Amazing!… Tea Party Movement Brings in 15,000 Protesters to Madison With 24 Hour Notice Embarrassing Left
Posted by Jim Hoft on Saturday, February 19, 2011, 10:16 PM
THOUSANDS of Tea Party Patriots turned out today in Madison, Wisconsin, in support of Republican Governor Scott Walker and his plans to correct the state’s financial future. It was an amazing turnout considering the Saturday rally was only announced on Friday morning.
Oh… And we paid our own way.
The tea party patriots filled the state capital grounds from the steps to the street over 100 yards back. There were so many Walker supporters there that you couldn’t hear the speakers from the stage in the back of the crowd.
The AP today estimated that 70,000 protesters turned out in Madison today. If that number is accurate then at least 15,000 were Walker supporters.
This was a huge embarrassment to the left.
Here’s a shot from behind the stage looking out at the massive crowd today.
More… Here’s a photo that shows about half of the tea party crowd today on the left side of the stage, via Instapundit.
It was a HUGE success.
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Published May 22, 2012 at 5:04 am - 27 Comments
Guy in Ohio commented:
Fabulous!
Roland Melnick commented:
Hi Jim…we’ve got quite a bit of coverage of it:
http://badgerblogger.com/?p=19103
http://badgerblogger.com/?p=19087
Cheers
ant commented:
I’m wondering. I heard Maddow and Schultz of course, big supporters for the unions and most of the usual suspects. These people are also huge fans of big government and by extension, mock anyone that finds big government disturbing or dangerous. So, if big government is sooo good and sooo lovable, why do government workers need a union? Are they afraid of being abused by the very same government they want to see made larger and more powerful?
kate commented:
Enough is enough. Time for unions to stop the gimme attitude and to start looking out for our country. We can’t afford the bloated government of the Democrats and unions. We will fight back.
kate commented:
Excellent point, ant.
Truck Driver Divorce commented:
I’m not trying to start an argument here, but I’d like to see better proof of the numbers of protesters from BOTH sides. I’ve heard all kinds of crazy numbers today.
GP Loves Obama commented:
I hope the leftprofessor tards are having a meltdown, accross the nation.
Gary commented:
I live in Madison, was downtown to support the bill today and to be honest saw maybe 100 Walker supporters…why would someone post this number? It was actually really bleak for the right side, not the left:(
Matt Apps commented:
I photographed the Tea Party rally, and not that I counted, but there were probably around 2-3,000 supporters at the event. A lot of people supporting w/out signs as well (like me). Check my website (click my name, choose “Madison Protests”) for pictures of Jim and the others speaking at the event today.
Will commented:
I also live in Madison, and there is no way that there are anywhere close to 15k of you trigtards. 100 maybe. Not anymore than that. And there are certainly none of you fools inside the capitol building, as reading instructions is required to enter, and well we’ve seen your reading and writing skills at your klan rallies.
Contessa61 commented:
YES! My spouse was there.
=======================================
Even FDR was against collective bargaining for public employees.
Why? Due to special interest infuence….
Like public employee unions being the largest contributor to the 2010 elections.
Chippy commented:
Excellent! Has the Liar Czar Media designated the Tea Party crowd in Madison, WI as “Pro Mubarak?”
RicardoVerde commented:
Is it odd that the two posters who say the turnout was bad use the same 100 figure. Coincidence? Maybe it wasn’t 15,000, but on such short notice that’s not a bad turnout.
If democrats like big government then why do government workers need unions to protect them from government?
Zim commented:
who are these people claiming only 100 people on the right there? (Union thugs) Even NBC showed more people than that..
OnWisconsin! commented:
These numbers are false – even with all the out-of-state bussing, Tea Baggers mustered only a few handfuls of people that barely managed one half-hearted rally. No estimates come close to 15,000 but range from several hundred to a few thousand. Either way. Pro-Walker voices were drowned out.
Ella commented:
Yo Will, it doesn’t matter how many people were there. The fact of the matter is, this bill WILL pass. Get used to it. Elections have consequences, according to your president.
OnWisconsin! commented:
“Like public employee unions being the largest contributor to the 2010 elections”
Please compare union contributions to corporate funding.
OnWisconsin! commented:
Dear Ella:
Please post here when Walker amends his budget so I can see how how twist it into a TeaBag victory. As Republican legislators, despite Walker’s contrariness, have already alluded to adjusting the budget.
Big L commented:
If I had a job where I was getting a net check of $6,600.00 a month thereabouts, I sure would not jeaopardize it .I’d be there early and sleep in a sleeping bag to preserve it.
These people are ingrates-the teachers. Whining an moaning anad saying profane things about those who pay them.
I surehope the legislature in WI lifts the ban on using student test scores to evaluate teachers. That is coming up apparently before the legislature;it has been a ban enacted and it needs to be lifted, so that the dummys can be booted.
Chisum commented:
#16,
You remind me of Rachel Maddow. She says stupid things all the time, too.
OnWisconsin! commented:
You people really need to stop referring to the blogosphere to support your argument. Anyone can write a blog and, as we see every day on FoxNews, make fiction appear as fact.
Guy in Ohio commented:
Boy, the lefties are irritated aren’t they? Who cares how many protesters were where today? It’s the vote that counts. We won in November, and elected these people to get this job done. We’re going to win this vote in Wisconsin next week, and then the vote in Ohio, and we’re going to keep on winning, because fraud and corruption can only take the self-serving traitors on the left so far. The sleeping giant is now wide awake. We have reality and common sense on our side, and far greater numbers. We’ll take this country back piece by piece, and then take steps to make sure this never happens again.
Meanwhile, the Fleebagging Democratic politicians are camped out in hotels hiding from their constituents and shirking their responsibilities. They should be ashamed of themselves …
Chisum commented:
Unions fuel Democratic Party financially
As the Tea Party movement and union bosses prepare to clash in Wisconsin, it is worthwhile to keep in mind that many millions of dollars of union members’ dues have been spent to fuel the Democratic Party in past elections. Here’s a breakdown of what some of the top unions donated to the Democratic Party in the 2008 and 2010 election cycles:
* The AFL-CIO, whose president Richard Trumka is orchestrating much of the protests in Madison this week, donated $1.2 million to Democrats in 2008 and $900,000 in 2010.
* The American Federation of State, County and Municipal employees donated $2.6 million to the Democrats in 2008 and another $2.6 million in 2010.
* The National Education Association donated $2.3 million to Democrats in 2008 and $2.2 million in 2010.
* The Teamsters union donated $2.4 million to Democrats in 2008 and $2.3 million in 2010.
* The SEIU donated $2.6 million to Democrats in 2008 and $1.7 million in 2010.
* The Carpenters and Joiners union donated $2 million to Democrats in 2008 and $2.1 million 2010.
* The Laborers union donated $2.6 million to Democrats in 2008 and $2.2 million in 2010.
* The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers donated $3.8 million to Democrats in 2008 and $3.2 million in 2010.
* The American Federation of Teachers donated $2.8 million to Democrats in 2008 and $2.7 million in 2010.
* The Machinists and Aerospace union donated $2.5 million to Democrats in 2008 and $2.1 million in 2010.
* The Communication Workers of America, which includes employees from several television and radio stations and other publishing platforms, donated $2.2 million to Democrats in 2008 and $2.1 million in 2010.
* The United Autoworkers union (UAW) donated $2.1 million to Democrats in 2008 and $1.5 million in 2010.
* The United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW) donated $2.1 million to Democrats in 2008 and $1.9 million in 2010.
Most unions gave a negligible amount, if anything at all, to the Republican Party over the past two election cycles.
http://dailycaller.com/2011/02/19/unions-fuel-democratic-party-financially/
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Chisum: I appreciate the comparison to a Rhodes scholar who earned her Phd from Oxford. May I put that on my business card?
ant commented:
Strange isn’t it that these Unions support open-borders and illegal immigration, but teachers and government workers seem to be immune from the unfair competition, hmmm? They’re all for workers rights, but not ALL workers.
CommieCruncher commented:
Hey Union Thugs…There are a lot more of us then there are of you, and we pay your salaries…. As of today, I buy NOTHING made by union labor…. See how that grabs your lazy asses……
Guy in Ohio commented:
Phd …I was always told that meant Piled Higher and Deeper …
Matt Apps commented:
Been a crazy (and exhausting) few days here in Madison! Have shot over a thousand pics, but have a select group of those here: http://mattappsphotography.com/documentary
OnWisconsin! commented:
So you would prefer financial support to come from wealthy corporations because they have proven time and time again that they value the worker, the public and the nation?
Isn’t it funny that the Koch brothers, who have backed the TeaBag movement substantially, also supported Walker to the fullest extent (and allegedly more through other routes).
Someone – ANYONE – show me logic!
Guy in Ohio commented:
#27 – exactly. There is strength in numbers, which is why the Obama administration has been working so hard for card check, and all the other legislation to build the union numbers. Every union thug is a Democratic vote …. It is up to us to reign these people in, and make sure the power remains in the hands of the REAL producers in this country.
Atlas Shrugged
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Guy in Ohio: Take it from anyone who has one: you’re correct! But what it also displays is dedication, education and training to something beyond yourself. And a lot of hard work.
Contessa61 commented:
ON WISCONSIN,
READ MUCH?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303339504575566481761790288.html
Andy commented:
This is a lie. I was there today. At 3:45pm we could only count about 25 pro-Walker demonstrators total. I asked a ‘pro-Walker’ sign carrier where all the tea party people were. She said that the protest for them was from 12-3:00pm. It seems impossible that almost 15,000 people were completely out of site in less than one hour! Some of the tea baggers didn’t even read the bill! It was actually an embarrassment to the right. Sorry to say…
Guy in Ohio commented:
Whatever you say On Wisconsin …. if you want to stroke yourself for being book educated, feel free, but I’ll take a real-life educated employee with a good basic education over a book worm any day.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Guy in Ohio: Who are the real producers? The Koch brothers? Goldman-Sacks? A defeat of union organizing places more power in their hands. The “real producers” I think you refer to had a free ride fro 8 years and bankrupted the country. No thanks. Haven’t we been there?
OnWisconsin! commented:
You’d be incorrect in assuming I have a degree friend.
Will commented:
Good luck buying a Car commie cruncher, or any of dozens of other items. You make me laugh. Join the Amish you idiot. Not gonna buy anything union made… thats the dumbest statement ever made by a human being ever. Congrats on being him.
RicardoVerde commented:
Unions are wealthy corporations.
Contessa61 commented:
2 great signs at the protest:
TEACH ECONOMICS 101.
and
HEY WISCONSIN,
YOU CAN HAVE YOUR DEMOCRATS BACK.
ILLINOIS WANTS YOUR REPUBLICANS.
Contessa61 commented:
ALSO,
Barry Obama was the recipient of the largest donation from Goldman Sachs.
ant commented:
#30, Where do you expect any financial support to come from in reality? Soros is a billionaire too. Money has got to come from somewhere, you can’t run for office against someone like Kennedy or Pelosi with 10 dollars and a pack of smokes, get real. The difference beung the teachers union for example is being funded by TAXES which are then going to a particular political party.
Guy in Ohio commented:
It’s interesting how deep the divide is between union entities and non-union entities in America. They both have a deep animosity toward each other, but there is one big difference between the two ….
Unions are disgusted with business owners, corporations, and taxpayers because they won’t give them what they feel they deserve.
Taxpayers, business owners, and corporations are disgusted with unions because of what they TAKE from them.
Big difference if you ask me … and it puts the non-union entities on the higher moral ground.
truth teller commented:
OnWisconsin! You sure are one angry, self-important defender of the un-productive. I am curious what makes people like you think the way you do…what was the “event” in your life that warped you?
Chisum commented:
On Whizzy,
Nobody would mistake you for a Rhodes Scholar. Maddow is a joke! She gives real scholars a bad name.
http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2011/02/in-defense-of-rachel-maddow.html
http://www.redstate.com/absentee/2010/11/08/rachel-maddows-nickels-and-dimes/
http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/02/19/rachel-maddow-exposed-lying-about-wisconsin-having-budget-surplus
Will commented:
Want your Republicans? There isn’t a Republican state senator that would stand a chance here in Illinois in an election after this weeks preemptive ending to the republican party as you know it. You thought Parah Palin was going to destroy the party in 2012. She’s got nothing on what the Wisc. republicans have done to destroy it. Thanks in advance.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Contessa61: thanks for the quick Google. I’m glad to see those numbers. It’s refreshing to see that unions can raise that much to offset the Republican funding by Kochs, Exxon, BP, Rupert Murdoch and the med insurance industry.
Guy in Ohio commented:
OnWisconsin I stand corrected … I don’t usually assume. My bad. However, I stand behind the point of the comment.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Chisum: nice blog posts. Is your opinion supported by fact or just more flaccid opinion? And yes, I’m hurt that you rescinded your compliment
Guy in Ohio commented:
And one final point OnWisconsin … you do yourself a real disservice, and discredit yourself when you use sexually oriented slurs against decent, patriotic Americans who just want to have their voices heard and make a difference.
ant commented:
No, Will, YOU think Sarah Palin is going to destroy the party in 2012. You’re projecting again, kinda like astro-turf accusations from last year.
Contessa61 commented:
ON WISCONSIN,
From 2001 through 2006, the republican controlled congress added 3 trillion to our national debt.
From 2007 through 2011, the democratic controlled congress added 5 trillion to our national debt.
REPUB. 3 trillion in 6 years.
DEM. 5 trillion in 4 years.
Who is bankrupting this country?
AuntieMadder commented:
The TEA Party prescence was so large in WI today that even the local news here in Dallas, knowing they couldn’t ignore it, actually reported on it.
Chisum commented:
Interesting…the difference in the signs between the two sides.
From the Tea Party:
They chanted ‘pass the bill’ and carried placards declaring ‘I was at work yesterday, where were you?’ and ‘sorry we’re late Scott, we work for a living’.
Contessa61 commented:
ON WISC.,
GLAD you mention BP.
Obama was the biggest recipient of campaign cash from British Petroleum.
Please look it up.
AuntieMadder commented:
Contessa61 @ #52: Both are/have been…and it needs to stop.
Guy in Ohio commented:
Will, you just don’t get it do you? We sent those people there specifically to do this sort of thing. Why would you think that keeping their promise would be a bad thing? We outnumber you. We proved that in November, and we will vote in greater numbers in 2012. Get used to it.
OnWisconsin! commented:
“Unions are disgusted with business owners, corporations, and taxpayers because they won’t give them what they feel they deserve.
Taxpayers, business owners, and corporations are disgusted with unions because of what they TAKE from them.”
Union workers are tax payers too who make 6-10% less than their private sector counterparts. In Wisconsin, those that are out there this weekend have taken cuts for several years now.
What have unions taken away from corporations? Look at the history of labor struggles and you’ll recognize many benefits we enjoy today are fruits of union fights. Unions aren’t perfect by any means but say, for example, you buy a pair of jeans: would you rather they’re made by American unionized hands or foreign hands payed cents-an-hour. Also consider this (because this is what’s at stake), how would employers change their practices if the possibility of organized labor was erased. Pay employees more? Offer benefits?
Chisum commented:
Oh Wizzy is full of sexual innuendo.
Are you one of those Flee baggers hiding out in IL whining about conjugal visits?
AuntieMadder commented:
Chisum #45: You forgot to include the video clip of Maddow. It’s an oldie but a goodie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy23DBJ4QKk
AuntieMadder commented:
Guy in Ohio @ #57: Or, as I like to say, We won. Get used to it.
truth teller commented:
Low IQ + Lazy Streak = Union Member
Union Member–>Minimal Work + High Wages–>Low Productivity
Low Productivity + Decades = Destruction of American Competitiveness
Destruction of American Competitiveness + Dem Policies = Financial Meltdown
Financial Meltdown–>Company Failures–>No Work For Union Members
No Work For Union Members–>Marching In The Streets
Guy in Ohio commented:
OnWisconsin, where DO you get your facts? Union workers make LESS than private sector employees? Hilarious …
Guy in Ohio commented:
#62 – you got it.
Contessa61 commented:
Waaaaaaaaaaaaa……a bunch of crybabies those union workers are.
USA Today analyzed all the federal employee salaries and compared them with private sector salaries. On average, they found a federal employee made $66,591 in 2008 vs. $55,500 for a private employee. That’s a 20% higher salary.
Everyone assumes that government employees have great benefits but very few think that government is where the salary is. The same USA Today analysis found that government employees had health, pension, and other benefits worth $40,785 vs. $9,882 for private sector employees.
Given the impact that the recession has had on the private sector it would not be a surprise if public salaries became a hot button issue this year.
Chisum commented:
OnWisconsin, where DO you get your facts? Union workers make LESS than private sector employees? Hilarious …
—————————————————-
Wizzy is not only stupid like Maddow, he’s a liar, too. She flat out lied about WI’s financial shortfalls.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Contessa61: Don’t assume I’m a Democrat please. I’m disgusted with the Obama White House just the same. But consider that corporations often contribute to both parties and the majority of funding (60%) went to Republican candidates.
I incorrectly implied BP, thanks for correcting me but please consult this site and tell me who’s in whose pocket:
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=e01
Nicole commented:
OnWisconsin … Question for you. You seem to not trust corporations. Fine and well. You know the difference between a corporation (or any business for that matter) and the government?
1. The corporation can’t force you to buy it’s product … The government can.
Let’s look at it this way … If I don’t like Koch Brothers, I don’t have to buy whatever the hell they make.
But the government FORCES people to pay regardless of whether they want, need or approve of the product.
Got it?
Great.
truth teller commented:
Something both sides can agree on…most politicians are scum…
Contessa61 commented:
WISC,
Do you honestly think US oil and gas companies would give money to green Obama? He has practically cut off all drilling in the gulf, greatly reduced coal and natural gas drilling, stuck his middle finger at Canada, and apparently wants us more dependent on Middle East oil.
Learn to count commented:
15,000 people?? Nowhere near it, according to major news sources and eyewitness accounts.
From Reuters:
Outside the numbers were reversed. Of the estimated 55,000 people attending Saturday’s demonstrations, probably fewer than 5,000 were Tea Party types backing Walker and his fellow Republicans.
(http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/20/us-wisconsin-protests-beer-idUSTRE71J07L20110220)
ant commented:
OnWisconsin, I’m not attacking you personally, but come on! I see no proof Unions are helping to keep manufacturing in the USA. Where are these jeans and such crafted by American hands?. I’ve personally, been to three cloth manufacterers in one State and EVERYONE in there was of Mexican descent. I guess with 10% unemployment they just can’t find any Americans, huh? But at least the warehouse existed within the continetal US.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Chisum:
Here’s a sample pulled from the most recent BLS reports:
Private Sector CPA $71,216
Federal Govt. CPA $67,531
Local Govt. CPA $64,050
You’re getting half the facts. Please consult my resource:
http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm
The annual report published by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau is where I picked up that info on the budget surplus. You can look that up some time.
David Jay commented:
“What have unions taken away from corporations?”
Well , apart from virtually destroying the US car industry with their insane pension plans, the unions have driven more American jobs overseas than corporate greed. Whatever good the unions may have done back in the old days, modern public sector unions are all about greed and corruption. Public sector unions use taxpayer money to finance Democrat politicians who award the unions unsustainable benefits & pensions. This causes local & State governments to run at a loss which then causes the Dem politicians to raise taxes to keep the con going. The taxpayers and states are going broke while the Union fatcats tell us to tighten our belts.
truth teller commented:
Don’t you love how these Obama zombies change their screen names to give the illusion that people agree with them?
Learn to count – I have one finger up…start counting
Valerie commented:
Well, at least the trolls have a little more energy today, if not any more sense than usual.
Foul-mouthed little jerks, aren’t they?
truth teller commented:
The leftist trolls are full-energy…they must be raving mad!
Contessa61 commented:
Wisconsin almost lost Harley and Mercury Marine to non-unionized subdivisions in other states.
Luckily the private unions agreed to concessions.
Linda Lee commented:
Walker was bought and paid for by supporters of the John Birch Society:
Big money was funneled by one of the richest men in America and one of the richest corporations in the world to put controversial Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in office. Walker was elected just over three months ago on the heels of an exceptionally expensive gubernatorial race in the Badger State, fueled by groups funded by the Koch brothers, David and Charles. David Koch, the son of a radical founding member of the John Birch Society, which has long been obsessed with claims about socialism and advocated the repeal of civil rights laws, personally donated $1 million to the Republican Governors Association (RGA) in June of last year. The RGA in turn spent $5 million in the race, mostly on TV ads attacking Walker’s political opponent, Democratic Mayor Tom Barrett.”
http://www.truth-out.org/scott-walker-runs-koch-money67916
OnWisconsin! commented:
@ant: Not taking it personally (it’s fun debating). But look – unions aren’t perfect and in an ideal world they wouldn’t be needed right? Considering corporate mentality, it probably has driven away manufacturing to China. Why fault the unions and not the employer who would still rather pay the Chinese than minimum wage?
For the record: the union experience was very disappointing and I had a hard time coming around to seeing the benefits of union representation. But, now that I live in a “Right to Work” state, I see why union presence (or possible union presence) promotes fairness in the workplace.
David Jay commented:
“Learn to count commented:”
“Learn to count” should change his name to “Learn not to believe anything the MSM says”. Dupes like you would have loved the old Pravda back in the days when Leftists were still in love with the Soviet Union and before they started their current bromance with Islamo-fascism…
Contessa61 commented:
Gotta go,
All I can say is I wish I could retire at 55 with a big fat pension paid for by all of you, a health care that is second to none, and yearly increases in my pension. I’d be sitting on a beach in Florida laughing at all the working stiffs.
But, such is life. I must work until 65 or 70. Am I mad?
YOU BET.
GO WALKER.
David Jay commented:
Quite a collection of leftist hacks cranking out the propaganda tonight. Soros is really getting good value from this lot..
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Contessa61: My goodness – you’ve proven my point! I lived right near Merc in Fond du Lac and the workers struggled to keep their jobs there but they did! Merc was about to go to Mexico! And would that have been better for America? Unions work!
OnWisconsin! commented:
@David Jay: No Daily Kos links but there were a few at #45 for conservative blogs
Truck Driver Divorce commented:
26 months of Obama has given us record deficits, record unemployment, longest jobless stretch since the 1930′s, record bank failures, record foreclosures, record trade deficits, record poverty rate, failing dollar, national poverty at record highest level, foreign policy disasters, record number of golf games played by a president, record death toll in Afghanistan, record number of food stamp recipients, consumer confidence at record lows, home values have fallen to Depression levels and now Obama has taken up with his unions to declare war on the taxpayers.
David Jay commented:
“Walker was bought and paid for by supporters of the John Birch Society:”
So, according to leftist logic …if you’re a son of a John Birch Society member you are automatically a “supporter of the John Birch Society….Does that mean that Teddy Kennedy was a bootlegger because his father was ? Does that make Obama a muslim because his father was ?
Edouard commented:
Stand aside Truthers: there’s another breed of manic liberal nutcases on the prowl
Call ‘em “Kochers”
David Jay commented:
“Unions work!”
Strange then that the teacher’s unions are avoiding work and depriving children of an education because of their selfish greed.
Truck Driver Divorce commented:
You would think that the Liberals screaming at us all here would be better served by screaming at their own guy in the White House. After all, HE has been successful in wrecking the economy, our foreign policy, and his own Democrat Party.
Chisum commented:
After the left beclowned themselves when they accused the Chamber of Commerce of taking foreign money and did everything they could to demonize them while conveniently ignoring BO’s foreign campaign contributions. They did the same to the tea party, Bush, Cheney, Haliburton, etc. Now it’s the Koch Bros.
It never ends. They’ll go to any lengths to distract from their loser policies.
Btw, BO is now making nicey nice with the evil Chamber of Commerce.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
Gary and Will your master Sotero has commited an act of treason by supporting the demarxist lawmakers who are wanted for arrest. Your buddy Barack’s days are numbered : ask yourself two things 1: what’s gonna happen when the supreme court rules he is a usurper 2: who’s appendage are you gonna put in mouth after he’s run out of the country ?.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Nicole: the only product I purchase from the government is public school for my children (for which more and more comes out of my pocket in fundraisers that are needed due to lack of funding) and the luxury of driving a vehicle. You’re right though – I made another post that confirmed your assertion. I would rather buy American and Union made products because I know the labor is being properly paid for work.
Let me put it to you this way: are union workers paid too much or is everyone else paid too little?
Mary P. commented:
These numbers don’t lie: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/02/64_say_government_workers_dont.html
64% of Americans including 42% of Dems know a-holes when they see them.
Truck Driver Divorce commented:
Look, Liberals – no use yelling at us Conservatives. If your precious unions and/or your brilliant leader in the White House had done their jobs when they had total control of the country for two years we wouldn’t be in this mess, now would we? Go yell at them. THEY, not we, have brought you to this point. THEY are the ones to blame for the problems now .Two years they had to fix things and everything – EVERYTHING is worse than it was two years ago. You can blah blah Bush or rant about Palin all you want but you know full well the blame lays with the Democrats now. So go back to them and get them to pay attention to you.
Will commented:
Trucker please point to your non-right sponsored links for any of the above stated info, and then i’ll give you hard Republican numbers that have destroyed this country and HAD made us the laughing stock of the the world. I know what they USED to think of us when that last joke was president. And on that last part I have experience as I have worked on 5 continents in 11 years in 18 different countries.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@David jay: Yeah – those durn greedy teachers living high on the hog. Those kids were out there supporting their instructors too btw. Kids don’t mind the day off
For the record: I think those who bear the responsibility to educate our children should be the highest paid American citizens. But hey, I’m talking like someone who values education again.
Truck Driver Divorce commented:
There are somewhere on the order of 15 nations rioting in the Middle East right now. Where is the President on this? I’ll tell you – he’s busy mobilizing the union troops to fight the American taxpayer because more than anything else, he hates America and hopes to see it destroyed. And to this end, the Democrat Party are going down because when he’s done wrecking this country it’s going to take years for the Democrats to make a comeback. But Obama won’t care. He’ll be off to some cushy job like Secretary General of the UN.
ant commented:
On Wisconsin, I’m not laying it all on the feet of the Unions, there are a number of problems here in terms of promoting gainful employment, and I as well, know people who have belonged to Unions and now have a very bad opinion of them.
Part of the problem concerning Wisconsin is there seems to be, as usual, a whole lot of deliberate misinformation from the press, including the idea that this is Union busting when it may be a legitimate case of reigning in spending, this is why they some of these guys were elected. And to tell the truth when the President starts talking like a partisan political hack, and Ed Schultz is having a friggin’ pep rally ( a grace rarely given to any other protest for “redress of grievances”) you shouldn’t be surprised when people think something doesn’t smell right.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
oh I forgot numbers matter > estimated cost to tax payers for Barry Sotero to fight court cases looking into his birth certificate, school loans, fraudulent social security number from CT is around 1.5 million dollars. Look on MSM and Demarxist faces when the word birther is mentioned > priceless.
David Jay commented:
“(for which more and more comes out of my pocket in fundraisers that are needed due to lack of funding)”
And lack of good teachers because they can’t be sacked. And as for lack of funds…give me a break…most of the education money goes on teacher’s wages, their benefit packages and their pensions. Spending on schools has increased every year since the 1950s and yet education standards keep falling. And now these leeches lie about sick days and force kids to miss school because of their greed…
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
I’ll take a John Bircher or a drunken toungue tied Texan over a usurper , marxist union bedwetter any day of the week.
Will commented:
My buddy Baraks days are numbered? Please. Point to 1 poll not named Rasmussen that has the President trailing ANY of your Teatard candidates. You have NO chance to take back the presidency in 2012. And if you think you don’t like him now, wait til he comes for the Guns and single payer in his second term. I’ll have my popcorn waiting!!
Truck Driver Divorce commented:
Will, pull your head out of your arse. The info is all over the place. Not one thing I listed there is made up. Not one. You can gripe about Bush and the Republicans but they’ve been gone two solid years and the Democrats had the House for four years. Everything is in shambles. But don’t listen to me – listen to the American voter who sent you Democrats packing last November to the tune of over 600 seats. Your man Obama oversaw that disaster and your unions couldn’t even save you. That’s how bad your side has screwed things up. So go scream at your own people. We didn’t cause your misery. They did.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Mary P.: Your source, a partisan blog, quotes a partisan firm that promotes partisan business interests. Those numbers may not lie but you have to question the methodology of how that poll was conducted. Even the question quoted leads the interviewee.
ant commented:
So, Will, you really want to form America’s policies and elect leaders based on the opinion of the average French, Greek, whatever pedestrian?
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
Yeah I’d like to see that army of bedwetters in their Che shirts come and get our guns
Donald Douglas commented:
Linked with additional killer photos: ‘Tea Party Crashes Madison!’
gus commented:
Wow. ((@ant: Not taking it personally (it’s fun debating). But look – unions aren’t perfect and in an ideal world they wouldn’t be needed right? Considering corporate mentality, it probably has driven away manufacturing to China. Why fault the unions and not the employer who would still rather pay the Chinese than minimum wage?)))
Liberals/Democrats, have sold themselves to GOONIONS.
David Jay commented:
“Kids don’t mind the day off”
So why have them attend school at all ?
“But hey, I’m talking like someone who values education again.”
No, you’re talking like a typical Leftist hack who is paid to put forward your DNC talking points.
If you valued education you’d be against teachers walking out of their jobs and trying to use mob rule against a democratic vote but as a leftist all that matters to you is political power.
Will commented:
Well good night all, good debate. Some are smarter here than others. Most of you are sheep, but its really been fun. And when your Joke for a Gov backs down anyways and then is recalled next January, I’ll be back to make fun of you morons somemore.
Night.
ant commented:
Will, if Obama goes for the people’s guns, you better take that popcorn down in the bunker with you and lock the door.
Truck Driver Divorce commented:
The economy worsens.
Gas, oil, clothing, food prices all skyrocketing.
The Middle East is in full meltdown.
The two wars grind ever onward now with a record death toll in Afghanistan.
Our foreign policy is a disaster.
There is no end in sight.
Obama takes us into year three of broken promises, a ruined country and two more years of this nightmare.
You Liberals can defend him all you want but the fact is he’s a disaster. Last November – all because of him – was only the beginning of your problems.
Truck Driver Divorce commented:
Good night, Will. Think about what we’ve said.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@David Jay: Why shouldn’t teachers be paid well? Should baseball players and golfers make more? I hope you are able to someday ask a teacher what their work day entails. Unionized teachers create smarter classrooms.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
Obama isn’t gonna run, has he announced yet ?. Look ,Americans will take an average Joe over this clown. Obama is a FAILURE @ everything he does, ask him why he hand over his law lic. He can’t even be a good ambulance chaser.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@David Jay: do you have children?
ant commented:
@ OnWisconsin, I have to disagree, a good teacher will teach well regardless of the Union, a bad teacher is hard to replace because of the Union.
David Jay commented:
“I’ll be back to make fun of you morons somemore.”
Wow, that was you making fun of us ? From your comments all I got was that you were constantly beclowning yourself. BTW it looks kinda sad when someone calling other people “morons” doesn’t know that “somemore” is actually two words. Nice try, clown.
Will commented:
For the record, I don’t mean all guns. We all have a right to protect ourselves, but a shotgun is enough for me. BTW Donald I was at that part of the rally today as well, there may have been 25 of you surrounding your picture of that 1 sign. Hardly a turnout. keep trying. Nite
Chisum commented:
BO will be reelected? Sure, because Americans love 17% unemployment.
OnWisconsin! commented:
Bah – anyway. It’s been real everyone. I hope that you have the privilege of knowing a teacher or nurse (who are also a large group out protesting, in addition to firefighters and cops) and are comfortable with bringing up these points you’ve shared. There’s nothing wrong with getting paid well and having good benefits. You should be wondering why YOU’RE not receiving the same treatment from your employer.
Night all! Go Wisconsin!
P.S. When the Packers arrive – it’ll be over. GAH! Football players: now THAT’s an overpaid union!
Will commented:
Another English major. Although a teabagger, so I doubt it. Learn the difference between a typo and a misspelling dumb ass.
Chisum commented:
Working in America: Public vs. Private Sector
http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2011/02/working-in-america-public-vs-private-sector.html
Swifty commented:
Video: Madison police detain union operative who tried to destroy Tea Party sound system
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/206408.php
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
I grew up in Madison , I you gotta understand that these commies that reside their only bathe about once a month, wear Birkenstock sandals and because they are useful idiots will vote for anyone who will promise them a handout. Back when apartied was in vougue these dirtbags lived in tin shacks they put up on the Capital grounds. You could smell them a block away, as teenagers we would go and fist fight with them @ night for fun.
ant commented:
Nite, Wisconsin. For the record, my employers’ shop shut down. Thanks , Obama, another company no longer in existence and unable to support government jobs.
gus commented:
Truck Driver. Obama and LIBTARDS have played all of their cards. SEVERAL TIMES.
They are done. Put a fork in them. LIBTARDS have spent and promised themselves into a corner.
All that is left is FULL COMMIE. The full Monty. Marxism and proclaimed FAIRNESS.
Same Shyte Different day.
Most LIBTARDS are dumber than 10W-40. And far less useful.
Sheep. Greedy, pathetic sheep. Oink Oink LIBTARDS.
David Jay commented:
“Should baseball players and golfers make more?”
Typical leftist strawman argument. What have baseball players got to do with teachers ? The difference is EVERY taxpayer has to pay for teachers…our taxes keep going up & and our states keep going broke and yet the teacher’s unions don’t think they should be affected. My pension has gone up in smoke, my health insurance has gone through the roof yet I keep paying more taxes so that the teacher’s unions get health coverage & pension plans that I and lots of other taxpayers can only dream of. And who keeps pushing our taxes up ? Dem politicians ! And who finances those Dem politicians ? Unions. And who then gives the Unions even better pension plans & benefits ? Dem politicians. And who then finances the election of the same Dem politicians ? The unions. And who then squeal like stuck pigs when we want this circle of corruption to stop. The unions and the people they finance – the Dems.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
I can’t spell because I attended Lafollette HS and was taught by union hippies. I got my revenge and vented my anger in my youth by bitch slapping hippies downtown.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
Hey Gus I love WD- 40 how can you compare a nice smelling product to smelly union hippies
David Jay commented:
“Learn the difference between a typo and a misspelling dumb ass.”
I thought you were going, foul mouth…or are you just another lying leftist ?
OnWisconsin! commented:
@ant: your comments are great and really make me think.
You’re speaking ideally though. A good plumber, mechanic, carpenter, waitress, nurse SHOULD work without a union. A union shouldn’t be needed! But where would you find a workplace, unionized or otherwise, where laziness and cutting-corners isn’t common?
You’re also right about the bad teachers – my boy suffered under a bad one and we’re amazed she’s still employed. Much of the right’s position on this debate is focusing on the lowest denominator though and bad teachers, high pay are not the norm. Have to say, my son has had three phenomenal non-union teachers here in Virginia but I know they are paid very little.
David Jay commented:
“You should be wondering why YOU’RE not receiving the same treatment from your employer.”
Because our employers are going broke thank to Obamanomics and yet we still have to finance the creeps who walk off the job when they don’t get the election result they like.
jimg commented:
I’m laughing out loud at clowns like Will.
Psst. We didn’t need to have a single person at the rally today.
Know why?
Because the bill is going to pass, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.
Not.
A.
Damn.
Thing.
Sucks to be you.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
See I can’t even read or write thanx to Madison pubic skools- mixin up 10 w 40 with WD 40- must have been the second hand pot smoke from my teachers.
befuddled commented:
Arkansas Teacher Put on Paid Leave Following Prostitution Conviction
yikes. unions should spend less on getting democrats elected and spend more on the rank and file.
David Jay commented:
“But where would you find a workplace, unionized or otherwise, where laziness and cutting-corners isn’t common?”
But you’re OK with taxpayers funding a system where bad teachers can’t be fired because of the ties between politicians and the union that finances them. Get real.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2011/02/open-thread-931.html
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
Look @ these wonderful pics of the trash these Demarxist thugs left behind
http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2011/02/pigs-will-be-pi.html
Will commented:
No it must be your Trigtard parents, as mine taught me to read before I went to school. Typical Teabagger.
OnWisconsin! commented:
I look forward to coming back here when the bill is amended to allow for collective bargaining to say hi
Will commented:
Guess what, pass this Gov. Hitlers bill, and see who picks up that trash. Moron.
OnWisconsin! commented:
I like that comment after the pics post:
“Who would you rather have teaching your kids?”
A lot of those Tea Party signs are misspelled…(not to mention a poor grasp of history, economics, and social studies) so I know who I wouldn’t want teaching my kids.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
Trigtard , thats funny
. Not even an evil foul mouth right winger like me picks on those who are unable to defend themselves. Picking on someone with down syndrome is …….. well kinda bad karma.
Chisum commented:
“Trigtard”?
How old are you? Are you even 12?
How pathetic.
David Jay commented:
“No it must be your Trigtard parents, as mine taught me to read before I went to school. Typical Teabagger.”
So, you say you’re going but then you stay. Bit confused aren’t you ? You’re also a sad little ” man” because only a pathetic creature would use baby Trig Palin’s illness as an insult. I’m guessing you’re about 16 years old and completely devoid of any empathy for another being’s suffering.
Slink off to the hole you crawled out of before you say something else disgusting.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
http://www.therightscoop.com/sergeant-schultz-gets-called-out-on-hypocrisy
OnWisconsin! commented:
@David Jay: How many bad teachers do you think there are?
I’ve missed some of your posts, friend. Did you say you had kids? On the baseball players point: taxes pay for stadiums that host games I can never afford (maybe except for the Packers’ – a publicly-owned team! Socialism and football Hoo AH!) How many wars have my taxes paid for?
The state workers of Wisconsin have said time and time again that, if they had had the opportunity, they would have been alright paying higher pension and insurance contributions. That isn’t even an issue so please stop relying on that one note. It is about the ability to assemble as an organized work force.
You also conveniently continue to ignore the Wisconsin surplus Walker divested into tax cuts for businesses. Teachers did not bankrupt the state so please stop repeating this moot point.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Will: There’s enough insulting posts on here w/o your immaturity
David Jay commented:
I think this is how leftist trolls work…one (OnWisconsin ) plays the “voice of reason” while the other (Will) spews out the insults and the venom. I’ve often wondered if the people Soros and Obama employ to do this work take turns at being the different voices of leftism. Sadly for them, they only strengthen our resolve to take our country back from those who employ them.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@David Jay: Am I the reasonable one now? Man, I get more compliments from you! Yeah, I am trolling, I admit it but I thought we were having a good talk.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
Well if the left wins and the economy goes down the toilet, I know whose fridge to rob for food because they won’t be packin’.
Chisum commented:
You also conveniently continue to ignore the Wisconsin surplus Walker divested into tax cuts for businesses. Teachers did not bankrupt the state so please stop repeating this moot point.
Wizzy,
You are wrong.
From PolitiFact no less:
http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/feb/18/rachel-maddow/rachel-maddow-says-wisconsin-track-have-budget-sur/
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
From PolitiFact no less:
I would never thought Rachel Beiber would lie to us ?——I’m shocked
Chisum commented:
And Rachel is a Rhodes scholar donchaknow.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
and gee Sgt Shlitz lied too
http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/feb/17/ed-schultz/talk-show-host-ed-schultz-says-wisconsin-state-emp/
David Jay commented:
“@David Jay: How many bad teachers do you think there are? ”
Too many. Sadly we’ll never know the real answer because of the stranglehold the unions have on the education system.
“taxes pay for stadiums that host games I can never afford ”
Still doesn’t make sense to compare teachers to baseball players…still a strawman argument.
“How many wars have my taxes paid for?”
Ah ha, the old Leftist moan…”Why do we have a military when teachers are slaving their lives away working in underfunded schools…blah, blah”
“It is about the ability to assemble as an organized work force.”
No it’s about unions forcing members to pay to further the union’s political ambitions and to keep the graft flowing to the Dems. Surprised you haven’t said “it’s for the children” yet…or were you saving that for later ?
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
Wasn’t Billybob Clinton a Rhodes scholar ?
Chisum commented:
MSNBC wonders why their ratings are in the crapper.
And remember, Fox lies. Fox makes things up.
Bwahahahaha.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Chisum: Wow – thanks for that. Just goes to show you have to be critical of your sources!
I’ll just have to resort to name-calling!
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
President Obama and the DNC are supporting unrest against legal legislative processes in Wisconsin >
http://floppingaces.net/2011/02/19/the-ugly-american/
David Jay commented:
“Am I the reasonable one now? ”
No, you pretend you’re the “voice of reason” (see the quote marks ?) which means you come on like a regular citizen (proud mother, father, union member – whatever) while Will gets to say what he (you) really think of the majority of Americans who have had it with the old union-Dem politician con game.
As for your trolling…it’s your time you’re wasting (the pay can’t be that good) and if anything it makes people think that Gateway Pundit is really on fire right now because he is getting so many comments. So, either way, you lose.
OnWisconsin! commented:
C’mon – you have to bring Bill Clinton up? Yeah he was a Rhodes – it basically means you made perfect grades. All news sources manipulate their productions, Fox News has a Republican slant and MSNBC leans opposite. MSNBC news is in the crapper because lefties like myself like to hang out on forums like this one to talk and learn!
OnWisconsin! commented:
@David Jay: I apologize if I’ve offended you but your posts are fluff and don’t contribute to the discussion at all. Your cut-and-paste commentary and “ditto-head” jargon exposes a mind-numbing inability to think for yourself. I have at least admitted my occasional misinformation and have been polite on your forum.
gus commented:
Attention On Wisconsin and other Libtard morons.
A professional baseball player who makes 10 million a year. Pays more than 5 million dollars a year to various TAXING AUTHORITIES.
How much do you losers pay????????
Chisum commented:
I’ll just have to resort to name-calling!
===================================
I think you’ve already jumped that shark.
Teabaggers and lemmings aren’t names?
OnWisconsin! commented:
Eureka! Will and David Jay are the same person!
David Jay commented:
Legal Insurrection blog has a further illustration of the Union-Dem con game and how it corrupts all those involved in it. Remember this is corruption financed by taxpayers who pay the wages of these liars…. Prof. Jacobson writes: Obamacare Starts Early In Madison – Free Sick Notes For Progressives! “We have seen the future of the health care system, and it is the doctors on the streets of Madison, Wisconsin, handing out free sick notes to public sector union members so they can fraudulently collect their pay for missing work. Boy, oh boy, I can’t wait for Obamacare. Politicized medicine, massive fraud in the name of progressive politics, and a callous disregard for the law free from fear of prosecution for those aligned with the Democrats.”
OnWisconsin! commented:
Nope – descriptors!
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
Look the bottom line is this in my opinion, BOTH parties are corrupted to the core and have strayed from the constitution. We can argue about who’s fault it is DEM vs REP , that’s what they want because sideshows like my hometown the Madcity keep us from focusing on the real problems. Most of these problems are really in my opinion “side effects” of straying from the founders vision and the constitution.
OnWisconsin! commented:
Baseball players take home 5 million for swinging a bat and you’re not pissed off at them? Good God man! Priorities!
Chisum commented:
Wizzy,
You’re really sounding more like Will. Are you 12, too.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Better: Absolutely! Both parties are horrible! But you know as well as I that America is a work in progress. It’s sad that we’re only limited to two choices isn’t it?
But the founders lived over 200 years ago! Our world is much, much smaller than it was then and we can have a hard enough time trying to interpret their beliefs without trying to pretend we know theirs. Regardless, the Constitution was written to be flexible with society but Jefferson, even though a genius, was not 100% right about everything!
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
Breakdown of union $$$$ to dems
http://dailycaller.com/2011/02/19/unions-fuel-democratic-party-financially/
David Jay commented:
“@David Jay: I apologize if I’ve offended you but your posts are fluff and don’t contribute to the discussion at all. ”
Boo hoo, I’m gonna cry me a river. Your contribution has been to parrot DNC and union talking points with no attempt to think for yourself. Spewing out the words and cliches of the left doesn’t seem to me to indicate much of an ability to think for yourself. You and your ilk have done your utmost to turn this country into a socialist hell-hole for the last fifty years and it’s precisely because people like myself and the other good people here have started thinking for ourselves that we finally have you on the run.
OnWisconsin! commented:
happily I am much older than 12…Chizzy.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
OnWisconsin!
Take a good read of the Emergency powers act of 1933 and all of the executive orders since Lincoln and you will see I think where I’m coming from when I say corrupted. Yeah kinda weird isnt it that third pary victories are a rare event……..
OnWisconsin! commented:
Whups – my battery is dying. Thanks for the fun everyone.
Except you David Jay, you’re just a bitch. j/k
David Jay commented:
“It’s sad that we’re only limited to two choices isn’t it?”
Surprising that you should say that as most of your type favor the one party state (didn’t you get the memo ? )
David Jay commented:
“Except you David Jay, you’re just a bitch.”
Glad I struck a nerve.
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Better: I’ll look that up tomorrow, thanks. Money, like power, corrupts. That’s why unions are worth having around because they at least TRY to balance out corporate power/$$ with people power/$$. (Emphasis on “try” but it’s a helluva lot better than big business right?)
OnWisconsin! commented:
@David Jay: Don’t flatter yourself, sir.
David Jay commented:
(Emphasis on “try” but it’s a helluva lot better than big business right?)
Yeah, because unions create so many jobs…I mean just look at California where the unions run the show…look how well they’re keeping the economy going.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
corporate power ? that aint real capitalism- these guys all go to the same country clubs – their all in the same beds. Union – corporate it is all a sham.
OnWisconsin! commented:
(Why didn’t you copy-and-paste the “j/k” and the
? Wait YOU”RE BIASED!
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Better: I’d throw churches in that bed too. It’s frustrating but not a sham. Like you’ve posted, the info is out there we just need to know where to look and how to read between the lines. I don’t think I’ll ever stop learning that. We are fortunate to be able to think about these things though.
OnWisconsin! commented:
“ever stop learning that”
I mean to say that it’s something I’m still learning how to do. There have been some really good points on this forum.
David Jay commented:
You’re right, BetterD3adthanR3d. Look at how Obama and GE are working together…GE are getting all kind of breaks from Obama that are giving them an unfair edge over their rivals and in return GE-owned NBC & MSNBC are backing the Dems. It’s “crony-capitalism” and it’s something the Tea Party is against.
David Jay commented:
“There have been some really good points on this forum.”
Yeah, what a shame you had to spoil it by coming on here and calling ordinary decent Americans “teabaggers” because you’re too ignorant to know better.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
OnWisconsin!
Ask yourself one question, if the unions and the dem party really stood for the little guy then why they are in bed with banksters and big corps ?. Look these guys are the same as you and me, they want all they can get. The difference is most of us are honest and have morals. Look @ the big shots in politics, the board rooms ,unions and every where else our ” betters ” are. Most of them are degenerates with no moral compass.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
I wonder if we all set a comments record today , 193 whew
Practical Jane commented:
It doesn’t matter if no Tea Partiers showed up today. They showed up in November, and that’s all that counts.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
More photos of Mad city
http://therealrevo.com/blog/?p=40689
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10297889@N08/sets/72157626090990464/
David Jay commented:
Good point, Practical Jane. This is supposed to be about Democracy not mob rule or about the fact that the Unions and Obama’s networks can get busloads of the usual suspects on to the streets whenever they’re upset about anything.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
OnWisconsin!. >>>>>>>>> have a look
The top contributers to the Barack Obama presidential campaign:
University of California $1,591,395…George Soros $27,000,000 to the University
Goldman Sachs $994,795……………George Soros owns Goldman
Harvard University $854,747……….George Soros all meetings at Kenedy Law Center
Microsoft Corp $833,617……………George Soros, Bill & Melinda Gates
Google Inc $803,436………………..George Soros, Arianna Huffington, Charlie Rose
Citigroup Inc $701,290…………….. George Soros 296,900 shares x $1,000
JPMorgan Chase & Co $695,132……George Soros 2.6 million shares $114,900,000
Time Warner $590,084……………..George Soros 2.6 million shares $ unknown
Sidley Austin LLP $588,598…………George Soros, Open Society, Michelle Obama
Stanford University $586,557…….. George Soros $50,000,000 ask for match $200,000,000
National Amusements Inc $551,683..George Soros, Viacom, CBS, Disney
UBS AG $543,219…………………..George Soros, Robert Wolf, Barack Obama….see below
Wilmerhale Llp $542,618……………George Soros, Wilhemer Law Firm….see below
Skadden, Arps $530,839…………..George Soros, Dominic Gregory Hong Kong office
IBM Corp $528,822………………..George Soros porfolio Soros Fund Management
Columbia University $528,302……..George Soros private dinner at Columbia University
Morgan Stanley $514,881………….George Soros, Stanley Druckenmiller…see below
General Electric $499,130………….George Soros 12,502 shares as of 6-10-2010 $16.54 p/s
US Government $494,820………….George Soros, see below
Latham & Watkins $493,835……….George Soros, Nicole Baker, see below
Lehman Brothers $370,524…………George Soros, Soros Fund Management, see below
Moveon.org $347,463………………George Soros
Jones Day $289,476………………..George Soros, see below
University of Chicago $278,885…….George Soros, see below
Soros Fund Management $61,605….George Soros
BP $2,890,000………………………George Soros, $638,000 more from individuals.
Friends of George Soros:
Amnesty International USA
The Brennan Center for Justice
The Carter Center, Human Rights Program
The Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, New York University, School of Law
Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas, UC Davis
The Center for Victims of Torture
The Constitution Project
Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley
Human Rights First
Human Rights Watch
International Center for Transitional Justice
International Justice Network
The Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
National Institute of Military Justice
National Religious Campaign Against Torture
The Open Society Institute
Physicians for Human Rights
The Rutherford Institute
Glenn M. Renwick CEO Progressive Insurance, Warren Buffet CEO Geico Insurance have close ties to George Soros.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
post # 198
yeah those ” evil right wing big companies ” need a balance huh
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
just want to see 200
gus commented:
ON WISCONSIN made a very poignant post recently.
He pissed and moaned like the LIBTARD COMMIE MARXIST STATIST he is, about how much BASEBALL PLAYERS are paid.
I pointed out that a 10 million dollar a year BASEBALL STAR, pays far more than 5 million in taxes.
The LIBTARD replied that I should be “PISSED”, that a BASEBALL PLAYER would be paid that amount for “hitting a ball”.
This type of RETARDED LIBTARD LOGIC is our problem. LIBTARDS want to DECIDE….who makes HOW MUCH and how much they get to keep.
THESE FUKKTARDS ARE INSANE. They have ZERO CONCEPT of ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES, and further, they don’t care if the NATION IS BANKRUPT, just so long as THEY get to control the GOVERNMENT.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
Gus
I think they want the country to go under, I really think they belive that they can get a marxist country that way.
BS61 commented:
I can see by the number of comments that I wasn’t the only one excited to see this!
Fran commented:
I was there and ALL the numbers I see here are grossly inflated or underestimated. Take your pick, but if there were a shortage of Tea Party participants (and there really wasn’t), it could be because of this Caig’s List posting: http://rebelpundit.com/2011/02/18/disgusting-barak-obamas-ofaseiu-calls-to-bloody-the-tea-party-in-madison/ Would you want to go into a threat like that? I chose to.
Another issue I haven’t seen mentioned here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjFbMDp5Pg8&feature=player_embedded Sick, my you-know-what!
gus commented:
Better. The GOONIONS and COMMIES, are good at suckering the NAIVE. They are predators.
GOONIONS are already COMMIES. But they haven’t thought it thru to fruition.
TRUMPKA is a fat LIBTARD UNIONS CLOWN. He doesn’t care about anything, but his INCOME.
We need to realize that these COMMIES have NO PROBLEM screwing you, me or America.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
Fran if that CL thing is real than we have true THUG sitting in the oval office. I was kid when Nixon was prez but I think Sotero has gone beyond even him when it comes to criminality.
Fran commented:
I just had another thought. Before you criticize me for that, know that I left home Saturday morning at 4:30 to go to Madison and it is now 2:40 Sunday morning.
For those who claim that there were about 100 people, or a couple of handsful, look at those pictures folks. Count ‘em!
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
There is now way I would hate on someone for not wanting to show up where a bunch of thugs are swirling around. That craigslist thing really bothers me , to think that those who surrond the President want to incite violence. Something like that can spin out of control.
Fran commented:
The Craig’s List ad was posted all over FaceBook (and heaven only knows where else) Friday evening. Yet the thugs will be sure to point out the difference in numbers of attendants. I’ll be perfectly honest, I knew about this Friday evening and when I saw busload after busload as we were driving to the Capitol, even this intrepid spirit was more than a little nervous about having to cross a street with parading protesters (about 15 people wide)…especially knowing about the Craig’s List ad.
BetterD3adthanR3d commented:
You know, back when Nixon sowed his fate the Republicans went to him and told him to get out. We have a president now who routinely pushes his base to commit acts of violence out in the open. I don’t think the Dems will tell him get out. The left is out numbered and if they incite violence and it spreads to the point where center, right of center and non aligned folks say enough and push back……… well it could be ugly. I just can’t understand a President sinking to this level, me running my mouth about beating hippies, well I’m not the president.
Be careful Fran .. I grew up in the Mad City and the union guys can be crazy.
LimoLibsStink commented:
0bama:
Ah crap! My Purple Glow Medicine Show is being run out of Madison and into a hole. We need more Purple shirts and Purple Weenies! Stat!
I promise by the end of the day Doctor Dean will be their giving free wedgies and school absence excuse notes to all! Paper is cheap!
And, that is not all! Doc Dean will be giving out plenty medicinal marijuana and KY lube! Don’t let those Taxpayers get you down let Doc Dean bring you around! He is Metrosexual!
My Limousine will be leading a convoy of Purple P!ss Parade floats to the capital. We shall shaft those school students and Taxpayers like Barney Frank in a bung hole. Good Day.
AncestralYuba commented:
Just…freakin’…AWESOME!!!
Deekaman commented:
I was there yesterday to support governor Walker. Crowd estimates are tough to make at best and this one even more so because of the crossing between the two groups. That said, we were clearly outnumbered on the order of 3-4 to one. The 15,000 number is probably high and the “100″ number is ridiculously low; I had 100 within 10 feet of me.
But the big difference was in the signs. The Left had not only the most hateful, but most ridiculous signs. One homemade sign infiltrating our crowd said, “Millionaires for Walkercare”. WTF does that mean? And this whole, “Paid for by the Koch Brothers” idea is equally ridiculous. I’m waiting for my check then, I suppose. No shortage of Hitler signs. Conservative Girl has probably the worst one.
http://912member.blogspot.com/2011/02/yeah-these-are-people-i-want-teaching.html
I was able to engage a teacher, but he wouldn’t budge telling me that they were willing to make concessions. I wondered where those concessions were when my school board was asking for them 6 months ago. And this isn’t even about the teachers. It’s about state employees. You would think that Walker was going to strip the public and private sector unions of everything – workplace protections, pay and benefits, strip them naked and force them to work shoveling snow from around the Capitol.
Many signs had statements like, “Care for teachers as they care for your child”. THE TEACHERS WHO TOOK OFF “SICK” FOR THREE DAYS!?!?!?!?!. Others said, “Stop the attack on working families”. Dude….I work and you are bleeding me white. Public sector union employees don’t understand that they are net tax “receivers”, not payers. We are their employers. And there is not entitlement to more pay just because one has two Masters Degrees. Something a Madison teacher with two Masters Degrees was unable to comprehend.
In all, peaceful.
Andreas K. commented:
OnWisconsin
You lost all credibility (what little you had) after this one: “The “real producers” I think you refer to had a free ride fro 8 years and bankrupted the country.”
You’re apparently too dumb to understand how an economy works and how far back the problems with the country’s bankcrupcy go. Who spent the money? Obama. Who approved Bush’s bailout? The Hill. Who had the majority on the Hill back then? The Democrats.
Why those hundreds, thousands of home foreclosures? Because the democrats forced banks to hand out loans and mortgages to everyone back under Clinton. The democrats thought that everybody should be able to buy a house. Ignore the fact that such an idea completely violates every single principle of capitalism and common sense. And that idea goes back to Carter himself. Two democrats.
You think 8 years is enough to bankrupt a country? Are you totally stupid? The left in Germany has been working on it for 40 years. Now the German welfare state eats up almost 50% of the country’s annual budget. It’s like that in many other EU countries and the so called “conservatives” don’t care either.
This “social justice” crap is ruining countries. The entitlement generation will put all of us into the poorhouse.
Heck, why do you think Greece collapsed? Decades of wasteful spending, an out of control welfare state.
dt commented:
to all Tea Party & 912 Groups
http://michellemalkin.com/2011/02/20/get-ready-seius-purple-army-nationwide-protest-schedule-teachers-unions-pressure-members-to-show-solidarity/
Get ready: SEIU’s Purple Army nationwide protest schedule; teachers’ unions pressure members to show “solidarity”
By Michelle Malkin • February 20, 2011 12:54 AM
Attention, taxpayers and Tea Party activists. The Purple Army is coming to your town. Don’t let these Big Labor goons monopolize the protest square like they monopolize government workers.
Here’s there current schedule over the next four days nationwide via the SEIU website. All hands on deck:
2/21 – Helena, MT
2/21 – Carson City, NV
2/21 – Raleigh, NC
2/21 – Austin, TX
2/21 – Madison, WI
2/22 – Sacramento, CA
2/22 – Denver, CO
2/22 – Des Moines, IA
2/22 – Annapolis, MD
2/22 – Boston, MA
2/22 – Springfield, MA
2/22 – St. Paul, MN
2/22 – Santa Fe, NM
2/22 – Columbus OH
2/22 – Providence, RI
2/22 – Montpelier, VT
2/22 – Madison, WI
2/23 – Hartford, CT
2/23 – Atlanta, GA
2/23 – Scranton, PA
2/24 – Canton, OH
Here’s a list of events coming up in your state this week. The list will continue to grow, probably by the hour, so keep checking back in. Use the sign-up form to the right and one of our organizers will be in touch with more information about the event.
Events on Monday February 21, 2011 (All times local)
Montana
Rally
Time: 2 P.M.
Location: Montana State Capitol
Address: 1301 East 6th Avenue – Helena, Montana
Nevada
Rally
Time: 12 P.M.
Location: Nevada State Capitol
Address: 101 North Carson Street – Carson City, NV 89701
North Carolina
Rally
Time: 12 P.M. Location:
Address: 1 East Edenton Street – Raleigh, NC 27601
Texas
Candlelight March and Vigil
Time: 6:45 P.M.
Location: Meet at TX AFL-CIO
Address: 1106 Lavaca St. – Austin, TX. 78701
Wisconsin
Rally
Time: All Day
Location: State Capitol
Address: 2 East Main Street – Madison, WI. 53702
Events on Tuesday February 22, 2011 (All times local)
California
Vigil
Time: 5:30 P.M.
Location: State Capitol West Steps
Address: 1315 10th Street – Sacramento, CA 95814
Colorado
Rally
Time: 12:00 P.M.
Location: Colorado State Capitol
Address: 200 East Colfax Avenue (West Steps) – Denver, CO. 80203
Iowa
Rally
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Iowa State Capitol
Address: 1007 East Grand Avenue – Des Moines, IA
Maryland
Rally
Time: 12:00 PM
Location: Lawyers’ Mall, Maryland State House
Address: 100 State Circle – Annapolis, MD. 21401
Massachusetts
Rally
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: State House
Address: 1 Ashburton Pl – Boston, MA 02108
Massachusetts
Rally
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: City Hall Steps
Address: 36 Court Street – Springfield, MA 01103
Minnesota
Rally
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: Minnesota State Capitol
Address: 75 Constitution Ave – St. Paul, MN 55101
Ohio
Rally
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Capitol Building
Address: 1395 Dublin Rd – Columbus, OH 43215
New Mexico
Rally
Time: 12:15 PM
Location: East Side of the State House
Address: 490 Old Santa Fe Trl # 219 – Santa Fe, NM 87501
Rhode Island
Rally
Time: 4:30 PM
Location: Rhode Island State House
Address: 90 Smith St – Providence, RI 02903
Vermont
Rally
Time: 12:00 PM
Location: Vermont State Capitol Building
Address: 115 State Street – Montpelier, VT. 05602
Wisconsin
Rally
Time: All Day
Location: State Capitol
Address: 2 East Main Street – Madison, WI. 53702
Events on Wednesday February 23, 2011 (All times local)
Connecticut
Rally
Time: 12:00 PM
Location: State Capitol Building, West Steps
Address: 210 Capitol Avenue – Hartford, CT. 06106
Georgia
Rally
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: State Capitol Building
Address: 206 Washington St – Atlanta, GA, 30334
Pennsylvania
Rally
Time: 12:00 PM
Location: Lackawana Court House
Address: 200 Adams Avenue – Scranton, PA 18503
Events on Thursday February 24, 2011 (All times local)
Ohio
Protest against Governor Kasich
Time: 4:00 PM
Location: Canton Civic Center
Address: 1101 Market Ave N. – Canton, Oh 44702
***
In Wisconsin, SEIU president Mary Kay Henry, Andy Stern’s successor, will drop in for a mob pep talk and Democrat canvassing.
***
Over the past week, I’ve been sharing e-mails from public school teachers — compulsory union members — who are disgusted by their Big Labor bosses’ power-preservation attempts.
Another educator in Pennsylvania shared the note the teachers’ union there sent out to members orchestrating “solidarity” events:
Members, Please wear red Tuesday to show solidarity with Wisconsin teachers!
Speak up for workers’ rights
Show your support:
Wear red on Tuesday, Feb. 22
Sign the online petition supporting workers’ rights.
Print “We Are One” stickers to share with your colleagues.
(Avery Labels #5164)
*
Join Wisconsin employees’ solidarity vigil on Facebook.
ACTION NEEDED – The right to bargain is under attack
Dear PSEA Member,
On Tuesday, February 22, make a small but important gesture to help your colleagues across the nation. PLEASE WEAR SOMETHING RED TO WORK. As I write this e-mail, education employees and other public employees in Wisconsin and Ohio are being threatened with losing their right to collectively bargain. Many years of hard fought gains may be wiped out with a single vote in their legislatures.
Wisconsin: Governor Scott Walker is proposing to wipe away decades of collective bargaining for teachers, support staff, and other public workers in Wisconsin. The right to organize, the right to bargain health insurance or prep time, the right to have a voice in the profession – all of those things and more are under attack in Walker’s budget bill.
Ohio: Sen. Shannon Jones revealed the language of Senate Bill 5, a bill that will have a significant impact on public employees. SB5 eliminates collective bargaining for state employees, police officers, fire fighters and employees of higher education institutions, and significantly undermines collective bargaining for K-12 employees.
What would happen if you didn’t have a union to bargain your salary and benefits?
* What would your salary be?
* How much would you be paying for health insurance?
* Would you have a pension?
PSEA members are beginning to ask how they can show their support for their colleagues in Wisconsin and Ohio and to demonstrate their support for unions having the right to collectively bargain.
Here are two things you can do to show your support for the right to collectively bargain:
1. Show your support by wearing red on Tuesday Feb. 22. Take pictures at your work site and send them to PSEA Communications or share them on PSEA’s Facebook page. Call your colleagues to make sure they know about wearing red on Tuesday. Our theme is, “We Are One.”
Airon Later commented:
There’s so much about this post that makes me laugh I don’t know where to start…………..
tommy mc donnell commented:
i wonder if the leftists will ever realize that the “evil corporations” are owned by millions upon millions of americans. yes americans whose retirement systems and savings and IRA’s and 401k’s are invesed in the stock market. even those protesting teachers in madison,wi. now if you want to talk about the people in the boardrooms i would daresay there is an awful lot of liberals judging by the way they adopt every bit of leftist PC crap that comes down the pike. they probably learned to do that when they got their educations at the “BIG THREE” business schools in america: harvard, stanford, and the wharton school at penn. three of the most leftist schools in america.
Luke commented:
Fight the Power, just make sure it’s the right Power your fighting… Yahwh is alieve , Wake to the real /truth, all this has been … listen and decide for yourself !!! power 2 the rightous !!!
http://fightthe.podomatic.com/
Cnation commented:
Christ almighty Jim, is there anything you won’t attempt to sensationalize or blow out of proportion?
Perhaps you should try excercising a little discretion from time to time in deciding what needs to be shouted from the rooftops. If the ratio of tea partiers (us) to them was anything like you say, then we got slaughtered on this one in terms of physical representation. A beating like this in an arena that we were winning without even showing up is something we didn’t need, or need to publicize.
As a former band mate used to say to a girl we knew who wouldn’t shut her mouth, ever, “sometimes it’s the space between the notes…”
Joel commented:
Let the teachers pay their fair share….stand strong against the few!
squeaky commented:
[Rep. Gary Hebl (D), a strong supporter of the demonstrators, warns that Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal would be “devastating to the people of Wisconsin.”
Madison, Wisc. — From his second-floor office at the state Capitol, Rep. Gary Hebl (D) watches thousands of public service workers, teachers and other union members marching to protest a bill designed to take away important collective bargaining rights. If he could shout down from his window, he says, he would tell the demonstrators] i wonder if the hiding out by the dem politicos helps them keep a bit of plausible deniability? a no fingerprint strategy of sorts.
http://www.afscme.org/publications/34205.cfm
GrayRider commented:
Yes, the Tea Party’s response was a huge and resounding success!
Ed commented:
public employees are said to be part of civil service…it’s laughable since public unions are neither civil nor interested in serving!
it’s time for unions to get their hands out of taxpayers hands! it’s bad enough that government has their hands in that pocket, it’s getting way to crowded with the unions sticking their greedy hands in there too!
bust the unions! if employees are good performers, unions are not needed!
squeaky commented:
“public employees are said to be part of civil service” sacred cows – they don’t exactly have to knock themselves out for your business when they’re the only game in town. when there’s no competition, they don’t have to work longer and harder to gain your loyalty and business.
and then there’s this video of what happens when voting machines are delivered to a place that isn’t used for voting………..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NuLVvVb4oc
squeaky commented:
[Unions are required by law to file annual “LM-2” financial reports with the United States Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS). According to a review of the disclosure database on the OLMS website, there were 102 union employees and officers in Illinois who grossed over $150,000 in base salary for fiscal year 2008.] someone earlier this week posted the salaries of top union officals. this is from 2009 for illinois.
http://www.illinoispolicy.org/blog/blog.asp?ArticleSource=1855
Ge0ffrey commented:
It’s “you couldn’t HEAR,” not “you couldn’t HERE.” Good grief.
squeaky commented:
[Richard Trumka and soon-to-depart Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andrew Stern operated as virtual White House lobbyists to shape the final package, which the House of Representatives passed..]
http://www.nlpc.org/stories/2011/01/11/top-ten-union-corruption-stories-year
mg4us commented:
Kudos to the Tea Party Patriots who showed up!!! Remember, behind every one Tea Partier stands a whole lot more conservatives who have REAL responsibilities and who cannot just show up and protest. .but one thing you CAN COUNT on them to do. .and that is to SHOW UP AND VOTE!
Why do you think the left democRAT machine, unions and commies are running scared. . .because they know this. So does the lame stream media, that is why they twist the news and omit real reporting. . .
But keep this in mind, Walker was elected in this so called “liberal” state even though he clearly stated what he planned to do. . and so did the Republicans gain control of both chambers of the WI State legislature. .but most of all, Russ Feingold. . .one of the most liberal US Senators, lost by a big margin after so many years in the Senate!!!
The left knows that the voters have turned the tide and no longer believe all the answers need the government. . . And they are Taxed Enough Already (TEA Party)!!
And what Scares the unions and O-buma the most is that, based on their recent voting, the State of Wisconsin may vote Republican/Conservative in 2012. . . in 2008, many conservatives sat home rather than vote for RINO McLame (McCain) even though we love Palin! (Had Conservatives come out in their historical numbers, Obama would have lost!!)
So if conservative and right-leaning voters don’t stay home in 2012 and pull another Feingold upset, there goes Wisconsin’s electoral votes . . . away from O-buma!
And if Walker does what he says and enacts the bill and improves the State’s budget and economy, so to will other Republican Governors (recall the tidal wave of Republicans and Conservatives voted into office during 2010 election!!) and there goes the White House. Maybe even the Senate!
The one other thing O-buma and the left also fear is if these Republican Governors lead a drive in their states to require valid documentation (ie a real birth certificate) to be on the 2012 Presidential ballot for their state.
So Gov Walker, after you pass this bill, change the rules to getting on the WI ballot! Payback time for the most divisive President in our US history.
GrayRider commented:
TEACHERS IN WISCONSIN MAKE MORE THAN TWICE THE PER CAPITA INCOME OF THEIR FELLOW WISCONSINITES
http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2011/02/teachers-in-wisconsin-make-more-than.html
squeaky commented:
[In a memo released on Monday, AFL-CIO political director Karen Ackerman notes that the union group boasts the “largest political mobilization operation in the country” -- second only to the political parties.]
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2010/10/union-official-says-labor-could-make-the-difference-in-key-races.html
GrayRider commented:
Walker’s proposal would limit collective bargaining power and reform public employee benefit plans. For the first time, state employees would be responsible for making a 5.8 percent contribution into their pension plans and pick up the tab for 12 percent of their health care benefits. As it currently stands, Wisconsin taxpayers bear 100 percent of the costs.
The average teacher in Milwaukee — including benefits — has a salary a total compensation in excess of $100,000. This salary annual compensation package is one half the average sale price ($200,000) for a home in Madison, Wisconsin. The average salary in Wisconsin overall is less than $60,000. To summarize, Wisconsin teachers, who are state employees receiving their income from taxpayers, get higher pay and far better benefits than many of their taxpayer employers.
Walker’s budget removes the special privileges that give government unions their outsize influence. His plan allows workers to quit their union without losing their job. He requires unions to demonstrate their support through an annual secret-ballot vote. He also ends the unfair taxpayer subsidy to union fundraising: The state and local government would stop collecting union dues with their payroll systems.
http://rightwingnews.com/2011/02/thoughts-about-the-wisconsin-teachers-union/
Judyann J commented:
Will (etal), unable to debate with intelligence, you immediately turn to insults and outrageous assertions. BTW dear, “reading instructions is required to enter” … the correct wording would be: “instructions ARE required to enter” the use of “is” appropriate by removing the word “instructions.” Just saying…………….
squeaky commented:
[SEIU has said it wants to organize bank tellers and call centers -- and its critics point out that a great way to worsen employee morale, thereby making workers more susceptible to union calls, is to batter a bank's image through protest. (SEIU officials say their anti-Wall Street campaign has nothing to do with their organizing efforts.) Complicating this picture is the fact that BofA is the union's lender of choice -- and SEIU, suffering financially, owes the bank nearly $4 million in interest and fees. Bank of America declined comment on the loans.] hmmmm? while this has nothing to do with wisconsin it is union orientated. a little of the old mob “protection” racket maybe?
http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/19/news/companies/SEIU_Bank_of_America_protest.fortune/
Judyann J commented:
There is typically under-reporting of the #s of Tea Party activists so I do not expect anything different here.
BUT I AM CALLING FOR A NATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY by every Tea Party group, nation wide. There are millions of us, with millions more who agree with us. Despite the Left have bigger mouths and a large, friendly platform in the leftist MSM, we do, in fact, SURROUND THEM.
Wisconsin is just their warm up, they are planning this for nearly every other state facing bankruptsy. We need to take the lead with a day of solidarity with those governors who, unlike Obama, must take the hard but necessary steps to save their states.
Ed commented:
the unions in Chicago gave me a valuable lesson before I got laid off from my previous job.
a white board was delivered to our offices and I told my boss that I would hang it and get it done in 15 minutes. my boss said he can not allow me to do that since chicago is a union city and we need to have the union contractors in the building hang it.
I called the carpenters and they said – “we can hang that quickly…but, only after the electricians check the wall.”
I called the electricians and they said – “we can check the wall and ensure that the carpenters won’t harm any electrical circuits behind it….but, only after the plumbers check it out.”
I called the plumbers and they said – “we can check and ensure that no plumbing will be harmed…but, the two senior plumbers are on a job in the 10th floor which will take the whole day…I can’t do it since I am not allowed yet (an apprentice)…it’s a friday, so we can’t get to your work order until Monday.”
it took 72 hours and about a thousand dollars to hang a freaking white board! why in the world would anyone think that unions are good for the economy and promotes efficiency???
bust the unions! their the ultimate dinosaurs in the modern economy.
bg commented:
++
via AJ-E
Ideologies clash in Wisconsin
[While the bill's opponents marched counter-clockwise around the state
Capitol, chanting "Kill the bill," supporters countered with "Recall them
all," referring to Democratic state senators who fled to Illinois to deny
Republicans the quorum needed to consider the proposal.
Wisconsin is the flashpoint for a US struggle over efforts to roll
back pay, benefits and bargaining rights of government workers.
If the majority of Republicans prevail, other US states
could be emboldened to take on the powerful unions.
John Nichols, a political writer for The Nation magazine, told Al Jazeera:
"The governor can't be missing the dominant reality of the capital.
"These demonstrations have grown so large that it's no longer a question
of whether or not the governor will back down but he'll resist as much as
he can. Meanwhile, the workers themselves say they'll keep protesting for
as long as needs be," Nichols said.
[..]
Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, estimates the state budget deficit
for the rest of this fiscal year at $137 million and for the next two fiscal
years under its biannual budget at $3.3 billion.
He wants state workers to increase contributions to pensions to 5.8 per
cent of salary and double contributions to health insurance premiums to
12.6 per cent.
The proposal would limit collective bargaining to the issue of wages and cap
increases to the rate of inflation, with a voter referendum needed for bigger
increases.
It also would end government collection of union dues, allow workers to opt
out of unions, and require unions to hold recertification votes every year.
Walker said the alternative is to lay off more than 10,000 public employees.]
==
bg commented:
++
re: #238
[At least 55,000 demonstrators have taken to the streets of Madison, the
capital of the US state of Wisconsin, where supporters of legislation to
reduce public employee union bargaining power were outnumbered by their
opponents.
[..]
“These demonstrations have grown so large that it’s no longer a question
of whether or not the governor will back down but he’ll resist as much as
he can.]
KEEP IT GROWING WI!!
==
bg commented:
++
re: #239
KEEP IT GROWING WI TP!!
==
mg4us commented:
Here is a link to ballot requirements. . .
Other States looking at this too
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=229373
No Man commented:
I have a dream.
In six months, God willing, Governor Walker will tell a meeting of Wisconsin taxpayers, “We have buried the putrid corpse of big gov union thuggery.”
markcon commented:
#184 February 20, 2011 at 1:32 am
OnWisconsin! commented:
@Better: I’ll look that up tomorrow, thanks. Money, like power, corrupts. That’s why unions are worth having around because they at least TRY to balance out corporate power/$$ with people power/$$. (Emphasis on “try” but it’s a helluva lot better than big business right?)
-
hmm but money in union bosses hands doesnt corrupt??? crony capitalism is not conservative or teaparty agenda. you argument would be better if you was a union member and conservative– what you fail to realize is that “small government” would solve all problems. besides unions have made themselves obsolete by codifying workers rights into law- not needed anymore- thats why they have become an arm of the dems pol machine. I love teachers— you eliist think that 30 to 50k is not good pay– most people I know would kill for it- especially with 3 months off and benefits worth most peoples jobs–
squeaky commented:
i think geico has an ad [atleast radio] where the voice actor breaks the bad news – there’s no money tree or pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
markcon commented:
not going to sit here all day- arguing- one final note– these teachers are the ones who shape our kids thoughts and inform them of or past- we are a republic founded on individual responsibility and above all else liberty. big gov and central planning is the opposite but yet that is what pays for teacher livelihood-thats incompatible.
NOT TOO MENTION THEY ARE RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH SOCIALIST AND COMMUNIST AND I HAVE NOT HEARD ONE TEACHER COMPLAIN OR EXPRESS RESENTMENT ABOUT THE MARXIST CO-OPTING THEIR PROTEST, OR TELLING THEM TO LEAVE.
squeaky commented:
[Rule #1 of financial freedom is spending less than you earn. If you can’t do that, you’ll never be financially successful no matter how hard you work, how many hours you put in, how many promotions you receive, or how much money you make.]
http://www.accumulatingmoney.com/top-10-reasons-people-spend-more-than-they-earn/
[Since government services are paid for through the compulsion of taxes, they have no market price. But without market prices, we have no way of knowing the importance that free people would place on those services versus other things they want]
http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/real-jobs-create-wealth/
David commented:
15,000? That’s an exaggeration if I ever heard one. You folks should be ashamed of yourselves supporting the idea of ridding this country of unions. When I worked for a union we worked with people in all walks of the political spectrum, not just your feared liberals. These employees are not asking for money, but to retain their collective bargaining rights. That’s not asking a whole lot, and it is something that you could be involved in rather than fighting to take away from your fellow Americans.
Ed commented:
Unions are no better than parasites….it will take more and more of its host until the host dies or it dies or get cut off.
unions takes away competition and promotes laziness. unions protect the unproductive and forces employees to produce less while demanding more pay. that’s a fact.
it’s time to get rid of unions.
∅ commented:
And you should be ashamed of yourself for misrepresenting the collective bargaining rights in question. They still retain their right to negotiate salary. The problem is with the neverending increase in benefits that are unsustainable for the state to remain fiscally balanced. If the state is unable to meet its obligations, all benefits will continue to decrease until the coverage is meaningless. Enjoy the yearly strikes with regard to public education, transportation, etc.—it’s a sure electoral winner.
And quit the “shaming” bs, it doesn’t work anymore. If you don’t like what’s posted, go elsewhere. It’s still a free country.
GrayRider commented:
There should be no unionizing of workers in the public sector/government. Any work stoppage/strike shuts down government functions. That must not be allowed as government is the representative agency of all the people and serves all the people of the state/nation. The people pay their taxes in order to have an operating functional government. Anything less is a total taxpayer rip off. The taxpayers are the employer of the public sector.
The liberal icon FDR had this one stance right…there should be no unions operating in the public sector.
∅ commented:
GrayRider, yeah they always leave that part out about FDR. It’s just like leaving out that Cesar Chavez was against “illegal” immigration.
Dave-O commented:
The filthy, sexually crude, lewd, vile and putrid pejoratives used by libtard posters such as Will and OnWisconsin in comments above are absolutely sick, cretinous and repulsive. Until people such as Will and OnWisconsin can clean up their act and agree to disagree using civil discourse, they absolutely have zero credibility and only serve to hurt the cause they purport to espouse. I need to go take a shower after reading that filth.
Ed commented:
a friend works at Chicago’s Metra Rail system…it’s the Chicago metropolitan commuter rail service. it is supposedly an independent for profit commuter train service but it’s been sucking up a lot of government aid in all years of its existence.
Metra is a unionized entity (it’s Illinois, they are all unionized shops). here’s a day in the life of a union mechanic that works in Metra (my friend told me this when he got hired there):
1) they punch in and finish their coffee at the shop for a half hour to an hour.
after lunch, they stand around and shoot the breeze.
2) they check work orders and discuss what they’ll work on for the day.
3) they divvy up the work orders.
4) they go to their respective train cars and get their tools ready.
5) they go on coffee break!
6) they go back to the rail cars and work for an hour.
7) they go to lunch!
9) they go back to their respective rail cars and work for about an hour.
10) they gather up the tools and go home!
total hours work on rail cars – about two to three hours. when my brother asked the guy that was assigned to “train” him if they actually finish a work order within a day he was told “we make more money this way!”
unions are a total waste of taxpayer money. they promote laziness and forces workers to produce less. by producing less at Metra, they force management to issue overtime work for more pay. then they wonder why Metra is always in the red, year after year. their CEO just recently commited suicide, mired in his own corruption scandal.
Ann Cohen commented:
If this happens in New York this will make Wisconin look like kid stuff. Everyting thing is biger in New York,wilder in New York, more insane in New York and louder in New York. New York is the Empierer sate. Tea Party be for warned!
squeaky commented:
[In a recent press conference, Education Secretary Arne Duncan warned that if the economic stimulus bill did not pass, up to 600,000 education workers could lose their jobs as states face enormous budget shortfalls. But Steve Stanek of The Heartland Institute argues that the bill should not have included the allotted $87 billion for education.] the teachers have benefitted from the stimulus – probably more so than the private sector employee and when the well ran dry they bellied back up to uncle sam’s bar. public sector jobs don’t create a product that can be sold and taxed.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=423020
squeaky commented:
[That wisdom is getting an update this week from a study by the Empire Center for New York State Policy that shows middle-class people leaving the state in droves.
Between 2000 and 2008, the Empire State had a net domestic outflow of more than 1.5 million, the biggest exodus of any state, with most hailing from New York City. The departures also have perilous budget consequences, since they tend to include residents who are better off than those arriving. Statewide, departing families have income levels 13% higher than those moving in, while in New York County (home of Manhattan) the differential was even more severe. Those moving elsewhere had an average income of $93,264, some 28% higher than the $72,726 earned by those coming in.
In 2006 alone, that swap meant the state lost $4.3 billion in taxpayer income]
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703574604574499772371161800.html
PW of the TEA party commented:
Please correct headline about the relative numbers. I was there with about 10k Walker supporters. The union thugs and useful idiots of the left outnumbered us by maybe 5 to 1.
GrayRider commented:
The average salary for an Milwaukee Public School teacher is $56,500. This amount is more than double the city’s average salary. More than the city’s median income. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the per capital income in Milwaukee from 2006 to 2008 was just over $19,000. Median family income was almost $43,000. The cost of a teacher, plus benefits, will be $100,005 in fiscal 2011. One might argue that Milwaukee’s nearly 7,000 teachers and educational assistants are entitled to their generous salary/benefit packages. After all, “educators” in Wisconsin “care for your child.” Afterall “it’s all about the children.” If so, then why this: Of students in grade 10, only 41% are proficient or advanced in reading, and 28% are proficient or advanced in math. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x2N4bDmzdc&feature=player_embedded#at=118
Robert commented:
#255 Ann Cohen
If this happens in New York this will make Wisconin look like kid stuff. Everyting thing is biger in New York,wilder in New York, more insane in New York and louder in New York. New York is the Empierer sate. Tea Party be for warned!
We can only hope. I suppose any protest would also include the Goons of the Snow Removal Division who also committed a work slowdown/stoppage against the taxpaying people of New York last month. And the media coverage would show everyone yet more GOONION (courtesy gus…) greed on display and disdain for the taxpayers, along with a lack of consideration for the public debt.
Bring. It. On.
Robert commented:
I wonder if New York also has governmental pay agencies deduct GOONION dues from paychecks and then forward the money to GOONIONS, therefore acting as the collection agency for the GOONIONS.
Said money is them cycled through fat GOONION bosses and then to Democrat political puppets, who in turn legislate yet more money and benefits for the GOONION members in opposition to the interests of both parties’ true employers, who happen to be the taxpaying citizens.
Ed commented:
Unions in Illinois killing competition and promoting waste in government contracts:
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/special_report/illinois-department-labor-prevailing-wages-20100916
By Mark Saxenmeyer, FOX Chicago News
Chicago – A number of small businesses could soon be forced to close shop in Illinois. Why? Because, get a load of this, the labor department says the boss can’t take a pay cut.
We’ve learned the state’s cracking down on contractors who choose not to pay themselves the set rate — better known as the prevailing wage.
If you’re ever searching for an electrician, all you need to know is this about Frank Vavra: ’I’m a hard-working son of a gun.’
But these days, this small business owner says he’s being bullied by a big government agency, the Illinois Department of Labor.
Essentially, what the government’s doing is fining Vavra for not paying himself enough.
’This is highway robbery. If they want to shut me down, do this. If they want to shut other people down, keep doing this,’ Vavra said.
’I could have run this business into the ground by paying myself a big wage,’ he explained. ’’I had to cut back on everything in life. I’ve got a little garden, a pond, some cats, and a grandson. I mean — that’s it.’
The dispute centers around the job he did at a new community center in Granwood Park near Gurnee.
A contract he won worth$57,000.
Because it was a public works project, Vavra would have had to pay anybody he hired what’s called the prevailing wage, which in this case was about $65 an hour.
But since he and his wife — the co-owners of Vavra Electric — did all the labor, they agreed not to pay themselves $65 an hour. Instead, they decided the only honest way to avoid going over-budget was to pay themselves $20 an hour and invest whatever’s left in the business.
’All of the sudden I get this letter in the mail that says my wages are being audited and I need to turn in my certified payroll,’ Vavra said.
What the Labor Department determined was Frank and Patricia must write a check to themselves for more than $35,000 because they did not pay the prevailing wages.
And while they’re at it, they must pay another $7,000 to the state in penalties and punitive damages — basically, bankrupting the company.
Attorney Jeff Risch is checking into Vavra’s case.
He argues the Labor Department is making a major mistake because prevailing wage laws apply only to the employee, not the employer.
From what he’s seen, the state’s mandate could possibly be illegal.
’For the State of Illinois to come in and dictate the terms and conditions, methods and manner of a business owner paying themselves is ridiculous,’ Risch said. ’’I think there are constitutional questions here. I think it violates wage hour law.’
Some Chicago small business owners are equally appalled.
Lee Hogan, owner of Miss Lee’s Good Food on the South Side, said what Vavra did is the only way to survive.
’I think it’s wrong (what the Labor Department did),’ said Hogan. ’’I see what’s left or what I can afford to take out for myself, but my bills have to get paid.’
Same goes for Patrick Brower, co-owner of Challenger Comics on Western Avenue.
’It’s 100 percent pay the bills for the company first and whatever’s left can go to the two owners,’ Brower said.
But Vavra’s far from the only one being audited.
Brett and Regina Muscat didn’t pay themselves prevailing wages when they won the contract to paint a windmill owned by the Kane County Forest Preserve.
’We would have lost money, easily lost money,’ Regina explained.
Now, they’re concerned an investigation by the Labor Department is the state’s way of trying to rub out mom and pop operations like theirs.
’It’s kind of like you’re being pushed out of the ballgame,’ Brett said.
We’d love to ask the Labor Department if this is true but spokeswoman Anjali Julka told us it will not do any interviews.
In a string of e-mails, she did write, “Anyone who works on a public works construction project must be paid the applicable prevailing wage — regardless of their status (as employee… or contractor).”
You can bet Vavra’s not backing down. Even after receiving a final notice to pay up within 10 business days.
’I’m pissed off,’ he said.
If he does have to go to court, he has a message for the government: ’I’m a man of honor, I speak off the cuff’ you cage me up and I’m a go getter right to this day.’
Owners not paying themselves prevailing wages on public works projects is nothing new.
What’s really changed this year is the government’s attitude.
Why? First, the unions can no longer afford to lose jobs in this economy so they’re putting more pressure on the Labor Department.
And second, we’ve been told the state is so cash-strapped, it’s looking for any way possible to nickel and dime some additional revenue.
===================================================
Unions are parasites. they promote laziness and kill off competition. Unions force employees to be less productive and demand higher wages for less work. it’s time to end unions.
Ed commented:
Union coddled by Chicago and Illinois democrats caused major waste and corruption:
http://theunionlabelblog.com/2010/01/12/unions-and-corruption-plague-chicagos-convention-business/
Unions and Corruption Plague Chicago’s Convention Business
Chicago’s McCormick Place convention center is one of the largest convention halls in the world. With a total of 2,670,000 square feet of exhibition space and clocking in at a building cost of nearly one billion dollars it had better be one of the biggest, after all Chicago does do things big. Sadly that includes big corruption and unfortunately that corruption is turning “the city that works” into the city that lost its jobs.
This week Chicago’s Mayor Richard “King” Daley railed against the conditions that have made Chicago’s convention business a wreck these days. Along with Governor Pat Quinn, Daley has unveiled new work rules that would prevent unions from striking and would change union policies so that the high, high costs of bringing a convention to Chicago might come down.
Naturally, Daley was too weak-kneed to assign the blame where it mostly belongs: unions. Even as all his fixes center on alterations in union operations, Daley refused to say this is mostly the fault of the overweening and costly unions.
======================================
In Chicago’s McCormick Place convention center, if you’re “lucky” enough to host a convention there, you can’t even plug into a socket without paying a union electrician’s bloated hourly rate to do it for you!
Ed commented:
Union corruption in New York:
http://www.thelaborers.net/lexisnexis/articles/scandals_affirm_new_york_as_union.htm
The leader of the janitors’ union, Gus Bevona, for example, was pushed out because his parent union, the Service Employees International Union, was angry about his $450,000 salary and extravagant penthouse. Stanley Hill, the longtime executive director of District Council 37, which represents 120,000 city workers, was forced out in December by his parent union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, because dissidents had discovered evidence of what they said was extensive corruption and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office was expanding its investigation into suspected kickbacks, embezzlement and vote fraud.
In the last two years, the former president of the carpenters’ union in New York City was convicted of stealing more than $50,000, while numerous teamsters officials have been expelled for ties to organized crime. The former president of the transit police union was convicted in June of taking kickbacks, and two members of the Lucchese crime family have pleaded guilty to the 1990 murder of a mob rival who ran a painters’ union local. And two weeks ago, Federal prosecutors obtained a three-year extension of their four-year-old trusteeship of the 13,000-member Mason Tenders District Council, which represents construction workers. Union officials, prosecutors said, wasted or stole more than $50 million from the union’s benefit fund.
Government officials say such examples explain why the United States Department of Labor and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have placed more racketeering investigators in New York than in any other city. Although other cities may have extensive corruption in two or three unions — in Chicago, it is the teamsters, hotel workers and laborers — in New York, there have been deep-seated problems in many unions, including those involving the carpenters, government employees, ironworkers, longshoremen, mason tenders, painters, plumbers, service employees and teamsters.
A confluence of factors — historic, demographic, economic and political — has made New York the mother lode of union corruption. Those factors include the city’s entrenched Mafia presence, its huge construction industry, many immigrant workers and the juxtaposition of muscular unions and small, vulnerable businesses.
For New Yorkers, the price of union corruption has been high. For example, it has raised costs to erect a building, to exhibit at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and to hire private garbage haulers.
For labor leaders, there is concern that all the corruption is souring the public on unions and eclipsing the positive developments that point to a rebirth of labor. Those developments include last year’s 100,000 increase in union membership nationwide, labor’s successes in electing union-friendly candidates to Congress last November and the continuing campaigns to unionize hotel maids, home health aides and doctors around the country.
“The high-profile episodes of corruption and skulduggery in New York and elsewhere are unquestionably hurting efforts to revive the labor movement,” said Nelson Lichtenstein, a University of Virginia labor historian.
One symbol of labor’s decay in New York is that Plumbers Local 2, famed for giving a start to George Meany, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. president from 1955 to 1979, was disgraced in 1996, when its leaders pleaded guilty to extorting nearly $1 million in bribes to arrange sweetheart contracts.
New York’s labor leaders say there is far less corruption, especially the heavy-duty variety like extortion and beatings, than in the days of the film “On the Waterfront,” during the 1950′s, largely because of persistent efforts by district attorneys and Federal prosecutors. City labor leaders say that New York has some of the nation’s most honest and respected unions, like the United Federation of Teachers and 1199, the National Health and Human Service Employees Union.
But Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union — the man who put Mr. Bevona’s Local 32B-32J into trusteeship this month — complained that the excesses and crimes of New York unions often made the public overlook the good things about labor.
Mr. Stern boasted, for instance, that last year, 1199, a Service Employees International affiliate, negotiated the best contract for hospital workers in the nation’s history. “But compared to what happened with Local 32B-32J, that kind of success gets overwhelmed,” he said.
Although Mr. Bevona has not been accused of any crimes, the union movement has been acutely embarrassed by his unusual salary, his luxurious penthouse and the $1.5 million he received in severance pay and unused vacation.
Despite the long roster of wrongdoing, many union officials say that as a result of all the trusteeships and oversight, New York labor may be at a turning point and may end up more honest and vigorous.
“I’m very optimistic about the city’s labor movement right now,” said Henry Tamarin, president of a once-corrupt New York local of restaurant workers, which has been cleaned up and transformed into a model of aggressive union organizing. “There’s a lot of new leadership, and there’s really an opportunity to turn things around, to do more organizing, to get more involved in politics in a way we haven’t seen for years.”
Any analyst of New York’s unions points, of course, to the Mafia as a major factor behind labor corruption, especially in the many teamster locals that have been involved in kickbacks, shakedowns and embezzlement. For example, before Teamsters Local 282 was placed into trusteeship in 1995, prosecutors showed that it was controlled by John J. Gotti’s crime family. The 4,000-member local, whose members deliver building materials, often threatened slowdowns to extort money from building contractors, for whom delays could cost millions of dollars, prosecutors said.
Other factors have also fueled New York’s labor corruption. Unlike Detroit and Pittsburgh, which were long dominated by large companies in a single industry, New York’s economy is characterized by tens of thousands of small businesses, desperate to outlast the competition. This industrial structure has enabled some unions to extort money from these businesses or to offer sweetheart deals in exchange for payoffs.
Lois Gray, a Cornell labor relations professor, said: “Small companies in highly competitive industries are much more tempted to buy their way through a labor problem. It would be hard for G.M. to do that. They’re too much in the public eye.”
The city’s work force is also made up in large part of immigrants, who often do not know their rights and are too insecure to challenge dishonest union leaders. And because many New York unions are composed primarily of one ethnic group, members often feel they would betray their group if they ratted on venal leaders.
Some labor experts say another factor feeding corruption is that unions contribute millions of dollars to city and state politicians, helping make government officials less aggressive in investigating unions and passing strict laws to regulate them.
“Public employee unions are cash cows at election time,” said Mark Rosenthal, president of a motor vehicle operators’ local, who had a major role in unearthing corruption at District Council 37. “They feel they can keep Democratic and Republican politicians off their backs. They felt untouchable because of that.”
In many national unions, the New York locals are the biggest units by far. As a result, leaders of the parent unions are often loath to pressure wayward New York locals to stop cutting corners for fear that the those locals will fight against their re-election.
Many members of District Council 37 fault the parent union for waiting until December to put the council into trusteeship even though the Manhattan District Attorney had long been investigating allegations of kickbacks, embezzlement and vote fraud. The president of the local in the council that represents 25,000 cafeteria workers and crossing guards has already been ousted because a union panel found he misappropriated more than $1.5 million, while other officials have acknowledged rigging the council’s 1996 contract ratification vote.
“Parent unions have often been very slow to act,” said Carl Biers, executive director of the Association for Union Democracy, a Brooklyn-based group. “In many unions, there is great reluctance to recognize that corruption is a problem.”
==============================================
unions are no better than parasites!
Ed commented:
Top Ten Union Corruption stories:
http://www.nlpc.org/stories/2010/01/13/top-ten-union-corruption-stories-year
“We spent a fortune to elect Barack Obama – $60.7 million to be exact – and we’re proud of it,” Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andrew Stern proclaimed last year. Now he and other labor leaders want a full return on their investment. “A full return,” more than anything else, means getting Congress, the executive branch and the courts to transform labor law and policy into vehicles for a massive expansion of union membership and bargaining power. That goal surely would have been realized were it not for dogged and principled opposition. The 2008 presidential and congressional elections provided a rare opportunity for organized labor to lead a coalition for a radical economic and political shift. The Treasury Department’s strong-arming of General Motors and Chrysler into allowing the United Auto Workers to own a sizable stake in each company testifies to the power of organized labor with close friends in the White House.
Unions in 2009 could count on help from radical nonprofit groups, the most of visible and threatening being the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN. This New Orleans-based nationwide network, implicated in a variety of illegal schemes including voter registration fraud, embezzlement and other offenses, is now under investigation by the federal government and at least a dozen states. In the case of the SEIU, support has been more than moral; the union’s Locals 100 and 880 from the start have been ACORN subsidiaries. Don’t expect the current administration to express too much concern – as a Chicago lawyer in the mid Nineties, Barack Obama represented ACORN in an Illinois case whose outcome ultimately enabled the group to engage in voter-registration fraud this decade. And as U.S. president, he made sure to hire a political director, Patrick Gaspard, who has a lengthy history of involvement with ACORN and SEIU.
The past year saw unions ramping up efforts to obtain passage of the misnamed and coercive Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). The Democrats had shelved the bill following a successful Senate Republican filibuster in 2007, but revived it this year. A much smaller GOP opposition this time around thus far has blocked passage – barely. The measure would force employers to accept the results of union organizing drives generating signatures from at least 50 percent of nonunion workers indicating a willingness to join. Yet even with this “card check” feature deleted from the bill, EFCA’s forced-arbitration mechanisms would place the federal government in the role of union partisan in ways that defy economics and very likely the U.S. Constitution. Unions at the start of the year already had scored a key triumph, securing the nomination and approval of Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor. Solis, who had been a four-term U.S. Representative from California, admitted when first elected in 2000, “I would not be here were it not for my friends in the labor movement.” As head of DOL she showed her loyalties early on, rolling back Bush-era rule changes requiring greater detail in union financial reporting. Thanks to her and top aides, corruption may be harder to detect and prosecute.
Even without government favoritism, unions on occasion went beyond the call of duty to consolidate their power. Here, too, the SEIU proved a leader, placing a 150,000-member health and home care affiliate in California under trusteeship and hiring a private security good squad to spy on opponents. The union also likely may have pressured the Obama administration into holding up nearly $7 billion in fiscal stimulus money to California in retaliation for that state’s failure to reverse a scheduled wage cut affecting unionized home care employees. The AFL-CIO also showed renewed aggression. At the labor federation’s convention in Pittsburgh this September, longtime President John Sweeney handed over his gavel to Richard Trumka, the ex-United Mine Workers president who had served as his secretary-treasurer for the previous 14 years. Trumka back in the Nineties, as UMW president and immediate past president, had displayed a disturbing willingness to excuse and even incite acts of union criminal violence.
Financial corruption was a major presence on the radar screen in 2009. Long-plagued unions such as Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 (Queens, N.Y.) and International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825 (Northern New Jersey) each witnessed a raft of guilty pleas by members and associates involved in scams. Michael Forde, the ethically-challenged chieftain of the New York City District Council of Carpenters and Joiners, was indicted for taking around $1 million in bribes from contractors in return for helping them avoid making contributions to union benefit funds. Benefit fraud, in fact, by far accounted for the biggest scandals. Union-run fiduciaries in Upstate New York are trying to figure out how to recover immense sums of labor funds stolen by now-imprisoned swindler extraordinaire Bernard Madoff via professionally-managed “feeder funds.” Carpenters Local 747 alone lost anywhere from $100 million to $150 million, while Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 267 found itself missing as much as $48 million. In a separate case, a Chicago-based money manager, John Orecchio, ripped off or otherwise mismanaged anywhere from $24 million to $60 million from union benefit plans, mainly in the Detroit area. And in perhaps the largest case of internal union fraud ever (and certainly in a solo capacity), benefits consultant Melissa King stole an alleged $42 million over some six years from accounts of New York City’s Laborers Local 147, the fabled “Sandhogs.” Due diligence by fiduciaries must have been on vacation.
Even in absence of fraud, union benefit funds would be in trouble. The year 2009 saw the release and/or publicity of several reports revealing major shortfalls in union-sponsored defined-benefit pension plans. Across a wide range of industries, these plans are unlikely to fully cover their long-term liabilities and might well fall into the hands of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. While some of the problems were reversed during the recent stock market surge, the reality remains that pension underfunding long has been chronic. Lawmakers in Washington, D.C. have taken notice. Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., has introduced a bill to subsidize failing multiemployer union plans and impose major burdens on employers. Some might call that a bailout; others might call it corruption. Whatever one’s definitions of corruption, here are the 10 cases that mattered most:
10) Reports conclude EFCA is gift to unions. Organized labor put passage of the Employee Free Choice Act at the top of its “to-do” list. It’s no small wonder. The measure’s “card check” and compulsory arbitration provisions could have been scripted by the unions themselves. The House, this past year as in 2007, passed the measure by a comfortable margin. The Senate, in a slow-motion GOP-led filibuster, is taking its time. Opponents might want to read a few studies released during the past year showing the bill’s unmistakable union tilt. One, authored by University of Chicago law professor Richard Epstein, argues that EFCA would not pass constitutional muster. Another, by California-based consultant Anne Layne-Farrar, estimated a loss of 1.5 million in new jobs. Yet another, prepared by the Workforce Fairness Institute, estimates the law would trigger an extra $1.75 billion in union political spending during its first decade.
9) New York City contractor, consultant sentenced for scams. During the Nineties and the early part of this decade, a Queens, N.Y. contracting firm, AFC Enterprises, defrauded two locals of the Operating Engineers International Union, various utility companies and the City of New York out of a combined $10 million. The principals in the case – Andrew Catapano, John Mikuszewski and John Ruggiero – received their belated just deserts in Brooklyn federal court this past summer.
7) SEIU browbeats California health and home care local. For the last few years, the Service Employees International Union under the leadership of Andrew Stern has been waging a nonstop campaign to centralize decision-making and suppress dissent. The biggest troublemaker, in Stern’s eyes, has been United Healthcare Workers-West, a 150,000-strong local representing health and home care workers throughout California. The SEIU campaign took a nasty turn when it replaced local leadership, and the local promptly seceded and formed a new organization. It got nastier still when the international union hired a renowned union-busting security firm, OSO Group Ltd., to conduct surveillance of UHW offices. That OSO months later sued SEIU for back payment for services is poetic justice.
6) Labor Department rescinds Bush-era union transparency rules. One of the best ways of identifying union corruption is investigating unexplained discrepancies on financial reporting forms submitted by union officials to the U.S. Department of Labor. The new DOL secretary, Hilda Solis, did her union supporters a major turn by rolling back rules finalized under Bush-era Secretary Elaine Chao to increase the level of detail in Forms LM-2 and LM-30. The unions always knew that Solis, a congresswoman from California, was one of their own.
5) Studies conclude union pension assets lag behind liabilities. The possibility that union members might not be able to fully collect their pension and other benefits isn’t fear-mongering. Beginning last December a raft of studies came out showing that defined-benefit pension shortfalls at more than a few national and local unions are very real and vulnerable to stock market downturns. Reports from St. Louis University, the Hudson Institute, Moody’s Investor’s Service and even the SEIU all concluded that various union pension funds were in trouble and in some cases in “critical” status. It’s going to take more than a stock market rally to ensure rank and file members receive all their promised benefits.
4) Service Employees union becomes an adjunct of the federal government. Several former key SEIU operatives found employment with the Obama administration, including the president’s own political director Patrick Gaspard. Union President Andrew Stern is counting on his allies to deliver the goods, lobbying the White House frequently to deliver victories on EFCA, universal health insurance and other legislation to socialize the U.S. economy. Stern also may well have pulled strings to withhold stimulus funds to California in retaliation for failing to rescind a scheduled wage cut of home care employees in that state. The union, the White House and ACORN form a virtual tripartate of hard-Left community activist political hardball gone national. Were Saul Alinsky still around, he would be smiling.
3) Benefits administrator in siphons off $42 million from NYC Sandhogs.
Melissa King until recently wasn’t a name that popped up on the union corruption radar screen. It is now. The longtime time benefits administrator for Laborers International Union of North America Local 147, the “Sandhogs” who dig New York City water, sewer and subway tunnels, was charged late in the year with systematically ripping off the union to the tune of $42 million. Ms. King had very expensive tastes. Union members will be footing the bill for a long time.
2) Upstate New York unions lose hundreds of millions to Madoff feeder funds. Bernard Madoff, now spending what probably will be the rest of his years in federal prison, stole anywhere from $50 billion to $65 billion from investors over the course of two or more decades. As much as $250 million of the missing money came from union benefit plans handled by professionally-managed “feeder” investment brokers. It may take years for the unions to get their money back – assuming they get it back. Fiduciaries appear less concerned with safety and soundness than with making a killing. If anyone dies young, it will be rank and file.
1) Obama Treasury Department arranges union stake in GM, Chrysler. This past spring, the Obama administration, acting through the Treasury Department, managed to pull off a coup unprecedented in American industry, forcing troubled General Motors and Chrysler into bankruptcy and swinging a deal granting the United Auto Workers respective 17.5 percent and 55 percent stakes in GM and Chrysler. Barack Obama during the 2008 campaign spoke of the need to form new partnerships. Organized labor, like it or not, is a lead partner.
(Dis)honorable mention. Atlanta federal jury rules that Carpenters regional union engaged in illegal secondary boycott; Richard Trumka, a man with a past, takes over as AFL-CIO president and vows new era of aggressive organizing; Chicago local police sergeants union president charged with stealing at least $600,000 and possibly $1 million; unsealed grand jury transcripts show supporters of late Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa plotted to kill federal agents in Nashville in 1962; scheme by former officials of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 in Queens, N.Y. results in guilty pleas; Locomotive Engineers national chieftain steps down following arrest for accepting bribes from lawyer; New York City Carpenters District President Michael Forde, several others indicted for racketeering; Brooklyn, N.Y. contractor Constantine Vafias, local Elevator Constructors and Operating Engineers members sentenced in federal court for massive kickbacks and money-laundering related to construction scams; AFSCME puts Local 2054 in New York City under trusteeship following losses of more than $1 million on bad investments and profligate spending; St. Louis-area Machinists official rips off $341,000 from union pension accounts; New Jersey Carpenters regional business agent with taste for strip joints indicted for embezzlement.
Auntie Em commented:
#37 February 19, 2011 at 11:14 pm
OnWisconsin! commented:
You’d be incorrect in assuming I have a degree friend.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Well, I wasn’t incorrect. It was clear to me that you are a blithering idiot and your points are all mute and cardboard cutouts from Organizing for America (sic). You support unions…why? They are the poor man’s “Goldman-Sachs”. They are using you and profitting off of your ignorance. They are worse than any of your imagined private sector warloards. They tell you when you can eat and where you can poop.
Good dog biscuit for you.
Stay in your simpleton dog house and get out of the way, mongrel.
AnnaS commented:
I have a PhD AND life experience and sense enough to know we are losing this country to entitlements and unions! Time to tighten our belts-and not just those of us who pay the bills!
Rob commented:
Perhaps a recall petition is in order for the democrats who are refusing to do their jobs. Are they being paid during this dereliction?
TheRomo commented:
It’s great that people come on and insult others (teabagger and such stupid comments) Seems to me the leftist idiots have their panties in a wad. And rightfully so!! If their claims of only 100 people are true and they get their heads up their ass this far, imagine what they will do when 1000 show up. Maybe we get lucky and a few of these butt heads commit suicide. Come on people. Let’s put enough Tea Party members together to make them say there was 1000. Wouldn’t That be awesome?
Ella commented:
#253 Ed – you do know that they refer to themselves as “honest and hardworking”, right? Good grief.
Mitch the Biatch commented:
If these comments dont portend a Civil War in America I don’t know what will. The Productive vs the Losers in CW2. Who is gonna win? My bet is on the Tea Party. We out number you 10 to 1, we are armed, and you Marxists are all very, very stupid.
Ed commented:
#272
yup, they are “honest and hardworking” parasites in America! LOL! unions are soooo obsolete.
Gov. Walker should suggest a compromise and simply put a referendum to vote out unions in the public sector…people of wisconsin will surely vote out unions in a landslide.
ray reynolds commented:
Far more commenters here than Teapartiers in Madison.
Nina commented:
Uh…I know reality is a difficult concept for you teabaggers but, this article is just another outright lie. No surprise there. All independent estimates were between 4000 & 7500. Teabaggers bussed in with funds from Koch corporation were outnumbered 15 to 1. The blindness of you sheep would be HILARIOUS if it wasn’t SO pathetic.
MsZardi commented:
Guy in Ohio commented
“Who cares how many protesters were where today? It’s the vote that counts. We won in November, and elected these people to get this job done.”
Apply the above to every Tea Party protest of the last two years.
chicken sockpuppet commented:
OnWisconsin,
If unions are so great for American workers, why did union-owned and controlled GM open an engine manufacturing plant in Mexico and hire 300 Mexicans instead of building it in Detroit and hiring 300 Americans?
Why did the Wisconsin teachers union say they would rather have less teachers and keep their existing benefits is teacher unions are good for our children?
Ed commented:
how do you baffle liberals??? ask them to balance a budget!
MsZardi commented:
“Why did the Wisconsin teachers union say they would rather have less teachers and keep their existing benefits is teacher unions are good for our children?”
They DIDN’T say that. They are willing to take fewer benefits, pay more for their health care coverage, etc. What they are fighting for is their right to collective bargaining.
MsZardi commented:
How do you screw up a budget with a surplus? Have a conservative like Walker give huge tax breaks to corporations, resulting in a budget shortfall that you can use to demonize your state’s public workers.
Ed commented:
Wisconsin teacher unions demands for – VIAGRA!!!!
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/06/despite-budget-cuts-layoff-fears-milwaukee-teachers-fight-taxpayer-funded/?test=latestnews
The union has asked a judge to order the school board to again include Pfizer Inc.’s erectile dysfunction drug and similar pills in its health insurance plans.
The filing is the latest in a two-year legal campaign in which the union has argued, so far unsuccessfully, that the board’s policy of excluding erectile dysfunction drugs discriminates against male employees. The union says Viagra, Cialis, Levitra and others are necessary treatment for “an exclusively gender-related condition.”
But lawyers for the school board say the drugs were excluded in 2005 to save money, and there is no discrimination because they are used primarily for recreational sex and not out of medical necessity.
The filing last month comes as the union, the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, is also protesting hundreds of layoff notices issued to teachers for the coming school year. Citing a “financial crisis” caused by exploding benefit costs and revenue shortfalls, the district’s outgoing superintendent proposed laying off 682 employees in April.
=============================================
so much for the unions being fiscally responsible!
Harold commented:
I was a union divisional steward for almost 13 years when I worked at Firestone Tire and Rubber. I had a good paying job and really good bennies. Our wonderful union negotiated us out of our jobs!!!!! I was part of the negotiating teams for the last two contracts. So, I do know how things worked.
How good was the union? 7 north American plants shut down and moved to Mexico.
1500 people in our local plant lost their jobs. Thanks to the fools that think the unions are for the workers.
OnWisconsin! you are one of those. Please stop sending our jobs to other countries.
Ed commented:
When Republicans gain majority in the Senate and win the WH in 2012, let’s petition to bring back the National Right to Work Act, S.370 and end the unions once and for all!
Chisum commented:
#283 February 20, 2011 at 12:51 pm (Edit)
MsZardi commented:
How do you screw up a budget with a surplus? Have a conservative like Walker give huge tax breaks to corporations, resulting in a budget shortfall that you can use to demonize your state’s public workers.
==========================================================
WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!
Get your facts straight.
From PolitiFact no less:
http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/feb/18/rachel-maddow/rachel-maddow-says-wisconsin-track-have-budget-sur/
bg commented:
++
thanks for all the info Ed, i’m betting there’s much more, unfortunately,
par their course however, none of it will get much notice via the MSM..
==
carol commented:
Why argue over the number of protesters…it is common knowledge that the non-union workers (who are paying the salaries of the union workers) are unable to take time off from work or sick days to go to protests. I found it inspiring that so many tea party patriots turned out on Saturday with a days notice, paid their own way, just to show support for Gov. Walker who is trying to fix a financial crisis in his state while the union workers protest for more “freebies” . I am proud that the tea party true Americans will stand together for what is right.
Ed commented:
bg, oh there’s tons more, it’ll take more than a full year to post all of the union corruption stories in our union besieged country! having lived in the Chicago area for years, i have tons of union abuse/corruption stories from friends, relatives, etc.
the best way to fix this is for the GOP to win the WH and the senate and put the National Right to Work act to a vote!
Ed commented:
I’m still waiting for the liberals here to explain how the Wisconsin teacher’s unions legal fight for free viagara (reported in 2010) would be a big advantage to Wisconsin Children’s education…..and how that demand is reasonable and within their rights to have that the taxpayers should find it within their wisdom and compassion to pay for.
I won’t hold my breath though…..
Calvin Dodge commented:
Hey, “OnWisconsin!”
“Wages” tell only 1/2 the story.
What’s the value of government pension plans, which typically allow earlier retirement AND higher amounts than the typical private pension? The government workers I’m familiar with (clerical, teacher) got to retire at 55, as compared to 65 for most private employees, or never for some others (like me).
What’s the value of government employee healthcare plans? I don’t know about accountants, but Wisconsin teachers pay nothing towards those plans. Scott Walker is saying “pay 1/8″. I have a great job right now, and I pay 1/4 of the monthly cost. At a previous job the proportion was 1/2.
What’s the value of job security? Teachers (and most other government workers) typically have great job security after they get tenure (usually after 3 years on the job). That has an actual financial value (which is why it’s OK for investors to make the big bucks, since they’re NOT guaranteed an income, and risk losing all of their investment).
Get back with us on THOSE numbers before you expect sympathy for the poor, downtrodden workers.
One more thing – since it’s the TEACHER’S union which is sending thousands of picketers to the state capital at taxpayer expense (in contrast to the Tea Partiers who didn’t), please tell us the average compensation (wages plus benefits) for a private school teacher in the Madison area (the average for government school teachers is 100k/year).
David Jay commented:
If we had a real objective mass media in this country – a media with the guts to show the vile Leftist signs on display in Madison – then the union thugs would become a national laughing stock overnight. That these lazy, over-paid, parasites have the incredible dumbness to equate Gov. Walker’s proposals with the Holocaust shows how out of touch these leftists really are.
David Jay commented:
“What they are fighting for is their right to collective bargaining.”
Rubbish…they are fighting to make ALL union members pay a political donation whether they want to or not. The reason the Unions are bussing in rent-a-mobs to Madison is because they know that their big con game with the Democrat politicians is finally under threat.
Chisum commented:
Wisconsin Shows Government Workers Unwilling To Sacrifice
http://strata-sphere.com/blog/index.php/archives/15946
David Jay commented:
From Pejman Yousefzadeh’s blog..
“Walker has been an open book as a politician. He has never tried to disguise his stance on the issues of the day, and if it can be said that “[u]nions have always been his piñata, over and over,” then one can hardly be taken by surprise by his stance on unions in general, or on public sector unions in particular.
And despite–or because of–this stance, the voters of Wisconsin elected him Governor in 2010, with a 6 point, 124,000-plus vote margin between himself and his opponent. Not a landslide, but not inconsequential either, especially given the fact that Walker has not shied away from stating clearly his public policy views. In doing so, the voters not only elected Walker, they endorsed his views, views he clearly articulated throughout his career in public life.
If Democrats want to oppose his views, that is their right, and their business. But it is one thing to oppose in good faith. It is quite another to ditch the state senate, the capital, and the state, in order to try to frustrate the democratic-republican process. This latter stance amounts to open defiance of the will of the voters. It seeks to frustrate government via temper tantrum. Here’s hoping that the voters of Wisconsin remember in 2014.”
Purple State commented:
If you’re assuming the bottom picture to be half of the tea-party crowd, GP, your math doesn’t add up. Twice that crowd in the last picture is not 15,000. Not even close.
But Glenn Beck would be proud of your estimation skills. Do you teach statistics at the Univeristy of I Don’t Remember What University It Is?
David Jay commented:
“Do you teach statistics at the Univeristy of I Don’t Remember What University It Is?”
At least he knows how to spell “University” . Nice try at humor, Purple State, but sadly a FAIL.
Ella commented:
Purple State – one more time, just for you. WE WON in November 2010. This bill WILL pass. We, the American People, are tired of all the public union extortion.
Nobody gives a crap how many patriots were able to make it Wisconsin yesterday with only 24 hours notice. We know with how many we are nationwide and we will take care of business next election in an ever bigger way than we did three months ago.
Antilies commented:
Stop lying. Fox already beat you to it.
Harv commented:
Gee.
What is Obama to do now? the DNC? Jesse?
And queen nan critized the ‘racist nazi t-baggers’ busting the unions she loves so ( but never lets them into her and hubbies businesses).
harv
Lancaster, Taxifornia
push 1 for english only in the USA.
viva Comprehensive Illegal Alien Drug Gang Reform Bill.
Ed commented:
when conservatives win the white house and the senate in 2012, you liberals will be hard pressed to get anything your way. fleabaggers can run and hide but they can’t stop the conservative ascendancy that is occurring in this country. the more Obama and his minions trample on the constitution, keep raising the deficit and debt to historical levels, and keep attacking duly elected state governors like Gov. Walker in order to advance his socialist agenda, the more americans will turn away from the democrats.
liberals can deny it, but it’s happening all over the country. democrat legislators are changing parties, joining the republicans en masse, democratic and RHINO incumbents declaring retirement, state legislatures being won by republicans, and unions’ power and influence being challenged by the people is just the beginning. in 2012, the country will turn the tide on Obama’s socialist agenda and his coddling of islamic extremism once and for all.
big government is coming into its obsolescence and thanks to Obama’s spending addiction the people are getting fed up of it and are taking action. only the most avid and blind liberals will remain loyal to the affirmative action president and you all will be defeated in 2012.
Interested Bystander commented:
Interesting that most of the walker supporters here are raging about “libtards” lying when there is at least one verifiable lie lie in this very article
“The AP today estimated that 70,000 protesters turned out in Madison today. If that number is accurate then at least 15,000 were Walker supporters.”
You see the link in the 70.000 number does not lead to the AP, it leasts to a British right wing newspapaer, the Daily Mail. The link, btw is http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1358675/Thousands-descend-Wisconsin-Capitol-fifth-day-protests-union-busting-cuts-Tea-Party-launches-counter-rally.html.
Now the interesting thing about this right wing newspaper is that the second paragraph coantainst the line “For the first time pro-union groups were joined by hundreds of pro-bill demonstrators…”
Hundreds.
That’s a LONG was from 15,000 which the writer of this article was claiming this articly that he linked to said.
As for the AP, the actual AP article the Daily mail cites said the tea party was outnumbered 30 to 1.
This article is a lie, and the proof of the lie was on the link this very article relied on for proof. And, if you think I’m lying, read the article yourself. Be self reliant.
Its kind of typical of these blogs… When things are not going your way, lie about it, and when called on it, keep lying.
Ed commented:
“When things are not going your way, lie about it, and when called on it, keep lying.”
that’s what Obama does…that’s his and always has been his strategy in anything he does.
Mogen David commented:
MADtown has always been a Commie town dating back to LaFollette. These Commies initiated the first state Income Tax, the first Unemployment Compensation law, the first Workmens Compensation law, Badger Care, and other stinking collectivist legislation. The City has a Rainwater tax like their Comrades in Minneapolis, and will do anything to push a Big Government Socialist/Communist government system. In 1961, there were “card carrying Communists on the Capital Times newspaper staff, as well as others on the faculty of the Univ. of Wisconsin. MAKE WISCONSIN A “RIGHT TO WORK” state NOW!!!!
Contessa61 commented:
ON WISCONSIN WROTE:
“My goodness – you’ve proven my point! I lived right near Merc in Fond du Lac and the workers struggled to keep their jobs there but they did! Merc was about to go to Mexico! And would that have been better for America? Unions work!”
Obviously, this liar doesn’t know jack!
I LIVE in Fond du Lac and Mecury Marine was NEVER talking about moving to Mexico.
They were going to move to some place in the SE of the country where the plant has NON-UNION workers.
Contessa61 commented:
ON WISCONSIN WROTE:
“There’s enough insulting posts on here w/o your immaturity”
KID, you don’t know what insulting is until you post something conservative on Huffpo.
I was there commented:
Don’t you know that teachers can only count to one hundred–that’s why they’re saying only 100 Walker supporters were there.
Jackie commented:
I was AT the Tea Party Rally in Madison on Saturday. Contrary to what others (On Wisconsin?) would have you believe, this number is accurate. There were MANY, MANY, MANY pro-Walker/pro-Wisconsin people there. There were also many pro-union people there.
But to his or her comment that there were just “a few hundred,” I have to ask who the heck taught him/her to count? Must be the product of a public school education.
MAM commented:
Gotta love the Tea Party Fairies…why do you so love being slaves to corporations? And by the way, thank a union member for being able to have off today…they fought for it…you got it hypocrites. BTW…why don’t you put your money where your mouth is and NEVER call a police officer, firefighter,EMT….yank your kids out of school and teach them your own damn self. Don’t EVER ask a nurse to assist you with anything. Take care of your own snow and trash removal. NEVER ride public transportation. Don’t fly on an aircraft. Don’t ride rail. Don’t take a cab. Don’t expect mail service. Don’t drive on Federal roads. Fact is, you like being misearable…enjoy it in all it’s splendor.
Craigmk1974 commented:
I think America has gotten sick of all the union greed that’s been going on over the years.. It’s about time someone stood up to these bullies.
Wisconsin JAY commented:
To anyone that has about 10 minutes to read this. The Economist, a Center Left Leaning magazine devoted to the Unions admits in this article they know thier time is up.
http://www.economist.com/realarticleid.cfm?redirect_id=17849199
Also, read about the first 100 or so entries on this website. The real fight in Wisconsin is over Collective Bargaining PRIVILEDGES granted by Law in 1959. Those priviledges, not rights are subject to change.
I think that if anyone ever actually looked up thier RIGHTS thier jaw would hit the ground when they read about what they dont have a right to do. But if the article above isnt enough to sway you. Heres a little quote from one of your Liberal gods. Even FDR knew you couldnt give the Public Sector the ability to bargain against itself. He’s either the Number 1 or 2 HACK LIBERAL CLOWN of all time and even he got it right.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
112 – Letter on the Resolution of Federation of Federal Employees Against Strikes in Federal Service.
August 16, 1937
All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management. The very nature and purposes of Government make it impossible for administrative officials to represent fully or to bind the employer in mutual discussions with Government employee organizations….Since their own services have to do with the functioning of the Government, a strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent on their part to prevent or obstruct the operations of Government until their demands are satisfied. Such action, looking toward the paralysis of Government by those who have sworn to support it, is unthinkable and intolerable.
atlantasouthpaw commented:
I don’t really know a lot about this situation, but I’ve been trying to learn more about Scott Walker. And I see he graduated from Delavan High School, but where did he graduate from college?
ogee commented:
These paid trolls are out in full force posing as multiple people who hate obama. This is a sneak preview for 2012. Oh and catch their talking points—-Koch brothers support Tea party—-
Nothing could be further from the truth. Do not respond to them and do not fall for their tricks and lies. They still think that if they say it long enough and loud enough it’ll make a lie the truth. LOL Stupid is as stupid does. And be careful. These commies will pose as conservatives just to distract us.
They can make up a whole pack of lies better than a 6 year old who did something bad and won’t admit it. Everything they say are lies. They have nothing invested except to collect their paycheck on Friday’s. Ask them to post their ‘script’ that they are working off of.
desperation from the left is getting severe. Don’t let them cause distractions.
dunce commented:
Conservatives and tea partiers do not call in sick to go riot so fewer people show up for greek style demonstrations.
atlantasouthpaw commented:
Does anyone know about where Scott Walker graduated from college? I can’t seem to find the info. I’ve been looking everywhere.
ogee commented:
And Jim, thanks for mentioning that Tea Partiers PAY THEIR OWN WAY TO RALLIES AND OTHERWISE.
Goooooo Governor Walker! Go Go Go. What a man what a mighty fine man.
Walker is de man!
atlantasouthpaw commented:
Does anyone know about where Scott Walker graduated from college? I can’t seem to find the info. I’ve been looking everywhere.
FoxNews lies about Wisconsin commented:
He actually dropped out from college. And to talk about the viagra nonsense is just avoiding the true debate. If any tea party-ers are willing to discuss the issues, all us against the bill would love to explain our positions but since all you have to say is that “we’re right and you’re wrong” nothing ever is accomplished.
bummed-tbagger commented:
this estimation is completely inaccurate. i was there and it looked like there were less than 1,000 tea party people, where was everybody? i tend to lean toward the tea party platform and was somewhat disappointed by our numbers. only 6 people took the afp bus from kenosha? what is going on people?
ogee commented:
And thanks for mentioning that behind every Tea Partier in attendance there are hundreds backing them and watching who couldn’t attend because RESPONSIBILITIES kept them away.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TEA PARTY. CHANGE IS ABOUT TO COME.
PRESERVE THE CONSTITUTION AND FREEDOM
Down with socialism/communism/islamism/fascism/marxism!
FoxNews lies about Wisconsin commented:
We have responsibilities too, we just have our priorities straight. Go solidarity!
ogee commented:
Careful for the POSERS who claim they are Tea Partiers. What they failed to realize is that we have our own language and all of their pretending is not working. We can smell you obots a mile away.
Obots are crawling out of the woodwork. IGNORE THEM!
Henry Tutor commented:
@Atlanta, Scott Walker didn’t graduate from college.
For the rest of you. I took some time on Saturday and counted the Walker supporters, since they were in a designated area, confined by orange barriers it was pretty easy. From my counting at 1pm, there were approx. 1,400 people in support. The picture you see above where is states, “Here’s a photo that shows about half of the tea party crowd today on the left side of the stage” that is not true- that is the entire crowd. If you care to notice on the right hand side of the picture, they are all looking towards the middle as well. If this was only half, everyone would be looking in the same direction and they are not. Sorry to tell you, but this was the crowd. For a Saturday I was shocked more didn’t show up!!!
OC commented:
15,000? No offense guys, I was there, and as much as I support the tea party, there were barely 3,000 of us… BARELY.
FoxNews lies about Wisconsin commented:
Ogee do you have anything to say to support your position or are you just going to keep emphasizing the fact that you support the tea party?
ogee commented:
obots are on the loose ignore them. They must be on 2nd shiift now. Payday is their motive.
DNC’s ‘Organizing for America’ (sic) is worrried and flush with obot money. Obot talking points abound…all for a paycheck on Friday from their local OfA PAC.
ogee commented:
Close this thread. It has been hijacked by obots.
Been at the capital for days commented:
This is the funniest article I have ever read. 15,000 – are you joking????? What rally was this guy at? The tea party had AT MOST 1,000-1,500 people show up and that is still saying too much. I’d have to say their sad turnout was pretty awesome. The population in Madison alone is around 208,000 and only a few hundred tea party-ers show up AND they had to bus in people from out of state.
Hopefully many tea party-ers even see how messed up it is to attack the teachers/labor workers/middle class. This isn’t about the state’s deficit, it is only about union busting. Good luck though, as you can see from the past week the unions are a family and will not allow this to happen. Nice try though, Scott Walker.
When the union’s inspiration through the workers’ blood shall run
There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun
Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one
But the union makes us strong
Solidarity forever, Solidarity forever
Solidarity forever, for the union makes us strong!
Craigmk1974 commented:
It’s time for the teachers to act like adults and get back to work. We pay them to teach, not to act like spoiled little children when they don’t get their way. In the real world, you don’t get everything you want. Everyone else in the real world learned that a long time ago. Teachers need to learn that too. Also, they need to realize that the taxpayer is their employer. For the common good, they need to chip in for their health care and retirement, just like us “regular” people do. We break our backs working to pay their salary and benefits, and it is never enough for them.
SturJen commented:
Check out “US Gov. Software Creates ‘Fake People’ on Social Networks to Pro” on Patriot Action Network.
That’s the real truth. As to how many were at the rally carrying pro_Walker signs..well there were many more than these liars are saying.
You see, I have proof. I have the photos that I took while standing there, listening to people like Dave Westlake, and Breitbart. Unlike the Lib Liars who feel the need to create fake people using Government resources, we do this on our own dime. We don’t need to create our constituents, they are REAL.
So run along now you pretty little liars. You will get yours soon. And when you’re in the gutter with your hand out, I will step aside and let you have all the ‘freedom’ you wish.
ogee commented:
That’s right fake people to create the illusion of general consensus is being created by Barry Soetoro’s administration.
Also, Paid Commies are lurking here on Jim’s site. (blink, blink)
Craigmk1974 commented:
What’s up with unions busing in people from all over the country to the Madison capitol? Sounds like they are trying to inflate their numbers and look more powerful then they really are. It’s hilarious that Obama his sending his union thugs. But I guess that’s what communist organizers do. Community organizers I mean. Heck, even Jesse Jackson is here. What does Jackson have to do with this?
ogee commented:
We gave you a shellacking in November Barry Soetoro and that’s a preview of what’s to come.
Down with greedy and controlling unions.
Jeff commented:
Why do the Dems feel that when there in charge, that thier vote is the only vote that counts, and when they are not in charge, they should be the only vote to count too?? Kinda like “whats mine is mine and whats yours in mine too” in love and marriage. Didnt the former Gov…. Uncle Jimmy, pass the budget bill on a Sunday in the middle of the night without notice and have about $1 Billion in taxation built in.???
Can you imaging if Gov Walker did this? That is not the true way its suppose to work…. but the Thugs are not having thier way and the Financial Gravy Train is Gone…..
friend of labor commented:
a lot more reliable sources put the actual teabag numbers significantly lower than this dubious 15k…they were also very subdued and reluctant to identify themselves in the face of workers’ staggering numbers.
like most school yard bullies, deep down , Teabaggers are just scared cowards.
anyway…Aren’t tea parties for little girls who have imaginary friends?
Dave commented:
This article is ridiculous. There were 1K Walker supporters and at least 50K Anti-bill demonstrators. Visual evidence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x0zq9OWvbE
You’re only seeing slightly less than half of the bill’s protesters. There are four streets on the square, and the 2 sides NOT visible were even more crowded.
its me commented:
This is funny. There were about 2,000 tea baggers at the rally. No where near 15,000. Also, somebody wrote that teachers get net 6,000 a month. Listen to Rusch a little more. I bring home just over 2,000 bucks a month as a 7th year teacher with a masters degree. Get it right folks.
Inspired Wisconsinite commented:
I am so annoyed to see this kind of blatant disregard for reporting the facts! I was ON the Capitol from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., working, and saw firsthand the crowds and then have seen multiple non-partisan estimates by the city administration and news coverage teams. 3,000 is the HIGHEST estimate for bill proponents (most say between 1 and 2,000) while 55,000 is the LOWEST estimate for bill opponents (most say near 70,000). PLEASE! I am all for democratic deliberating and presenting all sides of the issue, but sloppy and FALSE journalism is just unacceptable and un-American.
Dave commented:
Oh, and I would being caught red handed in this lie is much more embarrassing for the authors of this article, than it is for the “left.”
Rachel commented:
Just wanted to say a few things:
1. Sorry for commenting where I’m not wanted, but as an attendant of this rally, I can assure you that there were far fewer tea party members than this article reports. In reality they occupied small areas on the outskirts of the crowd. The area around the capitol was filled with those protesting against the bill.
2. I really don’t like the term “union thugs.” School teachers are not thugs, nurses are not thugs, the firefighters that protect all of us everyday are not thugs. They are respected members out community that we all rely on. That type of rhetoric is simply untrue and offensive.
3. Lastly, teachers are not protesting because they want more. The workers have agreed to take all necessary cuts. They are willing to contribute more to their healthcare, pay more for benefits, and take pay cuts. What they are not willing to do is have their right to collectively bargain infringed upon. If this bill is really about balancing the budget, and they have agreed to the necessary cuts, why must this right also be taken away. It seems to me that this can easily be resolved without that measure. It appears that the bill is really just intent on busting unions, not fixing the budget.
Alyson commented:
Hey everyone, tea party supporter here. I was at the rally on Saturday (I was invited to the event on Wednesday) and I was happy with the turnout. We had about 1,000 people on our side which is nearly equivalent with what the union protesters had on their first day of rallying. It would have been nice if people had stayed longer to make their point as I noticed most left as soon as our rally was over. I stuck around with my sign and no one from the opposing side tried to pick a fight with me. All in all it was a great display of Wisconsinites being respectful towards one another. Hope everyones having a wonderful evening!
Susannah commented:
The Tea Partiers had a permit for 10,000, and they didn’t have anywhere near that number, unless maybe you counted the participants twice. There is no way they had 15,000.
grace commented:
I don’t know where you got your news from but none of us over on the left were suffering from such a “huge embarrassment”. To be honest I thought there were going to be a lot more people. I was also kind of disappointed that none of them stayed for today. I guess fighting for what you believe comes second to being warm and dry if you’re a member of the Tea Party. On the whole I was not impressed. I thought in comparison they hardly made any effort at all.
Secret Jerk commented:
This is a total lie. I was there. There were NOT 15,000 protestors and the meager amount that did show up jammed their tails between their legs and left after an hour or so. By 3:30PM, the Tea Party presence was reduced to a few rednecks on the south side of the Capitol yelling about “Marxism” and “Socialism” (two concepts that these folks clearly knew little to nothing about). One guy was holding a particularly hilarious/horrifying sign that read, “Gotta pass the bill to see what’s in it.” Get real clowns.
Unknown commented:
HAHAHAHAHAHA. I am actually laughing out loud right now. This is such a joke. That number is WAY over exaggerated. Even if it were a correct estimate (the more accurate estimate is 3000 people) a 24 Hour notice is ample time to get way more supporters than that. There were so few Tea Party members that their chanting sounded like a whisper compared to those who don’t support the bill. And besides that, most of the supporters apparently got bored after a few hours and just left. Way to show enthusiasm, guys, you must be real dedicated.
I also highly doubt that the picture displayed was the tea party people. Why? Because I don’t see a single “Scott Walker for Governor” sign, and thats the best sign that any Tea Partier managed to come up with.
If anything the display was embarrassing to leftists because they have to admit that you guys live in the same state as them.
newsjunkie2011 commented:
You absolutely lie in your blog entry. There simply were not 15,000 Tea party protestors in madison this weekend – despite your efforts to bus them in from around the country. And for everyone that is screaming about the Wisconsin unions destroying the economy – it’s time for you to actually read the WI state budget and learn some REAL facts. They earn LESS than the state’s private employees at every level (jobs at post high school level, those with bachelor degrees, master degrees, post graduate degress, etc). The unions also offered to accept all of the Governors budget demands to slash pension and health insurance benefits — in exchange to maintain their rights to collectively bargain. This was also denied by the Governor. So it’s okay to give big tax cuts to big business, the top two percent, then turn around and throw the blame and real financial burden on the middle class? Wake up, folks — learn the facts as opposed to the made up facts provided by the Tea Party, the GOP and Gov. Walker. The unions in Wisconsin are all willing to sacrifice for the greater good — even on the heels of the big tax cut the Gov just gave only to the top of the economic food chain. Use your brains for good instead of outright lies and evil.
IdeaofNorth commented:
Liars! A generous estimate (provided by EVERY news outlet, including Fox), puts the numbers in Madison of Tea Party protesters at 500-1,500. 2,000 at the very most. That photo at the top shows ALL of the protestors, numbering in the hundreds. The Tea Partiers also left by midday. Anti-bill supporters numbered 70,000. Tea Partiers used their UNION-MADE weekends to come out and exercise their First Amendment rights in PALTRY numbers. You all should be ashamed of how poorly you research and the dirt you believe.
WTF commented:
As big as a lie as the statement Walker is doing this to balance the budget…. a “budget crisis” he created by giving tax payoffs to the corporations that finianced his campaign. I was there we are talking a few hundreds of Teabaggers & they had several days to organize. Workers united will never be divided!!
James commented:
All I can say is…
Holy balls. 2,000 Tea Party supports to 68,000 straight up democracy supporters. What a big success. This must have really been the deal there, ya know?
Ok so I was there, and I saw like nobody supporting the Tea Party. You guys were scheduled to be there for 3 hours, left after 45 minutes because you couldn’t handle it.
Anyway, in 15 years when my generation is running things. Know the history books will read differently then what you expect them to.
Jim commented:
I was there. This is a flat out lie. At its peak, the Tea Party had no more than 200 people in their crowd. This article is farce.
Matt commented:
I’m glad you all could pay your way. The people we are fighting for wouldn’t be able to, and are fighting to keep what they barely have.
way to be a douchebag, tea party.
Dewey commented:
What a fukking liar.
If by “thousands” you mean a couple hundred, then yes.
The ONLY embarrassment was to the tea party republitards. It took you 4 days to get there and you still barely showed up.
Congratulations on a job…done.
Robby commented:
I was there and have been working concerts on that square for 30 years. I would put Tea Party at 3000 tops…. The anti Walker folks were estimated by the police at 68000 to 70000. Just saying for accuracies sake. Tea Party folks didn’t want to discuss anything with anyone else. Very peaceful.
sorry,
robby
Ben commented:
15,000? Inflate numbers much? There were not that many people there, the biggest estimate I’ve heard is 1000
LIES commented:
YOU LIE. 2 of those photos are of the ANTI-WALKER rally. such shameless behavior.
Kristen2001 commented:
So hilarious! I actually posted on my Facebook at like 12:30… “where’s the tea party?”… It took me an hour to find them! They were all filing out. For the most part everyone was cool, lots of level headed conversations…some not so much.
jeff hamilton commented:
these numbers are false. this bill is evil. the republican agenda of demonizing workers and pitting the poor against the poorer is textbook divide and conquer strategy. seriously how does a teacher making $37,000 a year REALLY negatively impact YOUR life? go to this site http://wisc.jobs/public/job_view.asp?annoid=49945&jobid=49460&index=true $15.84 an hour for corrections SERGEANT?? believe what you want but wake up and realize that these people DO have an AMERICAN right to protest and defy ANYONE who tries to take away their livelihood and their voice. are republicans so anti government because THEY want to be the ruling party? beware all of you, you will not see ANY benefit to any GOVERNMENT agenda that takes away your right to negotiate.
Laughable commented:
This is idiotic. I used to live in Madison and have it on good authority that no more than 2,000 tea party members were at the rally.
Shameless twisting of the facts. Typical, really. That last picture is of mostly pro-union protesters.
IActuallyHaveABrainandaHeart commented:
Douchebags.
aldevab commented:
I have a question for the Tea Party. I thought you guys were for small government? How can you support a bill that unilaterally strips county, city, and local municipalities of the ability to handle their own employees and mandates how those workers are to be treated? How can you support a bill the sets the Department of Health Services outside of the constitution by granting the department the authority to make any change to medicaid policy REGARDLESS of existing state or federal law? This is a massive overreach of power by the governor disguised as a “budget repair” bill. Isn’t that exactly what you’re suppose to be against?
schneep commented:
Whoever wrote this article, is verrrrrrry bad at estimating crowds, there were approximately 3500 tea baggers, according to official reports.
Keri commented:
Does it really matter what the exact number was? The protesters numbers are nowhere near accurate since there are quite a few who aren’t even from Wisconsin. The support for Walker was shown in November, where it should be, at the voting booths.
db commented:
15,000?
everyone on the ground says more like 100-200 pro-scott’s at best.
you’re obviously delusional from too much epinephrine that you
abuse to combat your allergy to the truth.
gameshowhost commented:
Yeah, about that. Independent estimates maxed the ‘Baggers at closer to a couple grand… and no one buys the idea that you “paid your own way”. Face it: You represent a small minority of this country. You’re nothing but squeaky wheels, getting the grease… useful idiots pulling for the billionaires’ interests – those folks that wouldn’t so much as let you inside their gated compounds, let alone hang out with you or shake your hand w/o insisting that your palms were sterilized. They’re not your friends. Quit being dumb.
In any case, this is all about collective bargaining: Both our economic and legal systems are predicated on equal bargaining power, else the transactional outcomes are inefficient, BY DEFINITION… “Inequality of bargaining power is a concept used in social sciences and humanities, particularly law and economics to denote the situation where freedom of contract ceases to be real and markets fail.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inequality_of_bargaining_power)… *AHEM* UNEQUAL BARGAINING POWER = MARKETS FAIL, ergo unequal negotiating power = inefficient economic outcome, by definition. So quit spouting your flagrant ignorance of economics, study up somewhere on the subject – other than Pajamas Media, Reason.com, and all the other incorrect sources of knowledge – and, pray tell, if you think you have a better working theory, write it up, submit it for peer review and wait for your Nobel Prize, Captain Of Industry!
…
Collective bargaining is merely a tool to achieving that “level playing field” goal. Unions are nothing more than a collection of labor; you have no problem with collections of capital? Why support one side and not the other? Your cognitive dissonance – or outright lack of integrity – sticks out like… well, like yet another Koch brothers’ (http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Industries) attempt to subvert economic democracy and efficiency, supporting Scott Walker (http://americansforprosperity.org/walker/) and declaring their intention to destroy employees’ collective bargaining.
In the meantime, you morons that think public-sector employees are overpaid?… read this: (http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/6759/) .. .they make 4.8% less compensation/hr and are *far* more educated.
You are fools. And I don’t mean that in the invective… I literally think you’re being duped.
Keri commented:
@Secret Jerk 349~ And did the hilarity/horror of that sign have any significance to you? Ring any bells, perhaps? It should.
gameshowhost commented:
@367 Keri:
You think he’d have won if he’d not *hidden* his plan, during the campaign, to virtually eliminate collective bargaining in the public sector? Even the unions that publicly supported his candidacy (the only ones he mysteriously exempted from his plan) are beginning to turn against him. “Flipping” 1 of every 19 voters (a fairly easy task, considering the backlash right now) would have given Barrett the win.
Adam commented:
I was there. The Walker supporters were vastly outnumbered and lost in a sea of people that actually believe education is important.
Walker is and always has been a failure.
Check his record.
aldevab commented:
I guess I’ll repeat myself.
I have a question for the Tea Party. I thought you guys were for small government? How can you support a bill that unilaterally strips county, city, and local municipalities of the ability to handle their own employees and mandates how those workers are to be treated? How can you support a bill the sets the Department of Health Services outside of the constitution by granting the department the authority to make any change to medicaid policy REGARDLESS of existing state or federal law? This is a massive overreach of power by the governor disguised as a “budget repair” bill. Isn’t that exactly what you’re suppose to be against?
Bob The Wonder Poodle commented:
@ #367 – Yep, the voters of Wisconsin spoke in November.
And they’re still speaking – and now, the majority is speaking AGAINST his current actions:
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/BSW_POLL_PRESS_RELEASE_FEB_17___2011.pdf
HUGE LIE commented:
I live three blocks away from the capitol and have spent most of my time there since the protesting began. There were no more than 150 tea-baggers.
Pioneer197 commented:
Who ever wrote this article should go back and maybe try listening to his or her teachers, because its pretty obvious that you cannot spell or count. For example, the spelling of the word “hear” should be like this, NOT here. And I’m sure 150 people would look 15,000 people would look similiar to somebody who doesn’t know how to properly place a decimal. Pretty crappy journalism overall, and I guess I wouldn’t expect anything more from somebody that would back a crook like Scott Walker.
freebird commented:
For the Union supporters:
I do not understand how you continue to support Unions when we all know they have changed since they were started and have become greedy and far left.
I do not understand why you use words like “trigtards” and “hitler” etc. to make your point.
I do not understand why you equate MORE MONEY with EDUCATION. Everybody knows that students who work HARD can succeed from poor backgrounds.
I come from three generations of teachers, my grandma taught in one room in Soviet occupied Eastern Europe. Students LEARNED.
Sorry but this is not about education. Its about close minded partisanship and boss greed.
I don’t think it matters how many people showed up. The mob is disobeying the law and the “runaway” legislators are infantile and should be punished.
lisagems commented:
Speaking as someone who was there. What an extreme and disgusting pack of lies.
From just before noon to about 5 pm, I saw about 25 to 30 pro Walker signs. I’m told there was a larger group, about 100 to 200 people, on the opposite side of the capitol building from I was. Those photos you show of masses of people are teachers, nurses, state workers, and members of other unions coming out in support.
If you have to make your point through lies, your point is wrong.
Uncle Sam commented:
Baggers/Pro Walker people were few and far between (around 1000). Sad, short protest on their part. 70,000 real Americans showed up with their families to protest this bill. This should show you something real important….
lisagems commented:
“The mob is disobeying the law and the “runaway” legislators are infantile and should be punished.”
Please explain to me what law the protesters are disobeying? State the statute. Perhaps this would have been illegal in Soviet occupied Eastern Europe, but this is the United States and this is what democracy looks like. It’s the right of free assembly.
“I do not understand why you equate MORE MONEY with EDUCATION” What’s to not understand. If you have a better education, you have the opportunity to earn more money. It’s a pretty simple equation. Education is the foundation for the future, if we want to provide the best possible future for our children, we must provide the best possible education. How can you possibly not understand this?
Republitarded commented:
15,000? If you were there, you are as high as you are stupid. If you weren’t there and are relying on 2nd hand information, then you’re just stupid. 1500 at best. And you can throw out your 24 hour notice crap, too. Protests had been going on all week and it took the tea garglers until Saturday to show up. In any case, we’re going to need money to fill in the groove marks on the pavement that your knuckles are making as you drag them along.
AndyM commented:
Sorry, but lying/hyping doesn’t help your cause’s credibility. Estimates were about 3,500 – 4000, max, out of about 68,000 total. Not a bad turnout, given all the factors involved, but any turnout inflation with corresponding claims of “embarrassing” the anti-Walker crowd just makes you look foolish.
532802 commented:
The only thing embarrassing about this is that there are Wisconsinites empty-headed enough to vote/support Scott Walker.
Also, 15,000? I was there all day and there was NEVER any where near as close to 15,000 supporters at any time in the day. 15,000 was the number of protesters we had on Tuesday and that filled one corner (like you say you did), wrapped around two sides, plus filled the entire rotunda inside the capital.
I don’t know if you did the math, but either way, you weren’t the majority. Although Walker thinks 19,000 is a majority over to 50,000+! So maybe Republicans really can’t do math.
AndyM commented:
@Alyson – you claim that 1000 was about the same as what the unions had their first day.
FYI – I went up there the first day because my son and some other students walked out to support that rally, and other parents wanted an adult along. 13,000 was the official estimate the first day.
Larry commented:
It was more like 3,500, and the protesters were sharing food and drink with them since they came unprepared, But it’s a nice fantasy if you must believe a lie.
Larry commented:
Oh, BTW, REAL estimates of the protesters was in the 70-100,000 range, and those are REAL numbers.
Ed commented:
the fact remains that unions are no better than parasites and should be busted. Milwaukee teachers union filing legal action for viagara just among the idiotic benefits that these parasites think they deserve….and they have the nerve to say that what their doing is for the children.
what the union has done in Wisconsin didn’t go unnoticed to those who were fence sitters when it comes to whether they’ll support unions or not. the union have lost the pr battle in this fight and their influence and power in the US will be in the decline a lot faster that they’d like.
the only liars here are the parasites that keep sucking on the hard earned dollars of taxpayers. if the taxpayers are hurting, unions doesn’t have the right to keep getting freebies.
none of you parasites that came here have any rebuttal to the corruption stories posted because they are all true and you are well aware that they are happening within your unions but you are so used to it that your moral compasses have been broken.
parasites must be cut off before it kills its host…that’s the only way to deal with parasites. unions must be busted!
Cathy commented:
I have been in Madison on several days. I was there on Saturday. This website is overestimating the tea party crowd size by many thousand. Even the so called liberal media
didn’t accuratly portray what was happening. There was a small crowd of 2 to 3 thousand on the tea party side of the capitol. An effort was made but it didn’t come close to matching the throngs of firefighters, plumbers, nurses, teachers, home health workers, families, students, non-union working class who are fighting against the continued agenda to further disenfranchise working class Americans.
Ms Olson commented:
I was there and there were NOT thousands of tea party people. Hundreds is what I saw, what the police saw, and what other media saw. However you feel about collective bargaining, which is what the unions are still fighting for, at least be honest and report the news, and the size of the crowd, accurately.
Amy commented:
Right on Cathy! The walkers supporters are unable to count, since there was no where near 15,000 supporters. I’ll give it a generous 3,000 count. In addition to that, there was talk about a right wing support rally on Thursday, which also means there was more than 24 hours of planning. On the other hand, there was over 60,000 supporters of EMTs, fire fighters, nurses, social workers, teachers, care giver aids, and on and on!
Tim Krause commented:
I was actually there. The 68,000 estimate by latest numbers seems about right: as many people as go to a Packer game. I’m sad to report, however, that the tea party was extremely fortunate even even 3,000 were there: that’s generous. If there were 1,500, I would be surprised. You might not agree with the politics of the others who were there and who saw, but they are right on this one.
Laura D commented:
From the assosciated press. No more than 3000 were there.
The controversial measure aimed at easing the Midwestern state’s budget woes led to massive protests that started Tuesday and have gained steam each day. An estimated 68,000 people turned out Saturday. All but a few thousand opposed the bill, but the day marked the first time that a significant contingent of Walker supporters showed up to counter-protest. There were no clashes.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41692914/ns/us_news-life/
bg commented:
++
“An army of sheep led by a lion is better
than an army of lions led by a sheep.”
- attributed to Alexander the Great
==
Ed commented:
union parasites are posting here since this has a lot of “likes” and is getting a lot of readers….this is what people should see when they read the comments here:
Wisconsin teacher unions demands for – VIAGRA!!!!
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/06/despite-budget-cuts-layoff-fears-milwaukee-teachers-fight-taxpayer-funded/?test=latestnews
The union has asked a judge to order the school board to again include Pfizer Inc.’s erectile dysfunction drug and similar pills in its health insurance plans.
The filing is the latest in a two-year legal campaign in which the union has argued, so far unsuccessfully, that the board’s policy of excluding erectile dysfunction drugs discriminates against male employees. The union says Viagra, Cialis, Levitra and others are necessary treatment for “an exclusively gender-related condition.”
But lawyers for the school board say the drugs were excluded in 2005 to save money, and there is no discrimination because they are used primarily for recreational sex and not out of medical necessity.
The filing last month comes as the union, the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, is also protesting hundreds of layoff notices issued to teachers for the coming school year. Citing a “financial crisis” caused by exploding benefit costs and revenue shortfalls, the district’s outgoing superintendent proposed laying off 682 employees in April.
=============================================
yup, it’s all for the kids! damn the taxpayers, they deserve to get viagara!
Madisonian commented:
I was there all weekend. I don’t know where this number comes from, but I’d be surprised if there were 2000. Politics aside, this number is a lie. Politically, what amazes me is that the folks who say they want smaller government seem to be rallying *against* a protest by the people on behalf of an organization that exists to keep government in check. Either way, it has been a good civics lesson for me and for my son. I’m learning a lot about issues I didn’t even know I cared about, and about the interconnectedness of things. I think we could all stand to step aside from what our talking heads and TV tell us to think, and observe this great nation with all its checks and balances at work, and be in awe. Whatever side of this issue you’re on, it is amazing to see what devices are built into our government to help keep the political process relatively honest, and to keep things running. As a side note, in case you are hearing rumors about this being like Egypt, that is also political talk. It’s actually been like America. The protest, both by the workers and by the tea-folks has been civil and peaceful, without significant incident.
Ed commented:
“an organization that exists to keep government in check.”
that’s the new union spin now? the organization you’re defending is nothing more than an organization that keeps taking from taxpayers, gets paid more than the taxpayers that pay their salaries, get better benefits than the taxpayers that pays for it, and make idiotic demand like free viagara then claim that everything they do is for the kids. rampant waste and corruption promoted by unions needs to stop and collective bargaining needs to go if the state is going to make head way in negotiations against an organization that has done nothing to keep government in check but instead has promoted the growth of government by demanding bloated contracts that demands more state workers to be hired while production falls and cost skyrockets.
don’t try to pas that “keeping government in check” crap, it won’t pass!
Ann commented:
There is no way there were 15K tea party protesters there. You could barely fill the sidewalk 1500 – maybe.
This website is stupid. commented:
I was at the rally, there were MAYBE a thousand tea party supporters and most of them left around noon when it got too cold…HAHAHAHA.
plus, you spelled so much stuff wrong in this article…
Continental Op commented:
Doesn’t it bother you at all to lie about stuff like this? (Crowd size.) Aren’t you afraid people will stop believeing anything you say?
Gerry commented:
I was there and the size of the tea party rally wasn’t anywhere close to what you say. Either your misinformed or intentionally lying. Hopefully simply misinformed.
To all the others .. I’m a small business owner, never belonged to a union but recognize right from wrong and the action of Walker and the republican legislature is a disgrace. Yeah, we need action to address our fiscal situation but it’s obvious to any reasonable person that this bill is an overreach on so many different levels, workers rights, health care etc.
Dawn D commented:
This is total fabrication. I was there, we were nervous because we heard there were busloads of tea party folks coming in, there were no more than 2000 at the rally, a few scattered here and there around the square. Those people you see in the photos were all pro-union people.
recall walker now! commented:
You people are DELUSIONAL.
There were not more than a couple HUNDRED teabaggers there at the Capitol.
An embarrassment to the left? Hardly.
more lies from the right? Most definitely.
MPS Student commented:
@ ogee # 325 that statement was not only foolish but racist as well. Saying “down with islamism” helps the left side because it shows Tea Party members as racist hicks who are more concerned with religion than politics.
Also as a current student in MPS (Milwaukee Public Schools) and as a child of a MPS parent i can say that the unions have too much power, however they are important, for example the only states that have removed/altered collective bargining rights have the lowest national ACT scores, possibly a concidence possibly the reason that the rights were removed. The main issue that i didn’t see mentioned here is that the union workers aren’t fighting against the budget cuts, even though 5 of my current teachers will lose their houses on their reduced salary, they mearly see it as unfair to completely remove all bargaining rights, this would actually put them at a lower point of protection than private sector employees.
My next point is that politics are in many ways a swinging mechanism and what many people are assuming is that an extreme move on the right side will cause it to stay there but as with any pendulum all it will do is give it more energy to move to the other side. Also given the huge number of state employees who voted for walker and other republicans it will be very interesting to see if losing all of those votes will not have an effect on the 2012 election, something that i doubt greatly.
Many people are saying that it is disgraceful that the senators have left the state but in a democratic system both sides should be voiced and heard, the problem is that the Republicans refuse to hear the democrats even though they are preventing the vote from happening, this shows a major flaw in the current system, that there is virtually no communication between the sides, its almost like we’re forming two opposing armies and i don’t think anyone wants a repeat of the last american war but things seem to be escalating in that direction.
I do not mean to offend anyone on either side and as such i will say that unions are overpowered and that some teachers should be removed but the problem is how to create a universal grading system for all teachers, they all use different methods and have different students so there should be a way but i would love for anyone to give me a fair unbiased system
MPS Student commented:
Also a comment to both sides “Tea” and “Flea Baggers” and other terms just show that you are being petty and have nothing to say about the issues I am 17 and I have more tact than to revert to petty name calling when the opposition makes a good point or a foolish statement (IE the name of the article)
MPS Student commented:
Finally @ gameshowhost #371 3/4 good citations isn’t bad but using wikipedia, come on that’s clearly not a worthy source
Brianhd71 commented:
I was there. It was shoulder to shoulder and a great turnout considering the union bussed in much more from out of state. There were a couple here and there that would come in to disrupt the rally but those images are accurate, and to say that is 2000, or a few hundred is just false. Completely false! At any rate, it’s time people had a real choice in whether they want to be represented. Being forced to pay for union dues and being forced to join a union is not democracy. It’s extortion.