TPM reports on former Wisconsin senator Russ Feingold’s response to Gov. Walker’s speech last night.
Gov. Walker was apparently punked into thinking he was talking to a big dollar political supporter when he was in fact talking to a journalist. Huffington Post has the story and the Democratic response to Walker’s statements.
TPM on the Walker press conference today. Note the ending. Walker and his staff are certainly staying classy.
The state public unions clarify their position on cutbacks.
Wisconsin State Journal on the situation with the state budget. And on the dueling protests today.
Alternet with 12 things to know about the protests.
TPM on the big tell of Walker’s proposal.
NPR reports on the upcoming split of the Mine Safety and Health Administration district that includes the Upper Big Branch Mine that was the site of an explosion that killed 29 miners in 2010. The split will come as a means to help safety enforcement by decreasing the relative size being administered. The split will happen later this year, but NPR raises some important questions about the delay of this action until 2011.
From TPM the AFL add responding to Scott Walker’s proposal to doing away with collective bargaining for state workers.
A new blog focused on the protest of MTR mining in Kentucky: Kentucky Rising.
Jeff Biggers continues to update about the protest at Huffington Post.
Update 2/13: Biggers blogs on day 3 with video here.
Important events in Kentucky today as a group of protesters including Wendell Berry have staged a sit in at the Kentucky governor’s office today to draw attention to mountain top removal and clean water policies in that state. A very important issue and deserving of support given the lasting ecological damage caused by these policies and the immediate health concerns for those living in these water sheds. I’ll be trying to post updates on this throughout the day.
After the dramatic events in Egypt today, here’s hoping that we continue to see the power of peaceful protest to instigate change.
Links:
Jeff Biggers at Huffington Post
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (They are supposed to have live video from the sit in though I’m unable to access it. I think this has more to do with my internet connection right now than anything with the KTFC website.)
Live tweeting: @jasonkylehoward and @kftc
Update 1: As Jeff Biggers has reported that the sit in is turning into a sleepover. More updated from Biggers at the Huffington Post link above.
Few things would ever make me want to be a high school student again. To be able to talk to Maxine Hong Kingston and Leslie Marmon Silko makes a valiant effort. With the addition of Toni Morrison to the evening and I could end up in negotiations.
As for substance, there’s not a lot in this particular story aside from the personally uplifting idea that three authors I think so highly of are friends and that we all have reason to be envious of those students while also happy that such programs exist. That said, and just an aside, I get hung up on one line of Alexandra Cheney’s write up of the event: “Silko, whose eyelashes followed her heartbeat in both timing and rapidity, feverishly spoke, leaving no time for questions.” Maybe it’s just me, but I have this image of Cheney taking Silko’s pulse while having some sort of blinking seizure. In short, an unfortunate bit of poetic license that breaks the mood.
The deaths of at least 20 miners in Colombia today is a stark reminder of the inherent dangers of coal mining. More from the BBC.
While on the subject, the BBC is also reporting on the inquest findings on the Pike River mining disaster in New Zealand.
The Onion A.V. Club has an interview with Carrie Brownstein up about Portlandia (and a bit about Wild Flag).
While I’m on the subject of Sleater-Kinney, or rather the band members, Carrie Brownstein’s side project Portlandia is airing on IFC. And I just stumbled on her theme song for the show here.
Errant Reader 