Posts Tagged ‘wisconsin’

The left’s perception filter on Union thuggery

Posted: March 2, 2011 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news, politics
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Take a look at this video via Little Miss Attila:

This morning I haven’t seen anything on the news (but plenty of good coverage from the blogs about this scene)

Attila asks the first question:

Heroic action by Rep. Brett Hulsey saves the day, and possibly Sen. Grothman’s life. What would have happened if Hulsey hadn’t been wearing that union T-shirt? Would enough people in the crowd have recognized him by sight for him to still have turned them back?

For those who want to defend this as “democracy in action” lets play a game: Pretend that Sen. Grothman was an abortion doctor and the crowd around him were opponents of abortion. How many times would this video be replayed? Would even Charlie Sheen being found in bed with Gaddafi and Snooki be able to keep this from being the media story of the week?

As AOL noted today concerning union actions “Not one of those outrages was apparently worthy of much in the way of news coverage.” I suspect this one will not either.

Update: Should give credit to Phil who shot this video and posted it first.

Update 2: McCain asks…if this is what civility looks like.

Update 3: The Anchoress (who will be on my Radio show March 12th) links. Welcome to the faithful. You might be interested in this post on the Holy spirit, this on abortion this on Christian obligation and this on discrimination.

Two questions that aren’t being asked about Wisconsin.

Posted: March 1, 2011 by datechguy in opinion/news
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1. No matter why the signs say, this will not be the last election in Wisconsin’s history. Presumably in 2012 the members of the Wisconsin house and senate will be up for election again and the governor in 4 years. If the unions have the people behind them, isn’t it a given that in the next election the republicans will be swept out of office and collective bargaining will be restored? Are the unions fighting so hard because they understand the voters disagree with them?

2. Under Walker’s plan the union would be re-certified each year by a vote of the members. Do the Unions believe that their members who are apparently so well served by the unions that they are turning out to protest in big numbers would choose not to re-certify?

I suspect that the answer to both questions is Yes!

I think they are good questions. I’d love to see good answers to them.

Update: Before I crashed I saw the CBS and PPP polls that are being trumpeted. If these polls were true then:

1. Why were the protests nationwide so sparsely attended?

2. Why is it necessary for the unions to bus in supporters to Wisconsin?

3. Why aren’t the democrats who have fled confidently returning knowing that this vote will only be the prelude to them retaking everything in Wisconsin?

These are good questions too.

Update: Or perhaps like Bill Jacobson they actually crunched the numbers in the PPP poll and found them…interesting.

Update 2: Ed Morrissey does the same for CBS. It’s amazing the poll results you can generate when you over-sample democrats:

Their sample for this poll had a D/R/I split of 36/26/31, an absurd sample for political polling. In December, Rasmussen’s general-population survey put Republicans ahead, 36.0% to 34.7% for Democrats. A recent poll by Gallup shows erosion in Democratic affiliation all through 2010.

Oversample unions:

20% of the poll’s respondents claim to come from union households. However, only 11.9% of American workers belong to a union, according to a report published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics last month and noted by none other than the Times itself.

And public sector employees:

Government employment accounts for 17% of all workers, so a sample consisting of 25% public-sector households for a survey of adults (not registered voters) seems a little off.

The goal is not to report on public opinion it’s to drive it and set the daily media template.

Update 3: didn’t notice the Instalanche until I checked comments, don’t forget to check out our conversation on sex, Last weeks show with Jazz Shaw and Sissy Willis, and some info on car speakers that can crack windshields from my newest advertiser

Update 4: One more question. If the public is behind the Wisconsin lawmakers who left the state, why run away from tea party folks, why not just stay at a single hotel and do news conferences?

Update 5: Texas Ed brings up an important point in comments:

I’ve not read anyone making a very key point: EVERYONE IN THE CAPTIVE MEDIA IS A UNION MEMBER!

I confess I didn’t think of it myself

Ollie’s Barbaque and short memories

Posted: February 28, 2011 by datechguy in Uncategorized
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Ann Althouse who has done the best reporting on Madison period (BTW how does she have time to do all of this. Doesn’t she teach law somewhere?) brings us a blast from the past.

Ollie’s Barbecue is a family owned restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama, specializing in barbecued meats and homemade pies, with a seating capacity of 220 customers… The restaurant caters to a family and white-collar trade with a take-out service for Negroes….

What really amazed me concerning the Walker Restaurant story wasn’t so much the veracity of the story or the reaction of the restaurant. It was the unmitigated glee of democrats once again cheering the exclusion of people they don’t like from public accommodation.

Yes I said once again. Remember those Jim Crow laws were DEMOCRATIC laws supported by democratic legislatures and Democratic governors. Ann continues:

And who thinks about tomorrow? The state capitol is occupied right now and plastered with thousands of signs this week, and isn’t that just great? You haven’t give a moment’s thought — have you? — to what free speech rights will apply to the next group that wants to appropriate the state capitol? Are you planning on advocating viewpoint discrimination to keep the signs you find loathsome off the walls?

Back at Mindstain the person who broke this story regrets the notoriety that has come with speaking in the open square but most instructive is her critique of Gov Walker:

I feel that Governor Walker is crossing that threshold from despicable action to despicable person. Why do I say this? Because he refuses to listen. He refuses to back down, and therefore propagates the refusal to back down on the left. There’s no reasoning with a person who considers their own stance “THE ONLY” stance. To have someone like this in office is terrifying.

Take a close look at this. She equates refusing to back down with refusing to listen and because he doesn’t back down it forces the union not to back down.

Forget that there was an election, forget that republicans won both houses and the governorship, forget that the positions are all well-known and the governor knows the left’s position. He is despicable because he will not give in. He id despicable because he refuses to abandon those who elected him for a reason. What does that remind you of?

Read the whole thing, it is instructive.

I’ll give the last word to Ann:

The whole point of principles is that you’re supposed to follow them all the time — especially when you would find it most satisfying to violate them…

What children!

That’s pretty much it.

The left hates violence

Posted: February 27, 2011 by datechguy in internet/free speech
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Unless they lose an election that is:

Now remember the federal government doesn’t give collective bargaining rights so does that mean that Mr. Alexander is also supporting violent retaliation against the feds? Against Obama? Inquiring minds want to know.

Now the most interesting thing about this stuff is this is going up on the net, right on twitter. No attempt to hide it, spoken openly.

Why because the left counts on the media to ignore it. If you want to see the face of the left take a look at the comments left for Andrew Breitbart’s on twitter.

The reason why the internet explosion has been so bad for the left is it allows them to be seen for what they are.

Oh as for Scott Walker, well that election doesn’t count because….

Never mind that he won and that the only reason “debate” is not taking place is because the senate democrats ran away.

This is the unapologetic left. They are afraid right now because they are losing and the more afraid they get the less guarded with their speech they get.

Go and take a look at our exchange on Twitter and see what happens when his arguments fail. It is instructive.

Update: Instalanche: I would have thanked Glenn sooner but I hit the sack early.

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