Salem (Oregon) rally supports unions, decries action in Wisconsin

[steve2470]

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20110226/UPDATE/110226007/1001/OUTDOORS/Salem-rally-supports-unions-decries-action-Wisconsin?odyssey=nav%7Chead

A highly partisan — if not unanimous — crowd cheered and chanted spiritedly today in solidarity with Wisconsin state workers.

Throughout the roughly 70-minute demonstration on the steps of the state Capitol in Salem, attendees were urged on by a host of speakers with a litany of concerns and support for unions and workers’ rights overall.

The event was organized by the left-leaning MoveOn.org political organization in conjunction with dozens of unions, environmental and other activist groups. Organizers said protests were planned in all state capitals today.

Perhaps best capturing the mood was Tela, a 5-year-old chocolate Lab from Eugene, whose sandwich board sign read “I know something stinks” on one side, and “I can smell Gov. Walker’s B.S. from here” on the other.

[senseandsensibility]

1. k and r

Go, Salem!

[bkkyosemite]

2. We were south a few hours in Medford OR

There were about 90 people in our very Red town and we stood right downtown with people honking as they drove by. About one out of every ten honked. It was a good show for a small town but hopefully next time many more will come and there will be a next time I can feel it can't you?

[starroute]

3. Can I say how much I hate the term "left-leaning"?

It implies that actually describing somebody as a "leftist" would be almost libelous, so they have to soften it to "left-leaning" -- and even that comes across as something of an insult.

I mean, suppose they called the Tea Parties "right-leaning"? It sounds kind of bizarre even to suggest, because they never do it. Checking on Google shows almost 4 million hits for "left-leaning" but barely more than a million for "right-leaning."

And at least among the top hits, "right-leaning" is generally applied to individuals, blogs, or polling firms that could legitimately be described as centrist but with a certain lean to the right. In contrast, "left-leaning" is regularly used in terms like "left-leaning liberals," "left-leaning movements," or "left-leaning groups" -- which is to say, as a synonym for "leftist."

There's something hideously warped about our public discourse.