Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
There have been some new developments in the Wisconsin story since my last post on the subject, Is the Scott Walker Story Just the Tip of the Koch Brothers Political Iceberg?. More than six hundred comments have been left 
at that post—and it takes a long time to load the page. I thought it best to write up a new post for people who would like to continue the discussion on the subject of Governor Scott Walker, the protesting workers in Wisconsin, Walker’s anti-union budget repair bill, the AWOL Democratic state senators, and various and sundry other things related to the subject.
Today, I’m just providing links to some news stories on the subject for you.
Wisconsinites were locked out of their capital building. WBAY (ABC)
Scott Walker’s budget defunds Planned Parenthood and targets contraception access. (Huffington Post)
AFL-CIO plans another big rally at the Wisconsin Capitol for this Saturday. (TPMDC)
Parents of the Troll,
You’re welcome
Elaine M.
1, March 10, 2011 at 8:58 pm
Stamford Liberal,
It all goes to show how so many of these folks like Maury haven’t learned American history well. Maybe if they had, they’d understand why unions were/are necessary. Because of unions, workers today enjoy a better quality of life. It does appear that some Americans would prefer a return to feudalism. Go figure.
*****
Who cares about miners with black lung disease or workers with other job-related diseases? Who cares about improving mine safety? Who cares if people have no paid vacations?
BTW, those are rhetorical questions.
————————-
It is disgusting how the glorious GOP has demonized hard working people in order to appease their corporate masters. They should be ashamed, but they have no shame. People like Maury think all the perks that come with being gainfully employed just miraculously happened. Just like racism in the South wasn’t “all that bad.”
LOL – I suspected the questions were rhetorical … but I bet Maury doesn’t get that.
Troll,
“All you 6.9% private union workers ought to start thinking about where your tax dollars are going, big fat government pensions and your union dues are going to union bosses trying to elect democrats who are trying to increease government union membership so you can pay more tax dollars so some government worker can laugh at you when they retire at 50 and you work until you are 65 or even 70 so you can afford to retire.”
Unions are democratic institutions meaning officials of the union are elected to office by the rank and file … just ask the NFL, NBA, and MBL players who all belong to unions … and policy is determined by the rank and file. My good lord, your ignorance is total isn’t it?
As to retirement … you’re not going to have much of one if you don’t start actually working … Union or no union, you’re not going to get anywhere until you leave mom’s basement and get a job. You can do it … take a deep breath … borrow some money from dad … get on a bus and start putting in applications. Work is good for you!
OS,
My dad flew B-17’s and B-24s in WW2. Did you get a chance to fly the P-38?
Maury,
My mother belong to a union, and just retired after 38 years of service to the State of Connecticut. She EARNED her pension. Anyone (ie, you) who thinks that public employees are living a life of luxury is full of shit because there is ample evidence that shows public employees make LESS than those in the private sector.
All you have managed to do is show how incredibly ignorant you are about unions. You know nothing. You are nothing more than a dope who gobbles up thed bullshit propoganda that the Rabid and Ridiculous Right rams down your throat.
And I say this with all due respect – Go f**k yourself.
Maury,
You are making stuff up….again. The left has no problem with capitalism. They have problem with out of control industries who use government services, but do not pay any Federal taxes.
Maury,
Maybe more private sector workers should unionize.
I got news for you Maury–I had a good amount of my salary deducted for my pension. It’s too bad that the crooks on Wall Street lost billions of dollars of public workers’ pension funds. Maybe you should be criticizing the Wall Street geniuses for the near financial meltdown of our financial system. My tax dollars went to bail out billionaires–and then they turned around and used my tax dollars to lobby Congress so it wouldn’t pass a financial reform bill with any teeth in it!
““The war the Right is waging is based on the Darwinian/Malthusian based fear that there isn’t enough in the world for everyone. As a result, the Right is organized around the aim of making sure that only those who are just like them “make it”. And the rest of us be damned.””
The left is who believes this, we on the right believe the pie is ever expanding if the government would get out of the way of the private sector and let it grow as it would and could.
Who ever believes the right thinks the pie is static is stupid or worse than stupid. Capitalism creates wealth, the left wants to stifle wealth creation. They are too worried that someone may have more than someone else.
Bill Gates doesn’t take food out of my mouth.
Thanks, raff. I am a tactician by inclination and training. I consult with attorneys on tactics. I love trying to get inside the minds of those who would do wrong or harm others and use their own strengths against them. I admire people like Yamamoto, Rommel, Montgomery and Eisenhower. My old flight instructor was a P-38 pilot who talked with me for hours about tactics. I love this stuff. I would love to help you prepare a cross examination of some of our trolls. By the time we were finished, they would need a change of underwear.
Maury,
Once again your claims are not supported by reality. The pensions in Wisconsin for public employees are not big or fat. The public pension plan in Wisconsin is one of the best in the country. Finally, we are paying the lowest federal taxes in years. Even with unions.
lunch hour, bereavement time, holidays, furthering education allowance, overtime pay, bathrooms (honest to god … in some businesses providing toilets for workers was an issue on the bargaining table), uniforms
Hey, maybe the troll has a part-time job working in a non-union shop that doesn’t have a toilet which is why he’s so full of ….
Stamford Liberal,
It all goes to show how so many of these folks like Maury haven’t learned American history well. Maybe if they had, they’d understand why unions were/are necessary. Because of unions, workers today enjoy a better quality of life. It does appear that some Americans would prefer a return to feudalism. Go figure.
*****
Who cares about miners with black lung disease or workers with other job-related diseases? Who cares about improving mine safety? Who cares if people have no paid vacations?
BTW, those are rhetorical questions.
OS,
You are correct that this union bashing in Wisconsin is just the first skirmish in a battle to save the middle class!
Blouise:
“The Union households have left the Republican Party for good.”
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm
Highlights from the 2010 data:
–The union membership rate for public sector workers (36.2 percent) was
substantially higher than the rate for private sector workers (6.9 percent).
(See table 3.)
–Workers in education, training, and library occupations had the highest
unionization rate at 37.1 percent. (See table 3.)
–Black workers were more likely to be union members than were white, Asian,
or Hispanic workers. (See table 1.)
–Among states, New York had the highest union membership rate (24.2 percent)
and North Carolina had the lowest rate (3.2 percent). (See table 5.)
Big f***ing deal. Most union people vote for democrats anyway. And apparently most work for government. So we now have 2 classes of citizens those that work for government and those who pay for those who work for government. I dont really think you know what you are talking about. But when did that never stops the left.
Wisconsin is not a good model for the rest of the nation. But keep on dreaming.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
All you 6.9% private union workers ought to start thinking about where your tax dollars are going, big fat government pensions and your union dues are going to union bosses trying to elect democrats who are trying to increease government union membership so you can pay more tax dollars so some government worker can laugh at you when they retire at 50 and you work until you are 65 or even 70 so you can afford to retire.
I wrote this earlier, and it bears repeating. The quote attributed to Admiral Yamamoto following his tactically brilliant attack on Pearl Harbor. Yamamoto had studied in the USA, and had some understanding of the size and strength of this country. He was a good military man in that he followed the orders of his superiors even if he thought they were wrong. He understood it was possible to achieve a tactical victory in a battle but lose the strategic war. He reportedly said, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”
In a later conversation with some of his contemporaries, he also is quoted as saying, “Gentlemen, we have just kicked a rabid dog.” This was not meant as an insult, but a metaphor for the danger of kicking a terrible creature.
For Scott Walker, another comment attributed to Yamamoto may also be prescient. He was aware of the risk of winning a short term victory, but in the process, give up any chance of winning in the long run: “I can run wild (in the Pacific Ocean) for six months. After that, I have no expectation of success.”
While the good Admiral may not have said these things in exactly this way, the truth of these alleged comments is not diminished. They may have won the battle this week, but if history is any instructor, they will lose the war in the coming weeks and months.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/10/health-care-benefit-cuts-_n_834335.html Medicare,Medicaid and Social Security cuts are next for the house republicans.
I was polite … it was a request … a public service request … a plea for the betterment of mankind … a hope …
Elaine M,
“People decided to join unions because they wanted to fight collectively for better and safer working conditions, for better pay, for equal treatment, for a forty-hour work week, for paid vacations, etc. Some employers treat their employees fairly, pay them well, treat them with respect. Their employees may decide that they don’t need to unionize.”
If it weren’t for unions, Maury wouldn’t be enjoying some of the perks he gets with employment. Well, if he’s working or decides to work, that is …
Paid vacations, paid sick days, 40 hour/5 day work weeks … you know, the stuff people like Maury think just happened because employers decided to do so out of the goodness of their hearts …
Maury,
People decided to join unions because they wanted to fight collectively for better and safer working conditions, for better pay, for equal treatment, for a forty-hour work week, for paid vacations, etc. Some employers treat their employees fairly, pay them well, treat them with respect. Their employees may decide that they don’t need to unionize.
What the Wisconsin governor and legislators have shown is that they aren’t really concerned about the best interests of their state’s public employees and that they have little respect for them. They have also shown themselves to be liars. Walker and his henchmen are perfect examples of why public employees in Wisconsin feel that they must have the right to unionize and to bargain collectively.
Maury,
What Blouise said. Jesus Christ, you’re dense.