YAWN!!!

Bears hibernate in the winter, probably because its cheaper and easier than migrating to a warmer climate. Not having known many bears on a personal basis, however, I'm not real sure how long it takes for the bear to re-acclimate once it has climbed back out into the real world. All of which is a round about excuse for the lack of posts over the past two months. Now that The View is ensconced in its southern quarters in sunny Florida, perhaps the creative juices might begin to thaw.

Fortunately for Western Civilization, current events have continued during our extended winter recess, and there is ample material crying for comment.

To wit, the labor wars in Wisconsin have provided quite a spectacle. There they are, the rank and file, chanting and beating on drums, protesting the Governor's efforts at achieving something approaching balance with regard to the public fisc. This standoff has raised a long overdue discussion about the rationale for public employee unions. But before we get all tied up in a discussion of the linkages, or lack thereof, between teachers union and the efficacy of the public schools, some thought needs to be given to whether such unions make sense in the first place.

Writing in today's Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan makes an excellent point about the difference between public employee union negotiations and real world union negotiations. The Pegster is one of our faves, even if she does get a little off track now and again. Fortunately for all, she is spot on here:

When union leaders negotiate with a politician, they're negotiating with someone they can hire and fire. Public unions have numbers and money, and politicians need both. And politicians fear strikes because the public hates them. When governors negotiate with unions, it's not collective bargaining, it's more like collusion. Someone said last week the taxpayers aren't at the table. The taxpayers aren't even in the room.

Given the ever-tightening fiscal noose, it will not be long before the question of public employee unions comes to a municipality near you. stay tuned.

You also might want to read all of Peggy's article and decide who we might select to play Johnny Friendly in the inevitable remake of "On The Waterfront". Instead of a longshoreman played by Marlin Brando, we could have Jonathan Kozol as head of the Romance Language department at Boston Latin leading the charge for union equity. Click HERE for the entire article