[lbo-talk] Was Signing online, now the Egyptian option

jam amvojo at gmail.com
Thu Feb 24 23:23:58 PST 2011


A rather nuanced take on things in Madison ... http://www.solidarity-us.org/current/node/3172 On Feb 25, 2011 12:41 AM, "jam" <amvojo at gmail.com> wrote:
> If my meanderings on LBO-talk last weekend are any indication, I might not
> be the most reliable source of information for now...and I've been out of
> town (but in state) since Monday night (family and I will return to
madison
> tomorrow eve)
>
> Some quick observations -
>
> Walker is attempting to break the current stalemate with the threat of
> layoffs; furthermore, there is a Friday deadline for refinancing $165
> million of debt - the single largest financial component of the budget
> repair plan (http://www.jsonline.com/business/116632753.html<
http://www.jsonline.com/business/116632753.html>).
> There is also some degree of confusion about how exactly the concessions
> demanded from teachers will actually affect state and local budgets;
either
> way, the administration's justification for undoing collective bargaining
> rights for teacher unions is that the state will likely reduce funding to
> districts by $500 *per pupil* and individual districts need to be able
> to push drastic changes (layoffs) without resistance. With his credibility
> compromised recently, it will be interesting to see how he follows through
> with his layoff threats.
>
> Some of the demonstrations, while smaller, have been more targeted (e.g.
> Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the local Koch office) while general
> demonstrations around and inside the capitol continue. There are constant
> rumors that the capitol will be cleared of occupiers on this or that night
-
> the latest is that, according to an exchange between a reporter and
somebody
> (?) from capitol police, the capitol police may attempt to retake the
> capitol at 2am on Sunday morning, but many such rumors have passed without
> incident.
>
> It had been encouraging to see how the signs and posters evolved over last
> weekend to be more aggressive and less personal. On wednesday 2/16 it
> seemed like many of the signs and chants were about how terrible Scott
> Walker was; by saturday and sunday, a larger proportion of signs, chants,
> and conversations were infused with messages of class, solidarity, and
more
> cogent, organized attacks on the bill - we saw signs that read "World Wide
> Class War", "working class kicking ass", "Class warfare, ground zero
> madison", "got class warfare?" (after the Got Milk? add campaign - perhaps
> regional?), "This is what class-consciousness looks like!" and "This is
what
> class warfare looks like!" (each of these possibly modeled after the call
> and answer chant "tell me what democracy looks like. This is what
democracy
> looks like!"). I'm excited to see how, if it all, things have changed when
I
> return Friday evening.
>
> I'm sure LBO-sters have heard about a regional AFL group's endorsement of
a
> general strike (they can't call the strike) - for more see
> http://www.scfl.org/ - note that their opposition to the bill is not
limited
> to the collective bargaining language but also extends to attacks on
medical
> assistance, funding for school districts, etc.
>
> In my own neck of the woods, the teacher lounges where I work are filled
> with relevant highlighted, underlined, and bookmarked literature. Last
> week, one teacher emailed several others, addressing them as "comrades" -
> tongue-in-cheek, I'm sure, but still caused me to do a double take. There
> are occasional blanket emails coordinating carpools to madison (4 hrs).
one
> of the district principals (sympathetic to the unions) warned some of the
> support staff (guidance, nurses, social workers, etc) that if the bill
> passes they should trust none of the administrators, including himself.
>
> As for the Pizza, it's hard to get sick of Ian's. Furthermore, there was
> (as of Monday night) a whole hall devoted to community food, much of which
> actually looked edible - not sure how it looks now.
>
> Perhaps others who have been there can update us on the tenor of things
over
> the past couple days. I'd love to hear some other perceptions.
>
> joshua
>
>
> On Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 3:47 PM, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> On Feb 24, 2011, at 4:42 PM, Joshua Morey wrote:
>>
>> > Who has been spending time in Madison? It might be fun to meet, share
>> > analyses, etc, this weekend.
>> >
>> > I apologize if this is poor web etiquette.
>>
>> It's not at all. Quite the contrary.
>>
>> So what's new in Madtown these days?
>>
>> Doug
>> ___________________________________
>> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>>



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