The silence on this forum is deafening.

[SamCogar]

Do you really think the signs displayed here is what this bunch really cares about?


Anyone want those hooligans teaching your kids about the birds n' the bees?

The MSM hasn’t said a word about their roudyness or incivility …….. so maybe they are waiting to vent their criticisms on the anti-protest protest scheduled for today, to wit:

MADISON, Wis. — With Republican state lawmakers stymied over plans to pass an anti-union bill, and Gov. Scott Walker saying he would not compromise, Tea Party activists joined in the controversy by organizing a rally Saturday in support of the legislation.

Drew Ryun, president of American Majority Action, one of the conservative groups planning the demonstration, said organizers were "meeting fire with fire."

"We have buses coming in from all over the state," Ryun said of what was dubbed the "I Stand With Scott Walker" rally. "We see this as the opening salvo of the 2012 election season. The Tea Party movement facing off against the unions. And we like the odds."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41664858/ns/us_news-life/

[Keli]

Well, the Unionistas are just using mob rulle thuggery to exercise democracy; whereas, the Tea Party members are anti-government, anti-democracy zealots. (Can you imagine if the Tea Party had occupied a state capitol?)

[Aaron]

I brought these signs up to a young liberal frined of mine and not only had he not only heard about them, he didn't believe me. Typical liberal news media.

[Stephanie]

I posted him proof, Aaron! LOL

[Aaron]

He won't believe it Stephanie.

[Stephanie]

I know! Why would he believe anything coming from a racist like me! lmao

[ohio county]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/althouse/5454480842/

Maybe we're all better off having this teacher on the picket line and not the classroom.

If the rights of workers is all about opposing the evil corporations, what do the evil corporations have to do with this dispute in Wisconsin? This dispute is all about the control of government. The taxpayers have no seat at this table.

[Stephanie]

The average compensation package for a teacher in Milwaukee is $104K, yet 2/3's of 8th graders are not reading proficiently.

I simply cannot imagine why a reasonable person would believe taxpayers should continue to have their wealth confiscated to pay so dearly for that level of incompetence.

[SheikBen]

Stephanie,

I think the problem is primarily with the families of Milwaukee (I love that town, btw) rather than the schools. Problem is, giving schools more money is not goin to do anything to improve the conditions that underlie poor school performance.

[Stephanie]

The reading proficiency rate I gave you was statewide. The average compensation was for Milwaukee. The problem is the state compels parents to send their children to schools that are failing. They tax all Wisconsins to fund this. It is inexcusable.

[SheikBen]

I don't disagree, Stephanie. We ourselves homeschool. The schools are failing. My point is that the problem starts at home with disinterested and uninvolved parents, and if you do not have a home life conducive to learning, forget about learning at school, even if you poor half the money in the world into the schools, it's not going to happen.

[Stephanie]

Are you stating to me that you believe 2/3's of the public school students in the state of WI come from disfunctional homes? I'm not buying that, Mike.

[SheikBen]

Depends on what you mean by disfunctional, Stephanie. Do today's parents invest enough time and attention in their children? I wager 2/3rds of the number not doing so is about right. Unfortunately, you can't legislate this sort of things, but surel pouring money into it isn't the answer, either.

I contend that private schools and home schoolers have such better success than public ones because the parents are a self-selecting superior group that simply cares more for their children. Now this is not uiniversally true, as some are not as blessed as we are to be able to stay home or pay for private schools, and further there are some pretty horrible "homeschoolers" who are just lazy. Having said that, taken as a whole, parents need to take more time with their kids and give them fewer foolish 21st century digital idiocies.

[ohio county]

My observation is that home-schooled kids score higher on standardized tests and have greater success in higher education. Are there any quanitfiable studies to bear that out?

[ohio county]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703529004576160273318213558.html

The lovely and talented James Taranto on the dichotomy between private-sector unions and public sector unions. I like this. I liked it so much I see that I may have plagiarized a part of it early this morning. Mr. Taranto says that "...taxpayers--whose position is analogous to that of shareholders--are usually denied a seat at the table..."

[Stephanie]

I think there are, but I don't pay much attention to the standardized tests and the like. I know that every year more and more colleges begin actively recruiting homeschool students offering scholarships etc.

[ziggy]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703529004576160273318213558.html

The lovely and talented James Taranto on the dichotomy between private-sector unions and public sector unions. I like this. I liked it so much I see that I may have plagiarized a part of it early this morning. Mr. Taranto says that "...taxpayers--whose position is analogous to that of shareholders--are usually denied a seat at the table..."

It depends on how we define "taxpayers". Only the poor are "denied a seat at the table". 21st century purchases of politicians via political "campaign contribuitions" tell us that. Democrats and Republicans- for political sale to the highest bidders under the guise of "free speech" purchased with $$$$$$$$$- are the seats at the table for those "taxpayers" who pay their political campaign tabs.

[Aaron]

Only the poor are "denied a seat at the table".

And here I thought Liberals and Democrats spoke for the poor. Considering you guys have controlled this state for about a century now, don't you speak for them at the table? Or are you telling us that liberals have been selling out the poor for almost a hundred years now?

[ziggy]

Only the poor are "denied a seat at the table".

And here I thought Liberals and Democrats spoke for the poor. Considering you guys have controlled this state for about a century now, don't you speak for them at the table? Or are you telling us that liberals have been selling out the poor for almost a hundred years now?

What "Liberals" have controlled this state for about a century? Not all "Liberals" are "Democrats". And not all "Democrats" are "Liberals"- especially in West Virginia.

[ohio county]

It depends on how we define "taxpayers". Only the poor are "denied a seat at the table".

How do you figure? A poor kid from Mingo County has a better chance at getting into Harvard than my child does. A poor kid from Yoknapatawpha County, MS, also trumps my child. Denied a seat at the table? Hell's fire, the table is set with the finest crystal and the bone china usually reserved for the royals.

And I'm penalized why? Because I worked for a living for over thirty years? Yeah, that's fair. I worked for a corporation, didn't I?

[Aaron]

Only the poor are "denied a seat at the table".

And here I thought Liberals and Democrats spoke for the poor. Considering you guys have controlled this state for about a century now, don't you speak for them at the table? Or are you telling us that liberals have been selling out the poor for almost a hundred years now?

What "Liberals" have controlled this state for about a century? Not all "Liberals" are "Democrats". And not all "Democrats" are "Liberals"- especially in West Virginia.

We don't know that. You were given multiple chances to explain the difference to us and you've hid.

[Aaron]

Only the poor are "denied a seat at the table".

And here I thought Liberals and Democrats spoke for the poor. Considering you guys have controlled this state for about a century now, don't you speak for them at the table? Or are you telling us that liberals have been selling out the poor for almost a hundred years now?

What "Liberals" have controlled this state for about a century? Not all "Liberals" are "Democrats". And not all "Democrats" are "Liberals"- especially in West Virginia.

We don't know that. You were given multiple chances to explain the difference to us and you've hid.

Some might say you've hid in a cowardly way.

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