rebelpleb

We Do Not Have an Education Crisis in this Country. We Have a Societal Crisis Regardless of the dearth of media coverage, the protests and rallies here in Madison, Wisconsin continue. There are people inside and outside the capitol every single day, rain, snow, or shine. One particular group that is represented each afternoon is teachers. Yet, amid the constant media chatter about public education and teaching, and the absurd vilification of teachers, the one voice that is rarely if ever represented in the news is that of an actual classroom teacher. Among the many segments of society profoundly affected by Wisconsin’s and other states’ recent and impending regressive legislation is public education. But despite what either of the two dominant political parties claim about their interest in and respect for education, the entire American public education system has been under attack for decades. All of the political rhetoric about leaving no child left behind and racing to the top ...

The fifth weekend of the Madison, Wisconsin protests against the budget “repair” bill, and now also the state budget bill, saw a smaller turnout than the 150,000 plus ralliers from last week. Even so, a sizable number in the thousands if not tens of thousands congregated once again at the capitol. As usual, few if any major media outlets are painting a complete picture of this, over month-long, grassroots movement. While the media has mainly spoken of the loss of collective bargaining rights for workers in Governor Walker’s recent bills, the regressive legislation takes away so many more provisions, especially those for the poor, women, and people of color. Moreover, while the mainstream media has maintained the fallacious right-wing narrative of large state deficits needing to be paid by the poor and working class, the people in Wisconsin and beyond have been duly awakened to the true causes of the federal and state fiscal “crises”: corporate welfare, the ultra-rich not paying their f...

George Carlin knew what many of us have for years: The American Dream is a myth and the country has been under corporate control for decades. I recall seeing this routine and thinking how doomed we all are, as everyone is asleep. In the past month, people have awakened. But it is not enough to finally be awake. Now, we have to all be active - not just active but pro-active, vigilant, and unrelenting. Now is not the time to return to slumber. Now is the time to fight. Let's prove Carlin wrong in his belief that no one is awake and no one will fight. (RIP George)

Though the media seems indifferent to the protests, low-balling the 150,000 person turnout and reporting it in the margins of the news with headlines taken directly from corporate talking points (see earlier NPR post for one example), the largest rally yet occurred here in Madison on Saturday. The event featured a collection of people, including farmers, who showed up with their tractors, to protest, among other things, the fact that Badgercare, the health care program that most of them rely on, will be severely cut under this administration. People of all stripes attended with signs and costumes and banners too numerous to catalog, but I was able to document at least a sample of what was out there. The Fab 14 were in attendance, the returning state senators who had been in Illinois to give the people time to illuminate some of the nightmare that Walker and his puppetmasters have wrought for the state (more on that from "Wisconsin Death Trip" in COUNTERPUNCH). Earl...

Again this morning, Saturday, March 12, 2011, on my NPR station here in Madison, Wisconsin, you said the same line at the end of your brief report: "Walker said he needs the bill to balance the budget in Wisconsin." This is wrong. Walker, his Republicans puppets, and their corporate masters are clearly and directly stripping unions of rights. This is not a budget issue. Please report this simple truth rather than the lie, the corporate talking points, you are constantly repeating. Please consider these things: 1) Even the Republicans have tacitly admitted that the bill Walker signed has been removed from the fiscal realm in order for it to be passed, since only fiscal issues require the quorum they could not obtain with the 14 democrats out-of-state. They did this by removing fiscal portions of the "budget repair bill." This alone reveals your repeated line to be inaccurate. Only the union stripping and other "nonfiscal" provisions of the bill rema...

(photo courtesy: AP) Since these peaceful protests against the “budget repair” bill in Wisconsin began on February 14 of this year, and as crowds amplified day after day, everyone here recognized one truth about how our story would be told to the nation and the world: “Fox News will lie about this.” - A slogan later to be found on many protest signs. But the truth is NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, NPR, Time, Newsweek, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Time would also lie about this. Their lies began when they allowed our dictatorial governor to speak complete fallacies without questioning, investigating, or critically examining any of his claims, such as: This bill is about a budget crisis. Now the lies have been exposed for all they are worth. Here is what happened the evening of March 9, 2011 in Wisconsin from someone who was there. At 5:15pm I readied to tackle all of the work I had piled up before me, as my civic responsibilities of late have undermined...

The corporate Republican representatives in our state capitol, masquerading as your state senators, have met in the dark and have stolen your rights to collectively bargain for wages and benefits. On Tuesday, in a feint worthy of a master fencer, Wisconsin Corporate Governor Scott Walker released emails that appeared to show his stubborn stance on his budget despair bill to be weakening. Then on Wednesday evening, the Republican state senate Koch brother marionettes formed a committee to split the bill so that they could pass the union-busting measures without a quorum. As Democratic senate minority leader Miller stated, “In 30 minutes, 18 state senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin. Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten.” Even if you are not in a union, even if you are not currently employed, this decision will affect you, your family,  all Wisconsinites, and eventually all America...

Fourteen brave Wisconsin Democratic state senators have been in Illinois for three weeks, doing exactly the job that their constituents have asked of them: fighting for the will of their people and staying strong in their resolve to help see that the democratic process is upheld. There can be no better example of fulfilling one's duties as public servants. Thank you Fab 14! (Video courtesy Shahin Izadi)

Anyone who questions the sincerity and authenticity of this man needs to adjust his/her moral compass.

My grandfather, Pio, was born in 1909 in New York City, the son of poor Italian immigrants who had recently arrived in America seeking prosperity. He began working at a very young age to help support his family. At thirteen, Pio lost his father and as the eldest son with six siblings, took responsibility as the family wage earner. On one occasion, he was out making deliveries during a blizzard. The streets were empty in the lower east side of Manhattan and a police officer came up to Pio, thinking he was a delinquent up to no good. My grandfather explained that he needed to work so that his family could eat; the officer escorted him through the rest of his route. Life never came easy for Pio, but he nonetheless became a hardworking, diligent husband and father who raised three capable and successful children. He worked numerous jobs throughout his adult life, and after having some major setbacks, including the devastating loss of his first daughter when she was just nine-years-old an...

The public has been illegally locked out of he capitol building since Monday morning. Peaceful protesters left early Monday, thinking they would re-enter the capitol after going to work, fulfilling obligations and responsibilities, and resting. They returned to find that unlawful, arbitrary policies had been imposed by the Department of Administration, under Gov. Walker's direction, to keep people out of the building. Regardless, dozens are adhering to the archaic policies and maintaining a small vigil in the rotunda, while hundreds, if not thousands return daily to continue the marches and rallies outside the capitol, opposing the cruel and unnecessary austerity measures proposed by this governor. Here's a look at the recent conditions: Wisconsin State Capitol Budget Repair Bill Protest March 1st from Michael Kienitz on Vimeo . (Video courtesy Michael Kienitz)