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So at any rate, I apologize for the long radio silence. I no longer have Mondays and Fridays off, so it takes a bit more effort to get out to fine bean-roastin' institutions. BUT this morning, S'Bitch made a discovery. Are you ready?
You can go to cafes and do other fun things even on days you also have to work!!!
I know. I know. This morning I woke up early, realized there was no coffee on the house, and remembered I had a Peet's gift card to use. So I moseyed over, feeling proud of myself for beating the crowd and not having to stand in line. I bought half a pound of beans and was handed a free cup of coffee. I must be getting away with something, here. Might as well stay here for a bit, with the comfy furniture and (tee hee hee!) free cup of coffee!
Not many outlets here, and I imagine it gets very crowded during peak times, but there is a LOT of comfy furniture. In a dimly-lit rotunda. I felt very classy in there. If it didn't smell like coffee, it might have smelled like rich mahogany and leather-bound books. Also, Michaela behind the beans counter is a total enabler. She will convince you to buy the better coffee even though you planned to buy the cheapest one. Totally worth it because it was roasted last night.
On to the rant. By now you have probably heard about Wisconsin's wackjob governor, Scott Walker.
He is a man with a plan:
But this is how most of Wisconsin (and the rest of the country) feels about him:
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Except, y'know, the rest of the country isn't a badger. But we are. So watch out. (For those of you who don't know S'Bitch personally, she is a proud Wisconsin gal.) So why are our hackles up? Let me count the ways.
Others have written about this more competently than I can, so I will direct you to them right off the bat:
The short version of it is that Walker, having turned a billions-of-dollars surplus (who the fuck has a surplus these days? Wisconsin [did]!!!) into a billions-of-dollars deficit within his first month in office, is desperate to balance the budget. He wants to do so by crushing unions. You think I'm exaggerating, but if you listen to this prank phone call in which Walker tells all, you will hear those exact words used, and he doesn't even try to deny it. He would like to take away unions' collective bargaining rights. This would mean that workers would have no right to collectively contest things like unsafe working conditions, benefits, vacation... This is attached to a bill that would mean major cuts for public workers in all sectors. And he's playing it like union folks are just grubbing for more money, when many have taken multiple pay *cuts* in recent years. Nobody's whining about tightening their belts. People just want to KEEP the rights they've had since the 1930s in Wisconsin.
Walker wanted to vote on this bill four days after introducing it. In response, Wisconsin's democratic state senators fled the state to delay voting on the bill, so the people would have time to make their voices heard. Tens of thousands have occupied the state capital for 8 days and nights now, and Walker still says he is unwilling to negotiate. Again, I'm not exaggerating here. He has publicly stated, again and again, that he absolutely will not compromise--that this bill will go through no matter what.
Events in Wisconsin have sparked nationwide solidarity rallies, and international attention. If you are pro-union or pro-working class, you might want to find out if there is a rally in your area. If you can, donate a little something to MoveOn.org so they can send videographers to publicize the event, and provide supplies to the protesters occupying the capital in Madison.
We need to oust this guy, because he is proving again and again that he cannot be reasoned with. Barring that, I say we secede and join Canada. The Tea Party crazies wouldn't want to come with us, so we'd be free of them AND of some of the anti-socialist paranoia and elitism that is becoming increasingly rampant in the US.
On Wisconsin! (As you've never heard it before.)
On Wisconsin! (As you've never heard it before.)
