The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Yeah so I guess my state is angry and protesting at the capital and stuff while I was away. It's been about freezing temperature here and WI people are more the passive aggressive type, so this is kind of unexpected and exciting. Tom Morello apparently played a few times at the capitol, as well as other famous personalities showing up.

BACKGROUND: In November, a bunch of dumbshits voted in a bunch of really dumb assholes. Now we have fallout, as our teabagging state governor (Scott Walker) and representatives want to limit collective bargaining for state workers and require higher contributions to their benefits. Basically, the state workers have accepted lower wages over the years in return for good benefits, but now those benefits are being tampered with.

The bill passed the state assembly at 1 AM when Republicans suggested a break from debate and voted while the Democrats were out of the room. (It was an unofficial break that somebody should have caught.) Now a bunch of our Democratic state senators have left the state so that there is not a quorum to vote in the senate.

Yesterday, the police ordered protesters to leave the capitol by 4 PM so that it could be cleaned. People did not leave, and nobody was arrested. Pretty much the whole of Madison is against Scott Walker. The police chief was pissed when the governor revealed his assholishness in a prank call.

I have been told the entire capitol smells like pizza, because a lot of local pizza places are taking donations and donating free pizzas to protesters, and the local cab companies are helping deliver them. We have a lot of co-ops and such that are taking sides against the governor.

There are efforts underway to recall Republican state senators. We can't recall the governor yet, as he's only been in office a few months. Unfortunately, a lot of out-of-state people are interfering and bussing in counter-protesters and trying to recall Democratic senators.

More info here https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... t_protests

The Republicans broke the union provision into a separate bill and passed that without Democrats present. After claiming that it was a budget issue, it's clear it was all about power.

Manhattan Glutton wrote:The Republicans broke the union provision into a separate bill and passed that without Democrats present. After claiming that it was a budget issue, it's clear it was all about power.

I'll be really interested to see what happens when that "law" gets challenged in court. And it will.

Did anyone happen to see the televised broadcast of that session, by the way? It was surreal. I'm pretty sure it's online, but it's late and I can't be bothered to find the link myself right now.

Not to be morbid, but I'm wondering what the provisions are for when a whole state simply collapses and loses its ability to sustain itself. I mean, the whole state government is either corrupt or absent, and there's basically no money. Does Washington intervene, or is it just up to the people to force a coup of some sort?

Generic wrote:Not to be morbid, but I'm wondering what the provisions are for when a whole state simply collapses and loses its ability to sustain itself. I mean, the whole state government is either corrupt or absent, and there's basically no money. Does Washington intervene, or is it just up to the people to force a coup of some sort?

Consider this:

Amendment X to the United States Constitution wrote:The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

I think this would make a federal takeover of a state problematic from a judicial perspective.

Today is the recall election. Pray to your deities that things turn out alright.

My hometown is strongly in support of Walker, and my current city is strongly in support of Barrett. We are quite a state divided right now.

Yes, please recall that fucker so we can start a recall of our dickhead governor.

You wouldn't believe how many people are going out to vote today with the notion of "Fuck public workers. If I don't get paid well, they shouldn't." These are the same people who chose their education and career based on "Fuck public jobs. They don't pay well enough."

I am disappointed.