Wisconsin firefighters march into the Capitol, bagpipes filling the rotunda.
Those same firefighters show up here, in a video Matt Wisniewski sent us (On Wisconsin! On America!The kids are all right.)
We'll have much more on the show tonight. And now, pictures, with big thanks to everyone who sent them (send more, please!).
This first one shows the Wisconsin flag upside down, an international symbol for distress. Watch for this in the coverage tonight; there's been an American flag also upside down in the Capitol building.
Sent by Nataraj Hauser
After the jump, more Wisconsin.
Protesting at the state university in Eau Claire.
Sent by Jeffrey Abraham
And the university in Oshkosh.
Sent by Ashley Garcia.
And rallying into the night in Madison.
Sent by Leah Udja.
Madison Memorial High School kids turn out (again).
Sent by Nathan O'Shaughnessy.
The kids in Appleton take their message downtown.
Sent by Kyle Ofsdahl.
Leave a Comment:
Show your support on Face Book. Use this image as your profile picture.
Done :)
I chose the upside-down WI flag for my FB profile pic.
I chose the snowman with the protest signs. But I may change to the upside down WI flag.
Done :)
Got the upside down flag on my profile picture too.
Really cool to see the shot from my alma mater, UW-Eau Claire, in the mix above. Give 'em hell, Bluegolds!
I decided to use the upside down WI flag on my Twitter, because I received a lot of nice FB comments on the snowman.
Meanwhile, the U.S. House has just voted to defund Planned Parenthood. Do they not understand that PP does much, much more than abortions? Have they simply decided that they don't need the votes of ANY women? or are they banking on people being stupid enough to vote against their own interests?
First, they have to know that Planned Parenthood does much more than abortions, but they are adamant that women should not have any real control over their own bodies where reproduction is concerned. Second, they expect that there will be a substantial minority of collaborationist females who will vote for them. Third, people voting against their own best interests (e.g., the poor whites who voted for right-wing Dixiecrats like Theodore Bilbo, Eugene Talmadge, etc.) has a long history.
Let's just hope that particular piece of legislation won't pass the Senate, and if it does pass the Senate, then Obama will do the right thing and veto that putrid piece of legislation.
Obama has already stated he would veto the Republican budget proposal if it passes as actual legislation, hopefully he will not be afraid of using his veto pen on these "family values" issues as well. The fact of the matter is if you reduce the amount of legal offices providing abortions you will increase the amount of people dying. There is nothing pro-life about eliminating PP and other such services.
I'm sure that eventually they will try to overturn womens' voting rights too!
They're going for the jugular on every front, divide and conquer and send us all back to the middle ages
You are so right. I know a person that had to make the hard choice of having the baby or dying. She chose to have the baby. She died, but she was given the choice. One I don't think the government has the right to make for a woman.
They don't care. I've used Planned Parenthood and had to go past lines of protesters grabbing at me and that was to get basic services.. not abortions. When it came time for my daughter to need family planning services she had the same experience but refused to be intimidated. It's just made her angry that anyone put their nose where it didn't belong.
Health and welfare of women is no where in their agenda. Kill the health bill so we don't have insurance then close down anywhere where we can get healthcare.
That sounded so paranoid I had to see what I checked myself then realized.. sometimes they really are out to get you.
One thing you might want to change. Its the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Its not a state college but a part of the U system.
Please change to make your report spotlessly correct. I didn't go to college there (went to a better college in the U system) but UWEC is only 40 miles from my home town.
Um, actually it is a state university. Thats what the UW system is. Its a system of state (and by state I mean public) universities and colleges. I go to UWM (milwaukee not madison) and it would be perfectly correct to say that I go to the state university in milwaukee.
You went to "a better college"? What, one that taught you how to disparage people for attending UWEC (a source for MANY of our state's fine teachers)? Too bad your "better college" didn't teach you any manners.
lol!
Wow, I am so touched. We are all Wisconsinians (Wisconsinites?) today! Love you guys, proud to be an American Liberal!
Wisconsinite is the usual word. But we of the great Badger state would be honored if eveyrone called themselves Cheeseheads!
Can I meet y'all halfway and be a Cheesesteakhead? ;-)
This Pittsburgh STEELER fanatic is now a CheeseHead. God bless the 'Fab 14' and our brothers and sisters in the great state of Wisconsin!
Thanks so much for your coverage, Rachel! And for the second video, it was so beautiful! I'm so proud to be a Wisconsinite this week, even if I'm away from home while this is all happening!
This just says to me that despite the attempted dumbing-down, the junk food peddling, and the sparkly distraction gadgets, these kids are still standing and have plenty of intelligence left to be aware when something supremely unjust is happening. Walker should be impeached, and if he is it'll be because young people and union workers stood together. If you don't stand and fight now they will come for you next.
It's union rights now, but everyone who makes a wage should be deeply concerned when a single piece of legislation has the capacity to take us back to a time with no real middle class.
Walker and all his kind should just go back go Skaro where they belong. As for impeachment, with the Wisconsin legislature controlled by Republicans, that's not going to happen.
How can Republicans dare talk about freedom when the heart of their action in Wisconsin is to take away rights? Citizen's rights. People's rights. Their voice and their self-determination.
This bill is so antithetical to everything America stands for. To take away a right, the right to band together, the right to bargain collectively for a common cause, the right of free association, the right of free assembly - all these are at stake.
Proud to see a Detroit sign in the Capitol Rotunda representing us in Michigan. We're with you, Wisconsin. We share a great lake, a latitude, and an attitude!
They don't invest the word 'freedom' with the same meaning that we do. The further people are drawn to the right, the more uncomfortable they are with choices, with alternatives and differences, with ambiguity and uncertainties. What they crave most of all is order, certainty and a rigid system of right and wrong. For the far right, 'freedom' is all about being bundled all safe and snug in a paternalistic cocoon where they will never be threatened by anything or anyone too different from them.
A beautiful sight. Firefighters union showing that solidarity isn't dead.
I have always reveled in seeing the Capitol building (even after working there daily!) and didn't think it was possible to enjoy it more than I did. Seeing all these images of people peacefully coming together to support the workers of Wisconsin proved me wrong. I'm so proud to see all these people union and non-union alike standing together to ensure that the public workers of Wisconsin maintain their rights. It makes me angry when I hear clips from Beck dismissing the presence of students there. Not only are these kids supporting their teachers but they are witnessing history. They are learning valuable real life lessons about democracy and standing up for what you believe in and supporting those who have supported you. If I weren't currently living out of state I would be right there with them!
Firefighters + bagpipes + student protestors = patriotic goosebumps.
Absolutely touching.... all I can say is WOW! "We do big things!" So proud to be an American. Rock on Wisconsin!!
I have never been more proud to be a Wisconsinite and a Democrat. Walker is wrong on so many levels, it's sad that some people don't see it or don't want to. Your coverage is excellent as always!
power to the people....there Lara, live with it
Appreciate the blog..most of the news has been suggesting that those highly paid state workers are worried about their benefits..when in fact, the primary issue has been the right to collective bargaining. Wisconsin state workers haven't had a raise in two-three years and have had furlough days--just this year, the takehome pay of most workers went down 5%. These didn't result in the strike. What did...was the attack on the unions. We want to live in a democratic society, where workers have the right to organize and to collective bargaining.
I am very impressed with the fight for workers rights in Wisconsin. I live in Texas where employees have very limited rights. The Republicans keep doing these extreme measure to get there way, and always justify it by testifying on Fox and other medias... That this is the "Will of the people."
It sounds very good, but; are the only people being effected in Wisconsin... only democrats? I don't truly understand. Why aren't republican voters that are against this measure speaking more loudly!
I was at the first protest at the Capital in Madison on the 15th. We did encounter protesters who said they voted for Walker and went directly to republican Senator Moulton's office to voice their frustrations. So, I think that there are probably more than just the few that we saw.
Walkers leadership would like nothing better than to make you believe these are all libs protesting. You can't stereotype this crowd sorry.
I fully support what the workers and unions are doing in WI!
Here is an interesting thought in all this. The Packers are publicly owned by the City of Green Bay. The players are also members of a Union (NFLPA).
Technically, being owned by the city of Green Bay, wouldn't that make every employee and player a City Employee and affect their collective bargaining agreement for the players and contracts for management? IF the Gov. bust all unions in the state, theoretically it could affect any and all unions in the state including NBA/NFL/MLB and other teams. Wonder what these franchise teams think?
Food for thought.....
The Packers aren't owned by the city, they are a publicly held team. I should know - I'm a shareholder!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Bay_Packers
It would be cool i the team showed up in support.
GO WISCONSIN!!! DON'T BACK DOWN! Good example for the rest of the working people in America!!
I love my state!
GOP talks about the "People Speaking"??? THIS IS what it really means....Hallelujah!
The 45 Best Protest Signs at the Wisconsin Capitol.
Sorry you're link didn't come through -- I just opened this post to them.
The 45 Best Protest Signs at the Wisconsin Capitol.
These signs look a lot more grass roots than the professional signs the supposed grass roots tea party displayed. I heard the tea party will be bused in this weekend to support the governer actions, wonder if they will demonstrate peacefully or cause problems? My guess is Fox news will be there to cover and report, report and report the unruly union workers. By the way great signs and love the one from the sewer workers.
A counter argument to what's happening in Wisconsin.
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/02/40-of-madison-teachers-call-in-sick.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+MishsGlobalEconomicTrendAnalysis+(Mish's+Global+Economic+Trend+Analysis)&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
Yeah the right to bargain should totally be taken away so that the governor can blow the people who donated to his campaign
http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/116355379.html
Heard and believed your take, Ms Maddow, on the situation last night on MSNBC. Some of this link above seems to refute some of your comments. How can we provide support if we can't get the truth? Forgive my concreteness, but as a left-leaning Independent, I struggle with how to stay informed, focus my energy for the "common good", and keep my day job. Any respectful comments are appreciated.
The government is not a private business and it does not operate like a private business nor should it. This is something you always have to remember. Governments and private businesses are completely different entities. The truth is that Walker is lying about the budget shortfalls his state is having. They are having budget shortfalls, but that is because Walker chose to give kickbacks instead of paying his employees. Naturally his employees have rebelled against his decisions. He (as any politician with half a brain would have) knew that his employees would become outraged so he is trying to point to their outrage as evidence of what unions do bad to state governments. He is using a red herring to distract people from the reality of his corrupt policies. The thing you and everyone else need to realize is that even if unions didn't exist people would still be protesting.
Try reading http://legis.wisconsin.gov/2011/data/JR1SB-11.pdf and http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb/Misc/2011_01_31Vos&Darling.pdf
These are the actual official state documents. If you cannot get facts from them, sorry buddy but you are beyond help.
Unions exist to give otherwise powerless individuals some bargaining power in their employment situation. The union negotiate a contract with the employer - a contract to which each party agrees. Walker is reneging on his side of the contract, without any negotiation. That's just not how collective bargaining works.
Why don't they just take a pay cut like others have had to do in order to get the state back on the right track. Who is teaching the kids now?
I think one of the posters above already mentioned that they have, something like 5% with unpaid furlough days. Add that on top of no pay raises for 2-3 years, and it seems like they have been sacrificing plenty. Even so, as the poster above mentioned, they didn't go on strike after all of this...it only happened when the governor decided he was going to unilaterally take away their basic right to collective bargaining.
When I see Wall Street bankers and big CEOs freeze their pay for 2-3 years, take a 5% pay cut after that, and then be told that they would have to see their pay cut even further with big hikes in health insurance and pension plan contributions, then I will believe that we are all in this together, that there is a spirit of collective sacrifice to help this nation. Instead, all I see is the haves telling the have nots that they don't deserve what little they have, and that the haves need even more.
I'd argue that they're still teaching the kids now. They're teaching with action.
Read the whole story. This has virtually nothing to do with a pay cut. That is Republican spin and that's all it is.
This is about the only stop-gap left (unions) that can keep workers from becoming indentured servants. In other words- "We will pay you what we think you are worth and that's the end of it.. and if you don't like it, we'll hire someone else". It's employment blackmail and.. oh, man, do the ultra-rich want that. A fully legal avenue to paying you as little as they want on the theory that you'll work for less if you want to work at all.
This has been the conservative dream for years and finally the Koch Brothers convinced two supreme court justices to "open the floodgates" on funding political parties.
What about this is so hard to grasp ?? The class war is on....
Unfortunately, there are plenty of people who quite seriously want workers to be indentured servants...after all, it can't happen to them because they are Ideologically Sound!
Mark's logic is this- My private sector job pays me crap. If the public sector is being paid better, that isn't fair because I'm not being paid that better wage. Therefore the public sector should have to pay it's employees crap like the private sector does.
As I've pointed out before that very same argument could be looked at from this angle- the private sector pays crap, the public sector pays well. Therefore I am going to work for the public sector because it is clearly the better employer.
Mickey...: On the other hand, he could be one of those people who hates teachers because they are "elitist" and the teaching profession is a "hotbed" of heinous liberalism, and those are "government" jobs and he has a knee-jerk hatred of "government".
That's not how I feel at all. I just know if a company I was working for didn't have the money to pay me what I wanted, then I would be let go or have to take a pay cut. It already did happen to me actually. I had to take a 10% pay cut. I just don't understand why this doesn't apply to public wokers as well.
Mark - the unions in Wisconsin have already agreed to negotiate on the reductions in pay and changes to benefits. They understand that compromise is needed when times are tough. What they do not accept is Walker's unilateral decision to bust the union.
Currently the unions are allowed by law to negotiate over wages, work hours and conditions of employment; Walker's bill would change that to only base wages:
Also, the bill would require annual recertification of the union:
The bill would cut the contract duration in half and not allow extensions, which are often needed when negotiations are ongoing:
The bill would curtail the requirement for dues to be paid by union members:
And the bill would eliminate union representation for significant groups of employees:
This bill is union-busting, plain and simple.
http://legis.wisconsin.gov/2011/data/JR1SB-11.pdf
Well, the unions are why most states are broke. We can't support their pensions anymore. They're just worried about losing all their Dem votes.
might...: I'm sure that he actually realizes all that and heartily approves of it.
I'm sure that's why Texas, which has among the lowest percentage of union participation in the U.S. (5.4%) and prohibits collective bargaining, has a projected budget deficit of $13.4 billion (31.5 percent of FY2011 budget).
The four other states that ban collective bargaining, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia, all have union participation in the single digits, and are all projecting budget shortfalls. The least unionized states in the U.S. is North Carolina (3.2%), with Georgia (4.0%), and South Carolina and Virginia (4.6% each) all near the bottom.
But don't let the facts get in the way of you talking points.
I'm starting to think they don't care about facts, Info =/
I just gave a condensed version of Infohack's info to Dr. Moon on another thread. I'm betting his head will be exploding in 5....4.....3.....2......1.......
Today we are all Cheeseheads!
Stand Tall and Proud!
from a Texan who still believes.
Believes in what? Are you for the teachers or Walker?
United we stand! What is happening in Wisconsin is just the beginning and other Guvs are watching. They need to know that We stand United!
WI - You Rock!
I really question this great show of SOLIDARITY from the fireboys. Here in Milwaukee they backed Bush in the presidential election past. ( no one could answer who they backed in the past presidential election when I called today). And they backed snott wacker in our gubernatorial election. Anyhow, it looks to me like they are getting their rewards for their action that being supporting snott wacker for governor. And now they come bounding out in their pomp and say we support you public service employees. Give me a break.
Look a lot of union workers supported the Repubs in Wisconsin and yes the Gov. exempted the fire, the police, and the State Police, from the law, but that just shows the solidarity even more , they are exempt but they will come out in support of their fellow union workers, they were exempt because Repugs know you can't make war on fire and police unions ,even though their members are the ones who receive the benefits the private sector public are envious of,becasue the public supports police and fire.