Awww, I feel badly for him about that. Not that I think she did it maliciously or anything, but he's a pretty private guy from what I am to understand.

I liked Jonathan because he was all quiet. Didn't he come out recently?

I saw this on FB! Believe me, people are talking about it at the Capitol. And I admit, it made me tear up.

They've had their satellite van outside for a couple days now and haven't bothered to come out and actually talk to anyone. But today! Well! Since there are Tea Parties here, now there's someone worth talking to so they've been out in force. Whatevs. It's sad that people see their reports and think its the truth. They are so far off with basic facts its ridiculous. I mean, we always knew they were wrong, but it was another thing entirely to be seeing it happen in front of your face.

Also, any reports of the counter rally having anywhere near the numbers as the main rally is FALSE. like 2K vs 60K. Nowhere near.

I know it sounds cheesy but we see people's posts on facebook and twitter and I see yours here. It helps. We know that eyes are on us, and we don't want the rest of the country thinking we are some crazy backwards fucks who dont know whats happening. We understand. And we are pissed. On a side note, it's getting fucking cold tonight and actually we're supposed to have another frigging storm tomorrow/monday. It's supposed to start as snow, turn into rain and then back into snow.

If you are looking to feel helpful in a more tangible way, there are people who are calling a local pizza place to buy food for protesters.

Ians Pizza on State is definitely accepting donations and giving out slices free to the protesters. You can call them at: (608) 257-9248

Some other places that might be receptive:
Subway Sandwiches: (608) 255-1636
Millios Sandwiches: (608) 819-7827
Michaelangelos Coffee: (608) 251-5299
Myles Teddywedgers Cornish Pasties: (608) 257-2383

Thanks man. I know not everyone can do it, so I feel like I should because I can. Keep sending good thoughts, they help!

Just got back from 5 more hours rallying At the WI state capitol. Obviously more people today than any other day. Not only is the square packed (mostly, I'll get back to that part in a minute), but State St, which connects UW campus to the Capitol is packed. Still tons of people from all over the state and elsewhere. My friend is putting up his brother's friend who hitchhiked from Alaska to participate.

There was also the Tea Party counter protest. They actually had a corner of the square kind of cordoned off for their supporters and it looked anemic. Meanwhile, we have the rest of the square, plus people parading on the street around the building. Also, it seemed that most of the Tea Party ralliers were from out of state. Not the same out of staters we've had, proclaiming their solidarity, but saying they were local. It was pretty weak.

Still no violence. Everyone on both sides seems relatively well behaved!

I am so exhausted. I was going to go to derby practice but I think I'm going to take a nap and head back out this evening.

For anyone who is interested, here is your WI workers' rally update:

*STILL PEACEFUL! There have been NO problems with violence at all. Don't believe the hype about it being a riot. The only thing riotous about it is the noise.

*Governor Walker has denied the largest public employees' union's offer to concede the financial points.

*(This is actually an old point, but one that bears repeating) The non partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau has stated that the "fiscal crisis" is completely overblown. There was a projected surplus until Gov Walker made tax cuts on corporations that pretty much wipes that out. This agency is totally non partisan. I know the director and he is WELL KNOWN within the capitol for not caring about whether what party wants what. He only cares about the numbers and making sure they come out correctly. I believe this guy over any think tank or whatever when it comes to the WI budget.

*There were between 40-50,000 people at the capitol today. It was brilliant. I talked to folks from Minneapolis who told me that they planned on bringing busloads of union members and their supporters down next week, I saw people from Illinois and Indiana as well. This isn't a rally of "typical Madison liberals". There are people from all over the state. And its expanding beyond our borders.

*We had our first "big guns" speaker come out, Jesse Jackson. Its funny that you always hear people imitating his style of speech and then when you actually hear him? He really sounds like that. I'm not lying when I say that the words that he chooses and his cadence are so lyrical, he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hands.

* Tea Party protesters are planning on having an event tomorrow too. Its supposed to be at noon, with rumored appearances by Joe the Plumber and Sarah Palin. Nothing confirmed on that. We are planning on moving OUR rally up to 1030, to fill the square up before they can get there. We'll see how that goes. I have heard of many people (on the unions' side) who have been planning all week to come down this weekend to show solidarity. So things don't look to be quieting down this weekend.

The general mood of the crowd is overwhelmingly positive. Everyone is (so far) getting along and helping each other out when they can. I'm not overstating things to say that the whole thing is inspiring. The quip going through the crowd today was that Gov Walker is the world's best union organizer. Things are organized, things are positive and things are continuing. We are feeling the solidarity from elsewhere, so keep sending those good thoughts, positive tweets and fb statuses because we all have great pride in the fact that our efforts are appreciated outside of our borders.

PS. The ED Show has been filming here in town the last 2 nights and has been pretty right on in terms of getting facts right and everything. Check out his coverage if you can.

I'm actually not union, but work for a group that is organizing:)