Fezmid

Not really related, but still funny: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/116619353.html

Nice article on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/02/21/avlon.wisconsin.unions/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

Then why is Mark Dayton saying, "The rich will pay their fair share of taxes!" and then applies that to families making $150,000.... Apparently he didn't get Obama's memo. You know the funniest part? Check out this article: http://www.nickcolemanmn.com/?p=1332 "Gov. Mark Dayton has gotten the richies and the righties (often, they are the same) in a tizzy by sticking to his campaign promises and proposing to close Minnesota’s yawning budget gap by raising taxes on the top 5 percent of state earners." But when Walker tries sticking to his campaign promises, there's rioting in the streets of Madison. What a double standard. I hate politics.

More importantly, what's his definition of "wealthy?" In Minnesota, Dayton wants to raise the state tax rate on families that earn $150k/year to around 13%. So a married couple, each earning $75k/year is "wealthy."

So how exactly do you define "middle class?" I'm asking because I always hear that thrown out there but nobody gives a defined answer as to what it means. My in-laws are both teachers at a technical college in Wisconsin. They both give the same talking points - "without the union, there's no middle class." I won't state how much they make until I hear some responses, but I'll just say that I don't consider them middle class. So how much money does a family earn to be middle class? Middle-upper class? Upper class? Elite?

I think the word you're looking for is "furlough:" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furlough Walker is saying that if the bill isn't passed, he will have to lay off 6,000+ employees. He also promised no increase in furlough days, along with some other things I can't remember offhand. If a pay cut or reduction in benefits is not a concession, what would you call it....? And as I keep saying - this was not a surprise, it's what he ran on and was overwhelmingly elected for. How is this any different than Washington forcing the Healthcare reform bill through without any support from Republicans? And what would the media have said if Republicans just walked out and made it so nobody could vote? They'd be pissed and the "party of no" comments would be flowing. How come I haven't heard anything about the Dems being the "party of no" in this case?

But is that really an issue? Who cares if people bring knives onto a plane? The best thing airlines did was to reinforce the cockpit door and keep it locked during flight. If you had willingly brought the box cutter on board, what would you do? Stab a few people? You could bludgeon someone with an item just as effectively. As I said, security theater.

Yeah, but we get to remove a lot of freedoms too!

Well of course nobody WANTS to lose benefits. But the simple fact of the matter is that people ARE losing benefits in the private sector. Or they're losing jobs (my company just cut 9% of the workforce this week... Including one guy who had worked here for 17 years.). Why should the public sector be sitting pretty without a care in the world? Fact of the matter is this is what Walker campaigned on. He won the election by a wide margin. What's the problem?

Airport security is a joke - pure security theater. But in this case, who cares that the license was expired? It still proves that it's you, just that you can't legally drive... The picture ID is there for nothing more than to make sure you don't give your ticket to someone else. If you can't make a flight, airlines don't want you re-selling the ticket since they'd rather keep the seat for themselves.

Union is willing to concede benefits but want to keep collective bargaining. http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/116470423.html Can anyone here explain what that actually means? What are the pros/cons of collective bargaining both from the state and from the employee/union perspective? I don't really know enough about it. Although this quote really pisses me off: "but we will not be denied our God-given right to join a real union . . .  we will not - I repeat we will not - be denied our rights to collectively bargain," Beil said in a statement." Since when is joining a union a God given right...?

I married into a Packers family, so Green Bay is my #2. I even have a paver in front of Lambeau.

Link? It'd be nice to share that with some people I know...

http://www.neowin.net/news/dell-marketing-attempt-results-in-swat-team-and-two-arrests

So now the teacher's strike has trickled into my city. Err, sorry, it's not a strike, everyone just happened to get sick on the same day. It would be fitting if they were all fired today, since they're not allowed to strike. Let them all reapply for their jobs if they want.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/02/17/teacher.budget.crisis/index.html?hpt=T2 "We think our wages and benefits should not be the ceiling for working people in the country. It should be the floor," Henry said, adding that the only weapon the middle class has left against wealthy corporations is the union.

Oh yeah, he should cut his pay to save a whopping $37,000. THAT will fix all of Wisconsin's problems! Wisconsin is already very highly taxed - 13th in the country I believe. As for your first sentence -- my company just laid off 9% of the workforce yesterday. Another company I used to work for cut everyone's salary by 10% and cut the 401(k) matching to 0% (from 7%) awhile ago. The teachers just received a 3% pay INCREASE last year. How is that in line with the current economy? Nobody's asking the teachers (or other public employees) to cut their salary. They're just being required (if the bill passes) to contribute 5% to their own pension and to pay a little more for their health insurance - FAR less than what the private sector pays. The alternative, according to Walker, is to lay off over 6,000 employees. Which sounds better?

So the entire private sector is similar to working in China....? For those who want to see the real letter, here's the link: http://kind.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=52&sectiontree=52&itemid=735

Ron Kind, Democratic congressman in Wisconsin, sent this letter to Walker. I highlighted the really annoying sections. Dear Governor Walker, I write today to ask you to withdraw your budget proposal to end collective bargaining for public employees. Our public employees are made up of tens of thousands of Wisconsin workers, working to make sure our state and its systems are fair, accountable and responsible to the people. We owe a debt of gratitude to all of them - the hard working nurses, public safety employees, and others who do selfless jobs like guaranteeing our children receive a quality public school education. Frankly, I’m offended at the recent suggestions that these public servants are the source of the problems facing our state. Collective bargaining – the chance for employees to negotiate for fair wages with management – is key to our state’s success. It is a time-tested, reasonable process. And let’s be clear, public employees are not the reason state budgets are in trouble. We need to address the budget, but we can’t just fix it by cutting the salaries and robbing the retirement funds (Fez: The bill doesn't ask to cut salaries OR rob retirement funds; it just asks that employees contribute a few percent into their retirement funds) of our nurses, teachers, and public safety professionals. The fact is, these very workers have shown an understanding and willingness to compromise and make sacrifices to benefit our great state. For example, late last year unions in Wisconsin sat down and negotiated a new contract that resulted in massive pay and benefit changes. This showed their readiness to be part of the solution to the budget challenges we face as a state. But instead of working with them to find solutions to current challenges, your proposal just shuts them out of the process altogether. Now is not the time to punish those employees who are working hard to provide for their families. These are people who have already made great sacrifices in order to keep our state safe, economically competitive and a place where I want to raise my family. In fact, my two sons attend public school in La Crosse. I’m worried that by refusing to work with the teachers, you are directly impacting the quality of our schools and the education my two sons will receive. Now more than ever it’s critical that we recruit and retain qualified teachers in our classrooms. Isolating and demonizing them will only make that harder. We’re all Wisconsinites and I know we can pull together to solve Wisconsin’s problems. That’s what we have always done best and that’s what our leaders must recognize. The only way we can move the state forward is by listening to each other and by working together. We must respect Wisconsin's workers and their contribution to the state and instead of blaming them, find real, practical solutions to our budget woes. Sincerely, Ron Kind Member of Congress

They've been talking like that for years. It's no guarantee of anything. They're now examining whether a stadium should go in Arden Hills (northern suburb - actually where I work), but it's all very up in the air.

If you have the money, why would you limit them to a single floor of the house?

There's absolutely no guarantee that the Vikings are getting a stadium. The public is completely against a tax-funded stadium, and the state is billions in debt right now. Dayton is now proposing to raise taxes on the rich (that was his whole campaign platform, "The rich will pay their fair share of taxes!"), and I don't think there's money available for a stadium. We'll see what happens, but it's not a done deal and many people here have thought that the Vikings might be moving to LA.

Older friends/relatives who have disabilities?

Gross? The house is gorgeous. I was expecting some over-the-top bling, but it's just a really nice (very expensive) house.

Agreed 100%. I went to Lambeau back in 2002 when Bledsoe played Favre. My in-laws are from Green Bay, and he was able to get me great seats. Everyone around me was very knowledgeable and friendly. They asked questions about the Bills ("That was a great tackle by the CB, who is he?" or "That receiver has some moves, where'd you get him?"). I gave them friendly crap when Buffalo took the lead, and they returned the favor when the Packers took the lead and won, but it was all very friendly and good natured. Unlike Vikings fans.... The Bills are my #1 team, but the Packers have been #2 since the mid-90s (granted a distant #2, but still. ). I even have a brick in front of Lambeau with my name on it -- mother-in-law bought one with my name, my brother-in-law's name, and my father-in-law's name on it during the Lambeau remodel. Kinda cool if you ask me. That said, Bills fans are still top notch. My brother-in-law went to a game (Monday night against the Cowboys and he was very impressed. He said that in a lot of ways, the fans were better than Packers fans (probably due to the fact that we suck and yet still have heart). He treats the Bills as his #2, and he knows how I feel after that game.... He said the energy at the stadium was incredible.