


Cartoon:
Individual liberty anywhere is a threat to the Progressive-Collectivist Cause everywhere.
"I very much want to avoid laying people off," Mr. Walker says. But his experience as county executive taught him that "not everyone feels that way. During budget crises I would push for a couple of weeks where workers would only put in 35 hours so we didn't have to cut jobs, but union leaders would say no. It's reactionary." He says there's a gulf between the interests of union leaders and those of their members. "When they say it's about worker rights, it's really about big union bosses running their own political dynasties." That's why the parts of his plan that most stick in the craw of union leaders are the ones that would limit their power.(from online.wsj.com)
For one, the proposal would require that public-employee unions be recertified annually by a majority vote of all their members, not merely by a majority of those who cast ballots. The bill would also end the government's practice of automatically deducting union dues from employee paychecks. "If workers have freedom of choice on their own dues money and a real voice in their union," the governor says, "they may get better representation."It is deeply symbolic that this epic battle over the direction of government is taking place in the Badger State. Wisconsin was the birthplace of the modern progressive state in the early 20th century under Gov. Robert "Fighting Bob" LaFollette, who championed progressive taxation and the nation's first worker's-compensation system. In 1959, Gov. Gaylord Nelson made Wisconsin the first state to grant public employees collective-bargaining rights.
I ask Mr. Walker if he thinks he has staked his entire governorship on this budget bill. He dodges the question, preferring to discuss the national implications of the debate. "I could see our success providing inspiration for people trying to get serious about controlling the federal budget and promoting economic growth," he muses. "Ultimately, we will only solve our problems if we get serious."
Class struggle(in Marxist ideology) the conflict of interests between the workers and the ruling class in a capitalist society, regarded as inevitably violent.
"Oh [Muslim] brothers, the nation that excels in the death industry, and knows how to die a noble [death], Allah grants it a precious life in this world and eternal bliss in the Afterlife. The only weakness that shall humiliate us is the love of this world and hating death. Therefore we have prepared your souls for great action, strive for death - and life will be given to you."-- From Palwatch translation of The Muslim Brotherhood handbook.
Most Wisconsinites believe that Governor Walker’s proposed budget changes that include unions to pay 5.8% of their salary toward the cost of their pensions plans and double their contributions for health care premiums to 12.6% are fair, according to a new poll sponsored by WisconsinReporter.com.(from mediatrackers.org)
The poll which was conducted on February 21, 2011 of 500 likely voters in Wisconsin also showed a perceived discrepancy between benefits for public and private sector employees, with 69% believing that government workers in their community have better benefits than private sector workers.
“This poll shows that a majority of the people in Wisconsin are standing behind aspects of Governor Walker’s budget reform proposal,” said Jason Stverak, President of the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, a national nonprofit journalism organization which operates WisconsinReporter.com. “Wisconsin Reporter has been on the ground floor of this story reporting from the Capitol since the budget battle began. This poll reiterates the opinions and comments that the reporting team at Wisconsin Reporter are hearing while capturing the breaking news from Madison.”
The poll also showed that given the choice to reduce teacher pensions and salaries or cut sports and extra-curricular programs for students, 44% would reduce the pensions and only 34% would cut sports and extra-curricular programs. Full poll details are listed below.
“And understand this: If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I’m in the White House, I’ll put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself, I’ll walk on that picket line with you as President of the United States of America. Because workers deserve to know that somebody is standing in their corner.”
Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba (1815)
The Sandinistas are defeated in Nicaraguan elections (1990)
The Taliban destroy two giant Buddha statues in Bamyan, Afghanistan (2001)
b: Victor Hugo (1802), Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov (1896), Robert Novak (1934); d: Theodor Eicke (1943)