DOWN: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The late-night parody TV show hoped to get some laughs by comparing Madison to Egypt and sent comedian/newscaster John Oliver here with a camel (ha! get it?). But the poor camel - apparently terrified at this ordeal - tripped over a metal barrier and fell to the pavement. Isthmus blogger Jack Craver captured the not-at-all-funny event on video, including Oliver telling him to stop filming and holding his hand up to the camera, footage that quickly went viral.
DOWNER: Gov. Scott Walker. Less than two months after taking office, Walker has inspired the largest and most sustained protests against a Wisconsin governor ever as he attempts to scrap decades of labor laws. And in the face of overwhelming opposition, he steadfastly refuses to compromise, while ramping up his efforts to focus public resentment on workers. And on top of it all, he gets tricked by a reporter pretending to be an oil billionaire, who draws an approving response from Walker after urging him to "crush these bastards."
UP: Democracy by the slice. As news of the protests broke around the world, sympathizers started phoning in food orders to restaurants around the Square. The most popular donation was a pizza from Ian's on State Street. More than 1,000 pies were ordered (from as far away as Egypt and South Korea) and delivered to the Capitol; meanwhile, people coming to the store were given free slices, regardless of their political leanings.
UPPER: The Wisconsin 14. The Senate Democrats who left the state to stall passage of Gov. Walker's union-busting bill have been called cowards by right-wing radio. But to many Democrats and liberals, they're heroes. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that 12,000 people have donated more than $300,000 to the senators' campaign war chests in recent days.
