We need a Wisconsin *****LIVE THREAD****.... so here it is. ****OFFICIAL LIVE THREAD****

[cali]

Things are happening so fast and furious in Wisconsin, that a live thread would help consolidate all the info. It's as important as Egypt, right?

Here's a comprehensive up to date story:

Senate Democrats plan to boycott Thursday vote on Walker's budget plan
Rick Wood
Ot

Updated: Feb. 17, 2011 11:59 a.m. |(84) Comments



Madison — Law enforcement are now searching for Democratic senators boycotting a Senate vote on Gov. Scott Walker's budget-repair plan Thursday in an attempt to bring the lawmakers to the floor to allow Republicans to move forward with action on the bill.

In a press conference just off the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said that Democrats were "not showing up for work" and that police were searching for them to bring them to the floor. He said the last time such an action had happened was in the 1990s and said he was not sure how much authority law enforcement officials would have to compel Democrats to show up.

"That's not democracy. That's not what this chamber is about," Fitzgerald said of the boycott to reporters.

Sen. Tim Cullen (D-Janesville) confirmed Thursday that Democrats will boycott the Senate action today on the budget-repair bill in efforts to block a quorum and keep the measure from passing. He said Democrats hope delaying the bill will give more time for union demonstrators who are protesting the bill's cutting of almost all union bargaining rights for public employees.

Because 20 senators of the 33-member house are needed to be present to pass a fiscal bill, the body's 19 Republicans will not be enough to pass the budget repair bill without at least one Democrat present.

"They can't pass this bill if there's not a Democrat in the chamber," Cullen said.

<snip>

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/116381289.htm

[PeaceNikki]

1. On Wisconsin!

Solidarity

[cali]

2. from twitter:

Jena_Sherry: RT @akamrt: Police officers, firefighters just marched through rotunda supporting WI teachers! Bagpipes and all #forWIteachers #killthebill
less than a minute ago via tGadget · Reply · View Tweet

http://search.twitter.com/search?had_popular=true&q=%23KillTheBill&result_type=recent

[PeaceNikki]

5. looooooove it!

[murielm99]

11. Bagpipes! Whoo Hoo!

Kill them with cacophony! I was told that yesterday, the decibel level in the capitol was about the same as a chain saw or lawn mower. Make the walls vibrate!

[tabatha]

13. wow!

I was going to comment on the bagpipes - but you did it better.

Give Walker a headache and send him running out of the building.

My, bagpipes are a fantastic weapon.

[murielm99]

46. My daughter was there today on and off.

She did have to work, but she is a public employee, and her boss did not care if she took some time to go over there.

She shuttled water bottles to teacher's union people and stood with the crowd. She said when the firemen came by with the bagpipes, she burst into tears. A fireman wearing all his gear stepped out of line and gave her a hug.

Her roommate is a TA at UW. She stands to lose quite a bit. She has been at a sit-in all day.

The Wisconsin state Democratic state senators are in Rockford IL, which is not far from me. They were at the Clock Tower Inn, where they caucused. Then they left. A teabagger confronted one of them. Of course THAT was on the news. It seems that the majority of the people in this part of Illinois are supporting the unions and the demonstrators in Madison.

My daughter says that she did not get to read her statement into the record at the first day of the hearings. She went back over there this evening. She thinks she may have a chance to speak tonight. She was there until 3:00 a.m. last time. She may be there that late tonight, too.

It is good to have a couple of people at ground zero. I will let DU know what else she and her roommate tell me.

[tabatha]

48. Thanks for the information

And good for your daughter!

And thanks to all of the people who are taking time to do this.

Maybe, someone should do a "Thank you Wisconsin" website - now that I see that San Diego is standing behind them as well.

[murielm99]

49. My daughter just called me.

She is back from the hearing. She was able to read her statement into the record. Her roommate is home from the sit-in, too. She needs to sleep.

My daughter said that teacher after teacher made the point that Walker cannot even go into the classroom to be a substitute teacher. He does not hold a degree.

Now she tells me that if they make the cuts to the pension contributions that they are talking about, and make her pay 12.6% more for her insurance, she will take home $300.00 less per month. She only makes $31,000.00 per year as it is. She is a library assistant.

They are talking about recalls for repub state senators, too. She says there is one near Fon Du Lac who has not paid any taxes in ten years, except for capital gains taxes. He is circulating a bill to do away with capital gains taxes. He was singled out quite a bit at the hearings, too. I'll bet he isn't trying to live on $31,000.00 a year, and pay taxes and student loans and live. I know my kid lives very modestly.

[tabatha]

50. This would be an excellent time to

investigate the finances of all of the Republican state officials - and show them up to be the hypocrites that they are.

[Greybnk48]

3. Thanks Cali!

It's so hard to find info, especially if you don't tweet!

[starroute]

21. You can follow Twitter posts just using Google

Try this. Take one of the hashtags from a tweet quoted in this thread -- those are the things with # in front of them, like #killthebill or #wiunion or #WISolidarity.

Do a google search on that hashtag. When the results come up, click "Realtime" over in the left sidebar. You will get a feed of all tweets using the tag, and it will scroll to show new ones at the top as they're posted.

Unlike Facebook, Twitter is completely open (except for private messages) and Google makes it easy to follow.

[Greybnk48]

29. Wow!! Thanks so much starroute.

I will do just that! (I've got Ed Schulz on the radio now too).

[Lochloosa]

36. Thanks starroute! That is a big help.

[cali]

4. haha. All the dem Senators are out of state

kimberlycreates: RT @nbc15_madison: all 14 missing Democratic Senators are at same location out-of-state (in order to prevent a quorum call). #killthebill
1 minute ago via HootSuite · Reply · View Tweet

[Missy Vixen]

12. The Killer D's!

Let's hear it for the Wisconsin senators who are standing up for the working folk!

-MV
granddaughter, daughter and niece of union members

[cry baby]

6. thank you, cali nt

[cali]

7. News reporting 2 repub senators also missing

mapgeekski: RT @kimberlycreates: RT @cabell: RT @phoep: Channel 3 reports 2 Republican Senators also missing.#killthebill #wiunion #WISolidarity
less than 20 seconds ago via HootSuite · Reply · View Tweet

[Ellipsis]

8. Live blog from The Isthmus daily page...

http://www.thedailypage.com/walker/

[cali]

10. thanks!

[cali]

9. "Walker's a weasel, not a badger"

Adrastosno: RT @scoutprime: Chanting--Walker's a weasel, Not a Badger!!! #wiunion #killthebill
2 minutes ago via Osfoora for iPhone · Reply · View Tweet

[aquamarina]

15. K&R for the weasel reference!

[JoDog]

14. Guessing the missing Dems ran for Illinois

If so, I'm sure I speak for the state's progressives when I say, "Welcome! Stay as long as you need to."

I personally have crash space for one or two.

[murielm99]

18. Me too!

And I am not that far from the Wisconsin border. This is a union family. You can stay here. What do you want for dinner?

[cali]

16. via twitter Obama "This is Union busting"

RevPat: RT @kimberlycreates: RT @rrchapman: RT @millbot: Word just reached crowd that Obama made statement: "This is union busting." #wiunion #killthebill #killthisbill
less than a minute ago via HootSuite · Reply · View Tweet

[eleny]

17. "Live Reporting from the Wisconsin Rally" at this site...

Minute by minute reporting as news comes in to them...
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/02/9944/live-reporting-wisconsin-rally

[tallahasseedem]

19. I have checked Huffington Post a few times...

to see what they are saying about the protests, but there are NO posts about it. Very telling.

[cali]

20. John Nichols from The Nation is keeping a live blog

http://www.thenation.com/blog/158668/wisconsin-live-reports-ground-zero-labor-rights

[PeaceNikki]

22. Can you add the word "official" and summa these: **** to your thread title

Or is it too late?

Thanks for this!

[cali]

25. sure. done

[PeaceNikki]

26. lol - thanks!!

:D

[Ellipsis]

23. Unconfirmed: SENATE ADJOURNS because of no quorum ...for the day.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[PeaceNikki]

27. Unconfirmed arrest of a teacher

Tracy4Truth Tracy
:( RT tjoshae: Saw first arrest of a teacher. He was calm and peaceful. No word why. #wiunion #solidarityWI #KilltheBill

[Serial Mom]

28. Alberta Darling (my Repuke state Senator) just said

all WI State DEMS left the state on a bus!

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[PeaceNikki]

31. @ACLUMadison has a legal hotline for any arrested protesters:

257-0945 #killthebill #killthisbill

[cali]

32. Dems in Wisconsin Congressional Delegation speak out

Democrats in congressional delegation push back against Walker

By Craig Gilbert of the Journal Sentinel

Feb. 17, 2011 11:32 a.m. |(3) Comments

Democrats in Wisconsin’s congressional delegation are weighing in on Republican Gov. Walker this morning, his rejection of federal dollars and the budget collision in Madison.

House member Ron Kind of La Crosse (in a letter to Walker asking him to withdraw his proposal on curtailing bargaining rights for public employees):

“Collective bargaining – the chance for employees to negotiate for fair wages with management – is key to our state’s success. It is a time-tested, reasonable process. And let’s be clear, public employees are not the reason state budgets are in trouble. We need to address the budget, but we can’t just fix it by cutting the salaries and robbing the retirement funds of our nurses, teachers, and public safety professionals.”

Kind cited his two children in La Crosse public schools, and told Walker in the letter that “by refusing to work with the teachers you are directly impacting the quality of our schools and the education my two sons will receive.”

Sen. Herb Kohl (in a statement Thursday on the same issue):

“Public workers deserve fair treatment and their interests should be taken into consideration as these issues are resolved. I’m concerned about the well-being of their families and hope these matters can be settled in a respectful and balanced way.”

<snip>

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/116409284.html

[cali]

33. From Mother Jones:

Defunding the Democratic Party


— By Kevin Drum
| Thu Feb. 17, 2011 9:22 AM PST

Wisconsin, the birthplace of public sector unions, is now ground zero for the Republican jihad to destroy them, with a GOP-sponsored bill to strip Wisconsin's public unions of their collective bargaining rights now seemingly certain to pass. The cynicism of the bill might not be entirely clear

<snip>


Except for police, firefighters and troopers, raises would be limited to inflation unless a bigger increase was approved in a referendum. The non-law enforcement unions would lose their rights to bargain over anything but wages, would have to hold annual elections to keep their organizations intact and would lose the ability to have union dues deducted from state paychecks.

Now why would this be? Is it because collective bargaining is somehow less of a problem for public safety employees than for teachers? Because strikes by cops are less hazardous than strikes by teachers? Because public safety employees tend not to be hard bargainers anyway? Because public safety employees are poorly paid?

Or is it because teachers tend to vote pretty reliably for Democrats and public safety employees don't? Bingo.

<snip>

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/02/defunding-democratic-party

[cali]

34. Wisconsin Gov. Walker Ginned Up Budget Shortfall To Undercut Worker Rights

Brian Beutler | February 17, 2011, 1:47PM

Wisconsin's new Republican governor has framed his assault on public worker's collective bargaining rights as a needed measure of fiscal austerity during tough times.

The reality is radically different. Unlike true austerity measures -- service rollbacks, furloughs, and other temporary measures that cause pain but save money -- rolling back worker's bargaining rights by itself saves almost nothing on its own. But Walker's doing it anyhow, to knock down a barrier and allow him to cut state employee benefits immediately.

Furthermore, this broadside comes less than a month after the state's fiscal bureau -- the Wisconsin equivalent of the Congressional Budget Office -- concluded that Wisconsin isn't even in need of austerity measures, and could conclude the fiscal year with a surplus. In fact, they say that the current budget shortfall is a direct result of tax cut policies Walker enacted in his first days in office.

"Walker was not forced into a budget repair bill by circumstances beyond he control," says Jack Norman, research director at the Institute for Wisconsin Future -- a public interest think tank. "He wanted a budget repair bill and forced it by pushing through tax cuts... so he could rush through these other changes."

<snip>

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/wisconsin-gov-walker-ginned-up-budget-shortfall-to-undercut-worker-rights.php

[annabanana]

35. +1 for this post.. Deserves own thread. . . .n/t

[Viking12]

40. There's already 2 threads. Join in...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x436101

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=186x31788

[cali]

45. weasel guv plans to heftily hike tuition at the U

seiu: RT @akamrt UW-#Madison tuition would need to rise 26% over 2 years to offset budget cuts http://bit.ly/gCxBIg (expand) #forWIteachers #killthebill
less than a minute ago via CoTweet · Reply · View Tweet

[Ellipsis]

37. ABC NEWs picks it up

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=12938232

[Ellipsis]

38. and Reuters...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/17/us-wisconsin-protests-idUSTRE71G5ZV20110217

[Ellipsis]

39. Associated Content, Boston Globe, USA Today... Along with Ohio,

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7763934/middle_east_protests_moved_to_the_midwest.html


http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/02/17/wisconsin_senate_to_vote_on_anti_union_bill/


http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-02-17-public-unions_N.htm

[Ellipsis]

41. New York Times... just posted.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/us/18wisconsin.html?src=mv

[Ellipsis]

42. Going Viral.. Senate walkout gives it a kick into MSM

even MS Magazine

http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=12864

[eleny]

44. Going viral!!!

[W_HAMILTON]

43. CNN just had a Republican from the state on...

...and he said the proposals were modest, yada yada. Then he was asked if they were such modest changes, why weren't they going to also affect police and firemen. The Republican said that a walk-out from them would be too harmful.

Boy, if that isn't the case for unions, I don't know what is.

You think they wouldn't enforce those changes on police and firemen too if they weren't a strong union?

[AsahinaKimi]

47. Ed Shultz will be back in Wisconsin again, on Friday

I am so glad he is covering this..