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To non-inhabitants, it's possible Wisconsin has never looked quite this interesting. The state is up in arms today over the new Republican governor's bill to limit union's bargaining rights. The bill was supposed to be voted on today, but as protesters filled and surrounded the capitol building, Democratic state senators were nowhere to be found. The bill is Governor Scott Walker's idea to fix the state's looming $137 million deficit, and was approved by a legislative committee on Wednesday, but requires votes from 20 senators, at least one of which must be a Democrat. Today, senate Democrats disappeared in protest, making a vote on the bill impossible and effectively shutting down the state government.

Madison public schools have also been shutdown for the second day in a row, as teachers demonstratively called in sick en masse. According to Monica Davey and Steven Greengrass at the New York Times, the Wisconsin legislature's measure, which limits "collective bargaining for state employees and many local employees, including teachers, to base wages, barring them from negotiating over health coverage or working hours," is an alternative to the recent layoffs and budget cuts other states have resorted to in an effort to combat their own deficits. But union supporters aren't wild about any bill that will relieve certain union members of their obligation to pay dues. The governors of New Jersey, Nevada, Indiana and Florida have also recently gone up against their own states' public unions with similar plans.