Snogged: An Insatiable State of Mind

Do you all remember that budget reconciliation bill I've been bitching about because of it's impact on unions and the public education system?

Well, I was pretty excited when a temporary restraining order was placed on its passage by the court systems.

But now...I feel conflicted.

Want to know why?

Because if it doesn't get passed, my job at the Pauquette Center can't start.

Stupid fucking red tape.

ETA: This was the direct message from the email Dr. Hayes sent me: "Unfortunately we are now waiting to see the impact of the budget reconciliation bill. Some sort of political maneuvering has been used to prevent the publication of the bill for a few more days. So we wait. I do not anticipate any problems, as the original bill did not touch day tx."

First, Happy St. Patrick's Day to all my friends who celebrate. Nick and I are celebrated with a corned beef and cabbage recipe that Nick found for our slow cooker. I can tell you right now that it smells amazing!

Second, I've been volunteering for the recall Senator Luther Olsen Offices in my hometown (since I'm out of temp. work) and I'm having a blast doing it. Liz, Tyler, Margo, Paula, Pam, George, Marcie, and all the rest have been so much fun to work with. Amusingly, I started there on Tuesday, and by Wednesday, they were already nick-naming me "Data Captain" because they see me as being in charge of the data entry folks while I'm there. I honestly wish I could get paid to work there though. But right now, it's not a possibility.

Third, I've been a real slacker on the writing front lately. I'm not really sure why that is, though I suspect the events of last week have something to do with it. There's a good chance that next week's chapter of Self Destruct Button will be delayed again though. :/

Fourth, the moon meme that everyone's doing. I don't feel like it read my mind 100%, but the first sentence is certainly spot on.

Before I spam you with pictures of my awesome trip to St. Louis, I feel I should update you all on my physical health. I was warned that things might feel worse within 24 hours of the accident and so it shouldn't have come as a surprise when the left side of my neck started to hurt on Thursday. Certain things, like trying to use the paper cutter, seemed to exacerbate the pain and after my dad picked me up on Thursday night, I decided to go to the ER to get checked out (because urgent care had closed already.) The doctor did some X-rays and determined that I had muscle spasms in my neck. They prescribed a pain killer and recommended heat and sent me on my way.

Friday morning, dad and I (and six others) got up at the crack of dawn and headed down to St. Louis for the one of the biggest Haunt conventions in the country. It was a whirlwind trip given that we came back late on Saturday night. It was freaking awesome though.



( Picspam of my adventures. Warning - some photos are probably NOT safe for work. )

I'm a little disappointed to not have pictures of the Dark Zone, but at least I still have the glow wand I was given when I got my free cotton candle sample so that's pretty cool.

In other news, Tony Shalhoub (freaking Monk!) was in Madison on Saturday and my mom got to hear him in speak. I have to say...I'm a bit jealous. It really sucks that I couldn't be in two places at once. It sucks even more that Walker got his damn way this week after the Republican senators used some weaseling tactics to make the Democratic senators actions completely moot. *sigh* Fucking hate politcs. I am glad that the Democratic senators have finally returned to Wisconsin though.

Wis. Assembly passes bill taking away union rights

Debate had gone on for 60 hours and 15 Democrats were still waiting to speak when the vote started around 1 a.m. Friday. Speaker Pro Tem Bill Kramer, R-Waukesha, opened the roll and closed it within seconds.

Democrats looked around, bewildered. Only 13 of the 38 Democratic members managed to vote in time.

Fuckers!!!

I hope the Wisconsin Senators never come back.

The Crisis in Wisconsin (aka "The Crisis In Dairyland") headlined last night's episode of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (clip can be found here: http://www.thedailyshow.com/.

For the most part, his analysis of the situation was spot-on, except for one thing. The 14 Wisconsin Senators that are still out of state. They didn't leave because "the going got tough, so the tough got going." They left because it was the only option they had to keep the bill from passing through last week.

I am, quite frankly, proud of them for what they are doing, especially since the governor seems ABSOLUTELY UNWILLING to negotiate or budge on his stance. For example,public employee unions have stepped forward to say they would pay an increased percentage to health care and pension plans as long as they were able to keep their collective bargaining rights. Even firefighters (who are currently exempt from the "Budget" bill) have offered to give up their pay increases in an effort to help the teachers.

Scott Walker's response: No.

You know what that tells me? This is not about the budget. This is about busting up unions and busting up the Democratic party. It's also about suckling on the teat on major corporations.

This Is What Democracy Looks Like! - Rally Chant

Yesterday, I attended the rally at Wisconsin's capitol that defending union and labor laws in our state (our legislators want to destroy collective bargaining rights). For those not aware, the rallies have actually been in progress for the last six days now and the whole world is watching (thanks be to Magpie for sending me this picture: Egypt Supports Wisconsin Workers .) It was the first time I ever participated in a protest and it was a truly amazing experience - even with the arrival of Tea Party members who wanted to dissuade us (we still outnumbered them about 100 to 1, though. *g*)

( Would Expecto Patronum Work On Scott Walker? )

All 14 Democratic Senators (the minority caucus) have walked out of the capital -and apparently the state- in the last few hours in an attempt to block budget quorum. In layman's terms, the Senate needs 3/5ths of members to be present in order to vote on the budget bill that would remove the rights of public workers and unions. The Democrat's absence means they don't meet this minimum by a total of 1 member.

The Senate majority leader has issued a comment saying that if the Democrats don't return, the state patrol will be sent to find them.

Source: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/source-wis-dem-state-senators-walk-out-blocking-budget-quorum.php#

As the Starkids would say: We must unite! So we can fight! Turn the battle around! Time's running out. It's time to shout! Walker-mort is going down!