Quote of Note

"We must close union offices, confiscate their money and put their leaders in prison. We must reduce workers salaries and take away their
right to strike." Adolf Hitler, May 2, 1933

On Tuesday, Republicans plan to move on with business as usual in hopes that they can put the pressure on their exiled Democratic colleagues to return. As long as the self-described “Wisconsin 14” remain in Illinois, they cannot be dragged back to the Capitol by the sergeant-at-arms.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49919.html#ixzz1FLjtKZSj

The protests have drawn national attention from the left and the right. The liberal group ActBlue has now raised more than $300,000 from nearly 12,000 donors for the Wisconsin Senate Democrats since they fled the state, and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) sent a fundraising appeal to his supporters as well.

And it’s not lost on either side that the nation’s most visible policy stalemate is unfolding in one of its most historically progressive states, particularly when it comes to matters of labor.

Wisconsin was the first state to provide its employees with collective bargaining rights, which Walker now seeks to eliminate. It was also the first state to institute workmen’s compensation. And the “Wisconsin Idea” was the primordial soup for Social Security, which was authored by two former faculty members at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49919.html#ixzz1FLkRJHVZ