Wisconsin's Dictatorship

So I'm going to be brief about this one, because honestly after all the debates I have read on the issue my head just kind of hurts.

So Scott Walker gets voted in by only a small percentage as Wisconsin's governor and shocks even many who voted for him by attacking less than 10% of the state's workers, mainly, teachers by moving to dismantle the workers' union and increasing costs of benefits. Which means there goes their bargaining rights.

What do I think it comes down to?

One: why the teachers? Why this small percentage of middle class workers who hold your child's education, future and safety in their hands? It's not like their profession hasn't been attacked enough in recent years- isn't it obvious that the state is trying to pinpoint low student test scores on the teachers when in fact there are a lot of things that contribute, and I have to say I truly believe its mostly on today's parents. I encounter hundreds of parents every single day. They are not all bad, but things are definitely different now.

Two: Why not other state workers- namely, the police and fire department? Oh yeah, because they backed him in the election. And have guns, and don't require a degree. And get to retire early on with great benefits. Wait...none of these are good reasons.

Three: So it helps with less than 1% of the budget...why not raise Wisconsin's already lower than most sales taxes? I know people are tired of raised taxes but clearly if this whole ordeal only seals up one percent of the budget, can't we find the money elsewhere and not prey on the most convenient of victims? And once it starts with the teachers, where and who does it end with?

Four: If a teacher is really bad and can be proven to be so, the union will not want to weaken itself by fighting for them...getting rid of the union is not the only way to get rid of bad teachers.

And on a side note:
The Dems had to leave Madison...or with one swift vote we would come so much closer to this dictatorship Walker is completely fine with implementing. Can't we just avoid the layoffs- all this will do is make the economy worse!


I will be back with an update on what my Dad and stepmother have to say on the situation (she is a 6th grade teacher and also a hardcore conservative who voted for Walker).

Until next time.

Green and Yellow

I would not call myself a sports fanatic of any type, but if there's one sport I can really get into it's football. And being from Wisconsin, my team is obviously the Green Bay Packers.

Now, we haven't been to the Super Bowl since 1997, which I barely remember. And after Favre left, I wasn't sure if we'd be seeing it anytime soon. But here we are, less than 24 hours away from the big game. Exciting, although I feel a little tinge of sadness at the fact that I won't be able to watch with other Wisconsin fans. We seriously get riled up about our Packers!

I also read that Obama will be backing the Packers this year. And this is not the first Bears fan who I heard this from today, actually. So why is Obama for the green and gold even though we put his team to shame two Sundays ago? Because the Packers "exemplify a model of public-private collaboration that represents the best hope for the nation, and for his presidency".

The Pack is the only NFL team in the nation that is not privately owned, but a nonprofit, community owned entity. This came to be nearly 90 years ago, and if the team were created today it would not be allowed!

Apparently this is because the NFL believes that the collaboration of private and government is dangerous, but it seems the Packers have proved this to be incorrect. Apparently, Obama is looking at collaborative governance a lot closer...

I suppose it's about time we take a new approach.

Beneath sheets of paper is where my truth lies

You know what I hate about blogging? There's so much you can't say. This is what I will say...

I am in limbo in life right now...overcoming an entirely too long past of addictions that I thought were normal up until now. The three main vices...had a problem with them all. And no one was there to tell me to quit. Now I'm 24 years old and finally finding out for myself that I need to, and hoping it doesn't hold me back from the rest of my life.

Have I ever expressed how much this world of organizations (of all kinds) and corporate greed ticks me off on a day-to-day basis? Maybe once or twice.

I work for a company in which you get places by schmoozing and having the right things to say and being in the right place at the right time. This means I am completely and utterly STUCK. And it's funny because I am a social person, and I do get along with pretty much everyone. But I've never learned how to be selfish. Why didn't anyone tell me growing up that it was the bad traits- dishonesty, impatience, greed; that I needed to get where I wanted to go? But it's mainly because I am not in the right place. Clicking, it's about being comfortable, and the drama that goes on in my area is one for the books, so it's very difficult to feel adequate, especially when you're a newbie.

Actually let me rephrase that: a female newbie.

On another note, I just finished (finally) Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and loved it. It's been a long time since I've read a mystery that I liked this much, guess this means I'll have to invest my precious time in reading the next two books. There is already a film, in subtitles, which I have debated watching, but am afraid it will ruin the book. Probably not as much as the American version undoubtedly will, although the casting is interesting.

Lisbeth Salander has definitely become one of my new fictional role models...if only I could be a mysterious genius like her. Maybe one day...