It’s Battle of the Protest Bands in Madison today, with thousands of Tea Party activists standing with GOP Gov. Scott Walker on the state capitol grounds. (American Majority organized the pro-taxpayer event. AFP has a pro-Walker petition site here.) Here’s a photo overview (via news3jessica h/t JENin140):

Sarah Palin sent in a note of support. Free-market champion and conservative businessman Herman Cain declares Madison “Ground Zero” in the battle against Big Labor.

Livestreams of the union/lefty/professional grievance-mongering convergence of non-working working people here and here.

A sharp-eyed observer noticed this lefty sign advertising doctor’s notes for non-sick sick-in public school teachers (via katierosenberg h/t justlikemonet). The poster says “THE DOCTOR IS IN. COME GET A NOTE”). So, add possible medical fraud to the public school education fraud being perpetrated in the name of “union monopoly solidarity”:

More from the MacIver Institute here. The name, signature, and Wisconsin medical license number on the pictured note belong to James H Shropshire MD, an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Wisconsin School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine. Doctors told an interviewer in video from the MacIver Institute that the fake teachers have “mental health” challenges; another defensive doctor accused the interviewer of interfering with “private,” protected “confidential” consultations — in the middle of a public demonstration.

Sick. Via: MacIver Institute.

VIDEO:

Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? White House used fake doctors to promote Obamacare. DNC/Big Labor protesters use fake doctors’ notes to protect Wisconsin union monopoly.

Wisconsin blogger/professor Ann Althouse will be reporting more on her interview with the group of doctors handing out the notes.

The Runaway Senate Dems remain AWOL — and wire reports say they could be on the lam “for weeks”:

Democrats on the run in Wisconsin avoided state troopers Friday and threatened to stay in hiding for weeks, potentially paralyzing the state government in a standoff with majority Republicans over union powers for public employees.

The dramatic flight from the state stalled a proposal that seeks to ease Wisconsin’s budget woes by cutting the pay, benefits and collective bargaining powers of many government workers. Democrats who stayed in Madison scored their own victory, forcing the state Assembly to adjourn until at least Tuesday without taking a vote.

The 14 Senate Democrats left the state Thursday, delaying action in that chamber on the sweeping bill. Among them was Sen. Jon Erpenbach, who said Friday the group was prepared to be away for weeks, although he would prefer to end the stalemate sooner.

Activists launched recall efforts against at least two of the Runaway Dems, Robert Wirch and Jim Holperin.

ORDER IT NOW

Wisconsite friend, blogger, and mm.com commenter Steve Eggleston says: “The short version of the process, which only applies to Senators from even-numbered districts until 1/3/2012, is – the organizers have 60 days to get signatures equal to 1/4th of those who voted in the 2010 gubernatorial election, then either a partisan primary (if there is more than 1 candidate per qualifying party, currently only the Republicans and Democrats) or a general election (if there is only 1 R and 1 D) 6 weeks after the filing, with the recalled candidate automatically on the ballot. If there is a primary, the general election follows 4 weeks later.”

Steve also spotlights, via Wisconsin Politics, why the Assembly had to adjourn yesterday. Thug politics must be broken:

WisPolitics reported the reason the Assembly adjourned rather abruptly after attempting to take up the budget repair bill (in special sessions, identical bills are filed in both houses of the Legislature) was because enough credible threats to the security of the Assemblymen and their staff came into the Capitol Police to cause them to tell the Assembly leadership that their safety could no longer be assured. Quoting Mark Jefferson, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, in an RPW press release:

To willfully prevent elected officials from performing their official duties in order to circumvent the legislative process flies in the face of democracy and is an insult to the citizens of this state.

Governor Walker was elected to fix a broken system. Walker and Republicans campaigned and won on that platform, and the will of the people will not be suppressed by intimidation. State government is broken and the time for reform is now.

Via Jim Hoft, nine anti-Walker protesters were arrested.

***

Red virus: Unions are urging their members to “wear red” next week to support non-sick sick-in public school teachers ditching their classrooms for politics.

You know who’s seeing red? Working parents who have to pay for child care because of illegal teachers’ strike.

I’m hearing class-action lawsuits to recoup those costs may be in the works.