Meal plans, are we being taken advantage of? (by anon)

For a short break from Madison turmoil...

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I feel that the meals plans are essentially a way of stealing our money because not everyone can use every meal in each block of every day. This might be due to classes, extra campus events and responsibilities, etc. What it really comes down to, and why I feel that it is stealing is because the meals to not roll over from week to week. There are so many restrictions on when you can use guest transfers and in which blocks that it makes it impossible to use them all. (Especially when there is only one early-bird option for breakfast on any given day, at the UC, before 11am). I calculated it out and for the four years I will be at UW-Whitewater, not being able to get breakfast in the morning block will result roughly in over $1,200 or more taken from my pocket when I received nothing in return. This is not just about breakfast blocks, its more about the meal plans as a whole. I believe that they are only really required for your first two years but anyone living on campus will find that, on some level, they are a necessity. That is why we need to correct this gaping flaw in the system.

Are UWW faculty just whiny babies over this Walker crap?? (by anon)

This comment is too juicy not to post.

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Call me crazy but is this thing not being a little too hyped up? People are acting like it's the end of the fucking world, over dramatizing, running around like they make $5/hour to bust their ass for 20 hours a day scraping shit off of floors, having to eat cat food for a living, and now, NOW, this evil man named Walker wants to take MORE from them! I really don't get it. It's not like that. What is everyone afraid of? I understand that collective bargaining rights are huge for state workers. But without them, would the state workers not just be forced to become like every other hard working citizen who is NOT part of a union? My father does not work for a union, he has not had a raise in 3 years, pays 80% of his health care, pays for his own 401k, and does not get to negotiate his benefits, paid sick days, paid vacation, etc. Teachers, what exactly IS the average salary at Whitewater? What exactly DOES get taken out of your paychecks for your benefits? How many days a year do you already get off for holidays, plus sick days, vacation days? Are things really that bad? Do you believe they will suddenly turn into the scenario I described at the beginning of this? WHAT'S THE BIG FUCKING DEAL???? Senators left the state! What the hell is everyone so afraid of????????

Crunch Time! Predictions?

Gov. Walker is backed into a corner.  He is saying that Saturday is the deadline for his budget repair bill to pass or else he will have to start laying off public workers.

Here's the corner he has painted himself into:

A. On one wall, he has put his foot down that he will not compromise one millionth of an inch.  No how.  No way.  He even rejected a compromise by one of his own Republican senators.

B. On the other wall, the pressure has been mounting for him to concede something.  Let's count the ways:

1. Thousands upon thousand of protesters at the state capitol since last Tuesday.  We are on day 10 of protests.
2. Thousands of protesters nation-wide standing in solidarity with Wisconsin public workers.
3.  National polls say that over 60% of the public would oppose legislation going after collective bargaining rights.
4. The fourteen Democrat senators left the state to stall the vote.
5. Indiana governor Daniels (R) said that this year is not the year to go after unions.
6. The Indiana Republican senators who introduced anti-union legislation have now rescinded the legislation (well, I guess only part of it).  That happened at noon today.
7. Florida governor Scott (R) said that unions are fine as long as the intentions are good.
8. Studies have shown that the Wisconsin budget and pension system are doing just fine, even "healthy."  These were reported in earlier posts and comments.
9. If Walker lays off anyone, there will be such an uproar that Australia will hear it.
10. Walker was punked by Angry Beast.  A guy posed as one of the Koch brothers and Walker revealed a slimy plan to get the state Democrats back into sessions by saying that he will talk with the minority leader.  But while he is "talking" to the leader, the Republican senators will vote through the budget repair bill as is.
11.  It has been revealed that Walker is in bed with the Koch brothers.
And there are more, but this will suffice for now.

So what do you think Walker will do?  How will this all end?  Concessions, major layoffs, riots, jello wars??????  Let's hear your predictions.

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (by anon)

I can't help it.  Please post this.  My brain is exploding about this Walker and his fucking supporters.  This shit has got to stop!!!!!

Tea Party shits are saying "The gravy train is over" and airhead Palin says that we, the people getting screwed by Walker, must be "willing to make sacrifices." OOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!  Did she really say that?  The buffoon who quit her job to make gagillions in speaking engagements and the like is telling me, a hard working underpaid teacher, to make sacrifices.  WTF

"Gravy train"???  What gravy train?  Was there one and I missed it?  No.  There was no gravy train for us teachers.  There isn't one now.  How the hell does this misinformation get out there?

Walker says that the state is in a fiscal crisis.  He says that we are "broke."  WE'RE NOT.  Read the studies that say we have been getting much better.  He didn't need to do anything.  Oh, but he did decide to give businesses 140 million in tax breaks this January.  And now we, the teachers and the nurses and others, have to shoulder the cost.

And what really gets me is that the vast majority of the teachers and nurses in Wisconsin are WOMEN!!  Yes, Walker is doing nothing short than shitting on women to get big tax breaks for all his business buddies.  Oh, but he'll give some concessions to the fire and police departments - and their mostly men!!  How is this not backdoor sexism?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!???

Sorry.  I had to get that out somewhere.

Frustrated-Beyond-Belief

Is Walker in bed with the Koch brothers? (by anon)

Schools are closed, people are starting to arrive. They are everywhere.  I see a few Whitewater purple.  So what is this mess really about?  Ever heard of the Koch bros? These two dudes are some bad mothers in Republican circles. They got the juice to make it happen.

Wisconsin Is a Battleground Against the Billionaire Kochs' Plan to Break Labor's Back.

The war on Wisconsin employees isn't just about the budget or Wisconsin: Koch toady Gov. Walker is just one soldier in the billionaire's offensive to kill labor.   

Make no mistake about it, the right wing billionaire Koch bros are running this show.

Exerts from the piece on AlterNet on the Koch brothers and Scott Walker. Read the full story and make up your own mind.  

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The fact is, Walker is carrying out the wishes of his corporate master, David Koch, who calls the tune these days for Wisconsin Republicans. Walker is just one among many Wisconsin Republicans supported by Koch Industries -- run by David Koch and his brother, Charles -- and Americans For Prosperity, the astroturf group founded and funded by David Koch. The Koch brothers are hell-bent on destroying the labor movement once and for all.

During his election campaign, Walker received the maximum $15,000 contribution from Koch Industries, according to Think Progress, and support worth untold hundreds of thousands from the Koch-funded astroturf group, Americans For Prosperity. AlterNet recently reported the role of Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and Americans For Prosperity in a vote-caging scheme apparently designed to suppress the votes of African-Americans and college students in Milwaukee. In 2008, Walker served as emcee for an awards ceremony held by Americans For Prosperity. There, he conferred the "Defender of the American Dream" award on Rep. Paul Ryan, now chairman of the House Budget Committee. 

Although headquartered in Kansas, Koch Industries has at least 17 facilities and offices in Wisconsin (by my rough count of facilities and companies noted on the Koch Industries "Wisconsin Facts" page), and operates "nearly 4,000 miles of pipeline" through its Koch Pipeline Company, L.P. Which may account for Wisconsin's evolution into the Midwest Frontier Province of Kochistan. The conglomerate boasts "four terminals and strategically located pipelines" through its Flint Hills Resources, LLC, which it describes as "a leading refining and chemicals company" that markets "gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol, olefins, polymers and intermediate chemicals, as well as base oils and asphalt."

By the way, another darling of the Koch Bros is Paul Ryan from Janesville.

Another piece on the fake budget crisis. 

WI Governor's Fake Budget Crisis: Gave Tax Breaks to Wal-Mart to Cloak His Real Agenda -- Union Busting

I have been attending the rallies, watching the coverage, reading the blogs and comments and come to the conclusion that most people don't know the true horror of this bill.  I have come to set the record straight particularly when I saw a Front Page Diary here on Daily Kos that, again, talks about this bill only affecting state workers.  

There is no fiscal crisis in Wisconsin.  Governor Walker reports a nearly 130 million dollar deficit, but doesn't report that he caused it by giving a 140 million dollar tax break to large multinational corporations here in Wisconsin (e.g. WalMart).  However, this cover story gives him an excuse to do the unthinkable.

The time is now (by anon)

Comrades:

Over the past month, I have read the comments and you are pissed by everything from pissing on the toilet seats to bad core classes, meaningful, but not that significant in the broader framework. Now is the time for you to put bitching on this blog and join us in the street. This is how Egypt started, in the streets, and Mubarak is gone. Lets send the dictator Scott Walker a message, loud and clear, back off fool. This is the epic center of protest politics in the US. If we fail, other states, Ohio, where that other idiot is governor, will fall, then the GOP will go after the Federal Unions. We must stand against Walker and his lap dogs. You cannot rely on UW System and the crony chancellors. They are afraid of losing their cushy high paying gigs. Not a single chancellor has endorsed the protests against Walker. Faculty, staff, and students at University of Wisconsin Madison will walk out of class today to protest at the Capitol. Spread the word, close down Whitewater by walking out of class and join us in Madison. The time is now. The place is Madison. The school teachers are leading the way. They have called in sick and the entire Madison School District had to cancel classes. All power to the people. By the way, just so you are aware of it, Walker and the crony chancellors and president are working together to establish a two tiered university system, with Madison on top and the rest of the campuses in the pig sty. This plan will be presented next week. There may even be name changes. The University of Wisconsin Whitewater may become Whitewater State University or Whitewater U, or David Katchel University. There will be a single University of Wisconsin and it will be at Madison.  So put on your Mao jackets or Che berets and march.

The time is now.

OMG! This just in: South Dakota moves to legalize killing abortion providers - HOWEVER that may not be entirely correct... (by Critically Pissed)

Is this for real?  Someone pinch me.  Here's today's story from Kate Sheppard of the Mother Jones blog:

But please see the update below the original text...

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A law under consideration in South Dakota would expand the definition of "justifiable homicide" to include killings that are intended to prevent harm to a fetus -- a move that could make it legal to kill doctors who perform abortions. The Republican-backed legislation, House Bill 1171, has passed out of committee on a nine-to-three party-line vote, and is expected to face a floor vote in the state's GOP-dominated House of Representatives soon.

The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Phil Jensen, a committed foe of abortion rights, alters the state's legal definition of justifiable homicide by adding language stating that a homicide is permissible if committed by a person "while resisting an attempt to harm" that person's unborn child or the unborn child of that person's spouse, partner, parent, or child. If the bill passes, it could in theory allow a woman's father, mother, son, daughter, or husband to kill anyone who tried to provide that woman an abortion -- even if she wanted one. 

link to full story: http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/south-dakota-hb-1171-legalize-killing-abortion-providers

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Ok, now I don't know if you are for abortion or against abortion, but this is crazy!  When the morality/immorality of abortion is still up for grabs in the public arena, how can legislators decide that it is justifiable to kill someone about to perform an abortion!?  I mean, come on, that even involves premeditation!  It will be legislation like this that makes the crazies lick their chops.

UPDATE: After this story broke, lawmakers had to clarify precisely what was going on.  The bill is supposed to be about protecting the fetus in cases where someone is beating the mother or performing some other "illegal" act that would harm the fetus.  Since abortion is legal in SD, the bill is not supposed to be about abortion at all.  I guess the bill was changed to reflect that more clearly than the version released earlier.  Some remain skeptical about what the intent behind the bill is since many Republicans in the past five years have tried to make abortion outright illegal.  Your call.

When doing right is wrong (by anon)

Last semester my roommate was found guilty for violating the alcohol policies in the dorms. He was forced to attend several LIT programs that revolved around the dangers of underage drinking and I went along with him just for the sake of it. While we were there they had us role play scenarios of how drinking can negatively affect us and our friends based off our past experiences and at the end they asked us what we learned from it. I thought this was ridiculous because there was absolutely nothing to learn since everything we did was based off our own experiences. No one learned anything from anyone else because everyone made a huge mockery out of it since we were being treated as if we were 10 years old. Now I understood the whole point they were trying to get through to us so I kept my mouth shut, but what really pissed me off was when they gave us guidelines on how to drink safely. One of these guidelines was "every time you drink have a designated sober person to keep a safe eye on things". I agree with that for most part but the reason it pissed me off was because my roommate WAS that sober person keeping an eye on things. Yet he still got in just as much trouble as everyone who was drinking underage. After it was all over, the LIT group offered everyone snacks and drinks while they were being shown how to play soda pong, which sounds very similar to beer pong but don't get the two mixed up, they are VERY different. What kind of message does this send? They teach us to do the right things yet we will still get in trouble for doing it. They talk about the problems that co-exist with alcohol and they want to see it all disappear but realizing this is impossible, they created programs to guide students in the right direction. Guiding students to be safer around alcohol is a good thing, but don't prosecute us when we do so.

Walker's walking all over us! The sky is darkening. (a letter)

This is a letter from Bryan Kennedy on Gov. Walker's recent proposal on the state budget.............
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Dear AFT-Wisconsin member,

It is a dark day for our state.

In a move that unravels over 50 years of labor peace in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker announced to legislators today that he intends to end collective bargaining in Wisconsin. Under his proposal:

• Public employee unions would be allowed to negotiate only on wages.
• Increases in wages for public employees would be capped at the consumer price index, and locals would have to go to referendum to exceed those limits.
• Public employee unions could no longer require dues, and employers could not collect them.
• State employees would be required to contribute 5 percent of their pay to their pension
• State employees would be required to pay 12 percent of their health care costs
• Faculty and academic staff in the UW System would lose their right to collectively bargain
  

This proposal is as shocking as it is outrageous. Although Scott Walker has been in office for only six weeks and has never engaged state workers or our unions in a conversation about concessions, he has determined that, as a system, collective bargaining in Wisconsin is broken.

In the collective bargaining agreements that Walker lobbied against in December, state employees agreed to over $100 million in concessions. Public employees have sent the message that we are reasonable and open to discussing shared sacrifice and improving our state’s economy; the response from this administration has been to eviscerate our most basic right as workers: our right to collectively bargain.

The challenges we face are grim, but now is not the time to panic: it is time to stand together as Wisconsin public employees and taxpayers, and fight back! That’s how the labor movement was built in this country, and it is the only way we can persevere.

Yours in the union,

Bryan Kennedy

Change and Struggle (a double post by two anons)

Why do people have to constantly fear change? don't you realize that with change we grow stronger. if we fear what improves us... how are we suppose to be anything relevant? So i ask you... are you for change or are you for sticking to the old ways? i for one will embrace change. sure i will be a little cautious and uncertain but i won't reject it. i feel as if everyone would grow stronger through change. if we all stop being stubborn and if we all stop being so self centered, we may actually be something in our lives. who really wants to slide through it like its a free ride? life isn't meant to be easy, and that's what so many people are trying to make it. life is suppose to have rough patches. life is suppose to change us through experiences. it seems as though this has been taken away from us, as if we just glide on through now. its all a straight line from beginning to end. well, i for one want some mountains in the way. i want obstacles, i want to be challenged. i want life to be a surprise journey that teaches me something each and every second. otherwise, what am i doing here but being a mime like everyone else? break free and be your own person, show the world you believe in something more, something that we have been pushing away. show the world that change is the way it should be. 

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Life is hard but that doesn't mean that things won't get better. People go through struggles everyday and have to face all kinds of obstacles. It's good not to give up when times get hard and rough because it shows strength and makes you a stronger person. The strong will survive and the weak will eventually die off because they don't have the courage to face what life throws at them so they become victims of life an become depressed and eventually desist.  But if you can face a challenge and make it through you become stronger and wise because you would have the experience and be able to tell about how it affected you and how people should never give up.

Greatest mind, greatest downfall (by anon)

There is no doubt about it; humans are the smartest species to roam the earth. Our brains have developed far beyond that of any other animal or insect. This is why we are special, very special. With our brain we have developed what we are today: society, language, materials, and thoughts. Our range of knowledge today is way beyond that of all the knowledge a hundred years ago. Think of how big of space you would need to contain all the information that there is on the web. The  monumental amount of information is nearly impossible to wrap your mind around. But my question to you is this: Is all this knowledge for the better? Or could it be that our mind is actually our greatest downfall?

Have we come to the point where the knowledge we know could lead to total destruction of the entire ecosystem. Are we, ourselves, the ones that are going to cause death among the human race? The advance in nuclear warfare is scary to think about. At any moment, the world could get wrapped up in a nuclear war that could wipe out all the major cities. The radiation would later affect nearly everyone and cause cancer in most. But not only is there nuclear warfare, there is also biological warfare. This is where scientists in labs can create viruses and diseases that could easily spread and kill billions of people. Are we proud of the point to which we have come to? What happened to loving one another?

It is sad to see that we find ourselves hating our own species. Why do we  discriminate against those who have 23 chromosomes just like you? So I ask again, is our mind actually our greatest downfall?

DO CARE, DON'T CARE in the classroom (by anon)

From a prof on the Huffington Post (1/27)

With the recent huff over college students not learning a darn thing (45% Of Students Don't Learn Much In College), I figured it was time to offer what goes on in the mind of a college professor. This is what I care about and don't care about in class:

1. DON'T CARE if your cell phone goes off, as long as I get to answer it. These days, I'm having trouble distinguishing incoming calls from texts. Droid!

2. DO CARE when you distract other students. This coming from someone who as a college freshman once launched a mini toy helicopter which circled the classroom and soft crashed on his professor's head. I was surprised and relieved that the professor didn't get all Cornell prof on me.

3. DON'T CARE if you text or surf the web in class (except during exams). Show me that you are a multi-tasker, especially if I have nothing relevant or funny to offer.

4. DO CARE that you view writing as a craft (not as a "spell check" exercise). True story: In a legal document, an attorney asked the judge for a delay in his case because he was undergoing a delicate medical procedure on his back: Disk surgery. However, he mistakenly typed a different four letter word that looked like DISK, inserting an unfortunate "C" rather than the needed "S." Spell check won't catch that!

5. DON'T CARE if you make fun of my New York accent. My contracts class still doesn't know if I was referring to a pawn shop or a porn shop.

6. DO CARE that you take critical thinking exercises seriously. It's more important for you to think your way out of a legal dilemma than to remember that incorporeal hereditament is an inchoate or intangible right.

7. DON'T CARE if you walk in late or fall asleep in class. I will always give you the benefit of the doubt when you show up -- that you got stuck in traffic or just pulled a graveyard shift at work.

8. DO CARE that you get the job done. Just like in the real world, showing up for exams and meeting deadlines are critical -- except in emergency situations, detailed in the exam question below.

Finally, your professors really do care that you studied something meaningful in college. Years from now, hopefully you'll be able to look back fondly on a time when our expectation was for you to laugh hard and learn a lot.

My Additions to the Prof's list:

9. DON'T CARE if you cut class occasionally.  Just come up for air from time to time.

10. DO CARE if you never come to class and complain about your grade.  Never come to class, then it is what it is!
11. DO CARE if you complain to your mommy bout something that was said in class. Grow up!
12. DO CARE if you try to hog class discussions.  You are not the prof so don't hog the conversation.
13. DO CARE if you ask class related questions after the class has ended.  As you question in class when other students can benefit. from the answer.
14. DO CARE if you criticize them for their appearance.  Hey, profs are not GQ material so leave em alone in this department. The gut begins to expand with age.
15. DO CARE if you come to class with revealing clothes. Hide your stuff, it can be very distracting, even for the profs, who are not completely over the hill.
16. DON'T CARE if your lap top is open during class.   Profs are not stupid, they know you are checking out Face Book.
17. DO CARE if you send them an email. Especially if you compliment them on giving a nice lecture.  Everyone likes to feel wanted.
18. DO CARE that you don't take any of this bullshit too serious.   Take what you can use, discard the rest of the crap.

Texting and Headphone Legislation (by Stoicao)

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/two-states-considering-outlawing-texting-while-walking/

Texting and driving being illegal? I get you there. But texting while walking receiving the same fate? Insanity. Not being able to listen to your iPod on or near a road? Insanity as well. As if state senators didn’t already have enough to worry about, now a select few want to put a ban on texting while walking, and listening to music while walking or biking. Violators would face a $100 fine if caught in the act of one of these heinous crimes. How can this possibly be dangerous to anyone surrounding  someone doing these things? The answer is it can’t. It boggles my mind how people like this get elected into a governmental position. Why don’t they go ahead and ban eating, talking, and thinking while walking while they are at it? Forget about a potential murder happening in an area of high crime, let’s keep X amount of police officers on patrol near the city’s biggest crosswalks to ensure nobody is texting or listening to music while crossing the street. Good thinking government. It is no wonder why they never get anything done these days. Everyone is trying to pass petty laws to make a name for themselves, even if they will be largely ridiculed for doing so. It is getting out of hand.

UWW Faculty Union. Yea or Nay?

Alright folks, weigh in.  As comments in the last post indicate, there's talk of a faculty union here at UWW.  Care to give an argument in favor of it?  Care to give a rant against it?  For all of us sitting on the fence (faculty or students), convince us to go one way or the other.

The Teacher's Union, Doing More Harm Than Good (by anon)

The Teacher's Union right now is completely useless.  The only thing that the Union is doing is protecting the teachers who have been teaching for far too long and lost their spirit.  Teaching is a profession where passion is incredibly important.  There is nothing worse than sitting in a classroom where the teacher or professor doesn't have the passion for what they are doing anymore and are just doing it for the paycheck.  When a teacher doesn't enjoy what they are doing it shows in the way they teach.  In my opinion the best teachers have always been the one that love their subject and what they are doing.  This then get put back into the classroom and makes learning easier and more enjoyable.  It reminds me of one of my high school math teachers.  She was a teacher there when my brother and sister went to high school, even when one of my friends parents went to high school.  She was well past retirement age, not saying that that is a reason to retire, but it was clear that she couldn't connect to the students anymore.  Once you lose that, you lose the students attention and it is almost impossible to get anything out of the class.

The other problem I have is that the union is making it almost impossible for new teachers to find a job.  The Union Protects the teachers who have been at a school for a long time and does nothing for ones who have been teaching for a year or two.  I saw this first hand when my sister lost her job as a K4 teacher at a Milwaukee Public School.  The school told her she may not have a job at the start of the next year, then they change their mind.  The next year then the same thing happen, she was told she may not have a job next year.  After months go by, they tell her she has her job back in August...only problem is she already accepted another job after be concerned she may be out of a job all summer.  She talked to the union about it, which she had been paying dues to be a part of over these 2 years and they did nothing.  It is terrible how many new, passionate, teachers are out there and can't find jobs.  It is to the point where I myself am considering changing majors over this problem since I concerned I will not be able to find a job when I graduate.

Just wondering what other people think about the issue...