Decision Time- To Harvard or not to Harvard?

In case you hadn’t heard, I finally got letters back from Harvard and Brandeis, two places I applied to, to do master’s degrees.

Both offered me places. History at Brandeis, Teacher Education Program at Harvard. Both are incredible schools (one a little more so than the other).

Both cost a small fortune to attend.

I thought figuring out which schools to apply to, and what to study there was hard; now I am faced with difficult task of deciding what I actually want to commit myself to doing. Where do I want to be? What do I want to be doing? Where do I want to end up? And of course, how much am I going to be getting into debt?

So, I have lots of thinking to do. And I would certainly appreciate any comments of any type from anyone out there. Do I pick one over the other? Or do I reject both, and focus on trying to find a job? I suppose the biggest pro of being offered a place, is that it is something set in stone; it’s a guaranteed way for me to get another visa and stay here in the US. On the other hand, I wouldn’t be staying here in Madison, WI, a place I truly love, and the place where my apartment and my beautiful girlfriend Nicole are.

I know I would really enjoy doing an MA in History. I love practically all aspects of the subject, and felt throughout my undergraduate degree that I would love to be doing more. Exploring wider periods and places, and going deeper into the topics I love. But, though Brandeis could reduce my tuition my $19,000, I would still have to pay $20,000 myself, plus living expenses. Boston is not cheap.

Furthermore, I am not really sure how much getting an MA in History would advance my career prospects, or my life goals (not that I really know what they are!) After all, many BA graduates in History don’t really know what to do with their degree, so what difference would an MA really make, besides putting me a little ahead of others and giving me a Master’s Degree.

So while I know I would have a great year at Brandeis, I can’t help but feel it just wouldn’t really get me anywhere.

Harvard on the other hand is different. I think the biggest draw about Harvard is that it is the number one university in the world. Number One. That really is something incredible, definitely not something to take lightly. Any kind of degree from Harvard will surely benefit me, whatever I choose to do.  But even with financial aid, Harvard would still be $30,000. And whose to say I would enjoy it there- Ivy Leagues do seem to have a certain type of air about them, and based on what I saw in The Social Network recently, I can’t really say it appealed. Of course, that was “fiction”.

Harvard would provide me with a Master’s degree which I could put to work; namely, giving me a M.Ed. and training me as a teacher. But is that really what I want to do? I have always thought I would make a very good teacher, and the experience I have had in that field has always been rewarding and enjoyable. But I never really “studied” the area, and it has never been a strong desire of mine. More of just a fall back. Do I really want to spend time and money on something I don’t have super strong feelings about? Plus, I would have to attend a summer school, and would only be qualified to teach in Massachusetts. I would have to go through more time, training and cost in order to teach in the UK or anywhere else in the US.

Still, it’s Harvard!

I initially wanted to apply to the Kenendy School of Government at Harvard, but those programs were only really suitable for those with more work experience than I had. So I decided to wait on that one. Hopefully in a few years time.

I suppose ideally, I’d like to be working towards getting more experience. And saving up. That way I have a better chance of affording Grad school. However, there is no guarantee that I could get a job. I’d love one here, but I just don’t know if that is possible; there is no guarantee I would even find one in the UK. Grad school does offer some security at least.

Basically, it all boils down to the fact that, I really don’t know. Perhaps I should take the advice one very very wise man once said to me: “If there is a doubt, there is no doubt”

Wisconsin… it crops up everywhere!

By this, I don’t mean all the recent news concerning the whole collective bargaining debate, although that did place the state on the international news agenda. Instead I refer simply to the fact that Wisconsin, and perhaps UW-Madison in particularly, have an uncanny habit of cropping up left, right and centre in a wide variety of sources.

Take this recent news article, just one example of a strange story to come out of this cheese state.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/14/vatican-official-sighting-virgin-mary?INTCMP=SRCH

 

Whenever I was reading history or politics books for my degree, I always found that Wisconsin or UW-Madison made an appearance, a recurring appearance, in such diverse topics as Civil Rights, Manifest Destiny theory, gender interactions, and US foreign policy. It often popped up in the most random of places. A very popular university.

Pop culture has a great knack for referring to the state too, in more examples than when someone mentions something about cheese or cows! In 2012, the disaster movie for example, when a tsunami takes out California, the couple there announce their regret at leaving Wisconsin. Later, Wisconsin becomes the new geographic North Pole! In Love Actually, the young protagonist heads out to America to seek his fortune and a new girlfriend, and ends up in our very own Milwaukee, WI.

Donna Moss in the West Wing, and Andrew Shepard, US President in The American President, are fictional alumni of UW-Madison (thanks Aaron Sorkin!), as is Harry Crane from the TV show Mad Men, and characters in Definitely, Maybe and He’s Just Not That Into You (Affleck actually wears a Bucky Badgers shirt!)

That’s not to the mention the long list of actual alumni, including Dick Cheney, Charles Lindbergh and Michael Mann.

Of course, Wisconsin is famous for it’s Green Bay Packers Team, and UW-Madison Football and Basketball teams.

Now naturally, other states and universities get mentioned in pop culture too, but I just can’t help but notice the relative prevalence of Wisconsin. Not that this is a scientific study or anything. I could just pay attention more when I hear Wisconsin!

Any other stories of Wisconsin cropping up people want to share? Comments appreciated as ever.

Anyone know any vocal coaches/speech therapists?

You see I have this thing. It’s kind of ingrained in me. Sometimes it fades, sometimes it super strong. Kind of depends on who I am talking to. Sometimes it makes people laugh. Sometimes they just look confused. Some people think it’s a little ugly. Some think it’s endearing. Some may even say cute.

Either way, I need to learn to control it. Turn it on, turn it off.

I am talking about my British accent. And I need to find someone who can help me master a “standard” American accent. Kind of like the Midwest accent- only without the nasal aspect.

I need to master it, in order to get hired at an acting agency. Apparently I am a good actor, with a warming, engaging smile. But I say words funny sometimes.

So I need someone to teach me, like legitimately teach me, to speak American.  Hopefully it won’t cost me too much to hire an accent coach, or someone like that. If anyone out there knows anyone like this, in Madison or at the UW- please let me know!

Thank you! I’m off to work on that accent now..!

Mother Nature

Can we ever be truly be prepared for what the forces of nature can throw at us? Volcano eruptions, hurricanes, tornadoes, cyclones, droughts, floods. And of course earthquakes and tsunamis.

If the recent disaster in Japan tells us anything, it is that no matter how well we prepare, how much time and money we spend, nature can outwit us, and destroy everything we have worked towards. She is truly a phenomenal force.

Would you be more willing to respect nature- recycling more, wasting less water, reducing emissions- if anything like what happened in Japan happened to you?

Perhaps what worries me most about the disaster in Japan is that it is just one of many fault line earthquakes which happened in the past month or so. Christchurch and Japan were the big ones, but there have been smaller ones reported too. Something is certainly going on down there, under the Earth’s crust, and it makes me wonder what the future will hold. Don’t things come in threes? Will there be another large quake soon?

We certainly thought about that while we were in California last week, chilling out on the old San Andreas fault line. The last major Earthquake there hit in 1994, in the Northridge area. (Ask Nicole for more details on that one). Many have said it’s long overdue another.

When I first visited Cali (by first I mean that I can actually remember being there) a couple of years ago, there was a small earthquake the first day I got there. At the time, I wondered what it was, and thought it was kind of cool. Having now seen the kind of destruction it wrought in Japan, cool is no longer the word I think of.

Still, in some ways, disasters like the ones that befell New Zealand and Japan can bring out the best in people. Everyone chips in to help out, camaraderie holds the nation together, and rebuilding- buildings, infrastructure, lives- soon gets under way.

Though it perhaps doesn’t seem that way, the most abstract news I saw regarding the Japanese disaster concerned stock prices. I suppose it’s only natural, but it seemed strange to me that in the face of such catastrophe, people thought about their money. Barrels of oil went down in price, as speculators predicted a fall in demand from Japan. Construction and raw material stocks all rose, as increased demand was expected to come from rebuilding efforts.

Makes you wonder if some evil people actually hope disasters (most notably war) happen, so they stand to increase their fortunes. It sickens me.

effect on stockprices- strange to think thats what people think about, in the face of such catastrophe.

It’s an interconnected world, but it moves too fast?

As my lovely girlfriend talks about in a number of her blog posts, the technology at our fingertips makes getting news and information instant and incredibly easy. At any given time, I can log onto the BBC News website or the NYTimes and learn what is going on in the world, often at that exact moment. With Twitter, approximately every 10 seconds I get a new update from some news source or another, with a new bit of information or a new take on something. Or even a whole new story I haven’t even seen yet.

It’s incredible to think how much is really happening at any given time in the world, and that even with all this technology at our disposal, how much we still miss. I could spend a  whole day clicking links from just news sites, and reading the associated articles, but I would still miss a large portion of the day’s news and events. Perhaps even more than half.

And that’s not to mention all the untold stories and events, those which media moguls deem too trivial, or too boring, or just not worthy of being told. (Sub-Saharan Africa for example, continues to struggle with absolute poverty, unclean drinking water, corruption and violence- but, it’s Old News. Been there. Done that.)

While I agree with Nicole that such instant easy news is great for the population to access, especially those people who perhaps shy away from traditional news sources, I think the fast pace of online journalism and 24 hour news has its downsides. My biggest problem is the amount I miss because everything is updated so fast. Breaking news takes the top spot on the BBC website for example, then something else happens, it’s relegated to second place, then more developments in the second event prompt multiple articles, and before you know it, the first event has completely disappeared from the front page. If you didn’t catch it when it happened, you have probably now missed it.

That’s why I like the newspaper; even though the news is hours old by the time it reaches my door- never mind the time I actually read it- the printed material gives me time to peruse a number of stories that I would not normally have read about.

Of course, it could just be me being slow! That’s true in the case of my blogging- there’s something I want to write about, and I spend too much time procrastinating and doing other things, that by the time I get around to writing it, the events have come and gone and a lot of people have forgotten about it and no longer care!

Or do they?

I think that because news moves so fast, there are a number of angles to stories, particularly human interest ones, which never get heard. There is more depth to events which never quite surfaces. There is just more to be said.

So that’s why I am going to keep writing about the news events that I want to, regardless of whether they are a few months old. It will be a welcome refresher, and may even make you think about something you hadn’t considered before… That’s if I am lucky.

 

 

Spring Break Woo!

Despite two wonderful spring breaks while living in the US, all I think of when I hear someone say Spring Break is Chandler from Friends, and his need to shout “woohoo” in a weird, twisted, high-pitched voice after anyone else says Spring Break.

American schools only get a week to relax for Spring Break, but with Nicole heading back home to California, I jumped at the opportunity to take some time off from work and head to the West Coast with her. Ah relaxation!

Barely turned my computer on this whole time. Been soaking up the SoCal sun, a welcome break from the frigid winter in Wisconsin. Played mini-golf, seen numerous movies, caught-up on reading, done some retail therapy, and experienced gourmet cuisine. Maximum chill-out time.

Back to the real world Monday. 😦

A blog post about Twitter- tweeted on Twitter by my blog

Technology these days.

I have now immersed myself even further into the social networking world (as if a blog and Facebook wasn’t deep enough), by embracing the social media that could easily be known by members in my family as “the one to do with birds”!

I have become a tweeter.

For a long time, I was a doubter. For an even longer time, I wondered what kind of use anyone would even have for Twitter. I thought it was a pointless spin off of Facebook, just another website for me to tell people who I am “kind of” friends with that I was currently “feeling tired” or “eating a sandwich”. After all, who wouldn’t want to know my day-to-day routine? I know everyone out there wants to know when I am going to the bathroom!

Anyway, tweets and twitter grew and grew, and I finally decided to reinvestigate. Nicole talked about how great it was. Amazon regularly sent me emails about its daily deals on twitter. Everywhere I looked, a little blue T could be seen next to the blue F.

So I dived in. And I have been very impressed. Obviously, you choose who to follow. So I focused on news outlets, music sources and information centres which interest me. Now, when I log on, I get instant updates from hundreds of different sights. Take the news for example: every time something new happens, I get a tweet about it, whether it be via the BBC, the NYTimes, the Huffington Post, Fox news, or something more local to Madison. Each tweet contains a link to the full article, so I can click on the stories I am interested in, without having to browse through multiple websites.

It’s simplicity- or perhaps indicatively of our society- laziness. Everything there, at my fingertips, in once place.

But it’s incredible, as in a just a minute I can scroll through tens and tens of stories, and really get a feel for what is going on. It’s good for the brain.

Of course, it’s also very distracting, as I end up browsing various few music sites and blogs, courtesy of Twitter links.

And I suppose if you are so inclined, you can use it to keep up with the gossip. After all, who doesn’t like to vent their feelings from time to time!

With the wonders of technology, I can even post this blog piece straight to my Twitter and Facebook, via a link created between the three. Check either FB or Twitter, and you will be directed here, to read my prose!

In 2011, there really is no excuse for not being connected.

PB+J——Just too American for me!

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich- the quintessential American “snack” lunch, if ever such a meal could be described as American.

And it just isn’t for me.

Firstly- Peanut Butter… personally not a fan at all. Maybe because I was never brought up on it- it just isn’t that easy to come by in the UK; Maybe I just like to eat peanuts on their own; Maybe it’s too sweet for me?

Or maybe I just don’t like it. Yet peanut butter can be found in just about everything here in the US. Cookies, cereal, chocolate. If any product comes in “various types and flavours”, you can guarantee one of them will be peanut butter flavour. And of course peanut butter comes in multiple types too- the land of choice. Like these for example

And then there is jelly. Ok so actually I like “Jelly” a lot. Only its called jam. You spread it on toast. Jelly is something that comes in rubbery cubes to which you add hot water, and it then subsequently ‘wobbles’. American’s call that by it’s brandname- Jell-O. What store brands are called, I don’t know.

I am a fan of putting jam on bread- toasted or untoasted. In fact, I am very partial to banana and jam sandwiches.

That’s right, banana and jam! If you like PB+J- try B+J- it’s good stuff!

Down in Capitol City

Home of the Wisconsin protesters. For those who have made the Capitol their literal home for the past few weeks, they prefer to not think of themselves as protesters. Or the hippies. Or the pains in the ***. They prefer it if police call them “the rotunda community”. At least, that’s what I overheard the police talking about.

I have already blogged about the protesters indirectly, but I wanted to take the time to focus directly on them. Because quite frankly, I think they are incredible. Even if they do smell a little bad at times.

Because, they have shown such incredible dedication. I was all for turning up and chanting a little, holding a sign high up in the air, pumping my fists in the air etc. for a couple of hours. But for over 3 weeks? When this all began, we were experiencing an incredibly mild week in February. Everyone put the large crowds down to the weather. “It’s just because it isn’t freezing out here.” “They’ll be gone when the weather turns.”

Well the snow came, and the crowds grew. As the weather got colder, more and more people turned out to support the cause. It really does blow my mind how people just kept on turning up, giving up all their spare time to come and fight for something they so passionately believe in.

It’s truly inspirational.

And perhaps a little stupid too, when people started sleeping overnight OUTSIDE of the Capitol, in a small camp dubbed “Walkerville.”

Teachers and public workers have all taken their precious personal days, or given up vacation time in order to come out here. Students from across the state volunteered to help out, many often sleeping overnight on hard marble floors in the Capitol. People have driven or taken buses from right across the whole state- some even further afield than that. And the crowd is so varied, with personalities from all walks of life, young and old, male, female, public and private workers, Democrats and Republicans. Entire families have turned up, sacrificing a weekend when they should perhaps be relaxing together, just to defend the modest way of life they are accustomed to.

But it’s fun for the kids. And its educational. It’s a true lesson in democracy, and the value of peaceful non-violent action. Mr. King would be very proud indeed. I certainly am.

Because the countless rallies and gatherings have been completely peaceful. Perhaps at little rowdy at times, and undoubtedly very vocal. I’d be the first to admit that the endless drum circles gets a little tiresome. But there hasn’t been a single hint of violence. Even when tea partiers threw an opposing rally, protesters simply carried on as normal, carrying signs reminding people to remain peaceful. Sure some words were exchanged, but largely, when the two different sides met, they logically discussed their points of view.

Not only have the protests been peaceful, but they have been incredibly well organized. Unbelievably so. And I don’t just mean getting people to meet at the same time for a mass march to the Capitol, or organizing stages and speaker systems so celebrities like Bradley Whitford (Josh from the West Wing), Jesse Jackson, and just this weekend Michael Moore, can speak and be heard. Those are no simple feats in themselves. I mean the kind of organization that has ensured people have beds and pillows to sleep on, continuous food to eat (cold and hot!), and remain healthy and fired up.

Whether that requires a dose of medicine or some first aid, some group yoga exercises, or even a 10 minute turn in the massage chair. I kid you not; all of this could be found at the Capitol.

Volunteers set up in a whole wing of the building, turning it into a one stop shop for all protester essentials. Food, drink and funds were donated from across the country; New York, Florida, California, Texas, even from other countries. Hand warmers- check. Painkillers-check. Toothpaste-check. Tampons-check. Ian’s pizza, a phenomenal pizza place here in Madison took so many donations, it closed it’s regular business, and just shuttled endless numbers of continuous pizza boxes to the Capitol. Protesting is hungry work.

If they didn’t have what you wanted, you could add suggestions to a wish list, and on the next donated shopping run, requested items would be purchased.

Perhaps most absurdly, a family centre was set up, to provide day care and other services many parents protesting in Madison were in need of!

Walking around the second floor one night at 4am was certainly an enlightening experience. All the alcoves were filled with groups of people all huddled up together. Some had huge air mattresses and actually looked surprisingly comfy (the 3 guys soundly spooning in their sleep on one mattress did make me laugh). While most dreamt their protesting dreams, some dedicated volunteers walked around “checking” on everyone. Some protesters had taken it upon themselves to be marshals, helping to control the crowd and providing help and advice. Some walked around carrying earplugs for anyone that wanted them. Two others carted bottles of water and breakfast bars for anyone that was waking up. Others used donated cleaning items to help try and keep the Capitol in great shape.

And they did a surprisingly good job.

And it has helped their cause no end- to be so peaceful, and so responsible. It really focuses all the media’s attention on what they are protesting about, and not silly little incidents that take over the argument. Their peaceful (largely quiet) persistence has been their greatest asset, and they have even showed up legislators, who have got into vocal arguments and shouting matches, while protesters remained calm and collected.

I am so glad I got to witness this incredible public outburst. It really has shown to me what can be accomplished if people care deeply about something. In England, student protesters lasted a day when tuition fees rose, and a large amount of media coverage was about the  violence and vandalism which resulted from those marches. They oughta to take a lesson from everyone here in Wisconsin.

If he were here today, MLK would undoubtedly be amongst them.

A Question of Ignorance

This time I’m not talking about Governor Walker. I am referring instead to a wonderful TV quiz/comedy show in the UK, hosted by one of my favourite actors, comedians and all round entertainer- Stephen Fry. I am talking about QI.

I came across a special show they were filming of QI for Comic Relief-or Red Nose Day-, and was fortunate enough, due to the time difference, to be able to watch it live. Comic Relief occurs every year in March, and is a day when mostly comedians, but other celebrities now too, gather together for an evening of entertainment in order to raise funds to help children in the UK and Africa. Nicole did make a very good point- why just Africa, why not Asia or anywhere else? My best guess- tradition, and because Comic Relief began in the 1980’s when Africa was on everyone’s radars.

It’s tradition on Comic Relief to wear a red nose! Like a clown. They’re redesigned every year, so you’ll spend £1 to buy a new one, and thus contribute to a fantastic cause.  Many schools and individuals often do silly, comical things for Red Nose Day in order to raise money.

Anyway, in anticipation of Comic Relief, David Walliams- the genius behind Little Britain and various other shows- hosted a marathon 24 hour panel, which featured a variety of classic BBC comedy quiz shows.

A true education in British humour! If you’re reading this from the US or anywhere outside of England, I thoroughly recommend you check out either the whole session, or at least some select segments. Most notably, Blankety Blank was always hilarious, and the Generation Game was classic Saturday night viewing. Just a minute- talking for a minute on a random subject without hesitation or repetition- is incredibly difficult and always good for a laugh. If you think you’re a smart one, you could always have a go at Mastermind!

But my favourite of all, a show which combines wit, crude humour and interesting facts, is QI. A true comedy quiz show, which always turns out to be incredibly informational. Sadly this episode was without regular Alan Davis who is always a verbal punching bag, but David Walliams filled in very aptly. Fry was on top form, despite demonstrating the limits of his knowledge on a number of occasions. I particularly liked his multiple hand demonstrations!

Not only do you laugh at this show a lot, but you also learn some incredible facts. For example, during this last episode, I learnt that:

A blue whale’s tongue weighs the same as an elephant;

the natural colour of an Orange is actually green;

Starbucks is called Starbucks because in Moby Dick, the first mate on the Pequod likes to drink coffee, and his name is Starbuck;

That the best colour to wear in warm climates to keep cool is actually black, not white- black allows your body to radiate heat outwards better- that one could be useful!;

The ruby shoes in the Wizard of Oz were originally silver, but changed to red to show off the wonders of technicolor- Oz being only the second movie filmed that way;

And that the Duck-Billed Platypus has the most dreams of any animal, even compared to humans. About what, we don’tknow!

Finally, I also learnt about the origins of the Hokey-kokey. From that, I learnt from Nicole that in the US, it’s called the hokey-pokey- which also makes sense. BUT!- Americans sing a slightly different version-more concise than ours- and they don’t do the classic ooooohhhhhhh the hokey-kokey *running into the centre of the circle* knees bent-arms stretched rah rah rah! Can you believe that!?

Well, if you have learnt something today, then I want a share of the quiz money you win at the local pub quiz if you use one of these facts. Better yet, if you have learnt something interesting, get onto the comic relief website and donate some money to a great cause.

About me updated

Just in case you didn’t know me or what my blog was about!

More streamlined, more detail, and more ways to contact me!

Check it out.

Even more craziness

As I said earlier, everyday just brings a new surprise here at work. I particularly love the guessing game I have to play every morning as I approach the Capitol, deciding which door I am going to be let in through today. It varies depending on the current policies, which again, change every day.

Then there’s always the fun task of seeing how many times you are going to get stopped by police officers before you can get to the office. For example, they’ll want to see your badge at the top of the stairs, even though they know the bottom of the stairs is blocked off, and you need to have ID just to access the staircase. Alas, it isn’t their fault- they’re just told what to do.

The problem lies with Governor Walker and the DOA, who insisted on a huge crackdown on protests and the public in the Capitol, practically (literally at times) shutting the entire building down, despite it being legally required to be open to every Wisconsin citizen. I understand it was necessary to close the Capitol overnight after it had been open 24hours a day for over two weeks, with people sleeping in. Lord knows it needed a clean. But to then fail to reopen it to the public; that was out of line, and just another example of the underhand tactics employed by the Walker administration.

Last week, protesters who refused to leave were locked into the building. Initially, no-one else was allowed in. Finally caving to pressure, law enforcement began to slowly-painfully slowly- let some people into the building, but only those with legitimate reasons. And they had to come through just one entrance, via a metal detector screening. Those attending a public hearing, had to wait in line to get a hearing badge, and then wait for either a page like myself or a police officer to escort them to the hearing room, and then back to the exit. There was only a limited number of badges available, based on the number of seats in the hearing room. For constituents who wanted to visit an office, they had to wait for the office to be contacted, wait in line to get in, and then wait for a staff member to come down and collect them. They then also had to be escorted by a police officer. Only 8 constituent badges per district.

This continued all week. People even had to be escorted to the bathroom.

Now if there had been two whole weeks of riots, and multiple incidents of people in the wrong places causing damage and being violent, then I could understand the enhanced security procedures. But there have been zero arrests, and only a tiny number of citations- less than the average football game at Camp Randall. Yet still, the Republican administration, perhaps unable to cope with the large show of democracy any longer, chose to implement these new procedures.

In response to having their constituents locked outside, Democrats took their offices to them. Literally. Desks were carried outside, chairs rolled up. Signs were made and hung from windows. Office hours were held on the ground of the Capitol for any citizen from any district, Democrat or Republican. A stunt? of course. Made a serious point? Absolutely.

Of course, once they were outside holding office hours, there was no guarantee the Representatives would be able to get back inside. Just ask Rep. Nick Milroy, who in trying to get back to his office after having a meal outside, found himself denied, despite having his leggie ID badge on him. When another officer let him through, the first yelled that he wasn’t allowed, and the Representative promptly found himself tackled to the ground. Fun times.

Watch the video here.

This video also shows the difficulty involved in getting into the Capitol. The man trying to get in is former US Representative Dave Obey, a veteran Wisconsin politician.

By the end of the week, access to the Capitol had been restored, after a court case and a Dane County judge ruling that the Capitol had to be open during its regular hours. The court case itself was accompanied with another crazy news story however; supposedly, protesters had caused $7.5 million in damages to the Capitol building. Why? Because of the signs they had stuck up. Apparently tape and marble don’t mix, along with all the other “destruction” protesters have caused. Absurd! New figures released show the actual costs involved could be as low as $347,000.

But the Crazy award of the week goes to the one, the only, FOX news! This week they successful mixed live reporting in Wisconsin with pre-filmed footage of rioting protesters. These protesters however, were not in Madison. They weren’t even in Wisconsin. How do we know? There were palm trees in the background. The footage was actually from an event in Sacramento, but Fox failed to make that distinction, allowing viewers to think protests in Madison were getting violent.

Oh Fox, how we love you. Since then, a number of protesters have taken to carrying inflatable palm trees around with them. Check out Nicole’s blog on the creativity of protesters.

If you want to hear good music…

You could talk to either Nicole or me, and we would hook you up with some awesome new tunes.

Or you could listen to XFM

It’s a great British radio station offering lots of new rock and indie songs, as well as some gems from the past. Think Oasis, Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Kooks, Mumford, Stone Roses.

Speaking of the monkeys, just heard their new song on this very station- Brick by Brick- interesting direction they went in, a lot more beat to it, with less focus on lyrics and more on instruments. Almost a little technoey. I liked it though, it was a new sound, but still with the AM stamp on it.

Currently playing Manic Street Preachers.

If you do want a new band or artist to listen to, seriously, ask either of us. Our iPods are full to the brim with the music. Over 160GB of it.

Sorry about the incredibly long posts….

… I just get carried away.

They’re interesting reads- I promise. Just bear with me on them. I will try and keep them a little shorter from now on, with more links and pictures etc to break them up.

Also much more on subjects other than politics in the Capitol and collective bargaining.

Don’t forget to let me know your thoughts and comments- either via commenting on the post, passing it along to friends with the “sharing” link, or by shooting me an email at statesidemanc@gmail.com

As always, thanks for reading.

It just gets crazier by the minute

It seems like it’s just one thing after another. You really couldn’t make these kinds of things up. Everyday there is some new development, which if it weren’t so unbelievable and shocking, you’d just want to laugh.

If it’s not the Senate Dems leaving the state, then it’s Governor Walker taking a prank call from a New York blogger and divulging some dirty secrets. That’s right- despite ignoring multiple calls from Democratic leaders wanting to talk about his budget repair bill, Walker found the time to take a call from one of the billionaire Koch brothers- ardent Republicans who helped finance his campaign. Refusing to negotiate with Dems, he still managed to find 20 minutes to talk to a man who helped secure his victory, and is obviously very self interested.

And boy, what a conversation. Thankfully it was recorded and wasn’t actually a Koch brother. In the full transcript, Walker talks about his unwavering will to stand firm and be uncompromising, and his grateful support for his Republican backers, including the desire to have them fly him out to California for a nice break. He also talks about tricking the Senate Democrats into coming back to the Capitol, if they are not able to force them back.

But worst of all, Walker openly admits to thinking about planting troublemakers in amongst the crowd of protesters in order to antagonise them and stir up some violence. He openly thought about trying to start a riot!!! Can you believe that? He decided it could backfire on him, and force his hand, so decided against it. But just the fact that the thought crossed his mind is simply incredible!!

Then there is all the talk and attempted actions on getting the 14 Dem Senators back into the state. It began with locking their paychecks in their desks on the Senate floor. Then there were talks about fines for not showing up to work- $100 a day. That was followed by cutting off Dem staffers photocopying codes, and assigning them Republican bosses to oversee their work. How extremely childish! Most recently, their has been renewed talks of criminal action, and a Senate resolution to arrest the 14 Democrats and forcibly bring them back to the Capitol.

But the Dems have been standing firm. And though they have been starting to receive some negative media coverage from sources other than Fox, I think they still largely have the public support behind them. They are the only thing that is stopping Walker and the Republicans from ramming through this terrible legislation. T-shirts have been made supporting the “Wisconsin 14”. (Just one of the great t-shirts I have seen, including one with the image of the state shattered into pieces, and one which is a play on the “Teach Me How To Bucky” slogan which is popular here, now changed to “Teach Me How To Bargain”)

And they have been having an impact, with the eyes of the world on them. Walker’s actions proved to be somewhat of a test case for Republican governors across the country. I don’t think anyone thought the reaction would be as strong as it has been in Wisconsin, and it has thus resulted in many governors reconsidering their actions, and in fact scaling back their attacks on public workers in the US.

Don’t get me wrong; I think public workers should be contributing to help solving the budget Problem-not Crisis- in the state and the country. But they should only be contributing a little, a small amount that they can afford. Everyone should be chipping in- proportionately. Because that’s the thing about Walker’s new budget- it is simply unfair. It calls for huge cuts in public services, education and Medicaid, as well as reducing the income of those people who also rely on these services. It’s like a double whammy. Meanwhile, those who don’t use or need these services, get tax breaks for their companies, and don’t see any increase in hardships. On the contrary, they actually stand to perhaps make a little more money.

Taking from the poor and giving to the rich is not how it is supposed to work.

To solve the budget problem effectively requires the cutting of spending, and an increase in revenue. That means raising taxes. I think that this tax increase should only fall on those who can afford it- the upper class. That way, everyone is contributing to society- FAIRLY. But Walker has promised that there will be absolutely no tax increases, and has even prohibited local authorities from increasing taxes themselves. That stinks of favouritism to the rich if you ask me.

I never thought I would say this, but comparatively speaking, David Cameron has been doing the right thing in England to address the budget problem- cutting spending and raising taxes.

Enough on this post for now- More craziness and hilarity to follow in the next post. I’ll leave you with this interesting and amusing read, which aptly sums up Walker and his fellow Republicans. Congrats to Rick Horowitz for a witty piece.