Disclaimer Time

Ms. Lauren over to the Femimiste posted a disclaimer last week--stuff that her readers should really know before opening their big mouths. Dorcasina followed up with her own disclaimer, things her university students should know before entering her class.

Makes me wish I could have my own disclaimer for my students. Sadly, it's not the sort of thing I could really give kids and get away with, but here's what I would do if I could:

1. I have been teaching high school English for (gasp) almost a decade. In that time, I have taught probably close to a thousand students just like or very similar to you. And while something always happens to surprise me, rest assured that there is very little chance that anything you say or do to me will be new, original, unique, or particularly memorable, unless you are more creative than your predecessors.
   
   If I haven't quit teaching before now, your criticisms of my teaching style are certainly not going to push me over the edge. You can also feel free to criticize my looks, clothes, voice, bald spot, gait, shoes, handwriting, choice of chalk, or anything else that strikes your fancy, and none of it will bother me. Let's face it: My self-esteem really just doesn't depend on what some fifteen year old thinks of me.
   
   [Stealing this line directly from Dorcasina] If I don't like you, it's probably because you are a) dumb, b) belligerent, c) rude, d) unkind, or e) arrogant. If you are certain none of these applies, then I guarantee that the reason is a).
   
   
2. Physical threats and intimidation also do not work. I have great health care and, frankly, could use some time off. Take your best shot.
   
   
3. If you have a question, concern, issue, or problem, in particular about the way I run the class or why your grade is the way it is, the best time to ask me is, surprisingly, not the middle of class when I'm trying to teach and your classmates are trying to learn. Sadly, I never leave my classroom, because there's always a big pile of work for me to do. So, yes, I'm here before school, after school, between classes, and even during lunch. I am happy to talk to you then.
   
   
4. I am not here to be your friend. That's not my job. There's a word for someone who gets paid to be other people's friend, and, you'll notice, that word is noticeably absent from my job description.
   
   I will not regale you with tales about my private life. Do not ask me about my wife, my weekend, my hobbies, my taste in music, my car, and the like. If I want you to know something, I will tell you. If I don't tell you something, clearly it is because I do not want you to know it.
   
   This is a two-way street. I want you to tell me if you are in some kind of trouble or need help--I assure you I will do everything in my power to assist you or find someone who can--but this does not mean that I need to know every detail of your relationships, your recreational drug use, the parties you go to, your backstabbing friends, your body functions, and so on. The "experts" all say that schools should be treating students like customers. Think about it: Do you really want your customers to tell you their life's stories as they order that Big Mac?
   
   
5. If you address me or, through your actions in class, show me disrespect, it becomes that much harder for me to show you respect in class. When you come into class on the first day, I (usually) don't know you. I make it a practice not to dig up your transcripts or go scrounging around asking other teachers for their opinions of you. If at some point it seems like I don't respect you any more, it is because of something you said or did in my classroom.
   
   
6. The English class you are has not been designed to make you, individually, miserable. I do not sit around at night and devise as many clever ways as I can to ruin your life. If I assign work of some description, it is because I believe that it will improve your skills with the language in some way, shape, or form. If you do not like a particular assignment, rest assured that I did not give it to you just to piss you off.
   
   Remember that your high-school education is a cooperative exercise: I will do my part, but I expect some effort from you. If you choose not to do an assignment, that is your choice. If you choose not to hold up your end of the bargain, again, that's your choice. I will make every effort to help you learn the skills you need to succeed in the Real World or College or Wherever, but you actually have to do the learning. Basically, I get paid whether you learn or not, but it's in everyone's best interests if you at least try.
   
   One additional note: I do know what I'm doing. I've been here long enough to get the hang of it. I borrowed a lot of money to go to school for a lot of years to learn how to do this. I read books, journals, and articles to keep up in my field. If you decide not to trust me, again, that's your choice.
   
   
7. In addition to knowing what I am doing, I also take great pride in it. Ever since I was your age, even a little younger, I've known that I wanted to be a teacher. My whole educational career from high school through college led me to this moment in this classroom teaching this curriculum. That is something that weighs heavily on me, and I take this job seriously.
   
   I stay up late grading papers (that's why I'm always cranky), reading books, blogging, and planning lessons. I go to training, conferences, classes, committee meetings, and union meetings, because I want to make sure that your work environment and mine are the best they can be. I practice what I preach by writing and writing about writing when I'm not teaching.
   
   And, while it's true that I can't quit my job--seeing as how I'm not really qualified to do anything else--I don't want to. I love what I do, even when I hate how a particularly poor group of students makes me feel. In the end, I'm not asking you to love what you do in my class. All I'm asking is that recognize that I do what I do because it is both my love and my calling. Once you get that through your thick little adolescent skulls, we just might have something here.

More on NCLB Underfunding

Chris Correa does the research so I don't have to. If remember a few days back, I noted that Bush's proposed NCLB budget drops in real dollars Wisconsin's share by $2 million; I noted that it meant 2000 teachers could lose jobs. Chris gives us the per-pupil cost, not of the real-dollar cuts, but of the total undefrunding per state.

Wisconsin is underfunded by about $164 million. That translates to what looks like a paltry $169.03.

But let me put that in perspective: My district has about 100,000 students. Really. In other words, NCLB underfunding costs my district alone $17 million. The last several years we've been closing schools and laying off hundreds of teachers because we've been running deficits in the $15-$20 million deficits. How many kids are missing out on their music or phy ed because we're giving up Title I money to NCLB requirements?

(Hat tip: shari, again.)

Teaching Tuesday: Class Size

Sure, you can read the studies and position papers all you want, but no one has written a more eloquent treatise on the subject of class size than teacherken:

I have told you about three students. And the other 29? I don't know what any student understands until I hear or read his or her words. Then I should respond. But this class has 32 students, and I have 45 minutes...

If I use 15 minutes for direct instruction, I have less than a minute per student to ensure understanding, answer questions, or pursue ideas invoked by the instruction. What might I be missing about my students? Of what are they thereby deprived? I don't know, because I have too many students, and not enough time to find out. [. . .]

I agonize over the students that I might not reach because I don't have time to find out what makes them tick. Is Shoshana not talking because she is shy, or because she doesn't understand what is going on? How about Wolodimir a few years ago, who actively participated in discussions, yet never handed in any written work? Why did it take me 15 weeks to realize that despite being promoted every year, he was reading at a third grade level in 8th grade? [. . .]

I'd like to be able to talk with all of my parents at least once a term, but I can't. Which would I choose: talking with Roy's parents about why he can't sit still, advising Nancy how she can reorganize her essay, or making the modifications to my lesson to account for Daniel who is blind and Maria who is hard of hearing and needs to read my lips?

Each student is entitled to be called by name without my having to look at a seating chart. I have a pretty good memory, but how does Ophelia feel when I'm still calling her Aurelia after three weeks? What about Sandor, who passes me in the hall with a cheery ``Hello, Mr. Bernstein" the second week of school, and I'm desperately trying to remember his name, and cannot respond except with a neutral ``How are you?"

Each student is due respect for personal integrity. [. . .]

Perhaps you are overwhelmed by the costs of reducing class size, such as building more classrooms and hiring more teachers? But what about the savings? We know from a recent federal study how poorly many people write. Miscommunication in business and government costs a fortune. Had I more time to correct Scott's essays, perhaps his parents wouldn't have to pay for a remedial writing course in college. Could not a reduction in class size also reduce miscommunication?

Now excuse me while I trundle off to school to my classes of 37 and 40 . . .

My Music Monday

"March" © 2002 Jay Bullock

You came home like a lion
The way March comes in
You were screaming and crying
About some supposed sin
You said I took you for granted
And that I was not always there
You came home like a lion
You chewed me up like a bear

On the first day of March, it came undone
Like your blouse in old passion, or unthinking action
And you left me cold, like the winter’s heart
When it all came undone on the first day of March

About a week or so later
You were at my door
Your easel and all your paintings
Taking up my floor
You told me I should be grateful
That you were so kind to forgive
About a week or so later
We were at it again

And by the Ides you were gone, you’d just up and left
On St. Patrick’s day, I got a call from L. A.
You said that out west was the place for your art
As if that explained why you left in the middle of March

Was this an April Fools? A month-long gag?
Were you out for revenge, is that what you planned?
I do not think I that had treated you bad
And now I won’t go out like a lamb

The month is over like we are
Though I hear you’re back in town
An old friend of ours tells me
That he’s seen you around
I suppose I should be wary
Won’t throw caution to these winds
But the month is over like we are
And the new year’s about to begin

My new lover says not to speak your name
A finger to my lips, like a gentle kiss
And if I see you again, I will know your heart
And I will not speak your name from this last day of March

It seems seasonally appropriate. I'd let you listen, but I can't upload the mp3 to GarageBand right now; if anyone is willing to host it for a week or so, let me know in comments. Thanks!

Happy Pi(e) Day!

It's 3.14--Pi(e) Day. Last year, Pi(e) Day fell on a Sunday, so my wife and I had friends over for a celebration (Stacie--the bamboo is still thriving!). We baked pies and pie-like things and all marked 1:59 as it passed. Mmmmm. Pi.

As Pi(e) Day is a Monday this year, and neither me nor my wife has had the time/ energy/ health/ gumption to clean the house and bake, we're just celebrating at home among ourselves. But you guys can use this thread to share your pi--or pie--memories.

To get you started, here's a story from me: Once in college a classmate (a guy named Arlen Arden--real creepy case) emailed me pi to a million digits. This would have been 1994 or so, when the whole email thing was new and exciting. It crashed the school's servers. Crashed 'em dead.

Is it Any Wonder My School is Losing Teachers Again This Year?

Wisconsin's share of NCLB is seeing a decline, in real dollars, of more than $2 million next year. Overall, our share of NCLB is underfunded by $164 million. One teacher runs you about $75,000. That's more than 2000 teachers we could have in classes. But, no.

Check your own state's status here. (Via An Old Soul.)

Too Busy to Blog

I actually wrote something last night for here, but Blogger ate it. It's been doing that a lot lately. Grrr.

So, talk among yourselves, and swing back by tomorrow for new content.

I'd Like to See Owen Defending WEAC

Given how much he hates WEAC, Campaign Finance Reform, and the Journal Sentinel Editorial Board:

Last November, Democratic Sen. Bob Wirch was in the fight of his political life against Republican challenger Reince Priebus. [. . .] Normally, an incumbent would not be viewed as vulnerable as the Pleasant Prairie Democrat was, but a couple of items conspired to make him so. 1) He riled Wisconsin Manufacturing & Commerce, a powerful business advocacy group, which simply had the will, money and power to make him vulnerable. And 2) he angered Gov. Jim Doyle when Wirch voted to override a veto of a concealed weapons bill.

He was the only incumbent Democrat in the Senate on whose behalf the governor did not appear or do a fund-raiser for during the fall campaign.

Wirch survived, but this is less a testament to his own political acumen than to the intervention of yet another player from outside his district. The Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state's largest teachers union, poured in $569,270 for Wirch.

This was to counter spending by WMC, which spent an estimated $200,000 to $300,000 in its effort to boot out Wirch. We say estimated because, under current law, this group did not have to report its spending. [. . .]

But who elected WEAC and WMC to wield so much power--WMC with the ability to oust an incumbent, barring a bigger outside giver stepping in, and WEAC, in this case, with the ability to save him? [. . .]

Total spending in the Wirch-Priebus race was $2.2 million, according to Common Cause in Wisconsin. But, combined, the two candidates spent about $530,000, or perhaps just a quarter of the total. That means folks other than the candidates essentially waged separate campaigns in which they got to shape the issues and characterize the candidates, rather than the candidates making their own cases.

Other members of Wisconsin's right wing--Lance, for example--have been on this anti-CFR trip, too. I'm not sure Mike Ellis's bill is perfect, but it makes more sense than what we have now, a system that, as shown over the last several cycles has proven to be pretty broken.

Atrios Would Call This Post "Bobo's World"

Since Atrios has a habit of pointing out how the good people in David Brooks's exurban red-state imagination are often not so good.

I, on the other hand, just think it's depressing:

Gunman kills 7, himself at Brookfield hotel
Four others seriously injured in shootings at church meeting

A Waukesha County man opened fire at a church service at a busy Brookfield hotel this afternoon, killing seven people and wounding four others before killing himself, police said.

Four victims and the gunman were dead when police arrived on the scene at the Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel, Brookfield Police Chief Daniel Tushaus said. Three others died after being taken to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Wauwatosa.

Six of the dead were males, ages 15, 17, 44, 50, 58 and 72. The other was a 55-year-old woman. The four surviving victims included three females, including a 10-year-old who was in stable condition at Children's Hospital, and a 20-year-old man.

Police identified the shooter as a 45-year-old man. He used a handgun in the shootings, police said. No motive was immediately known. [. . .]

The shootings occurred at a regularly scheduled Living Church of God gathering in a meeting room at the hotel shortly before 1 p.m. Police said the gunman was in some way affiliated with the church.

The church had met weekly at the Brookfield Sheraton for the past four or five years, police said.

No other suspects are being sought in the incident.

Slow Down, Your Honor

Four words: 83 in a 65.

I guess that's really two words and two numbers. Either way, Tom Barrett should know better. Money quote: "Lt. Ted Meagher of the State Patrol said the trooper who issued the ticket told his superiors that Barrett was cooperative. He said the trooper wasn't sure who Barrett was. 'He said something like, "The name sounds familiar, but I can't quite place it," ' said Meagher. '(Barrett) said, "I'm the mayor of Milwaukee." He was very cordial." '

Don't Fence Me In

Hey, all. I signed the Online Coalition's petition. Did you?

Friday Random Ten (Annotated)

1. Open iTunes. 2. Set to Random. 3. Blog results.

1. "Message to My Friend" John Scofield and Pat Metheny from I Can See Your House From Here: This is the "acoustic" number from this generally excellent collaboration. It's a slow, jazzy blues, with John and Pat doubling up for the melody and alternating solos. I'm pretty sure this is the only record the two worked together on, though they made a great duo, and the, erm, synergy, I think they call it, is fantastic.

2. "Beautiful World" Ellis Paul from Sweet Mistakes: This album is a collection of B-sides, outtakes, and remixes. "Beautiful World" is a number Ellis sings a cappella to close the album. It's kind of a reminder that while things might be seeming to fall apart all around you, it's important to keep your sense of wonder and hold on to what's important. Some day I will tell you all my Ellis Paul stories, but I have too much work to do now . . .

3. "Where You Can Find Me" Darryl Purpose from Right Side of Zero: Not one of my favorite DP songs, but it is from an otherwise excellent album--"Right Side of Zero" was his debut, and it immediately established his credibility as a songwriter and guitarist. DP's got a very intriguing backstory, from his days as a professional blackjack player to the time he spent as a peace activist. That breadth of experience lends a very philosophical and wizened bent to even a simple love song. The chorus: "I don't know all the places I've been/ I've forgotten things I have done/ I can only imagine what I'll see/ But I know where I'll be: Where you can find me."

4. "Get Me to the Church on Time" Connie Evingson from I Have Dreamed: A sultry version of the Lerner and Loewe classic--it starts slow and quiet, building to a horn-filled conclusion--very different from what you might remember Sinatra doing. This CD was a gift from my in-laws, and I initially wasn't all that thrilled to get an album of standards by a singer I had never heard of. But Evingson has grown on me.

5. "Tilman Co." Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer from : The story of Dave Carter is one of the most depressing ever; it's further evidence that if there's a god, he/she/it certainly hates the world to have beautiful music. I mean, why would he/she/it take Dave at his prime and leave us with, say, the Rolling Stones who you know just need the billions from their new album. (I have real hostility about this sort of thing.) The song is from the last album before he passed, a record that, if you were looking for the best songwriting ever wouldn't be a bad place to start.

6. "I'll Be True to You" The Monkees from The Monkees: A Davey Jones love song. What else do you need to know?

7. "Tell Me Why" Common Faces from Real Life: My wife and I sometimes think we are cursed, since whenever we book a good band for something (in this case, our wedding) they break up shortly after. The Common Faces were probably Madison, WI's best acoustic group, with a jazzy, folky, funky groove thing going on. One of the best live shows I ever saw was the three-member core of the band--guitarist Asa Miura with husband-and-wife team Chris Wagoner and Mary Gaines (currently with the Moon Gypsies) on fiddle and bass--completely acoustic at the Cafe Carpe. Not even a vocal mic. The energy was unbelievable; the room was packed. That was a good night.

8. "Christmas Carol" The Nields from Love and China: This is a pretty sad song when you realize it's the Christmas after Nerissa's divorce from David . . .

9. "You Stay Here" Richard Shindell from Courier (Free Bonus CD): This EP came free with the purchase of Courier, Richard's live CD, when it first came out. It's got a few additional tracks, including this one. One thing he can do that I wish I could is really paint a picture without being too wordy. The simple repetitiveness of this song--with only a few words changing in each verse--belies the complex themes behind it. Sarah and I are lucky enough to have tickets this week to see RS with Tracy Grammer this Wednesday at the aforementioned Cafe Carpe. If it's not sold out, and you can spare a weeknight, I recommend it. (They're playing Tuesday, too.)

10. "Am I too Late" Old 97s from Satellite Rides: Old 97s may be the best alt-country band recording right now. This is from a couple of records ago; the drummer is the star of this song.

That Time of Year

DPI has announced that 171 schools have applied to be a part of Milwaukee's voucher program next year. That's more that the 154 applicants last year, and way more than the 117 choice schools open last September. (Last September is a distinction that will be important in a moment.)

One disturbing element in this whole thing--and there are so many to choose from--is this: "The new batch of applicants includes some established schools that have decided to join the program--for example, Milwaukee Lutheran High School--but many are start-ups." One of the arguments that I make regularly about the choice system as it exists here in Milwaukee is that it establishes very appealing incentives for anyone with a few friends and an occupancy permit to set up a "school" and start collecting tax dollars. (I have the highest respect for Milwaukee Lutheran--and there are many other schools, the majority, in fact, that do good work.)

How can this be? you might ask, especially those of you not from Wisconsin. Well, the answer is simple: Our Legislature, in its Infinite Wisdom (or, perhaps, blinded by its Sheer Idiocy) refuses to establish even a single academic standard that these choice schools must meet. Not. A. Single. One.

The only mechanism in place to make sure our taxpayer money is spent well is that a school must have a sound business plan. Does it matter what they plan to teach the kids? Goodness, no, we shouldn't interfere in that. But we have to make sure they'll stay afloat!

And, remember, these restrictions only came into place a year ago--after more than a dozen years of choice in Milwaukee. And these rules only came about because of massive fraud going on at some of these fly-by-night schools. You might think that problems like the ones described in the link at Mandela school would automatically be solved by the market. You know, parents would pull their kids out and the school was closed. Not so. As I wrote last spring:

The sad case of Alex's Academics of Excellency (yes, that's its real name) is instructive. This is a school that was ordered closed by Milwaukee's building inspectors in 1999, back when it was just Alex's Academic of Excellence. After moving repeatedly during the 1999-2000 school year, that summer the school's CEO (a convicted violent rapist) was jailed for tax fraud in an unrelated case. This was around the same time a private voucher program was refusing to send students to the school because it did not meet their academic standards. By the fall of 2003, the school was still open (now known as Alex's Acadmics of Excellence) and getting my taxpayer money while staff got stoned and drunk instead of teaching the children, and the state had to explain how its hands were tied.

This market approach to education is just plain stupid. It's like, stupid-and-a-half. Continuing on in that post from last spring:

The solution is clearly not the market--and what we're really talking about here is a free (or at least free-er) market for education. In any market, there are winners and there are losers. But we're not talking about losers like New Coke or Daewoo here--we're talking about children. Do we really, really want to say that the market, which guarantees losers among the winners, is the best way to educate our children?

This is doubly important based on the second thing that disturbs me about DPI's new list: "The list includes at least one person who was a key figure in a large voucher school recently closed by DPI order. Ricardo Brooks, who was an administrator of Academic Solutions, is listed as the administrator of a proposed school to be called Northside High School." Why does this matter? Because Academic Solutions is this year's poster child for failing choice schools.

I know this not just because of what I read, but because of what my students tell me--my students who have come to my school after Academic solutions closed following what can only be described as a riot. And they verify--and elaborate on--all the things I have read. Things like how the teachers stopped coming in to work after they stopped getting paid in November. Or things like absolute fraud in reporting the number students they should get paid for, so bad they called in the D.A.. Or things like this: "One parent, L* S*, said her daughter, T*, 16, had been doing well at the school, where she enrolled as a sophomore this year. She said her daughter had been getting F's at Milwaukee Marshall High School but was getting nearly straight A's at Academic Solutions." The curriculum of that school--confirmed for me by former students and by Milwaukee police officers who were there--was videos. Why not? The teachers aren't there. So the girl got an A for watching videos. Do you think that she really was getting the education she missed at the other school?

Ricardo Brooks, the guy from Academic Solutions who is looking to open a new school, said at the time of their appeal to stay open, "The school will be safe. [. . .] We don't have a bad school. We have a great school." This guy must have been blind to what was going on under his nose--serious fights every day. And now he wants to try again? Give me a break!

Any expansion of the voucher program will only lead to more of this. And this should serve as a warning to anyone in other states considering "choice." Let them look at Milwaukee: It is not what I would choose.

Where's My Hat?

I may need to throw it into the ring against Kohl. The gazillionaire senator voted for the final bankruptcy bill. Not that I think I could win, but, dammit, this is just bad law.

Russ Blogs!

Here!

Owen's At It, Again

I've been giving Owen a free ride lately, what with my being on hiatus, and stuff. That ends today.

Today Owen's off on this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial. Now, I am not one to praise the paper very often, but their editorial stance on election reform is both reasonable and fair. They take the stance (and I concur) that Wisconsin's voting laws, which, yes, are "liberal," are responsible for our higher-than-average turnout and great participation. Messing around with the laws without good cause, they say, is a bad idea, with this specific editorial arguing against uber-strict photo-ID rules.

Owen, who has been doing a toned-down Wayne Madsen impression, is convinced that something is not kosher in (Democratic-voting) Milwaukee, and the fault is our "liberal" voting laws:

No, [he writes,] identification fraud hasn’t been proven, nor can it ever be proven.  If voters do not currently have to prove their identity, how is it possible to prove identification fraud?  [. . .] What we can look at is a preponderance of the evidence.  We have thousands more votes than we have voters, which indicates that people may have voted more than once.  We have well over a thousand same-day registration forms for which no voter can be verified, indication than many people may have provided false identification.  There are many indications that massive voter fraud took place in Wisconsin, but it will never be proven to a certainty.

What I see (and have seen, as a Milwaukee voter) is septuagenarians who are overtaxed on a 16-hour day.

Look, I am pretty well plugged in to the Milwaukee Democratic/ liberal/ leftist/ Green/ anarchist community. I go to meetings. I'm on email lists that would make Castro blush. If there were a concerted effort to perpetrate fraud in Milwaukee, I would have heard about it. Hell, I might have been leading it. But no such effort existed. Owen (and the conservative yakkers on the radio) are trying to weave innocuous threads into some tapestry of Democratic evil-doing. It just isn't true.

More importantly, let's look at some of the editorial Owen didn't quote, information you should probably take into account:

The new rule would make voting more of a hassle for the 123,000 Wisconsin voting-age residents who, according to the Department of Transportation, lack a state driver's license or ID card and for those residents who lose or forget their cards. The bill's provision to offer both the license and ID card free of charge lessens the hassle only somewhat. (And, by the way, that would cost the state an estimated $1 million per year. [Where's the "why we need TABOR" now?])

[. . . ] The Legislature's premature fix would move Wisconsin into a tie with South Carolina for the most stringent identification requirements in the country. That's not good company; the Dixie state has a sordid history of denying voting rights to African-Americans.

Seriously. Think about that: Do we want to be more like Minnesota or like South Carolina? Y'all?

Wisconsin Wednesday: The All-In-One Post

No One Listens to Me
Not that I could have gone to a daytime meeting, anyway (and I have a meeting until 6:30 tonight so I can't even go to the evening part of the program), but if state legislators care what anyone in the state's largest urban center thinks about the next biennial budget, it will only come from people willing and able to drive an hour or so to Watertown.

I mean, it's not like I don't have things to say. I do. Like, I think Jim Doyle blew it by slipping in a proposal to tax internet downloads. The idea just seems riddled with holes (Stacie [née and again] Rosenzweig has a good run-down). On the other hand, I think the Republicans are also crazy to want to hamstring everyone from your sewerage district to your school district with a tax freeze.

Not that I could have said anything, 'cuz, you know, they don't seem to want my opinion.

Belated Sympathy
to Russ Feingold. His mother Sylvia passed away last week.

Tommy Scores
How many damn jobs can one former HHS secretary hold? Looks like two three. Who's a lucky ducky now?

Why We Don't Need TABOR
You often hear Republicans and conservative bloggers whining about the "liberal media" presenting slanted news. From where I sit, all I hear is the TABOR drumbeat. (If you want me to re-hash my opposition to it, I will. Later.) Why do we need TABOR?, you might ask them. They say, Our taxes are stifling! It's a Tax Hell!

Yeah, I guess that's why Wisconsin's economy--unfrozen taxes and all--is kicking butt. To wit:

The weaker dollar and stronger corporate profits mean that demand for capital goods made in Wisconsin will be extremely healthy in the United States and abroad this year, he said.

Wisconsin produces more than its share of such goods, so the boom will help it more than the rest of the nation. The weaker dollar in particular means that the machinery and industrial parts made in Wisconsin can be sold overseas at competitive prices, Nichols said. That will lead to a boom in manufacturing in the state.

Now, I don't know that Jim Doyle deserves all the credit--Bush and his high-deficit, weak-dollar policies have a hand in it--but I think that Republicans' complaining about how dismal our economy is are starting to ring pretty hollow.

My Sleepy Head

The paper's headline this morning: High schoolers may soon sleep in. That also means me. There are some issues--like how our idiot superintendent can't just unilaterally declare start times--but I may get a break next year.

I'm not fully persuaded that it's the best thing to do, but it may ease a little tension at the folkbum household.

Wisconsin Wednesday: Call Kohl, Kind

I wrote last about Kohl's apparent support for the horrible bankruptcy bill working its way through the Senate. It is not too late to contact him about it, even though the cloture vote happened today, and debate is almost over. If we try hard enough, we might still be able to get his corporate head out of his corporate rear long enough to vote nay on this puppy. Hie thee to a phone:

Washington Office
Phone: (202) 224-5653
Fax: (202) 224-9787

Milwaukee Office
Phone: (414) 297-4451 or 1-800-247-5645 (toll free in Wisconsin)
Fax: (414) 297-4455

Madison Office
Phone: (608) 264-5338
Fax: (608) 264-5473

Eau Claire Office
Phone: (715) 832-8424
Fax: (715) 832-8492

Appleton Office
Phone: (920) 738-1640
Fax: (920) 738-1643

La Crosse Office
Phone: (608) 796-0045
Fax: (608) 796-0089

In addition, it seems 3rd CD Dem Ron Kind seems to be supporting the bill, too. Make another call while you're at it:

Washington
PH: (202) 225-5506
FX: (202) 225-5739

La Crosse
PH: (608) 782-2558
FX: (608) 782-4588

Eau Claire
PH: (715) 831-9214
FX: (715) 831-9272

This bill is bad for seniors, veterans, the uninsured, anyone who can't afford attorneys to set up legal trusts, you, me, and everybody in between. It was penned by credit card lobbyists (literally, by some accounts) and the Republicans (and some Dems) have shown their true stripes by voting down every single amendment meant to protect average Americans. Every. Single. One.

You know, I keep telling my wife not to worry, that I won't file to run against Kohl in the primary. But this is the kind of crap that makes me reconsider it.

Teaching Tuesday

First off, Ms. Lauren of Feministe is doing some practice teaching with one of my favorite poems, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." It brings back memories, as I did that poem during my own student teaching days.

Second, let me argue early and loudly for some better Geography teaching in our nation's middle schools. Well, at least my district's middle schools. My 9th graders are doing a research project, a simple comparison-contrast thing involving two cities, Milwaukee (kids ought to know a little something about where they live, no?) and some international city, i.e., a city outside of the United States.

"Can I do Denver?" a student asks. No, I tell him, since Denver is not outside of the United States.

"Oh, you mean like Kansas City?" (I wish I were making these up.) Again, I explain, Kansas City is in the U.S. We want something in a foreign country.

"Can I do France?" That's better, I say, but France is a whole country; pick a city in France.

"How about Hawaii?" (By now I'm feeling frustrated.) Hawaii, I explain, is neither a city nor outside of the U.S.

(And it goes on like that.)

Add to it the argument when a student insisted that it wasn't plagiarism if he changed a word or two, and--I'd better stop. We did the research yesterday and today; we start outlining tomorrow. Don't even ask how it went when we found percentages from their opinion surveys . . .

Iron Blog

It's back, with a Battle on about "objective journalism." Expect lots of puns from me in the comments: "I object!" "Jeff Gannon sure used his object!" and so on.

I'm not proud. It's just what I do.

Inernational Women's Day

Check out a sampling of some of my favorite women songwriters:

• Carrie Newcomer
• Lucy Kaplansky
• Patty Larkin
• Ani DiFranco
• Susan Werner
• The Nields
• Patty Griffin

Why do I write songs?

At the Peggy Seeger workshop Saturday, she started with that question. And, since I came in right at the start time, I got stuck in the chair just to her left, so she also started with me.

You'd think, after doing this for fifteen years, i would have a better answer. I don't, especially not without time to plan.

My standard answer--which I'm not terribly proud of--is that the short form of the song is just the right size to get my head around. I don't have time to pound out the novel in my head (someday I'll tell you about it). Most of the time I even really don't have time to do much long-form blogging. (Full disclosure--I don't even really have time for songwriting, either.)

Now, that doesn't mean that I don't think songwriting is as hard or as challenging as fiction or even blogging. It is, and its demands are very precise and, in many ways, more challenging than prose.

So why do I do it? I can't say I know for sure. That's going to be my challenge this week.

No, no, no

Katryna Nields has polyps again. Why can't I get polyps instead? I mean, I already can't sing, and I need the time off from school.

Okay . . .

. . . so no Peggy Seeger Day report. I know, I know. But I still have a mound of papers to grade before tomorrow, and my helper monkey doesn't read English (only Czech), so I have to do them all myself.

Peggy Seeger Day

Did the workshop. Going to the concert soon. Report tomorrow, or Monday.

Sometimes you learn things

Just tooling through the blogger NavBar "Next Blog" links, I learned an ancient secret.

Friday Random Ten (Annotated)

You know the drill: Fire up the mp3 player, set it to random, and list the first ten songs, no matter how embarassing or uncool it makes you seem. Note: Since the death of my hard drive last month, I've had to re-build my iTunes. I'm currently up to the Ms (yes, I alphabetize), so this list will be somewhat limited by that.

1. "I Don't Feel Like a Train" John Gorka from Temporary Road: John's one of my heroes, as a songwriter. This is from one of his earlier albums, before he was quite the fixture that he is today. But this track exhibits some of his greatest strengths: clever wordplay over a deeply philosophical discussion. Take the end: "I don't feel like a train anymore, I feel like the track/ I think that I can help you if direction's what you lack/ though I'm never hard to find, I'm out and open every day/ though I cannot carry you, I can show you the way." An uplifting end to a conceit that could be kind of depressing. Also, I don't have the liner notes in front of me, so I can't be certain that it's Nancy Griffith's harmonies here, but for me, they take this song to the next level.

2. "Twilight Time" Leo Kottke from Live: A classic recording of the classic Platters' hit, done by the master of 12-string guitar. What's not to like about this record?

3. "Been There, Done That (Live)" The Loomers from Shine: When I was in college, I did a lot of talent booking for several of the music series. (In retrospect, it's really kind of scary how much money they entrusted to me and my friends to spend bringing our favorite people to campus to play for us.) One of the acts I admired most was singer-songwriter Jon Svetkey, one of a cohort of Boston songwriters that included Ellis Paul, Dar Williams, and Jim Infantino (of Jim's Big Ego). Building on what people like Bill Morissey--and, yes, John Gorka--accomplished in the 1980s, the 1990s "new folk" songwriters brought both a wide audience and whole lot of talent to what many people thought was a genre that died the day Dylan went electric. Anyway, Jon Svetkey's debut CD included "Been There, Done That," a kind of world-weary "bought the t-shirt" song from the heyday of the "whatever" early 90s. "I'm tired of all the talking, tied of all the shocking, and can anybody tell me any more good jokes?" (When you think about it, that's a pretty silly thing for someone in his 20s.) Facing his 30s without a career in music that would really support him, Jon retired from touring, but keeps playing around Boston with his band, the Loomers, and occasionally solo. This CD was recorded live, including some songs--like this one--at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

4. "Sweet Sixteen (Live)" BB King from Live at the Apollo: The King of the Blues, bending strings live. I love the horns on this record--I think my life would be so much better if I had my own horn section!--not to mention King's voice and guitar in their prime.

5. "Tell It to the Gov'nor" Bela Fleck and the Flecktones from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones: Howard Levy is a harmonica god. Period. Oh, and Victor Wooten is a bass god. Period. (This is not one of my favorite songs of theirs, but, damn, Levy can bend those notes.)

6. "Old Future" John Gorka from Old Futures Gone: Another downer, about 9/11, I think: "Fear took down the winged life, the winged life we've led." And so on. One thing about John Gorka: As sad as much of his music is, he is one of the funniest live performers, ever. He's like Steven Wright (remember him?) on stage, with deadpan ridiculous humor. If you get a chance to see him live, go out of your way if you must to see him. Really. His email updates are pretty funny, too.

7. "Barricades & Brickwalls" Kasey Chambers from Barricades & Brickwalls: Kasey Chambers is the Texas-est Aussie you will ever hear. In much the same way as the Norwegians in Minnesota are more Norwegian than the Norwegians in Norway, Chambers and her band have fully resisted the trends by which American "country" music has been Faith Hilled. This song, like much of the rest of this album, is gritty and not pseudo-pop-radio friendly. By the time she gets done explaining that "Barricades and brick walls won't keep me from you," you can tell she means it. There's no painted-on smile here.

8. "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" Shawn Colvin from Cover Girl: Shawn Colvin's had some minor commercial success, but she's long been a fixture in the singer-songwriter world. This record was kind of her tip-o'-the-hat to all the songwriters who influenced her and whose work she regularly covered back then. This is her great version of the Dylan classic, recorded live at, I think, the erstwhile Bottom Line in New York, one of her old haunts. It's a great reading of the song, and quite the nifty guitar arrangement, too.

9. "Mannish Boy (Live)" The Band from The Last Waltz: (Speaking of when Dylan went electric . . .) Everyone should own The Last Waltz. I don't know why you wouldn't. That two hours is perhaps the most complete precis of Rock history. This track explores the roots--Muddy Waters hisself joins the Band (with Paul Butterfield on harmonica, I think--curse this liner-notelessness!). Maybe delta blues isn't your thing, but Muddy is the master, doing his signature song. This is as good as it gets.

10. "#34" Dave Matthews Band from Under the Table and Dreaming: The instrumental cut the closes the record. For a while in college, I wanted to be Dave Matthews, but then I realized that playing "frat boy music" meant playing frat houses, which, having occasionally been in one, I really had no desire to do.

Something for your Weekend

At least, if you're in or near Milwaukee:

From: Sandy, Folky1 Prodcutions
Date: Thu Mar 3, 2005 1:00:35 PM US/Central
To: folkbum
Subject: Peggy Seeger in concert March 5th at the Miramar

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to let you know about this upcoming benefit concert and songwriting workshop. The Urban Ecology Center is one of my favorite local non-profits. Part of their mission is to help urban dwellers, especially children, to gain a connection with the earth, not by taking them out to the country, but by working with them right here within the city and they do great work! And Peggy is a wonderful performer who seldom comes to Milwaukee. Hope to see some of you there!

Thanks,
Sandy
Folky1 Productions

Peggy Seeger - Songwriting Workshop & Concert to benefit the Urban Ecology Center

Member of the musical Seeger family, Peggy Seeger is a singer of traditional Anglo-American songs and activist songmaker. She plays six instruments: piano, guitar, 5-string banjo, Appalachian dulcimer, autoharp and English concertina. She has recorded 19 solo albums and participated directly in more than a hundred others. The workshop is co-hosted by the Portage Road Songwriters Guild. Learn more about this amazing artist at www.pegseeger.com. Special guest, Milwaukee's own Larry Penn, will also be performing at the concert.

Saturday, March 5

Songwriting Workshop:
Urban Ecology Center (www.UrbanEcologyCenter.org)
Riverside Park, 1500 E. Park Place
1:30 p.m.
For adults
$12 in advance and $15 at the door (UEC Members - $12) Call 967-0302 to register.

Concert:
Miramar Theater (www.themiramartheatre.com)
2844 N. Oakland Ave.
8 p.m.
For everyone
$12 in advance and $15 at the door (UEC Members - $12) Tickets are available through Ticketmaster, the Miramar Box Office (414) 967-0302 and the UEC (414) 964-8505.

Wisconsin Wednesday: Snacilbuper

Republicans here in Wisconsin do everything backwards. Really. Recent examples:

Problem: Wisconsin's largest school district, with more students in poverty, in special education, and speaking a language other than English as their first, is failing too many of the students it serves.
Republican-enacted solution: Take resources away from the district, and invest tax money in fly-by-night schools that can be established and staffed by anyone with a pulse and which are held to exactly zero academic standards.
Problem: Wisconsin's taxes are high and the tax structure is particularly punitive to middle-class homeowners.
Republican-proposed solution: Pass a law freezing taxes at the high level and propose a constitutional amendment making the tax structure permanent.
Problem: Wisconsin's health care costs are increasing faster than any other state's in the region.
Republican-proposed solution: Cap liability payouts in lawsuits--oh, wait, we did this years ago and our rates are climbing faster than ever.
Problem: Wisconsin's electoral votes go to Democrats.
Republican-proposed solution: Erect barriers to voting, including the elimination of same-day registration.

This is the most recent:
Problem: Wisconsin families and workers are being squeezed by high property taxes and high health care costs.
Republican solution: Prevent Wisconsin cities with the highest costs of living from raising the minimum wage for their residents--which might have made the squeeze a little less painful.

Monday this week, Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett signed a bill that would phase in a new minimum wage of $6.50 an hour, the same increase recommended by a non-partisan state panel last year for the whole of Wisconsin. When Republican legislators (perhaps goosed by the business lobby's hands in their back pockets) balked at that plan, Madison enacted its own raise last year, phasing in an eventual rate of $7.75 by 2008. Milwaukee is the second city to raise its rate. (And it looks like Lacrosse may be the third.)

Remember, a worker earning the current minimum wage ($5.15) full-time would still only earn $11,000 a year pre-tax, pre-health care, pre-food and shelter. That is, literally, poverty wages if that person has a child. (A raise to $6.50 would only barely lift that person above poverty level.) As my guy in the Assembly Josh Zepnick put it (pdf), "Right now, a minimum wage earner can afford a monthly rent of no more than $268. Maybe some people in the Republican leadership would like to go apartment shopping with me on Milwaukee's South Side [. . .] I sure haven't been able to find any $268 apartments." (And it's true--search here.)

The business lobby, though, is crying foul. (As much as conservatives dislike trial lawyers, they sure do go to court a lot, don't they?) I say so what if the duly elected officials of certain cities want to ensure that the people who live there are able to stay there? But those Snacilbupers are even refusing to compromise.

Anyway, perfect opportunity for Republicans controlling the legislature to deny any actual solutions for the problems that they are only happy to exploit.

"Entirely Appropriate" My Fat White Blasphemous Ass!

(Cross-posted from Liberal Street Fighter, where the hits just won't quit!)

So I was driving home listening to "All Things Considered" when they ran Nina Totenberg's story on the Ten Commandments SCOTUS case. As is her wont, she read excerpts of the transcript, so that we little people can get a feel for the back and forth of the oral arguments. One particular exchange set me off pretty good:

Totenberg read Antonin "Fat Tony" Scalia questioning the anti-Commandmenters. "[The Ten Commandments] are a symbol that the government derives its authority from God, and that seems to me entirely appropriate." WTF?

Has that man read a history book? How in the hell can he be fit to serve as an arbiter of what the Constitution says when he doesn't have the first clue where that document draws its moral and legal authority from?

The Constitution is a wholly secular document, based on natural and civil rights of humankind. It owes far more to humanist philosophy than scripture; Madison and Hamilton and Jay and the others who formed the framework of our government and penned the Bill of Rights spent their time at the Constitutional Convention discussing the ancient Greeks and the contemporary French, not the Biblical Hebrews.

Hell, if the Ten Commandments truly were the basis of our system of laws, every teenager in America would be in jail for not honoring their fathers and mothers. I myself would be in the stocks because damned if I remember the last time I honored the Sabbath and kept it holy. How many Republican Congressmen are known adulterers?

Seriously, how in the hell can we allow Constitutional questions to be decided by someone who doesn't know the first thing about the Constitution?

Teaching Tuesday

Just some random notes today:
Ex-teacher and ex-candidate's wife Stacie is now officially an ex-candidate's ex-wife. I think congratulations are in order. Maybe a muffin basket. I don't know; I've never really done this before.

TeacherKen is going great gonzo with some nice educational posts, both at his own blog and at dKos. For example, there's this one about what makes a good teacher; this other one about good teaching; and a seriously scary post about how the right wants to destroy public education. (I mean, we've always known that's what they're up to, but now they're not even trying to hide it.)

Ms. Frizzle is going to Finland on a Fullbright. That definitelty deserves a muffin basket.

On a more solicitous note, we could really use your help to protect public education here in Wisconsin. Libby Burmaster is up for re-election as state superintendent. She's up against a Republican state lawmaker--a big voucher supporter. I've met Libby several times, and she's Good People: a lifelong educator, a non-partisan, and a big believer in the power of communities to change kids' lives. Any support you can give in this (mostly) non-election year will be greatly appreciated, especially since her opponent is likely to be rolling in national voucher money soon.

Next week, maybe we'll talk about what we did in class today: The Quote Sandwich. Yum.

Links, etc.

The sidebar is 90% done. I want some pictures, and there are a couple of blogs I want to link yet.

Plus, imageshack seems to be mucking with the pictures I already have. They show up sometimes, not others. Grr.

Mostly, I wanted to say that your blog's disappearance from my blogroll is not necessarily personal. I use my sidebar as a reading guide, so the blogs I link are the blogs I read. It's that simple. (If your feelings are really hurt, lemme know and I'll put you back.)

Let's start with Herb Kohl

Kohl is up for re-election in 2006, and while I like him okay, he could do much better for us. Here's what I wrote him today:

Please Vote Against Bankruptcy Bill
I know you voted the current bankruptcy "reform" bill out of committtee last week, but I urge you now to vote against it.

I would like to direct you to this story:

In it, the New Republic notes, "Under the current system, bankruptcy courts have broad discretion to decide who can file for Chapter 7, which allows debtors to erase their obligations after forfeiting a state-determined percentage of their remaining assets, and Chapter 13, which requires strict repayment according to court-ordered schedules. Judges base their decisions as much on why the debt was accrued as on income; this way people who come into debt through no fault of their own can get a fresh start, while a judge can decide that a careless gambler must pay what he owes. But the new bill would replace judicial discretion with a means test on household income--those above a certain level would be forced to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy--dismantling the system's ability to discriminate among worthy and unworthy debtors.

Credit card companies insist that most filers are merely credit addicts who have spent beyond their means and want to stiff the industry with the bill. [. . .] But a recent Harvard study shows that roughly half of all filers for Chapter 7 do so in the wake of major medical expenses. Moreover, Chapter 7 bankruptcy is hardly a get-out-of-jail-free card--it leaves a prolonged stain on one's credit rating and imposes tough financial sanctions. The credit card companies, by contrast, don't seem to be hurt by the filings much at all. According to Harvard Law School bankruptcy expert Elizabeth Warren, since 1997, 'Bankruptcy filings have increased 17 percent, while credit card profits have increased 163 percent.' "

This bill is symptomatic of what Republicans everywhere are doing (we see a lot of it at the state level here in Wisconsin, too): They want to treat a symptom, not a cause. And in doing so, they are serving their investment-class masters rather than the best interests of everyday Americans.

Thank you.

Write your own letter to Herb Kohl here.

Fingers Crossed

Another quick repair from Apple and, Jobs willing, I will have my iBook warming my lap tonight.

UPDATE: I'm at the Apple Store. It's looking good. We just may have real bloggage again starting Monday.

What's Missing?

If you guessed "Jay's iBook," you'd be right!

I got a call from Scott over to the Apple Store this morning telling me that apparently, the Depot people replaced the logic board and not the hard drive, so that when they booted it up last night it failed miserably.

But since this is a family blog, I won't tell you how I really feel.

An Update, A Preview

So my iBook will be back in my hot little hands Saturday afternoon. Actually, it got to the Apple Store sometime Thursday morning--and considering that I dropped it off Monday night and it didn't ship to the Depot until Tuesday morning, that's fast.

So today I want to give you a a preview of what the remade f's r&r will be all about. Mostly, it has to do with trying to keep a regular schedule:

Monday: My Music Moday--I will take the time to talk about something related to my music. I will try to get you all mp3s if you want them, as well as talk about process, lyrics, and such. (By the way, if anyone knows someone willing to host downloadable mp3s, you should let me know.)
Tuesday: Teaching Tuesday--I glimpse into what I'm beating into those young minds: literature, grammar, writing.
Wednesday: Wisconsin Wednesday--I will try to focus on local stuff at least once a week. That's not to say I will never write about Wisconsin other times; it's just that Wednesday is alliterative.
Thursday: Thursday Three--Three posts from around the net that you maybe haven't read, but should have.
Friday: Friday Random Ten (Annotated)--You know the drill: Set your iPod/ mp3 player/ iTunes/ whatever to random and list the first ten songs. I will annotate my list, with commentary, reminiscence, and recommendations. Obviously, I can't do this today without my iBook.
Weekend: Random stuff, greatest hits from the past or my other writing outlets, whatever.

So, come on back. I will try to have something this weekend (and I'm still re-arranging the sidebar links so there are fewer and they are easier to navigate). At any rate, there will be real postage here Monday. Promise.

Yellow plus Blue makes Green!

Or, go start reading Blue and Red, which is not really about color at all.

Bad News

While my hard drive is off being replaced (I am fully backed up this time!) I'm pushing back my re-launch. I will aim now for Saturday the 19th. Sorry.

Update update

The new template is basically done. I think I need to do a little tweaking of the sidebar's width. The content of the sidebar is still in flux; I hope to trim it to about half its current length. I'm still not officially "back" yet, though. Just working through the process.

UPDATE on the Update update: I fixed the sidebars. I have seen the site in Mac and Windows, Mozilla and IE and Safari. Anyone see anything that looks bad?

Oh

And for those of you in driving distance of Ft. Atkinson, I'm at the Cafe Carpe Friday, Feb. 11. Come on out and see the show. I'll buy you cake.

I'll be back

Hiatus is almost over. I will be back--I promise--on Feb. 17, one year to the day after Howard Dean's loss here in the Wisconsin primary and the official death of what little political optimism I'd started to have.

In the meantime, keep reading me at LSF every Monday. I'm up for a Koufax, too, if you care to head over and vote. I will be rearranging and trimming my sidebar links, so click through while they're still there.

Your patience will be rewarded!

Add the whole Cheddarsphere list to your blog!

If you are a progressive/left/Democratic Wisconsin blogger, add these links to your sidebar. This is the most thorough list I can cull of such blogs. Copy and paste this list into your links section!

<P>The Cheddarsphere</P>
<MENU>
<LI><A HREF="http://amtalrule.typepad.com/the_amtal_rule/">The Amtal Rule</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.babblemur.com/">Babblemur!</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.badgerblues.org/">Badger Blues</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.benpac.blogspot.com/">BenPAC</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://billycreek.blogspot.com/">BillyCreek</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://milwaukee.blogspot.com/">Brewtown Politico</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.campustavern.com/">Campus Tavern</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.etchouse.com/cpd/">CPD</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.crawfordstake.blogspot.com/">Crawford's Take</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://jennasimsgray.com/blog/">Crazy Auntie Jenna</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://jabartlett.blogspot.com/">The Daily Aneurysm</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/thalia115/">Daily Granola</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.dane101.net/">Dane 101</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://different-take.blogspot.com/">A Different Take</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://dr_saaron.blogspot.com/">Doc's Home</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://wit.com/dyskeptic/">Dyskeptic</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.wisopinion.com/blogs/eyeonwi/index.html">Eye on Wisconsin</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://powervoyeur.blogspot.com/">Fearful Symmetries</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://scottfeldstein.net/blog/index.php">Scott Feldstein</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://fightingbob.com/">Fighting Bob</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://flamingojones.blogspot.com/">Flamingo Jones</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://folkbum.blogspot.com/">folkbum's rambles and rants</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.wicollegedems.com/blog/index.php">Forward: College Dems</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://forwardourmotto.blogspot.com/">Forward Our Motto</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://charlesgray.net/blog/index.php">Charles Gray</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://jef4wi.blogspot.com/">Jef Hall</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://happycircumstance.blogspot.com/">The Happy Circumstance</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.20six.co.uk/Heraldblog">HeraldBlog</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://ineffect.blogspot.com/">In Effect</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://isoincident.blogspot.com/">Isolated Incident</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.tarapfeifer.com/">It Could Always Be Worse</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.kgraff.net/blog/">Kathy's Blog</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://leaningblue.blogspot.com/"><i>Leaning</i> Blue</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://dancody.org/">Left on the Lake</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://leftturndave.blogspot.com/">LefTurn</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://madisonobserver.blogspot.com/">MadBlog</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://westmadisonprogressive.blogspot.com/">Madison: Go West and Turn Left</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.zmetro.com/schools/">Madison School Information System</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://atbozzo.blogspot.com/">Marginal Utility</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.madison.com/post/blogs/micprog/index.php">The Mic</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://mixtersmix.blogspot.com/">Mixter's Mix</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://blog.nateweb.info/">The NateWeb</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://thenewvernacular.com/">The New Vernacular</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.thenewsisbroken.com/blog/">The News is Broken</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://noontheamendment.blogspot.com/">No on the Amendment</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://pastpeak.com/">Past Peak</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://playgroundpolitics.blogspot.com/">Playground Politics</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://pointprogression.blogspot.com/">Point Progression</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://publicbrewery.blogspot.com/">Public Brewery</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.madison.com/post/blogs/wtdy/index.php">The Pulse</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.wisconsinprogressive.com/blog/">Purple Cheese</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.rustyspigot.net/">The Rusty Spigot</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://sadie1.blogspot.com/">Sadie Says</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.samsdeadfishclub.com/blog/">Sam's Dead Fish Club</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://scoutprime.blogspot.com/">Scout Prime</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://sequoit.blogspot.com/">Le Sequoit</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://robola.blogspot.com/">Someone Took In These Pants</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://allspin.blogspot.com/">Mike Basford's Spin City</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.storyhill.net/SHNAHoodHappenings.htm">Story Hill</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.surroundedbyred.com/">Surrounded by Red</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://brendakonkel.blogspot.com/">This Side of Town</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.topofmyhead.info/">Top of My Head</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://wisconsinite.net/dairyconspiracy/">The Vast Dairy State Conspiracy</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.watchdogmilwaukee.com/">Watchdog Milwaukee</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.waxingamerica.com/">Paul Soglin's Waxing America</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.wisopinion.com/blogs/whatsleft/index.html">What's Left</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.wisconsingrassrootsdemocrats.blogspot.com/">Wisconsin Grassroots Democrats</A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.wisopinion.com/blogs/xofffiles.html">Xoff Files</A></menu>
<P>CandiBlogs</P>
<MENU>
<LI><A HREF="http://kreitlowcorner.blogspot.com/">Pat Keitlow (SD-23)</A>
</MENU>
<P>LegiBlogs</P>
<MENU>
<LI><A HREF="http://markpocan.blogspot.com/">Mark Pocan (AD-78)</A>
</MENU>

Do you wish to be on this list? Are you a blogging Democratic state legislator or Democratic candidate for state or federal office? Let me know and I'll add you to the blogroll!

Official

I am officially on hiatus until at least Jan. 1. I will try to re-launch then with a new template, links, variety, and surprises. Right now just check my weekly gig at Liberal Street Fight. I'll still read my email if you need/ want/ care to contact me.

I'm on drugs (again)

So last night, before the really big show, I bought a can of La Croix from a vending machine in the hallway outside the performance space so I could have something to drink on stage (I'd forgotten to bring a bottle of water, as the Coffee House doesn't sell cold beverages, just, well, coffee). I bent down to get it from the dispensing part, and, yep, hurt the back.

So I played the show in more pain than I really wanted to be in, but I think I did okay for it being my first paying solo performance in nearly two years. I gotta get back into the performance swing of things. People were at least saying nice things afterwards. I did not play the song below, although this morning I played through that one with my group (singwriters, though there is some theraputic benefit) and they liked it. I've also got a new political one I'll post later, maybe, that I did play and people liked, though the group had a problem with the bridge.

Anyway, where I'm going with this, is that I want to send a shout-out to Madman in the Marketplace, a fellow Liberal Street Fighter, and thoughful conservative Dean, who both came out to the show.

And, as an extra-special bonus, A Quiz!:

You are 60% Virgo

How much do you match your zodiac sign?

Via feministe.

Wha?

Okay, how screwed up is it that Kmart now owns Lands' End? It's like my world is upside down.

You Fix It

Here's a new feature on folkbum's R&R: When I get too lazy to bother to edit my own stuff, I'll make you do it. Here's a song that hasn't gone over as well as some. I kind of like it; it's got a catchy melody and some good lines. So lay it on me: What would you change?

SOS

[chorus]
You can save me if you want to
I don’t think I am worth the trip
And I don’t think I would blame you
If you left this sinking ship

SOS in the morning, with your coffee and your bread
You have heard the radar warning, and let me stay in bed
I have done my damage, I am taking this ship down
Your choice seems pretty clear to me: Come back, or let me drown

[chorus]

SOS in the evening, cooking dinner, it’s my turn
I know somebody’s gonna go hungry, and somebody’s gonna get burned
It will all just fall apart, like everything else I touch
I’ve left a string of broken hearts who don’t like drowning much

[chorus]

You didn’t sign on for an iceberg, you didn’t sign on for a dive
I know I can change if I just get the chance please hold on now and keep me alive

SOS in the nighttime, walking the hall like a plank
Got a view of the ocean floor, got no one but myself to thank
I should come with a life jacket, as much as I torpedo love
But as the briny deep closes over me it’s your face I’ll be thinking of

[chorus, repeat last line twice]

Oh, My Word! Volume 2

My second column is up at LSF. I may have something later today for you here; I may not. You'll just have to come back and check now, won't you?

Some day this week I'll clean out my template, getting rid of election 04 crap. Anyone got any ideas for what I should replace it with?

Post-Election Neglection

In between grading exams and frantically trying to improvise something to teach next week, I'm busily preparing for the really big show next weekend. I haven't played live in front of people since May, and I need both to practice and finish up a couple of half-done songs.

So talk amongst yourselves. You can do that here, or at any of the fine blogs linked down and to the right.

LSF

I wanted to get to this earlier, but, well. Life and other plans and all. Liberal Street Fight has officially launched. That link will take you there, but eventually liberalstreetfight.com will be the preferred address. liberalstreetfight.org and liberalstreetfighter.com are the current pathways while the folks in charge resolve issues with ISPs and whatnot.


This post lays out the philosophy and posting calendar. Anyone who followed the launch of Open Source Politics knows that a calendar is for squat when it comes to group blogs, but I, for one, plan to stick to the target, since what I'm writing about--writing--is not current-events dependent. The first installment of "Oh, My Word!" is here.

I'll ask you guys, too, since you may not carry over and since I know you all are full of piss and vinegar: I'm looking for reader questions and reader suggestions for the column. I have my own ideas--and I've even got most of next week's column done already--but the only way "Oh, My Word!" will be successful is if I have audience participation. Drop a comment here, there, or to my email, please. And, since grammar is non-partisan (although eventually I will do some media criticism and "frames" work a la Lakoff), anyone can play. Don't be shy, Big Dan.

I'm not dead

I'm just really busy. It's the end of the quarter and all.

I had a chance to see Ira Glass from "This American Life" last night, and I want to review it, as well as catch up on some of the news around here, but I can't. Sorry.

The Silver Linings

Some cribbed from around the blogosphere, and some not.

Let's remember how poor a victory this was for the Whopper™:

• This is the largest number of people who have ever voted AGAINST a president
• 1% more than 50% is not a mandate but a bare, thin, majority.
• Assuming Bush gets New Mexico and Iowa, he will have gotten the lowest percentage of electoral votes (54%) of any incumbent running for reelection since Wilson. If those two states should swing Kerry's way (NM might), it'll be even lower.
• He will have won with the lowest percentage of the popular vote (51%) of any incumbent running for reelection since Truman (who ran in a 4-way race that included Strom Thurmond)
• He will have won by the lowest margin of the popular vote (3.5M) of any  incumbent running for reelection since Truman (2.1M, and back then only 50M voted).
• He will have won the three states that put him over 270 (OH, NM and IA--assuming the last two go his way) by only 161,989 (not counting the provisional ballots, absentee, etc.).

I think some of those are wrong--didn't Clinton get less than 50% in 96?--but still, you have to admit, this election has not been an overwhelming victory for the man.

Also, what's pretty sweet about this term is that Republicans will have no one but themselves to blame for all of the things that go wrong--and they will go wrong. See my post below for how I think we ought to really handle it. This is also prime time for scandal, and there are five or eight of them ready to go, from the Plame thing to the recent supressed CIA report on 9/11. I think that by 2008, the moderates--who voted for Kerry, by the way--will see what they bought.

More than that, there's no one in the bullpen for the Republicans right now. Arnold can't run. Jeb won't run. Rudy is waaaaaay too moderate. Colin Powell has the stench of this administration on him. McCain is too old. There's nobody waiting to jump into the foray on their side.

Patience, my friends. This, too, will pass. And then we will have our cake.

Mmmmm. Cake.

[UPDATE: Ms. Lauren has a nice collection of stuff]

Next Four Years

If we were an organized party, here's what I'd suggest: We give Republicans everything they want. In spades.

First, the Democrats in Congress should not mount opposition to anything beyond their "nay" votes. Skip debates. Skip press conferences. Skip public shows of outrage or indignation. Just let it happen.

Next, saturate the country with civil disobedience among the faithful. For example, when they start mandating prayer in schools, all the good Democratic teachers should obey the law as it is now, not as it will be then. When they outlaw abortion, all the good Democratic OB/GYNs and surgeons should rush to clinics to perform them. As media ownership rules slacken, the Soros-Turner-Robbins-Sarandon-Reiner-Springsteen conglomerate should buy as many TV and radio stations as they can and air Dem-slanted news and gay-friendly entertainment. My personal favorite: Good Democratic-owned corporations should announce that they are moving their headquarters to tax haven islands in the Bahamas or someplace (not workers!) and, as they do it, hold press conferences and make a big to-do about how they so love the Republicans' tax loopholes, since it saves them billions.

It won't take long for the people to wake up. (I hope.) It won't take long before parents are asking how little Johnny's school can be closed with all the teachers fired. It won't take long before the women at the office demand to know why all of the OBs in the practice are in jail.

The possibilities are endless--like women wondering why all the good hairdressers at the shop moved to Massachusetts or why someone can't get an electrician in the middle of the night when they need one.

After a very short while, it will become obvious the the Republican agenda has absolutely nothing to do with making anyone's life any better. Best of all, the Democrats can say--rightly--that they had no part in it and tried to stop this agenda in Congress. But, you know, the will of the people seemed to be so . . . clear . . .

A Debut

Check out Liberal Street Fight. I will be doing a weekly column over there about grammar and writing, plus the occasional political rant, like the one below, which I cross-posted.

The IP address is still getting worked out--someday soon it should be liberalstreetfight.com. But for now, follow the link.

I guess I was wrong

I never would have thought this to be the case. I've been wrong before, of course, but I was trying to give Americans the benefit of the doubt.

I guess Americans really do want a a phony cowboy president with a strained relationship to the truth. Americans must want unprecedented secrecy in governmental operations, an administration that lies to Congress and companies that stand to profit setting governmental policy. Americans apparently don't mind rampant cronyism in government, either, or the insane culture of fear the Bush administration fosters among us.

The American worker must not be concerned about record budget deficits or spiraling national debt. I guess they like double-digit health care cost increases, steadily decreasing real wages, seeing their stock portfolios plummet, the dollar in freefall, the way oil prices to keep climbing, and the chances of inflation. The middle class sure seems keen on losing overtime rights, and watching 18,000 preventable deaths every year of their uninsured friends--that's one 9/11 every two months. The jobless, though, also apparently are okay with being dropped from the health-care plans, new job creation lagging behind historical trends and not keeping up with growth in the working-age population, in part because Bush's trade agreements hurt American workers.

Baby Boomers with children must be really keyed into the idea of all schools being "in need of improvement" and how the costs of post-secondary education keeps going up. And for their aging parents, Boomers must be glad to see that there will be a trillion-dollar shortfall in Social Security from privatization as senior citizens get locked into drug plans that can jack up prices at will.

It's suprising, but it turns out the American people really do want to stifle stem-cell research and see policies to undermine and judges who don't believe in medical privacy put in place. They must not mind the idea of ratcheting up discrimination against gays and lesbians and writing bigotry in to the US Constitution.

People here sure don't seem to care about asthma-inducing air, mercury in the water, people who hate the environment overseeing the environment, or how we'll have to drive energy-inefficient cars.

Even though the states most likely to be hit by terrorists voted to keep themselves safe, the vast majority of Americans must kind of like constant war with no clear exit strategy, and how the Commander in Chief to ignore recommendations from his top military planners before going to war while giving billions in juicy reconstruction contracts to go to wasteful contractors. These Americans must be all right with allowing al Qaeda to grow, letting terror attacks to keep accelerating in frequency and intensity, letting terrorists escape if it's good for PR, all while fighting a War on Terror producing diminishing returns. Americans are apparently really into an anachronistic state-based War on Terror and a president whose namesake "Doctrine" is a failure. It's okay for Russian nuclear material to go unsecured, North Korea to go nuclear, Iran to go nuclear, and Taliban warloads to gain power in Afghanistan. It's no big deal that we have a Pentagon whose intelligence team trusts convicted con men and listens to partisans instead of the International Atomic Energy Agency. And so what if we have a strained and fading partnership with NATO and Europe

In the end, it's probably for the best that this other America--an America I didn't even realize existed--got to decide who should be president, since I want no part of any of this. No part at all.

Give

Now. And a lot.

This isn't over.

The nice thing about cake

Is that you can call it victory cake or eat it in commiseration. It really works either way.

WI Results of Interest

1. Feingold is projected; also by NBC & AP.
2. By the link above, all the congressional incumbents will win. They haven't called Tammy Baldwin or Gwen Moore yet, but they will. Give it time.
3. I can't stand it! Turns out there's a reporting glich (NOT a counting glich) in Milwaukee County computers, so the state results we see do not include mui-Dem 4th CD votes.

Amateurs

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is blogging the election.

Where to find results?

Once polls close here, I'll be doing some LiveBlogging over to the OSP. I'll be posting results updates here and over there for the things I care about. Full Wisconsin results can be found here.

I'd also like to second (or third or however many times you've heard it) the Media Matters state-call site.

This is wrong

This is:

Chris Lato, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said Tuesday the tires of 30 vans the party had rented to help get out the vote were slashed in Milwaukee. But he said it was not clear who was responsible.

Vandals had spray painted the words "Illegitimate Democracy" overnight Tuesday on the outside of the state GOP headquarters at Madison, Lato said.

Democrats should know better.

We voted, numbers 881 and 882 in our polling place. As I said, I can't compare with 2000, but I can compare that to when I was #732 in the Dem primary last February, more than three hours later than we voted today. There was no line, and voters were outnumbered by observers, I think. But it was early, yet--before the after-work rush.

I gotta go bake something. I can't stand it.

You can cut it with a spork

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

Jerome has exit polls. I'm still feeling cautiously optimistic. I'm reminded of primary season when the exit polls all came out and my guy was losing in them, and I was sure they were wrong. They weren't. Let us have some faith here, then, eh?

And go take this quiz. I got 33 of 40. I thought for sure I could do better.

It's looking good

Several turnout observations to report, with the polls only open a half hour or so. Here at school (which is a polling location), they were lining up before 6:30, and by 7:00, there must have been 40 people in line. All were African American, many older, at least one in a wheelchair. Many had Kerry-Edwards buttons on. The wards that vote here are reliably Democratic (as attested to by the yard signs I see), but I don't remember this kind of scene in 2000.

Two other teachers who voted on their way to school told me that lines were long before polls opened, again in reliably Dem areas of town. People are anxious to vote this idiot out of office. I'm cautiously optimistic right now.

I can't vote until after school, and it will be my first presidential vote in my ward, so I won't be able to compare with 2000. But anecdotally, at least, turnout is looking very good here in Milwaukee.

UPDATE: 8:15--the line continues here at school, and I've heard a couple of more stories of long lines at the polls when they opened. I may start smiling. At least until my third block--they'll kill any buzz. :(

There are at least two NAACP vols here, and one Election Protection (1 866 OUR VOTE) guy here, too. Good for them!

Where do I sign?

The Declaration of Bush Independence.