I don't like these types of street protests. I believe that I've said that before on here. I don't care for them when they're on my side and yes, I care for them even less when they're opposing my side.

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

What exactly is it that you don't like about them?

Re: Hello Wisconsin
 

Let's not forget the call for civility: