No, this is America. Governors don't "rule." Although some on the far-right fringe might desire a return to tyranny...

And do not forget that deer hunters have gotten wind of Walker's betrayal by now.

@WiscJobsNow Want to win the WI Recall? Make sure this story goes as wide as humanly possible http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/20/1093293/-Want-to-win-the-WI-Recall-Make-sure-this-story-goes-as-wide-as-humanly-possible #wiunion #wirecall

I have a funny feeling the author of that page has never actually gone deer hunting and seen the crowd of people that do that activity. How does massive deer population harm forests? Prove that for me please, because I've been hunting deer since I was 14 and never saw deer destroying the forests...

I'll just wait until the deer breaks into my house, then I can blast that sucker regaurdless if it is in season. Awesome.

If the left thinks that the deer hunters are that stupid, they are doomed to fail. The herd management under the Doyle administration was so bad that the majority of hunters spit at ever hearing DNR.

Todd, it was a lot easier to sign a recall petition when the person came to your door or harassed you on a street corner. The lazy (the liberals' main fan base) have a hard time making it out to the polls.

Oh, here's the lefty lie about hunting lands from mornin mist. Duh, its a public use of private lands - its MORE hunting lands available to the public.

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/facilities/realestate/easements.html

MADISON – The Department of Natural Resources today announced it is poised to make the largest recreational and forest land acquisition in state history, an easement on 67,346.8 forest acres in Douglas, Bayfield, Burnett and Washburn counties from the Lyme St. Croix Forest Company.

http://dnr.wi.gov/news/BreakingNews_Lookup.asp?id=2377

Lying is like breathing to you guys.

Just think how many new business and people working there would be if lefties like mist would use their creative powers for good instead of propaganda. What a waste of bandwidth and a life.

@Bushman - Most deer hunters are frankly not the most perceptive observers of nature.
They go out to a deerstand for a few hours with bait thrown around in front and with the schnapps. They plug a very hungry deer, put it on the back of the ATV, and blast on out of there back for Miller time at the camp or at home.
I see very few hunters actually out looking for deer sign, stalking, or actually walking more than 1a few hundred feet.
I can attest to forest damage, being a landowner up north. The deer eat wildflowers, tree seedlings, scrape the bark off saplings with their itchy antlers, and spread disease, including deadly tick diseases. Bushman, live up to your pseudonym and get out there in the spring and summer, look around and talk to farmers, landowners, foresters.

Dirk, I would never drive an atv in the woods. (any actual hunter would know that, especially in the north woods). The white tailed deer has some of the best hearing among any mammals. if you think it only takes a couple hours to hunt, shoot and claim a deer you are showing pure ignorance. Wildflowers grow in the wild for hungry deer to eat, and what food isn't available in mid November for the " very hungry" deer that we " plug". Is that some up north slang a fellow vilas county landowner like myself hasn't heard yet? Come out of your small shell dirk and see that you don't care who it is, just as long as its not walker... Walker wins AGAIN. And Barrett loses for the THIRD TIME

@Bushman - I see hunters actually hunting from pickups. Where the hell are you hunting? And I am talking about deer intentional overpopulaton, not the natural deer population, much higher than when Columbus came. If you are so Republican, talk to paper, forest, timber. tree fruit companies. Hard to get tree seedlings to survive when deer are hungry. And it often takes just a couple hrs. for some beer belly hunter to sit in a heated stand and shoot a deer over bait. Come on, you cannot fool me. You come across as a phony macho teenager sitting in his bedroom.

Dirk, It sure sounds like a couple of bad-mannered deer hunters have you really mad at the world. Is this what this recall election is to you? Who is over inflating deer population? It sure isn't the dnr because they introduced wolves to drop the deer herd down. I hunt in vilas and price county, public and private land. Dirk, have you ever actually hunted deer? It sure sounds like you spend a lot of time alone in your garden with your ideological war on bunny rabbits for eating all your seeds...

I don't hunt. My father doesn't hunt but has traveled with hunters armed with a camera. From what I understand, with very few exceptions, hunters are well trained and respectful of the land they hunt on and the animals they hunt. The DNR assesses the deer population and sets annual limits. If this is true, I'm not sure why our taxpayer dollars are being spent on a Texas deer czar?

I'd rather spend money on a deer expert than $20 million on an election that shouldn't have to happen Bren. The amount of money saved by getting rid of collective bargaining can let our state afford this type of herd control. I'd like to know what Graeme zalinski would spend it on...

If you did understand anything Brendan you would know that hunting is a HUGE part of our economy. Hunters come from in state and out of state and need accurate numbers for proper tags. Which we pay for and Doyle had no problem raising those fees to pay for these "accurate" numbers/management.

More problems Walker is fixing, guy is on a roll.

I belong to a union and my typical day is 6am to 5pm for 8hrs pay. I work extremely hard for the money I earn. All my union brothers work extremely hard for the money they earn as well. Unions didn't bankrupt the US, Wall Street and corrupt politicians who sold the US for profits bankrupted this country. Yea and there is a great Idea lets model ourselves after China or Vietnam so that the working class can work 12 hours a day for 2 dollars an hour. Great plan, you clearly have no common sense.

Dirk, well said. Union members are not the ones sucking this nation dry. That is what has me apprehensive about the GOP these days. They seem to be in the mold of "common sense."

Not sure about this 'common sense' thing. I don't belong to a union and my typical day is 8am to 5pm for 8 hours pay. Why aren't I working 12 hours a day for 2 dollars an hour since I don't have a union to 'protect' my 'rights'?

Let's get one thing straight: The US is on the verge of bankruptcy, but not because of Wall Street. ( We can keep Unions out of this )
The attitude of spend with a limitless credit card has taken over Government. Hell they can't even afford to make minimum payments on the debt. Try that with your credit, and see how long you can keep swiping that damn card!
Social Security is a Trust Fund; premiums are paid in advance, so this is not to blame for our huge debt or unemployment.
We can blame both parties for spending more than we should have- this is what caused our debt to be equal to GDP.
Unemployment can be attributed to Clinton giving China Most Favored Nation Status, and American consumers buying cheap products not made here.
If we could have back all of the GDP that is now made in China, the US would not be nearly bankrupt.
So how can Liberals hate Walker for doing the right thing? He balanced a budget without raising taxes, and without borrowing more. If only the Federal Government had this kind of decency!

I work a pretty regular work day and by being a knowledgeable contributor to my company's success my job seems pretty secure. When I was a youngster I worked for a mobbed up union. The first time my union steward laid eyes on me he manhandled me up against a wall and asked why I hadn't joined (the efficient union lost my paperwork). I've never had a non-union employer physically threaten me. How come do you think?

Unions not sucking dry? Well yes, because H-D and Mercury Marine unions saw the writing on the wall and made concessions.

This really isn't about private unions, like h-d and Mercury those unions face market pressure and are learning to align with company success. Government employees on the other hand organize to elect their negotiating partners. Who protects the taxpayers when the government unions and the unionized union benefiting administrators are essentially on the same side of the table?

Common sense, FoxConn, a Taiwanese company with factories across Asia, pays workers $ .32/hour at their Chinese factory. They work in 24+ hour shifts. And you're right, complaining about egregious working conditions at FoxConn will get you arrested.

Read up about the plight of American workers and the 19th Century Labor Movement. The greatest pro-slavery argument in the south was that the North also had slavery--wage slaves. They worked many hours/day for a pittance, had no benefits, and were fired if they became to sick, injured, or old to work. Little children working. Without the Labor Movement (and Milwaukee had its share of the battle), working conditions here would not be dissimilar from those of China.

Cow, as to why you have good benefits without being in a union, non-union shops had to compete for workers. If you had a choice between decent pay and working hours/conditions, why would you work in a sweat shop? What we are seeing now is the erosion of those benefits, thanks to corporate profiteers and ALEC. Right to Work would put us on the fast-track back to the 19th Century. No thank you.

A big savings to companies would be a national health plan. Right now they are in competition with businesses that don't have to deal with this. Of course we would have to deal with the powerful health insurance "middleman" and their lobbyists. Oh, what a tangled web we weave...

Last time I checked, the private sector unions are still free to operate as they always have. Walker has done nothing to affect how they can operate. Even if we become a 'right to work' state, unions will still exist. The only change is that people can choose if they want to join the union or not.

Apparently they will not exist if they have to stand on their own merits.

Common sense, your title is an oxymoron, because you obviously have none. Unions and the guilds that preceded them, were created to protect the worker. It's the big and rich who would have you working 12 hour days at minimum wage to fill their pockets with more profits, on the blood, sweat and tears of other peolpe's toil. It was unions that got the eight hour day and 40 hour week. It was the unions who forced that big and rich to share the wealth. Unions have not bankrupted this country, its the big and rich that have gone bust and begged for government bailouts. It's selfish people, like yourself, that want it all for themselves and don't care about anyone else. Its selfish people like you that vote against programs that help the poor and the disenfrnchised. What comes around, goes around in this world. And when, as you wish, the unions would be gone, and you are working for minimum wage(unions got that started also), and your house is forclosed and you can't afford to feed the kids you have, because you voted against clinics that provide birth control, look in the mirror, and thank yourself for the mess that you created. The golden rule is ''do unto others as you would have them do unto you '' and not do it to others before the do it to you! By the way, I do not belong to a union; I am a professional nurse with a college degree.

Usually when someone calls themselves something, they aren't Greg B. Common Sense is obviously FOX fed. The nordic countries in Europe are kicking our butt economically, and all of those countries, labor and unions have a strong voice. In Germany they sit on corporate boards.

This is an example of what happens when people worked together, like in the number of plants I've been in where labor strongly inputs on procedure and policy.

Of course apish authoritarians like dominance, submission and hate unions because they empower people to resist both. The hate unions because they support the party that put a black man in the White House, and that drives them crazy.

They live on their knees while we fight on our feet. I'll be none of them but $60,000 a year in salary.

Belch among yourselves.

Exactly, Common Sense. Govt.Unions (and [true] progressives/socialists/communists) are collapsing many economies. They're working on America now. Wade Rathke and his favorite Marxist/communists motto: "Workers of the world unite! It's not just a slogan anymore"... That's why unions must to be 'conquered'...it's now or never.

1) If there is a majority seeing it work it is a very slim majority.
2)Schools are broke and laying off more staff across the entire state, only raises that were issued to upper management types and health insurance went up 300-600 dollars a month.
3) All the other states use the statistics provided by the Department of Workforce development which has Wisconsin dead last in job creation and the only state in the union that actually lost jobs. So Scott used a different system to come up with new numbers.
4) War on Woman-Sorry-this is not a made up issue he passed bills stripping equal pay and is now attacking family planning clinics.
5) John Doe is a secret investigation. So if he is innocent why won't we release the emails.?
6) All but one of all the Walker campaign adds bash Barrett and I've only heard one Barrett add bashing Walker for not releasing emails.
7) The state didn't become divided until Walker decided to strip Collective Bargaining rights.
Where are you getting your facts? From Walker campaign adds?

Dirk:

1) if the majority were truly a slim one, it would be a campaign issue. It's very obvious that it is working, so the Dems aren't talking about it.
2) Untrue. The only schools that are broke are the ones that passed their contracts before Act 10 went into effect.
3) Untrue. The quarterly census numbers that Walker is using are routinely used to adjust the monthly job survey numbers.
4) The repeal of the 'equal pay' law in question didn't strip equal pay. It removed the ability to sue for punitive damages--which nobody had even attempted to do when the law was in effect.
5) Walker is legally obligated to not leak any information that might have anything to do with the investigation.
6) There are plenty of ads on both sides bashing the other. I think that some of the ones bashing Walker are dishonest and misrepresent what Walker has actually done. The 'war on women/equal pay' ad is a great example of a dishonest ad bashing Walker.
7) The state didn't become divided until the Dems responded to Walker's budget with exaggerated predictions of a doubling of class sizes and mass teacher layoffs. It was their fear mongering that led to dividing our state.

Sounds like you have been getting your 'facts' from Democrat talking points...

Dirk D this jobs controversy is really beyond your capabilities. The statistics you are pointing to are from the US Dept of Labor not the Department of Workforce development. They are based on a very small (3% sample) as opposed to the recent number from the Wisconsin Workforce Development office which is a total workforce inventory (97 percent of employers contacted).

Riddle me this. If we lost jobs like you say, why did the unemployment rate continue to drop AND AND tax revenue keep going up? Follow the money buddy.

As for the John Doe, you guys never mention that Walker asked for the John Doe when he detected wrong doing in his staff. Sure you would like his emails. Did you guys find anything in Sarah Palin's emails yet? C'mon be honest, you guys are just criminalizing governing while not Democrat.

War on women hahahahhah you guys slay me. Hey have you looked up Larry Flint's phony porn picture of a conservative woman yet?

Update 4: Hustler Publishes Fake Pornographic Picture of S. E. Cupp

http://www.nationalreview.com/media-blog/300825/update-4-ihustleri-publishes-fake-pornographic-picture-s-e-cupp-greg-pollowitz

You going to demand that Bill Maher withdraw his comment about Sarah Palin being a "T(**" ?

Only 6th grade dummy's believe that the Wisconsin Equal Pay for Equal Work overrules federal equal pay law.

Dirk D? Do you really believe what you write? Are you a paid worker for the DNC?

Hmm, haven't read Hustler since I was a teenager. Always considered it a fantasy rag & never took anything it had seriously. But if you're comparing the legitimacy & Integrity of Hustler with Rush Limbaugh . . . I can go with that. They're about equal in credibility.

Plenty of room in the red states like Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and North Carolina where Right to Work has already been pushed through. All of the extreme Right can move down there and let us true Wisconsinites know how that worked out for you. Why strip away quality of life up here when its already been done down there?

It is a free country and we can move where we choose. Choice is a great right.
Dirk D. has made good a case for the unions. People may choose to join these unions and be proud members. They may choose to work from 6am to 5pm for only 8 hours pay and still be happy to be a dues paying member of a brotherhood.
A lot of other people do not want these things, and choice comes into play. Right to work gives the freedom of choice, the freedom that this country was founded on. Our founding fathers said that without freedom there is no quality of life.

People already have the choice. They already have the freedom. You can choose whether or not to work for a union shop or a nonunion shop. You have the right to choose to go to work for a nonunion contractor or a union contractor. Right to Work is a lie because the people already have the "Right to Work".

Then it's not a problem, make it a Right to Work state.

Oh and my union dues are money well spent. I can't think of a better way to spend a small percentage of my pay. I went through a top notch apprenticeship program that made me the best there is my trade. Unions provide a safer working environment and union members get the privilege to earn a fair days pay for a fair days work.

Don't forget the quality of life issue. A February 2011 Economic Policy Institute study found that in right-to-work states both the unemployment rate in 2009 and the cost of living were lower.
Like I said before, it's your choice. Good that you enjoy it, but why push it on others. If it is such a great thing you will have plenty of voluntary members, in a Right to Work state.

Why push Right to Work when everyone already has it now without legislation?

We don't have it. Can I choose to not pay dues in your shop? Can I work on union jobs?

Actually, I had a better quality of life in Texas and I'm kind of sorry I moved back.

My quality of life has declined due in part to public sector unions. I'm tired of the private sector absorbing the burden of public sector unions, which actually should be dissolved. Private sector unions are understandable, but with the right to work option. Our society has changed; so should unionization.

Right to Work drains the financial strength of unions by allowing people to enjoy the benefits of union negotiations without having to pay their fair share. All part of the extreme right fringe agenda to de-fund the Democratic party and move America to a far-right, corporate-focused, one party country with a legislated morality. It's not scary at all.

Three facts actually. DUH.

Right on!

Someone apparently doesn't keep themselves daily informed of political developments...

Get out the vote effort? I haven't seen any BBQ parties and bus trips organized yet!

Pssst morning mist -- you lost the redistricting case. It was all legal.

If you Democrats ever win another election, you can do the same thing.

@Brian - Isn't that every liberals agenda?

Yes it is. You can input any liberal name and record and have the same results.

Brian Dey, any evidence, any at all, to back this up? For example, hunting licenses are issued through Milwaukee County, served from 2002-2010 by Scott Walker as County Executive. Some are city, some are county, but his is why people complained about Scott Walker raising fees. If you don't like fees in Milwaukee county, give Scott a call. His number is (608) 266-1212. ; )

Hunting licences are not issued by Milwaukee County,they are issued by the State of Wisconsin. Milwaukee County is not even an agent(a place to purchase) a Wisconsin Hunting Licence.

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/cs/licenseagents/index.asp

Check the Milwaukee County website, but if the state does handle hunting licenses (I'm not a hunter), Scott Walker is still responsible. Sorry, Brian.

Bren- I am talking about should he be elected governor, he will increase fees, permits and taxes to give to the unions that supported him. Based on Mr. Barrett's tenure as mayor, I think this is pretty accurate as he had fee an tax increases totalling 41% since elected mayor. He rose property taxes 7 of 8 years in a mortgage recession for half of those.

Steve, champion of literacy, the word is spelled, "buffoon." ; )

Since the election hasn't occurred, it's a bit early to crow that "Barrett's ship has sunk." Nervous? ; )

You nab up a bunch from IL and have them same day register?

Is that how the Tea/Koch/GOP does it, Steve? ; )

You forgot ALEC!

Greg, I don't think ALEC's in the voter fraud business--have seen no evidence of it. But I've also been watching for Steve's bunch-load of voters from Illinois and haven't seen them either.

Free cigarettes anyone?

Funny those who are self reliant have a very differing opinion than you.

As some one who is "self reliant," I say, "Well said!" Racine Progressive.

Wall Street caused the Great Recession? What about the laws forcing banks to give mortgages to people who couldn't afford homes? This recession was started by our own govt. Banks did get caught up in the financing but it was all caused by a fake housing bubble created by the good old lefties in 98.

No, the democrats easy money "affordable housing" policies created the bubble that caused the financial crises that launched the Great Recession. But, Obama made it worse.

You are a socialist liberal who wants a do over and to take over the state via any means necessary. I am Wisconsin. A producer, someone with morals, and one that does not throw a temper tantrum when politically I don't get what I wanted.

Recall Santa!
Racine Prost. didn't get the goldfish tank high heels he wanted.

Recall Santa?

Nice to see ten year olds contributing to the blog.

Steve, why do you think Tommy Thompson could win again and again in Wisconsin and Scott Walker has inspired a recall?

I am Wisconsin. I am a producer, someone with morals, and one that does not throw a temper tantrum when politically I don't get what I wanted.

Keith: The ten year old shot was just so hurtfull.
Yes Keith recall Santa, you never got that membership to hair club for men.
Wasn't it you who was calling another blogger chrome dome?
While you sit in the coffee shop using the free WiFi, you should put together a plan to get a new rug, replace them baked beans you call teeth, and find a belt to fit. If Santa can't do it- maybe you can find a way for the Government to do it for you.
Maybe that is how you should have used the $30,000 you stole.
And trust me if I was ten years old I would avoid you like the plague- we are warned about creeps like you too often.

Which union do you work for? Sorry, entitlist, Wisconsin will continue to progress. Walker in a landslide.....

It actually comes down to how many agree and appreciate this current agenda. Being up 5-8% in Wisconsin has you worried.

I'm honestly not sure what will happen. I would appreciate more details about the St. Norbert poll. Did they call people on landlines? Are any of these polls contacting people via cell phones or personal polling? Because I believe that tells a story too.

I missed a cell phone call the other day. As I usually do when I don't recognize the number, I traced it using an online reverse lookup site. It traced back to St. Norbert's.

Here are the questions from that poll and the answers. Very good reading. Also a very balanced poll from standpoint of republican's, democrats, independents, http://reason.com/assets/db/13378018098049.pdf

Don, any evidence to back up your claims? ; )

Great State of Minnesota? You have a Governor who personally admitted he was probably the worst senator in history. What kind of idiots elect someone who says that?

To be fair, an executive position like governor is very different from a legislative position like senator. Being a poor senator doesn't necessarily mean that they wouldn't be a good governor.

Great State of Minnesota? They also had a national joke for Governor. Jesse Ventura.

@Keith Best - Your naivete is amazing. What is your background? What is a School Suerintendent in Waukesha going to do, bash Walker? Waukesha Co. has a national reputation for being a Republican stronghold. Todd Gray likes his job. Come on, Keith, raise it up a notch. Liberals are more intelligent than the propaganda drivel soaked up by rednecks.

Do you have a link to that poll? What's the margin of error?

http://reason.com/assets/db/13378018098049.pdf

Thanks Steve.

Right. Reason.com is part of the Reason Foundation. Who is a trustee of the Foundation's board? David H. Koch/Koch Industries. Enough lies. Enough said.

Alfred,
By the time the Dems are done, there wil be more absentee votes than WI residents!

@Gus
Posting stupid comments such as yours does nothing for your cause except make you look stupid.

.....................
Gus Johnson

9:42 am on Thursday, May 24, 2012

Alfred,
By the time the Dems are done, there wil be more absentee votes than WI residents!

Pot and Kettle morninmist...

I enjoy Alfred. He blurts out what the other ultra-conservatives will not say so directly. I regard Alfred as the unfettered spokesman for the tea party's real agenda and paranoia. He paints their picture of moving Wisconsin forward. Our opportunity to not have to read between the lines of the more educated ultra-conservatives that got through tenth grade.

Bob, the recall is because of Walker's behavior as Governor. He won with 52% of the vote in 2010, and, as with Tommy Thompson, those who voted for Barrett originally expected a four-year term from Walker. Unfortunately, the egregiousness of Walker's loyalties to his benefactors and yen for self-promotion at the expense of Wisconsin have forced this action. He alone is responsible for embracing the ALEC agenda and the "divide and conquer" strategy. In June, either enough senators must be recalled to improve balance and reason to state government; and/or the governor and lt. governor must be recalled. You may choose to be duped by whatever lies you are being told, or you can read and understand the words of the many recall supporters here. Your choice.

I'd rather spend my hard-earned tax dollars on accessibility and the promise of a better future than tax cuts for Walker cronies. But that's just me. ; )

@The anti -
Do you realize Doyles plan to release "NON VIOLENT" criminals was appluaded by the law enforcement agencies all over Wisconsin. These criminals were bad check writers, unpaid tickets, pot heads caught with small amounts of dope, white collar criminals that were already on work release privileges. I thought it was a great idea to save millions and I felt no more unsafe by this measure. Funny, the crimnals that were released did not cause any problems at all.

Mike, bad check writers, unpaid ticket payers and pot heads usually don't go to prison. When they do, it's because those were the sentences bargained down by the DA, defense attorney and Judge.

I am curious, once the Milwaukee Police finally get their paperwork straightened out, how many of those criminals that "did not cause any problems at all" really did.

You guys are so gullible to propaganda

Mike, It definitely is how you finish. All of the other reputable polls show the opposite of this. Walker is increasing his advantage over Barrett; http://news.yahoo.com/scott-walker-leads-wisconsin-recall-poll-211749386.html
The only way the libs win this election is by cheating. Which I wouldn't put past any of you crazy lefties.

Come on Mike, tell the whole truth. From Barrett's poll, you quote a subset, but fail to mention that, overall, Walker up 2 in the poll. And this the only poll not showing Walker at least + 5.

I'm just happy that with a 25:1 spending ratio, the best Walker can do is (perhaps) +5, with a 3-4 point margin of error. Both of the MU polls were conducted by a friend of Scott Walker's, and Rasmussen is a "conservative" leaning polling organization. So we'll see.

This is the first great test of Citizens United, unfettered corporate giving vs. the convictions of ordinary people. I believe the ordinary people who vote for Walker are the misled, the easily duped, and the ones susceptible to repetitive marketing.

Bren, that 25:1 ratio is just what the candidates have. The unions are spending a lot of money and manpower on this race.

Here are some real numbers that you can not honestly dispute:
http://www.beaconhill.org/BHIStudies/Wisconsin2012/BHI-WisconsinBudget%20RepairAct-2012-0522.pdf

ok buddy. Your poll is a sentence stating they took a poll and this is the result. But whatever makes you happy.

Let's see, unemployment down, projected surplus, increased revenues. Yep "fake" numbers. 3.5% vs 95% which one would be more accurate?

Mike, I don't see a response to Greg's link. It sucks when confronted with facts.

Greg, I am honestly disputing your numbers. The Beacon Hill Institute for Public Policy Research of Suffolk University in Boston, MA is led by Executive Director David G. Tuerck (who also heads the Economics Dept. at the university). Mr. Tuerck is described as a "cash for comment economist." Here is a link that describes Mr. Tuerck's involvement with right-wing think tanks, including the Heritage Foundation. He has also appeared at Tea Party/GOP events.

The BII is an "extreme free-market promoting think-tank funded by the Coors family (Castle Rock Foundation) and the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation."

There's plenty more at this site, which has done its homework (sources cited). Nothing that comes from BII or economics mercenary Tuerck could be considered objective. Greg, why did you try to present highly partisan/questionable information as "real numbers?"

http://www.sciencecorruption.com/ATN184/00340.html
http://www.beaconhill.org/AboutEXDir2.htm

Right to Work doesn't outlaw unions...

Right to Work will ultimately destroy unions. Not to mention everyone already has the "Right to Work". Everyone has the right to go to work for a union shop. Don't like unions or union dues go work for a non union shop....your choice already. Here is why people should want to be union.
http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/jobsemployment/a/unionwages.htm

Dirk D, Do you actually do any thinking for yourself or just read left wing articles? I have worked for a union and managed people in a union. When I was in the union I was pissed because people who didn't work made the same or more than me. When I got into management the inefficiences from the union rules killed our bottomline and made the work atmosphere difficult. Unions were good when they started but there time has passed. I'm not in a union and I am happy to say that I work in a safe environment and get paid a good wage.

The only reason you work in safe environment and get paid a decent wage is because of unions. I'm sorry you had a poor experience with unions in the past. I personally haven't had any issues like that. All my union brothers and sisters work hard. Just look at the graph in my link above, union membership drops so does middle class America. No more unions and we are on the fast track to being back in the 19th century.

Yeah right, OSHA will just disappear.

You actually think that without unions we would go back to the 19th century? All of the things that unions were created for (worker safety etc) are now federal laws. I find the article above hard to swallow because the union labor force is so small % wise I don't know how they can compare union workers and non union workers across any industry and come up with a fair comparison of wages across the country. If there are a lot of unions in big cities and a lot less in smaller cities/rural areas where the cost of living is lower then even though they are making less per hour they may have more discretionary money. The article is a simple arguement at best.

Well if I get what I want nobody will ever have to know what happens if unions disappear. If you all get what you want I won't have to argue anymore because it will happen right in front of everyone's eyes. God speed gentleman.

Dorothy - Somewhere, over the rainbow, the snake oil huckster morphed into the Wizard of Oz. And the wicked witch was appointed head of the DNR. The flying monkeys adopted Dorothy as one of their own.

Dorothy, as far as I have observed, at no time has presented verifiable data to justify her fangirl support for Scott Walker, or even her own extreme enthusiasm. She is the ideal low-information voter for partisan strategists, needing only talking points and catchy slogans to ensure complete manipulation, motivation, and successful Republican vote at the polls.

If Dorothy has a job, or has friends or family members who do, the beauty of the manipulation is that, if she or they lose their jobs, or their taxes increase (via tax credit reduction/loss), she will never even recognize that her vote was responsible. No track back! Pure gold.

We've said over and over that it was too soon to crow about "It's working" when more cuts were on the way. The worst of this is that the higher taxes for working people aren't going to move Wisconsin forward, they go to fill the hole created by these completely unnecessary tax breaks for the wealthy.

That's why we have to recall Scott Walker next month! Perhaps Barrett can reduce some of the "bomb" damage that would otherwise happen in July!

Well, we will need lots of government to keep an eye on those women who use contraception, and the people who live with another person of the same sex. A lot of government workers will be needed to monitor people's bedrooms and make sure that the new government-mandated morality is upheld. That will cost a lot of money.

Of course right now federal spending under Obama is the second lowest since World War II (apart from the stimulus spending that was required to save the U.S. economy from the Great Recession, which was not of Obama's making).

Wendy-You are so misinformed. On the job creation front, the only tax breaks employers are receiving are on expansions and research and development. Things that businesses would not even consider in bad economic times because the risk is too costly. However, with incentives that bring those costs down, they need additional employees to carry out those tasks and the tax incentives may just be enough to encourage them to hire and expand. Please tell me why you think corporations are evil? They employ over 75% of this country. They create more opportunities for upward mobility than anyone else in the world.

And you have it so backwards on the political contributions. Unions have had an unfair advantage as the largest campaign contributor for decades. They have driven the political agenda, from local to national, without the otherside having the same access to the political environment. Citizens United levelled the playing field giving everyone the same access. Personally, I think all PACS should be illegal, INCLUDING UNIONS, and only individual contributions allowed.

As far as why should the taxpayer worry about overtime, healthcare, pensions and vacations, apparently you've lived in a world where you think all those things are free. Well they're not. As a matter of fact, all those benefits eat up 85% of every tax dollar. Those reforms you whine about have saved the middle class and thousands of public sector jobs.

Wendy, you just named the biggest problem with unions, SENIORITY!

What exactly does seniority have to do with building and maintaining a union that is supposed to be fair to all it's members? All it seems to do is build in an enforcement arm of the union that bullies everyone else in it. Look at MTEA and how the seniority refused to take any pay cut even to save 200+ jobs.

Most people agree that unions were needed 100 years ago, but they have failed to evolve into an organization that is still beneficial to it's members. It's time they took a look at themselves and determine how to step into the 21st century before go the way of the dinosaur.

Wendy, I agree about tax breaks, especially those given during the Bush administration. They did not create jobs, just drained the Treasury, along with two unfunded wars. Giving large companies money to fund job offshoring, etc., has been proven not to be beneficial to their employees or Americans with earnings in the lower 98% of income brackets.

The larger unions have political fundraising arms that support (mostly) Democratic candidates because they are marginally more pro-worker than the Republican party. There are Republicans on the far-right fringe of the party who want to take away the financial power of Democrats so attack the unions. Mayor Barrett is being outspent 25:1 by Scott Walker. If these Republicans succeed in wrecking unions (and those campaign gifts), the Democratic Party will be permanently weakened.

If that happens America will become a basically one-party system, one that leans far, far to the right. That scares me personally because that stinks of right-wing Socialism. Our country needs both parties. I hope you will help restore balance to our country by starting with a vote to recall Scott Walker, which will add some balance to the state legislature.

After all, we have two right-wing brothers, one in charge of the state Assembly and Senate, and an extreme right wing Governor. Since they are working for special interests and not Wisconsin, we need balance!

Overtime can only be abused if it's assigned unfairly. It still represents a savings to the employer rather than hiring an extra worker to take on the excess. The real abuse is expecting workers to work punishing schedules with no extra pay for their efforts.

How can you say Tom Barrett is transparent. He has not given one indication of what he plans to do about anything on any issue. And you seem to forget that it was the Democrats, after Walker was elected and prior to his inauguration, that tried to tie Walker's hands on the budget by signing 42 union contracts. When they didn't have enough votes, they tried to spring a Democrat out of jail to get the votes. They all knew Walker's plans and it was Democrats that refused to work with Walker.

All unions do is protect bad employees. If you are a good employee, you would have nothing to fear. State and federal laws cover all work rules that are ordinary, like overtime, equal employment, work week hours, safety, etc... You should relish the fact that your wages aren't held down by someboy else's poor performance. The unions served a purpose once, but now they are just a pariah on the rest of the 89% that are not unionized.