Mass Protests Over WI Governor's Controversial Budget Repair Bill

@kanevalider: Sorry that I didn't bother reading the bill; I don't usually bother with something the moment I know it contains clauses limiting human rights. Perhaps the bill actually proposes some useful options. I don't know, and don't really care, so long as rights are not stripped in the process of passage. That's perhaps the biggest misconception of what protesters want. No one cares about the money anymore. Unions have already said they'll concede to the 5.6 percent pension and 12 percent health care premium contribution rates (which are ridiculous already considering the amount of statewide corporations that pay no taxes) so long as they can keep collective bargaining rights. Yet that's just not good enough for Scott Walker, who claims you can't fix the budget with one or the other. Bullshit.

And just to update everyone, this is how democracy dies:

Wisconsin Assembly passes union-weakening bill, move to Senate (CNN Breaking News)

Quote from one of the two campus papers that sums up what happened:

Republicans resorted to a surprise vote at 1:09 a.m. Friday morning to pass the governor’s controversial budget repair bill as Democrats leapt out of their chairs shouting “Shame! Shame!” at the exiting representatives.

Republicans had attempted the quick vote at least two other times earlier in the night, but Democrats, under the vocal leadership of Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, protested and demanded the speaker renounce the votes. The move came after around 61 hours of debate had taken place, largely due to Democrats taking liberty with the length of their speeches. The final count of the vote was 51-17.

http://badgerherald.com/news/2011/02/24/...ves_bu.php

Support the bill if you do, but don't support ramming it through a state legislature like this.