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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker walks away after talking to the media at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis. on Monday.
"No resolution appeared imminent yesterday to the stalemate over union rights in Wisconsin, leaving Senate Republicans resigned to forge ahead with less-controversial business such as tax breaks for dairy farmers and commending the Green Bay Packers on winning the Super Bowl," the AP reports. "As the standoff entered its second week, none of the major players offered any signs of backing down in a high-stakes game of political chicken that has riveted the nation and led to ongoing public protests that drew a high of 68,000 people on Saturday. Thousands more braved cold winds and temperatures in the 20s to march again yesterday, waving signs that said 'Stop the attack on Wisconsin families’ and 'Solidarity.’" The 14 Democratic senators remained missing for a fifth day.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "In a move meant to lure boycotting opposition senators back to Wisconsin, the Republican leader of the state Senate threatened Monday to force a vote soon on a bill that is abhorred by Democrats: requiring people to show an ID at the polls." More: "Monday's events presaged a hectic week, with the Assembly set to vote Tuesday on the budget-repair bill and the Senate planning at the same time to take up other bills to try to force Democrats in that house to return to the state. At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Walker - who has shown no sign of relenting - will address voters directly in a "fireside chat."
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Badger? Sounds like the Governor is acting more like a Snake with the mentality of a Do-Do Bird.
NAW LouisJ, the President is the one you must be referring to. I see your God is moving again, having solved the crisis in the Silicon Valley, now moving to the Heartland to solve their crisis. When he on the road and not in the white house, who runs the show for the Democratic Party?
Walker's approach isn't so much a fireside 'chat' as a flaming molotov cocktail. He is THAT smooth!
LouisJ....What are the absentee state senators acting like? and by the way, WHO is paying for those 14 state senators to hold up in another state?
I guess they are acting like the Republican US senators from 2008 to 2010
Don't remember many DC Republicans hiding under beds at cheap hotels so they wouldn't have to cast a vote.
No, they had the balls and the lobbyist funds to just say ef you directly to the cameras. When they weren't outright lying about death panels, or some such nonsense. A sense of entitlement certainly emboldened them, no?
"Entitlement" to what ?
to their own pay and perks,...while ostracizing other public servants for wanting to bargain for theirs.
"... a bill that is abhorred by Democrats: requiring people to show an ID at the polls."
Honest elections? An abhorrent concept to the Democrats!
Republicans are trying to pass a similar bill in Maine, despite the fact that voter fraud is a non-issue here. There is no pragmatic reason to require a photo I.D., but supporters of the bill just like the idea, because it makes it look like opponents might stoop to, I dunno, hiring homeless people to vote for a candidate? Requiring a photo I.D. is just Republican window dressing, it serves no actual purpose.
Really Amy?......anything to bash a conservative point of view, huh?
What would be wrong with having to show I.D. to VOTE?......do you have an I.D.?.....why would you be opposed to showing it to cast a vote?
It serves the purpose of helping to elimanate VOTER FRAUD.....are you FOR voter fraud?
Well True, by having an ID to vote, are you saying that perhaps people other than citizens, or people voting more than once under assumed names for a particular party may occur? (tongue in cheek)...
Why should ANYONE be opposed to providing one? After all, you do need to show ID for any purchase in a retail establishment or at your bank where you keep your accounts.
Of course that may be a piece of the argument against providing ID. Documents can be provided to criminal aliens in CA for as low as $60. Now that is all the docs you require to obtain a job in the state: SSN, Drivers license, voter card.
Why stoop to hiring people to vote multiple times, (after going through the hassle of registering multiple names and addresses) when all you have to do hire Diebold to program your voting machines? That's the Republican way, so much more efficient and realistic.
Gosh Amy, today is libbie day with my posts.....no logic, no principals, or accuracy - act like a libbie! But your logic against Diebold and programming machines is, well, so ignorant. Now prove to me how this happens so I can be more knowledgeable in the future. And how is this the Republican way when the Dems are opposed to showing ID?
In CA multiple voting has been proven, and documentation is available through the State web sites.
I thought the republicans were suppose to be creating jobs
Nah....the 'republicans' don't need to create any jobs...the president has done such a great job at this and doesn't need any help.
Great job, Unions!
Two-Thirds of Wisconsin Public-School 8th Graders Can’t Read Proficiently—Despite Highest Per Pupil Spending in Midwest
(CNSNews.com) - Two-thirds of the eighth graders in Wisconsin public schools cannot read proficiently according to the U.S. Department of Education, despite the fact that Wisconsin spends more per pupil in its public schools than any other state in the Midwest....
When you get done attacking teachers, why don't you smear the police and the firefighters? THey would really appreciate that, I'm sure.
Amy...
If 'Bob' is reporting a fact that was broadcast on the CNN News and that fact is accurate about the state of educational achievement in Wisconsin...how does that become "attacking teachers" ???
Was CNN "attacking teachers" too ???
Don't read too much into it Bob - two thirds of Americans with only a high school diploma cannot read at the wisconsin level of proficient - this state has some of the highest academic standards in the union which is what the eighth graders are measured against - would it make sense that two thirds of WI kids are the same kids making up the first or second highest scoring state on the ACT over the past ten years with nearly 60 percent of all WI kids taking the exam?
Reason for a fireside chat? He knows he is toast! The unions have given him everything except right to bargain. Legal action is eminent and Walker has done this before. He fired unionized guards and replacing them with the "Butt Vodka Wackenhut" to replace them. Remember those guys from the Butt Vodka drinking parties in the raw in Iraq. He lost the legal battle and has been forced to rehire everyone and pay them back wages. Leaving the city with a huge problem. Now he will do it to the state of Wisconsin. Don't you vet your governor Wisconson? He didn't just drop out of college. This guy cheated and was kicked out. He will cost you millions!
Ana,
Yes, I saw this report last night. Walker is bad for Wisconsin.
You guys believe that anything that doesn't fit your agenda is bad.
Have you seen the Rassmussen Poll that shows 48% of Americans SUPPORT Gov. Walker?....as opposed to 38% that support the unions.....with a 14% unsure
True American - Did you see the way the question was framed? If the question were framed a different way there would have been a different response. They conveniently left out the collective bargaining issue. When that is referenced in the question the poll goes the other way. Another Repub spewing misleading information.
Laurie.....where oh where is that poll?
True American - There are several polls out there that show different results than what Rassmussen shows. It's easy enough to google if you want but I don't suppose you want to because that would burst your ideological bubble and we wouldn 't want that now would we?
Tell me the names of these polls you are talking about.
I told you the name of the one I quoted.........are you chicken?
The senators are paying their costs out of their own pockets. God bless them!
Governor Walker makes around $140,000 annual salary from Wisconsin. I wonder how much his salary and perks are from Koch brothers? Hopefully, the people of Wisconsin will start a movement and be successful to re-call Governor Walker.
The Governor's salary of 140K is poverty compared to hundreds of public employee union layabouts making 6 figures: they have lifetime jobs mooching off the taxpayers, with no accountability.
Bob,
You sure are mean. Hopefully, the people of Wisconsin will start a movement and be successful to re-call Governor Walker.
OK Job1, show me the documentation to support your statement, or is your statement just your opinion?
And Bob gets a pass, safecracker? Where is his documentation? Where is his proof? You really are a hypocrite, safecracker, and your own post proves it (that is not a personal attack, just pointing out your own words).
safecracker
Please do your research without using FOX Noise.
Don't watch it. Now why would you assume that I do? Can't proven your theory?
Matthew, on "act like a libbie day" I will answer you that Bob does get a free pass. And no, I am not a hypocrite, just different from you. But on libbie day, I am not required to document anything nor act logical. Wow, you progressives have it easy!
OK Bob give us some of those names from the hundreds that make six figures. Also answer if these people have DEGREES
Safecracker......I like libbie day, I think I'll just make up some stuff, reference nothing, and call others names when they disagree.......geez, no wonder they run & hide when you hit them with.....uh oh....FACTS!!
True American - Are you rich or do you own a corporations? Just asking because I can't imagine why you would hate your fellow American who is just trying to earn a living and have a middle class lifestyle. Your anger and vitriol are misplaced. It must be terrible to be so ignorant of the true "facts".
Laurie
I do NOT own a corporation and being rich is a matter of degree. I work very hard for a living and do quite well, However, I am by no means a millionaire. I don't hate my fellow American - I hate the people who expect more than what they deserve and expect the rest of us to carry them on our backs. I hate the lazy, selfish, give-me give-me crowd who will find any way to exploit their fellow hard-working American to their benefit. As for "ignorant of the true facts" - I can't even begin to understand what you're talking about, as I never post anything that I can't back up with facts.
Does that answer your question?
Maybe we could elect him president. Dam site better than what we got now.
I was thinking it has already appointed itself G-d so it can sit in judgment of its' fellow Americans.
TA - For the record,...your crap stinks, even if you don't notice it anymore,...
Some people deserve the Day of Reckoning they have coming, and I've a feeling TA, yours is going to be a doozy.
Clara...is that a threat?
Boy, when the going gets tough......the tough.....start threatening...sort of like Gaddafi in Libya, if you can't shut them up...kill them
Gosh, the truth hurts, doesn't it..........lol
True American you proved my point. How do you know that those Americans you call lazy and selfish aren't working just as hard as you. It's easy to listen to the propoganda that's spewn around but I can guarantee that our police, firefighters, teachers work very hard indeed for the pay they earn. They earn middle class wages and are not rich. There are those that game the system but I can guarantee you that those you are talking about are the political class that have government jobs gotten by being in the political system, working on a campaign, knowing someone in local or state government and are appointed into those positions. Those are the jobs that pay big bucks not the average civil servant job. Teachers start out at modest wages $30,000 or $40,000. You are misled and you are only cutting off you nose to spit your face. Because if the unions in this state have lower wages and benefits, those of yours and other private sector workers will get even lower wages and benefits because that's how it will go. So be careful what you wish for my friend.
True American-2366567
Hey True, this libbie stuff is difficult when logic is in the equation. It is hard to be down right wrong. But it is an interesting concept. I do believe I will continue this tomorrow by going "road" on my employees......imagine, I won't be around to solve issues - hopefully I've mentored the management team well. So, tomorrow I golf for the day, without taking my laptop and cell with me. Why I may also commit the ultamate sin and actually play with my buddy the libbie. Gosh, which one will lie more about his score?
There is not anything wrong with working for a living, some work more than others, while some are content with accepting a wage for services rendered. Unlike others, I take no issue with anyone willing to work to achieve. My issue is with those who believe life owes them an entitlement because their union leaders say so. Those evil union leaders that make large sums of dollars on the sweat of their membership......
So tomorrow libbies, I continue my libbie experience by running........perhaps all of us should have a day or two when logic is thrown out with the bathwater.
What figures are you looking at?
From the Economist:
Nationally, 54% of full-time state and local public sector workers hold at least a four-year college degree, compared with 35% of full-time private sector workers. In Wisconsin, the difference is even greater: 59% of full-time Wisconsin public sector workers hold at least a four-year college degree, compared with 30% of full-time private sector workers.
...Public employees receive substantially lower wages, but much better benefits than their private sector counterparts. Wisconsin state and local governments pay public employees 14.2% lower annual wages than comparable private sector employees. On an hourly basis, they earn 10.7% less in wages. College-educated employees earn on average 28% less in wages and 25% less in total compensation in the public sector than in the private sector.
The high figures that have been publicly batted around were aberrations, not the norm!
Ahh, I love the smell of facts in the morning. Good job CG. But stand by, ole bob and safecracker will come in with some idiotic, non sequiter response that will include a personal attack on you.
I'm wondering when we'll see a similar mess like this in Connecticut ? Our $3.6 billion deficit matches Wisconsin's...but that states 6+ million population doubles Connecticut's, giving us twice the 'per person' tab.
Our new governor has just released his intention to increase income taxes, sales taxes, the number of things sales taxes will be assessed on (namely: everything), elliminates a property tax credit, adds gas/tobacco/alcohol taxes...and sends a check for just under $2000 to every low income person in our state (the folks who put the governor in office). The good news for us is that just yesterday, our state legislators decided to drop the propsed five-cent tax charge on every plastic bag filled at any retail store in the state...so we dodged the "bag tax".
The governor also says he will "ask" the state's employee union (45,000 members) for $1 billion in concessions during each of the next two years. So...we get "told" that all taxes will be increased and the state's union employees will be "asked" for concessions. Hmmmm.
Labor leaders will soon be telling we taxpayers that the Wisconsin protest will look like a pajama party compared to what they can cook up for a protest in this state. I hope it happens here...might as well put their cards on the table and start making vile protest signs like the loons are carrying around Wisconsin's state capital ( 'Hitler'...'Rapist'...'Death to Tyrants'...and so on ).
Let the residents have a really good look at who we actually employ.
And by the way...for all the heat the Tea Party took for a couple of nasty posters or signs held up at rallies...the Tea Party doesn't hold a candle in vile sign-making when compared to the abilities of Wisconsin schoolteachers. Not even close.
And we've discovered a new tactic for politicians to use when they don't expect a vote to turn out the way they want...slip out in the dead of night and go hide in a Motel 6 like spoiled little children.
Yeah, the protester sign are way more vicious than the Obama bone through the nose signs or the Obama Hitler pictures
Miller...
Sorry to disagree, but there were plenty of "Hitler" signs, "Death" signs, and signs using the words "Rape", "Raping", and "Rapist" being held by elementary school teachers on the TV news.
"Mommy, Daddy...look that's my teacher on television, who is she calling a rapist like her signs says ??? And what's a rapist ??? '
And the quantity of ugly signs is off the charts...not carried by fired up tea partiers that everyone makes fun of but by schoolteachers who everyone is supposed to respect.
mr walker george w said the same the people be dammed i will do i want look at the mess he left
Speaking of fireside chats, didn't FDR write a letter stating his opinion that collective bargaining as applicable to the private sector had definite limitations when applied to the public sector?
Strange that the former mainstream media seems to have overlooked that missive from one of their favorite Presidents. Oh, wait, FDR was opposed to giving public employees unresrticed collective bargaining rights. Never mind.
Get rid of the unions!! Prayers for Scott and his family's safety.
cedarbud - Are you aware that it was unions that got American workers the 40 hour work week, the 5 day work week with Saturday and Sunday's off, vacation pay, safe working conditions, child labor laws, minimum wage requirements....etc. Are you aware that because of unions we've actually had a middle class in this country. It was not that way before the 1930's.
In our state, the state unions got that reduced to a 35 hour work-week. If the state's workers were working 40 hours per week, we'd be writing less than 40,000 weekly paychecks instead of the 45,000 now being written, due to the short weeks they work.
We'll probably end up with 50,000 state union employees working 30 hour weeks when it's all said and done. That'll teach us !
He thought it was Reagan
For example, Marty Beil, executive director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME )Council 24 SEPAC, made $161,847 in 2008 according to the organization’s Form 990.
The AFSCME Wisconsin State Council, which occupies the same building as SEPAC at 8033 Excelsior Drive in Madison, also has a good number of employees with near six-figure salaries. According to the union’s 2009 LM-2, filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, 16 field representatives make more than $90,000 annually.
Richard Abelson, Executive Director of ASCFME Council 48 in Milwaukee, has in the past accused Walker of stopping the ratification of pending state employee contracts in December, even though the then governor-elect had not yet taken the oath of office.
“Walker’s contempt for working people is boundless,” Abelson wrote in his blog, Direct Talk. “In ‘Scott Walker World,’ there is no CEO who makes enough money and no working person who deserves what he/she earns.”
Abelson made $106,122 in salary in 2009, according to the union’s LM-2.
How many direct reports does he have? I mean that is significantly LESS than a US Congress person and I feel certain he is managing way more people. And probably full-time at it, as well.
I take it from your disdain that you must not earn anywhere near this amount and therefore think it is outrageous. Your contempt for executive workers is not surprising; but I'll just chalk it up to bitter grapes.
Does beg the question as to how you 'reconcile' Wall Street executives and their MULTI million dollar salaries. They 'EARN' it, no doubt. On the misfortunes of others and at their own failing; but hey - if they are smart enough to 'beat' the system, good on them, right?
Bob1887910, If you happen to find information on the President of SEIU or the previous payments to Andy Stern, post the info. I haven't been able to find that data.