Quote:And, like all teachers union officials, he is ready to fight to the death to prevent school choice plans that would allow parents to use the money the state allocates to educate their kids to purchase better education than is often provided in failing public schools.

Quote:Unions and Democrats — but I repeat myself — insist that they need to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker because of his arrogance and unreasonable approach to governing in shoving public-employee union reforms through the legislature after, er, campaigning in part on the issue. How reasonable are unions and Democrats prepared to be if they do manage to replace Walker? Unions have demanded a litmus test of prospective challengers that would require them to throw Wisconsin into a budget and constitutional crisis upon taking office.

Quote:Yeah, because nothing says moderation than vetoing an entire budget if it doesn’t include a provision that allows the PEUs to force Wisconsin citizens to overpay for union-owned health insurance. At least one Democrat has refused, and blasted the union for an essentially unserious demand......

There’s certainly nothing like advertising that you’re a wholly-owned subsidiary of the unions to frame a political campaign these days, is there? It’s a measure of the desperation Big Labor and Democrats — there I go being redundant again! — are feeling as states struggle to reform budgets and get control of their public-sector costs and private-sector economic stagnation.

Quote:During a Thursday meeting at McPherson Square, until Saturday the epicenter of the protests, Occupiers brainstormed tactics for shutting down or disrupting the conference, according to a source who was present at the meeting.

The protesters suggested pulling fire alarms in the hotel where the conference will take place, screaming “fire” during conference activities, “glitter-bombing” participants, cutting electrical power, and barricading entrances to the hotel, according to the source, who requested anonymity.

“Speakers will be physically assaulted, not just verbally confronted,” the source told Scribe in an email. Two Occupiers, who the source also identified as members of the New Black Panther Party, “said they would be disappointed if they didn’t get arrested and planned to ‘make it count.’”

The source quoted another protester as saying, “Mitt [Romney] has Secret Service now, but [Newt] Gingrich and [Andrew] Breitbart don’t,” seemingly suggesting that the latter two would not be as heavily guarded.

Protesters planned to conduct most of these activities on Saturday, the last day of the conference, so as not to overlap with the recently announced protests by labor groups on Thursday and Friday.