Union Thuggery: Hostage Taking and Vandalism at Port of Longview

Via Yahoo News:

Hundreds of Longshoremen stormed the Port of Longview early Thursday, overpowered and held security guards, damaged railroad cars, and dumped grain that is the center of a labor dispute, said Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha.

Six guards were held hostage for a couple of hours after 500 or more Longshoremen broke down gates about 4:30 a.m. and smashed windows in the guard shack, he said.

No one was hurt, and nobody has been arrested. Most of the protesters returned to their union hall after cutting brake lines and spilling grain from car at the EGT terminal, Duscha said.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union believes it has the right to work at the facility, but the company has hired a contractor that's staffing a workforce of other union laborers.

Thursday's violence was first reported by Kelso radio station KLOG.

Police from several agencies in southwest Washington, the Washington State Patrol and Burlington Northern Santa Fe responded to the violence to secure the scene that followed a demonstration Wednesday.

"We're not surprised," Duscha said. "A lot of the protesters were telling us this in only the start."

Emphasis mine.

Last I heard, taking hostages and vandalizing property is a crime.

Let's not forget these Union thugs did this after there was a federal restraining order issued last week against the union after it was accused of assaults and death threats.

[Update] Michelle Malkin points out what the story above neglected to mention: Arrests were made but the charges are ridiculous compared to the crime.

Nineteen union protesters were arrested and cited for second-degree trespassing, a misdemeanor. Three were arrested when a scuffle broke out with police, and 16 more were arrested when they refused to leave the tracks when the train started up again, Cowlitz County Sheriff Mark Nelson said. Deputies say they are also investigating alleged vandalism to the train after it stopped. The names of the arrested were not immediately available Wednesday night.

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Hoffa Comments And Standards Going Forward: One for Obama and another for Republicans

Part of the headline lifted from something written by Ace of Spades in regards to a video where ABC's Jake Tapper tenaciously tries to pin down a "standard" of whether candidates/politicians are responsible to avow or disavow comments made by others at an event said candidate/politician attends if it is offensive.

Video below-



The rhetoric in question was said by Teamsters union President Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. at a Labor Day event in which President Obama later delivered a speech:

Hoffa Jr. said during his speech that unions need to fight a “war” against tea partiers and congressional Republicans.

“President Obama, this is your army,” he declared. “We are ready to march. Let’s take these sons of bitches out and take America back to where America we belong.”

Related:

Welcome, Union Brothers and Sisters- Sarah Palin, via Facebook.

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Wisconsin Recalls: GOP Holds The Senate In Crushing Blow To Unions And Progressives

In a stunning blow to unions and far left progressives, Republicans won four out of the six recall elections that were held in Wisconsin yesterday, taking the Republican majority from 19/14 to 17/16. There will be two more recall elections next week where two Democrats face challengers, but even if both hold their seats the majority stays with the Wisconsin GOP.



The background to the story from JSOnline:

Democrats called for the recalls after Walker launched his plan to eliminate most collective bargaining for public workers, and Tuesday's races were seen as a preview of a plan to force a recall of Walker next year.



Tuesday's recalls were launched in March, during the turmoil in Madison over Walker's plan, ultimately successful, to curtail collective bargaining by most public employees. Democrats tried to recall Republicans for that vote, while Republicans tried to recall Democrats for leaving the state for three weeks to block a vote on the issue.



Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) was the first to face a recall election, and he easily survived the challenge last month.

Wapo's Post Politics has Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's statement:

"Last November, the voters sent a message that they wanted fiscal responsibility and a focus on jobs," Walker said in a statement. "In our first months in office we balanced a $3.6 billion deficit and our state created 39,000 new jobs. It's clear the voters also want us to work together to grow jobs and improve our state.



"With that in mind, earlier this evening I reached out to the leadership of both the Republicans and Democrats in the Assembly and state Senate. I shared with them that I believe we can work together to grow jobs and improve our state. In the days ahead I look forward to working with legislators of all parties to grow jobs for Wisconsin and move our state forward."

More:

Outside groups on both sides poured more than $25 million into this fight, in addition to the more than $5 million raised by the candidates themselves. According to the non-partisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign’s Mike McCabe, Republicans had a slight edge in the money race, but it was “remarkably close.” Unions were the main source of funds for Democrats; limited-government groups such as the Club for Growth and Americans for Prosperity invested heavily on the GOP side.

Many expected the fall of three or more Republicans to either tie up the Senate or turn control over to Democrats but the Republicans held out and the Washington Examiner explains why:

How did Republicans hold out? It hasn't hurt that Walker's reforms have dramatically helped school districts within the state save millions of dollars by abolishing the main Wisconsin teachers' union's insurance racket. Nor does it hurt that Wisconsin, under the business-friendly leadership of Walker and a Republican state legislature, created more than half of the jobs created in the United States during the month of June.

Hard to argue with the actual results.



A JSOnline editorial grudgingly provides some of the actual figures on the results gained:

But the news is good for many. The latest example is Milwaukee, where the most recent estimates show the city with a net gain of at least $11 million for its 2012 budget. That will take a slice out of the city's structural deficit, which is created by costs rising faster than revenue, and will reduce cuts that Mayor Tom Barrett and the Common Council must impose.



The city projects it will save at least $25 million a year - the figure could be as high as $36 million in 2012 - from health care benefit and pension changes it didn't have to negotiate with unions because of the changes wrought by the new law that ended most collective bargaining for most public employees.



That certainly will help the city deal with the $14 million in cuts in state aid in the 2011-'13 state budget.

Hard decisions have to be made when your state spends more than it brings in and Walker made those decisions, Republicans enacted the laws necessary to make up for budget shortfalls, and they did it without forcing the taxpayers to suffer with higher taxes.



Perhaps Barack Obama should ask Walker for some advice because Wisconsin showed, by example, how to create jobs and work toward a path of a balanced budget wihout increasing taxes.



On a state level, Walker has done what Barack Obama and Congress has not been able to accomplish on the grand scale for our country.



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Employment And Wages Are Significantly Higher In Right-To-Work States

22 states have passed laws that allow employees in workplaces that have been unionized, the right to not join the union and still be allowed to work in those businesses. On average, the right-to-work states have better employment, higher wages and lower takes.

Via Investors.com

Graph obtained from Investors.com

Better Job, Wage Gains

It seems to be a good deal for the workers, too. The U.S. unemployment rate is 9.1%. In right-to-work states the average is 7.9% — 8.6% adjusted for population.

Between 1977-08, employment grew 100% in right-to-work states vs. the national average of 71% and 56.5% in non-right-to-work states. That's according to a January study that Ohio University economics professor Richard Vedder did for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

In this period, real per capita income in the right-to-work states grew 62.3% vs. the national average of 54.7% and 52.8% for non-right-to-work states.

Vedder has studied right-to-work laws for decades and argues that this success is not a coincidence.

" I've been looking for ways to show that these laws don't really (impact) anything. But I haven't found it yet," Vedder said.

Numbers don't lie.

Victory In Wisconsin For Governor Scott Walker

The Wisconsin Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision overturned a lower courts ruling, saying Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi overstepped her authority, and has ruled Governor Scott Walkers union rights law can go into effect.

Reuters:

The high court overturned a lower court, which had ruled Republican lawmakers violated the state's open meetings law when they passed the measure.

The law eliminates most collective bargaining rights for public workers and requires them to pay more for pensions and health coverage.

More from JS online, WiCourts.gov, NYT and Fox News

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Pushed By Democrats The Massachusetts State House Passes Bill Against Collective Bargaining Rights For Unions

By a 111-to-42 vote taken at 11:30pm at night to avoid the type of media circus and Union protests that Wisconsin had to deal with when Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill was being debated and eventually passed, the Democratically controlled Massachusetts State House passed a measure which would "strip police officers, teachers, and other municipal employees of most of their rights to bargain over health care, saying the change would save millions of dollars for financially strapped cities and towns."

President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, Robert J. Haynes, is not amused.

“It’s pretty stunning,’’ said Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. “These are the same Democrats that all these labor unions elected. The same Democrats who we contributed to in their campaigns. The same Democrats who tell us over and over again that they’re with us, that they believe in collective bargaining, that they believe in unions. . . . It’s a done deal for our relationship with the people inside that chamber.’’

“We are going to fight this thing to the bitter end,’’ he added. “Massachusetts is not the place that takes collective bargaining away from public employees.’’

It still has to get passed the Senate and the Senate President Therese Murray has expressed reluctance to follow the House's example.

Massachusetts? Really?

Republicans only hold 32 out the 160 seats in Mass. In Wisconsin every Democratic Senate members actually ran away from home and hid in another state to avoid a vote like this by the Republican controlled Senate.

Some days I feel like I woke up in the Twilight Zone.

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Union Thuggery Letters: Support Us Or Suffer The Consequences

Not bad enough that Union thugs and their supporters would threaten anybody that supports Governor Walker and the Wisconsin GOP's budget repair bill, but now they are even threatening people that take no stand, that do not publicly support either side.

~~~~With that we'd ask that you reconsider taking a sign and stance to support public employees in this community. Failure to do so will leave us no choice but do [sic] a public boycott of your business. And sorry, neutral means 'no' to those who work for the largest employer in the area and are union members." ----- Portion of letter sent to business owners from Union thugs.

Wisconsin business owners are fighting back against Union thuggery and letters being sent out by unions which threaten to target business owners with boycotts if they do not publicly join the the battle between unions and state government over the budget repair bill that the state has passed that would limit collective bargaining by unions for public employees.

You can read the letter in whole that is shown in the video below, here-PDF)




This is not the first threat the Unions have made against Wisconsin business as letters sent previously to business owners have been reported on as well.

PDF of a letter sent out on March 10, 2011 found here.

The ending is a clear threat to those business owners that received the letter:

The undersigned groups would like your company to publicly oppose Governor Walker’s efforts to virtually eliminate collective bargaining for public employees in Wisconsin. While we appreciate that you may need some time to consider this request, we ask for your response by March 17. In the event that you do not respond to this request by that date, we will assume that you stand with Governor Walker and against the teachers, nurses, police officers, fire fighters, and other dedicated public employees who serve our communities.

In the event that you cannot support this effort to save collective bargaining, please be advised that the undersigned will publicly and formally boycott the goods and services provided by your company. However, if you join us, we will do everything in our power to publicly celebrate your partnership in the fight to preserve the right of public employees to be heard at the bargaining table.

Dawn Bobo, pictured at the top of this post, is one of those business owners that are fighting back and she tells Fox News that people are coming from miles away to show support to her plight and that she has done a weeks worth of business in just one day. (H/T Jim Hoft)

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Wisconsin Teacher Charged, But Not Arrested, For Bomb And Death Threats Against GOP Lawmakers

With the announcement that the Wisconsin Senate had finally found a way around the runaway Democrats who left the state to prevent a vote on Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill and passed the bill after stripping out the "fiscal components" so that a quorum wasn't required, there also came the first reports of death threats on the GOP lawmakers in Wisconsin. (I showed that disturbing email as an update on this post at the time)

That was March 10, 2011 and 620WTMJ NewsRadio produced the email sent to the Republican Senators.

A 26 year old woman by the name of Katherine R. Windels has been charged with sending those emails and according to the criminal complaint (found here- PDF)that threat was sent to 15 Republican lawmakers on Wednesday, March 9, 2011, at 10:18 p.m.

Reminder of what was in the email (page #'s 3-4 of criminal complaint):

Please put your things in order because you will be killed and your familes will also be killed due to your actions in the last 8 weeks. Please explain to them that this is because if we get rid of you and your families then it will save the rights of 300,000 people and also be able to close the deficit that you have created. I hope you have a good time in hell. Read below for more information on possible scenarios in which you will die.

WE want to make this perfectly clear. Because of your actions today and in the past couple of weeks I and the group of people that are working with me have decided that we've had enough. We feel that you and the people that support the dictator have to die. We have tried many other ways of dealing with your corruption but you have taken things too far and we will not stand for it any longer. So, this is how it's going to happen: I as well as many others know where you and your family live, it's a matter of public records. We have all planned to assult you by arriving at your house and putting a nice little bullet in your head. However, we decided that we wouldn't leave it there. We also have decided that this may not be enough to send the message to you since you are so "high" on Koch and have decided that you are now going to single handedly make this a dictatorship instead of a demorcratic process. So we have also built several bombs that we have placed in various locations around the areas in which we know that you frequent. This includes, your house, your car, the state capitol, and well I won't tell you all of them because that's just no fun. Since we know that you are not smart enough to figure out why this is happening to you we have decided to make it perfectly clear to you. If you and your goonies feel that it's necessary to strip the rights of 300,000 people and ruin their lives, making them unable to feed, clothe, and provide the necessities to their families and themselves then We Will "get rid of" (in which I mean kill) you. Please understand that this does not include the heroic Rep. Senator that risked everything to go aganist what you and your goonies wanted him to do. We feel that it's worth our lives to do this, because we would be saving the lives of 300,000 people. Please make your peace with God as soon as possible and say goodbye to your loved ones we will not wait any longer. YOU WILL DIE!!!!

Also according to the complaint,(Page #'s 2-3) that was the second email sent, the first going to Republican State Senator Robert Cowles, two hours earlier than the one that went out to the other 15 lawmakers.

That email was worded quite differently, see below:

I want to make this perfectly clear. Because of your actions today and in t=e past couple of weeks I and the group of people that are working with me =ave decided that we’ve had enough. We feel that you and your republica= dictators have to die. This is how it’s going to happen: I as well as=many others know where you and your family live, it’s a matter of publ=c records. We have all planned to assult you by arriving at your house and=putting a nice little bullet in your head. However, this isn’t enough.=We also have decided that this may not be enough to send the message. So w= have built several bombs that we have placed in various locations around =he areas in which we know that you frequent. This includes, your house, yo=r car, the state capitol, and well I won’t tell you all of them becaus= that’s just no fun. Since we know that you are not smart enough to fi=ure out why this is happening to you we have decided to make it perfectly =lear to you. If you and your goonies feel that it’s necessary to strip=the rights of 300,000 people and ruin their lives, making them unable to f=ed, clothe, and provide the necessities to their families and themselves t=en We will “get rid of” (in which I mean kill) the 8 of you. Ple=se understand that this does not include the heroic Senator that risked ev=rything to go against what you and your goonies wanted him to do. The 8 in=ludes the 7 senators and the dictator. We feel that it’s worth our liv=s because we would be saving the lives of 300,000 people. Please make your=peace with God as soon as possible and say goodbye to your loved ones we w=ll not wait any longer. Goodbye ASSHOLE!!!!

Windels has been charged with 2 counts of "bomb threat" and 2 counts of "computer message- threaten/injury or harm."

Via JSOnline, if convicted, each felony count carries a maximum penalty of three years and six months in prison and a $10,000 fine, and each misdemeanor count carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in prison and a $1,000 fine.

Since the news of Windels being charged was reported, bloggers did some good research to find out more about Windels and some interesting information has come to light.

The Underground Conservative dug quickly and found:

She is a 2010 graduate of Madison Area Technical College with an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, which would fit, since on her PeekYou profile she lists Wexford Head Start as one of her work experiences. She also lists a place called The Red Caboose; a Google search turns up a Red Caboose in Madison for Toddler, Preschool and School Age programs.

Hot Air discovers that Windels was investigated by Madison police officers last fall over text messages, which implies a pattern of threatening behavior.

Morrissey also poses a very interesting question regarding the fact that Windels has been charged, but not arrested.

I’d say it demonstrates precisely that the case hadn’t been taken seriously by law enforcement or the prosecutors. Why would a terrorist suspect not be arrested in a felony case? Do police really think that someone unstable enough to send death threats doesn’t represent a threat to her community, at least enough to book her? I wonder how her victims feel about that — and I wonder how the DA’s office and police department would handle Windels if she turned out to be a deranged Tea Party supporter rather than a deranged lefty.

Gateway Pundit discovers that the Dane County DA’s office dragged its feet on even issuing charges in the case.

Via Hot Air, video below of the news account on this story.



Seriously?

A woman threatens to kill 16 lawmakers with the use of bombs and threatens to kill their families, admits to doing so and the brilliant officials in charge of this case did not consider her as an imminent threat?

Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne filed the charges Thursday. He says "it's odd" law enforcement never took Windels into custody.

That goes way beyond "odd".

Here is something else that is a bit odd... doing a Google news search for "Wisconsin teacher death threats" as keywords lists, at this time, Fox Nation, CBS and CNN as major news outlets that have reported this.

Where are NYT, Washington Post, ABC News, NBC News, etc.... what is taking them so long? They trying to figure out what spin to give this news?

When you look at the Memeorandum threads on this story (memeorandum provides the most talked about/blogged about political news stories and is constantly updated) you see JSOnline, WKOW, Gateway Pundit, Underground Conservative and the discussions list over a dozen bloggers reporting, but no other major news outlet and also absent and completely silent are the liberal blogs.

I guess they haven't been notified by the mother-ship on how to spin the story either.

[Update] I do see one liberal story on this and the spin they are trying is that conservative bloggers are reporting much more about this than they did about MLK day backpack bomb arrest and they even provide Memeorandum thread snapshots to supposedly prove the point.

Problem with that line of attack is that the snapshot No more mister nice blog provides is just 6 hours after the Seattle Times story and today's story thread is a day after the initial news broke, hence more time for the thread to gather steam.

MLK Bomber story

Initial Seattle Times story "Originally published March 9, 2011 at 11:06 AM"
Memeorandum thread liberal blogger links "March 9, 2011, 5:35 PM"

Wisconsin teacher charged but not arrested in bomb/death threats against lawamakers

JSOnline story dated March 31, 2011, first comment made was at 5:10pm, so the story had to be before that.
Memeorandum thread shown by liberal blogger time "April 1, 2011, 10:00 AM"

Guess in this case he really should have waited for the mother-ship to tell him the "official" spin.

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Thanking The Koch Brothers: Union VP Explains Why Boycotting Koch Industries Is Moronic

Interspersing complaints and whining about David H. Koch and Charles G. Koch's political agenda with facts of what Koch industries does for workers and the good they do for America, International Vice President at United Steelworkers, Jon Geenen explains why the recent calls for boycotting Koch's businesses is a very bad idea.

Before addressing the idiocy of Geenen's political arguments, lets highlight his admittance that the Koch family is the prime example of what America needs today.

A number of organizations are advocating a boycott of the products that come from companies owned by the Koch family. This is problematic for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it could potentially hurt the wrong people.

The Koch brothers own Georgia Pacific. It is an American consumer goods company that makes everyday products like facial tissue, napkins, paper towels, paper cups and the like. Their plants are great examples of American advanced manufacturing. Incidentally,

GP makes most of its products here in America. The company’s workforce is highly unionized. In fact, 80 percent of its mills are under contract with one or more labor union. It is not inaccurate to say that these are among the best-paid manufacturing jobs in America.

This presents a dilemma and a paradox. While the Koch brothers are credited with advocating an agenda and groups that are clearly hostile to labor and labor’s agenda, the brothers’ company in practice and in general has positive and productive collective bargaining relationships with its unions.

While some companies are running from investment in American jobs, The Koch brothers’ Georgia Pacific just reached agreements with its primary union in the paper industry to invest more than a half a billion dollars in capital to essentially create two state-of-the-art machines that conserve fiber and energy at two separate union mills.

Emphasis mine.

Koch Industries advances American jobs and American manufacturing. Two things this country is in dire need of.

A look at their subsidiaries across various industries gives a good indication of how many jobs the Koch brothers provide in the United States:

* Georgia-Pacific paper and pulp company, maker of "Brawny" paper towels, "Angel Soft" toilet paper, "Mardi Gras" napkins and towels, "Quilted Northern" toilet paper and paper towels, "Dixie" paper plates, bowls, napkins and cups, "Sparkle" paper towels, and "Vanity Fair" paper napkins, bowls, plates and tablecloths. The Atlanta-based company has operations in 27 states.

* Invista, a polymer and fibers company that makes "Stainmaster" carpet, and "Lycra" fiber, among other products.

* Koch Pipeline Company LP, which owns and operates 4,000 miles of pipeline used to transport oil, natural gas liquids and chemicals. Its pipelines are located across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Alberta, Canada. The firm operates offices in Wichita, Kansas, St. Paul, Minnesota and Corpus Christi, Texas.

* Flint Hill Resources LP, is a major refining and chemicals company based in Wichita, Kansas. It sells products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol, polymers, intermediate chemicals, base oils and asphalt. It operates oil refineries in six states. Flint Hill has chemical plants in Illinois, Texas and Michigan. The firm is also a major manufacturer of asphalt used for paving and roofing applications. It operates 13 asphalt terminals located in six states including Alaska (2 terminals), Wisconsin (2), Iowa (3), Minnesota (4), Nebraska (1), and North Dakota(1). The firm manages the purchasing of domestic crude oil from Texas and Colorado offices, has four ethanol plants across Iowa, operates three refineries in Alaska, Texas, and Minnesota, and has a refinery terminal in Alaska. It also operates fuel terminals in Wisconsin (4 locations), Texas (6), and one each in Iowa and Minnesota.

* Koch Fertilizer, LLC, which is one of the world’s largest makers of nitrogen fertilizers. Koch Fertilizer owns or has interests in fertilizer plants the United States, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, and Italy, among others.In October 2010, a plant in Venezuela was nationalized by the government.

* Koch Agricultural Company's Matador Cattle Company division operates three ranches totaling 425,000 acres located in Beaverhead, Montana, Matador, Texas and the Flint Hills of eastern Kansas. There are more than 15,000 head of cattle raised on the ranches. (Source)

Geenen's complaints stem from the fact that the Kochs have money and choose to use it to advance a political agenda they happen to believe in.

OMG, what a crime!!!

By now anyone who had not yet heard of the Koch brothers has been introduced to them. Every major newspaper and magazine has run an article about the brothers who until recently lived largely under the radar while advancing a political vision via political action committees and think tanks funded by their fortunes.

Key words there... Their fortunes.

If consumers pick alternate products (because people will still use toilet paper), in many cases, the substitute will be from a company with a track record that is much less friendly to the values of the workers who would, as a result of the boycott, become the collateral damage. The Koch brothers’ lifestyle will not dramatically change; there are no shareholders that will become concerned; the company is privately owned. The stock won’t plummet either — there is none.

Emphasis, again, mine.

So, we have established Koch Industries employs masses, manufactures and provides jobs right here in America, continues to expand their vast holdings, wealth and businesses and American workers, even union workers are benefiting.

I repeat- Geenen's complaint seems to be that the Koch brothers use their fortune to help advance their own political beliefs.

To be sure, I personally have grave concerns about the agenda and influence being wielded by private wealth into our political system. Who doesn’t? I too agree that the Koch brothers are an ideal example of a very broken system. They undoubtedly know that many see them as pariahs, and undoubtedly they don’t care — no more than I care if someone attaches a label to me for my political views.

Who doesn't?

*raises hand here*

I don't.

If a person has money and chooses to fund organizations, think tanks, political action groups or anything their heart desires in order to help a cause or agenda they believe in, as long as they aren't receiving tax payer money and/or bailouts from our government, and it is their own money they are spending... more power to them.

Liberal or conservative. I don't really give a damn. It is their money, they can use it the way they want to and should be applauded for doing so. Applauded for being willing to put their money where their mouths are.

Amazingly enough, the hypocrites on the left do not complain when it is a liberal billionaire donating and working toward furthering liberal goals, example George Soros, just to name one in a long list.

No, they complain and actively work against anyone that dares spend their own money to further goals more aligned with conservatism.

Liberal billionaires that use the system to help liberal politicians are icons and idolized in progressives' minds, but the conservative wealthy that do the same are some sort of monsters because those goals do not match the ideology of a liberal.

I, for one, would like to thank David H. Koch and Charles G. Koch for providing and creating jobs right here in America. I would like to thank them for continuing to manufacture products here in America. I would like to thank them for using their considerable fortune to help further a conservative agenda that I believe is good for America.

H/T allahpundit@Twitter

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Wisconsin State Stops Collecting Union Dues- To The Courts They All Go

Quick background, although if were interested enough to click the link, you know the basics, so I will make this short.

Governor Scott Walker proposed a budget repair bill for Wisconsin who is in the red, in that bill Public Employee Unions would no longer be able to have the state collecting their dues for them to be handed over, public employees would have to contribute more towards their health and pensions, but less than regular employees have to contribute.

Democratic politicians who are in the minority ran away from home to prevent passage of the bill, Unions protested, everything came to a standstill until Republicans stripped out appropriations from the bill so they no longer need a quorum just a majority and passed the bill, so did the House and the Governor signed it.

To the courts they all went. Opponents to stop the new law from being implemented, Proponents to argue the law was passed legally. Initially a judge ordered specific players not publish the law, so the Legislative Reference Bureau published it instead (They were not named in the order).

Today both sides go to court as announcements come out that as of Sunday, the state will stop collecting Union dues on behalf of the Unions and the employees will be having the new charges for their health and pension benefits taken out.

Not being an attorney I will leave the explanation to Associate Clinical Professor at Cornell Law School, William A. Jacobson over at Legal Insurrection:

Critics of Gov. Walker's move cite an opinion from the Legislative Council, essentially the staff attorneys at the Wisconsin legislature, who opine that the bill has not yet become law.

As pointed out by Kevin Binversie at Lakeshore Laments, it is quite ironic for opponents of the bill to rely on the opinions of the Legislative Council, since it was the Legislative Council which also opined that the actions of the Republican state Senators in passing the bill complied with Senate Rules.

If the Legislative Council was right that the bill passage complied with Senate Rules, and since legislative Rules trump the Open Meetings Law, then the bill should survive court challenges and there should be no injunction, temporary or otherwise.

Tomorrow will be interesting, as Judge Sumi grapples with the mess created by a precipitous Temporary Restraining Order.

With the law now in effect and paychecks getting an increase since union dues are not being withheld, Democrats are the party arguing for a reduction in state worker paychecks.

There are a couple Twitter members following this closely and reporting from the courtroom, one of which is News Reporter for WISC-TV in Madison, WI, Jessica Arp, and you can keep updated on where things are going in the courtroom at her Twitter feed.

More to come I am sure....

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Senate Chief Clerk On Budget Repair Bill Vote 'Rules And Statutes' Satisfied

Earlier it was reported widely that the Wisconsin Senate bypassed the standoff with the runaway Democratic Senators that left town to prevent a vote on Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill, by stripping the bill of the fiscal components and voting on the rest with a simply majority and not a quorum (having a set amount of Senators present to complete the vote).

Democrats have grabbed onto the argument that the GOP Senate members violated the state's Open Meetings Law, but Senate Chief Clerk Rob Marchant asserts that the requirements of the rules and statutes were satisfied by sending notice to the Conference Committee:

Tonight's Conference Committee was properly noticed. From the Senate Chief Clerk, Rob Marchant:

FYI . . .

There was some discussion today about the notice provided for the legislature's conference committee. In special session, under Senate Rule 93, no advance notice is required other than posting on the legislative bulletin board. Despite this rule, it was decided to provide a 2 hour notice by posting on the bulletin board. My staff, as a courtesy, emailed a copy of the notice to all legisaltive offices at 4:10, which gave the impression that the notice may have been slightly less than 2 hours. Either way, the notice appears to have satisfied the requirements of the rules and statutes.

I thought you might find this information to be useful.

Thanks.

Rob

Game. Set. Match.

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WI Budget Repair Bill Passes Senate: Wisconsin Senate Does Their Job Without Runaway Democrats

I was wondering how long it would take the Wisconsin Senate to get back to work despite the deliberate obstructionism of 14 Democratic Senators running away from home like children so they wouldn't have to vote on the budget repair bill and last night my question was answered.

20 days after the 14 Wisconsin Democratic Senate members made a beeline for Illinois so they couldn't be compelled to return to their jobs, Republicans called an immediate conference committee meeting, open to the media, stripped out elements considered "fiscal components" (which is why the majority couldn't vote without at least 1 of the missing Democrats present for a quorum), voted 4-2 to allow the Senate vote to be held on all other portions of the bill, which do not require a quorum, and the Senate voted 18-1 to pass the budget repair bill.

Governor Scott Walker issued a statement addressing the passage of his budget repair bill through the Senate, which now heads to assembly who have already passed the version with the elements just removed, so it is expected to fly through easily.

"The Senate Democrats have had three weeks to debate this bill and were offered repeated opportunities to come home, which they refused. In order to move the state forward, I applaud the Legislature's action today to stand up to the status quo and take a step in the right direction to balance the budget and reform government. The action today will help ensure Wisconsin has a business climate that allows the private sector to create 250,000 new jobs."

Wisconsin State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald also issued a statement:

Before the election, the Democrats promised “adult leadership” in Madison. Then a month and a half into session, the Senate Democrats fled the state instead of doing their job.

In doing so, they have tarnished the very institution of the Wisconsin state Senate. This is unacceptable.

This afternoon, following a week and a half of line-by-line negotiation, Sen. Miller sent me a letter that offered three options: 1) keep collective bargaining as is with no changes, 2) take our counter-offer, which would keep collective bargaining as is with no changes, 3) or stop talking altogether.

With that letter, I realized that we’re dealing with someone who is stalling indefinitely, and doesn’t have a plan or an intention to return. His idea of compromise is “give me everything I want,” and the only negotiating he’s doing is through the media.

Enough is enough.

The people of Wisconsin elected us to do a job. They elected us to stand up to the broken status quo, stop the constant expansion of government, balance the budget, create jobs and improve the economy. The longer the Democrats keep up this childish stunt, the longer the majority can’t act on our agenda.

More from JSOnline and NYT.

A little news on why the GOP chose now to make the move on the bill is given to us by Christian Schneider over at National Review:

A letter Democrat Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller sent the governor today, indicating Miller’s unwillingness to further negotiate any details of the bill, was what prompted the GOP’s decision to take the bill to the floor.

“It was like, ‘I’m in the minority, and I’m going to dictate to you what your options are,’” said one GOP source about Miller’s letter. It was just three days ago that Miller had sent Fitzgerald a letter urging more negotiations, despite the fact that Governor Walker had been negotiating with at least two Democrat senators for nearly a week. “With his recent letter, it became clear that all he wanted to do was stall,” said the GOP source.

Another action that provoked the GOP senators to act was Democrat Senator Lena Taylor’s very public decision to have a spring election absentee ballot sent to her in Illinois. The spring election is scheduled for April 5th, which indicated Taylor’s desire to stay out of the state for another month. “That sure didn’t help,” said one GOP source.

Ironic that the runaway WI Democratic Senators watched it all live streamed from their hideaway in Illinois instead of being there to witness and participate in the procedure, yet they are crying foul now.

The lead runaway, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller, told the AP "It's a done deal," and there is nothing Democrats can do to stop it.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Miller said there is nothing Democrats can do now to stop the bill: "It's a done deal."

The Democrats may now turn renewed energy toward current efforts to recall eight of the Republican state senators. Six Democratic senators also are the target of recall efforts.

Senate Democrats met late Wednesday night to discuss when they might return. They said they would not be back Thursday, but gave no indication when they might come home.

"We are going to watch and see how the Assembly unfolds," said Sen. Spencer Coggs. "There will be fireworks. There will be a lot of people at the Capitol and so it will be hard to get in and out of the Capitol."

Ezra Klein makes this point:

Assuming Scott Walker’s procedural maneuvering last night was legal — and, as I’ll explain in a moment, there are some questions about that — then it was also legitimate. Certainly as legitimate as the Democrats fleeing the state to deny the Republicans quorum. They did something procedurally extraordinary to stop the bill from being passed, and he did something procedurally extraordinary to get the bill passed.

Personally I do not think it should have come down to any "procedurally extraordinary" actions in the first place. Republicans were handed control, they have the majority, Democrats the minority, both sides should have done their jobs and if the public, after all was said and done and votes were taken accordingly, didn't like what Republicans had done, then voters would be able to rectify that at the next election.

Had Democrats been in control and Republicans ran away from home to hide out rather than allow Senate to function and vote on items that needed a quorum, my heavens we would never have heard the end of it from liberals.

Put the shoe on the other foot and you have people like Klein referring to the action with the word "legitimate" in the same sentence.

Even more ironic than the runaway Democrats having to watch the proceedings from their hideaway, is a comment I see over at Taylor Marsh's blog:

As an aside, can you imagine if Democrats had a majority that they would ever act like this to push their ideology against what the people want?

Excuse me for a second while I laugh my ass off before responding.

Okay, now, a one word response to Ms. Marsh- OBAMACARE (Scroll down at that link to see poll after poll after poll showing exactly how the "people" and their "wants" were completely ignored by the Democratic majority.

I am still laughing at the brass balls it took for Marsh to write that little bit of entertainment and not see the glaring hypocrisy of it.


Better yet, imagine if it were Obamacare protesters that pulled this stunt:

A highly connected source in Wisconsin politics tells Fox Nation all hell is breaking loose at the state capitol.

“Republican leadership was considering calling in SWAT teams or the National Guard. Plans have been set. We have almost completely lost control of the capitol building. Protesters now control the first and second floors and are amassing outside the governor’s office. The third and fourth floors are under control but we’re not sure what side our security is on. Law enforcement is leaking evacuation plans to the protesters. An official tried to evacuate through a secret underground tunnel and was turned back by protesters. No one is safe. Protesters have broken down doors, broken windows, Democrats are helping them into the building and they’re building momentum. They’re robo-calling like crazy, trying to pack as many people into the capitol so the Assembly can’t vote today. Right now there’s no way the Assembly can vote…we can’t secure the Assembly and we can’t protect our legislators. If the protesters fill up the capitol all the way, the governor would have to declare a state of emergency and hold a vote off site.”

Stay tuned for more developments…

UPDATES: Sources say: "Police control the lobby to the Assembly Chambers and they think they are in a position to take back control of the Assembly Chambers. However, right now all they control is the lobby."

Photographer Bob Lee says protesters are being forcibly dragged by police out of the Wisconsin Assembly room. They are dragging and escorting the protestors that are blocking entrance to the assembly now.
Related Stories

Protesters were chanting last night that the world is watching.. yes, it is, watching union thugs and temper tantrums run rampant.

Furthermore Unions are talking about massive strikes to try to shut the state down, well a provision in the bill says if they do that, they can be fired for it.

The reactions to this are coming out fast and furiously, with updates, news, photos and video being provided from a variety of sources. You can keep up with it all over at Memeorandum.

[Update] The death threats begin.

Via 620WTMJ NewsRadio:

Among the threats the Justice Department is investigationg is one that was emailed to Republican Senators Wednesday night. Newsradio 620 WTMJ has obtained that email.

The following is the unedited email:

Please put your things in order because you will be killed and your familes will also be killed due to your actions in the last 8 weeks. Please explain to them that this is because if we get rid of you and your families then it will save the rights of 300,000 people and also be able to close the deficit that you have created. I hope you have a good time in hell. Read below for more information on possible scenarios in which you will die.

WE want to make this perfectly clear. Because of your actions today and in the past couple of weeks I and the group of people that are working with me have decided that we've had enough. We feel that you and the people that support the dictator have to die. We have tried many other ways of dealing with your corruption but you have taken things too far and we will not stand for it any longer. So, this is how it's going to happen: I as well as many others know where you and your family live, it's a matter of public records. We have all planned to assult you by arriving at your house and putting a nice little bullet in your head. However, we decided that we wouldn't leave it there. We also have decided that this may not be enough to send the message to you since you are so "high" on Koch and have decided that you are now going to single handedly make this a dictatorship instead of a demorcratic process. So we have also built several bombs that we have placed in various locations around the areas in which we know that you frequent. This includes, your house, your car, the state capitol, and well I won't tell you all of them because that's just no fun. Since we know that you are not smart enough to figure out why this is happening to you we have decided to make it perfectly clear to you. If you and your goonies feel that it's necessary to strip the rights of 300,000 people and ruin their lives, making them unable to feed, clothe, and provide the necessities to their families and themselves then We Will "get rid of" (in which I mean kill) you. Please understand that this does not include the heroic Rep. Senator that risked everything to go aganist what you and your goonies wanted him to do. We feel that it's worth our lives to do this, because we would be saving the lives of 300,000 people. Please make your peace with God as soon as possible and say goodbye to your loved ones we will not wait any longer. YOU WILL DIE!!!!

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Video: Crossroads Anti-Union Ad 'The System'

Video below:



The Politico article about the video ad, explains:

That such a high-profile group as Crossroads is entering the fray on the public employee fight illustrates both how important conservatives see the debate and, as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s numbers fall, the degree to which they want to re-focus it on public labor’s political contributions and union stereotypes - and away from whether workers should have the right to organize.

The ad campaign buy is $750,000 over one week, with spots running on CNN, CNBC and Fox News.

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Press Release: Republican Senators Introduce National Right to Work Act

Press release from Jim DeMint about a bill being introduced called National Right to Work Act, which would would stop discrimination against millions of workers who don’t want to join unions.

Release below:

Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), introduced the National Right to Work Act to reduce workplace discrimination by protecting the free choice of individuals to form, join, or assist labor organizations, or to refrain from such activities. Seven Republicans joined Senator DeMint as original cosponsors to the Right to Work Act including Senators Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), James Risch (R-Idaho), Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania) and David Vitter (R-Louisiana).

During the 111^th Congress, all Senate Democrats united to vote against workers’ rights but now they have a chance to protect American workers’ freedom to choose.

“No American should be forced to join a union and pay dues to get a job in this country,” said Senator DeMint. “Many Americans are already struggling just to put food on the table, and they shouldn’t have to fear losing their jobs or face discrimination if they don’t want to join a union. Forced-unionism shields unions from member accountability and has a detrimental effect on the economy. In states where companies are forced to hire only union workers, businesses have struggled to compete while they deal with counterproductive work rules.”

“Facing a steady decline in membership, unions have turned to strong-arm political tactics to make forced unionization the default position of every American worker – even if they don’t want it,” said Senator Hatch. “This is simply unacceptable. At the very least, it should be the policy of the U.S. government to ensure that no employee will be forced to join a union in order to get or keep their job. The National Right to Work Act would do just that.”

“Traditionally, the American economy has been so exceptional because it had an innovative, flexible workforce,” said Senator Vitter. “But now, big labor bosses are trying to force employees into joining unions and paying dues – which comes directly out of your hard-earned paycheck and often directed to political activities that you may not support. To see the negative impacts of forced unionization, look no further than the struggling businesses in states whose laws allow it. It can’t be a coincidence that right to work states have on balance grown in population over the last 10 years, arguably at the expense of heavy union-favoring states.”

“Any hindrance to hard-working Americans seeking jobs is in opposition to the American spirit,” said Senator Paul. “For too long, unions have played politics and discriminated against workers and businesses. Eliminating forced unionism is a victory for the American workforce and sends union bosses a strong message that their back-room dealing and bullying will no longer be tolerated.”

A recent poll shows 80 percent of union members support having a Right to Work policy. A map of the Forced-Unionism and Right to Work states can be found here: http://www.nrtw.org/rtws.htm.

Right to Work states have consistently outperform forced-union states in factors that affect worker well being. From 2000 to 2008 roughly 4.7 million Americans moved from forced-union to right to work states. A recent study found that there is “a very strong and highly statistically significant relationship between right to work laws and economic growth,” and that from 1977 to 2007 right to work states experienced a 23 percent faster rise in per capita income than states with forced unionization.

Senator DeMint highlighted forced unionism’s effect on the economy, saying, “For America to truly win the future, we must stop operating on politics of the past like these forced-unionism laws that have crippled American industries. Forced-unionism helped lead to GM and Chrysler’s near bankruptcy and their requests for government bailouts as they struggled to compete in a global marketplace. When American businesses suffer because of these anti-worker laws, jobs and investment are driven overseas.”

“Forced-unionism allows union bosses to forcibly take dues from a politically diverse group of workers and then give hundreds of millions every year almost exclusively to one political party. Workers should have the right to provide for their families without having to pay for political activity they strongly disagree with,” said Senator DeMint.

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WI Governor Scott Walker Releases Emails With Runaway Democratic Senators

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's office has released email exchanges showing ongoing negotiations to the controversial budget repair bill. The emails show Walker's office willing to make concessions on certain portions of the bill in order to get the runaway Democrats (aka "Fleebaggers") to come back to Wisconsin and vote on the bill.

14 Democratic WI Senators left the state mid February and have been hiding in Illinois to avoid having to vote on the budget repair bill.

Some key concessions on the part of Walker include:

• Public employee union bargaining over wages would no longer be limited to the rate of inflation.

• Unions would be allowed to bargain over certain economic issues, including mandatory overtime, performance bonuses, hazardous duty pay and classroom size. On this set of issues, both labor and management would have to agree to discuss them for bargaining to happen.

• Unions could bargain over workplace safety, but that would be limited to workers' physical health and safety. It would not allow bargaining over hours, overtime, sick leave or family leave, work schedules or vacation.

• Unions would have to vote every three years to remain active, with the first of those votes coming within one year of the bill becoming law. The current version of the bill would require unions to vote to recertify every year - starting this April - and require them to get at least 51% of workers' votes.

• Employees of the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics Authority would not lose all union bargaining rights.

• The Legislature's budget committee would have to approve changes to state health programs for the poor sought by the Walker administration. The budget-repair bill gives Walker broad powers to reshape those Medicaid health programs, which cover more than 1 million state residents.

The email exchange can be found here (12 page PDF).

Meanwhile, former Democratic former D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty offered some rare Democratic support for Walker in an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe show:

When discussion turned to Walker's anti-union push, Fenty jumped right in.

"This is kind of what I faced in four years as mayor," Fenty told hosts Mike Barnicle and Mika Brzezinski. "He's right on the substance, I think. I tend to agree with him on the need for collective bargaining reform. But he's also right on the politics. I just don't understand why the legislature has been given this pass to go to another state and not do what they were sworn to do, and that's to take a vote. Unfortunately for Gov. Walker, he hasn't been able to get that out. He needs to point the finger a little bit more at them and say. 'Listen, they should take a vote. All I want is for them to vote up or down, and I will be fine with whatever they decide.'"

Brzezinski asked Fenty if he agreed with what Walker is doing.

"The substance of it, I do," Fenty said. "Most governors and mayors would love to be able to manage their team without the interference of collective bargaining. ... I believe that managers have the ability to set fair wages, and to set fair hours, and to reward people or hold them accountable. I think it's a new day. I think a lot of these collective bargaining agreements are completely outdated."

When politicians are campaigning and they promise to work towards fixing their state budgets, hard decisions have to made when the public gives them that chance.

Walker took the challenge and he is standing by it and the emails show he is negotiating in good faith, completely blowing assertions to the contrary from runaway Dems, right out of the water.

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Greta Van Susteren Debates Runaway Wisconsin Democrat

Via Eyeblast, video below:



As Greta points out in the interview, everything stated as the runaway Democrats' reasoning for leaving town, hiding and refusing to vote for Walker's budget repair bill, has been accomplished (people seeing the bill, legislators reading the bill, etc...) and Greta never does get an answer as to why they are still refusing to come back home and do their jobs, which is to vote for or against the bill itself.

Meanwhile, JSOnline reports that Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller (D) is asking Republicans to meet and discuss the bill, not in the setting that is specifically there for legislators, but "near the Wisconsin-Illinois border to formally resume serious discussions."

Related

Following Union Money Right Into Democrats' Pockets

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Following Union Money Right Into Democrats' Pockets

OpenSecrets.org provides a list of the top all-time donors 1989-2010 and no big surprise which groups donate to which political party, but seeing which groups donate over 90 percent to one specific party, is eye opening to say the least.

Democrats receive 90 percent or more from ActBlue, American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees, American Assn for Justice, Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, National Education Assn, Laborers Union, Teamsters Union, Service Employees International Union, American Federation of Teachers, Communications Workers of America, United Auto Workers, Machinists & Aerospace Workers Union, United Food & Commercial Workers Union, EMILY's List, AFL-CIO, Sheet Metal Workers Union, Plumbers & Pipefitters Union, United Steelworkers, Ironworkers Union, American Postal Workers Union, Human Rights Campaign, Saban Capital Group, Transport Workers Union, National Cmte for an Effective Congress, Amalgamated Transit Union

Republicans receive 90 percent or more from Club for Growth, Associated Builders & Contractors, Amway/Alticor Inc, National Fedn of Independent Business

Then turn your eyes to the headlines of the day which are still full of news about Wisconsin Runaway Democrats and Unions fighting against Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill which would force Union workers to start paying more for their benefits, bring them closer to what everyday workers have to pay for health insurance and pensions, but still leaving them paying less and overhauling their collective bargaining rights.

Just follow the money.

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Ohio Senate Passes Collective Bargaining Overhaul 17-16

Wisconsin may have been in the spotlight for the last couple of weeks, but Ohio has also been waging a battle to control their budget and overhaul collective bargaining used by Unions and with a vote of 17-16, has now passed a bill which now heads to the Ohio House.

WSJ reports:

While national attention has focused for weeks on a similar battle in Wisconsin, the vote, by 17-16 in Ohio's Republican-controlled Senate, virtually ensured that the Buckeye State will become the first to strip collective-bargaining rights from public employees as states grapple with recent gaping budget deficits.

The move is especially significant because Ohio is larger than Wisconsin, and like its fellow Midwestern state, is both a stronghold of public-sector labor unions and a swing state politically.

The bill now goes to the House, where the Republicans have a 59-40 majority. If approved, as expected, it will move for signature to Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who supports the bill.

Mr. Kasich believes it would help local governments control labor costs, spokesman Rob Nichols said.

Ohio's labor leaders, while noting the narrow passage in the Senate, weren't optimistic about stopping the bill in the House.

"We're expecting it to pass," said Jason Perlman, a spokesman for the Ohio AFL-CIO. But, he added, "We are hopeful those in the Ohio House will see this bill is nothing more than an attack on the middle class."

Via Cleveland.com:

After three weeks of raucous debate that drew thousands of protesters to the state Capitol, the Ohio Senate on Wednesday approved by the slimmest margin possible a bill that would drastically reduce collective bargaining rights for Ohio's public workers.

More:

The bill would overhaul Ohio's nearly 30-year-old collective bargaining law. Democrats and unions have pledged to put the bill before voters if it also passes the House and the governor signs it into law.

The bill redefines what contract terms public workers can collectively bargain with their employer. Wages can still be negotiated. Health care benefits, pension pick-ups and other provisions, however, will be off the table. And management can decide to negotiate other terms, including safety forces' equipment.

The bill also bans public workers from striking, establishes penalties for striking -- including jail time -- and establishes a new system for resolving labor disputes. Instead of binding arbitration, the employer's legislative body, such as a city council, would decide whether to side with a union or management.

A merit-based pay system would be established . If workers are laid off, length of employment could not be the only factor under consideration.

In Wisconsin, Senate Democrats, 14 of them, ran away from the state to avoid a vote like the one just made in Ohio.

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Union Protesters Turn To Uncontrolled Mob Against WI GOP Senator

H/T Gateway Pundit, video below is over 12 minutes, you can fast forward to the 2:40-2:50 mark and watch from there as a Democratic WI Representative Brett Hulsey, steps in and puts himself between GOP Senator Glenn Grothman and the angry pro-Union mob.



Others discussing this latest show of true colors by the Union protesters are Michelle Malkin, Pundit & Pundette, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, Nice Deb, Patterico's Pontifications, Hot Air, RedState, and Althouse.

[Update] This is just the latest incident and AOL's L. Brent Bozell provides other examples of violence and uncivil language shown by protesters in WI.

Uncivil language

• During the protests, there have been signs comparing Gov. Walker to Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Mubarak, even Satan. Some signs featured Walker's face in crosshairs with the words "Don't Retreat, Reload: Repeal Walker." Another held a sign saying "Political Death to Tyrants." Click here to see a gallery of signs (caution, several signs contain adult language).

• On Feb. 22 in Boston, Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass., fired up a union crowd in front of the statehouse: "I'm proud to be here with people who understand that it's more than just sending an e-mail to get you going. Every once [in] a while you need to get out on the streets and get a little bloody when necessary."

• In Rhode Island, a union supporter called a cameraman a derogatory term for a homosexual and threatened to have anal sex with him.

• In Ohio, a union activist called tea party members "corporate butt-lickers" and Nazis.

Violence

• Tabitha Hale of FreedomWorks was filming a union protest outside their offices in the nation's capital Feb. 23 and was shoved to the ground by a middle-aged male activist wearing a T-shirt of the Communications Workers of America.

• Fox News correspondent Mike Tobin was hit by pro-union protesters in Wisconsin amidst cries of "Fox News lies" from the crowd, which also tried to block the cameraman's view of Tobin.

It is pointed out that none of this warranted much coverage and examples of the double standard shown by the media are provided as well.

Read it all.

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The Latest In The Wisconsin Budget Showdown

Two weeks after Governor Scott Walker unveiled his budget repair bill and union supporters started their protesting campaign, with 14 WI Democratic Senators running away from home to avoid having to vote on the budget repair bill, Governor Walker raises the stakes again.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker on Monday gave absent Democratic lawmakers an ultimatum to return to Wisconsin within 24 hours and vote on a proposal to reduce the power of public sector unions or the state would miss out on a debt restructuring.

The debt restructuring aspect was covered days ago, as the February 25, 2011 deadline passed, and Walker has extended that deadline, but has given the runaway Democrats 24 hours to get home and start doing their jobs again and vote one way or another on the budget repair bill which includes a restructuring of the state's debt.

From the bill:

Debt Restructuring-The bill authorizes the restructuring of principal payments in fiscal year 2010-11 on the state’s general obligation bonds. These principal repayments will be paid in future years. Since the state is required to make debt service payments by March 15th. The bill must be enacted by February 25th. To allow time to sell the refinancing bonds. This provision will reduce debt service costs by $165 million in fiscal year 2010-11. The savings will help address one-time costs to comply with the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund state Supreme Court decision and make payments under the Minnesota-Wisconsin tax reciprocity program.

Walker's statement issued February 28, 2011:

For Immediate Release Monday, February 28, 2011 Walker to Senate Democrats: One Day Left to Save the State $165 million
Madison–One component of Governor Walker’s budget repair bill is debt refinancing, which will save taxpayers $165 million in fiscal year 2011. According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, if Senate Democrats refuse to return to Wisconsin and cast their votes in the next day the option to refinance a portion of the state’s debt will be off the table. Along with this notice Governor Walker’s spokesman, Cullen Werwie, released the following statement: Senate Democrats claimed they fled the state to slow down the process so the public had enough time to learn about the budget repair bill. If that was their true intention, they have been successful. Now they have one day to return to work before the state loses out on the chance to refinance debt, saving taxpayers $165 million this fiscal year. Failure to return to work and cast their votes will lead to more painful and aggressive spending cuts in the very near future. This is the Senate Democrats’ 24 hour notice.

JS Online provides more details on the deal the Unions are protesting against:

But by any measure, as Walker has noted and most state employees acknowledge, the state will continue to provide rich health-insurance benefits compared with the private sector, where nearly 40% of employers don't offer health benefits at all.

Under Walker's bill, state employees - including elected state legislators, who receive the same benefits - would pay about $600 more for single coverage, raising their share of that cost to about $1,000 a year. For family coverage, they would pay $1,476 more, raising their share of the cost to about $2,500 a year.

The proposal would increase their share of the premium to 12.4%. But that would still be well below the share paid by employees in the private sector, who by one estimate pay an average of 19% of the cost for single coverage and 29% for family coverage.

It also is less than the 28% of the premium paid on average by federal employees.

Read the whole thing, the deal Walker is offering is still better than what private sector employees have now.

Another little tidbit of information regarding those runaway Democrats and the money they receive from Unions:

....one out of every five dollars raised by those Democratic senators in the past two election cycles came from public employees, such as teachers and firefighters, and their unions, a Journal Sentinel analysis of campaign records shows.

"It's very simple," said Richard Abelson, executive director of District Council 48 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "We have interests, and because of that, we attempt to support candidates who support our interests. It's pretty hard to find Republicans who support our interests these days."

Critics of Walker's budget-repair bill say it would mean less union money for Democrats. That's because the legislation would end automatic payroll deductions for dues and would allow public employees to opt out of belonging to a union.

According to records compiled by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, the 14 Senate Democrats have raised a total of $1.9 million in campaign dollars since the start of 2007. Out of that sum, public-employee unions and individual government workers contributed at least $344,000.

In truth, the figure may be even higher, but candidates don't have to identify the occupations of those giving $100 or less.

Anyone surprised?

Last but not least, Walker responds to Barack Obama who made veiled comments recently about "public employees". (Worth noting the last time Obama interjected himself into the business of Wisconsin, Walker told Obama basically to butt out and try to balance his own budget (meaning America's)

Walker’s office issued this statement:

“I'm sure the President knows that most federal employees do not have collective bargaining for wages and benefits while our plan allows it for base pay. And I'm sure the President knows that the average federal worker pays twice as much for health insurance as what we are asking for in Wisconsin. At least I would hope he knows these facts.

“Furthermore, I’m sure the President knows that we have repeatedly praised the more than 300,000 government workers who come to work every day in Wisconsin.

“I’m sure that President Obama simply misunderstands the issues in Wisconsin, and isn’t acting like the union bosses in saying one thing and doing another.”

Just another day in Wisconsin.