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Wisconsin innovations: worker's compensation, public employee unions, The Wave and now: Protest pizza via the Web

September 20, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Egyptians send pizzaIt's historical fact that Wisconsin was the birthplace of many progressive ideas, including worker's compensation, public employee unions, child labor laws, and more. Some even have advanced convincing arguments that the nationwide sports stadium phenomenon known as The Wave originated at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison during boring late '60s Badger games.

Now add to the Wisconsin innovation list this: Protest Pizza via Web. During last spring's massive protests in Madison relating to Gov. Walker's union-busting bill, sympathizers in Egypt and nearly 50 other countries ordered pizza by email for hungry demonstrators surrounding the state Capitol. The idea originted with sympathizers across Wisconsin and quickly spread worldwide. 

Pizza by Web has now become a part of long-form, sit-in protests elsewhere. The current mass protests on Wall Street in New York City are the latest venue. From a post at FireDogLake.com:

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And high-end jobs, and scads of high-tech businesses in and around Madison that go with it?

It sure does look that way.

The ideologues who run the legislature, who carry Scott Walker's water, who get their marching orders and talking points from right-wing talk shows and shrill advocacy groups are now hell-bent on closing Wisconsin's best, home-grown businesses and driving some of the state's most productive research scientists, life-giving disease fighters,  skilled grant-writers, bold venture capital funders, and fearless corporate innovators to Texas, California, South Korea and elsewhere overseas.

All in a twisted application of anti-abortion politics, and in a misdirected campaign against embyronic stem cell science, as a Wisconsin technology spokesman points out.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a paper that endorsed Walker for Governor, also wants the legislature initiative stopped: