Say what you want the people (sheep) to believe.

State Democrats waiting for Union leaders to tell them what to do next!

Remember all the talk of the unions being willing to make the concessions? It was, oh I don't know, all over the place from a few weeks ago to yesterday. I am still seeing that theme from the unions and their small army of protesters in Madison. But is it true?

Of course not. It is all rhetoric, exactly the same as Walker's rhetoric about cooperation. But rhetoric none-the-less.

Don't believe me...read this.

http://gazettextra.com/weblogs/latest-news/2011/mar/03/union-says-no-reopening-contract/

Here in Evansville the school district's board did the same thing. Are we going to lose young teachers because the seniority will not make concessions? And these concessions are needed people, have you seen the budget proposal? Or at least the budget summary? You haven't, oh well you can read that here...

http://www.doa.state.wi.us/debf/pdf_files/bib1113.pdf

And you said your old uncle never gave you anything. Shame, shame.

The Governor Who Cut His State Down to Size

Take some time to read this, it may just open your eyes

Just a few points from the article:

Elected governor, he created a new budget office on his first day in office, and moved to decertify the state-employee unions the next day, a step that made it possible to trim the state's work force and reward workers for performance instead of seniority. Unlike the current furor in the more heavily unionized Wisconsin, it caused only limited friction.

What did provoke ire were two moves the governor thought would be more anodyne. He pushed through uniform adoption of Daylight Savings Time, in place of a county-by-county patchwork, and he leased the Indiana Turnpike to a Spanish-Australian consortium for 75 years.

After two years in office, he had an approval rating of just 37%, tied with President Bush. In 2006, his party lost control of the Indiana House.
"It was humbling," Mr. Daniels says. "But I tell you this, we never took a poll to determine what we were for."
His efforts to trim government ended up boosting his image. He sold thousands of state-owned cars and cut the state work force to levels not seen since the 1970s. In a region awash in government red ink, he turned an inherited $600 million deficit into a $370 million surplus the next year. He has rebuilt the state's reserve funds, which now top $800 million.

From the Wall Street Journal

Billions in Bloat Uncovered in Beltway

This is exactly why we need less government in our lives.

15 different agencies overseeing food-safety laws, 20 separate programs to help the homeless and 80 programs for economic development?

How does this happen? This is part of the reason we will have a $1.8 TRILLION deficit this year. Time to cut the fat.


from the Wall Street Journal

OMG The Milwaukee Journal Sells Out....

Today the journal has reported that even after the contributions Public Employees will need to make to their benefit plans they would still have what the journal disgustingly describes as "generous plans"

I urge the journal please do not describe anything relating to the public employees as generous....

My God have they not seen the protesters, have they missed the signs and slogans, what about the TV sound bites and online audio clips.

These people are clearly barely getting by, they live in hovels, walk to work uphill in the snow and are forced to eat small rocks and twigs for lunch. Most of them are forced to donate 90 % of their wage to the students they serve, 5 % to the unions and now the rest just to get a discounted band aid, this will not stand!

I heard one lady say if she lost the CBA she would have to deal with things like her Principal making her do lesson planning during the time her students were in gym or art or at lunch or in another class or study hall , the horror, the horror.....

This is a disaster in the making, Wisconsin will be a 3rd world country piles of dirt and grime supplied by the Koch brothers will invade the skies and fill classrooms with muck. Kids will be forced to learn from teachers who have limited collective bargaining rights, did you hear me a limited CBA!!!!

Terrible terrible situation we are facing, we'll be worse off than Cambodia, and kind of like Indiana

....

I implore the journal to print a retraction, create an immediate relief fund for these destitute individuals, and can you send some pizza to the protesters from Ian's Pizza, you know the one on state, not the other one

Well Now What?

I have been hearing a lot lately how Scott Walker has overplayed his hand.  Has He?

That is debatable but the reason for the statement was often because protesters showed up en-mass, national media converged, the local internet and social media lit up like I haven't seen in awhile,prank phone calls, out of state  agitators and pseudo local posters showing up all over even "real" local discussion has been more active than I even remember than it being in the 2008 election.

Through it all Walker stood pat.

This has enraged Democrats in general and unions in particular who have been used to getting their way through demonstrations, threats of boycotts and recalls and in our own little world the 14 democrat senators who fled the state with initial statements like "We wont come back until he negotiates"

Well now what? Walker isn't budging, are the Dems going to stay away forever? What are the squatters going to do in Madison when Walker stars issuing pink slips to state employees, what are those employees going to do when the slogans and out of towner's head home and the locals have no jobs?

I hope Walker never moves on this. I dont want people losing their jobs but the reality is we can no longer afford the union benefit packages nor can we afford to let the Public Employees keep the CBA.

If that happens we will be right back in this mess. having them give back a dollar now and take 2 back when the next contract rolls around is unacceptable.

There is a lot of miss direction going  on but not for Walker, he has stayed right on his message. That has kept his followers on message also. They didnt slip into the morass of arguing over things that do not matter or trying to justify a million other things being thrown at them. Refreshing to see a leader who has the stones to stand for his convictions and not fold to special interest.

Walker will ride this out and if he fails on passage it will be because weak kneed Republican legislators folded.

I dont think that will happen. The Gov. for the first time in a long time here is saying, no more trading what you want for what I want on the backs of the public. Get to work and make some real decisions that actually address the elephant in the room we have let hide in plain sight for far to long.

Pass The Bill Scott, many of us are behind you and appreciate the steady hand.

Madison: Ten Square Miles Surrounded By Reality.

Have you ever wondered: Why is Madison so liberally blinded? How can it continue to shrug off the recession in both the housing industry and keeping unemployment relatively low? The answer is very simple; they have been doing it on the backs of the working class of the rest of the state. I will argue this by addressing majority of employers in the city and how they are affected by the recession.
First: Employers. Who are the major players in Madison?? First place goes to… The Government!! It comes in a 79,700 jobs in Madison, (note: does not include teachers, although they are also government workers)!!! Easily more than 2nd and 3rd place. Second place goes to: healthcare and education at 38,000. And finally Third: Insurance companies at 32,000. Here is a list of the top individual employers in the greater Madison area:

Largest employers Number of employees
University of Wisconsin—Madison 25,614
State of Wisconsin 22,186
U.S. Government 3,900
American Family Insurance 3,570
Madison Metropolitan School District 3,462
WPS Insurance 2,789
UW Health Hospitals/Clinics 2,729
CUNA Mutual Group 2,600

Second: How are these jobs affected by the recession? As until the now, not much. The government workers have been spared until now, because we are at a disastrous breaking point. There has not been massive layoffs, pay decreases, or benefits decreases. Healthcare workers and educators, both are a necessity, both are out of control, a whole other discussion for another day. And Insurance companies, huh, funny how the economy tanked and a law was “just so happened to be passed” to have auto insurance mandatory in this state, you can thank the last group of legislators for that, (I wonder how much money they made on that)

The TOP 3 employers in Madison are largely UNEFFECTED by recession, while the rest of the state sufferes. SO if the top employers are not affected, then the other services are going to benefit from that because they will be able to continue to spend. MEANWHILE the rest of the state picks up the tab to 1. pay taxes to run the government, 2. Still have to go to the doctor and school. And 3. NOW we are forced to pay for auto insurance in orfer to keep that industry strong. Sorry Madisonites, your views and beliefs DO NOT reflect the rest of the state’s majority, because we have been carrying you for so long you have forgot we exist. BUT here is your wake up call, Say Hello to a conservative Govenor and a conservative Senate, they are here to tell you how the rest of us feel. Dont ever under estimate the power of your vote.

Abele Crticizes Stone over Budget Repair Bill Vote

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/116946583.html?page=1&rememberMe=y

I have to say I find it hard not to laugh about this one.

The guy who has never held a real job in his life, stands on the side of workers.
Well lets give him the benefit of the doubt maybe he went and talked to his gardener who told him Walkers plan would be bad.