The Wisconsin Teachers Union spills the beans. Their motto has been revealed.
“Screw the children. It’s all about me”
In 1981 PATCO, the air traffic controllers’ union went on an illegal strike. Pres. Ronald Reagan ordered them back to work with small success. Reagan fired those who ignored the return to work order. The time has come for this to happen again.
As Skookum has posted, Barack Obama has sided with the teachers’ union. This is no surprise as he has rescued unions at great cost to Americans at large. There’s more to this story. A lot more. Democrats are making a hobby out of opposing the will of the American voter.
In Wisconsin Democrats abandoned their obligations as representatives of the voters. They left the state in order to stymie a vote to end collective bargaining. The bottom line is that the runaway union gravy train is poised to be derailed.
Unions still could represent workers, but could not seek pay increases above those pegged to the Consumer Price Index unless approved by a public referendum. Unions also could not force employees to pay dues and would have to hold annual votes to stay organized.
To add to the horror:
…the legislation also would make public workers pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care coverage — increases Walker calls “modest” compared with those in the private sector.
It’s tragic having to pay a tiny amount of your health care and actually contribute your own money to your pension so that no one loses his or her job.
Wisconsin teachers have effectively gone on strike, calling for demonstrations Friday and Saturday. After all the kerfuffle about Sarah Palin and “reload” and cross hairs on maps Democrats and their union villainy have gone off the deep end of hate imagery.
It’s well known that Wisconsin, like many states, has been facing a fiscal crisis for some time. A $3.6 billion deficit looms. Governor Scott Walker has warned that as many as 10-12,000 workers could be laid off if his proposals are defeated.
Teachers dragged their students to the protest and some students had no idea why they were there.
Many of the hundreds of Madison East High School students didn’t know why their teachers brought them to the union protests at the Wisconsin Capitol Tuesday. But they knew they were just happy to be out of class. See this raw video from today’s government union rally in opposition to Governor Scott Walker’s budget.
The Democrats who deserted their posts have decided to hold the government hostage.
State Senator Mark Miller, a member of the missing band of Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers who fled Madison Thursday to avoid a vote on a budget bill, called into CNN with the group’s list of demands for Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
Miller put a keen sense of humor on display.
Asked about the deficit the state is facing, Miller said Walker is ignoring the economy’s recovery, which makes reigning in union benefits unnecessary.
Gallup Finds U.S. Unemployment Up to 10.0% in Mid-February
They’re lucky to have a job and they still want to be able to pry open the pockets of the taxpayers of Wisconsin at their whim and without conscience.
So who could possibly be behind such loathsome actions? Who else?
The Democratic National Committee’s Organizing for America arm — the remnant of the 2008 Obama campaign — is playing an active role in organizing protests against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s attempt to strip most public employees of collective bargaining rights.
Remember when Obama said that everyone was going to have some skin in the game?
What he meant was that unions are going to get your skin. All of it. You will make all the sacrifice. Obama is the President of those who belong to unions in this country and if you’re not, you’re SOL.
It’d be really interesting to learn whether teachers have the right to strike in Wisconsin. Teachers’ strikes were deemed illegal in Washington. Wisconsin teachers have stolen time from the classroom and probably expect to be paid for it. Firing them and hiring new teachers who are looking for jobs could be a great way to see if the money of Wisconsin taxpayers was being well spent.
But we’d need a President of all the people and not just his favorites.
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 40 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 45 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter who is in the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.
@Greg:
Ummm Greg, have you seen their stance on illegal immigration? E-Verify? Their stance on TARP? The auto bailout? How about the stimulus? They backed Harry Mitchell a dem here in AZ.
Care to guess who sued AZ over our employer sanctions law?
Since thinking is something you aren’t very good at, I’ll spoon feed you a little info. Everyone knew the GOP was going to kick the dems asses in the midterms. Gee, could that possibly be why they gave sooo much money to the GOP?
Ahh. Opening that can of whoop *ss felt good.
@Old Trooper2:
It’s hard to ignore idiocy, eh?
I’m so pleased I could lure you back, dude. 😉
I can’t begin to tell you….:-)
@blast: It came off the Malkin website@blast: I tried , blast.
They got bombed. I think they didn’t have Curt’s ability to anticipate.
Doc, My Daughter reads the postings here and told Me that the Loonies were in the wire.
Sometimes sacrifices must be made to advance the Cause of Sanity. We Leave No One Behind
but some behinds need the occasional whacking just because it is the short circuit to a Few
Brains that fall short on the reasoning. I am a Guest here. Not a Resident.
@Greg: You said:
So remind me, Greg. Where were your protestations when the Dems controlled the White House, the House and the Senate? When they “decided to unilaterally” vote in Obamacare, etc…?
Well?
Or is it okay when the Democrats do it, but not the GOP?
@Old Trooper2: I am not of the privilege to endow you, but if I were, I would.
And I know I am not alone.
@Greg: Democracy sucks, eh, Greg?
Doc, I will be coming off Active Duty and retiring again. I have a Beef Cattle spread to run.
I am one of those damn Capitalists that Obama warned Everyone about. But don’t worry. I’m a good Capitalist and pay my Taxes on time, Employ 40 Folks Full Time on one of the Last Places on the
Planet where Men move Cattle on Horseback for a Living and My Prime Beef is in Demand all over
the Civilized World and My perspective on Current Events does not make a Hoot of Difference
to the Folks that buy it.
But one never knows when I will check in here.
@Old Trooper2: I hold you to that.
Why are you OT2? Is there an OT1?
I apologize in advance if that is an ignorant question.
There’s nothing better than keeping them wonderin’
😉
@Old Trooper2: BTW, I am one of the freaking doc’s Obama is trying to mess with…….
@Old Trooper2:
That’s about the LAST thing I am worried about. What I would like to know is how I can buy some of that beef…….
So here’s my request- I’d be much obliged if you could let the good folks at FA how to procure some of that beef, starting with me…..
😉
Psst…Ruth Criss Steakhouses serve my product for one. There are other Clients but they don’t give a hoot about my perspective on things. It does not make the beef taste any different. Cows are not Political.
I sense an FA trading board starting up.
@Old Trooper2: Damn, who’da thunk it?
That is so cool……….
@Old Trooper2:
So , what do you do for fun?
LOL
@ anticsrocks, I sell my cattle on the hoof. Live beef. The client does the rest through their brokers.
The raw product is mine. What ends up on the table is their product. That’s the story. Capitalism in Good Taste but Tastes Good too. It’s whats fer Dinner! Prairie Grass and Grain fed.
(OK Doc. You got me!)
I go Fool Plinking at FA. But please don’t give it away…
@Old Trooper2: LOL again
Secret is safe with me!
@DrJohn, #57: “Democracy sucks, eh, Greg?”
That’s an opinion not shared by democrats.
@Greg: That’s odd, Greg. It was just fine while Democrats were shoving Obamacare up our butts……..
Psst…Greg, We live in a Representative Republic. Greece is a Democracy and Their Economy shows it.
I think Greece is actually a parliamentary republic.
Greg, and Our Over Irresponsibly Spending Congress is what I refer to as the Parliament of Whores.
The books for Either don’t balance out.
So blast attacks the source. Unsurprising. He can’t figure out how they got the numbers so he suggests they must be bogus. As proof, he offers….nothing. Just opinion.
He then uses the reductio ad absurdum technique to claim that somehow we don’t want college educated teachers or that we don’t want them to be paid anything. The elitest slap at Wal-Mart employees was also a nice touch.
It never seems to occur to libs how bad they look when they make glaringly dishonest posts like that.
It’s nice to try to use Greece in this argument but even the Socialist Party of Greece, the ruling party, is having to make massive slices to Public Employee and Public Entitlement programs just to stay in the bare minimal state of Solvency even after the EU Bailouts (which itself will be a future problem that could help speed up the fragmentation of the EU.) And frankly trying to use Greece as a point in terms of, “Political” freedom in a counter-argument for WI Union employees is interesting given how they rate at number 88 on the list of 178 countries surveyed while America declined to the spot of number 9 on the Economic Freedom of the World survey by the Fraser Institute. Greek people do not have the liberties politically or economically speaking in comparison to that of people from the State of Wisconsin (or any other State in the Federal Republic of the United States) and as such is a Straw-man argument given the budget nightmares the Socialists have hung themselves on in Greece.
@Greg:
Suuuure it isn’t. That’s why they are pushing so hard to turn us into a socialist country with fewer rights and freedoms.
Hard Right
Well if you wanted trained and educated professionals then you have to pay for them. If you want trained professional police you have to pay for them. If you want trained professional firefighters… you have to pay for them… and yes most of them (who are around long enough) make a decent living and have good benefits. Keep in mind that they do not receive social security benefits from their jobs.
And yes, I was making a slap at Walmart (you can drop the hyphen, they did). I don’t see Walmart as some sort of high water mark of employee professionalism or training. No offense to those who work those jobs, but outside of the senior management, they are all high school graduates or less and get poor wages and practically no benefits. They might run a tight ship (so anyone can work there), but they have been a big parasite sucking the blood out of our economy and exporting it to China with all the shit they bring in and sell in their stores. Maybe it is their right, but call me old fashioned, I like made in the USA way better so I will slap away at them.
Back to topic… err sort of; the teachers, and public employees are not the problem. The pensions the state(s) have run were sucked dry by the phony baloney CDS’s, derivatives and other scams by the big banks. Madoff was not the biggest scam artist, it was the JPMorgans, Lehman Brothers and of course Goldman Sachs. Now the states have to pony up real money to replenish the phony money that evaporated and now everyone is crying about it and blaming the employees. (Wonders if that would have happened to Social Security if it was privatized too).
This move from the WI Governor is nothing more than a political calculation so that he can break the union… lets just call it what it is. If you hate the idea of unions and collective bargaining, then you are happy… if you do care about unions and collective bargaining then this will upset you. I don’t really know if I really care one way 0r another, but lets just call this pure politics and not blame the teachers and demonize our public servants. Next will be the police and then the fire departments, hero’s one day and goats the next.
*on a pure political note, this will totally backlash against the Republicans in the next election and I would not doubt that 60 days before the end of this Governor’s first year in office a petition for recall will be started and will make it to the ballot. The end result will be a state that probably would have been Republican in 2012 will go Democrat. The Republican base and Tea Party loves this, but I think the Democrat base and Independents will flip the other way – big time. (be sure to book mark this HR, to make me eat my words in 2012).
http://www2.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/portal/FY11-Line_Item.pdf <===== the real facts if you want some reading.
I wouldn’t claim it a Backlash, Union membership enrollments in Right To Work systems and volunteer ballot systems are in decline. Sure there may be a political game at stake here but to think only the Republicans are playing it and somehow the Unions are somehow clean of corruption or sterile from the political discussion at hand is naive.
To be blunt: If there are no means to reign in this Budget problem or reign in the Pension problem in the next few years then the Teacher’s Union will face the a mirrored fate that IAM chapter 776 did within Cessna Aircraft where the Union refused to Negotiate a prospect of decreased working hours to maintain workforce size without layoffs. The fate difference in WI is that the Public Sector employees could see all of their Pensions made void and themselves terminated instead of laid off; forced to re-apply for their current jobs with prospects of deflated pay with no previous benefits; or forced to seek work in another field of practice or out of State which will negatively impact EVERYONE in WI. Again if there are no actions and the State’s budget nightmare runs its path of a train wreck, everyone in these Protests could be seeing a pink sleep instead of a small pay cut.
I have no pity or sympathy for the Union forces at all, given the personal experiences from being in IAM 776. They sealed their own fates into this mess, and refusing to accept reality that is falling down around them is going to cost people their jobs no matter which way the political action happens. In politics or culture or in physics for every Action there is a Reaction and the Unions and the Democrats are trying to prevent the incoming Reaction of insolvency. This is a sign of incompetence and insanity with a hint of cowardice.
I know a fifth grade math teacher that got her master’s two years ago. That automatically boosted her pay by $15,000 per year. She is still a fifth grade math teacher, no added responsibilities, doing the same thing she did before, just getting $15,000 more per year. Great that she advanced her education, but how is it helping when she intends to carry on exactly as she has done for the past 10 years? She isn’t changing her lesson plans, she also gets $500 per year that’s supposed to be used for classroom expenses, she saves that for vacation pocket money.
Couldn’t we just give them a gold watch or big screen? sarc/
@blast:
Who had that money only because Frankendodd wanted everyone to own a house regardless of their intention to pay for it.
Who are flourishing under Obama.
Add Wal-Mart to the ever growing list of things about which blast is less than fully informed.
@blast:
Actually,many public sector employees do indeed receive soc sec benefits. Their coverage depends on whether or not their employers have chosen to opt them in or opt them out.
In the state of WI most teachers are covered by SS.
Buwahahahaha! Totally disconnected from reality. It’s a major trait of liberals.
“”Obama union that admitted in 2008 that it had an avenue to accept funds from “foreign nationals,” allowing them to have a voice in the American political process.”
I think I have an idea who the “foreign national” might be.
State, County, and Municipality workers fall under the same law of economics everyone else does. When a company does well, they hire and pay better to find skilled workers to best their competition. When things are not going so well, people get laid off, take salary cuts to keep their jobs, and lose benefits. Why would this not apply to public sector workers?
Police and Firefighters are a lot different than teachers. I’m sure our liberal friends would disagree, but let me explain. There is a pretty brutal weeding out process police and firefighters have that teachers do not. If you suck as a cop or a firefighter…you’re gonna die. There is the occasional physco cop or firefighter that is the exception, but they usally get weeded out by their own.
Spending more money on education has been proven to not be the answer. Our education system is broken and like it or not, the Teacher’s Unions are part of the problem.
I think Governor Walker is being pretty nice about all this right now. Like OT2 said, the Dim lawmakers are breaking the law. I’d have them arrested as soon as they step foot back in the state, and then I would have them prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I would then tell the teachers to be back to work on Monday or they would be terminated, (a la Ronaldus Maximus). It’s not like the kids are being educated during the “sick-out” anyway. With the current unemployment rate, I imagine you could drum up teachers pretty quickly to fill the void.
It really amazes me when people continually choose to seek their own destruction rather than make the smart choices that benefit everyone.
@liberal 1:
It really is to bad you havnt been alive longer than 3 decades. If you had been you would know that before the federal gooberment got involved the US had the best education system in the world. Around the time you were born the Ded was formed under law signed by Jimmy Carter. It has been going downhill ever since.
OK, Mr. Blast…
*Does the Union have the “Right” to break the State?
*Do Unions from Out of State have the “Right” to become involved to the point of creating chaos in the City of Madison, WI?
*and precipitate Mob Rule?
*Does the US Constitution’s 10th Amendment Prohibit the POTUS from Meddling in State Business
*Does the DNC have the “Right” to bring in Paid Demonstrators to interfere in a State Budget issue?
(Be damn careful on this one because there are More States with Budget Shortfalls and Balanced Budget Amendments in Their State Constitutions than those that do not!)
*To What extent does WI State Law govern the Conduct of it’s Senators regarding Voting on Budget Measures?
(I already in previous posts Cited applicable WI State Statute regarding the Class I Felony Charges)
I could fill a page here but it would be a waste of My Time and the Host’s bandwidth. I don’t expect any straight answers either. If You lived in Florida, how would You like Folks from Alabama and Georgia
interfering in Your States Budgetary Business, causing chaos and mayhem on your streets and meddling in Your States Affairs?
@Nuada:
NUADA – I commented about the same thing once. I think it’s a great idea. See how may Democrats run to the other side – LOL!
I will take it one step further. And I am not trying to be mean or insensitive here either. I am a realist. If someone wants a child, it’s their choice. Don’t expect a “Credit” of $1000.00 for each child because you decided to be irresponsible and bring a child into ‘ your world’ where you cannot even make ‘ends meet’ for yourself. Children are expensive. I don’t live, nor do I want to be in a ‘village’. My choice. It’s not fair to the child and it’s not fair to the tax payers who apparently don’t have a choice according to the Liberals. And I believe those who do not have children in the school systems should not have to ‘pay’ for a full public tuition for the neighbors kid(s). I am willing to pay something but not as much as I am ‘forced’ to. Liberals continue to cry about ‘Fairness’ where is ‘my’ fairness? Hypocrites.
It kills me that Obama can ‘stick his nose’ where it does not belong. He should just concentrate on learning how to be a LEADER. And stay out of All the States business. There will be more of this in the future – Ohio will be next…
Union Leaders need to negotiate higher pay for their members so they can fatten up their own wallets through membership dues. Its just another ‘capitalist’ enterprise disguised as a “Union”.. You know the very thing they ‘project’ to the Conservatives when they demonize capitalists in the private sector.
The Liberals have once again been exposed for what they ARE – FRAUDS AND HYPOCRITES.
Liberals are all about “Sacrifice” until it comes home to roost. They are all about sacrifice when it comes to ‘other people’s’ money. “their sacrifice”? = Liberals? = the Party of “NO’
FRAUDS – HYPOCRITES!
I noticed a “bulls eye” on Governor Walker on a Protest Poster – Where is the outrage from ANYONE?? The Tea Party was practically ripped to shreds over a FRAUDULENT accusation.
What kind of “message” are hooky playin’ teachers who are in cahoots with Doctors and phony Excuse Notes sending to “the children” ? Its no wonder so many people are so screwed up in America! They live day in and day out on LIES because they are taught lies and ‘to lie’. This whole WI episode just nails it all.
The true Liberal Colors keep coming out. Showing everyone what a bunch of Cowards (WI Lawmakers), FRAUDS, and HYPOCRITES the Liberals are.
When the dust settles Governor Walker should either dock the Teachers 2 days pay for each day they were out, or just Fire them all and hire substitutes until they get new Teachers in the classes. That would send a message!
2012 CANNOT COME FAST ENOUGH – WE NEED TO TAKE AMERICA BACK!
@Hard Right: “Buwahahahaha! Totally disconnected from reality. It’s a major trait of liberals.”
Keep telling yourself that. I’m not all that sure how denigrating firefighters, policemen, and school teachers is going to play with the American public. These are people most of us respect and look up to.
Most working Americans have also personally felt the sting of stagnating or declining wages, as well as the steady errosion of employment-related benefits. I wouldn’t make any hasty assumptions about which side mainstream America is going to identify with.
Denigrating a liar is not a big problem.
@Greg:
You’ve got it bass ackwards. It’s because of the sting of today’s economy that people are realizing the suffering is no where near balanced, that even as they sacrifice government union members party on, on the people’s dime, the in your face government union membership behavior is the last straw for many. Last poll I saw was 64% against the mess the unions and the miscreants they are dragging into the mess are causing.
Thankfully, this behavior is not representative of the majority, the majority of Wisconsin teachers aren’t illegally calling in sick, aren’t defying the will of the voters, aren’t actively making tea party protests look like Sunday school picnics.
Now we all see, democrats were projecting when it came to tea party protests, their behavior from the top down proves them to be hypocrites to the nth degree. No more slandering tea parties, the support for the fanatics instigating the mess in Madison severly damaged what credibility the democrat party had left.
BTW:
@Greg:
That’s a very amusing statement coming from a guy who has been doing precisely that over the last few days in multiple comments on this topic.
The vast majority of WI residents make far less than what these public workers make. The vast majority of WI residents pay from their own pockets higher percentages for their health insurance and pensions.
Finally, the vast majority of WI residents are feeling the crushing pressure of a sluggish economy and raging unemployment.
Now, over the course of the last six days or so, the residents of WI…the ones who make less, the ones who pay more for their benefits, the ones who are being affected most dramatically by the economy, the ones being forced to scramble about to make childcare arrangements for children who should be in school…all of those people are watching these public sector workers, these professional educators et al behaving badly.
What are these people…the ones who work 40 hours per week or multiple jobs in order to keep things together and provide for their families going to think of all of this?
What are they going to think of people who aren’t even willing to pay out a small percentage for their own support?
What are the normal Tom, Dick, Harry, Mary, and Sue going to think of teachers who call in “sick” for days on end effectively holding the education system hostage?
You’d be really wise to follow your own advice and “not make any hasty assumptions about which side mainstream America is going to identify with” because, in today’s economic and political environment, things aren’t likely to work out favorably for your viewpoint.
@Greg: There you go again, Greggie:
Here is your homework assignment.
Re-read that statement you made that I have quoted above.
Okay, good. Now read it aloud.
Great! Now try to understand that the vast majority of Wisconsin citizens are tired of contributing MORE to the public sector’s pensions and health insurance that the public employees themselves are paying.
Now re-read that quote of yours one last time, keeping in mind what I just said in the sentence before this one.
See? See how easy it is, when you actually stop and think for yourself??!!
Amazing, ain’t it? lol
Aye:
I would love to see where you got that information.
@blast: WHICH STATES EXCLUDE TEACHERS FROM SOCIAL SECURITY?
@blast:
Here ya go.
(Page 28 of the PDF.)