Tag Archives: Yes we can

>Election Day and Homemade Bread

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>Today is a major election in my neighborhood and state. Yes, I know, it’s April. It’s not a presidential year, either. In fact, it’s not even a Senate or Congressional election. Trust me, folks, in Wisconsin this is big.

Meanwhile, I’m hyper. I need to do something to fill my time in between filling out my ballot this morning and watching the results tonight.
Meanwhile, I’m still fatigued. Exhausted doesn’t even cover it. Hyper? I don’t have enough energy to really get anything done.
Solution: I’ll make bread in the bread machine. I’ve posted this in the past, and it’s worth repeating. I recommend local honey if you can find it. I bought mine last fall at the Farmers’ Market.
Honey-Wheat Bread with Oats for the Bread Machine
Add the ingredients as they are printed into the bread machine pan.

1 cup old-fashioned oats
1-1/2 cups water (add more if dough is too dry in 1 tbs increments)
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups white bread flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 Tablespoon whole wheat gluten – optional, but it’ll rise better.
2-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place all the ingredients in the pan, using the least amount of liquid and adding more if needed, as seen below. Set for 1 1/2 lb. loaf. Select Medium or Light Crust, Wheat course, and press start. Tip: Stay home and enjoy inhaling the lovely aroma of baking bread.

Observe the dough as it kneads. After 5 to 1- minutes, if it appears dry or stiff, or if the machine sounds like it’s straining to knead it, add more liquid 1 Tablespoon at a time until dough forms a smooth, soft, pliable ball that is slightly tacky to the touch. Tip: put a little hot water in the honey-coated measuring cup and use this for the additional water, as needed.

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>Monday, Monday – a Historic Monday

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>Tomorrow is election day.

Today is activist day. Notice I did not put the words activist day in capital letters; nothing formal or official comes with the title. Looking around my simple and limited life, however, I noticed there’s a lot going on.
I had two emails from our local OFA (Organizing for America) group – one with a calendar of events, one with information on how to help with recall efforts. There are a lot of angry voters in Wisconsin – on both red and blue sides.
I checked my school email. Yesterday was a Grade-In at the mall (I missed it – maybe I can make the next one). Today is a huge rally in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., and his tireless support for workers’ rights. Here’s a little information from an organizer.

On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in Memphis as he labored to bring economic justice and respect for 1,300 city sanitation workers.

On Monday — the anniversary of Dr. King’s death – the National Education Association and other labor unions, civil rights organizations, and religious leaders will stand together across this country for the same human rights and human dignity for working men and women.

On Monday, we will remind our elected officials that workers’ rights are human rights. These groups will host a range of community and workplace-focused actions across the country starting this weekend.

On Monday, remembering the courage and determination of Dr. King and those Memphis sanitation workers who endured assault and arrest as they walked a picket line for two months, we will stand together with public workers across this country whose bargaining rights are under attack, with private workers who can’t get bargaining rights, and against those politicians and their allies who want to silence our political voice.

On Monday, we will fight back against those who are trying to silence the voices of workers and the middle class in Wisconsin, Ohio, Idaho, Florida, Tennessee and countless other states. How will you stand up for workers on April 4?


Well, I’m blogging. And I’m Tweeting, and Plurking, and I might even post a notice on Facebook. I’ll continue to post worker history, both national and local, and I’ll get ready to vote. It’s an Activist Day – official or not, I think it’s earned its capitals.

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>Will Walker Get on Board?

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>I sent Chuck a link to this editorial reminding Wisconsin’s governor of deadlines to secure funding for Amtrak’s Hiawatha line that runs from Milwaukee to Chicago. This is NOT high-speed rail, the money Walker returned to the federal grant. This is the commuter line with ridership has doubled in the past eight years. It makes sense to apply, and apply ON TIME, for the money.

But when has Scott Walker made sense?
Here are Chuck’s top five reasons that Walker will not bother to apply for the transportation grant to improve the Hiawatha line.
5. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is a Democrat. Walker hates Democrats.
4. Tom Barrett is not just a Democrat – he was The Democrat Who Ran for Governor Against Walker. The petty governor will hold that against him forever.
3. Walker’s dislike of rail goes back before his refusal of high-speed rail development. In 2007, he used his position as Milwaukee County Executive to kill a light rail plan that would have complimented the city’s bus network.
2. Did I mention that Walker gave away the funding for high-speed rail that would have gone through Wisconsin, connecting Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis? Therefore, he has no reason to support upgrades for the link from Milwaukee to Chicago.
And now, the Number One Reason that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker will not apply to help fund the Hiawatha line:
1. Walker would never do anything that makes it easier for Democrats to get to Illinois.

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>Depression hurts and confuses.

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Yesterday, my back hurt and my head hurt. My back hurt because I have no energy to stand or walk for any length of time. Making lunch or supper meant pushing my limits, which caused pain. My head hurt from exhaustion; I slept much of the morning, despite sleeping well the previous night.
Rest is hard to come by in this Midwestern work ethic. I feel like I should be constantly accomplishing something. During the playoffs and the Super Bowl, I could allow myself to watch a game or two – but there was usually laundry in the washer and dryer while I was watching. I’m taking an online class right now, and getting that work done helps rationalize another nap.
Depression hurts emotionally. Dredging out the energy to make small talk, even with family, is tough sometimes. I’ve always been a peacemaker – at work and at home. Right now, I just want to walk away. I don’t have the energy to converse, much less mediate.
Some days I have more questions than answers. I’ve had flashback dreams of that November night in the ER, the night with the chest pains that scared the heck out of me. Why the flashbacks? I don’t know. It doesn’t mean I want to be sicker or go to the hospital. This dream may just mean I’m doing too much, too soon, too fast. Maybe it’s a warning that I need to slow down, no matter what my Midwestern work ethic might say.
Lately, recovery consists of two steps forward, one step back. Days exist when I have the energy to cook, but not clean the kitchen. I need to slow down and put myself first. Slow down, rest, and heal.
Now if only our state politics would let up, and I could stop watching news….

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>Sound Bites and Protest Signs

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The first time I heard the term “sound bite” was during the presidential election between Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush. Journalists, especially those on TV and radio, found ways to pull out a small snippet of a candidate’s speech and use it to form the basis of a news story. Remember these?
Read my lips: no new taxes!
It’s the economy.
…a kinder, gentler nation.
Save Social Security!

Protest signs have a similar challenge: not much space, the need for a quick message, one that a driver can read at a glance and continue driving safely. Amigo told me he was rallying for his teachers: those who had taught him in the past and those who were his teachers now. We talked over simple slogans, and he decided to include a little Braille to remind people that all students, no matter what their needs, must be educated. He used his Perkins Brailler to show me how to write SOS correctly, and we were ready. He knew which side of the sign to face out because he could feel the stick & duct tape on the back.

There’s a classic saying, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” The signmaker below has a variation on that theme – a variation that also points to new governor’s insistence that Wisconsin is “Open for Business.” How he thinks a strong business economy can exist without educated workers is beyond me. But that’s another post…
Anti-bullying programs and zero-tolerance policies for physical, verbal, and cyber bullying are common across the country. In many states, such policies are mandated by the Department of Public Instruction. Gov. Walker’s method for dashing off a divisive and devastating bill that guts the rights of many is just that – bullying. Questions? See below.

Sound bites or protest signs, they work in a similar fashion: quick to make a point, easy to understand, easy to remember, and the potential to provoke a more in-depth discussion. Let’s hope the bully decides to mediate soon so that Wisconsin workers don’t need many more signs.

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>Workplace Safety close to home

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>After last week’s post with union history, I heard from relatives who reminded me of my grandfather’s union past. He worked for a paper mill in the 1940s before workers were union members.

The mills were extremely dangerous places to work back then. If not for unions, the mills could and did treat people as though they were expendable. A mill manager could arbitrarily fire a long time paper machine operator and replace him with an incompetent relative or neighbor. This kind of grossly unfair management was only stopped when the unions came in.
He saw great injuries caused by the paper machines. Safety wasn’t mandatory; making money was.
He saw people lose their hearing before ear protection became mandatory. One of those so disabled was my great uncle.
He was there when people died gruesome deaths. Two men from his little town went into a giant digester machine for maintenance and suffered gruesome deaths from a steam explosion.
Later, three local men died from inhaling toxic chemicals (Hydrogen Sulfite) in a sewer. Grandpa talked about this at length, blaming a combination of incompetent management and poorly trained, unprepared workers.
Readers, go back into your family history. You may have someone who remembers life before unions, life before OSHA, and life before management was forced to be fair. Ask your grandparents; you may find surprising stories.

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>What’s the middle class – does it still exist?

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A few years ago, a colleague told me that we teachers were part of a dying breed; the American middle class. Teachers, police officers, firefighters were a few of the socio-economic level in the middle – not rich, not poor. Not overburdened with too much money, not stretched to the breaking point with too little. Owning a house, a very very very fine house, with two cats in the yard — you get the picture. Not wealthy, but secure enough to buy bicycles for the kids and eventually send them to college without too many loans.

No matter what the outcome of the so-called “Budget Repair Bill” that guts bargaining rights, we’ll remember those who took action and those who listened when we expressed our concerns. We’re willing to invest more in our insurance and our pensions; we know that the state deficit is very large and everyone must contribute. If the right to bargain is lost, however, we also face the loss of the security that allows us to buy bicycles and still buy groceries, send the kids to college and still pay the mortgage. Is that too much to ask?

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>Amigo gets political

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>It was a typical Friday night. I pulled up to the store parking lot to meet the bus from the school for blind, gather Amigo and his bags, and head home.

As he got in the car, he was full of excitement. “Mom, did you hear what’s happening in Madison?” He continued talking, telling how he’d been learning about how the legislature works, what a quorum is and why it’s important, and a lot about the process of writing and passing a law.
Then he dropped the bombshell.
“Mom, I wish I could go to Madison tomorrow for the demonstration.”
I offered, “How about downtown on the plaza tomorrow afternoon?”
Amigo responded with an enthusiastic “Yeah!!”
So we made a sign for Amigo, I wore red to support my colleagues, and La Petite charged her camera to document the event. Here’s the rest of the story. The top photo shows my neighbors, both retired high school teachers, great people and great teachers. No, they’re not wearing Bear colors; those are the colors of my alma mater, West High School.

This was perhaps the youngest participant at the rally.

I don’t usually show full face shots of my offspring, but they were so great together I couldn’t resist.

I’ll have more background on Saturday’s post: personal experiences passed down through the family the old fashioned way, by the oral tradition. Well, the updated oral tradition: my relatives emailed me the stories they’d heard from my grandfather.

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I teach, and I pay taxes.

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Or should I say “I pay taxes and I teach”?

Folks who’ve seen the Wisconsin budget drama on CNN or Fox News or CSNBC probably wonder. “Daisy, you’re a teacher! You live in Wisconsin! You’re a progressive thinker and active in politics! Why have you said nothing about the demonstrations? Or the disappearance of the Senate Democrats? Or Governor Walker’s bad hair and desire for make-up any time a camera is near? Never mind that last one.
I haven’t posted yet because it’s so upsetting. Today I’m checking in periodically, but I’m minimizing my TV news time. My news junkie self is not compatible with the depressive self, and I’m in a pretty bad state right now – pun intended.
Instead, I’d like to share a few facts about union history. Consider it a history lesson featuring the American worker.
Early railroad worker unions were primarily insurance providers. The workers could not get standard insurance because their work was considered too hazardous, the workers too risky to insure. From Railroad Labor and its History
The first organization of working women to organize was the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association, a group of young women working in textile mills. For a descriptive piece on the Lowell Mills Girls, look to this piece, an overview of women’s labor rights at the time. From Women and Unions, early efforts
Unions helped outlaw child labor and protect worker safety. The horrible Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire spurred further movements to keep workers safe at work. Work also means outdoor work. Heard of Cesar Chavez? The United Farm Workers are glad he took the lead to improve their treatment.
Unions are about people: working people. Unions help regulate working conditions, wages, and employee rights. Benefits in union contracts include paid sick days, working conditions, grievance procedures, opportunities for advancement or changing positions, length of workday, and more. My current contract has 182 pages, single spaced. It’s a complex, thoughtful agreement between the school board and the association that represents the district’s teachers.
Every paycheck I receive has taxes taken out. Yes, I teach. Yes, I pay taxes. Yes, I’m a union member. I’m proud of all three.

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>As heard on Social Networking

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“Has anyone seen my ambition? I’ve lost it.”

“It eloped with my patience. They’ll make a lovely couple.”
“I think it kidnapped my get-up-and-go. They’re living it up in a warm climate somewhere.”
“I like to suck the guts out of kiwis. Just thought you’d li
ke to know.”
“Kiwanis?”
“No, fuzzy fruit, not fuzzy-hatted drunken men.”
Lately Twitter has been full of comments on the action in Madison, pictures of the protests, links to articles and news videos with more information. This picture was shared by an American school administrator currently working at a school in the Middle East.

This one gave me a lump in my throat. Thanks, @scarter. Win or lose this battle, we Wisconsin teachers feel supported.

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