in solidarity

Tomorrow will see nationwide rallies in support of the Wisconsin workers, billed by MoveOn as the Rally to Save the American Dream. Joshua Holland writes at AlterNet:

Inspired not only by the protesters standing tall in Wisconsin, Ohio and a half-dozen other states but also by the seismic upheaval taking place around the world, progressive America, long overshadowed by the media-friendly Tea Parties, will show up in force in all 50 states this Saturday to demand that budgets aren't balanced on the backs of working people and the most vulnerable among us.

Also at AlterNet, Tana Ganeva writes that the Right's authoritarian tactics are being fully deployed. In addition to the usual barrage of Faux propaganda, they are also planning to sabotage demonstrations and threatening layoffs in addition to using police intimidation and the threat of military force--along with suggesting that baseball bats and live ammunition are appropriate negotiation tools.

As pointed out by Paul Krugman, the powers-that-be appear to be implementing Naomi Klein's shock doctrine:

From Chile in the 1970s onward, she suggested, right-wing ideologues have exploited crises to push through an agenda that has nothing to do with resolving those crises, and everything to do with imposing their vision of a harsher, more unequal, less democratic society.

Which brings us to Wisconsin 2011, where the shock doctrine is on full display.

(Note: If you can't attend one of these rallies, one of the US Uncut rallies against corporate tax avoidance would be a great alternate activity.)