Best wishes,
Joshua
On Feb 25, 2011 1:23 AM, "jam" <amvojo at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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
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