'Have You or Anyone Close to You Belonged to a Union?'

That's Ezra Klein's "Weekend question":

Almost forgot! Have you or anyone close to you belonged to a union? How did that change your impressions of organized labor in general?

Well, I'll tell ya, Ezra, not only do I belong to a union, but my local faculty association is affiliated with the NEA, which has been flooding my college inbox with crap like this: "Workers are Under Attack: Stand with Educators Fighting for Their Rights!"

Workers across the nation are under attack as governors and state legislatures seek to decimate collective bargaining rights and slash pensions and health care benefits. Wisconsin Governor Walker wants to silence educator voices. He has refused to negotiate with educators, who have repeatedly, publicly stated their willingness to sacrifice for the good of the state and the future of their students. For educators, this fight is not about pay and benefits – it is about the right to be heard.

At the statehouse and online, public school supporters are sending a message that cannot be ignored. As tens of thousands march in solidarity in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, and Idaho, countless others prepare to fight in other states.

Well, where to begin, Ezra?

Let's start with how does this "change my impressions" of organized labor? That's easy: I'm embarrassed. "Workers" aren't under attack. Perhaps teachers are, to be specific, and that's only if one accepts the NEA's martial language; but as many commentators have pointed out, teachers --- as part of the larger public-sector unionized labor force --- are extremely well-compensated relative to those in the private sector. See, "Wisconsin and the crisis of public sector pay":

Public employees earn more than their private-sector counterparts. This is true from Washington on down. Federal employees earn an average of $120,000 in pay and benefits, double the private sector average. The disparity is less at the state level, but in Wisconsin the average full-time state employee earns over $70,000 in pay and benefits, about $15,000 more than the average private-sector employee.

More at the link (especially the discussion of public-sector retirement systems).

But staying with Ezra's query, not only are public-sector unions an embarrassment, they're a moral cancer on our society. Just look at the lies evident at that NEA newsletter above. Gov. Walker is not "refusing to negotiate" with educators. In fact, repeatedly over the past few days he's been demanding that labor's Democrat representatives in the state legislature return to the Capitol to perform their duty to the people. Indeed, we're to the point that it's the Democrat-progressives who are risking the livelihoods of state workers. See, "In Wisconsin Budget Protest, Demonstrators Vow to Stay in Capitol While Democrats Refuse to Return." And of course, some officials --- like fleebagger Wisconsin State Senator Jon Erpenbach --- are in bed with organized labor, especially the Wisconsin Education Association Council and the state's AFL-CIO affiliates. This is thug politics in Madison. The voters sent a message to the state government and the Democrat-Labor axis has repudiated it. Not only that, as we've seen over and over, Wisconsin teachers couldn't care less about students. They've abandoned them and many have wrongfully obtained fraudulent doctor's notes so that they don't lose their pay. It's like a Third World kleptocracy, and all backed by the Democratic National Committee and the Obama SEIU-OFA jackboots:

And these creeps are now planning a nationwide shakedown tour. Oh joy. The SEIU will be in Sacramento this week to badger the governor and the state legislature. And while Wisconsin's in the news today, what happens in California will also have dramatic national implications. The Wall Street Journal has a report, "Public-Pension Fight Surfaces in California." The state needs to close a $26.6 billion budget deficit, and yet another governor has proposed sending an initiative to the voters to approve tax increases. These folks just don't get it. Schwarzenegger tried the same thing repeatedly, only to fall flat on his face. The state lays out $6 billion in annual pension expenditures, but organized labor says that pensions shouldn't be on the table:

Several big unions argue that the time isn't right for a pension overhaul, including some that helped block efforts along those lines by former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. They worry that union members would have to pay significantly higher costs to fund their pensions, among other things.

Governor Brown wants to increase public employees' contributions and extend retirement age eligibility. Will big labor's street thugs be protesting in Sacramento with Governor Brown-as-Hitler paraphernalia? I'm not holding my breath, given that Gov. Walker's a Republican. Besides, my money's on Gov. Brown caving to the Democrats' neo-communist "solidarity" constituency.

And that brings me back to Ezra Klein. My local faculty union just finished contract negotiations. I work with a number of wonderful people, but among the union as a whole, the degree of pampered privilege and selfishness was stunning. Professors Velvet Pearson, Janét Hund, and Mike Zugates published a letter to the editor at the Long Beach Press-Telegram in December, "LBCC Shortcomings":

Student success was once an LBCC priority, but the new priority is to fund huge increases in bureaucratic bloat. Students have been turned away because course offerings have been reduced by 12 percent. Part-time teachers have been laid off and full-time teachers have been furloughed, which amounts to a pay cut.

Folks can read the whole thing. The college administration does indeed often behave like royalty, but the faculty union could make little headway, since while resisting administration's efforts to increase employee benefit contributions, workers in the larger Long Beach community were facing double-digit unemployment and teachers at Long Beach Unified were sustaining mass layoffs. After some of my union members Photoshopped College President Eloy Oakley with an ugly caricature (he was lampooned as a liar with reference to former Bill Clinton's Lewinsky scandal), I e-mailed my colleagues a copy of The New Yorker's, "State of the Unions," with this quotation highlighted:

The hostility to labor is most obvious in the attacks on public-sector workers as what Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota’s former governor, calls “exploiters”—cosseted, overpaid bureaucrats whose gold-plated pension and health plans are busting state budgets

It goes without saying that I'm persona non grata at union organizing meetings. I embody the exact ideological opposite of many of the top union activists who fancy themselves at the barricades of the '60s-era social transformations.

In any case, Matthew Yglesias responded to Ezra Klein, and he admits he hasn't got the foggiest idea of what it's like to be a union member on the front lines of the budgetary battles:

I’m generally speaking an out-of-touch pointy headed elite, but as it happens throughout my life my father has been a union member.

Isn't that swell. His dad was in the writers' guild no less, part of the AFL-CIO it seems. Labor battles are a vicarious experience for the left's dumbest blogger, quite unlike Ann Althouse, who's been on the ground in Madison, and who has indicated that she's liable to lose $10,000 in annual income should Gov. Walker's budget be approved:

It really is odd that Wisconsin became ground zero, because we didn’t have the budget disaster that was going on conspicuously in some of the other states. I’m really trying to understand this. Why Wisconsin? A distinctive thing about us is how good our public employees’ benefits are. The cut we — I’m one of them — are being asked to take is severe. (I’m looking at a loss of more than $10,000 a year, myself.) But it’s hard to complain and appear sympathetic, because we’re only being asked to go from paying 0.2 percent of our salary into our pension fund to 5.8 percent, which probably looks astoundingly low to outsiders. We’re being asked to pay more for our health insurance, but the coverage is extremely good, and the annual hit will be about $2,500 ...

"Only being asked ..."

Exactly. These are moderate reforms, which would restore more fiscal accountabilty to the teacher sector in Wisconsin.

So, Ezra, I'd say unions pretty much blow chunks. They're mostly sleazy neo-commies who couldn't give a Flying V for the public good, and in the case of Wisconsin teachers, the children they've been hired to serve.

RELATED: Poor Freddie de Boer, he wants us to feel sorry for him: "What's Before Us."

Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Maschek, Iraq War Hero, Heckled at Columbia Over ROTC

I got the heads up on this first from Dana at CSPT, "The students at Columbia University have an absolute right to express their opinions ... and so do I: some of them are worth less than the remnants of dinner I flushed down the toilet this morning."

Dana's reporting on this from New York Post, "Hero's unwelcome: Wounded Iraq vet jeered at Columbia

Columbia University students heckled a war hero during a town-hall meeting on whether ROTC should be allowed back on campus.

"Racist!" some students yelled at Anthony Maschek, a Columbia freshman and former Army staff sergeant awarded the Purple Heart after being shot 11 times in a firefight in northern Iraq in February 2008. Others hissed and booed the veteran.

Maschek, 28, had bravely stepped up to the mike Tuesday at the meeting to issue an impassioned challenge to fellow students on their perceptions of the military.

"It doesn't matter how you feel about the war. It doesn't matter how you feel about fighting," said Maschek. "There are bad men out there plotting to kill you."

I'm speechless, really. I don't know --- and I can't identify with --- some of my fellow Americans anymore.

See the additional commentary at Black Five, "Columbia University brings shame and dishonor to the Ivy League." And at JammieWearingFool, "Classy: Columbia Douchebags Heckle Wheelchair-Bound Purple Heart Iraq War Vet." (Via Memeorandum.)

'Walker Pneumonia'

RightKlik offers a hilarious take on Wisconsin, at Left Coast Rebel, "ObamaQuacks for America." It's a great story. More at Founding Bloggers, "BREAKING: Andrew Breitbart Contracts “Walker Pneumonia” In Madison, Wisconsin!" (via Memeorandum):

Plus, Dana Loesch hammers Karoli at Crooks and Liars (who yesterday I suggested was in the running for the left's dumbest blogger): "Crooks and Liars Blogger Concocts Another Whopper."

Also, at Pundit & Pundette, "'The Left is reacting with all the grace of an alcoholic denied the bottle'." And following the links, Old Linkmaster Smith is in the game: "Troglo for Senate."

RELATED: Robert Costa at National Review, "Walker: ‘We are willing to take this as long as it takes’."

Wisconsin Protests: 'A Massive Onslaught Against Democracy'

There's a lot of things I hope to blog about today, but Wisconsin's so compelling it's hard to resist. My good friend Dave Mangan has "Thoughts on the Wisconsin Protests," where he notes:

This is a massive onslaught against democracy by a self-absorbed and decaying collection of elites in the coastal states who want to halt GOP gains illegally and by violent means, if necessary.

And don't miss Ed Morrissey's epic roundup, "Pictorial: Protest Saturday in Wisconsin." In the dozens of tea parties I've attended, I can't recall seeing such repulsive signs:

Of course the payoff will be the Democrats' utter destruction from the fallout. The Hill has this, for example, "DNC chairman: Wisconsin governor waging war on public workers" (via Memeorandum):

RICHMOND, Va. -- Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine laid into Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) Saturday night, telling a crowd of Democratic activists that what's happening in that state amounts to a declaration of war on public workers.

Speaking at the Virginia Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner, Kaine said the ongoing budget battle and wide scale protests in Wisconsin reveal the true priorities of GOP governors across the country.

"Governors and others in state houses across this country on the Republican side have decided what they want to do is wage a war against their own employees," Kaine said Saturday night. "Against public employees who are teaching our kids, who are caring for our parents in nursing homes, who are patrolling our neighborhoods."

Through Organizing for America, the DNC's campaign arm, the national committee has been helping support some of the ongoing protests in Wisconsin, offering transportation to rallies and promoting the efforts through phone banking and other outreach.

For the life of me, I'm trying to figure out the upside on this.

Michelle reports that the SEIU has a national thuggery tour planned for next week: "Get ready: SEIU’s Purple Army nationwide protest schedule; teachers’ unions pressure members to show “solidarity”." Showing solidarity? As in Trotskyite international solidarity, no doubt. Thankfully, bloggers are providing on-the-ground reporting that's bypassing Democrat-Media-Industrial-Complex coverage. Althouse, of course, has more incredible blogging, and definitely click through for the picture here: "'Walker — can I 'modestly' kick you in the nuts'." TrogloPundit has great coverage as well: "Madison, Wisconsin, duelling protests: the picture dump." Plus, Little Miss Attila has the roundup of bloggers on hand: "More News from the Front Lines in Madison."

I'll have more later. Meanwhile, check POWIP for some analysis, "Some Recent Historical Context for Wisconsin-Union Dispute." And The Other McCain, "The Real Deal in Madison" and Pejman Yousefzadeh, "Everyone Should Have Seen This Coming."

UPDATES at MEMEORANDUM as well.

Added: At Gateway Pundit, "NY Times Shows Photo of MASSIVE RALLY in Wisconsin… It Was a Tea Party Shot."

Washington Budget Battle Raises Specter of Government Shutdown

The Wall Street Journal reports otherwise, "Ryan Says Not Looking for Government Shutdown." But previously at Investor's Business Daily, "Will D.C. Budget Standoff Repeat 1995? GOP Hopes Not":

2011 is starting to look eerily like 1995. GOP lawmakers and a Democratic president are far apart on the budget, raising the specter of a government shutdown. Republicans are readying Medicare and Social Security reform plans, easy fodder for Democrats.

Republicans hope the parallels end there. Voters blamed the GOP for the 1995 shutdown.

"It's possible that we are seeing" a repeat, said Matt Bennett, vice president for public affairs at the centrist Third Way. "In 1995, the Gingrich revolutionaries demanded tough budget cuts and took it to a government shutdown. It appears Speaker Boehner is responding to the more strident people in his caucus."

More at the link, and also at the Louisville Courier-Journal, "Washington heading for a possible shutdown."

Frankly, I think the 1995 comparison is just too nifty for the media to pass up. Ace of Spades had a piece the other day which showed some Republicans with little ideological principle when it comes to reining-in government. See, "Um: Half of Republican Caucus, Especially Leadership and Old Guard, Votes With Democrats To Block Additional $22 Billion in Cuts."

Okay, I give up. I wanted to give this two party system a try. Forget it. It's time for a third party, the Tea Party.

The GOP is dead to me. Hal Rodgers and posturing lying phony Eric Cantor need to be replaced.

The Republican Party

If you like your ruinous behemoth tax-parasite government, you can keep your ruinous behemoth tax-parasite government.

And that is is promise we will definitely keep. Because, in the end, that's the one thing that matters to us.

I'm going to be keeping an eye on this over the next few days. The GOP needs to be on the right side of history. Hundreds of billions can be cut just for starters, as many have pointed out, and Ace is going to have my vote if the GOP leadership caves to Democrat-progressive spendapalooza politics. So until later, check out NYT's morning report, "As House Votes to Cut $60 Billion, Standoff Looms."

IMAGE CREDIT: The People's Cube.

Christine Teigen Bikini Beauty

Time to take a break from Wisconsin blogging. Enjoy the lovely Christine Teigen:

And please visit American Perspective, "Sophia Vergara," Maggie's Notebook, "Ivanka Trump," and TCOTS, "Rule 5 Saturday."

Bonus: I'm not seeing any babes at Daley Gator, but considering the theme of the day around here: "VIDEO: This Dude Knows What The Leftist Public Unions Are All About."

Tea Party Crashes Madison!

At ABC News, "Tea Party Descends on Madison Protests" (via Memeorandum). And a reader sent along the link to Ray Cunningham's Flickr set:

More at Gateway Pundit, "Amazing!… Tea Party Movement Brings in 15,000 Protesters to Madison With 24 Hour Notice Embarrassing Left."

And TrogloPundit was on the scene: "Let’s rebut some Lefty protest signs!" (c/o Midnight Blue).

RELATED: From The Right Sphere, "Wisconsin Union Protests Expose the Real Left."

Madison Police Detain Union Thug After Attempt to Disable Tea Party Sound System

At Daily Caller, "Union operative attempts to destroy Tea Party rally’s speaker system."

The weird thing is, I was just commenting on the hopeless dishonesty of the progressive left: "Watching the videos, at Althouse and the MacIver Institute, confirms one more time just how low progressives will go. Nothing's above board these days. It's all corruption and thuggery."

More reporting from the Daily Caller: "Tea Partiers strike back in Madison."

And speaking of dishonesty, Glenn's got a roundup on the doctors in Wisconsin handing out bogus sick notes, with a quote from a physician:

“Is it really his position that he is conducting medical examinations in the midst of thousands of people while attaining a right to privacy? One of the most important things in a genuine patient/physician interaction is honesty and this dude is dishonest! . . . He has abrogated his professional responsibility for political expediency.”

Andrew Breitbart Rocks Madison!

As promised, here's Breitbart's speech at the Wisconsin Capitol earlier today:

And speaking of Breitbart, his name's a verb now? "Wisconsin Protesters Breitbarted Over Bogus Teachers' Excuses" (at Memeorandum). That's Karoli at Crooks and Liars, by the way. She's angling for the left's dumbest blogger award, but Matthew Yglesias still holds the crown. Seriously. Even the commenters there are pushing back, supplying all kinds of links showing the massive fraud taking place. If protests were part of the contract teachers wouldn't need fake sick notes to get back to work. Watching the videos, at Althouse and the MacIver Institute, confirms one more time just how low progressives will go. Nothing's above board these days. It's all corruption and thuggery. In any case, NYT as a report, FWIW, "Dueling Protests in a Capital as Nothing Much Gets Done."

Ann Althouse Covers Budget Protest at Wisconsin Capitol

Here's Ann's headline for the doctors writing fake sick notes for fleebagging teachers:

"So you're really providing real doctor's notes for people that miss work?"

"I thought this was a little street theater..."

She's got lots more at the blog (and follow the links to additional videos). Wonderful coverage all around.

And at Fox News, "'Fake' Sick Notes Given to Wis. Protesters as Sides Face Off Over Anti-Union Bill":

As thousands of protesters on both sides of an epic budget standoff in Wisconsin faced off Saturday at the Capitol, alleged doctors were handing out 'fake' sick notes to protesters -- allowing them to call in sick while the budget impasse continues.

FOX News' Mike Tobin reports that according to protesters, both on the pro-Governor and anti-union sides, they obtained the notes from alleged doctors standing on street corners handing them out to whomever asked.

They added that doctors did not examine or inquire about their current health condition before passing the notes away.

RTWT, and also at Memeorandum.

Rachel Maddow Caught Lying About Wisconsin's Budget Crisis

At NewsBusters, "Rachel Maddow Exposed for Lying About Wisconsin Having Budget Surplus."

The full exposé is here: "Rachel Maddow says Wisconsin is on track to have a budget surplus this year." (At Memeorandum.)

Teaching Hatred and Profanity in Wisconsin

At Michelle's, "Photo gallery: What Big Labor protesters are teaching kids (language warning)."

And this one below from Gateway Pundit, "Hey-Hey, Ho-Ho, This Is What Thugocracy Looks Like – More Leftist Hate at Madison Rally":

Andrew Breitbart Speaks in Madison

At Instapundit, "ANDREW BREITBART AT THE MADISON TEA PARTY RALLY TODAY":

I'll be updating with Breitbart's speech, and more ...

Doctors Writing 'Doctor's Notes' for Wisconsin Protesters Who Missed Work

Ann Althouse will be updating:

I went down to the demonstration, to get today's share of abuse, and I've got lots of new photos and video from today's demonstration/counter-demonstration, including video of the Tea Party group, audio of Andrew Breitbart speaking, my encounter with the Dane County police who strictly narrowed the entrance to the Tea Party section, and a group of doctors who offering to write doctor's notes for people who'd missed work.

And Michelle's got killer coverage, "Badger State Battle: Unions vs. Tea Party in Wisconsin; Runaway Dems could be AWOL “for weeks;” recall campaigns launched; nine anti-Walker protesters arrested; fake doctors’ notes for fake sick teachers (VIDEO)":

Majority of Americans Against Public Employee Unions

Here's this from CBS News, "Lawmaker: Gov's plan has torn Wisconsin apart" (via Memeorandum). State Senator Jon Erpenbach is cited there, and he's at this AP clip:

Gov. Scott Walker is destroying neither the unions nor the state of Wisconsin. We're in tough economic times, but there's more to the union backlash. It's also the thuggery and authoritarianism that's central to the progressives' political agenda. Gov. Walker nailed it yesterday when he said that by fleeing the state, Democrat state senators had broken their vows to the people and the public good. From President Obama on down, progressives have excoriated Gov. Walker, often using the exact same Hitler comparison the leftist media exploited to marginalize the tea parties.

This is unconscionable, as Rep. Michele Bachmann warned. We're at the tipping point in American politics, and the backlash is growing. A new survey has the numbers: "Clarus Research Group: Clarus Poll: 64% of voters oppose government employee unions":

WASHINGTON -- As President Obama has joined the political battle in Wisconsin that pits Republican Gov. Scott Walker against public employee unions, a nationwide Clarus Poll finds that a substantial majority of Americans believe government employees should not be able to belong to labor unions. In the Clarus Poll, sixty-four percent of voters polled said government employees should not be represented by unions. Twenty-nine percent of voters said government employees should be represented by labor unions that bargain for higher pay, benefits and pensions.

The full pdf is here: "CLARUS POLL: 64% OF VOTERS OPPOSE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE UNIONS WISCONSIN FIGHT SPOTLIGHTS ISSUE."

It's interesting that even MFM outlets are getting the message. At Los Angeles Times, "Unions Losing Their Grip in Stronghold":

The bill proposed in Wisconsin to remove collective bargaining rights from government workers is similar to measures advancing in other Rust Belt states. Such battles are part of a nationwide backlash.

The pampered nature of public employees is obviously not helping their cause. See Astute Bloggers, "TEACHERS IN WISCONSIN MAKE MORE THAN TWICE THE PER CAPITA INCOME OF THEIR FELLOW WISCONSINITES." And Jennifer Rubin responds to the left's attacks on Gov. Walker, "Who's been overreaching?":

Walker's proposal to limit collective bargaining rights of public employees is bold but hardly original. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels did the same thing. A similar effort is underway in Tennessee.

I would suggest it is not Walker who has gone too far, but public employee unions who for years have ruled the roost in many blue states. The voters sent a signal last November not only to Washington, but to Madison, Lansing, Columbus and elsewhere. We're going to see whether their will, or the ambitions of union leaders, prevails.

See also, Phil Boehmke, "Wisconsin Madness as Seen by the ‘Little People’."

Okay, a little roundup of today's developments:

Ann Althouse warns against outside activist seizing the spotlight in Wisconsin: "There's a Tea Party rally in Wisconsin today — pro-Scott Walker — and I'm a bit wary," and "'Keep our protest CIVIL/Don't become Incited/THE NATION IS WATCHING/And so are our children!'."

Well, let's hope she's not too prescient: "Bloggers For Peace Flotilla Arrived In Madison…SITUATION TENSE…UPDATE: Thousands of Walker’s Supporters Are Here!"

And from Glenn Reynolds: "READER BOB WIRKA SENDS THIS PICTURE from the Madison Tea Party rally in support of Gov. Walker."

RELATED: At Big Government, "'Winning the Future' Means Winning in Madison."

Expect updates ...

What's at Stake in Wisconsin's Budget Battle

From John Fund, at WSJ, "Who's in charge of our political system—voters or unions?":

This week President Obama was roundly criticized, even by many of his allies, for submitting a federal budget that actually increases our already crushing deficit. But that didn't stop him Thursday from jumping into Wisconsin's titanic budget battle. He accused the new Republican governor, Scott Walker, of launching an "assault" on unions with his emergency legislation aimed at cutting the state budget.

The real assault this week was led by Organizing for America, the successor to President's Obama's 2008 campaign organization. It helped fill buses of protesters who flooded the state capital of Madison and ran 15 phone banks urging people to call state legislators ....

The labor laws that Wisconsin unions are so bitterly defending were popular during an era of industrialization and centralization. But the labor organizations they protect have become much less popular, as the declining membership of many private-sector unions attests. Moreover, it's become abundantly clear that too many government workers enjoy wages, benefits and pensions that are out of line with the rest of the economy.

Mr. Walker's argument—that public workers shouldn't be living high off the hog at the expense of taxpayers—is being made in other states facing budget crises. But the left observed the impact of the tea party last year and seems determined to unleash a more aggressive version of its own by teaming up with union allies. Organizing for America is already coordinating protests against proposed reforms in Ohio, Michigan and Missouri.

It's thuggery.

Be sure to read Michelle's essay, "Apocalypse Now: Wisconsin vs. Big Labor."

And the best coverage overall is at Althouse. She's literally all over it.

A Watershed Moment for Public-Sector Unions

At New York Times:

In the half century since Wisconsin became the first state to give its public workers the right to bargain collectively, government employee unions have mushroomed in size and power — so much so that they now account for more than half of the nation’s union members.

But the legislative push by Wisconsin’s new governor, Scott Walker, a Republican, to slash the collective bargaining rights of his state’s public employees could prove a watershed for public-sector unions, perhaps signaling the beginning of a decline in their power — both at the bargaining table and in politics.

Three-fourths of the states allow collective bargaining by some or all of state or local government employees. And labor’s friends and foes alike agree that if the Wisconsin legislation passes, it will create momentum for similar bills in Ohio, Indiana and other states.

“These kinds of high-profile public-employee battles have enormous stakes,” said Benjamin Sachs, a professor of labor law at Harvard. “We’re still feeling the consequences of President Reagan confronting the union in the air controllers’ strike. For anyone interested in union rights, the fight in Wisconsin couldn’t be more important.”

From Florida to California, many political leaders are seeking to cut the wages and benefits of public-sector workers to help balance strained budgets.

But Mr. Walker is going far beyond that, seeking to definitively curb the power of government unions in his state. He sees public-employee unions as a bane to the taxpayer because they demand — and often win — generous health and pension plans that help push up taxes and drive budget deficits higher.

To end that cycle, he wants to restrict the unions to bargaining over just one topic, base wages, while eliminating their ability to deal over health care, working hours and vacations. Moreover, he wants to require unions to win an employee election every year to continue representing workers.

RTWT.

Clearly, organized labor understands the stakes, and progressives have met the challenge with some of the most despicable thuggery in generations. And at the clip above, Gov. Walker's press conference is followed by a segment from MSNBC's Ed Schultz show. Folks obviously know the MSNBC line, but notice how they're rooting for the AWOL Democrat state senators to "hold out" as long as they can to prevent legislative passage. It's almost like something from Egyptian state-run media.

Ronald Reagan Greatest President, New Gallup Poll Finds

Amazing: "Americans Say Reagan Is the Greatest U.S. President" (via Memeorandum).

'They Should Spellcheck the Hell Out of Their Signs'

That was Althouse yesterday, "Is anybody going to apologize for laughing at "Teabonics" — the misspellings on Tea Party signs? I mean, this is a demonstration for unionized teachers. They should spellcheck the hell out of their signs."

I think the sheer stupidity of the protesters magnified Ann's radar. At the photo below, from today's protests, the man's holding an anti-Scott Walker sign likening the Wisconsin governor to Joseph Stalin, but he spells SCOTT STALIN with the runic SS insignia of the Nazi Schutzstaffel. Ann's got video as well. The guy justifies this by arguing that he's throwing all of history's dictators into a "melting pot." And no doubt Governor Walker's right up there:

And here, Ann notes, "I asked the woman if by "Dread Scott" — evoking the Dred Scott case — she meant to suggest a connection between Scott Walker and the era of slavery. She said "Of course."

And lots more from Grant Jones, "Obama/Democrat's 'New Civility'" and Instapundit.

Plus, at Marooned in Marin, "Obama Astroturfers Behind Uncivil Protests In Wisconsin; Counter Protest Planned for Saturday," and Gateway Pundit, "Join Andrew Breitbart, Herman Cain & Jim Hoft at Wisconsin Freedom Rally to Support Scott Walker Saturday."

Michele Bachmann: 'This is Outrageous, Beyond Conscionable'

Jeff Poor has the full report at Daily Caller.

Rep. Bachmann hammers both the derelict Wisconsin public unions and the Obama-Democrat-OFA thugs now raping the democracy:

“They have the support of the White House, but I don’t believe they have the support of the people of Wisconsin,” Bachmann said. “Remember what we’re talking about. These are public servants. They serve the people of Wisconsin. In Greece, for instance, we saw beneficiaries of government checks who took to the streets because the retirement age was going to be raised from 61 to 63. In this instance, [Fox Business Network host] Eric Bolling was on earlier, showing this is simply a contribution being asked to pay for part of their health insurance, not even the full part that the private sector counterparts pay for, and part of their pension. This is something that happens every day in the private sector. So now we are at the tipping point. This debate needed to come. It’s good that it came. What’s shocking is that the White House is weighing in, taking sides, and bringing in a campaign apparatus to set this up.

Plus, at Hot Air, "Video: Union activist demands Walker “come to the table” on CNN, but …"

PREVIOUSLY: "Socialist Public Employees Call for Revolution in Wisconsin."

Socialist Public Employees Call for Revolution in Wisconsin

These folks are from International Socialist Organization, revolutionary Trotskyites committed to global anti-capitalist struggle. What's fascinating is how the lady speaks about how "all of our members" are up every morning organizing for the dictatorship of the proletariat. That's amazing, since I thought we only had imaginary communists in America:

So with that, here's a roundup of reports that you won't be seeing in the Democrat-Media-Industrial-Complex.

First, check Ed Morrissey, "WSJ: Unions about power, not democracy." There's good commentary and a link to "Athens in Mad Town, at the Wall Street Journal:

For Americans who don't think the welfare state riots of France or Greece can happen here, we recommend a look at the union and Democratic Party spectacle now unfolding in Wisconsin ...

The battle of Mad Town is a seminal showdown over whether government union power can be tamed, and overall government reined in. The alternative is higher taxes until the middle class is picked clean and the U.S. economy is no longer competitive. Voters said in November that they want reform, and Mr. Walker is trying to deliver. We hope Republicans hold firm, and that the people of Wisconsin understand that this battle is ultimately about their right to self-government.

There's also a wonderful background report from Stephen Hayes, at Weekly Standard, "Scott Walker vs. Public Sector Unions." The proposed reforms are moderate and Wisconsin public employee benefit contributions would be smaller than the national average. But get this:

... beyond the thousands of protesters in Madison, several hundred protesters even showed up at Walker’s personal home in Wauwatosa to register their displeasure with his leadership (and, perhaps, intimidate his family).

It's thuggery. Michelle has more, "Apocalypse Now: Wisconsin vs. Big Labor; Plus: More out-of-state union recruiting & another teacher speaks up for Walker; police order for AWOL Dems." The entire essay's a gem, and that's not even mentioning the fabulous updates. More on those later. Plus, John Hawkins reports that Speaker John Boehner's house is also being targeted by progressive terrorists: "Call The Civility Police: Liberal Threats and Violence Surge."

Now let's go to Ann Althouse, "I went down to the demonstration this morning... just now..." She'll be uploading, so check back over there. And check the succinctly awesome William Jacobson's essay, "Gadsden Flag Bad, Egypt Flag Good." And I couldn't agree more, "Obama Acted Stupidly In Picking Sides Against The Taxpayers."

I'll have updates this afternoon. Michele Bachmann is speaking with Megyn Kelly as this post goes live. She says: "This is outrageous... now we are at the tipping point."

RELATED: From Doug Ross, "Top 15 Photos From the Wisconsin Hate Rallies You'll Never See in Legacy Media."

Conservatives Don't Need to Cheat or Break the Law to Win the War of Ideas.

This is from the Heritage Foundation, discussing David Rivkin, lead attorney in the multi-state lawsuit challenging Obamacare, "Lead Lawyer Challenging Obamacare Under Cyber Attack." Rivkin's come under a vicious denial-of-service attack from hacktivists in the WikiLeaks mold. As we've seen around here, communists and progressives (and faux-conservative pedophiles) can't win in the realm of ideas, so they resort to thuggery and intimidation.

More on this later ...

Julie Henderson: 'The Strangest Thing You Have to Do Is Bodypainting'

Oh boy!

Readers will no doubt be anxiously awaiting the full-length clips:

CNN Refuses to Cave to Media Matters' Ongoing Crusade to Blacklist the Right

Great piece from John Nolte, at Big Journalism:

Something strange happened today. Something, in fact, I never thought was possible. I not only gained some respect for a cable news network not named FOX, but I have, of all organizations, the George Soros-funded, 501(c)(3) Media Matters to thank for it. In Media Matters never-ending crusade to purify the news into their unholy Leftist vision, we here at the Bigs all knew that once our very own Dana Loesch was hired by CNN as a political contributor, that Soros’ minions would then set out to do what they always do, and that’s find a way to convince CNN to drop her. We didn’t know how they would go about it, we just knew that they would. Because attempting to blacklist conservatives off the air is their specialty.

RTWT.

CPAC Boots GOProud

Specifically, new ACU President Al Cardenas has announced that CPAC will screen sponsoring groups for next year's event. See David Weigel, "CPAC Will Prohibit Pro-Gay Marriage, Anti-DADT Sponsors in 2012." Also, at Towleroad, "CPAC Chair Al Cardenas: GOProud Can Come to CPAC, But They Must Drop Support for All Gay Rights Measures":

Says Cardenas:

"It's got nothing to do with your orientation. It's got to do with the principles that you advocate. There are a number of gays in America who don't advocate gays in the military issue or gay marriage. And so they'll fit within the tent of what we stand for...It's not that easy. It's complicated. But we'll do our best to be inclusive while at the same time adhering to the principles that Ronald Reagan dreamed about and we've been following."

Personally, I'm glad. And perhaps they'll screen pro-pedophile conservatives as well. A number of folks were practically tongue-bathing Alex Knepper, but hey, lots of political correctness is raging on the right these days, so what the heck. Wouldn't want to offend supporters of CHILF-lusting Bieber fans.

Wisconsin Protests and Progressive Civility

Behold the new age civil discourse in Wisconsin, c/o Althouse, "After all those efforts to paint Tea Partiers as using violent images and rhetoric, these pictures from Madison have got to hurt":

Photos at the link.

Plus, lots more at Memeorandum, especially: "DNC playing role in Wisconsin protests." And lots of coverage at Michelles, "Watch Wisconsin, Part III: A state government employee speaks; Madison schools, plus 7 other districts shut down a second day; Michael Moore says Wisconsin is the “new Cairo;” Dems boycott legis. debate."

Robert Spencer Slams Michael Ghouse on Hannity's

I watched this the other night.

Via Atlas Shrugs and NewsReal, "Robert Spencer Frustrates Muslim Brotherhood Apologist on Hannity":

And from the comments at Atlas:

Shawna said...

Can you say SMACK DOOOOOOOOWN?? Dayum. Robert Spencer brought the heat. And stayed calm while the other dude spun out of control and got all tied up in knots. I LOVE IT!!

Race Minstrels? My Reply to Chauncey DeVega

I read Chauncey DeVega's sick racist screed earlier: "Black History Month is Herman Cain Playing the Race Minstrel for CPAC." The piece is puerile yet vicious, and while it's tempting to ignore such rants as typical race-baiting of the progressive left, there was something that went above and beyond in this case. Disparaging Herman Cain as a "monkey in the window" is the kind of language one might expect from KKK members in the 1960s. But here this is coming from an author who's bio shows a body of publications in some of the left's most prominent progressive outlets. Thus, DeVega's racism is a perfect window into the deep disturbing psychologies of the Obama-Democrat cult of racial exploitation. It's a spectacle, and the critical reaction has been quite forceful. See David Weigel, for example, "Herman Cain Shall Overcome."

What's especially noteworthy to me is how DeVega's attacks form a broadside against the entire black conservative establishment. Herman Cain was the immediate target, but he served as the initial race "mascot" for DeVega's slurs against the whole GOP infrastructure. The piece was so provocative even Alternet thought a disclaimer was warranted in introducing DeVega's follow up, "On Chauncey DeVega's Herman Cain Post." I doubt this was the editors' intentions, but I appreciate the acknowledgment that a racist screed of this magnitude has nevertheless evinced little outrage on the left:

We understand that some are offended by DeVega's choice of words. We note, however, that most of the consternation generated by DeVega's post has come from right-wing supporters of Cain who have focused on the language of his post and not the substance of his claim that Cain lends cover to reactionary right-wing forces.

One of most widely understood aspects of Obama-era poltics is the left's endless resort to the race card as the last hope of any kind of political viability. Perhaps it serves as a dog whistle to racial victimologists on the left, but progressive racism hasn't served Democrats well over the last couple years. So you'd think Alternet would repudiate its own author. Instead they've doubled-down, as Confederate Yankee snarks: "Alternet Doubles Down on Bigoted Accusation that Black Conservatives are Race Traitors."

The entire concept of a group owing fealty to a specific political party due to their genetic makeup is entirely offensive to any thinking person, but that is precisely the argument Chauncey DeVega made earlier this week, and one that leftist web site AlterNet and its writer continue to support.

In my original post, I referred to Herman Cain and other black conservatives as "race minstrels" and "mascots" for the White conservative imagination. I stand by this observation.

DeVega's vivid bigotry is his own cross to bear. what is less clear is why Alternet is tolerant of such myopic rhetoric.

Confederate Yankee block quotes the precise passage that convinced me to respond to DeVega. I'm not only one of those "other black conservatives," but I stood with both Hermain Cain and Allen West at CPAC. The opportunity to do so was the high point of the conference.

At this point I'm simply in contempt. No doubt DeVega speaks volumes for progressives, given the left's silence in light of these allegations. And the reason is obvious: People like Herman Cain, Allen West and myself stand for conservative principles. We demand both equal opportunity and equal respect. We want a country that values individual initiative and guarantees that people of all backgrounds can pursue their dreams of happiness to the best of their abilities. The nation's founders laid the vision. Herman Cain, Allen West and others are living it. The question for me is how any confident, intelligent and morally upstanding black American could possibly endorse that kind of outrageous racist sentiment in this day and age. Perhaps it's just retail race-card politics. But when folks like DeVega demonstrate an encyclopedic knowledge of Jim Crow stereotypes and attack rhetoric, it's quite revealing of the extent that America has not yet overcome. Progressives are holding this country back. It's the color of your skin that matters, whether you identify with and belong to group consciousness organizations, rather than identify with American individualism and liberty. It's pretty easy for me to choose up sides. The patriotic thing is to stand with those who fight to destroy racial classes and hierarchies. Indeed, the pathologies espoused by the likes of DeVega are beyond revolting, but un-American. I reject the poltics of the progressive plantation, and I join in might with other upstanding blacks working for a better future.

More from Matt Welch, "Onward and Upward with Racial Tolerance" (via Mememorandum).

Obama's Egypt Debacle

A great piece, from Niall Ferguson, at Newsweek, "Obama's Egypt and Foreign Policy Failures":

President Obama in front of the Sphinx during a tour of the Great Pyramids of Giza following his Cairo speech in June 2009.

“The statesman can only wait and listen until he hears the footsteps of God resounding through events; then he must jump up and grasp the hem of His coat, that is all.” Thus Otto von Bismarck, the great Prussian statesman who united Germany and thereby reshaped Europe’s balance of power nearly a century and a half ago.

Last week, for the second time in his presidency, Barack Obama heard those footsteps, jumped up to grasp a historic opportunity … and missed it completely.

In Bismarck’s case it was not so much God’s coattails he caught as the revolutionary wave of mid-19th-century German nationalism. And he did more than catch it; he managed to surf it in a direction of his own choosing. The wave Obama just missed—again—is the revolutionary wave of Middle Eastern democracy. It has surged through the region twice since he was elected: once in Iran in the summer of 2009, the second time right across North Africa, from Tunisia all the way down the Red Sea to Yemen. But the swell has been biggest in Egypt, the Middle East’s most populous country.

In each case, the president faced stark alternatives. He could try to catch the wave, Bismarck style, by lending his support to the youthful revolutionaries and trying to ride it in a direction advantageous to American interests. Or he could do nothing and let the forces of reaction prevail. In the case of Iran, he did nothing, and the thugs of the Islamic Republic ruthlessly crushed the demonstrations. This time around, in Egypt, it was worse. He did both—some days exhorting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to leave, other days drawing back and recommending an “orderly transition.”

The result has been a foreign-policy debacle. The president has alienated everybody: not only Mubarak’s cronies in the military, but also the youthful crowds in the streets of Cairo. Whoever ultimately wins, Obama loses. And the alienation doesn’t end there. America’s two closest friends in the region—Israel and Saudi Arabia—are both disgusted. The Saudis, who dread all manifestations of revolution, are appalled at Washington’s failure to resolutely prop up Mubarak. The Israelis, meanwhile, are dismayed by the administration’s apparent cluelessness.

Last week, while other commentators ran around Cairo’s Tahrir Square, hyperventilating about what they saw as an Arab 1989, I flew to Tel Aviv for the annual Herzliya security conference. The consensus among the assembled experts on the Middle East? A colossal failure of American foreign policy.

More at the link.

And yes, a colossal failure. Maybe Kevin Robbins will get a clue and just STFU.

Dana Loesch Speaks on New Media at CPAC

I'm pleased to find the video. Dana was passionate. At the conclusion, I stood to ask a question of the panel, but the event was out of time. Tabitha Hale and others spoke first, and there were some mixed messages that could have been clarified. But as a stand alone speech, this was very effective:

Committee to Draft Donald Trump in 2012

Draft Trump 2012 sent me the press release, and it's also at Daily Caller, "Will the Donald trade Mar-a-Lago for the White House? New ‘Draft Trump’ committee launches for 2012."

Trump's appearance at CPAC was amazing, as I reported at the time, "Donald Trump Disses Ron Paul!" But he made some foreign policy comments the other day that were disturbing. See Gateway Pundit, "You’re Fired!… Donald Trump Says America’s “Longest War” Was a Mistake (Video)."

He should run, though. He might shake up the race and entrepreneurial background could have a beneficial influence some of the other candidates.

Alex Knepper Contacts My College in Campaign of Workplace Harassment

I have not spoken to or communicated with Alex Knepper since last Saturday night. As I reported earlier, I called out Knepper as he crashed the bloggers' lounge at CPAC. It turns out that a woman named Amy Miller came to Knepper's defense on Twitter yesterday. It got heated. Miller blocked me by the end of the exchange. And she may have sent tweets to Knepper, and here's one of his replies:

Somehow Knepper's gotten the idea that he's being "cyberstalked."

Today he e-mailed my department chairman with a long and desperate rant, I'm told, alleging cyberstalking by me and David Swindle, Editor of NewsReal Blog. And once again, while I have not received a copy of the complaint, it's been indicated that outside contacts of this nature constitute threats to freedom of speech and are simply intolerable. Frankly, this is what leftists do. They can't defend themselves in the public realm, so they launch campaigns of workplace intimidation. This happened with David Hillman of The Swash Zone, E.D. Kain of Ordinary Gentlemen, RepRacist3 of AmericanNihilist, and now Knepper, who was formerly a premiere blogger at faux-conservative David Frum's website.

That said, Knepper's complaint was apparently so unhinged that it raised questions of campus safety. I notified my division dean, and I sent Alex Knepper a request for a copy of the e-mail. Here's the exchange, in personal off-campus communications:

Alex:

Please send me a copy of the e-mail you sent to my department chair. Send it to me directly.

You are making false allegations of "cyber stalking". On the contrary, by contacting my college you have launched a campaign of workplace intimidation that threatens my First Amendment rights, my safety, and the safety of the students, staff, faculty, and administration at my college.

Send the e-mail directly to me. I will respond to your allegations. And if necessary I'll take appropriate legal action.

Donald

*****

apkkib@aol.com to me
show details 3:23 PM (34 minutes ago)

Donald,

If you swear to me today that you will never contact me again, never write another post about me in your entire life, and remove all posts about me that you have written on your blog, I will cease my attempts at working through your employer to make you leave me alone.

It is absolutely preposterous to claim that a private e-mail sent to your department head threatens your First Amendment rights or the safety of you or your students. This is clearly an attempt to intimidate me out of taking the action necessary to stop you and your NewsRealBlog colleagues' cyberstalking of me.

I am under no legal or moral obligation to show you anything that I sent. You know what your actions are, and if you have done nothing illegal or unethical, then you should have nothing to worry about. Right?

Again: if you vow to never write another word about me, and to remove the posts that you have previously written, I will cease my actions. If not, I have no choice but to take this route. I feel like I have no other way to make you leave me and those I care about (including my mother, who you also made a remark about) alone.

Alex

PS -- It's not legal to take pictures of other people without their permission and post them to the Internet. Just sayin'.

*****

Alex:

I blog as a private citizen and you're facing legal consequences if you continue to contact my college. You are not the first to do so. The attorneys for the college have already been involved. What happens between you and me is a private matter. The college wants nothing to do with what I do as a blogger and citizen journalist, and the college has no power to compel me to stop reporting on you or anyone else. On the other hand, YOU are engaged in workplace harassment and intimidation. The administration will have you investigated and charged if you continue to harass me, the faculty, staff or students, and I will personally file a cease and desist order with the police. Security precautions with respect to you are being taken on campus at this time, so this is very serious.

All communications are to be with me. And you should educate yourself on the law. You have no expectation of privacy in a public place, and no permission is required to photograph you or publish your pictures.

So, again deal with me directly. And either way, if you persist in any attempt to threaten my employment or quash my First Amendment rights you will subject yourself to legal action.

Donald

******

This isn't about your politics. This doesn't have anything to do with your so-called "journalism" or your politics. We agree on more issues than we disagree on; why would this be about your blogging? This isn't about "reporting." No...this is about your continued harassment of me -- libeling me as a "pedophile," making nasty comments about my mother, calling my friends "pedophile conservatives," posting my Facebook pictures and correspondence without my permission, taking secret photographs of me and posting them on your blog (legal or not, it's incredibly disturbing, given your voyeur fetish, which you admitted to on your blog), publicly confronting and intimidating me (and earning the scorn of several of the other bloggers there). This is ongoing, and it has to stop.

Your legal threats are baseless and are meant only to further intimidate me. You know as well as I do that it is utterly preposterous to claim that I, living 3,000 miles away from you, pose any threat to anyone on your campus for reporting your harassment of me. And speaking of needing to be educated on the law: your 1st Amendment rights end when it comes to libel, Douglas: there is an actual legal and psychiatric definition of 'pedophilia,' and I do not meet the criteria. You have objectively libeled me, and continue to do so -- and I have received an offer from a DC-area lawyer to file suit. It's a slam-dunk case.

This doesn't need to escalate. I am willing to agree right here, right now to never utter another word about you in my entire life if you are willing to do the same. Vow to never write another word about me, and I will never contact you, your employer, or your affiliates ever again.

Alex

*****

Alex

My college has indeed taken action, risk preventative and police/security services, to protect against your threats to the safety of the institution. Your e-mail to my department chairman was desperate and hysterical. It goes to your state of mind and has resulted in a heightened state of alert on campus. DO NOT DISCOUNT MY WARNINGS. Your distance is irrelevant. You could hop and plane and obtain a weapon in California. That is the possible contingency. You are disturbed. You pose a risk to others. And you will cease and desist from involving my place of employment, which is workplace harassment. Be prepared for legal consequences if you ignore these warnings. And if you're proceeding with a libel suit, then have your attorneys contact me directly. You are attempting to suppress legitimate speech, and your frivolous claims are of personal nature, against me, not my public place of employment. This is a campaign of harassment with a deleterious public effect. You are now infringing on the lawful function of a public California college and you must stop.

Donald

David Horowitz Outs Jihadist Suhail Khan at CPAC

From Robert Spencer, at FrontPage Magazine:

[Editor’s note: Below is Robert Spencer's analysis of the recent debate between David Horowitz and Suhail Khan on Hannity -- which Spencer shows successfully smoked out Khan as an Islamic supremacist. See also Frank Gaffney's memorandum for members of the board of directors of the American Conservative Union about Khan. Gaffney has also written previous pieces on Frontpagemag.com exposing Grover Norquist's and Suhail Khan's troubling connections. Paul Sperry has produced a recent Frontpage piece as well: Who is Suhail Khan?]

A sidelight, but a momentous one, of this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was the ongoing controversy over the connections of CPAC Board members Grover Norquist and Suhail Khan to the Muslim Brotherhood. David Horowitz detailed many of the troubling connections between Khan and the Brotherhood during his CPAC address; when challenged directly about this, Khan declared flatly: “There is no Muslim Brotherhood in the United States.” Sean Hannity had both Horowitz and Khan on his radio show Monday for a contentious half-hour of charge and counter-charge that often generated more heat than light; however, when the dust settled it was clear that Khan had not answered many of Horowitz’s most serious charges – and that CPAC, and the conservative movement in general, have a formidable problem in the Islamic supremacists and Islamic supremacist enablers in their midst.

RTWT at the link.

Reactions to Lara Logan's Sexual Assault in Egypt

If the crime is rape, expect the most obscene responses to it, from both left and right. I frankly was horrified by the story, and needed more information. But that wasn't the case for many others. Jeffrey Goldberg offers this:

Nir Rosen, the far-left journalist who joked about the sexual assault on Lara Logan, has company: Debbie Schlussel, the extreme right-wing commentator. Rosen calls for the elimination of Israel, and is a pro-Hamas Hezbollah apologist; Schlussel is a racist anti-Muslim commentator. They come from radically different places on the political spectrum, and yet they share a common inhumanity.

And from Jim Geraghty, Rosen's been fired: "NYU Accepts Rosen’s Resignation." To which Ron Kampeas responds: "What about Debbie Schlussel?"

And despite the fact of Rosen's extreme left views, Markos Moultisas tweets: "Nothing like rape to really bring out the worst in conservatism."

Anyway, my friend Dave in Boca left a comment yesterday:

I am/was a State Dept FSO trained as an Arabist and lived in four Arab countries. I’ve visited Egypt several dozen times both as a USG diplomat and afterwards as a Political Risk Analyst for Amoco, the largest foreign corporation in Egypt. What happened to Lara is absolutely inexcusable, but the photo shows her heading into the crowd without a shawl or scarf, the bare minimum a woman must wear in order not to be considered a prostitute when she walks in the streets of Cairo. TV snaps of Christiane Amanpour show her wearing a shawl/scarf when she was in a public street situation. Americans are notoriously [indeed all Brit Empire Anglos seem to be] very disrespectful or ignorant of foreign customs, just as a matter of course. Strange as it may seem to us Americans, Lara may have been perceived by the animals who attacked her as disrespecting Egyptian customs, flaunting a feminist agenda, or even taunting them by wearing inappropriate [to their eyes] apparel in a public situation. That’s the way the minds of these medieval males work.

RELATED: From Howard Kurtz, "Lara Logan's Egypt Nightmare" (via Memeorandum).

And at The Other McCain, "Paging Jill Filopovic."