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We couldn’t be prouder of our own Bruno Behrend, who recently drove up to a Tea Party Rally in Sheboygan, WI (otherwise known as “real America”) to talk about school reform — getting the crowd excited about breaking up the government education complex.
Have a look and listen:
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From Ann Althouse comes word the Wisconsin Teaching Assistants’ Association (TAA) voted last week against seeking state certification as a union for the purpose of collective bargaining.
TAA is the first public employee union known to have held a union certification vote and the first one known to have voted against certification.
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The Wisconsin teachers union is getting a long-overdue lesson in free-market economics.
For decades, the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) has been in fat city. Now? Not so much. On Monday, WEAC issued layoff notices to 40 percent of its staff, blaming the state’s new limitations on collective bargaining. [click to continue…]
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With a little bit of luck, the allegations of fisticuffs between two justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court will have a very happy ending for Wisconsin conservatives, no matter how it’s finally resolved.
The dispute involves Justices Ann Walsh Bradley and David Prosser. Bradley contends Prosser put her neck in a “chokehold” at a meeting in or near Bradley’s office a few weeks ago. Six of the seven Wisconsin justices were present. Prosser is not commenting, but witnesses say Bradley approached Prosser first with her fists raised. He stuck his hands out to block the threatened punch and touched her neck, this account goes.
The Dane County (Madison) sheriff and the Wisconsin Judicial Commission are investigating.
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley
It’s not every day that one state supreme court justice accuses another of choking her in a scuffle in her chambers. That is very serious business, and such an accusation had better be solid.
So when I learned that the scuffle in question occurred in Wisconsin — and that conservative Justice David Prosser was the accused, and liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley was the accuser — I had some suspicions it might be bogus.
So does Byron York of The Washington Examiner, one of the best political reporters in the country. He calls the accusation of assault against Prosser a “smear” and one of the ugliest things he’s seen in his professional experience. I encourage you to read the whole report from York, but here’s why it might be bogus:
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In the aftermath of the union protests in Madison in February and March, some recent updates:
* About 90 matters, mostly death threats against state officials, were referred to the Division of Criminal Investigation of the Wisconsin Attorney General’s Office. About a dozen remain open cases. About 30 of the 90 threats were directed at Democrats. About the same number were directed at Republicans.
Some of the most violent-sounding threats were directed at Republican Gov. Scott Walker, whose budget repair bill provisions limiting collective bargaining for state employees and teachers to wages and requiring employee contributions to health care and pension benefits provoked union protests. Some threats out-of-state were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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On four days in February (Feb. 16-18 and 21), two-thirds of Madison School District teachers called in sick to attend the protests over Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill – enough to shut the schools down those four days.
The teachers’ pay was docked, saving the district $1.3 million, so one school board member is proposing this money be used to give year-end bonuses to all teachers and staff, including the ones who went AWOL. Board member Ed Hughes is proposing bonuses of a $200 gift card plus $60 to pay related income taxes on them, “as a gesture of appreciation for all the hard work our teachers and staff have done through these hard times.”
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Typical leftist civility at the Wisconsin protests
Below is a letter I received from Muriel Coleman, a fellow member of the board of directors of American Conservative Union. She gives a first-hand account of what happened, and is still happening, in Madison, Wisconsin.
Muriel also provides information on how to make contributions to individuals and organizations in the state who are fighting back against the public sector unions.
To be clear: The Heartland Institute does not endorse or oppose candidates for public office, and Ms. Coleman’s letter does not reflect the views or position of The Heartland Institute. [click to continue…]
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In the aftermath of this winter’s union protests in Madison and related events, Wisconsinites are beginning to do the math, and they don’t like the huge numbers one single bit.
Protest-related costs are huge – and taxpayers across the state are on the hook for them.
Protesters gathered in February and March at the state Capitol in Madison over the elimination of collective bargaining for state employee benefits in Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill.
They occupied the Capitol building 24/7 for several weeks, demonstrating, eating, sleeping, and microwaving meals in the Capitol building rotunda. They taped or otherwise adhered protest signs to marble walls in the interior. The building is an historical landmark, and its marble walls must be cleaned by hand with special solvents. The state architect says art conservators would do much of the work; they charge $100 per hour. He says assessing the damage alone would cost $500,000.
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I haven’t been able to figure out why state employees are so enraged at the possibility of having to contribute to their pensions and health care benefits. They took over the State Capitol in Wisconsin, eating, sleeping, and not showering there for many days and nights. They were banging on drums relentlessly, screaming obscenities at lawmakers and their staff, and blocking access to restrooms for all but their own. About 200 of them ganged up on one single Republican state senator until police could rescue him.
Sure, the money’s important, but that important? What I didn’t realize is that it’s also about working conditions. Silly me.
Some items subject to collective bargaining in Wisconsin, according to Governor Scott Walker’s office, include: [click to continue…]
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