It's "Pay a Blogger" Day!

Did you know? Apparently some folks think we should actually value the work of blog writers a little more highly. Imagine that! (Granted, I haven't done much writing here lately - all of my writing ends up at dane101.com these days, though, so I think the sentiment applies)



Go tip a blogger you like, or donate to our dane101.com Start Some Good campaign to help us fund our freelancer budget in 2012! You'll be glad you did. ;)

Live, on the air and very silly

Hey so I did a guest stint on WSUM 91.7FM (the local student radio station) for a show called "Fundamental Pete's Ass-Jammery." Yep. That's what it's called.

Despite the terrible, terrible name, all of the people involved were super nice and a lot of fun to kill a couple of on-air hours with that afternoon. Plus, they gave me a money cat as a parting gift. F-A-N-C-Y. And it was good to hang out at WSUM again - I used to have a show there back when I was in college and they had much less shiny and new offices. Good times.

Take a listen to the alternately very silly, and also sometimes serious, conversation at their podcast here.

Occupying a Movement

Movement: a (1) : the act or process of moving; especially : change of place or position or posture 2a : tendency, trend (movement toward fairer pricing) : a series of organized activities working toward an objective; also : an organized effort to promote or attain an end (the civil rights movement)

You say you want a revolution

Stop talking about a revolution - circling away and around from something only to end up back where you were in the first place - and look, instead, to the idea of movement.

I'm a history nerd so my instinct is to view current events through a much more macro lens - what actions over the decades, centuries, even millennia, got us to this point here? This kind of thinking can be instructive, as it helps to build a more comprehensive understanding of the structures and motives that underlie everything that happens in human society (which is, for better or for worse, terribly cyclical). It can also be somewhat limiting, since it excludes the micro view of the needs, right now, on the ground - so I'm constantly reminding myself to look at both.

In the case of the Occupy Wallstreet movement, the long-term machinations that led to this moment are incredibly complex but could have only really ever led to this one outcome, this situation on the ground right now.

I can't help but see the OWS thing as heavily connected to what went down in Wisconsin earlier this year - and it is, just as it's connected to the Arab Spring, to the riots in London, to the major protests of the last century, really: from WTO Seattle to Haymarket 1886.

The system of the world has been on a collision course with itself for a long time now.

You've only to look at the numbers to get a handle on why:

• The top 20 percent of Americans now holds 84 percent of U.S. wealth
• The 400 richest Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans combined
• "Two-thirds of the nation’s total income gains from 2002 to 2007 flowed to the top 1 percent of U.S. households, and that top 1 percent held a larger share of income in 2007 than at any time since 1928"
• Charts!
• The richest 2 percent of adults in the world own more than half the world's wealth

OK yeah, but those are just numbers, what about the human face of this massive wealth inequality? Some of the same people bringing us the OWS movement have also put together the "We are the 99 Percent" campaign - simple messaging from regular people, explaining what the current economic and social climate means for them in their day-to-day lives.

People buried under tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt they'll never be able to pay off, homes foreclosed on, jobs lost, children to feed, injury and illness to pay for, the list goes on and on.

Here is the human face behind the numbers - all the frustration, despair, anger - and, ultimately, hope. After all the big banks got their bailouts (funded by us, the taxpayers, who should be the real "too big to fail" group), after the endless, trillion-dollar wars, after all of the deregulation (campaigns bought and paid for by a wealthy few, the natural environment sacrificed in the name of profit and short-term, low-wage jobs), after years and years of being on the receiving end of what's actually trickling out of the backsides of the wealthy, powerful few - of course people are fed up.

Of course they're taking to the streets and parks in New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Madison, Colorado Springs, Wichita, Louisville, Buffalo, Richmond, Santa Cruz, Omaha, New Orleans and dozens of other cities and towns across not only the U.S. but worldwide, too.

Because the 99% have skin in the game. We're tired of being crushed under debt, told if we get sick we should just die already, given only more of the same out-of-touch millionaires to vote for, being sent off to fight wars on behalf of people who could care less if we live or die, losing our homes, losing our jobs, losing our families, losing our minds.

The trouble is, the one percent that remains mostly in charge can still afford to ignore us.

We're taking to the streets, more and more every day, because we're suffering - our daily lives have been affected. Sadly, maddeningly, it takes serious upheaval before lasting, hopefully positive change can come. We have to reach a critical mass of people giving enough of a shit to take action before progress can be made. We have to make sure our tactics make the entrenched interests at the top sit up and take notice - without resorting to the kind of violence and personality cults that too often sabotage otherwise well-meaning causes.

It's a tall order. What OWS and related movements are talking about is nothing less than a fundamental reshaping of the way we do business in this world (a major paradigm shift, if you will). And if the protests in Wisconsin taught me nothing else, it's that strong, lasting movements are built from the ground up - not top down.

They also require diversity - of age, of ethnicity, of sexuality, of affiliation, of everything. One of the main reasons I tend to avoid otherwise well-meaning lefty gatherings (like Fighting Bob Fest and the like) is because they tend to feature the same handful of typically white, typically boomer-or-older speakers and attendees and don't really engage with the community as a whole. It's a lot of talking in circles.

I recognize this is dangerous critical territory, but let me set the record straight: I strongly believe in respecting and listening to one's elders. People who've been fighting the good fight since before I was born have a lot of crucial insight and experience to offer and they should never be written off.

For a movement to be sustainable, and to achieve any real forward momentum, we need to see far, far more involvement by younger people, though. And since younger generations are trending toward being less white (therefor on the front lines of the massive cultural shift that's already in process, and all the growing pains that entails), more open about their sexual orientation, and more aware of environmental issues - they're/our involvement is absolutely crucial.

Plus, as a friend of mine recently reminded me: Gen X and younger are the ones dealing with the massive fallout of the student loan policies enacted by our parents' generation. We are being crushed by debt that they never experienced. Student loan debt in the U.S. is right around one trillion dollars - far outpacing credit card debt.

I've got tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt that I've long since resigned myself to never seeing paid off. It's likely that my expensive degree will result in my just struggling to make interest payments for the rest of my life. And I'm far from being alone. (And at least I even got to go to college in the first place)

All that money we're shoveling over to the banks could be going toward starting new businesses, buying houses or cars, raising families, travel - in other words, toward contributing to a healthier society. Instead, thanks to the continued hacking away at funding for public education and kowtowing to big banks, my generation exists in a kind of invisible debtors prison.

They told us to go to college so we could get jobs so we could earn retirement so we could die well.

What they didn't tell us was that they were busy dismantling that system, bit by bit, so that when the time actually came for us to graduate there were no jobs, and when the time came/comes for us to retire, there would be no safety net. Neat trick.

So now we're in the streets and the parks because we don't know what else to do. How else can we get their attention?

If they don't listen soon, and if we don't start energizing a wider array of the people most affected by these inequalities, then I'm afraid we'll end up with just another revolution that deposits us back in the same place where we started--but not before people get hurt.

So it is, then: Keep moving. Keep moving. Keep moving.

(photo by Mat McDermott on Flickr)

Esenberg's itchy blogger finger

Conservatives in the Legislature/their lawyers love to pull in Marquette Law Professor Rick Esenberg to testify on behalf of some of their favorite pet projects, despite his seeming lack of knowledge of what, exactly, those projects entail. Esenberg has proven himself to be a willing patsy of the Republican Party, both through public testimony and his frequent blogs and op-eds, by distorting and/or ignoring key components of the law to suit his and their ideological needs.

So I suppose it should come as no particular shock that Esenberg has engaged in some serious false comparisons in regards to blogger Chris Liebenthal's chronicling of the ongoing "Walkergate" John Doe investigation. He thinks it's just terrible that Liebenthal has chosen to call out Walker aides for apparently campaigning on state time.

Liebenthal (aka "capper"), a social worker and official with the county employees union, was earlier this year found to have been using his work computer for personal reasons - a violation of department rules - and suspended for 10 days. While the finding said he had "engaged in political activity at work" it was, it turned out, merely browsing and reading political websites that ended up being the problem. Liebenthal had not been posting to his blog or making political comments at other sites, though several right-wing bloggers and commentators attempted to paint it that way.

The whole investigation was spurred by a pro-Walker outfit called Citizens for Responsible Government, in a sort of knee-jerk need for retribution in the wake of Darlene Wink, constituent services coordinator for then-County Executive Scott Walker, resigning after admitting to posting highly partisan comments to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel articles while at work.

That's small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, but already different enough from what capper got up to to warrant notice.

As far as we can now tell the allegations in the current John Doe investigation that just recently involved an FBI raid on top Walker aide Cindy Archer's home would appear to go even further - and become full-on apples to the capper case's oranges.
That hasn't stopped Esenberg from squeezing off a few rounds, of course. Seems like someone could stand a few gun safety classes, because both his choice of target and overall accuracy are way off.

Shifting gears, again...

On November 1, 2009 I started my gig writing a twice-weekly opinion blog, Emily's Post, for Isthmus' online presence, The Daily Page. It's been a great run - very challenging (to stay on schedule, to be more well-researched, to respond constructively to criticism) - and I'm incredibly grateful to the time and platform the folks at TDP have given me.

Now, two years (and two "Madison's Favorite Blogger" awards) on, it's time to shift my focus. My post of Thursday, September 29 will be my last with TDP - though I hope to continue writing features and things for their print edition.

Which isn't to say that I'll cease to have an opinion about things - and that's where this good ol' Lost Albatross blog will come in handy yet again. But I will be changing most of my focus to telling stories, researching, and investigating for the purposes of writing progressive-oriented, grassroots-based news for dane101.com and other Wisconsin outlets. I'm excited about this because, frankly, I think that's where my strength and passion really lies.

Check back here at the beginning of October for more news about this change, as well as future opinionated blurbs and/or juicy tidbits of info.

And thanks.

Little Red Wolf - Midwest Domination Tour DAY 4: WINONA

It's always strange coming back to Winona. I was born here lo those many years ago but my family moved away when I was in the third grade, so I can't say I spent any formative years here. Mostly my memories are of riding my bike everywhere, swimming in the mighty, muddy, probably horribly polluted Mississippi, and church functions. As a consequence of the former, then, my sense of direction here is well out of proportion with the amount of time I actually spent growing up here - though I haven't been back in well over a decade, I still remember exactly how to get everywhere in town.

Which is why I was able to find our venue for last evening - the Acoustic Cafe - with little trouble, along with a quick drive past my old house, elementary school (now sadly decommissioned, but hey, asbestos will do that to a building), and dad's church.

We didn't know what to expect going into the gig, being that Winona is by far the smallest stop on our tour and I only knew for sure that my brother and his wife would be coming out to see us. So we were very pleasantly surprised to end up with a really attentive crowd of people for the show - including some fans we'd made last time we played in La Crosse, and some folks who'd just looked us up on Facebook when they saw we were coming to town and decided to check it out.

The set was extra-long and much more stripped down and acoustic to fit the venue - which was a good chance to stretch some more subtle musical muscles. Honestly I think we'd all like to play more acoustic shows to balance things out a bit.

Stayed up a bit later than usual last night after the show to get drinks with my brother and his wife back in La Crosse (where we stayed) at one of my favorite bars on Earth - Yesterdays (aka "The Daze"). And now we're up and at 'em for day five, ready to head out to our final gig tonight in Des Moines where we're pretty sure we're not going to know a single soul. Should be interesting.

I'm relieved to note that the drives thus far have been uneventful - our $25 car topper is holding up well, as is our collective band friendship. The van does not yet stink, but I think that's a product of this being a band composed entirely of women. Things are getting a bit messy, though I think some amount of disarray at this point is to be expected.

We've also been fortunate to have a series of great hosts - in Minneapolis we got to stay in a lovely home with actual beds, very friendly hosts, and two grossly adorable kittens who made a point of harassing Meg while she was trying to fall asleep.

The Minneapolis gig - at the Acadia Cafe - was also really well attended and good fun. We saw some friends and made a few new ones, including the other two bands that played with us (Lingua Luna, and The Dead Flowers). And, happily, the onstage sound mix was great - it's been great every night since Chicago, actually, so there you go.

It's kind of awesome to be visiting new cities and playing music for people who've never heard of/us before. We've sold a respectable number of CDs, too. I think I could keep at this for another week or so, even, though I'm definitely missing my fella. And I'm running out of clean clothes.

Little Red Wolf - Midwest Domination Tour DAY 1: CHICAGO

Madison, WI: The minivan was loaded with all of our gear and luggage, the ladies were all seated and belted, and we had Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" blasting on the stereo - and I promptly drove six inches and plowed into a large, metal Bobcat attachment that I'd forgotten was in front of the car on the street.

After some hyperventilating that I'd managed to ruin my band's first ever tour before it even got off the ground, we discovered that the only damage was a minor ding to the bumper and finally hit the road without further incident.

The first stop on our week-long mini-tour was at the Elbo Room in Chicago, a venue and city we'd never played before but had heard good things about from fellow musicians. Load-in was a straight-forward affair: Elbo Room provides most of the backline so, for the most part, bands only need to bring in their own guitars and smaller odds n' ends. There was one band playing before us--Dede--who were both very friendly and very entertaining. They rock a straight-up '60s mod thing that we all dug. Even their crowd was modded out (i.e. way fashionable).

While we waiting for our time slot we sat with a few friends who'd come to see the show and played the easiest round of music trivia ever, courtesy of two Miller Girls who were on hand to promote the brand. Being Wisconsin folk we are, of course, not Miller drinkers - but the ladies were sociable and the bar was otherwise empty so we just had fun playing the game and getting a free round of drinks out of the deal. We are not, after all, made of stone.

The show itself was...surprisingly fine. The onstage mix was pretty terrible so we couldn't really hear each others vocals at all, and for a band like ours that makes such heavy use of multi-part harmonies and the like, that's kind of death. We muddled through, though, and had a decent time of it playing for a small clutch of incredibly supportive friends (and the members of Dede, who graciously stuck around to listen to us). Even the sound guy was nice--the mix problems were more equipment related than personnel--and somehow we managed to make $21 after expecting nothing...so all in all, for a Monday night, I couldn't really complain too much.

We crashed at a friend of Meg's that night and enjoyed the company of her hilarious/ridiculous/enthusiastic mutt Otis, who was really into licking Laura's face whenever she tried to lay down to sleep. There was air conditioning and RuPaul's Drag Race and our hosts gifted us with a gay pride disco ball - basically, an awesome start to the week, I think.

Tonight we're in Milwaukee at Linneman's Riverwest Inn, playing with two bands I've never heard or met before, which is usually fun. Actually, this particular gig comes to us courtesy of the Cheddarsphere -- specifically our good friend Illy T, whose musical connections in Brew City are apparently boundless.