Each Little World

Remembering George McGovern: 1922-2012

“We are the party that believes we can’t let the strong kick aside the weak. Our party believes that poor children should be as well educated as those from wealthy families. We believe that everyone should pay their fair share of taxes and that everyone should have access to health care

“We are at a crossroads over how the federal government in Washington and state legislatures and city councils across the land allocate their financial resources. Which fork we take will say a lot about Americans and our values.”

George McGovern, in 2011

The above statement is why I voted for McGovern in 1972 and why I am a Democrat today.

Obama gets his groove back in Madison

POTUS was in Madison yesterday and spoke to a crowd of 30,000 on UW's Bascom Hill. He was the Obama who was missing in action Wednesday night at the debate. Here's a report from The Progressive magazine and a great set of photos from Isthmus. And here's one of the things he said:

 

The wheels of justice turn in Wisconsin

A Dane County Circuit judge today ruled Act 10 — which aimed to limit public workers' rights to bargain collectively — is unconstitutional under both state and federal law. Grateful thanks to Lester Pines and the other Madison lawyers on the legal team. You can read early details of the story here.

Note: I don't know the source of this photo. If you do, let me know so I can properly credit them.

How to Be a Woman

I went looking for Caitlin Moran's "How to Be a Woman" after reading this review in the NYTimes. Found it at Room of One's Own Bookstore where they knew exactly what book I was talking about even though I could not remember the title or the author. "Room" may be the only bookstore left where I knew they would know what I wanted and have it in stock as well.

Went home and devoured it in 48 hours — in between bouts of laughing til I cried. It was so smart and sassy I kept interrupting my husband who was trying to read his own book. He didn't have a chance as I endlessly said "listen to this," and then read long bits out loud to him. He went on to read the book himself when I finished. 

If you're a feminist this is the book you've been waiting for. Read it; laugh out loud, jump up and down and then give copies to every young woman you know. Though the author is British, there are very few references that don't translate and, in fact, I think it may be easier to read about contentious topics through a different cultural lens. I guarantee Moran will entertain, enthrall and energize you with this feminist memoir cum manifesto.

For another review with more background, read what Peggy Orenstein said about the book on Slate. 

Our gal in Toledo . . .

. . . reporter Kate Giammarise — and our niece — interviews our man in D.C. during his recent Ohio stop. Here's Kate's story as it appeared in The Toledo Blade.

Keep on keepin' on . . .

From the neighborhood couple who always give me a mental boost with their handmade signs:

The morning after

I made a wise decision last night and went to the 384th Solidarity Sing Along on the steps of the state Capitol in Madison. We sang union songs for an hour as the polls closed. The bagpipers, drummers and drum major from the firefighters' union joined us for a rousing round of solidarity. We'd barely turned around to leave when we started to get the bad news. As Matt Rothschild of the Progressive Magazine noted, it was a brutal night for progressives in Wisconsin.

But, as we've been saying for more than a year, "We're still here" and this morning the sun is shining. Just got an email from the neighborhood association saying that my polling place (Ward 77 at Toki School on the west side) had an 85% turnout and 298 new registrants; 1127 votes cast for Barrett and 425 for Scottie. In the 17 years we've lived here, it appears our neighborhood is getting more progressive! On a larger note, it looks like the good citizens in Racine did managed to flip the state Senate for us.

I don't believe any of us who took up the call in February, 2011, regret our efforts. We shared something in those days at the Capitol that was as unprecedented as it was unforgettable. What happened yesterday was a setback in a long struggle. The landmark progressive legislation that came out of Wisconsin 100 years ago took ten years to achieve. I figure we've got the first 18 months down. As my friend John Nichols noted last year, "The recall elections are not the start of anything. They are the continuation of La Follette's 'old fight' by Wisconsinites who know that this is a progressive state, with a progressive history and a progressive future." On Wisconsin. 

Staying on message in Wisconsin: Vote for democracy — and Barrett and Mitchell —today

One more message from the couple on Tokay Blvd., not far from my house. When I stopped to photograph this sign, I talked for a while with the homeowner who's been making and displaying these signs on his front lawn for months.

We both agreed that no matter what happens today, a foundation of participatory democracy has been laid that won't disappear. Thousands of people have worked long and hard, educated themselves along with their friends and neighbors, participated in historic events large and small. We've all been changed. Whatever the outcome of today's six elections*, there's no going back. 

I will see you tonight at the Capitol for the Solidarity Election Night Vigil and Sing Along from 8-9 p.m. with the intrepid Solidarity Singers. As Ed Garvey of Fighting Bob says, "Go in peace but keep your powder dry. Visualize the party on the 6th."

Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and four state Senate races.

Staying on message in Wisconsin 5

We took all our postcards and bills and notes and political signs off the fridge a while ago and decided to see how long we could keep the front of it clear. Not too long once we discovered this sign:

Photographed on the deck not the front of the fridge!

Staying on message in Wisconsin 4

I love this handmade sign urging Wisconsinites to support Tom Barrett and Malon Mitchell for gov and lt. gov. in the upcoming election. It's nested in a tall hedge on a corner property on Madison's west side. But what's even better is what's behind the hedge:

This is Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonia 1. Locally we refer to it as the First Jacobs House since it was built for Capital Times' reporter Herb Jacobs and his family in the mid-1930s. Today it's owned by Jim Dennis, an emeritus art history professor at UW-Madiosn. This Just goes to show you that no matter whether you live in a big house or a small house, a famous house or a just folks house, not many people in this part of Wisconsin will be voting for Scott Walker on June 5.