I must confess I'm not a big fan of tea partiers getting in the faces of the loonies who currently encamped in the state houses around the country, shouting arguments and then complaining when the loonies shove them. It's distasteful. I'm not even sure I think tea partiers should try to outnumber the protesters, as the unions are having "their day" now and obviously have the big bucks to bus the professionally aggrieved in to plant their stinky rear ends near the veterans' memorials in these revered buildings. What purpose does it serve to retaliate? In truth, most tea partiers work for a living and can't afford to take off days to trot to Columbus to face them down. It's not like these people are really going to win the battles, considering how badly they've been behaving. It can't sit well with the electorate. It's understandable to try to get out in front of the cameras so both sides are shown, but tea partiers have never had to really do that and still win, considering there's no money or Koch behind the movement. But you have to ask. What is it with the hoity toity of this country? As generous a nation as we are, citizens get whacked in the head, nagged about moving more, eating less, doing with less. Talk radio is INUNDATED with sappy admonitions to volunteer, adopt, feel guilty for using lead paint 50 years ago, volunteer, engage your community, be energy efficient, play basketball with your kid, volunteer, prevent hunger, prevent foreclosure, volunteer, *think before you speak,* volunteer, volunteer, volunteer... We're called upon to sacrifice, yet who up at the top of the food chain is sacrificing? Who is even following their own advice? Today Drudge had an article about the 2200 calorie meal the White House served to the nation's governors. The White House has partied repeatedly in the face of turmoil around the world, including the slaughter in Libya, the death of leaders, the Gulf oil crisis and more. Twenty parties just during the holidays alone. Then, while the peons are admonished to ride bikes, we learn that the Obamas fly a personal trainer in from Chicago to DC two to four times a week. Apparently there are no good trainers in DC. And a pizza guy. The Daily Mail.
When you're the president of the United States, only the best pizza will do - even if that means flying a chef 860 miles.
Chris Sommers, 33, jetted into Washington from St Louis, Missouri, on Thursday with a suitcase of dough, cheese and pans to to prepare food for the Obamas and their staff.
He had apparently been handpicked after the President had tasted his pizzas on the campaign
Cuz there are no good pizzas in DC. There's more, we know. Flying separately jets to Hawaii. Separate jets to New England. Flying to Spain with an entourage at great government expense. But we have long memories. Victor David Hanson has another excellent piece, comparing his experiences as farmer and professor. A great divide, he describes. NRO:
My purpose in relating the divide is not to suggest that the brutality of farming bears much resemblance to the private-sector office or that a university professorship is at all comparable to the much more arduous duties of an inner-city middle- or high-school teacher. But all that said, I think that we forget how fortunate teachers are in the 21st century, in terms of compensation, hours spent at work, and the general absence of physical danger, at least in comparison to the lineman, the garbage collector, or the interstate trucker. I have met hundreds of teachers who have had only one steady job: teaching. I have seldom met a land-leveler, company field man, or tractor mechanic who had not worked at a half-dozen jobs over his career — and rarely by choice.
One would hope that both sides- the state government and the unions- could come together to decide what is best for teachers and children. Indeed, one has to ask why any bill has to run 700 pages to get to the point, as SB 5 does. OTOH, many of the ideas could be adopted that would prevent the states from going broke, while still honoring some of the ideals upon which the original contracts were written. At this rate, nobody's going to win. Ah, well. In the absence of sanity, perhaps we can sit back and watch the Charlie Sheen debacle unfold.
I dunno. Maybe it's because this particular blog emanates from flyover country, where people work hard and don't generally get screamy over stupid, stupid things. Granted, we're pretty provincial. I'd like to believe, however, that most people can see when somebody is really screwed up and disconnected from reality. Take, for example, Charlie Sheen. What is WRONG with that guy. And what happened to the days when people used as an excuse their various addictions to excuse abominable behavior? When you're crazy, you need an excuse like an addiction to _________ to shake responsibility for your bad behavior. You know, the obscene pictures, the drunken brawls, the invectives you shouted about your various enemies, even if your enemies include your audience. But no more. Now what we do is brag about that. Charlie Sheen figures you're a loser and his life is simply the best possible anyone could have and that we all should be jealous of him. Envious of the rotten teeth due, rumored, to crack. Envious of the aging face, and of the treatments that are required to keep it viable? Envious of the uneven relationships? Envious of the debauchery, the panic his family feels as they watch him deteriorate and beg him to go to rehab? Mmmm. Don't think so, Charlie. Why are these people so disconnected from reality? Are they so solipsistic that nothing exists beyond their shores? Then there's Eleanor Clift, commentator extraordinaire who says, "Since when does Scott Walker represent the people?" Let me paraphrase our president. Elections have consequences. You didn't win.
Wow. Then there's Chris Matthews. Wow. The way these liberal men have treated this woman is breathtaking. The hypocrisy of calling for more respect for their own "kind" yet threatening all manner of obscene behavior for her is despicable. No matter what you think of Palin, no one deserves to be treated this way. Matthews, who prides himself that he is smarter than she, repeatedly, day after day after day, appears to have a sick fascination with her, unable to focus on any other politician. Watch, H/T Daily Caller: Then this male dodo bird in Madison calls a female Republican "f***ing dead" for voting her choices. Report over at WTMJ. Unlike Charlie Sheen, he's realized the error of his ways and *apologized,* having immediately realized the winds weren't blowing his way on that one. I dunno. Is it just me? Or do all these people need rehab?
Really, now, this is appearing to be more and more like the 60s. The media has taken a liking to the comparison, and the stench of hippies is once again rising from state capitols around the country. Exultant from their "winning" space on the floors, defiling memorials, stinking up the halls,taping up signs with all manner of foul language and narrow viewpoints, the hippies and their acolytes are refusing to peacefully leave the capitol building in Wisconsin so that it can be fumigated, debugged, unstenched, swept up and scrubbed. Yeah, just like the old days. While the tea partiers left immaculate grounds wherever they "demonstrated," these people and their kind leave trash, just like the old days. They've even hauled out their old sorry ass musiciansto lift their sorry ass spirits as they cry that they shall overcome. Overcome..... Having to pay for their health insurance. Having to pay for their own pensions. Mike Tobin says he sees "hate in their eyes." The Daily Caller:
“And the sickest thing is many go to the University of Wisconsin there or are affiliated as teachers or some other positions with the university, supposedly a liberal bastion committed to the Bill of Rights and the United States,” Rivera said. “And yet, they are using bullying tactics on the one hand and then this gross interruptions of a reporter trying to do his job.”
They even have a handout from the old days to explain how to resist leaving the building. Note that the handout is the "updated" version. It's time we realize that part of what's happening is the attempting hijacking back to the days of the war when people had a raison d'etre, a drive, and a purpose in life. This appeals not only to the baby boomers (well, those boomers who haven't been mugged), and academia, but also to a sector of today's youth who have long pined for something greater than, say, a new iPhone. (Certainly not greater than oneself, because that is surely what this mess is about anyway...me, me, me.) For years, a select group of youths have identified with the days of rock n' roll; they dress, talk and act retro. So individualistic, you know. The truth is they are exhibiting exactly what the hippies did in the sixties. They're all the same. There's no individualism. They're all alike. UPDATE: Video from Tobin:
So the word union means "the act of uniting two or more things." We have to assume that the act of uniting is referring to all the same kind of people, since the idea of uniting union members with the regular American Joe is pretty unlikely, at this point, because the nastiness emanating from this segment of the population is pretty ugly. But if you've visited anywhere around the web you already know that. It's pretty depressing, actually. It's pretty divisive, actually. It's pretty, well, as I said, ugly. While on one hand, the perpetrators of the ugliness formerly called for civility in light of the crimes/agitation the tea partiers did not commit, given an opportunity to act like beasts they've eagerly seized every conceivable occasion to pretend to be apes, donkeys and dinosaurs. While in Wisconsin, we discover that the fleebaggers' absence is costing Joe Shmo $165 million. Administration officials are ramping up the fight against the American taxpayer, with Obama's Labor Secretary declaring that the "fight is on." Union members threaten teenagers with obscene actions, scream numerous epithets at tea partiers, and now the police in Wisconsin have declared that they will not do their jobs, but rather join in the protest in the State House. From Legal Insurrection:
More than anything, this shows the dangers of public sector unions. Those who work for the state occupy a different position than those who work in the private sector because they carry the weight of state authority. When those state workers are in law enforcement, they carry special obligations not to use their positions for political purposes.
When an off-duty policeman wearing police insignia takes a megaphone and announces that he and his fellow police union members will disobey orders, that policeman -- at a minimum -- has dishonored his pledge to uphold the law.
It appears that by the end of today we will know whether the police union members' talk of insurrection was bluster (which I suspect is the case), or if they really will risk their careers by disobeying lawful orders from legitimate and duly elected state authority.
Jacobsen's point that unions can present more of a danger to the public rather than a benefit extends to any area of security, such as the TSA, which the administration has agreed to unionize. In an insignificant job such as teaching children, unions who promote absenting teachers from the classroom based on bargaining can present inconveniences, rather than security issues. What we've been witnessing the past few weeks is definitely a psy-ops endeavor. They think by banding together in as great numbers as they can muster, they will scream in the faces of the taxpayer and win the argument. Picture this. "Gimme the money!" she screamed. Legal Insurrection looks at the numbers of the turnout for yesterday's rallies, which are highly touted by the press as a show of unity but were somewhat disappointing in reality.
Promoters, such as David Dayen at Firedoglake, were predicting a million-person turnout nationwide. But reports as of 7:00 E.S.T. today make clear that other than in Madison, Wisconsin, the crowds were sparse.
The turnout in Madison was sizable, with estimates ranging over from 50-70,000, which included protesters bused in from other states. (Dayen is trying to pump the crowd estimate to over 100,000.) But elsewhere, the crowds numbered only in the hundreds or low thousands.
In Washington, D.C., only about 500 people showed up (go to link for good photos of crazy signs). (Note, WaPo says 1000.)
In Columbus, OH, where you would expect a big crowd given a similar controversy, only "several thousand" people protested.
No doubt these protests will continue and even increase. They need to be ignored and legislators need to do the business of legislating with the interest of tomorrow's children in mind. We owe them the right to inherit a country that is not burdened with the debt of paying entitlements for the huge baby boomer populace which will undoubtedly live for more years than they worked, limping slowly into the sunset with their smooth botoxed faces, suctioned muffintops and colonic-ed bowels. Some foolish college students have even dreamily signed onto the movement, as if this were the sixties or something. Finally they have something to march for. (On a side note, this situation reminds me of a student who was accepted at Harvard in glowing terms because she was "disadvantaged." Why was she disadvantaged? Because her mother was dead. Why was her mother dead? Because the student had killed her. Reality bites.) Goodwin at the NY Post puts the union behavior this way:
Wherever you look, the bile runneth over. Beyond making fools of themselves with juvenile comparisons, the "social justice" crowd is inadvertently proving that public-sector unions are a privileged class. Touch them and you die from a thousand insults.
The truth of the character of these individuals is being revealed. It's pretty polarizing and pretty awful. The public who pays the salaries of these jokers isn't going to put up with this forever. In fact, they can run all the public opinion polls you want, but that won't change the way people feel about this. The only people who are defending this are the people who have a self interest in it. Apparently that's what we've become, however. A nation of self-interested government workers. Um, not.
They've united the taxpayer against their so-called "unity." For an amusing look at what they really think of you, click on over here and laugh, where the truth is revealed. Seriously, do it.
On a nice lazy Sunday morning, it's always good to get your blood boiling. This story has been around a few days, but as it develops it is truly astounding. In Britain, of course, are so many serious problems that it's almost impossible to keep up. Citizens' rights are limited by numerous laws that favor non-taxpayers/indigents/illegals. The latest outrage is that of a fellow who saved up for years to buy an expensive house and was having it remodeled when squatters, discussing it on an online forum, decided to occupy it, which appears to be their legal right. Authorities not only will not do anything to help the legal owner, but have supplied the squatters with funds to fight the eviction. The ultimate insult? The squatters are illegals who, since they are unemployed, under EU rules have more rights than the taxpaying citizens. Are they squatting because they're old and poor? Are they squatting because they've fallen on rough times? Eh, no. Read over at Daily Mail:
One of the squatters, who said he was 20, told the Sunday Telegraph: 'There are many empty homes and we should be able to live wherever we want.'
Shoreditch County Court refused to issue an interim possession order forcing them to vacate the property within 24 hours because of a technicality - and it could now be six weeks before they are told have to go.
An eviction order was made by the judge but it could be weeks before they are out.
Lest you rest easy and think that this is a peculiar EU problem, take a look at this declaration called, "A World for the Taking: Squatting in the USA," whose author considers squatting a gray area.
Why would you rent when so many vacant buildings are sitting empty for the taking?
[SNIP]
Depending on the location and people involved, squatting falls into the gray area between homelessness and normal living. But to me, there's ultimately a world of difference between sleeping in a boarded-up house and sleeping on a sidewalk. Squatting allows me to reclaim a home for myself.
A boarded up house is one thing. Taking over houses now owned by the bank is quite another, as is staying at your house for years after you've lost it or stealing another's house which was legally paid for. There's a How to Squat Wiki. Here's the international symbol for squatting:
Youtube has videos on how to squat in the USA and Wikipedia has information on squats made legal in, of course, New York City. California has a particular problem (of course). Then there're the community activist groups that help people squat in the USA. ACORN has promoted squatting for years. Obama's connection? Why, Working Familes for America, a branch of ACORN, which Obama has promoted for years. From Discover the Networks:
The Working Families Party (WFP) is a front group for the radical cult ACORN. It functions as a political party in New York State and Connecticut, promoting ACORN-friendly candidates. Unlike conventional political parties, WFP charges its members dues – about $60 per year – a policy characteristic of ACORN and its affiliates.
According to the party’s Web site, WFP is a coalition founded by ACORN, the Communications Workers of America, and the United Automobile Workers. However, ACORN clearly dominates the coalition. New York ACORN leader Steven Kest was the moving force in forming the party. WFP headquartersis located at the same address as ACORN’s national office, at 88 Third Avenue in Brooklyn.
“The [Working Families Party] was created in 1998 to help push the Democratic Party toward the left,” noted the Associated Press on March 28, 2000.
As sanity returns to the USA, pushing these radical agendas will become more intense. While a generous people, most Americans are simply not sympathetic to people who eagerly and selfishly break the law for their own gain.
Well, it looks like the State House in Madison, Wisconsin, will be emptied out tomorrow night, for at least a few hours for purification and fumigation purposes. One hopes an exorcist can perform miracles on the building, in addtion. Article at JSOnline. Commentary and pictures (warning: unwashed hippie alert) at NRO.
For nearly two weeks, the capitol has been a poster-covered commune for graybeard professors, college students, and government workers. Many visitors have slept under the rotunda, toting sleeping bags and blankets along with anti-Walker signs. Near the stairwells, empty pizza boxes, grungy pillows, and snack boxes have piled up; hand drums and winter coats dot the ground floor.
Do these people not understand? There is NO MORE MONEY! They have spent it all. It is gone. You can CLAIM that health, dental and eye insurance are DUE you, even though the little old lady down the street can no longer afford to pay higher and higher taxes. You can claim that the Nov. 2 elections were NOT a referendum on the current state of government. You can ACT LIKE other people in this country are not drowning in debt, but it will not change the truth. Defiling public places seem to be standard behavior the last two weeks. This is the capitol building in Wisconsin. Imagine if tea partiers had done this. (fail!) Imagine if openly communist groups had done this. But these are *supposedly* teachers. And that makes it...right?
Punks-both in action and personally. First we had the left winger who called Governor Walker and pretended to be a wealthy conservative businessman, punking the governor into believing that he was talking to someone other than a leftwing punker. A great fuss was made about the incident, but in reality it verified that Governor Walker is in private who he is in public. Now we have a restaurant claiming that they turned away Governor Walker and refused to serve him, asked him to leave while the customers booed him. This incident was proven to be a fabricated incident to get more union customers into the restaurant. This is the restaurant. It seems turnabout's fair play on that one. If union customers want to patronize the restaurant, then tea partiers can choose not to. But what these incidents reveal is a deeper issue. It exposes the deceitfulness of the left. (Where are the incidents of tea partiers doing despicable things like this, trying to trick people into believing things that aren't true to make their point.) And then here, in Ohio. In Ohio, limited numbers were allowed into the rotunda at the State House for safety purposes, as determined by the State Highway Patrol. There was a great deal of crying and complaining that it was unfair to make all those demonstrators stand outside in the cold, even though they knew it was cold when they chose to go there. If you've ever been inside the State House, you know that it's an old, compact building with limited space. Beautiful, but not the most spacious building in government. The following video is an Ohio legislator commenting on the behavior of the crowd while in the building.
This accusation of defecation and vandalism has caused great consternation and mockery among left wing bloggers, who claim that the act was probably done by homeless people; the writing on the wall was simply in chalk so no harm, no foul. Respect, meh. The problem is that when you're dealing with people who lie and deceive to get what they want, it's hard to believe or respect their opinions. While on one hand, union members claim that Governor Walker should sit down and talk through the changes the unions want, the Democrats turn into fleebaggers and exit the state. Somehow these union members gloated when Obama said, "Elections have consequences. I won." but they can't seem to have the same response to Nov. 2's elections, which threw them out of control in the House and many state governments. In Kansas, it is reported at CJonline that union members have subjected female lawmakers to sexual slurs and "degrading comments" but, hey, that's okay if we get what we want. Forget all that crap about equality and rights if opponents disagree with us on any issue. A gay black tea partier gets mocked, racially slurred by union members. (link to follow) No respect is shown for tradition, for the buildings, for government. Elections have consequences. It becomes obvious, at this point, that principles are only good when you're getting what you want. What kind of principles are those? This is a picture of the Wisconsin capitol building from Althouse's blog. Many more pictures there.
Gee, I wonder if any defecating in the stairwell has gone on in that State House. Highly unlikely, eh?
Well, they're all shouting it so I might as well repeat it. The behavior of these people, many so called "professionals," has been shocking and discouraging. All over the web are instances of people abusing tea partiers, screaming and committing acts of violence against lawmakers and the opposition, crying in self pity. Here's the stark contrast between the tea partiers' demonstrations and the union demonstrations: the tea partiers ARE concerned about money, but not so much in self interest. They're interested in the future of this country, the debt that we are accumulating and the reach of government into private lives. The unions are concerned about their own money: their fat pensions, their salaries, and the benefits that are bankrupting the states. The tea partiers are concerned about what will be left for today's children. A most remarkable expose of leftist "civility" can be found here, with lots of pictures. Lawmakers have been assaulted and harassed; even their families are not safe. Here's a woman who bears a remarkable resemblance to a certain Lord of the Rings character who claims lawmakers are trying to take away her health care, that she can no longer receive health care because of the vote taken in Wisconsin. For the record, the average Wisconsin teacher salary is about $56,000; Cadillac benefits put the cost per teacher at over $100,000 per teacher. From the Wall Street Journal:
•Health care for current employees. Under the current collective- bargaining agreements, the school district pays the entire premium for medical and vision benefits, and over half the cost of dental coverage. These plans are extremely expensive.
This is partly because of Wisconsin's unique arrangement under which the teachers union is the sponsor of the group health-insurance plans. Not surprisingly, benefits are generous. The district's contributions for health insurance of active employees total 38.8% of wages. For private-sector workers nationwide, the average is 10.7%.
In addition, these teachers contribute nothing to their pension funds. All is contributed by the taxpayer. So we have these people crying about how mean the state legislators are to try to balance the state budget, but no one seems to care about all the money the union blows on parties and parking spots and all kinds of luxuries. New York Daily News. In fact, the NEA spends millions on supporting left wing candidates, as reported in Open Secrets. UPDATE: From The Blaze, if teachers are back in class, who's protesting?(Obviously, the union has sent "solidarity" agents in to testify, collapse weeping on the floor and claim they've lost their health care, and scream invectives at the lawmakers who passed the bill.)
