CHOMSKY: "The fate of democracy is at stake in Madison, Wis., no less than it is in Tahrir Square."

[kpete]

Chomsky: Why the Fate of Democracy Is at Stake in Madison
Labor unions were crucial in the overthrow of Mubarak in Egypt, and are one of the few mechanisms the people have to protect themselves from corporate power.

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The trajectories of labor struggles in Egypt in the U.S. are heading in opposite directions: toward gaining rights in Egypt, and defending rights under harsh attack in the U.S.

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Popular anger must be diverted from the agents of the financial crisis, who are profiting from it; for example, Goldman Sachs, “on track to pay out $17.5 billion in compensation for last year,” the business press reports, with CEO Lloyd Blankfein receiving a $12.6 million bonus while his base salary more than triples to $2 million.

Instead, propaganda must blame teachers and other public-sector workers with their fat salaries and exorbitant pensions – all a fabrication, on a model that is all too familiar. To Wisconsin’s Gov. Scott Walker, to other Republicans and many Democrats, the slogan is that austerity must be shared – with some notable exceptions.

The propaganda has been fairly effective. Walker can count on at least a large minority to support his brazen effort to destroy the unions. Invoking the deficit as an excuse is pure farce.

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the rest:
http://www.alternet.org/story/150186/chomsky%3A_why_the_fate_of_democracy_is_at_stake_in_madison/?page=2

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1. K&R.......

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