Unlikely Wisconsin Protesters: A ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ Co-Pilot and a Camel

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Democratic Wisconsin Assembly members cheer on the fourth day of large-scale protests at the state capitol in Madison on Feb. 18, 2011

Andy Manis / AP Photo

When he’s not in the sky, one revered pilot is fighting for union rights in Wisconsin.

The protests at Wisconsin’s state Capitol saw a variety of participants, but the most prominent of those was Jeff Skiles, the U.S. Airways First Officer of “Miracle on the Hudson” fame, who helped Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger land the plane in water. He attended a press conference last Monday, in support of the demonstrators. Skiles, a resident of Oregon, Wisconsin, has a son and a daughter, both students, who joined the protests at the Capitol last week. “I have never been more proud of them,” he said.

(More on NewsFeed: See the symbol of the Wisconsin movement)

Skiles was ultimately upstaged, though, by a camel brought to the protests by the crew of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The camel took a nasty spill on the slushy Wisconsin ground — one more reason how these protests differ from those in the Middle East. (Via Wisconsin State Journal)