cynicaleye, so since I am Republican, I must be a racist, homophobic, uneducated, redneck, low wage Republican, then I should explain that I have a good paying union job. I like almost everyone unless they are idiots to people. I have worked with and I respect gays and lesbians, etc. I have a degree in advanced first-aid and advanced CPR. I have a nice small house with an ok yard that needs work. My wage is less than $14 an hr. Yup, I am all those that you are stating a Republican is.

References to Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and Osama bin Laden are never appropriate no matter what your political ideology. So the school board member's family couldn't use a sign that said, "Pass the Bill" or "I support the governor"? Extremely bad taste on their part. And you expect the teachers to put their trust in this man?

chuckfull
Feb 21, 2011 at 8:25 p.m.
onedayatatime: Better take the job and pay some taxes. We need that money to pay for the TEACHERS healthcare and pension. They won't be happy it's only a fraction of what you used to be able to pay but just buy an over-assessed house and that should smooth it over.
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in case you missed the breaking news from 3 days ago, the unions have given in to all the financial components of the FINANCIAL BUDGET Bill. What they reject is the NON-BUDGET, union-busting part of the bill?
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This is really simple, 3 of the top 7 contributors in the last elections were unions. All 3 unions, the only 3 of top 10 contributors supported democrats (national, NOT JUST WI).
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If the unions are busted the dems are busted. As a republican, you might thing GREAT! but you shouldn't. A one-party system in this country with CORPORATE contributions running that party is not a good thing.
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Say what you want about the dems, unions, etc... but without them things would be worse NOT BETTER.
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Hopefully most Americans recognize that. I certainly wouldn't want the Republican Party to go away. Two opinions are always better than One. Both parties bring plenty of good and bad ideas to the table.
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Regarding my union wouldn't set up the stage comment. You question their professionalism. Does that mean a construction company run by Catholics that chose not to take a job building a new Planned Parenthood is also Not Professional?

onedayatatime: Better take the job and pay some taxes. We need that money to pay for the TEACHERS healthcare and pension. They won't be happy it's only a fraction of what you used to be able to pay but just buy an over-assessed house and that should smooth it over.

"I am a professioal with a college degree. This is why we need unions"
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as a general statement as I cannot speak to your specifics...college degree professional jobs are generally white collar salary positions and are non union by nature.
as an example - do you think a company would want to hire a union engineer(the mechanical or electrical type)? What if this theoretical union engineer turned out to be a dud? You'd never be able to get rid of him.

"Justonepost-Apparently not, they actually thought a UNION company would do the job."
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yeah, silly b##trD$, thought they might get professionalism out of a union bunch. (union motto-we support free speech, unless its yours). You should have lived up to your screen name...
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"mouse-Civil rights are god given!
(thought lefties didn't countenance make believe spirits? and which civil rights are being violated? collective bargaining? that is a statutory right not a civil one)
. Kids come from suffering families too.... they have rights. Even animals have right,
(and lefts too!)
but they don't have a voice.
(they have a voice but it is hiding out in Rockford - maybe they can move in with Osama in Pakistan).
You could say Walker is treating people like animals, and you would not be far wrong.
(no, you would be a good little robot repeating the union mantra but if you act like animals as demonstrated by the vandalism taking place at the capitol building then you should be treated as an animal)
This mess stems from greed by the wealthy,
(quite a few of whom are democrats)
who still want it all,
(you mean union negotiators?)
When will people realize there is nothing in it for any of you, and that you are just Walkers plastic soldiers.
(as long as I don't have to be the radio guy or the guy with the mine detector, those were lame).

I am not a union member. I am unemployed but interviewing for positions that are exactly what I used to do but the pay being offered is 30 to 60% less than what I previously made. Researching salary sites I have found that pay in this area is 25% below the national average. What is being offered is 30% below what was stated for Janesville. When I pointed that out to the company I was told "Our HR department feels this is a fair wage." I will have to accept that pay if I want to work. If I do accept it I will not be able to afford to buy health insurance or contribute to a 401K. In other words, I will be one of the working poor. I am a professioal with a college degree. This is why we need unions. So when I'm old and can no longer work and eating cat food it will be my fault according to conservatives because I was irresponsible and did not pay into my retirement fund.

vatoloco elaborate!

giddyup, this was on Saturday. No school.
-- Gazette reporter Frank Schultz

Mouse-"Promote the general welfare" does not mean you are entitled to something by the fed.

Civil rights are god given! Kids come from suffering families too.... they have rights. Even animals have right, but they don't have a voice.
You could say Walker is treating people like animals, and you would not be far wrong. This mess stems from greed by the wealthy, who still want it all,
When will people realize there is nothing in it for any of you, and that you are just Walkers plastic soldiers.

not a big enough crowd for Ms. Palin to show...LOL!
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The Tea Party made their appearance and then fled.
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I was talking with a friend of mine who sets up stages including working at the Kohl center...works on changing over the b-ball to hockey, etc...
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He said the Tea Party called the UNION COMPANY and asked to have the stage set-up. UNBELIEVABLE RIGHT? Apparently not, they actually thought a UNION company would do the job. Apparently that is part of how their location - South Side of Capitol - was known by all.
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So will the Craig students be punished for missing school? I hope they did not call in sick! How many of you have used a sick day when you were not sick? I bet if you are really honest with yourself it would be all of us. People should be able to use their time off the way they want. It is like using vacation time and not going out of town anywhere "on vacation". Dr's write bogus notes for people all the time.....why should this be different?

GO today and see Tom Morello!!He was in "rage against the machine" that 90's hard rock n roll band who made a political statement, for human rights in the whole world. Tom Morello is an insane guitarist and I feel bad for anyone who hasn't or won't give his music the time of day, you don't deserve it then.

He is a successful musician, and he is the son of an Illinois teacher of 30 years, so he knows personally what impact this will have on everyone. I urge anyone who likes their 8hr work day and 5 day work week to remember how the schedule came to be,by people in the streets protesting.

If we the people let Walker take away our bargaining rights, than when will it end?
When we are all working overtime for half the pay and no benefits? Like the rest of the country who isn't in a union?!

250,000 jobs that pay minimum wage while the rich get richer!!!! Good to hear we are all for that!!!

(This comment was given a medical excuse by the site staff)

The anti-bill protestors were there all week and then some. While the real workers took responsibility and stayed at work until they could get time away on a Sat. These jerks taking off work must be fired immediately.

The "affordable" health care bill is working so well... almost 1,000 companies have been given waivers for it (mostly unions). Who is going to pick up that share?

Tea Party sounds so much better than RACIST, HOMOPHOBIC, UNEDUCATED, REDNECK, LOW WAGE REPUBLICAN.

retiredfed ...... Thanks!

gonfo5, when President Obama and the Democrats were trying and finally succeeding in passing a Healthcare reform bill the Republicans did not need to leave. The just set a record by filibustering more times in one year than any time in history. Filibustering just for the sake of filibustering is the federal level version of leaving the state.

Honorfirst... what now you need the right tto take your piece to a sporting event. Wow! thats what we have to deal with...

Do they need a quorum to pass a Right To Work bill? If not, let's get back to work fellow Republicans and get done whatever is possible until our sissy Democrats decide to come back to the game. May also be a good time to debate conceal carry law...

Walker and his corrupt Milwaukke machine will suck Wisconsin to the bones. United we stand, divide we're nothing.
Teachers-Fire fighters -Nurses-EMT'S -Police -State Patrol - Retail - Office - Garbage man - Paper boy - unemployed - BadgerCare - Nursing home patients, even church, friends and neighbors......all to be sacraficed for a few wealthy. Walker don't care what party you are, you are just a number,
His plan was set many years ago, and then it was a case of how to get in, so that the wealth and hard earned income of good Wisconsin people of all creeds could be taken for all the possesions and civil rights. This is a true mad dictator.

The democrats are doing their job. They are the courageous ones. There are hundreds of thousands of people against this bill. The only way for those people to have an impact was for the senators to do what they did. They showed what it means to be an elected official and still listen to the people and not , like the republicans, just the corporate money that bought them their seat. Rep. Knilans admits that the majority of mail/calls he has received is AGAINST the bill yet he refuses to back down. Is that representing the people??

Let's have an accounting for the $140 million...... Walkers silent partners did pretty well on move #1. Now move#2??????

I still get a kick out of the Democrats blaming Walker or the Republicans for that matter for what is going on. If I were a state employee, I would be furious at the previously led Democratic legislature for selling me out. They sold their own constituants out in hopes of getting a job when Walker took office. They screwed the pooch and now want to blame someone else because that is easier then looking in the mirror to place blame. This is simply the same book, just another chapter for the Democrats. What is this round like number 10,000 of the blame game for the Democrats! It's just a simple observation from the outside. Anyways, good day and when the Democrats decide to come back to work, we can finally get this bill passed to move our state forward.
On a lighter note, I don't remember when Obama was passing the Healthcare spending bill any Republicans fleeing the country in hopes of delaying the Democrats from passing their bill. Again, I'm just saying!

pheasanttails: Walker is trying to attract and keep businesses in Wisconsin for JOBS!! Our state has had a lousy record on attracting businesses. He's trying to improve that. Businesses are what create jobs for people to pay taxes to pay for the teachers. We compete with other states. Don't you get it?

pheasanttails, what about the unions with George Soros and Moveon.org?

I find it disturbing that the tea party doesn't have a problem with the 140 million dollars in Walker Tax cuts for the multi national corporations and the richest residents of our state but think is OK to make up the short fall from hard working middle class Americans. The tea partiers have consumed way too much Koch.

It was more of a "petting zoo" than a rally. Nice to know the J'ville Board was represented.....

The Governor is doing a courageous and smart thing by passing this bill.

My mom worked for a food factory and their union was incredibly corrupt from her own words. There would be workers going-down on eachother on the food assembly line, sleeping in the corner, etc., yet they would be back to work the next day because the union strong-armed the co. Yet, when my mom was let-go after 30 yrs of security guard service so that the co. could hire younger & cheaper sec. guards, the union did nothing to help her save her job. She also got much less of a pension because they fired her just prior to a certain amount of years of service. A couple wks later she died in a car accident because her new job at a different co. (which she got entirely on her own) was during graveyard shift (which she wasn't used to); So she felt disoriented & ill while driving. The union she was a part of was a joke.

My father was a state school auditor. He would sit in his cubicle constantly doing his own personal activities rather than doing work for the state. His boss was of the same laxness. They were protected by a union & abused their positions, eating up tax payer dollars for their laziness.

My ex used to complain about the union workers that would work the same events as he (he owned an events production co.) because while he & his employees were busting their butts to perform the service they were paid for, the union guys were standing around chatting & bragging about how much money they were getting paid.

I'm in a union. But, my union works hard for FAIRNESS so that we can WORK for our money, not abuse our employers. So, not all unions abuse their power, nor do all members of a union take advantage of their employers or the taxpayers. But, perhaps that's because my union is located in a different state & has different restrictions... Just as the Governor is trying to establish.

The people that are protesting the bill need to be educated in what it is they are fighting against... To put more money into their OWN retirement & health care?.... Big deal. To have less union dominance?.... It's about time. It's sad that the teachers have influenced the thousands of UW students, who don't know any better because of the propaganda they’re fed, to join in the rally. If I was still at the UW (graduated), I'd be MAD that these people walk out of the classes I've paid for & possibly prolong my school year.

The doctors writing fake notes should be stripped of their medical credentials because that is unethical & abuse of their titles.

The 14 fugitive Dems. should be kicked out of office for not performing the duties of their offices by not having shown up for the vote.

I myself lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in work over the past few years, & almost lost my house, because of massive cut backs at the places that I worked for. So, like one person's sign at the rally said, "It's the end of the gravy train... Welcome to the recession!"

Well said Diane & Andrew Seversen, Kurt Koepp & Chuck Cooke! Thank you to all of the protesters for being there on my behalf, and the behalf of many others that couldn't make the trip! We appreciate your time & dedication.