protest- outdoors!!

The capitol is effectively closed. It was opened by a court order Monday, but that only lasted for a short time. There are a lot of different excuses circulating;
the protesters inside are not cooperating,
they are cleaning the building and will not be allowed in until it is clean, etc.


Scott Walker gave a budget address Tuesday, and he got his supporters in via an underground tunnel from the Risser justice center. I am sure that he felt all persecuted. He puts on a good show of pretending to be threatened by the protest, but he is such a liar.
He kicks the people out of the capitol now, the people kick him out Jan 4 2012.

And what would appease the demonstration? What is so unreasonable that we are sleeping outdoors in 15 degree weather? Negotiate with the Democratic representatives, and do not restrict collective bargaining by public employees. This budget has a lot of issues, it is painful, etc. But those two issues are the main problem.

There was another court decision that determined that the capitol could in fact remained closed and restricted because the protest caused loud noises and the chanting was threatening to gov. Walker. Of course, if he wants to infuriate his citizens, I think that he should at least have to hear us be angry about it. The weasel refused to talk to the assembly democrats, he is ignoring them, and now he is trying to ignore the rest of the people in his state that don't agree with him. I understand that a massive community sleepover is inconvenient, but so is removing our collective bargaining rights. As one lovely sign so eloquently expressed;
"did you expect to take away our rights without a WILD RUMPUS?"

This person posed as the statue of liberty on Saturday. pretty great costume!

At the doors of the capitol you can leave a note with your feelings on it. The Dane COunty sherriff removed their supporting officers from the capitol saying that they are not "palace guards" they are still helping to patrol, but refuse to do any of the semi-legal dirty work.

And the protests haven't stopped. perhaps fewer people are camping out overnight, but I actually prefer to be outdoors, I slept way better than I ever did inside, and I get to make a pretty powerful statement just by sleeping. The low was 15 this morning, and I was okay. I can do this for a long time. If it rains I will just come back the next day.

This sign is on a memorial to union soldiers. I though it was incredibly clever.
I also saw a sign that said "out out damn Scott". We are so creative.
You really shouldn't mess with Wisconsin!

I have been angered and saddened by the misrepresentations of the protest in the capitol. The facts are; 7 days, no arrests. The group is loosely organized- the TAA (teaching assistants association) is "in charge" but most protestors are not associated with the TAA. Yet, this group is self-policing. There are yoga classes, nonviolence training, and the heart-wrenching testifying before assembly democrats -recorded on wisconsin eye- of individuals and their personal stories and their individual feelings on the budget reform bill.

I won't go into all of the inaccuracies and outright lies, but I want to show what I have seen, my personal testimony about the high quality of people who are participating in this action.

Here is the drum circle. People did this for a while, and after the national anthem and reading the names of those killed in the bay view rollermill shooting, several people got sponges and buckets and cleaned the floor. There is also a fund to clean the capitol after the protest is over.

This is an incredibly safe and secure place. There were a lot of people around this sign, it was on a pillar on the rotunda ground floor near the drum circle, but no one stole the dollar. WOW!

My fellow citizens are really smart and creative people.

The poster on the left is a play on the Anton Dodson "bed intruder" song.

I like the "He's a weasel not a Badger" idea. There is a tradition of social justice and worker rights in this state. We are the home of Battling Bob!

In addition to the usual compants, Scott Walker's proposed budget, It also seems very un-wisconsin. We are not willing to compromise our schools, we are willing to fund great libraries, and we like to have widllife preserves and wetlands. We like education and we like to help others. the whole world is watching but to me this is a very real battle for the Wisconsin I have come to love and the big business craziness that will earn Scott Walker street cred with the tea party.

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Peaceful Protest

He said that it wasn't the second coming, but it was important enough that he show up. I don't know what you can tell from the picture, but it was a really great costume.

This group meditated silently for several hours. Just a sign announced them.

A lot of signs appealed to historical themes. Likethis reference to animal farm.

I also saw a "What would Howard Zinn do" sign, referring to the author of the extensive

and accurate A peoples' HIstory of the United States" I suspect that Mr. Walker would be less willing to strip public employees of some collective bargaining rights if he knew more about the history of labor and worker rights in this country.

Some of our popular romaniticized view of history may be to blame.

This Sign reads "Democracy is 2 wolves and 1 sheep voting on what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well-armed sheep disputing the vote." The sheep has a 'peaceful protest' sign. The quote is attributed to Benjamin Franklin.

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People were allowed to sleep in the north and east wings, as the assembly and senate

were meeting the following morning in the south and west wings.

The view looking up.

Some firefighters joined the protest tonight, they informed us that the Governor had tried to get us to leave by claiming that we presented a fire hazard. However this capitol has no fire code, so he will have to do something else. Personally, I am willing to sleep outside.

a peaceful protest. Apparently our governor is "scared for his own well being". He is afarid of us "union thugs" who have taken over

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