Climate change – Workplace climate, that is.

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Daisy

It got into my head during BridgeGate. You might remember New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and his staff dealing with the aftermath of an episode that could also be called Traffic Troubles and Retribution.

Closer to home, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is refusing to answer questions about an alleged ongoing violations of campaign laws when he was Milwaukee County Executive and running for governor. He had his campaign staff set up an alternate email system using laptops so that the emails would not be public record and so that his office staff could work on his campaign during their office hours, essentially working on his campaign while on the public dime – a violation of Wisconsin law.

Even closer to home, a local school district had a heartbreaker of a case where a teacher was mistreating students. A paraprofessional (teacher aide) in the class felt intimidated and feared she would lose her job if she reported the problems.

In all three cases, the workplace climate is key. In both governor’s offices, the philosophy seems to be “Do it; we’re above the law.” Both governors are still fighting the battle of “what they knew and when they knew it” and both have watched staffers take the fall for the events that broke the law. In the third case, the worried witness felt unsafe, intimidated, and basically bullied into submission.

Above the law.

Do it.

Don’t question anything.

Don’t rock the boat.

Don’t even consider making waves.

Whether Gov. Christie knew of the bridge closing traffic-disrupting action, his workplace climate obviously encouraged retribution and demonstration of power.

Gov. Walker’s staff did as they were told. Whether he was the puppet or the one holding the strings, his office was another one with an inner circle that promoted and enjoyed the privilege of breaking laws without fearing consequences.

In the school district’s case, a follow up investigation seemed to say that the working climate was safe, open, and unintimidating. I have my doubts. This kind of office philosophy is harder to uncover than the Powers That Be might think. Fear runs deep.

And as we enter another election cycle and my phone starts ringing with volunteer opportunities, I have to ask myself: where do I stand? How far am I willing to go in order to expose this kind of workplace climate and participate in changing it for the better?

That’s a climate change I could handle.

Act 10 Craziness continues

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Daisy

Remember Wisconsin Act 10? It started as a budget “repair” bill, and when our governor’s followers couldn’t pull together a quorum, they changed the bill enough to pass it — oh, I’m sorry, I can’t summarize this quickly. It’s the law commonly known as the Union Buster. It’s featured along with a few other political topics on my Voter’s Voice page. That’s Voter, as in singular, as in me. One voter’s voice. Recently, a different sort of vote surfaced, one that requires voters, plural, to raise their voices.

According to Good Ole Act Ten, public sector unions like the one to which I belong must vote to recertify their associations in order to bargain what little they still can. Our local met last night to vote on whether or not to pursue the recertification process. Why not? Well, the whole process is still tied up in court and may be unnecessary if the related part of the law is found to be unconstitutional. Get it? Uh-huh. I hear you.

Meanwhile, all potential eligible possible members must be part of the recertification. To keep on as a bargaining entity, my local needs to get 51% of all the actual members AND the call-me-maybes. We set goals last night at our meeting; each member present at the meeting was to recruit and be personally responsible for three votes in addition to our own. If that happens, we will successfully get at least the 51% that we need.

The phone call vote is not easy, though. The Powers That Be designed the automated call process to make callers jump through a few hoops. If a caller hangs up one hoop shy of completion, the vote gets recorded as NO.

The Powers That Be underestimated us. Seriously, most definitely underestimated us. We are teachers! Giving complete directions is what we do! The leaders of our local made up a handout with two sides: One with written directions for the verbal linguistic word-person types, and one with a flow chart for the more visual learners.

Wait! I forgot a detail about the automated voting system. Anyone who doesn’t call at all is recorded as a NO. That’s right, folks, no vote at all counts as a vote towards the Governor’s union busters. All potential members who fail to call are counted in the negative column just as though they had thumbed their collective noses at collective bargaining.

Well, readers, I recruited two on my own and checked on a third potential voter. I do plan to quietly chat with a couple of my nonmember colleagues and ask them to do the democratic thing and be counted. Yes or no, pro or con, our nonmembers need to make their preferences known.

When it’s over, maybe I’ll jump back into the future and ask Grandma Daisy to reminisce a little. I’ll get back to you, folks.

Reasoning for Baking Cookies – the Daisy Reality Show resumes

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Daisy

Readers, if you haven’t been around long enough to recognize the Daisy Reality Show, here’s a brief introduction.

Daisy (yours truly) hosts a reality show at the O.K. Chorale. The director and her bumbling assistant keep the show on track and provide a running commentary off-screen.

Daisy: I’m baking cookies this afternoon. We have no snack foods worth eating. Well, few snack foods in the house. Peanuts, cashews, the makings for trail mix – that’s it.

Assistant: I see chips. What’s wrong with potato chips?

He had to ask, didn’t he?

Daisy: It’s like Michael Pollan says in his Food Rules: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. In this case, I’m following his advice that whole foods are better than processed foods and junk food is okay in moderation when I make it myself.

Assistant (pretending to understand): Oh.

Daisy’s cell phone chirps, indicating a text message.

Daisy: Oh, it’s my daughter. She says:

So we were sitting at the fair eating ice cream and I spotted something terrifying — Paul Ryan.

Daisy (Laughing): That’s my daughter, a good progressive young woman! I’ll respond and tell her to run, run fast, run far in the other direction.

Director: Oh, I remember you were a volunteer for Obama last year. Was it really only a year ago?

Daisy (texting): It’s been a very full year. La Petite lives in Paul Ryan’s congressional district, and she took great pleasure in voting against him twice last November.

Assistant: She voted twice? Daisy’s phone chirps again.

Daisy: Here’s the next one!

I was walking towards him to document this with my camera and Audreykins followed. Her mom was all like, “No, nooooo! Don’t get too close!”

And then, after Daisy responds with “He didn’t try to talk to her, did he? Scary.”

No, I didn’t want to talk to him either, so I stayed my distance. Took a photo of people in line to greet him.

Assistant: Twice? Is that legal?

Daisy: She voted for his opposition in two different races — Congress and Vice President.

Assistant: Oh. Um — never mind. Oh.

Daisy: Back to cookies! Real food for snacks at the O.K. Chorale.

Director: Camera One, zoom in on the cookbook.

Daisy: The recipe is on my blog.

Director: Camera One, zoom in on the laptop on the kitchen counter.

Readers, with the exception of the reality show, this post is entirely true. Cookies can be a good snack, I looked up the recipe on a previous post of Compost Happens, and La Petite really did text me the conversation above. She was mixing work with pleasure by photographing the county fair and spending time there with her adorable cousin and family.

Vote with Intelligence

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Daisy

Readers; do you remember Grandma Daisy? She contributed to the blog as part of the Voter’s Voice series. Grandma Daisy’s voice gave Compost Happens a different perspective: the perspective of looking back in time, viewing events with the advantage of 20/20 hindsight. Well, folks, take yourselves back to the future and look at the creativity of Wisconsin citizens and the reaction from the top.

Oh, grandkiddos, you might remember that in the recall election of 2012, Governor Walker’s supporters weren’t exactly showing their best sides. Campaign signs spelled governor with an -er, as if the voters either didn’t know the difference or didn’t care.

You might also remember the Overpass Light Brigade and the Solidarity Singers. Walker had money on his side, so his opponents invested in creativity and time. Both the OLB and the Singers continued their activity after the election. They publicized issues in non-violent methods designed to get attention rather than cause trouble.

The Governor and his security detail didn’t see it that way. The Solidarity Singers sang protest songs in the Capitol rotunda every weekday at noon. The Capitol Police, acting on a hastily-made policy requiring permits for any public gathering, began making arrests and issuing tickets. For singing, you say? I hear you, children. Singing in the rotunda was now a crime.

The tactic backfired, of course. Instead of discouraging protesters, the aggressive action encouraged more people to show up and make noise, er, music. The Solidarity Singers stood up for their first amendment rights to free speech and the peaceably assemble. They knew that the greater number of arrests simply meant more PR for their actions and their issues.

As you might expect, young ‘uns, there were naysayers. There were folks who showed up just to watch the handcuffs go on and to poke fun at the so-called musical mayhem. You might not be surprised, I dare say, that some of the naysayers were in the same category as those who displayed error-filled yard signs.

Who?

Reliving Election History with Daisy

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Daisy

I began my Voter’s Voice series during the Wisconsin Governor’s recall effort in early 2012. Some new readers have expressed curiosity and a wish to read earlier posts. To make that easier, I posted a list of those posts, complete with links and excerpts, on the page titled Voter’s Voice. I planned for this series to run until the first Tuesday following the second Monday in November, 2012. Once in a while, though, the ever-opinionated Grandma Daisy character returns to share new insights.

The most recent posts are on top. If you want to read posts chronologically, start from the bottom and work your way up.

Personalizing the Cube

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Daisy

Teachers in brick and mortar schools, the standard classrooms with four walls and a ceiling, decorate for their students. Posters, bulletin boards, themes, student work – you name it, it’s on the walls. A classroom becomes by design a very welcoming place.

I teach from a cubicle. Decorating the cube is a little different. First, I organize my electronics for easiest access and maximum comfort. If I can reach the phone and the computer with ease, I’m ready to work. Next, I arrange basic teaching files, both electronic and paper, so I can reach both copies of my lessons without leaving my chair.

But welcoming – I do need to come into my cube and have the comforts of a home-away-from home around me. Chuck would call this a Cubicle Survival Kit. You’ve seen the fingerless gloves I keep in one drawer. Here are a few other components in the survival kit.

Plant life and flowers

The flowers were from Chuck on Valentine’s Day. They beautified my bookshelf for almost two weeks. The plant on the left was a gift from a family grateful for my extra time and efforts.

On the top shelf, you can catch a glimpse of a few other survival tools: a Rubic’s cube, a cube-shaped trivia game, and on the right, my mantra of “Keep Calm and Garden On.”

I voted!

My cane graces the cubicle with its lovely green color and the sticker from last month’s primary election.

Mail for me?

And finally, how can a cubicle be less than happy when the mail regularly arrives sporting stickers?

Franken-vouchers

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Daisy

She couldn’t stay quiet for long. Grandma Daisy is back, less than a week after the annual budget talk by so-called Governor Walker.

Fiddle-dee-dee. Tomorrow will be another day.

As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!

Big Brother is watching.

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

Wilbur didn’t want food, he wanted love.

I have created a monster!

Well, grandkids, all of these are lines from classic books. Let’s see how many you or your mother can identify. What? So few? What are they teaching these days — never mind.

Let’s look at the last one. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, of course. Truth be told, though, young ones, this particular quote isn’t a direct quote from the novel. It’s kind of like crediting Buzz Lightyear with “To infinity and beyond!” when he only said it twice in the first Toy Story movie.

The truth is that Shelley’s work inspired the phrase. An English teacher I knew (they’re always handy when you need a good literature quote) mentioned that there is no exact quote in which Dr. Frankenstein says or another character says that he/you have created a monster–it’s more of a thematic draw from the overall text. Frankenstein warns the man who meets him at the end of his life how “dangerous is the acquisition of knowledge,” as a way of saying, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!” in keeping with the “created a monster” idea.

So, young ones, back to the budget. Governor Talks-a-lot claimed to have innovative changes for our fair state’s education system. His changes consisted of a straining-at-the-seams budget for public schools and a significant increase in a program called Vouchers. Vouchers were grants, money, scholarships paid by the state for students to attend private schools. Private. Not public charters, not home-schooling, but private schools. Governor Walk-on-by ignored the evidence that current voucher schools in Milwaukee were not doing any better then their public counterparts down the road. In fact, if they measured success by the standardized tests of the day, voucher schools did a poorer job of educating their students.

Governor Walk-all-over-you decided that his “innovative education reform” would expand the voucher program into other middling to large-ish cities. Make it bigger. Spread the money around. Around the state, that is. One city, one school district at a time.

The Governor, despite his lack of scientific or educational background, had created a monster. He wanted to open up the private vouchers, damage the state’s education budget, and further gut public schools.

Governor Walkerstein was ready to create his monster. He didn’t have the wisdom of my English teacher friend to tell him that just because he could, didn’t mean he should.

Oh, young ones, it was a tough time to be a teacher. In fact, I could use a cup of coffee. Let’s take a break and talk about classic television. Have you ever seen WKRP in Cincinnati?

Grandma Daisy thinks back to Election Day 2012

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Daisy

Readers, I think this might be the last Voter’s Voice for a while. I’m enjoying President Obama’s victory, Tammy Baldwin’s successful run for Senate, and the feeling that I may have contributed in a tiny way to the campaign. Meanwhile, let’s look ahead in time and listen to Grandma Daisy as she reminisces about women’s rights and the election of 2012.

Grandchildren, dear, did you say your history teacher asked about 2012? About the way women suddenly came to the forefront again? Oh, I remember it well – the idiocies and the intelligence, the outrage, the voter turnout, and more.

I was worried, children. If President Obama had lost his bid for re-election, we were facing some very difficult times. Many, many women were getting more and more worried. I saw protesters carrying signs saying “Didn’t we protest this s*** already?” and they weren’t kidding. If the other guy won, Mitt Romney was his name, we were looking at a serious loss of rights as women. His VP running mate was even worse in the way he looked down on women — but that’s another post.

That brings me to the idiocies of the campaign. One of the old, white guys in Congress was running for Senate in Missouri, a fairly conservative Southern state. In response to a question on abortion in cases of rape of incest, he claimed that in cases of “legitimate rape” women had ways to “shut that whole thing down.” I would have laughed, too, honey, except that he was serious. Seriously stupid, that is. Later on a candidate from Indianapolis tried to tell women that if they got pregnant from being raped it was “God’s will.”

Both of these dinosaurs were defeated. Women voters decided it was God’s will that we shut their whole thing down.

Now Mitt had some women problems of his own. He sidestepped a question about the Lily Ledbetter Act – equal pay for equal work, sweetie, it’s in your history book – by claiming he’d made efforts to seek out qualified women for his state cabinet. He had supposedly asked women’s groups for referrals, and they gave him “…binders full of women!” Binders full of resumes, that is. The outrage came from people who said, “Hey, Mitt, it was already the 21st Century. You didn’t know any qualified women in 2003?” and worse, the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus came forward and said, “Mitt did not come to us. We went to Mitt. After he won, we gave him resumes of many potential candidates.” Oops. Twice bad, Mitt. Twice bad.

So – we were dealing with old farts who didn’t know their basic reproductive science, and potential leaders who thought women were second class citizens not worthy of the same rights as men. There were bright moments, though.

Some of the best and the brightest moments in 2012 were women who skipped the binders and went straight for the ballot. Claire McCaskill of Missouri. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. Oh, Tammy! I was so excited when she decided to run for Senate. I was even more excited when I, a lowly campaign volunteer, got to meet her. She was articulate, smart, and very personable. She listened more than she talked, and when she talked, she gained our attention and our respect. When Baldwin’s victory came, the headlines were all “First openly gay senator elected in Wisconsin!” And we said, “Oh, yeah, we knew that.” But her being gay didn’t matter one way or the other. We Wisconsin voters, gay or straight, female or male, elected Tammy Baldwin to the Senate because of her skills, her intellect, and her record in her fourteen years in Congress.

So, young ones, there’s more to say on the mood of the election. I could go on longer – the battleground states, they way Mitt and his VP didn’t even carry their own states in the end, the closeness of the popular vote, the issues of birth control and more. Voter suppression attempts, early voter turnout, oh, my the list goes on.

I was looking forward to hearing and saying “Senator Baldwin.” It was like hearing “President Obama” for the first time. And now that Obama had won his re-election, I could look forward to saying President Obama for another four years.

Well, my dears, that’s the main thrust of the story of women’s rights and the 2012 election. Now I’m going to make a pot of coffee. Does your mother still have a package of Obama Blend Coffee in the cupboard? It’s a blend of Hawaiian, Kenyan, and Indonesian beans, and it’s as delicious as it is clever. I’ll have some in my Born in the USA mug.

On election day – in others’ words

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Daisy

We share a vision of an America where, no matter who you are or where you’re from, you should have a fair shot at the American dream. And like you, I don’t want to see that vision fade on Election Night. — Michelle Obama

I’m with you, Michelle. The American dream includes everyone paying their fair share. It includes affordable health care for anyone. Most of all, the American dream needs a strong and vibrant middle class in order to continue. – Daisy

I’ve been fighting for women’s rights my whole career — in the United Nations and as Secretary of State — and in all those years, I’ve never seen a Republican Party and Republican presidential ticket as extreme as this one. — Madeline Albright

Madeline, I am SO with you! I remember writing a report on Anne Hutchinson, an early colonial advocate for religious freedom, and finding so little information I nearly failed the assignment. It was a wake-up call in which I learned that women have played backup to the guys for much too long. Today we risk going backwards, moving back toward that kind of attitude where women were considered worth less than men. -Daisy, still an activist and feminist

A woman voting Republican is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders. — source unknown

I might add – with the attitudes they hold, the R-R Republican ticket is like Doc Hopper trying to appeal to Kermit the Frog. The trouble is, some frogs have blinders over their eyes. If too many frogs vote for Doc Hopper, there may be too many little frogs on little crutches.

Never mind.

There is no greater gift we can give our children than the opportunity to learn. -Dr. Jill Biden

This is so, so true. Supporting public education for all and funding that education well is a necessity, not a luxury. -Daisy, public school teacher

If we want four more years of a president dedicated to protecting the air we breathe and the water we drink, and who is committed to addressing climate change, we have to do more than vote….I’ve been fighting for the environment for more than 40 years, and I’ve never lived through an election so critical to its fate — not just for the next four years, but for the next 40. — Carole King

Just call out my name – and I’ll do the best I can, too. – Daisy, environmentalist and volunteer

Let’s end with another from the former secretary of state.

Perhaps the Republican Party thinks that it’s better for women to have their decisions made for them. I happen to think that women want to take care of themselves — and control their own bodies and personal health. Women deserve the ability to fight for a fair wage, and to speak out in support of legislation like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This shouldn’t be a lot to ask — aren’t we in the 21st century? — Madeline Albright

Amen, sister. Now let the choir vote.

Campaign, As seen online

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Daisy

Between Hurricane Sandy and the upcoming election, the Interwebs are stirring up a storm – or two. Or three. Let’s browse.

From Twitter:

Conservatives to women: Stop whining about your rights! Get over it! from Daisy: Then stop making ridiculous laws that take my rights away! Remember, I am woman, and I vote.

Looking forward to actual bailout of Wall Street. from Daisy: LOL! Grab a bucket!

Really respect Clinton for taking POTUS’ campaign so he can monitor storm & aftermath. from Daisy: Are you sure he’s not just looking for those binders full of women?

Ann Romney: We Need To ‘Throw Out’ The Public Education System. Daisy: Ann, get real. I dare you to say that to a few parents of special needs kids – you won’t be standing when they’re done.

As seen on Plurk:

Apparently I’m not even allowed to schedule committee meetings without administrative approval… Daisy replies: remember, a zebra is a horse designed by committee.

Today In History 1966 – National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded Daisy: today, history in the making, we need the NOW as much as we ever did.

From a Plurk friend in London: when is the US election over with? Daisy answers: early voting has already started. Official election day is November 6. When will it be over? That depends. If it’s like 2000, it’ll be over in December – if the Supreme Court says so.

From Friends on Facebook:

I am continually baffled that anyone with a working brain can vote for this guy. Daisy adds: I’m with you. (walks away humming “If I only had a brain”)

Seriously, how can they say they are for us, the American people, and yet they buy foreign?? Unbelievable!!!! Daisy: I’ve seen photos like this that were photoshopped. I’m not ready to accuse the Romney campaign of buying their goods overseas – but I’ll sure talk about how that’s where the jobs have gone!

I won’t touch the long and emotionally loaded conversations that are going on right now courtesy of my college classmates. We liberal arts grads know how to argue and support our positions, and our Facebook posts show it. I’ll close with yet another reminder of the potential danger of letting the Tea Party Conservatives pass their dream laws:

‘Nuff said.

Compost Happens

Taking care of family, garden, and coffee and sharing it with the online world

Tag Archives: Voter’s Voice

Climate change – Workplace climate, that is.

Act 10 Craziness continues

Reasoning for Baking Cookies – the Daisy Reality Show resumes

Vote with Intelligence

Reliving Election History with Daisy

Personalizing the Cube

Franken-vouchers

Grandma Daisy thinks back to Election Day 2012

On election day – in others’ words

Campaign, As seen online

I am continually baffled that anyone with a working brain can vote for this guy. Daisy adds: I’m with you. (walks away humming “If I only had a brain”)

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I am continually baffled that anyone with a working brain can vote for this guy. Daisy adds: I’m with you. (walks away humming “If I only had a brain”)

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