News Roundup for 2/18/11

The scourge of free speech and free assembly is spreading!"

-Headline of the day-
"Ohio's turn to revolt: Thousands flood statehouse over anti-union bill."

Whatever it is we've got in Wisconsin, it's catching. As Ohio considers a bill that's basically identical to Wisconsin's union-buster, Ohioans turn out at the statehouse to give them the business.

It's off to a nice start. The Columbus Dispatch reports the initial number as 3,500, while a local Tea Part counter-protest gathered an anemic 200.

"This bill is a partisan assault on working families and does nothing but punish workers and hurt the middle class, plain and simple," says Tim Burga, president of Ohio's AFL-CIO. "This bill would destroy the middle class because the working families this bill affects not only provide vital services, but put money and resources back into their communities, which support local merchants and other small businesses."

Turns out a lot of people think screwing up the economy is a bad idea. Makes you wonder why Republicans did so well last year. (Raw Story, with video)


-A little protest porn-
Sign from the protests in Wisconsin.



.tghir tuoba s'tahT (The Stir)


-Bonus HotD-
"Firefighter refused call to Tucson shooting spree scene."

Meet Tucson firefighter Mark Ekstrum, America's biggest and most gaping asshole, who refused to answer the emergency call after the Giffords shooting -- because he didn't agree with her politics. According to the report, Ekstrum's refusal "may have slowed his Tucson Fire Department unit's response to the incident that left six dead and 13 wounded."

It's at times like this that I wish I believed in God, if only for the comfort of believing that jackoffs like this guy would burn in hell. (Arizona Daily Star)