Biko Baker & Jasiri X Talk about Obama, Voter Suppression & How to Fight Back

 

Biko Baker of the League of Young Voters and Jasiri X of One Hood are no joke when it comes to politics and youth activism. Both over the past couple of years have been extremely successful in bringing attention to critical issues effecting our communities and more importantly, getting folks to do something about them.  Whether its police brutality, economic disparities, education inequality or Voter Suppression, you can count on brothers like these to be knee-deep in the mix..

Last week during the Pacifica Radio live coverage at the DNC in Charlotte, NC myself and Margret Prescod  of KPFK in LA sat down and spoke with these 2 brothers who live in so-called battle ground swing states (Wisconsin and Pennsylvania) to talk about the voter suppression efforts underway in their states  and how they been fighting back.

We also spoke to them about the type of impact or lack of impact  President Barack Obama has been having on the folks they work with and why.. We also looked at the types of strategies and voter education efforts they are working on to turn folks out to polls come this November..

Peep our conversation below

 

Gov Scott Walker You’re Fired! New Song Calling for Him to be Ousted Hits the Streets!

Props to Jasiri X who is back on the grind, bringing serious truth and hard-hitting music to key issues of the day..Last year around this time, Jasiri weighed in on the big debate around public union bargaining rights in Wisconsin when tens of thousands came out to oppose newly elected Governor, Koch brother puppet, Scott Walker.. The song ‘American Workers vs Multi-Billionaires‘ went over well and became an anthem of sorts for many who were vigorously opposing Walker’s attempts to end collective bargaining.

This time around Jasiri X weighed in with the recall efforts which are on full tilt.. His new song is called Scott Walker You’re Fired. Ya gotta love artists like Jasiri X, Rebel Diaz, Immortal Technique, Mos Def, Invincible and dead prez for constantly providing a soundtracks to struggles the people are undertaking..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4P6v3pGGmI&feature=g-all-u

We Remember Cesar Chavez in the mist of Union Busting by the Greedy Rich

Today March 31st is Cesar Chavez Day. We think its important that this iconic Labor Leader of the United Farm Workers have his birthday made into a national holiday. We also think in the wake of all the drama and attacks being directed at labors unions in Wisconsin and in Ohio to name a couple, that we all take time to understand the significance of UFW and the harsh fight to establish it.

Not a whole lot of folks truly understand the types of oppressive, abuse  and dangerous conditions farm workers had to endure to get paid what often amounted to below minimum wage earnings. When you contrast what the Latino and Filipino workers went through with what is unfolding today, you can get a better appreciation for unions. You can also see how greed and disrespect for the average worker manifest itself by corporation and the rich and powerful.

On a side note usually this time of year we have xenophobic types who like to hijack Cesar Chavez day by pointing out that Chavez was against illegal immigration..He felt they undermined his union.. and that’s true.. What these same folks often fail to mention is that Chavez was for unions and wanted all to be paid a living wage and work in safe conditions. Many of the folks who like to raise the Cesar Chavez flag on the immigration question are nowhere to be seen when challenged on the totality of this man’s message.. Economic empowerment and dignity for all people.

Here’s a brief rundown of Cesar Chavez and the UFW

In 1962 Cesar founded the National Farm Workers Association, later to become the United Farm Workers – the UFW. He was joined by Dolores Huerta and the union was born. That same year Richard Chavez designed the UFW Eagle and Cesar chose the black and red colors. Cesar told the story of the birth of the eagle. He asked Richard to design the flag, but Richard could not make an eagle that he liked. Finally he sketched one on a piece of brown wrapping paper. He then squared off the wing edges so that the eagle would be easier for union members to draw on the handmade red flags that would give courage to the farm workers with their own powerful symbol. Cesar made reference to the flag by stating, “A symbol is an important thing. That is why we chose an Aztec eagle. It gives
pride . . . When people see it they know it means dignity.”

For a long time in 1962, there were very few union dues paying members. By 1970 the UFW got grape growers to accept union contracts and had effectively organized most of that industry, at one point in time claiming 50,000 dues paying members. The reason was Cesar Chavez’s tireless leadership and nonviolent tactics that included the Delano grape strike, his fasts that focused national attention on farm workers problems, and the 340-mile march from Delano to Sacramento in 1966. The farm workers and supporters carried banners with the black eagle with HUELGA (strike) and VIVA LA CAUSA (Long live our cause). The marchers wanted the state government to pass laws which would permit farm workers to organize into a union and allow collective bargaining agreements. Cesar made people aware of the struggles of farm workers for better pay and safer working conditions. He succeeded through nonviolent tactics (boycotts, pickets, and strikes). Cesar Chavez and the union sought recognition of the importance and dignity of all farm workers.

It was the beginning of La Causa a cause that was supported by organized labor, religious groups, minorities, and students. Cesar Chavez had the foresight to train his union workers and then to send many of them into the cities where they were to use the boycott and picket as their weapon.

Cesar was willing to sacrifice his own life so that the union would continue and that violence was not used. Cesar fasted many times. In 1968 Cesar went on a water only, 25 day fast. He repeated the fast in 1972 for 24 days, and again in 1988, this time for 36 days. What motivated him to do this? He said, Farm workers everywhere are angry and worried that we cannot win without violence. We have proved it before through persistence, hard work, faith and willingness to sacrifice. We can win and keep our own self-respect and build a great union that will secure the spirit of all people if we do it through a rededication and recommitment to the struggle for justice through nonviolence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6weulYxNTo pt1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L3rFRw7sHk pt2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXDHkMYutBs pt3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMoYwRS2RLU pt4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vyr1HduS_b8&feature=related pt5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b22godLzyRY&feature=related pt6

What Next, Wisconsin? Some Ideas for the Movement by Josh Healy

My man Josh Healy drops another gem of an article for all those watching the drama as it unfolds in Madison, Wisconsin. His first article Class Warfare gave us some good background information and solid food for thought. This one lays out some great strategies..

-Davey D-

I’ve never been so proud to rep Wisconsin.

More than the Packers bringing the Lombardi trophy back to its birthplace, more than the moment I introduced my boys back in DC to the glories of a cheese curd, themassive uprising to defend workers’ rights that has erupted over these past two weeks in Madison has cemented my Badger pride forever.

I’m 2000 miles away from the action inside the Capitol Rotunda, but through text messages, Facebook reports, and (sweet Jesus!) decent coverage from the national media, I feel like I’m just down the block on State Street.

While my analysis is secondary to the activists and agitators in the trenches (snow trenches, to be exact), I want to offer some notes on what has made all this so amazing:

The Movement is Growing By the Day — And Shows No Signs of Stopping.
Since people first learned of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed death-to-unions legislation two weeks ago, the protests at the Capitol haven’t stopped. The numbers of labor demonstrators has  grown from 1,000 the first day, to 5,000 a couple days later, to over 100,000 people this past Saturday. Thousands of whom have been occupying the Capitol 24/7, sleeping over in the building despite Walker’s attempts to kick them out. People simply won’t go home — and that’s the most powerful part.

The indefinite, growing action is what has created the legislative crisis and national spectacle.  As opposed to most political actions (an anti-war rally or even a fair trade “week of action”), the people’s uprising in Madison has no definitive end date that the Governor and his friends can use to just wait them out. And that’s why they’re scared.

The Democrats Have Showed Some Backbone.
No, not the national Democratic Party, but “The Wisconsin 14“– the Democratic state senators who fled the state to block Gov. Walker’s attack on workers. The state senate needs a quorum of 20 legislators to act on the bill, but the Republicans only have 19 senators. So the Democrats used what power they had, and voted with their feet.

Far too often, Democratic politicians across the country give in (or worse, lead the attack) on workers’ rights and social justice. Let’s support them on the rare occasion they do the right thing — and remember that those 14 senators could only make their stand because 100,000 people in the streets gave them the political space to do so.

The Right-Wing Puppet Masters have been Exposed.
Scott Walker is a stooge, a puppet of national corporate interests. Thanks to a liberal blogger’s prank phone call, we all know who’s pulling Walker’s strings: the billionaire Koch Brothers. Charles and David Koch are viciously right-wing industrialists best known for being the primary funders (some would say creators) of the Tea Party. In the prank call where Walker thought he was talking to David Koch, Walker showed his true allegiance — and it wasn’t to the people of Wisconsin.

The Cops are with the Good Guys?
This is something you don’t usually see: rather than following the standard police playbook of “Taser first, ask questions later,” the police announced their solidarity with the people occupying the Capitol. Wow. The police understand that even though Walker exempted their union (and the firefighters) from the bill, they could be next. Now, many of them are joining with their union brothers and sisters. This is big — just look at Egypt and (hopefully) Libya. When the police join the movement, that’s when the revolution happens.

America has Hope Again.
Van Jones said it best earlier this week: “In the past 24 months, those of us who longed for positive change have gone from hope to heartbreak. But hope is returning to America — at last — thanks largely to the courageous stand of the heroes and heroines of Wisconsin.” Wisconsin is awakening a strong, grassroots Left-labor movement that has been asleep in America for far too long. This past Saturday saw solidarity protests in all 50 states, and there’s even talks that a general strike is on the table in Madison if the bill passes.

This is about more than unions. This is about whose state, whose country this is. To paraphrase George W. Bush, “You’re either with us, or you’re with the billionaire oil tycoon Koch-heads.”

With that said, here’s some things for my Badgers in the streets to keep in mind:

1) Keep the Crisis Going as Long as Possible.
The longer we occupy the Capitol, the longer the Democrats stay in Rockford or wherever the hell they are, the better for our side. It gives us time to frame the debate, show the real issues, build our power and organization, and make the Republicans come to us on our terms.

Gov. Walker might not budge, but 3 Republican Senators very well could. That’s all we need for the vote to fail. Many of those Republicans districts have a lot of union members, and are vulnerable come election time. Many folks are already calling for recall elections. That said, don’t get caught up in electoral politics. Our power is at the grassroots. And remember that Walker did NOT run on a campaign to bust unions. His election was not a mandate for this bill.

2) Make this Bigger Than Just the Unions — Because It Is.
This bill (and soon Walker’s full budget) doesn’t just attack organized labor: he is privatizing UW-Madison, decimating state health care, and attacking unemployed people and all sorts of workers not in unions. If the broad-based movement of the past two weeks doesn’t continue after whatever happens with this one bill, then we’ve lost either way.

Build new relationships — and organization! Wisconsin (and the whole country) needs a real, ongoing coalition of workers, students, civil rights groups, faith leaders, women’s and LGBT groups: the full rainbow spectrum. Some of this is already happening with Wisconsin WaveDefend Wisconsin, and others. The fights will keep coming — let’s keep fighting united.

3) This Can’t Just Be a White Fight.
This is going off the last point. Let’s be honest — most the teachers, social workers, and other public workers who have been the majority of faces in the protests are white. Wisconsin is about as white a state as they come. But when it comes to serious oppression in the Badger State – massively disproportionate incarceration, unemployment, and immigration raids – the people most impacted are usually black and brown. Several Republican legislators have already called for an anti-immigrant law as harsh as Arizona’s. If this movement’s call is to “defend Wisconsin,” who are we defending it for?

The conservative game plan is always to divide and conquer, in this case to pit ‘lazy’ public-sector workers against ‘hard-working’ private-sector workers. Sound familiar? In our appeal to class solidarity, let’s recognize that there are deep racial divisions in Wisconsin — in our schools, our housing, and yes, our unions. Let’s be up front about it, and make this the time to start doing it different. Racial justice groups like my old friends at Freedom Inc. have already joined the fight.

4. Target the People and Structures Behind Walker.
I’m not just talking about the Koch brothers, I’m talking about Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, who protesters smartly picketed last week for being the main sponsor of the current bill. I’m talking about the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, giving corporations free rein to buy politicians through campaign donations. I’m talking about unregulated capitalism, and the idea that human beings are mere commodities to be bought and sold to the highest bidding billionaire. The people in the Capitol are starting to think BIG. Let’s keep it up.

5) Expect to WIN!
This is the most important one. The momentum is on our side: the people, the Packers, even the police are on our side. The nation is with you. Don’t give in on pensions and health care before negotiating. Don’t give in on cuts to Badger Care or turning UW-Madison into “a country club with a nice library.”

I remember walking to a protest on Library Mall once and thinking, “This isn’t going to change anything.” And you know what it? It didn’t. Too often, we think we’re going to lose, and so we don’t even play hard in the game. This time, Madison, you’ve taken your gloves off. I can see it in your eyes. You know you can win. So go do it.

I’ll be there with you, proud as hell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5TmSNPpzkWc

original article: http://joshhealey.org/2011/02/28/what-next-wisconsin/

Governor Walker gets Phone Pranked-It’s Scary to Hear How He Thinks

Not sure if people heard this tape of union busting Governor Scott walker talking to a prank caller who he thought was billionaire backer David Koch… We learned a lot from Gov Walker in this exchange including how he actually though of planting troublemakers in the crowd of protesters but thought it wasn’t politically expedient. We also got to see how he thinks of his fellow citizens.. ‘Bastards who need to be crushed’

It was also interesting to see how subservient Governor Walker was to his billionaire backer..it was obvious he was taking orders from the rich Tea party funder..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBnSv3a6Nh4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3a2pYGr7-k&feature=related

Editorial: Two Words: On Wisconsin!

Two Words…

Self Determination.

Corporate Fascism.

Your Choice.

TWO WORDS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkFOBx6j0l8

From the debate raging online and via Twitter, I see miseducation is alive and well. Workers from teachers to firefighters once called public servants are now being called freeloaders. It reminds me of something RZA said in the documentary, Rhyme, and Reason [paraphrasing]:why am I beefing with this brother and he has nothing and I have nothing while these other folks over there have everything and nobody is beefing with them. That doesn’t add up..I deal with mathematics.

Well, here are some numbers to consider:

1. The Walmart Corporation is richer than over 150 countries.

sources: http://www.globaltrends.com/features/shapers-and-influencers/66-corporate-clout-the-influence-of-the-worlds-largest-100-economic-entities

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2010/full_list/

2. And a good amount of that wealth goes to 4 people: The Walton family members who take 4 of the top 10 spots on the Richest Americans list, with net worth totaling 80+ billion dollars.

http://www.forbes.com/wealth/forbes-400

3. While the pay gap between a company’s CEO and its employees has a ratio of 11 to 1 in Japan and 12 to 1 in Germany, the United States ratio is an exorbitant 319 to 1.

source: http://csis.org/blog/us-tolerance-income-inequality

4. And for the most staggering numbers: the 500 richest individuals in the world have the same income as 416 million people on the poor end of the pay scale….416 million.

source: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/13/opinion/13kristof.html

TWO WORDS: CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS

Probably the two most dreaded words in American politics = class warfare. But they are still embraced quicker than these two hated four-letter words: Karl Marx. The reason Karl Marx is so feared is because he rightfully exposed the fallacy of wage labor.

Capitalism is a way to make money off of other people’s labor. But Walmart could not make any money without the cheap labor it gets from the workers that make the manufactured goods it sells [usually Chinese workers making slave wages], or the employees that provide the labor and customer service at its’ stores [making near slave wages with few benefits], or the customers who buy the goods it’s WORKERS produce [and those customers are spending money that they earn working for (sometimes near slave) wages ].

Marx predicted that this alienation (outlined above) would eventually lead to class consciousness…and the truth is, we may finally be seeing forms of class consciousness playing out all across the globe as we speak..from Egypt to Wisconsin…Bahrain to Iran. And the bigger truth is, we have corporate fascists and overreaching leaders to thank. As I’ve said many times, power will take as much as it can get away with, and no less…people must fight for what we rightfully deserve. No one will give it to you.

The choices in this country could not be clearer.  On one side is the language of “cuts” and “deficits” and “sacrifices”, but in this language, only one side of the coin is being shown. As I tell my classes all the time, one’s advantage is directly linked to another one’s disadvantage. They are inevitably linked. The big lie that hegemony in society perpetuates is that folks gain at no one’s expense. But on a finite planet, the pie of resources is limited. And how it is dished out at the dinner table matters. If one person takes 99 slices, that leaves 1 slice for 99 people to fight over. The other option is a more equitable distribution of resources. Only people that get more and are okay with others having less prefer the former.

What free trade did to the private sector, political corporatists are now trying to do to the public sector…weaken collective bargaining and workers’ rights. Instead of all seeing the reality of a new gilded age where the rich are getting richer, the middle class is being asked to accept the new “reality” and join the ranks of the working poor while big banks get bailed out with our tax dollars so they can horde that cash or use it to open markets overseas.

The truth the U.S. middle class has not been told is that it is expected to join the global race to the bottom, where we will be expected to compete in a global market where workers make less than a dollar a day. They are setting up Americans to “sacrifice” …to get used to a lower standard of living and accept this new world order where a small elite of corporate fascists get 95% of the pie while 95% of the world must fight for the 5% crumbs…including you now America.

Unfortunately, it never is the 1% that does its own bidding…it always is the manipulated who have bought into the narrative that the elite has sold them. People that believe that giving tax breaks to corporations and busting unions will bring jobs to America have no geopolitical sense of reality.

example = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/video/video_4000.html?1298147211

Instead of bashing me and my fellow union members for collective bargaining and securing better wages and benefits, why not demand the same for yourself?! Stop doing the bidding for corporate fascists and start putting your interest first!

TWO WORDS: STAND FIRM!

http://vimeo.com/20089255

Despite the resistance to change by some, resolve and growing class consciousness may be too strong to stop this time. But know this, even where peaceful protest can not overcome police state barbarity, universal law will. The house of cards will fall…it always does.

Two Words:

Stay Strong

Keep Pushing

People Power

In Unity

….On Wisconsin!

For more on this topic. please see my previous note: The Fire this Time: A Few Thoughts on Egypt

Link: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150134175456131

written by Tina Bell Wright

Class Warfare in Wisconsin: 10 Things You Should Know

Big shout out to my man Josh Healy of http://joshhealey.org/2011/02/17/class-warfare-in-wisconsin/ who penned this excellent run down of what’s cracking off in Wisconsin.. It’s important to get the word out about what’s taking place because there is an all out assault all across the country to dismantle public sector unions.

The attackers are multi-national corporations who through the use of media outlets that they own or have access to, have preyed upon the greed, fear and outright ignorance of many to spit venom and lies about unions while taking their mind off über rich Wall Street banker types who collapsed this economy…

anyway peep the article.. and drop a line over at Josh’s blog..

-Davey D-

For most of the last decade, I lived in the crazy, cold, contradictory state that is Wisconsin. I wrote research papers in Madison, performed poems in Milwaukee, walked picket lines in Jefferson, organized student conferences in Eau Claire, led artistic workshops in Green Bay, spoke at my roommate’s wedding in Merrill, and went camping with my future wife at Black River Falls.

A big-city kid from the East Coast, I never fully got used to the overwhelming whiteness of Wisconsin — the winter, and yes, the people. But I eventually learned how to wear five layers in February, and that amidst the farms and abandoned factories, there was a working-class people with a strong populist ethic. As my freshman roommate from Wausau once told me, “Josh, I don’t follow politics. I just hate corporations.”

Fast-forward to 2011: the new Republican Governor, Scott Walker, has declared war on my old roommate and all Wisconsin workers. Under the guise of a budget deficit, Walker just put forth a bill that would destroy the unions that represent teachers, social workers, and over 100,000 public employees. He’s also making huge cuts to schools, health care, public transportation, and anything that actually helps people live.

Want more crazy? Walker ordered the National Guard to get ready to respond to a strike or any resistance to his plan. The last time Wisconsin called in the National Guard during a labor dispute was way back in 1886, when Guard militiamen shot on a rally of Milwaukee workers advocating an 8-hour work day. Five unarmed workers were killed in the massacre.

I loved living in Wisconsin. Truth be told, I hated it many times too, especially when its ugly side came out like now. I was fighting this same struggle during most of my junior and senior years at UW. Our campaign demands were nothing new: lower tuition for students, better health care for workers, higher taxes on the rich, and a real investment in public education over private incarceration. That was with Jim Doyle in office. But now with this dude Walker, it’s at a whole new level.

Of course, the people aren’t going down without a fight. There have beenunprecedented demonstrations at the state Capitol in Madison every day this week — from 1,000 the first day to over 25,000 yesterday.

I wish I could be out there on State Street with my Badgers in the struggle, but at the very least, I can do my best to spread the word. So for all my old students and roommates taking to the streets, and for everyone else wondering what the hell is going on in America’s Dairyland, let’s clear some things up:

1. The deficit is a made-up crisis.
Like most states, Wisconsin is struggling in the recession, but the state government isn’t actually broke. The state legislature’s fiscal bureau estimated the state would end the year with a $121 million balance. Walker claims there is a $137 million deficit — but it is not because of an increase in worker wages or benefits. According to the Capital Times, it is because “Walker and his allies pushed through $140 million in new spending for corporate and special-interest groups in January.” Nice. A man-made “crisis” as an excuse to push neoliberal cutbacks: Shock Doctrine, anyone?

2. Even if there was a deficit, blame Wall Street — not the workers.
The economy isn’t crumbling because state workers in Madison have decent pensions. It’s because Wall Street bankers stole our money, Bush and now Obama have us in two trillion-dollar wars, and states like Wisconsin keep spending more on prisons than schools. What do the rich pay? According to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, corporate tax income has fallen by half since 1981 and over two-thirds of Wisconsin corporations pay zero taxes.

3. The Green Bay Packers are with the people.
They won the Super Bowl. They’re owned by the people of Green Bay, not some schmuck billionaire. And now the Pack is standing in solidarity with their union brothers and sisters. If only Brady Poppinga (pictured below) would tackle Scott Walker like that. If the green and gold are down, you already know what side to roll with. (I heard Walker is a Vikings fan, anyway.)

4. This is not “just another Madison protest.”
Madison is famous for its progressive tradition, but this is more than just another march down State Street. This struggle is engaging people across the state — not just Madison and Milwaukee, but LaCrosseEau Claire, and outside Gov. Walker’s home in Wauwatosa. This struggle is multi-racial, multi-generational, and multi-issue. Working- and middle-class white folks (the majority population) might finally realize that long-term unity is stronger than short-term tax relief. Looking for the progressive antidote to the Tea Party? They’re brewing something in the Badger State.

5. Public worker unions were founded in Wisconsin.
The first union for public employees was actually started in Madison in 1932, to ensure living wages for the workers and end political patronage for government jobs. The biggest public union, AFSCME, was born right where the protests are happening today in Madison. Wisconsin has always had a dual legacy — home to the last Socialist mayor in the country (Frank Zeidler of Milwaukee) and the ultimate anti-Communist himself, Joe McCarthy; more recently, both progressive Sen. Russ Feingold and immigrant-basher Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner — but the Dairyland’s populist ethos can be traced back to the Progressive Era and its public unions.

6. Hurting public workers will not help you get a better job.
Many conservatives, and even some liberals, argue that we need to “bring public workers’ benefits down to the level of private workers.” First off, it’s not true that public workers are better off — they usually get lower wages in exchange for better benefits. More important, though, is the idea that we should raise all boats, rather than continue this race to the bottom. Russ Feingold said yesterday that “Republicans are trying to pit private workers against their public counterparts.” No more divide and conquer. Yes, people with a private-sector job (or, people who like 50% of black men in Milwaukee don’t have a job at all) have a right to be angry: but that anger should be reserved for the companies who are downsizing and outsourcing those jobs, not for middle school teachers and the lunch lady.

7. This is about more than unions.
This is about public education, affirmative action, immigrant rights, stopping foreclosures, and basic human rights.  This is about how much the Radical Right thinks they can get away with. This is about drawing a line in the sand — if first they come for the unions, who will they come for next?

8. The country is watching Wisconsin.
What happens this week in Madison has national ramifications. Right now, everyone’s eyes are on Wisconsin. The governor of Ohio and Tennessee are threatening to adopt similar legislation — and Obama has his own conservative budget proposal at the federal level. If they can force it through relatively liberal Wisconsin, your state could be next.

9. Wisconsin was watching Egypt.
News travels fast, and uprisings inspire each other across continents. The protesters out on the Madison streets watched the millions of Egyptians who successfully, nonviolently took down their dictator. Many of them are now carrying signs like the one below calling Scott Walker “the Mubarak of the Midwest.” And while the American media loves the union workers that toppled a dictator in Egypt, CNN has little sympathy for the workers that will be silenced right here in the heartland.

10. Who’s Capitol? OUR Capitol!
This is our moment. Our state. Our growing movement to change the course of the country. The legislature could vote as soon as today on Walker’s bill — unless the real Badgers stand up to stop him.

The protests are escalating every day, inside and outside the Capitol. To all my Madison folks, stay strong and know that we’re with you. To the rest of the country, spread the word, donate to the legal defense funds, and make sure your own states don’t go down this same road.

For resources and up-to-date info on what’s happening on the ground, check out:

AFT-Wisconsin
Wisconsin Wave
Teaching Assistants’ Association
Student Labor Action Coalition

On, Wisconsin! Solidarity Forever!