"Pop" is not just one of the Rice Krispies

I tend not to write much on the housing bubble, but today's story about how salaries continue to lag behind increases in home prices deserves notice. As much as the economy may be recovering, and as much as stocks may be doing better, the cost of housing and the cost of health care--both outpacing inflation and real wage growth--continue to make it hard for the working poor and the middle class to makes ends meet neatly. Throw in the price of gas and new, restrictive bankruptcy rules, and, well, we have a recipe for disaster when the bursting finally comes.

What disturbs me most, though, is the news that the median home price--that's with an equal number of houses more and less expensive--is nearly $200,000. It's bad enough that my house has increased 25% in value since we bought it, meaning we probably couldn't afford it now; there's no way that we could reasonably afford that median price, even with two incomes, without something dangerous like an interest-only loan or additional home equity borrowing. I know that I am not rich, and never will be on a public school teacher's salary, but I do know that my wife and I are above the median in household income. So how can that level of median home price be anywhere near sustainable?

Omens

Via Scott Feldstein (known, Bond-like, as S in the comments here), I see that Microsoft has released a test version of its new Longhorn Vista OS, which might--might--be available by the end of 2006. Scott also points us here:

An Austrian hacker earned the dubious distinction of writing what are thought to be the first known viruses for Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Vista operating system. Written in July, the viruses take advantage of a new command shell, code-named Monad, that is included in the Windows Vista beta code. [. . .]

Most security experts had not expected to see a Windows Vista virus so soon, Hyppönen said. “The only surprise here is that it came so early,” he said. “It’s been eight days since the beta of the operating system was out.” Monad was released several days prior to the Windows Vista beta. [. . .]

Microsoft “got burned,” by including similar software, called Windows Script Host, by default in its Windows 2000 operating system, he said. “Since it was on the system, all the virus writers were exploiting it,” he said.

Duh. Just, duh.

Oh, and get a Mac.

Off to State Fair

But I wanted to say, I always kind of liked Mark Cohn. I hope he comes out of this okay.

Regional News, Out-of-Hat Commentary

Let's start with today's news that early favorite Jenifer Finley will not run for her husband's seat as Waukesha County Executive. (McBride, of course, is on top of it.) Sounds like Vrakis is probably in.

I do not live in Waukesha County, and have not been following the race over there. But I do have an interest in how things turn out, since we are quite possibly on the cusp of a new regional cooperation battle.

The first Finley, Dan, stirred up quite the hornet's nest when he suggested, in his new capacity as PresidentandCEO of the Milwaukee Public Museum, that it may be time for a new "cultural district" in Southeastern Wisconsin. When I heard that, I thought, Hm. A cultural district might be a good way to economize and share audiences, kind of a UPAF on steroids. Anti-tax knee-jerks heard NEW TAXES.

At any rate, the local rag says, No, not necessarily:

Finley said he wasn't talking about a new tax, adding that "it's way too early to know how" the district would look. He noted that the idea goes back to a 1996 regional task force, led by Milwaukee County Supervisor Dan Diliberti. It recommended coordinating recreation and culture in five counties, including sharing some services to reduce costs. The task force made no mention of a tax or other regional financing.

Unfortunately, Finley's critics erroneously linked that task force to another Diliberti-led task force in 2003 that looked at culture, parks and recreation in Milwaukee County, suggesting that instead of paying for them with the property tax, the county levy a dedicated sales tax. [See, for example, Charlie Sykes.] To make sure county residents didn't end up paying twice for those services, the task force wisely recommended the state require the county to permanently reduce its property tax levy by the amount of taxes previously spent on parks and culture. The task force did suggest the Legislature create a task force to "develop a recommended funding mechanism" for cultural facilities that draw a majority of their visitors from outside the counties in which they're located but was no more specific.

I got to thinking about inter-county cooperation when I learned of another cooperative venture that seems to be moving ahead without a hitch: Chicago's Metra Line is finally getting into Milwaukee. This is good news for commuters, and is another example how regional authories can work together to make things happen that benefit, you know, the people.

Now, I know that the regional public doesn't always care about "culture." Some of the regional public is even ready to write off Milwaukee, culture and all:

For many of us, the city is something that we have to go around on our way to Chicago. There’s nothing really special about Milwaukee that can’t be found elsewhere. Sure, the art museum is cool, but there are other art museums. The beach is nice to look at, but I wouldn’t want to swim there. The restaurants there aren’t anything special. The universities there are okay, but nothing about them makes them better than any other university. The sports teams are nothing to write home about. The stadium is cool, but it’s either an enclosed stadium or an open stadium, not the cool convertible stadium we were promised. There are theaters and performing arts centers, but nothing that can’t be found in other smaller cities in the state.

I doubt that adding a half a percent to Wendy's sales tax is going to make her feel any more invested in the Milwaukee Ballet or those cute little Irish dancers. But what a cultural district might do--tax or no tax--is boost the ability of those miscellaneous dancers to do their whatnot at more reasonable ticket prices in front of wider audiences.

Dan Finley seemed to undestand that whole thing about regional cooperation, the kind of can-do attitude that make the trains run (we'll wait and see about on time). Anyone who even has to ask if Milwaukee is worth it--or who can't see a forest for the imagined taxes--doesn't.

RIP, Peter Jennings

I long ago gave up on watching network news--the internet and TiVo killed it for me--but when I did, I preferred "World News Tonight" with Peter Jennings. I will miss that wily Canadian.

Live and in Person

I'll be working the Democratic Party of Wisconsin booth at State Fair this Tuesday morning, August 9, until at least 11 a.m. Come on down and see what all we have. If you bring your own Sharpie, I will autograph any body part within reason.

Friday Random Ten

The Blisters on My Fingers Edition

1. "What We Talk About (When We Talk About Love)" (Live) The Loomers from Shine
2. "I'd Fall for You" Cosy Sheridan from Quietly Led
3. "Watching a Good Thing Burn" Vance Gilbert from Summerville Live
4. "Reflections of Lucy" Bela Fleck and the Flecktones from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
5. "Gamble's Guitar" Michael Smith from Time
6. "Kerosene Hat" Cracker from Kerosene Hat
7. "16 Days" Whiskeytown from Strangers Almanac
8. "Clarity" John Mayer from Heavier Things
9. "Bought and Sold" Dar Williams from End of the Summer
10. "Smokers" Old 97s from Drag It Up

More honors for your humble host

In addition to winning MKE's blog of the week a few weeks back, turns out I am also August's blog of the month at WisPolitics/ WisOpinion.com. As of this writing, the July BotM--a Blog Which Shall Not Be Named--is still at the top; however, the notice has gone out to WisOpinion subscribers that I'm it.

I think my work here is done.

More ACVR/ Fraud

Ben has moved his Badger Blues to a new address, and--while I will update the blogroll, soon, I promise--I will point you to his own take on this ACVR nonsense. I thought he put things into an excellent perspective, comparing the "fraud" of 2004 with Florida, 2000. Xoff also roasts ACVR, including a nice, close-up color photo of their headquarters.

Bill also follows up on Walker: Tosa Rnger's electioneering antics.

I'm sad

[Update: Never mind. Apparently "The Daily Show" got it in time. Sarah and I TiVo TDS and watch it the next day--it's on past our bedtimes, don'tch know--so I'll see it tomorrow.]

By now, you've probably heard that Bob (Douchebag of Liberty!) Novak had a meltdown tonight on CNN (there's video at that link), swearing and storming off. (And if you haven't heard by now, you need to read more blogs than just mine.) Seems CNN has finally suspended him for this--apparently, publishing the name of a covert CIA operative isn't a suspendable offense at CNN.

I'm not sad that Novak is suspended; rather, I'm sad that all this went down after Jon Stewart's 6 p.m. taping of "The Daily Show," and there won't be another one until Monday. I can't wait that long for Jon's take . . . I can't even guess what he'll do. But it will be good.

Okay, this one really is about fraud

The right half of Wisconsin's blogo-cosmos is all over the story of a new report from the American Center for Voting Rights Legislative Fund that makes Wisconsin--particularly Milwaukee--out to be the armpit of electoral fraud. Kevin--the Lakeshore Laments guy--has the story (I first saw it in his BBA post), gleefully linking to a state GOP press release. But none of them did their due dilligence, apparently.

Blog-neighbor Scott beat me to John Cole--perhaps the only sane Republican left--who did the research, and says, basically, that he's not buying it. I'm not, either; a Googling led me to BradBlog's page on ACVR, impeccably sourced even if BradBlog is biased: The ACVR is little more than a Republican front group.

At any rate, Milwaukee is the Number Two Election Fraud Hot Spot in America (behind Philadelphia), with absolutely nothing new in the report that hasn't already been discussed to death here (including the silly November 2000 incident of a New Yorker allegedly offering cigarettes to absentee voters). The righty bloggers and the state GOP are using the report's release, though, as an occasion to call again for a voter ID bill that, as we have discussed previously, would not have stopped any of the fraud--at least, not any better than actual enforcement of existing law would have.

At any rate, I wonder what the righty bloggers think about the wrap-up of the investigations into Ohio's 2004 fraud and intimidation (while Cleveland is number 5 on ACVR's list, it's all about problems caused by Democrats in that city!). Barbara O'Brien points us to this month's Harper's, which has a pretty good round-up of the Ohio story. (There's an excerpt up now at the Harper's website, though the whole story should be there eventually.)

Fraud!!!!

Well, not exactly, but the state Elections Board has fined Walker: Tosa Ranger for violations of campaign law. Unfortunately, they didn't also fine the bejeebus out of Doug Haag, the Walker-appointed head of Milwaukee County's Election Commission who said, when it happened,

that Walker had violated nothing. Haag said he had not read Walker's written request and was unfamiliar with the facts but felt that there likely was no problem. The dispute might not even have to come to the full commission, he said. Haag [is] a Republican Party leader in the county and active Walker supporter.

Who's watching the toothless watchdog?

The Big Fall Tour

Which is really only a tour if you can ignore the fact that it's just one show so far . . .

Friday, October 7, I'll be playing an 8:00 p.m. show at the Coffee House, part of a food pantry benefit. Brett Kimnetz, who organizes the benefits, likes to do "themes," and the theme for the October benefit is Pink Floyd. I'll be sharing the stage with Don Schiewer, of the Remedies, Gary Kitchen, and Fred and Ethel.

My set, as of right now, will be the following (keep in mind, this is solo acoustic guitar with my moderately irritating, nasally singing voice):

• "Fearless"
  
• "Wot's . . . Uh, the Deal"
  
• "If"
  
• "Coming Back to Life"
  
• "Learning to Fly"
  
• "Point Me at the Sky"

As you can see, I'm leaving all the popular songs to the rest of the performers. Yes, you can rest assured that "Wish You Were Here" and "Comfortably Numb" will be played at some point.

So, mark your calendars! With any luck, I'll add a couple shows here and there, so keep an eye on the sidebar, too.

Paul Hackett, OH-2

The OH-2 CD is my parents' district, and the district I grew up in. To see a Democrat lose in that district by less than four points is amazing; I didn't know there were that many Democrats in the district at all.

What's more, when last I spoke to my parents--this was Saturday, I think--they were leaning towards voting for the Democrat, Paul Hackett. That would be a major, major victory. I know that my dad has been disappointed in his Republicans lately (as you all should be!), but I have a hard time accepting that he would even consider voting Dem. And if he really pulled the trigger to vote for Hackett, well, wow. (He did vote for Perot in 1992; I voted for Clinton and my mom voted for Bush, so we all cancelled each other out. 1992 was my first election, and my only one in Ohio--I've been voting in Wisconsin since 1994.)

Number 77, with no additional comment

In a photo taken by his father in May, Brandon Sprewer flashes a wide grin while decked out in a blue cap and gown. [. . .]

Sprewer, 17, was shot to death about 11:20 p.m. Saturday in an alley behind his father's home in the 2800 block of N. Grant Blvd. while on his way home from the grocery store.

The day before, Sprewer was one of a group of 205 teens addressed by Mayor Tom Barrett at a picnic celebrating the end of the first year of a pilot program that gave teenagers from low-income areas jobs throughout city government. At the picnic Barrett talked about the wave of violence that has killed a disproportionate number of black men this year and urged the teens to be safe. [. . .]

Just before the picnic, Sprewer learned he had received a $7,000 scholarship to attend ITT Tech as part of a pilot program that would allow him to get college credit while attending high school, said Sondra Rhodes, principal at Cornerstone Achievement Academy.

"The city has lost a good kid," Rhodes said.

Small schools in the Journal Sentinel

Sarah Carr, an education reporter down to the local rag, has a brief profile in Monday's paper on some of the small schools opening in MPS this fall. I am quoted in the article, right after "The initiative has not come without its critics."

I am not taken out of context or anything--and those of you who know me and have followed my writings on small schools know where I stand--but I do want to make a few things clear about my position, and state them all in a concise manner for anyone just Googling me today:

1. I do not believe small high schools are inherently bad. On the contrary, there are very real data and very real stories from all over the country that point to the potential success of small schools, and I support the movement in general.
   
2. My problem with the way small schools are being implemented in Milwaukee lies with its top-down approach. An edict has come down from on high that all 9-12 schools will be converted to small-school multiplexes. (The paper's story, and the editorial board's unsurprising cheerleading.)
   
3. Marty Lexmond, whom I have a story about that maybe I'll tell you later, is quoted right after me:

   But Marty Lexmond, who is heading up the district's high school reform efforts, said "there continues to be a good deal of excitement from teachers who find this intriguing, and we continue to get calls from teachers who want to know how they can submit proposals." He added that attendance rates have been above district averages at nine of the 10 new small schools that have opened in the last two years.

   This might give the reader the impression that I do not support teachers' rights to start these new schools. I do--anything that re-energizes the teaching and learning process is good. I have some major worries about funding and long-term support, not to mention ramifications to district initiatives standardizing curricula across schools and the real threat to union solidarity. What I do not support is the way the teachers who had been at Washington or Marshall were unceremoniously told to shrink or die. Small schools grow best from the bottom-up; too many MPS teachers feel the pressure from the top down.
   
   In addition, the district throws out lots of meaningless stats concerning small schools, including attendance and graduation numbers. There are no data, as far as I know, comparing student-to-student attendance rates between small schools and their old comprehensive schools. And as for graduation rates, a number of the pre-existing small schools whence the data came--Lady Pitts and Project STAY Senior Institute, for example--have as their sole focus getting students graduated by any means they can.
   
4. This also worries me (and my wife, who had it jump out at her, too):

   At Alliance, teachers are thinking about more short-term hurdles. "I am the math department," said [. . .] a first-year teacher who joined the school three weeks ago.

   Alliance sounds like it will be a good school, and I am sure the teachers there will do everything they can to educate the students to the fullest extent possible. But, especially since MPS cut the mentors a few years back to save money, I wonder if enthusiasm will make up for inexperience. As long as we're throwing around data, very real data do exist that show teachers' effectiveness improves with experience. I know, personally, that my first year of teaching was my worst; I am embarrassed now to think about what I did--and did not--do.
   
5. I have a massive, massive problem with the fact that 1/3 of the $17m in Gates start-up grant money went TALC, an organization founded by a fellow named Danny Goldberg. You may recognize that name because Goldberg now sits on the MPS school board, where he chairs the school reform committee--the committee that oversees the small schools transition and which can direct funds right back to TALC.
   
6. Finally, I do not like the implication that large, comprehensive high schools are worthless. I am the product of one, for example, and I think I turned out okay. And the comprehensive high school where I teach has made considerable strides in the last few years, increasing our graduation rates, average GPA, attendance rates, and, this past year, significantly, our truancy rate. We have densely populated college-bound classes and career tracks for students planning to enter the workforce after graduation. Students have a chance to find a niche and grow. That doesn't mean students can't find a crack and hide, I know; but I do believe that there is a place in MPS for the comprehensive high school.

So there you have it. If you did not read my earlier series on small schools, the final edition is here, with links to the previous parts right at the top.

A couple of things I noticed in the paper today

First, the scary one:

We're pleased to announce that Patrick McIlheran will join us as a full-time editorial columnist. He will leave his position on the newspaper's design desk to do this, joining the Editorial Board in a couple of months and writing at least twice a week.

Next, something for all the FRAUD!!!! people who keep pushing for a voter ID law--a furthe reminder that fake IDs are not that hard to come by:

A Division of Motor Vehicles counter clerk who reportedly told police he faked at least five state ID cards was charged Thursday with felony counts of bribery and misconduct in public office.

The state Department of Transportation has suspended Alfredo Ramirez [. . .] from his job without pay while an internal investigation is carried out, said Gary Guenther, director of the division's Bureau of Field Services.

Ramirez, a five-year DOT employee, is accused of working up a fake identification card for an undercover police officer who presented fake documents while Ramirez was working at the DMV office on College Ave. in South Milwaukee.

If you know the right people, you can vote as often as you want, regardless of a photo ID requirement. I have written about this before, so I won't go into it all again, but I will once more say that the best anti-fraud protection is trained, qualified personnel who know and follow the laws that already exist.

Last Call

So the National Liquor Bar is closing to make way for a Walgreens. I hope they've put Art Kumbalek on a suicide watch, ain'a?

Double the RDA of Educational Straw Men

Chris from On The Borderline has posted--and crossposted to the Badger Blog alliance--"Nine Assumptions of Government Schooling." These come, apparently, from John Taylor Gatto, who is an anti-public school crusader. (There is an irony in that, in Gatto's crusade, he rails against the "dumbing down" of children and the corporatist mentality of public schools. These are the same things that I--and other liberal educators--have been fighting against, but starting from another place entirely.)

These nine items are thoroughly offensive, not to mention untrue or, at best, gross exaggerations, and I feel the need to deconstruct each. Please bear in mind that these responses, of course, do not represent the opinions of anyone other than one guy in a classroom trying to do the best he can.

1. Social cohesion is not possible through other means than government schooling; school is the main defense against social chaos.
The American people put a lot of pressure on schools and teachers. One of my themes recently has been "the other 82%," the idea that, even though I am expected to, I can't really make up for everything else that goes on in a child's life once he or she leaves my classroom. But anyone who believes, realistically, that schools are the last defense against "social chaos" is smoking some pretty good crack. Social cohesion is and has been created in countless ways in countless parts of the world across time.

I wonder if this point--and several that follow--doesn't stem from a lingering resentment of busing and desegregation. It is pretty ridiculous now to think about schools and courts forcing students to ride buses for two or more hours a day to integrate schools. I think all of us in the liberal desegregationist side of the fence see solutions not in busing but in examing and redressing segregation issues within the community first.

2. Children cannot learn to tolerate each other unless first socialized by government agents.
This is not true. Not at all true. And again, I wonder if there is not some holdover resentment toward desegregation attempts. Fact is, children learn to hate or love from their parents, and while schooling and socialization can help overcome those barriers, tolerant children are created every day outside of school. In addition, I can't fathom why anyone would object to "tolerance" education (the programs I know of never take the place of core curricula--don't worry, kids still get the three Rs). In fact, I make it a point in my own classrooms to call students on their intolerant and insensitive behavior, explain why it is inappropriate, and ask them to stop. I brook no racism, sexism, classism, or homophobia in my classes--in part, because it's good manners, and in part because that attitude doesn't fly in the real world, either, or at the university. Can I be faulted for preparing my students for life after high school? Or perhaps these anti-gubmint-schoolers yearn for the days of segregated and intolerant society?

3. The only safe mentors of children are certified experts with government-approved conditioning; children must be protected from the uncertified, including parents.
This is also not an assumption I hold. There is danger--as expressed in the local paper's series on Milwaukee's voucher program--in placing students with teachers who do not know such basic things as the content area, multiple intelligences theory, and cognitive development theory. Parents, of course, know their own children's learning styles and stage of development, and as long as they have access to quality instructional materials, can do okay. But teachers expected to handle a room of 20 or 30 kids and teach them, say, geometry, need to know both math and how to handle the kids in the class. Certification is, of course, not necessary for this, but it is not something just anyone can step in off the street and do. I welcome anyone to join me when school starts this September; you can try teaching my ninth-grade English class for a day and see whether you agree.

4. Compelling children to violate family, cultural and religious norms does not interfere with the development of their intellects or characters.
I am curous to know what "family, cultural, and religious norms" they think we violate. It's true, as I mentioned above, I don't accept open expressions of intolerance, cruelty, or bigotry in my classes, but if that's the family norm then that family has problems I am not qualified to solve. I'm guessing this is mostly about the "religious" norms. But even here, schools do not systematically set out to compel students to violate anything. Kids can carry their Bibles, say grace before eating, pray facing Mecca (I have seen it done), eat kosher food, be excused from sex ed or the evolution unit, and so on. This is the law and school policy everywhere I have been.

5. In order to dilute parental influence, children must be disabused of the notion that mother and father are sovereign in morality or intelligence.
I don't even know where to start with this one, since it makes little sense to me. Serously, if someone can explain how schools do this, I'd like to know.

6. Families should be encouraged to expend concern on the general education of everyone but discouraged from being unduly concerned with their own children's education.
I laughed out loud at this one. Teachers love to see parents. All the time. We want them to be partners in their children's education. We want them to be involved. The biggest single complaint I have about my teaching experience here in Milwaukee is that parents don't seem to care as much as they should. They don't read with their children, attend conferences, check homework. Give me more, please.

7. The State has predominant responsibility for training, morals and beliefs. Children who escape state scrutiny will become immoral.
I don't know a single person who believes this. And I know a lot of people.

8. Children from families with different beliefs, backgrounds and styles must be forced together even if those beliefs violently contradict one another. Robert Frost, the poet, was wrong when he maintained that "good fences make good neighbors."
I laughed out loud again, mostly at the Frost reference. Take a moment and read the poem, then come back. Ready? Okay. It is clear from the poem that Frost is arguing against fences. "Something there is that doesn't love a wall,/ That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,/ And spills the upper boulders in the sun" denotes nature's abhorrence of artificial barriers between people. The neighbor building the fence "moves in darkness." To suggest that Frost "maintains" that good fences make good neighbors is absurd and a gross misreading of the text, and says something about the critical thinking skills of anyone who would read it that way. But beyond that, to the larger point made here, is again a seeming reference to desegregation efforts. I cannot condone such bigotry.

9. Coercion in the name of liberty is a valid use of state power.
Here is an opportunity for me to discuss what seems to be an underlying thread: People who believe these things must also believe that the gubmint schools are out to turn their children into Bad People who are Not Like Mommy And Daddy. Let us start with a news flash: Most children rebel against their parents; it is a key feature of adolescence. This has nothing to do with the gubmint schools. In addition, people who believe this are operating under the false assumption that the teachers in the gubmint schools are all mindless, godless communists whose sole purpose is to turn children into mindless servant drones of the state. These are people who have never set foot in a classroom. I have. I have been in my own classroom, of course, but I have also seen my colleagues at work. Every good teacher I know--and most of the bad and mediocre ones, too--wants children to become vibrant, vital, critical, smart individuals. I suppose the push to make these kids explore the boundaries of their own knowledge and discover whatever it is inside of them that will drive them to academic success could be construed as coercion. But I don't see it that way, and I don't see how anyone with actual, as opposed imagined, knowledge of what happens in school could believe it.

In the end, I think about what many of these same conservative anti-gubmint-schoolers demand from public schools. They want everyone in schools to say the same prayers, they want everybody to learn how to read in the same rote fashion, they want everyone to learn that their creator designed life on earth. This is coercion. This is hypocrisy.

I am happy when my students just write a good essay, read outside of class, or get accepted to a good college. I don't want drones, I don't teach them that mommy and daddy are wrong, and I don't force them to suppress their personalities or moral and religious beliefs. I don't know any gubmint school teacher who does.

This list of nine is a collection straw men, exaggerations, distortions, and propaganda. It is misleading to say that they accurately describe the public schools that, at least here in Wisconsin, are a part of our constitutional repsonsibility. It is a lie even to suggest that they describe me.

A Late Friday Random Ten

The Coolnes-Factor-Enhanced Edition

1. "Boab Tree" Willy Porter from Dog Eared Dream. Great album, great song, great guy--8/10.
2. "Round o' Blues" Shawn Colvin from E-Town Live 2. How can you not love Shawn Colvin? And, given that the CD supports a great program, this gets top marks--10/10.
3. "I am Done" Melissa Ferrick from Willing to Wait. Meh. 3/10.
4. "Perfect Blue Buildings" Counting Crows from August and Everything After. This is so 1992. 4/10.
5. "You Can Choose" Carrie Newcomer from My Father's Only Son. Rollicking good song, and it always puts me in mind of a story: Back in, I think, 1996, Sarah and I saw Carrie and her band in a park in Janesville one summer night. It was right after My Father's Only Son had been released, and she played the title track, a ballad about being a tomboy in a family of only daughters. A little kid sitting near us, at the end of the song, turned to me and asked, "Is she really a boy?" 8/10.
6. "Hallelujah" Martin Sexton from Live at the World Cafe Vol. 12. Martin Sexton is a national treasure. "Does the devil wear a suit and tie/ Or does he work at the Dairy Queen?" 8/10.
7. "Time" Tom Waits from Rain Dogs. Tom Waits never merits less than a seven. But I don't like this song much. 4/10.
8. "Commonplace Streets" The Jayhawks from Blue Earth. An early album, but a favorite song of mine because of the way it breaks down and rebuilds at the end. A lesson for lesser bands. 8/10.
9. "Be Nice to Me" The Nields from Bob on the Ceiling. One of the best opening tracks ever. 8/10.
10. "A Crooked Line" Darryl Purpose from A Crooked Line. "Now I wonder is this vast expanse of laundromats and taco stands/ Part of God's original design/ Or maybe just a huge mistake that God allowed mankind to make/ While we went walking down that crooked line." 9/10.

A decent draw this week--62/100, or 62% cool.