Buffalo Gal

Another writer has checked in on the mess in Madison (WI). I read a long article about what this writer calls “the Kabuki dance” that makes up the political posturing going on among Unionists and the Wisconsin Democrats who have fled the state..to Illinois, not surprisingly, when one considers the state of Illinois. It is reputed to be one of the most corrupt of political places in the entire U.S.

Bill Markin the author of “Doin’ The Madison Mis-step” has plenty to say about the legislators who have gone AWOL and their derelection of duty to the people of Wisconsin. To hear them(the AWOL Dems) tell it they are noble people just doing what THEIR constituents would want. What they selfishly overlook is the plain fact that Wisconsin voters made a huge change last November with approval for the agenda of the new governor and the majority of legislators. The majority was so clearly dilineated that I do not know how the AWOL dems can justify that they are doing the noble thing.
It would be perceived by most Wisconsin citizens as a Chimpanzee-like display of madness…..a clear definition of the “sore loser” syndrome in which those who lost the election battle ,i.e., the majority vote, cannot accept the rejection and choose to engage in stupid political behavior to either get revenge for November’s definitive vote in WI or to get their way over the wishes of the citizens of the state. Wisconsinites are rather clear by their vote in November that they are tired of the state deficit and tired of those who still insist on getting huge rewards for being a Unionist. They have no comprehension of what balancing a budget means nor do they care, if one looks at the things they are shouting and protesting. I thought it was extremely revealing when a Union protestor who was being interviewed could not give an intelligible or informed answer to a simple question about what they wanted to accomplish. Instead of answering, the woman looked blank and began to chant one of their many slogans…..with other Unionists taking up the chant in the background. “Unied We Stand”…..”We Will Win” and other mindless chants doesn’t answer any intelligent questions they are asked.

Markin speculates on the odd behavior in Madison by the protestors:
“Maybe they were temporarily overwhelmed with nostalgia for the Sixties. Maybe they fell asleep listening to an Allinsky audiobook and were driven by subliminal suggestions . Or perhaps they were just jealous of the Tea Party rallies (a condition described by psychologists as ‘T.P. Envy’). Regardless of the reason, I think there’s a strong possibility that this display in Madison …will have the exact opposite of the effect they’d hoped for.”

I take that to mean that Americans are at long last, disgusted…fed up with the outrageous demands of big public worker unions.

Markin continues: “They might have thought they were going to intimidate the legislature, especially by appearing outside their homes and frightening their families. While such an experience must be unpleasant, anyone who survived the world of politics —even at the level of a state legislature–doesn’t seem the kind to buckle under to an angry mob of teachers , most of whom cannot control
ther own classrooms let alone the state legislature.”

Markin also discussed his own perception of a teacher by recalling his own Miss Clark, his first grade teacher. We all probably have memories of our first grade teachers because starting school is such a significant event in the life of every child. I had “Miss Mickelson” and I will never forget her…she was kind and gentle but firm with us and she taught us to read..the most important life skill anyone can learn. She also cared deeply about each of us in her class.
Markin confessed that as he watched the madness of the protestors in Madison it was NOT Miss Clark he was seeing. “I certainly did not see the kind of people I would want to entrust the future of our nation—even if you don’t count the ones carrying “Workers of the World Unite” signs.
They must have been some of the ones bussed in by the Democratic national operatives who are also leading the effort to re-elect Barack Obama.
Markin makes another point that needs to be articulated for others who may not be able to put it into words.
“What I saw was a self-centered mob, flaunting their total disregard for our current–and common—situation. All across America, we are facing potential financial crisis like anything this nation has ever seen before. For decades, we have been living beyond our means, both individually and collectively When you live on borrowed money , you’re living on borrowed time. And ours is running out, rapidly.”

That last quote puts into words the very thoughts I have had for years regarding the national and individual handling of “the economy”.
Putting it into perspective from a strictly individual view…..I think of the people who spend more than they earn—every single month. Credit cards have made it so easy to fool oneself into thinking they can spend money on whatever strikes their fancy. But eventually, this sort of individual economy catches up with the ones who do it this way. The payments due get called in and there is no money in bank accounts or savings accounts with which to pay them.
All one has to do is drive through neighborhoods—especially the more expensive ones with big many-thousand dollar homes and see the real estate signs for home sales brought on by being unable to pay back the home loan. Read the massive bankruptcy notices in the local papers; read the foreclosure notices..it all reflects the careless attitude that we can spend money we don’t really have…we can have everything we desire…right now without saving up for it or waiting for it. It is abundant evidence of the self-centerdness of the entire nation of numskulls that have thought we can borrow and borrow and borrow and never be called to account.
It is the same with our nearly destroyed national economy. Spend spend spend money we DO NOT HAVE. And then think taxes can be levied on those who never made those stupid decisions!!!!!
That is the way to finish off a nation’s economy….Tax and spend….spend and tax. Make the situation worse by doing so. Levy heavy taxes on the ones who would create jobs and grow the economy.
It makes Mark Twain’s humorous speculation that Idiots are in charge of Congress seem far more true than funny.
One of Markin’s concuding statements is worth quoting:

“Our educational system has become a money pit where funding schools bears no relationship to the results. No, the simple truth is that they’ve earned the exalted status not as a reward for excellence but through extortion, by collective bargaining..a monopoly status that fosters inefficiency, waste and mediocrity and making generous contributions of time and money to a political party that has become little more than an operating arm of the teacher and other public unions. Don’t get me wrong. There are many dedicated and hard-working teachers out there, many of whom are frustrated with the system than the general public is. But I doubt they’re the ones parading across our TV screens. Or if they are, at least not willingly.”

I agree. When I was teaching I did not like receiving “orders ” from the MN Education Association about whom I should vote for…I certainly did not blindly obey those “orders”…but we all got them in our MN EDUC newsletter. There were far more articles in that newsletter about political causes and maneuvers than there were about teaching students. It was disgusting and I resigned from that blatant Union. Not without getting harassed by Union members and state officials but I had the satisfaction of resigning from an organization I had no time for. I would have been more than willing to negotiate my own contract but I was not allowed to do so by the strong Union rules in MN. Instead I was forced to pay nearly as much as the Union dues through another Union rule called a “fair share” or some such myth. When EDUC.MN took away members rights to CHOOSE whether they wished to contribute to the political wing of the EDUC MN organization and when the NEA tried to force a questionable curriculum on its members, I had had enough of it.