Wisconsin

Like the rest of America, I am watching the protests in Madison, Wis., with the expectation that they could very soon be occurring in our beloved Maryland — that is, if we had a governor who understood the perilous fiscal condition of our state and had the conviction to propose lasting solutions. Our governor would have you believe he has been making the same difficult choices as governors such as Chris Christie of New Jersey, Andrew Cuomo of New York, Scott Walker of Wisconsin and John Kasich of Ohio.

THURSDAY'S TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS MLB exhib. Detroit@Atlanta ESPN1 St. Louis@Mets (T) MLB4 Kansas City@Angels (T) MLB9 M. bask. Big South semifinal: teams TBA ESPNU6 Tennessee@South Carolina ESPN7 St. John's@Seton Hall ESPN27 Georgia Tech@Wake Forest 54, 208 Big South semifinal: teams TBA ESPNU8 Oregon State@Arizona CSNP9 Wisconsin@Indiana ESPN9 UCLA@Washington ESPN29 W. bask.

In reply to letter writer Theodore Carl Houk's observations in "The difference between Egypt and Wisconsin" (Feb. 24), it is not a strong man in Wisconsin saying "do what I say. " Rather it is the newly elected representative of the voters of Wisconsin. The voters, it is assumed, weighed the changes that might come before voting. The Democrats are poor losers. Look what happened when President Obama was elected. The Republicans were shut-out of many discussions on new legislation, especially Obamacare.

In the editorial "What's the matter with Wisconsin?" (Feb. 21) The Baltimore Sun agrees with President Obama's assertion that the events unfolding in Wisconsin are nothing other than an "assault on unions. " This is an accurate synopsis of a sad state of affairs unfolding nationwide. Workers are being vilified for speaking up for what they had been promised by cities and states. The difference in what is taking place in Wisconsin and what we see happening here at home, as The Sun pointed out in the same editorial, is that in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker has exempted his public safety employees from the harsh legislation.

In 2010, Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker and his fellow conservative Republicans campaigned with a clear message that if elected, they would confront the public unions right to collective bargaining, cut salaries and benefits instead of using public worker layoffs to correct budget shortfalls. The public unions threw everything they could at Mr. Walker and the Republicans candidates but the voters found the conservative message the right one to correct the budget deficit and voted them in. The Sun's recent editorial ("Union Badgering," Feb. 22)

The difference between the people of Egypt, Libya and Wisconsin is that the latter start protesting at the beginning of their suppression instead of after decades. In each place, a strong man is saying if you'd just do what I say, you wouldn't need rights. This is a basic flaw in the Republicans' approach to government. Arise, Wisconsin! Arise, Indiana! Theodore Carl Houk, Towson

The Effort by the governor of Wisconsin to restrict collective bargaining by labor unions is an unacceptable infringement on the rights of its citizens ("Wisconsin's governor to senators: Come home" Feb. 22). But the sad truth is that it demonstrates a rare sober effort by any government official in the U.S. to act seriously to diminish gross budgetary problems. It is sad that our federal government buckled to political pressures to extend Bush's tax reductions for our wealthiest citizens and that we are now asking middle class union members in Wisconsin and other citizens to pay the price for irresponsible spending.

Your editorial "Union badgering" (Feb. 22) conveniently omits the fact that Gov. Scott Walker campaigned to do exactly what he is doing, and that voters of Wisconsin elected him to do it. The public employees of Wisconsin and their paid-in-full senators in the state legislature apparently do not believe in elections. Their claim that they now support pension and health-care relief for taxpayers is belied by the fact that they tried to jam increases in those very same benefits through the legislature before the Republicans took over, but they didn't have the votes to do so. The fight in Wisconsin comes down to the basic proposition: Who controls the government — voters or public employee unions?

Records through Sunday (last week's ranking) 1. Duke 25-2 (5): Can Blue Devils handle a late nonconference game vs. tournament-bound Temple? 2. Ohio State 25-2 (2): Buckeyes looked shaky in losses at Wisconsin and Purdue. 3. Kansas 25-2 (4): Jayhawks need to find a replacement for suspended Tyshawn Taylor. 4. Pittsburgh 24-3 (3): A one-point loss at red-hot St. John's shouldn't hurt Panthers too much. 5. Texas 23-4 (1): Nebraska blindsided Longhorns, handing them first loss since Jan. 8. 6. San Diego State 27-1 (6)

Please let me start my thoughts with this disclaimer: I have no animosity toward government employees. By and large their service enables our society to function, and almost all do their jobs well. That said, there are millions of citizens who wonder why unions are in government and worry even more that an entity of the government can petition and plea and ply with campaign contributions those elected and entrusted with the purse strings of taxpayers money. What will happen when the great and vast maw of government overwhelms the private sector?