Fezmid

You make it sound like the budget bill was written to have the unions pay more for pension and health care, and when the union said, "Ok," he said, "No, wait -- now I want more!" That's not what happened. He said, "Here's what I want to do," and the unions said, "We'll only allow this and this." That's not the same thing as you're saying. So Walker should've fired all of the teachers and dissolved the union altogether when the teachers had their strike in Wisconsin...? Serious question. Schools were literally closed down for up to a week because of the "strike." Instead he tried negotiating for THREE WEEKS, which got him nowhere.

Bingo. The union members are middle class, but the bosses definitely aren't. I love it when union members "defend" their system, and then you turn around and read about young outstanding teachers being fired due to lack of seniority. http://www.jsonline....n/96349689.html Milwaukee School Board President Michael Bonds said the situation in Milwaukee reflects economic reality and has nothing to do with teacher performance. The district has to lay off teachers based on seniority, he said.

What if I want to be a teacher but don't want to be in a union or pay union dues? What if I want to be a teacher but I'm a fiscal conservative? Why do I have to pay hundreds of dollars to support something I don't believe in? Elections have consequences. The republicans won. That's EXACTLY how democracy works. Nice, you hate the guy but don't actually pay any attention to what he says or does. Guess what one of the first things he said after the bill passed? "Now we don't have to layoff 1,500 people." That didn't get a lot of coverage though, did it? As for "Wall Street people," last I checked Milwaukee wasn't teaming with bank execs... So how is WISCONSIN supposed to fix their budget? Before spouting hate, why don't you actually learn to read a little about the topics from multiple news sources? Hell, why do you have such hatred for a guy who isn't even running your state! He's running the state I live in, and many people here support what he's doing believe it or not.

Oh please, the "Koch Brothers" argument is such a tired line. Those "billionaire donors" gave a whopping $43,000 to the Walker campaign. I'm sure that's what swayed the entire election. And yes, they donated money to a general Republican fund as well -- but it's not like that money was earmarked for Walker. People in Wisconsin voted for him. People in Wisconsin voted in republicans across the state. Walker said he was going to fix the budget. He's fixing the budget. That's the way our democracy works, and he's been following it. A few thousand people banging drums in Madison does not represent the entire state.

What, like fleeing the state even though law says the Governor can compel senators to show up and vote? Oh wait, wrong party.

Didn't Russel throw a competition in the past to get rid of someone? I thought he did but might be confusing it with someone else. Regardless, he got played. He was playing the same game, hiding information (idol clue), and therefore nobody trusted him. They decided to act as a team and boot him. They OUTPLAYED him, no? Sounds like sour grapes on his part to cry about throwing a challenge. And I still think the girl from his first season (Natalie?) deserved it. She was the one pulling the strings towards the end of the season. She let Russel do the dirty work and then cut into first place at the end, just like a speed skater or race car driver. The last few weeks of that season, she was totally in control, even if Russel thought otherwise.

I don't think they're "gaming the system." The rules are there and are very clear, they're just playing by them. Now Walker has changed the rules and some people are complaining because they felt entitled. That's where I have the problem. You don't like the change, get a different job. That's what we do in the private sector.

More death threats from the left... http://www.620wtmj.com/shows/charliesykes/117726263.html http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/117738098.html

Count me in the group that thinks the producers gave Russel hints on where the idols were. They've been accused of helping players out in the past so it makes sense. Regardless, he didn't deserve to win any of the games he played, and he didn't deserve it this year either. Being social is part of the game, one he never understood and never will.

It's not. But the major complaint people have here is the collective bargaining angle. Walker is severely reducing it so that cities/towns/districts aren't held hostage by public workers and have the latitude to be able to shift their finances around in a way that makes sense for that area instead of having a state-wide "one size fits all" mentality. This will weaken the unions and force employees to be individuals - like most of the country already is. As for the "my neighbor's kid can't play soccer" comment -- if it's true that the school cut the sport (which wouldn't have happened based on yesterday's vote - it's too soon), and you know the kids really want to play soccer, start up your own league and charge dues. Kids around here play hockey as kids - and the school doesn't pay for that, yet they still play. Sticks, pads, ice time, etc, all paid for by parents who have kids that want to play hockey. Soccer will be CHEAP comparatively.

The majority of the state I live in voted for Walker. There's some loud people in Madison protesting, but to say that's the majority of the people in the state is ridiculous. There's a tremendous amount of support for what Walker's doing. I'm not quite sure why the republicans didn't wait 24 hours before passing this... But they were told they could, so hey. Dude, Walker and the Republicans have been in constant contact with the Dems that are hiding out of state. They claim he hasn't, but the Milwaukee paper filed the equivalent of a freedom of information act and were given many emails that show there were major negotiations going on. The dems response when that came out? "Those weren't negotiations, they were merely discussions." I don't remember if Walker specifically mentioned collective bargaining during the election, but everyone in the state knew what he was going to do. My neighbor is a teacher, and my in-laws are professors, and they both saw the writing on the wall when he was running and said this was what he was going for. If they could see it, don't you think the people who voted for him did too?

Touche!

I just dug into and found my answer -- you don't pay taxes to DC because of a reciprocity agreement between DC and VA. They take care of shifting tax dollars for you, behind the scenes. (the below link is outdated since it shows MN and WI have reciprocity) http://www.gaebler.com/State-Income-Tax-Reciprocal-Agreements.htm Minnesota and Wisconsin had a reciprocity agreement, but it was canceled when the two governors couldn't get along a couple of years ago. MN was saying WI wasn't paying their share of income taxes fast enough (more people live in WI and work in MN -- therefore WI has to cut MN a check at some point). So MN canceled the agreement. You pay taxes to the state you live AND the state you work: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_pro_athletes_pay_taxes_where_they_live_or_work Wisconsin gives a tax credit for taxes paid to Minnesota -- I'm assuming most states have that clause, but who knows... Did I teach Tom something...?

Why don't they pay income tax to DC? I live in WI, work in MN. After the two state governors got mad at each other last year, they pulled tax reciprocity. So I now pay all of my state tax to MN. It's taxable in WI as well, but I get a "credit" for paying taxes to MN. When all's said and done this year, I'll be paying $0 of income tax to WI; it all went to MN. Similar to professional athletes who have to pay tax in the states they play in. Is it because DC isn't a state?

He has a mental illness.

We playing this week? I'm off from school and tomorrow would work out. I haven't funded my account yet but I can.

Well the lawsuit was looking for monetary damages -- season ticket holders who spent a lot of money to watch games that were fixed.

I don't want you to be surprised... So try flushing a tennis ball down the toilet and see what happens.

Technically it's just an AI and not a robot...

They sell Christmas wreathes here. And the popcorn.

If you honestly believe that Watson was built to play on Jeopardy! and has no other uses, then there's no use trying to talk to you about the topic. So you're saying by hiring Watson that the Bills would end up like the Wisconsin democrats and just leave the stadium so that the game can't go on?

Again, other fans of other teams complain about it too. If you don't want to read about complaints, go be a Pats* fan and you won't have to worry about it anymore.