February 20, 2011

"Hold the space! We need more people sleeping the night."

A sign in the rotunda of the Wisconsin Capitol building...

P1070025

... where anti-Scott Walker protests continue. (Enlarge.)

I talked to one of the security guards, who said that people were sleeping in the Capitol overnight. The doors are locked at a particular time, but people are not cleared out of the building.

99 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh, goody! A sit-in!

Can't wait for the "Hey, hey, ho, ho, election results gotta go".

This is why the 60s are not the Good Old Days.

rhhardin said...

Round beds should be perfect in a rotunda, if feng shui has anything to do with it.

A public employee union needs positive energy.

Harsh Pencil said...

I don't get it. On normal days doesn't the building close and everyone has to leave? Do they let homeless people sleep there every night?

I doubt it. Most likely the Capitol security is worried about violence if they try to evict them.

Marvelous. So now it's ok to commandeer the public's monuments if you are really really upset.

Sharc 65 said...

Did you bring your sleeping bag?

Seriously, you're providing a very significant service, professor. I'm not seeing these details anywhere else.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jeff said...

Uh-oh. Given the trashed state of the capital lawn after their demonstrations, I can scarcely imagine what the restrooms will look like in the morning. "Bummer, man, at Yasgur's farm at least we had a mud hole."

JAL said...

Meanwhile Egypt is going down the tubes. Or to hell in a handbasket. Whichever you prefer.

While BHO has been rallying his troops to Madison.

Nice.

/s

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Please, God.....let the 60's mentality, protests are cool mantra and hippie sit in demonstrations for.... whatever....just effing die.

And I say that as a flower child of the 60's.

When are we ever going to let the grownups be in charge and take away the candy. WHEN?

Big Mike said...

Now if I were Governor Walker, I'd have security lock the doors to the rest rooms when they lock up for the night.

BJM said...

@Harsh

I don't know about WI, but in CA Capitol security is a divison of the state police, also union members.

chickelit said...

Most likely the Capitol security is worried about violence if they try to evict them.

More likely Capitol security is sympathetic. I'll bet it smells like a crippled Cannibal Cruise Ship in there.

JAL said...

So if the doors are locked does that not violate the fire code?

Not to mention the number of people inside?

Marilee said...

Is it true that when the local tea party was there last yeay and the democrats were in charge, they were not allowed in the capital? Also read that no signs were allowed there.
Can anyone confirm or deny???

Trooper York said...

How dare they sleep in the rotunda.

They should be sleeping in your class for crying out loud!!!!!!

MadisonMan said...

I suspect they're locked so you can't enter. You can always leave a building.

Big Mike (or, for this comment, I'll call you BM): I think closing restrooms would have a very negative effect on the Capitol. The Governor loses nothing by being patient.

Marilee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chennaul said...

Is everyone missing -

the big orange man-

on the protester's shirt to the right?

Gawd.

Palladian said...

Wow, look, the strain of being President sure has caused Obama some wrinkles.

Trooper York said...

MadisonMan Phd said.......
Big Mike (or, for this comment, I'll call you BM): I think closing restrooms would have a very negative effect on the Capitol. The Governor loses nothing by being patient.

He loses the upper hand if he makes it any easier for these douchenozzles.
Lock the bathrooms and they either have to leave to go to a gas station or they will do what they are doing to the State of Wisconsin.....fouling their own nest.

Marilee said...

yeay=year ofcourse
capital=capitol
Sheesh! Next thing you know, I'll be accused of being an ignorant conservative.

Palladian said...

"Is everyone missing -

the big orange man-

on the protester's shirt to the right?"

It confirms my suspicions: if you were able to look inside Barack Obama, you'd find a scrawny white college girl.

Trooper York said...

Youse guys don't understand. The President has replaced Ben Grimm in the next Fantastic Four Movie.

It is a law that he has to be in everything all the time.

Trooper York said...

Next he is going to be living with Sponge Bob Square Pants in a Pineapple under the Sea.

Trooper York said...

Of course he will have turned it into Section 8 housing.

Ann Althouse said...

There is absolutely no bad smell.

Jason said...

I cant wait to see the pictures of the faces in there once that bill is passed.

How many crying women are the TV networks going to fawn all over?

Kirby Olson said...

I still don't know what this event is about. I can't wait til it's over.

Why is everybody breaking the law over there?

Just pass the law and then follow it.

Chennaul said...

Palladian


It confirms my suspicions: if you were able to look inside Barack Obama, you'd find a scrawny white college girl.

LOL!

*************************
Troop


Who knew there were friggin' Ulster-ists in WI.

Chennaul said...

Oooh! The Big Orange Man maybe he can save us!

iftheshoefits said...

Remember what they've said about the 60's anti-war protests, that most of the guys were there mainly to meet chicks. From what I'm seeing and reading, I bet that's the main activity going on at this point on a holiday weekend evening...

Throw 'em out on their asses, for pete's sake.

Chennaul said...

The AP lies!
They reported it was beginning to smell like a locker room.

Maybe you haven't been there while the yoga class is in session.

MadisonMan said...

Troop, the problem is that 'their nest' is the People's Nest. I think everyone in WI will agree that the Capitol is an extremely beautiful building and deserves extra care and to keep it that way. If that means letting people use the restrooms overnight, I'm fine with that.

I was happy to learn that the Building was closed, however, when the Daughter wanted to spend the night there last friday. She went down for a bit and came back and reported there were a lot of middle aged male drunks.

Trooper York said...

Ann Althouse said...
There is absolutely no bad smell.

Well just wait till Garage shows up with the road kill sandwiches.

Trooper York said...

MadisonMan Phd said...
She went down for a bit and came back and reported there were a lot of middle aged male drunks"

Now, now MadisonMan you are smart guy.
Those people are called teachers.

Trooper York said...

Ann Althouse said...
There is absolutely no bad smell.

Well did you stand next to Jesse Jackson?

I bet you could smell musk oil, hair pomade and graft. Just sayn'

Anonymous said...

"Hold the space! We need more people sleeping the night"

Is this all a plot of Z! Haukness in order to get squatter's rights to the capitol building?

Calypso Facto said...

I developed this in a previous thread, where madawaskan suggested I bring it forward:

A little talked about aspect of the teachers’ benefits debate has been the use of the WEA Trust for health insurance for most of the school districts in the state. WEA is a creation and affiliate of the teachers’ union WEAC. WEAC attempts to negotiate mandatory use of the WEA service in its district contracts. In return, WEA kicks back a “marketing fee” to the union (or at least that’s the assumption—WEA refuses to open its books to disclose the mechanism). Nice little side game action for the teachers union.

The Journal Sentinel reported last fall that wherever districts allow a WEA monopoly, health insurance costs $200 more per insured per month than where there’s competition. WEA covers 160,000 Wisconsin teachers, so the annual cost to Wisconsin taxpayers is more than $300 million. $300 million a year of pure union graft.

So tell me who’s being wronged again by limiting union negotiating power?

Anonymous said...

Ummm, so what's wrong with musk oil?

JAL said...

Ann Althouse said...
There is absolutely no bad smell.

Not yet.

Give them another 10 hours.

SteveR said...

I read an AP story which quoted a UW Grad Sudent that was in a Teaching Assistants Union. You have to be kidding me, a union for TAs? That's embarrassing.

Chennaul said...

Calypso-

Hopefully that gets more coverage.

I'm long distance trying to figure out if I should get my son out of China. Kind of had a weird false sart there but I'm worried about that.

As soon as I'm done I'm going to try to propagate that at a few other blogs if Althouse is uncomfortable postingit

Dan from Madison said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dan from Madison said...

I was there last night. The bathrooms were remarkably clean. There is no stench as Ann said.

The noise was insane. Most of the noise makers were college kids and dead enders. It was sort of sad. I will post some video and photos of my own in the next few days.

Chip Ahoy said...

It's all fun and games until a few Legionella bacteria circulate through the ventilation system then it's the Playboy mansion all over again.

Anonymous said...

"I doubt it. Most likely the Capitol security is worried about violence if they try to evict them."

No, most likely the Capital security is empowering these criminals to trespass.

If you or I did it, we'd be arrested; but they won't be arrested because the police are in on the scam.

Laws are for you and me to follow. Not them. They're above the law.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Lol. That Trooper.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Can't Chip Chop take a break from serving cocktails and appetizers around the blog and offer to tidy up the restrooms a bit? We'll require him to wash his hands before he returns to baking goodies for the commentariat so everything's all right.

KCFleming said...

@MadisonMan said...
"She went down for a bit and came back and reported there were a lot of middle aged male drunks"

But I thought the Dem senators went to Rockford.

MadisonMan said...

You have to be kidding me, a union for TAs?

My vague recollection is that it formed in the mid 80s. I was a grad student then, and as you might imagine, the impetus for forming the TAA came from the liberal arts side of campus.

I believe there was a strike at some point, and health insurance was granted for TAs with a percent appt exceeding 33% (where 50% is a full time assistantship). Most of the professors -- even in my science-y field where money was flowing like crazy from grants -- actually liked that as it made attracting grad students a lot easier. UW historically has undercompeted on TA/RA wages, so to add a benefit like health insurance was competitive.

MadisonMan said...

Re: The drunks. One of the homeless shelters is in the Episcopal Church on the Square, across the street from the Capitol, so that's the reason for their presence on the square. And the Capitol is open to all -- not sure when it "usually" closes -- and it's a warm building on a cold night (or even day), and there are plenty of those in WI, though not lately.

Blogger Account said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Calypso Facto said...

madawaskan: sounds like the China protests wound down almost before they started. Hopefully your son encounters no trouble...

Anonymous said...

Prof.: A word here. The WI protests, the House GOP cuts, the Egypt's peaceful transition, etc. all lead to one conclusion:

Obama/Biden defeat GOP in 2012.

It is over for the GOP. I thought they would last till Jan. 2012. But, they are finished in Feb. 2011.

MayBee said...

I wonder if CREW will demand people sleeping in the Capitol pay taxes on their lodging benefit.

Phil 314 said...

There is absolutely no bad smell.

Smells like teen spirit.

PaulV said...

Am politico, How much money did you lose on your 2010 election bets, or did you bet on Rs?

WV: rater Are you a rat(er) or a rate(r)?

Kirby Olson said...

It seems the left just wants to Thoreau any law that they don't like into the garbage pail. They won't honor any laws or lawmakers other than their own.

Phil 314 said...

With the lights out, it's less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
i feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us

Chennaul said...

Calypso

Ya I think so-really cannot get any news out of there.

In China he had not heard of Egypt, Libya but he was in the process of moving into his new apartment in a different city.

Get this the state department does not have a travel advisory up for any other country except Egypt and Haiti.

Anyways

Hopefully just maybe Althouse can do something with that.

m stone said...

Of course, an alternative is for the governor to cave and withdraw the bill. And then the consequence is to lay off a few thousand public employees, no legislation required, I believe.

Great choice facing the protesters.

Jason said...

"It seems the left just wants to Thoreau any law that they don't like into the garbage pail. They won't honor any laws or lawmakers other than their own."
-------------------------

"Compromise" is a word you never hear when a Democrat is in power, but its a word you hear a million times a day from a Democrat in the minority.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Maybee:
That was a brilliant comment. But probably went over the heads of most here.

bagoh20 said...

I object to the use of the term "douchenozzles" here. A douchnozzle is a useful device that generally leaves a place cleaner than it found it. These protesters have no such functionality.

Chennaul said...

Get this just tried to post it in the appropriate thread at NRO and it's telling me that

WEA might be a naughty word.

I'm trying to write out the acronyms.

oy.

MayBee said...

Calypso- good job with that. Thanks for pulling it together.

Peano said...

The people who proclaim the death of the Reagan Era are trying to revive the 1960s. Don't you just love irony?

I'm sure Our Professor feels twinges of nostalgia. But trust me, erstwhile hippie, the times they aren't a-changing in that direction. Not now.

Unknown said...

It does seem like a revival--but it's DOA.

They should not be inside the building.

galdosiana said...

This just in: Madison Public Schools are closed AGAIN tomorrow (Monday, Feb. 21) due to excessive teacher absences.

That's a total of four days straight now.

Chennaul said...

MayBee

Could you post it at Just One Minute....

I still miss PeterUK and I'm still protesting something that happened over there.

He was sooo funny and he had such historical/political depth of knowledge.

*****************************************

I just posted it at NRO but it isn't appearing. I mailed it to Costa.

Big Mike said...

@galdosiana, are you certain that they wouldn't have been closed anyway, for President's Day?

@MadMan, I was being facetious, of course. I don't think it's quite correct to say that Governor Walker has nothing at risk if he maintains his patience, but the risks appear low from here.

m stone said...

Public schools in Wisconsin are required to provide 180 days of instruction. Madison schools can cancel all they want. They'll make it up in June, long after this is over.

MadisonMan said...

Madison schools can cancel all they want. They'll make it up in June, long after this is over.

I'm hoping -- and my kids are too -- that Spring break is cancelled.

We're supposed to have a break on Friday -- teacher's convention. I wonder if that'll be cancelled?

Triangle Man said...

@Calypso

200x160,000=32,000,000

Still, interesting if true.

galdosiana said...

Big Mike said...
@galdosiana, are you certain that they wouldn't have been closed anyway, for President's Day?


Yes, they were planning on having school tomorrow. Here's the update from NBC15:

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/Madison_Schools_Prepare_For_Staff_Absences_116265614.html

Elliott A said...

If the teachers are not truly sick, they should be fired,as would anyone in private industry who called in sick to go to a demonstration. All over the country, there are good teachers who want to teach who have been furloughed due to local budgets. Plenty of them would be happy to move to Wisconsin and teach since the current teachers do not take their job very seriously, and they do. Last I looked, this is not a strike and all of the absent teachers are AWOL.

Calypso Facto said...

That's per month, TM. 10 or 12 times that per year.

Joan said...

Monday here is a scheduled day off for Presidents' Day. Is that not true for WI? I thought it was a federal holiday.

Freeman Hunt said...

Like camping out for Black Friday sales. Except here you're not camping out for discounts, you're camping out for thousands of dollars of other people's money. Much more motivating, I would think.

Chennaul said...

TriangleMan

$200 per month so

200 X 12=2,400

So 2,400 X 160,000

Wait holy hell that can't be right.

*********************************

Son gets me on gmail chat a s soon as he typed "jasmine" the damn thing went dead.

Chennaul said...

I mailed it to Instapundit...

Posted at Wizbang but that place has died after the PoliPundit civil war.

NRO also thought that the "hyphen" was dirty.

What ever.

Anonymous said...

Who's been sleeping here?

Hell, at least it ain't that waaaayover-referenced other tune.

galdosiana said...

Joan said...
Monday here is a scheduled day off for Presidents' Day. Is that not true for WI? I thought it was a federal holiday.

It must be a district thing here. Milwaukee already had the day off, but Madison did not. They are even announcing the closing on their website as being due to the protest. (http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/)

Chennaul said...

And Ace is busy rending his close and burning all of his Mark Rubio posters so...

Chennaul said...

Gawd I don't want to believe the number we're coming up with but obviously Triangle Man missed the "word problem" aspect.

Anonymous said...

PaulV

GOP RIP.

Nov. 2012 will be a disaster for the GOP in all states. Losing the WH, losing the majority, losing more seats i Senate, losing the state houses.

The GOP will want to leave the USA after Nov. 2012!

GOP Rest in Peace (if you can)

NB: There is a scene in Casablanca: There are no miracles as the GOP has no leadership (paraphrase)

SteveR said...

Madison Man. thanks for the explanation. I was in Grad School mid 80s in Texas and that would have never happened. I was science but still. Not having good pay and benefits was incentive to finish and get in the real workforce. Grad scool shouldn't be something easy.

Calypso Facto said...

Joan, WI schools are mostly either/or with MLK Day or Presidents. Madison took off MLK so was scheduled for class on Presidents.

Madawaskan: Any wonder people in the US are worried about the Internet kill switch some members of Congress in THIS country want? Good luck getting back in touch.

Chennaul said...

Thanks. Calypso.

Yep it went out like a light as soon as he typed it.

I'm getting 3.84 million if it's all twelve months so your estimate is on the conservative side.

I thought of John Fund's article at WSJ but there is no way he's going to notice it in comments.

There are up to 500 plus comments over there.

I think this is really getting people mad.

Peter V. Bella said...

Oh my, the great unwashed. The stench must be awesome. The stench of their BO and the stench of their hypocrisy.

Calypso Facto said...

It's either $320 million or $384 million a year madawaskan. I just don't know if the numbers used by the Journal Sentinel were for a 10 month or 12 month insurance payment schedule.

galdosiana said...

MadisonMan said...
I believe there was a strike at some point, and health insurance was granted for TAs with a percent appt exceeding 33% (where 50% is a full time assistantship). Most of the professors -- even in my science-y field where money was flowing like crazy from grants -- actually liked that as it made attracting grad students a lot easier. UW historically has undercompeted on TA/RA wages, so to add a benefit like health insurance was competitive.

This is exactly right. I'm currently in the TAA--automatically enrolled because I'm a TA. Last year I paid a total of $170 for my health coverage (including chiropractic, dental, all health, with no copays except for the ER), and I paid $206 in union dues, which were automatically subtracted from my paycheck. Basically, the health care costs me $15.50 per month. Under Walker's bill, that will increase to roughly $42.00. All of my colleagues seem to think this is atrocious, but I have to keep reminding them that they are getting top-of-the-line, full-time benefits for working a part-time job.

Peter V. Bella said...

American Politico,

You are a horse's anal sphincter. No brains and all horseshit.

MayBee said...

galdosiana - are you 26 or under? Does having insurance available through work make you ineligible to be covered by your parents?

ps. No copays?

galdosiana said...

MayBee said...
galdosiana - are you 26 or under? Does having insurance available through work make you ineligible to be covered by your parents?

ps. No copays?


Just over that age mark, but when I started working here a few years ago I was able to be on my parents' insurance until I got my own, so I'm assuming it's still the same now.

And yeah, absolutely no copays except for the ER, which for my insurance is at 60%. My insurance even covered my visits to the travel nurse, where I was able to get several immunizations before going abroad. All for free. These are the statistics that no one reports!

MayBee said...

Thanks galdosiana. That is amazing coverage.
Interesting, because President Obama has talked about getting our health care spending down but seems to support unions with that kind of coverage.

I hate to keep asking you questions, but do you know if UW offers students health insurance? (I know the UC schools do. It's about $300-$400/quarter)

galdosiana said...

Yes, there is student health insurance, called SHIP. I've never looked into it because of my own coverage, but if you're interested the main page for it is here: http://www.uhs.wisc.edu/ship/

As all of my colleagues have been canceling classes the past few days and urging their students to protest, I just keep wondering how many of the undergrads here realize that their tuition is directly affected by our benefits. They need to remember that we not only get health care plans, but we also have complete tuition remission plus we receive a salary. That's a really good deal, in my mind!

Shy Wolf said...

Actually, Harsh Pencil- please correct me if I'm wrong- but doesn't the capitol building belong to the people? If so, I'd suggest they have a right to RON, though they sure have no right to destroy, deface, or mess the place up (though that'd sure give some of their union family a way to earn their pay).
ShyIII

MadisonMan said...

Grad student TA health insurance is great for an insurance company. I recall two things in 5 years of grad school: sprained ankle, and a cherry hemangioma that I picked at. (DON'T DO THAT!)

Sofa King said...

Any answer about whether non-annointed are allowed to sleep in the Capitol building? I think it would be fun to do for myself. Do I have fewer rights than these people?