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

May 14, 2012 By

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

Filed Under: 2012 Daily News, Video New Music Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

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

March 1, 2011 By

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 Wave, Defend 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/

Filed Under: 2011 Daily News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

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

February 24, 2011 By

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

Filed Under: 2011 Daily News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

American Workers vs Multi-Billionaires..Hip Hop Claps Back Hard

February 23, 2011 By

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwpSh66aEUw

Our latest video “American Workers Vs Multi-Billionaires” was filmed on location in Madison, Wisconsin, where thousands of hard working Americans came together in unity to fight back against a Governor bought and paid for by Billionaires to break up Unions and deny workers collective bargaining and a living wage. “American Workers Vs Multi-Billionaires” was produced by Cynik Lethal and directed by Paradise Gray of X-Clan

Also you can catch our interview w/ Jasiri X on Hard Knock Radio by clicking the link below

http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/67759

Also related to this is a classic song from Rebel Diaz called ‘A Trillion‘

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

.

Filed Under: 2011 Daily News Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Class Warfare in Wisconsin: 10 Things You Should Know

February 18, 2011 By

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 LaCrosse, Eau 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!

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News Tagged With: , , , , , ,