And, a little testy about the White House and its in again, out again approach to the protests and the NYT coverage of the White House actions. Let it be noted that Professor Ann Althouse voted for President Barack Obama back in 2008.
The blog posting is asking all the right questions. For example, about what news reporting the NYT is really doing re the teachers and when they will and won't be back in the classrooms. (Right now it is Tuesday vice Monday.) A real fisking.
But, while Professor Althouse does point out that the NYT doesn't tell us about the TAA
Does the NYT know or care what the TAA even is let alone its role in organizing the protest?she doesn't tell the rest of us outside of Madison who or what is the TAA. Think of Teaching Assistants.
To cue off of a post at the Dick Howe blog, "Egypt? No. Lawrence in 1912? No. Madison, Wis., Now" (Paul Marion), let us go from Cairo to Madison to Lowell. Let us, for a moment, project this back here to Massachusetts. Where do we think our Teaching Assistants and UAW Adjunct Professors♠ would stand if it was Governor Patrick and the General Court looking at cutting benefits and curtailing organizing rights for government employees? Not to make it personal, but it is too bad City Life is not live this week, so we could all call in and ask the host where he and his fellow Adjunct Professors stand on this issue.
But, back to Madison. Reading the Althouse blog gives one a quite different view of what is happening in her home town from the view one gets from reading newspapers home-based several states away. And, keep in mind, she voted for Barack Obama and is a government employee in the system and facing about a $10,000 pa pay cut under the proposals from Governor Scott Walker.
Regards — Cliff
♠ Is this UAW Local 1596? I think so. I remember them going around last year and doing their organizing. I passed some material to one adjunct professor for them.
Politifact has info on Walker's tax cutting efforts and the claims made about them:
ReplyDeleteThere is fierce debate over the approach Walker took to address the short-term budget deficit. But there should be no debate on whether or not there is a shortfall. While not historically large, the shortfall in the current budget needed to be addressed in some fashion. Walker’s tax cuts will boost the size of the projected deficit in the next budget, but they’re not part of this problem and did not create it.
This story rings locally.
ReplyDeleteClick the link:
Walker is arguing "Plan Design"at the 1:30 mark.
Walker is a shill for anti-Union forces, don't get me wrong. But, he is arguing for what we know needs to be done. HOW he proposes to do it is wrong. But the WHY?
I'm listening Gov. Walker.
I think I have a major bias against teachers.
ReplyDeleteMy mother who worked at the old Saint Joe's, which was union. In the mid-90s it merged with Saint John's to become Saint Memorial, now Saints. Saint Johns wasn't unions. Guess who eventually kept their jobs as everything moved over to Saint Johns? The non-union. And the Catholic Church is suppose to be pro-union?
Just not feeling it for WI teachers.