Today is Solidarity Saturday. Your bloguero and thousands of others will brave the cold and head to Albany, New York, and other cities across America for demonstrations in support of Wisconsin’s beleaguered public workers and their unions. So the first bird (in this case a phoenix, for America’s labor unions) is this: join me in Albany, New York today at high noon or in the zillions of other places where at the same time progressives will apply shoe leather to pavement, lift every voice, link arms and stand up for public employees. You can find the demonstration nearest you by following this link. As Mother Jones said, “Pray for the dead, fight like hell for the living.” Your bloguero notes in passing the additional salubrious effect of exposure to cold winter air in battling cabin fever and inevitable Seasonal Affective Grumpiness (SAG).
The phoenix was your first bird. The second bird (in this case almost a complete turkey): the Dream Antilles Weekly Digest. Your bloguero notes that this week was not the finest at The Dream Antilles, but also, thank goodness, not its worst . It was a week dominated by concerns about events in Wisconsin and never ending Winter. Here’s what there was:
The week began much as it ends with Solidarity With Wisconsin’s Workers, complete with Pete Seeger and historical video, a recollection of the importance of unions public and private and a call to stand in solidarity with the workers in Wisconsin.
Haiku for a blustery, winter night with high wind and low, low, low prices temperatures.
Cuba’s Celebration Of Books: Can We Have One? notes the delights of the Havana International Book Fair and wonders whether an event like that, focusing on the reader, wouldn’t be wonderful for New York City. The Dream Antilles began as a Lit Blog. Sometimes it actually finds its way back to its original topic.
In response to a New York Times piece prematurely hinting at the demise of blogs and utterly clueless about the evolution of the Internet, your bloguero felt compelled to post I’m Nor Goin Nowhere, complete with Bob Dylan video and an analysis of why people migrate from platform to platform as the Internet evolves.
Your bloguero confesses it. Your bloguero always aspired to be a philanthropist. Alas, that has not happened yet, though, of course, hope for such things springs eternal. Buying some pizza for the demonstrators was as close as your bloguero came this week to being a philanthropist. Ian’s Pizza answers your bloguero’s telephone call. The Governor answers the call of “Koch.” Please contrast and compare. The story of feeding the demonstrators and a call for others to buy pizza for those in Madison is in Feed The Wisconsin Demonstrators Pizza. The success of this movement is noted in today’s New York Times
Annoyed that none of the major Democratic powers had visited the striking demonstrators in Madison, your bloguero issued an invitation to the President, Obama: Please Go To Wisconsin. As I look out the frozen window here in preparation for today’s demo, I note in passing that Our Nation’s President has not responded to this clarion call for action. Question for later: how not surprised is your bloguero?
Haiku about yet another approaching, forecasted snowstorm. Yes, it did arrive. Yes, there is more snow. Columbia County, New York has had a snow cover for months. Climate change has made this winter in your bloguero’s humble opinion the worst in decades. More to come, he fears.
And you end up where you began, today is Solidarity Saturday. Be There. I hope we can all push back from the monitor and keyboard, pull on the appropriate clothing, and get out there. After all, what else is there to do?
Your bloguero notes in passing that this Digest is a weekly feature of the Port Writers Alliance and is supposed to be posted early Sunday morning. Well, things happen. The best laid plans of mice, etc. Or as your bloguero’s great grandmother, an organizer of the ILGWU used to say, “Mann tracht; Gott lacht.” See you next week if the creek don’t rise on Sunday early.
