826 Lazy Mary
Anyone remember Lou Monte singing
“Lazy Mary, you better get up.
She answered back ‘I am not able.’
Lazy Mary you better get up
We need the sheets for the table.”
Lazy Mary is working in Wisconsin. At least if you read the publicity from those good folk with their heads firmly implanted... well, you know where.
She’s a municipal employee. Maybe a social worker, a nurse, a teacher, a clerk, a cop, a firefighter, an engineer (either on a rail line or in a planning office.)
And she’s union. And she’s not lazy and neither are her union brothers and sisters in Wisconsin and 37 other states where similar and support demonstrations are taking place. In fact Mary is so un-lazy with her job that the only way she could have found the time to attend a rally was to use some of her vacation time. You know, the time off the union stole from the state? State, federal and municipal workers won the right to organize about 40 years ago, trailing their private sector counter parts by decades. Now, they’re trying to take it away and there are two reasons: (1) Money and (2) the Great De-fanging.
Governor Scott Walker claims a $300-million budget deficit. This is after he awarded a $400-million tax cut to his loyal supporters. So, right, the state is short of bucks, even though Walker inherited a surplus.
More important: Municipal workers are the last man standing to organize voters, educate voters, register voters and make sure those voters get to the polls on election day. Many, if not most of those new recruits are people who are poor or minorities or both. And these groups tend to vote Democratic. This is part of the Republican attack on the two party system.
What’s the alternative for the workers? Fourteen hour days? Fewer holidays, less or no health insurance, an inferior retirement plan? What’s in it for the ordinary people who depend on these workers for health care, transportation, police and fire protection? Resources they need will used instead to further pay off the debt and the governor’s friends.
The police unions backed Walker’s election. They’ve changed their minds and gotten loud about the change.
Oh. Notice something about the Governor’s storm troops assigned to the demonstrations: There’s no storm. While an individual cop is not permitted (by contract!) from expressing political views while on duty, police are treating the demonstrators with kindness and respect uncommon for such a supposed confrontation.
And by the way, where’s Obama? He’s given lip service support but when he was in Milwaukee the other day, he apparently didn’t have the hour or so it would have taken to scoot 75 miles west to Madison and show up in person.
Probably too busy thinking up new ways to give the country to the Republicans and calling it the look for common ground.
Shrapnel:
--Note to Muammar: Time’s up. Forty-two years after his “socialist” coup, America’s newest best friend says he’ll die a martyr after fighting down to his “last drop of blood.” Let us know when the next-to-last comes out, Mu Mu, so we can get there in time to film the last one.
I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ®
Please address comments to wesrichards@gmail.com
© WJR 2011
Anyone remember Lou Monte singing
“Lazy Mary, you better get up.
She answered back ‘I am not able.’
Lazy Mary you better get up
We need the sheets for the table.”
Lazy Mary is working in Wisconsin. At least if you read the publicity from those good folk with their heads firmly implanted... well, you know where.
She’s a municipal employee. Maybe a social worker, a nurse, a teacher, a clerk, a cop, a firefighter, an engineer (either on a rail line or in a planning office.)
And she’s union. And she’s not lazy and neither are her union brothers and sisters in Wisconsin and 37 other states where similar and support demonstrations are taking place. In fact Mary is so un-lazy with her job that the only way she could have found the time to attend a rally was to use some of her vacation time. You know, the time off the union stole from the state? State, federal and municipal workers won the right to organize about 40 years ago, trailing their private sector counter parts by decades. Now, they’re trying to take it away and there are two reasons: (1) Money and (2) the Great De-fanging.
Governor Scott Walker claims a $300-million budget deficit. This is after he awarded a $400-million tax cut to his loyal supporters. So, right, the state is short of bucks, even though Walker inherited a surplus.
More important: Municipal workers are the last man standing to organize voters, educate voters, register voters and make sure those voters get to the polls on election day. Many, if not most of those new recruits are people who are poor or minorities or both. And these groups tend to vote Democratic. This is part of the Republican attack on the two party system.
What’s the alternative for the workers? Fourteen hour days? Fewer holidays, less or no health insurance, an inferior retirement plan? What’s in it for the ordinary people who depend on these workers for health care, transportation, police and fire protection? Resources they need will used instead to further pay off the debt and the governor’s friends.
The police unions backed Walker’s election. They’ve changed their minds and gotten loud about the change.
Oh. Notice something about the Governor’s storm troops assigned to the demonstrations: There’s no storm. While an individual cop is not permitted (by contract!) from expressing political views while on duty, police are treating the demonstrators with kindness and respect uncommon for such a supposed confrontation.
And by the way, where’s Obama? He’s given lip service support but when he was in Milwaukee the other day, he apparently didn’t have the hour or so it would have taken to scoot 75 miles west to Madison and show up in person.
Probably too busy thinking up new ways to give the country to the Republicans and calling it the look for common ground.
Shrapnel:
--Note to Muammar: Time’s up. Forty-two years after his “socialist” coup, America’s newest best friend says he’ll die a martyr after fighting down to his “last drop of blood.” Let us know when the next-to-last comes out, Mu Mu, so we can get there in time to film the last one.
I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ®
Please address comments to wesrichards@gmail.com
© WJR 2011
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