Fighting for Workers

People fighting back the madness in Wisconsin

I'm fortunate enough to have a decent career and life so far, but the nonviolent protests emerging & continuing all over the world show the high level of discontent many people are feeling in their lives.

Despite the many improvements to the human condition, the modern world is still one that's geared to pushing the poorest people farther into the gutter, while the unimaginably rich freely profit from the exploitation of the majority through shady financing & political influence.

Although Republicans & the conservative right have great theoretical talking points that Americans can identify with (smaller & more efficient government, strong defense, less spending, LOL!), their actual policy proposals are usually a predictable disaster.

With all these far-right Republican governors & Congresspeople being recently elected, anyone who follows national politics and isn't a Fox News drone knew what was coming...

HuffingtonPost:
Republican Governors A Major Thorn In Obama's Side

...Tax cuts for the millionaires, defunding of mass transit & public infrastructure projects, corporate welfare & deregulation, gutting government jobs, and attack on progressive institutions. They all claim to be 'dealing with' their state budgets, but they choose to do it by hurting the least fortunate- while rewarding rich corporate interests & providing even lower taxes to those who are already extremely wealthy.

ThinkProgress:

Priorities?
GOP Governors Shift Burden To Poor, Middle Class
To Pay For Tax Breaks For Rich, Corporations

I'm an Independent, not part of a union, & a believer that the 2-party system sucks, but it seems many Americans haven't figured out that while the Democrats have their numerous problems, the Republicans are a truly horrible advocate for the average working person.

The clear indication of public displeasure is the number of protests going on right here in the USA, where people are taking to the streets to push back against the regressive right-wing assault on the America worker.

Union Rallies Nationwide

Pro-Union Rallies Held Across the Country

Wisconsin has been the current focus of the backlash against Republican leaders' attempts to destroy the power of unions and other progressive achievements that benefit working citizens vs. corporate money.

Mother Jones:
It's the Inequality, Stupid

The brazen attitude of Koch Industries beneficiary Governor Walker in the face of such massive opposition is similar to the arrogant wrongheadedness of Gov. Scott in Florida, former Bill O'Reilly fill-in Gov. Kasich in Ohio, & Gov. Christie in my home state of NJ - who have all declared war against unions, teachers, and advocates of public services & transit.

People love to complain about "overcompensated" teachers, union workers, & public employees. By discrediting public services & busting labor unions, they're ultimately going to drive everyone's wages down when there's no advocate against abusive business practices. Meanwhile, perpetual war & occupation, corporate welfare, the corrupt schemes of Wall Street banks, & unnecessary tax breaks for the obscenely rich are what's actually draining public wealth.

It's a common stereotype that Americans are too lazy, unorganized, & uninformed to do something about the injustices that still exist in society. These nonviolent protests prove that America is no exception to the actionable motivations of social and economic justice.

If there was any doubt as to which side is righteous in this debate, this sealed the deal for me:

Palin:
Wisconsin Unions Must be
'Willing to Sacrifice'

Of course... by "sacrifice", the Alaskan Banshee probably means something like this turkey slaughter:

I think the dying turkey's gibberish was making more sense than her.