Boots on the Ground – Young at Heart in Madison
AGING MUDPUPS ON THE GROUND IN MADISON So, the husband and I finally decided to motor on up to Madison and join the fun. And, fun it was! We live in northern Illinois, a half-hour south of the border and frequently journey across the Cheddar Curtain. We also have two grandbabies there, so we felt a need to participate in the brouhaha in Madison. We have both been so agitated by the outrageous acts against workers rights that Scott Walker and his fat cat buddies have attempted to force upon Wisconsinites, that it was high time we made the…
We are Wisconsin, and We are Winning!
How do you know it might be time to take a break from the revolution? You come home from work late, wife and child are sleeping, you pour yourself a glass of 2nd tier scotch and make a Parmesan/Sriracha omelette with a couple of Hebrew National hotdogs on the side. Yeah, need to go grocery shopping and remember that I’ve got a little one to spend some time with. So…It’s been a long week, culminating in one of the most incredible events I’ve ever been a part of. I’ve gone from passive participant, to helping organize one of the best…
Rotundaville and Other Updates from the Cheddar Revolution
Madison, Winsonsin – It’s a community called Rotundaville. It boasts a medical clinic/dispensary manned by capable folks who know first aid, a food preparation/pantry area, a communal charging station for electronics, its own Facebook page, and even a family respite center. It’s a village unto its own that functions 24 hours per day, under the persistently glowing lights inside the capitol dome. And it is home to an eclectic group of dedicated volunteers who care for the sick, provide food, coordinate cleaning crews, and most importantly, occupy this normally staid symbol of Wisconsin State government in protest of Governor Scott…
Boots on the Ground – Scott Walker Cuts the Cheese
Wisconsin’s Walker Cuts the Cheese A most powerful stench sponsored by Koch Industries, et al. By ‘Anonymous Cheesehead’ On Friday, February 11 an e-mail from Governor Scott was sent to me and 382,780* State of Wisconsin employees outlining Walker’s plan to address the state’s “very serious and undeniable financial challenges” including how Wisconsin “face[s] of budget deficit of $136.7 million” in the current fiscal year. (*Full and part-time employee data retrieved from the US Census Bureau.) Despite Wisconsin Club for Growth’s TV and radio ads depicting state employees as having an unfair advantage and gliding through the recession without sacrifice,…
Solidarity with Wisconsin: Alaska’s Capital Rallies For Working Families
“We have all been reading about Wisconsin and the other attacks against public employees throughout the country. The time is at hand to stop wringing our hands and start taking some action.” —Pete Ford, Alaska Public Employees Association (APEA-AFT) (Juneau, AK)—With almost no advance notice, a large crowd in Alaska’s Capitol converged on Dimond Courthouse Square near the State Legislature Building to stand in solidarity with embattled public employees in Wisconsin. In the middle of a sunny day in Juneau, union and non-union folks alike made their voices heard in defense of working families and basic standards of decency when…
Dan Sullivan, Go to the Back of the Class.
It’s been a little while since we’ve heard from America’s least favorite Mayor. If you’d been speculating, perhaps, that the Mayor was visited over the holidays by the Ghost of the Municipality Yet to Come, and had had a transformational experience which left him filled with human compassion and a love of mankind that would guide the rest of his political career, I’m going to have to disappoint you. He’s taken a little break this week from targeting firefighters, and police officers, and the homeless and he has now turned his malevolent gaze upon… your children. If ever anyone needed…
Anchorage Assembly Meeting 2011 Budget – What are People Saying? (Live blogging)
I’m here at the Assembly Chambers as public testimony is being taken on the Anchorage municipal budget. (See previous post) I’ll try to hit the highlights for those of you who couldn’t make it. There is a long line of people waiting to testify and the room is packed to standing room only. Guy in weird hat and American flag scarf thinks the mayor is doing a great job. Thinks the Assembly should buy their own lunch. Quoting from a book “citizens are a milk cow ready to give buckets of money… absurd taxes, bla bla bla.” 18th Century, Declaration…
Time to Storm the Castle! Sullivan's Budget
OK, boys and girls. The election is (almost) over and now it’s time to redirect our focus just a tad. It’s kind of like when the dishwasher overflows, and the dog is barking to get in, and someone drops a glass… Then when you finally get it all sorted out, you look over in the pantry and you see the five year old elbow deep in a bag of chocolate chips, with scared eyes and melted goo all over his face. He thinks because you haven’t had time to pay attention during all the chaos, that he could just keep…
A Love Letter to Mayor Dan Sullivan
…and by “love letter” I mean deliciously awesome laser-focused hard-core smack down. The Anchorage Municipal Employees Association has had just about enough of the Mayor. We’ve ALL had just about enough of the mayor, but the AMEA has brilliantly summarized one aspect of the administration of the worst mayor ever. I’ll let the letter speak for itself, but hopefully it is but one chapter in the doomed administration of the “one term worm” Dan Sullivan. (Emphasis is mine and .pdf file of the original letter is attached) And thank you to all hard-working municipal employees who do their best to…