http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110219/ap_on_re_us/us_wisconsin_budget_unions
Protesters gather outside the state Capitol in Madison, Wis. on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011.
[By TODD RICHMOND and DINESH RAMDE, Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. A state Capitol thrown into political chaos swelled for a fifth day with nearly 70,000 protesters, as supporters of Republican efforts to scrap the union rights of state workers challenged pro-labor protesters face-to-face for the first time and GOP leaders insisted again Saturday there was no room for compromise.]
[Doctors from numerous hospitals set up a station near the Capitol to provide notes covering public employees' absences. Family physician Lou Sanner, 59, of Madison, said he had given out hundreds of notes. Many of the people he spoke with seemed to be suffering from stress, he said.]
That first paragraph is crucial, and it's exactly what the TV news is missing. This is not about the give backs ( the unions have already agreed to those). It's about the governor's insistence that they give-up collective bargaining rights in the future. He can't take yes for an answer in other words.
Also, as Jeff said, no discussion of how they got into this mess in the first place.