Wisconsin Budget Protests: Day 1

No we're not back to square one again (although sometimes it feels like it). The state's biennial budget is working its way through the legislature, and guess what. Protesters aren't happy with what's in it.

They're coming back to the Capitol to speak out against just about everything happening within.

In the morning, I tried to focus on the – cuter – moments in the protest scene. The day wrapped up with a rally on the State Street steps, but not before a bombshell of breaking news: the state Supreme Court reversed a Dane County judge's ruling, ordering that Wisconsin Act 10 (the collective bargaining bill) go into effect.

Even dogs carried signs of protest at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., Tuesday, June 14, 2011.

Protesters hula-hooped in an area they called "Hoop for Justice" Tuesday.

Yep, that's a guy in a friar's outfit smoking a cigarette and talking on a mobile phone. Unsure if he is actually a cleric or not.

Protesters Ray Nashold and Caroline Greenwald find shade near the entrance to the Wisconsin Historical Society as protests continue across the street.

Henry Kempen, almost 1, rides on the back of his father, Madison East High School teacher Jason Kempen, during a protest march around the state Capitol, Tuesday.

State Senate President Michael Ellis (R-Neenah) listens to debate in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., Tuesday, June 14, 2011.

State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton), right, speaks privately with state Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) on the floor of the Senate chamber during debate on concealed carry legislation Tuesday.

Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin, tells protesters of a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision during a rally at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., Tuesday afternoon, June 14, 2011. The decision overturned a Dane County judge's rulings that voided a state law limiting collective bargaining rights of public workers, finding that the judge overstepped her authority in making her decision.

Josh Reed, a teacher from Williams Bay, Wis., holds an American flag during a rally at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., Tuesday afternoon, June 14, 2011.

Mitchell continues his speech.

Gene DeFelice of Northwest Indiana holds a sign during the rally.