Wisconsin Teachers shut down schools for 2nd day to Protest Elimination of CBA

• stlouiedipalma

  BGFalcons82;705678 wrote:Why not? How else are they going to deal with babies and adolescents? Hiding in Illinois, still??? If we still had stockades, that would be a great place to stick their cowardly asses if and when they return. They all need recalled...ASAFP.
  
  What a disgrace...and yet there are some on here defending acting like cowardly pansies. Filibuster???? Are you kidding me??? Doesn't a filibuster REQUIRE attendance in order to delay the vote???

  
  What I am trying to find out is whether there is even a system in place for a filibuster in the Wisconsin Senate. I'm guessing there isn't one, hence the disappearing act by the 14.
  
  At least we now know what we had suspected all along. The move to eliminate collective bargaining for the public employees had nothing at all to do with balancing the state budget. The Wisconsin Republicans all but admitted such when they removed it from their budget bill. That was the loophole they claimed would allow them to pass this legislation without debate, amendment or a quorum.
• dwccrew

  

  stlouiedipalma;705604 wrote:Lost in this whole conversation is the fact that what the Wisconsin Democratic Senators are doing amounts to a filibuster of sorts. I don't know enough about their procedures in Wisconsin, so I don't really know whether they have any other means of mounting a filibuster.

  
  Not really. A filibuster requires someone to be present and do their job. If I live in Wisconsin I would be pissed. These clowns were elected to do a job; do your fucking job! Sorry that you are outnumbered and facing inevitable defeat, but that is how the people of the state voted.
• wgh raider

  i look at it this way boehner and mcconnell may as well stayed home as they did exactly nothing in obamas first 2 years so whats the difference??
• believer

  

  dwccrew;705939 wrote:Not really. A filibuster requires someone to be present and do their job. If I live in Wisconsin I would be pissed. These clowns were elected to do a job; do your fucking job! Sorry that you are outnumbered and facing inevitable defeat, but that is how the people of the state voted.

  Exactly. Had the Dems stayed put and used legal and appropriate parliamentary procedure at their disposal rather playing the "we'll just skip town so we don't have to deal with this mess" game, they would probably have garnered a bit more empathy and support. These fools have only themselves to blame. I hope the Wisconsin electorate see this for what it is and vote these idiots out of office.
• CenterBHSFan

  

  wgh raider;705963 wrote:i look at it this way boehner and mcconnell may as well stayed home as they did exactly nothing in obamas first 2 years so whats the difference??

  wtf.....
• believer

  

  CenterBHSFan;705976 wrote:wtf.....

  
  Don't try to figure it out.
• CenterBHSFan

  

  believer;705980 wrote:Don't try to figure it out.

  lol, perhaps it's because I can't sleep that I can't figure it out. I will try tomorrow lol
• QuakerOats

  A decisive victory for the private citizens over the special interest group.
  
  Alleluia.
• stlouiedipalma

  dwccrew;705939 wrote:Not really. A filibuster requires someone to be present and do their job. If I live in Wisconsin I would be pissed. These clowns were elected to do a job; do your fucking job! Sorry that you are outnumbered and facing inevitable defeat, but that is how the people of the state voted.

  
  That's OK, I understand what you are saying. My question is whether the Wisconsin Senate has anything to allow conducting a filibuster.
• fish82

  

  stlouiedipalma;706105 wrote:That's OK, I understand what you are saying. My question is whether the Wisconsin Senate has anything to allow conducting a filibuster.

  I assume they do, as the Assembly Dems just staged one a week ago. I'm not aware of any states that allow one house to stage it and not the other.
• stlouiedipalma

  Thank you. I had forgotten about that all-nighter from the State Assembly.
• Prescott

  Do those protesting the Wisconsin legislature have jobs? It seems as if they have been at the Capitol Building for about 3 weeks.
  
  Another question. Are the Democratic Senators hiding in Illinois using vacation time? They have not been on the job for 3 weeks. It must be nice.
• QuakerOats

  Why I'm Fighting in Wisconsin
  We can avoid mass teacher layoffs and reward our best performers. But we have to act now.
  By SCOTT WALKER
  In 2010, Megan Sampson was named an Outstanding First Year Teacher in Wisconsin. A week later, she got a layoff notice from the Milwaukee Public Schools. Why would one of the best new teachers in the state be one of the first let go? Because her collective-bargaining contract requires staffing decisions to be made based on seniority.
  Ms. Sampson got a layoff notice because the union leadership would not accept reasonable changes to their contract. Instead, they hid behind a collective-bargaining agreement that costs the taxpayers $101,091 per year for each teacher, protects a 0% contribution for health-insurance premiums, and forces schools to hire and fire based on seniority and union rules.
  My state's budget-repair bill, which passed the Assembly on Feb. 25 and awaits a vote in the Senate, reforms this union-controlled hiring and firing process by allowing school districts to assign staff based on merit and performance. That keeps great teachers like Ms. Sampson in the classroom.
  Most states in the country are facing a major budget deficit. Many are cutting billions of dollars of aid to schools and local governments. These cuts lead to massive layoffs or increases in property taxes—or both.
  In Wisconsin, we have a better approach to tackling our $3.6 billion deficit. We are reforming the way government works, as well as balancing our budget. Our reform plan gives state and local governments the tools to balance the budget through reasonable benefit contributions. In total, our budget-repair bill saves local governments almost $1.5 billion, outweighing the reductions in state aid in our budget.
  While it might be a bold political move, the changes are modest. We ask government workers to make a 5.8% contribution to their pensions and a 12.6% contribution to their health-insurance premium, both of which are well below what other workers pay for benefits. Our plan calls for Wisconsin state workers to contribute half of what federal employees pay for their health-insurance premiums. (It's also worth noting that most federal workers don't have collective bargaining for wages and benefits.)
  For example, my brother works as a banquet manager at a hotel and occasionally works as a bartender. My sister-in-law works at a department store. They have two beautiful kids. They are a typical middle-class Wisconsin family. At the start of this debate, David reminded me that he pays nearly $800 per month for his family's health-insurance premium and a modest 401(k) contribution. He said most workers in Wisconsin would love a deal like the one we are proposing.
  The unions say they are ready to accept concessions, yet their actions speak louder than words. Over the past three weeks, local unions across the state have pursued contracts without new pension or health-insurance contributions. Their rhetoric does not match their record on this issue.
  Local governments can't pass budgets on a hope and a prayer. Beyond balancing budgets, our reforms give schools—as well as state and local governments—the tools to reward productive workers and improve their operations. Most crucially, our reforms confront the barriers of collective bargaining that currently block innovation and reform.
  When Gov. Mitch Daniels repealed collective bargaining in Indiana six years ago, it helped government become more efficient and responsive. The average pay for Indiana state employees has actually increased, and high-performing employees are rewarded with pay increases or bonuses when they do something exceptional.
  Passing our budget-repair bill will help put similar reforms into place in Wisconsin. This will be good for the Badger State's hard-working taxpayers. It will also be good for state and local government employees who overwhelmingly want to do their jobs well.
  In Wisconsin, we can avoid the massive teacher layoffs that schools are facing across America. Our budget-repair bill is a commitment to the future so our children won't face even more dire consequences than we face today, and teachers like Ms. Sampson are rewarded—not laid off.
  Taking on the status quo is no easy task. Each day, there are protesters in and around our state Capitol. They have every right to be heard. But their voices cannot drown out the voices of the countless taxpayers who want us to balance our budgets and, more importantly, to make government work for each of them.
  Mr. Walker, a Republican, is the governor of Wisconsin.
  
  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704132204576190260787805984.html?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_opinion#printMode
• Thread Bomber

  

  WE should all take note of what is going on in Wisconsin. It is playing out in Ohio as we speak.
  
  While I am torn as to plight of eradicating collective bargaining, I am also smart enough o see what is really going on. Scott walker is giving the local school districts some sort of chance to control the expenses on a local level. While it seems that he is busting up the unions ( he probably is ) He is also preparing to slash state funding that the local districts were previously receiving.
  
  This is much better than the state of Ohio where Governor Tax announced his tax cuts and to pay for them, cut funding to the school districts and local governments. This caused the local governments to raise taxes ( rather than cutting thier budgets ).
  
  So Watch out for all of your governments. The Fed, the State, the County, and your townships and city... the state may cut you taxes, you will end up paying them back to someone else.
• QuakerOats

  The "Party of Civility" strikes again .... this time with death threats.
  
  http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/117732923.html
  And how ironic --- it is "Anti-Bullying Day" at the White House.
  
  BEAM ME UP.
  
  Change we can believe in ..........
• pinstriper

  QuakerOats;706387 wrote:The "Party of Civility" strikes again .... this time with death threats.
  
  http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/117732923.html
  And how ironic --- it is "Anti-Bullying Day" at the White House.
  
  BEAM ME UP.
  
  Change we can believe in ..........

  
  WHat i find funny is these whackos are calling for President Obama to get to Wisconsin and "fight with them". haha. WHat do they expect him to do, grab a bullhorn and yell, or stand there with a staff and strike vengence down upon those evil Republican lawmakers. WHat a circus...
• Prescott

  Do you wonder how these protesters would be portrayed if they were Tea Party members?
• BGFalcons82

  

  Will one of the networks run a re-broadcast of the Arizona shooting-victim's Obama show where he called for civility in our national discourse? Oh, that's right...it's the Tea Party, Libertarians, and Republicans that need to calm the hell down since they were the cause of Jared Loughner's anxiety.
  
  And lest we forget....it's all Bush's fault.
• OneBuckeye

  

  I love how taking away Collective barganing results in the bolded. This death threat letter is comical.
  
  

  Please put your things in order because you will be killed and your familes
  will also be killed due to your actions in the last 8 weeks. Please explain
  to them that this is because if we get rid of you and your families then it
  will save the rights of 300,000 people and also be able to close the deficit
  that you have created. I hope you have a good time in hell. Read below for
  more information on possible scenarios in which you will die.
  
  WE want to make this perfectly clear. Because of your actions today and in
  the past couple of weeks I and the group of people that are working with me
  have decided that we've had enough. We feel that you and the people that
  support the dictator have to die. We have tried many other ways of dealing
  with your corruption but you have taken things too far and we will not stand
  for it any longer. So, this is how it's going to happen: I as well as many
  others know where you and your family live, it's a matter of public records.
  We have all planned to assult you by arriving at your house and putting a
  nice little bullet in your head. However, we decided that we wouldn't leave
  it there. We also have decided that this may not be enough to send the
  message to you since you are so "high" on Koch and have decided that you are
  now going to single handedly make this a dictatorship instead of a
  demorcratic process. So we have also built several bombs that we have placed
  in various locations around the areas in which we know that you frequent.
  This includes, your house, your car, the state capitol, and well I won't
  tell you all of them because that's just no fun. Since we know that you are
  not smart enough to figure out why this is happening to you we have decided
  to make it perfectly clear to you. If you and your goonies feel that it's
  necessary to strip the rights of 300,000 people and ruin their lives, making
  them unable to feed, clothe, and provide the necessities to their families
  and themselves then We Will "get rid of" (in which I mean kill) you. Please
  understand that this does not include the heroic Rep. Senator that risked
  everything to go aganist what you and your goonies wanted him to do. We feel
  that it's worth our lives to do this, because we would be saving the lives
  of 300,000 people. Please make your peace with God as soon as possible and
  say goodbye to your loved ones we will not wait any longer. YOU WILL DIE!!!!

• stlouiedipalma

  Prescott;706490 wrote:Do you wonder how these protesters would be portrayed if they were Tea Party members?

  
  I believe we saw all of that with the many Town Hall meetings over the health care bill.
• stlouiedipalma

  QuakerOats;706387 wrote:The "Party of Civility" strikes again .... this time with death threats.
  
  http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/117732923.html
  And how ironic --- it is "Anti-Bullying Day" at the White House.
  
  BEAM ME UP.
  
  Change we can believe in ..........

  
  That person needs to be locked up right now. There's no place in civil disobedience for that kind of rhetoric or threat and I hope that everyone condemns this kind of idiocy.
• sleeper

  

  stlouiedipalma;706558 wrote:That person needs to be locked up right now. There's no place in civil disobedience for that kind of rhetoric or threat and I hope that everyone condemns this kind of idiocy.

  
  +1
• ptown_trojans_1

  

  QuakerOats;706387 wrote:The "Party of Civility" strikes again .... this time with death threats.
  
  http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/117732923.html
  And how ironic --- it is "Anti-Bullying Day" at the White House.
  
  BEAM ME UP.
  
  Change we can believe in ..........

  When emotions get involved rationality is hard to keep. But, I would not equate that to the party at large or the President, just like crazy members of the other side are not labeled with the party. Still, dude needs to be locked up.
  

  pinstriper;706397 wrote:WHat i find funny is these whackos are calling for President Obama to get to Wisconsin and "fight with them". haha. WHat do they expect him to do, grab a bullhorn and yell, or stand there with a staff and strike vengence down upon those evil Republican lawmakers. WHat a circus...

  
  Well, there was the one video a few years ago that said if this type of situation was to occur, the President would put on his comfy shoes and march with him. Now, of course he is not going to do that. The President should continue to stay out of this, as he said a few weeks ago, he has his own budget battles.
  

  BGFalcons82;706511 wrote:Will one of the networks run a re-broadcast of the Arizona shooting-victim's Obama show where he called for civility in our national discourse? Oh, that's right...it's the Tea Party, Libertarians, and Republicans that need to calm the hell down since they were the cause of Jared Loughner's anxiety.
  
  And lest we forget....it's all Bush's fault.

  
  Yeah, I'd agree to that, but what I do know is that on Morning Joe, they denounce the wackos all the time.
  And, I haven't heard Bush used as an excuse for a long time.
• fish82

  

  Let's get a little bloody out there.
• QuakerOats

  http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/117735163.html