We signed up for phone service with ATT and it turned into what has been a typical interaction with Corporate America:

* When we signed up on the phone on the ATT website it gave us a choice of 6 numbers. We selected one and naively assumed that would be our number. It was only after we started giving out that number that we found out that ATT has assigned us a different number--and never let us know.
* They gave us a date by which service would be connected, but it was not connected until the next day.
* We signed up for a $14 rate, but when we got our bill we were charged $17 a month.
* The bill also had an unexplained "Mileage-Outside Base Rate Area" charge of $1.94.
* We were to receive 20 free local phone calls, but instead we are being charged for local calls by the minute.

So, we get thrown into an endless loop with ATT customer service personal who either do not care or are not able to address these questions, and end the call reading from a script: "We hope you are completely satisfied with the service you have received today," which just leaves us screaming: NO! Have you not been listening to what I have been saying??

Last week I finally talked to Account Specialist George who said that the rate had increased in July and the 25 free calls only applied in TX, that there was absolutely nothing that ATT could do to solve this problem, and he strongly recommended that I contact the Public Utilities Commission to solve the problem.

So, I filed a complaint with PUC, BBB, and the FCC. The PUC called me back and told me that they did not have regulatory control over ATT, and suggested that I call the ATT executive president instead and perhaps file a complaint with the Attorney General. It was the Better Business Bureau complaint, however, that elicited a call back from ATT. Deidre said that the base rate had been raised in July and that now they had corrected the website, read from a script to explain the "Mileage-Outside Base Rate Area" which really makes no sense, and told me that ATT does not keep track of the local calls for which I am being billed and that I would have to subpena them to gain access to that information.

Yet this morning the ATT website still features an AT&T Measured Rate Service for $14.00 a month including 20 outgoing local calls.

So, remind me how corporations that treat us this poorly and just randomly charge us whatever they feel like without having to explain or account for it make our lives better? Why are we giving these monsters huge tax giveaways when they are not being held responsible for their actions?

I saw my last Broom Street Theater play tonite. I have seen some of the best plays ever and some of the worst plays ever at Broom Street, but this was definitely one of the best. The Lamentable Tragedie of Scott Walker Governour of Wisconsin is the story of a conservative governor who uses immoral means to create an upward redistribution of wealth in order to benefit a few wealthy corporate backers at the cost of the rest of citizenry. But the story is not done, and it pains me deeply to have to leave before the work is complete. We remain optimistic that before the final curtain falls that Scott Walker will be recalled.

I'm leaving in a couple weeks and only now am I finding some buried treasures.

Early this morning I loaded the canine, breakfast and the newspaper into the car and drove out to the Gibraltar Rock State Natural Area. A short climb up an old road brought us to the top of an escarpment overlooking the Wisconsin River Valley. It was gorgeous on top of the cliffs, even if they did give me vertigo. I wonder how many more hidden areas remain for me to discover?

Steve Earle played tonite in Madison. I'm going to miss these overtly political expressions in favor of people and our rights.

The Revolution Starts Now

I was walkin’ down the street
In the town where I was born
I was movin’ to a beat
That I’d never felt before
So I opened up my eyes
And I took a look around
I saw it written ‘cross the sky
The revolution starts now
Yeah, the revolution starts now

The revolution starts now
When you rise above your fear
And tear the walls around you down
The revolution starts here
Where you work and where you play
Where you lay your money down
What you do and what you say
The revolution starts now
Yeah the revolution starts now

Yeah the revolution starts now
In your own backyard
In your own hometown
So what you doin’ standin’ around?
Just follow your heart
The revolution starts now

Last night I had a dream
That the world had turned around
And all our hopes had come to be
And the people gathered ‘round
They all brought what they could bring
And nobody went without
And I learned a song to sing
The revolution starts now

Located on the edge of a glacial moraine, Madison is surrounded with fabulous hiking opportunities. Six of my favorite hikes include:

1. The Table Bluff segment of the Ice Age Trail winds up to a very nice view from a high bluff. It's my favorite birthday hike. In season, berries and other fruit are available along the trail.

2. Indian Lake Park includes a dog run and a trail up to a chapel overlooking the lake.

3. The Wisconsin State Journal says that Devil’s Lake State Park would have no problem qualifying as a national park. My favorite part of the park is Parfrey's Glen State Natural Area, but it is currently closed until a new, permanent trail can be constructed. The best way to return to Madison from the park is on the Merrimac Ferry, enjoying a moose tracks ice cream cone while waiting for the ferry to arrive. Most people would rank this park #1, but it really is only my third favorite.

4. Governor Nelson State Park is not particularly unique, but it is close and it has Indian burial mounds.

5. Blue Mound State Park was the first state park we visited in Wisconsin. We sneaked in on the Military Ridge State Trail when they wanted to charge us non-resident rates because we didn't have Wisconsin license plates on the car yet.

6. Natural Bridge State Park features a natural sandstone arch.

In the continuing expressions of citizen democracy in Madison, we had a rally today against Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser who not only is a rightwing republican ideologue who thinks that republican governor Scott Walker's upward redistribution of wealth is a good idea, it also turns out that he also creates a hostile workplace environment for women. In terms of recent protests (that can range up to 150,000 people) this was on the small side, but still it was nice to have our voice heard.

And speaking of making our voices heard, after the Prosser protest I went into the Capitol for the solidarity singalong. We have now had over 100 of these daily events. Such sustained energy and political engagement is truly inspiring. It was quite nice once again to be able to enter the building without having to run a gamut of police (ranging from nasty state troopers to nice DNR officials).

The Wisconsin State Assembly debated today pushing through a bill to end collective bargaining, the same proposal that led to massive protests starting in February. In response, thousands of people yet once again descended on the capitol.

I've attended a couple protests since coming back from Ecuador--last Thursday at the Fluno Center where Gov Scott Walker and Rep Paul Ryan were talking to realtors, yesterday at the Wisconsin Manufactures and Commerce that writes much of the Republican's most oppressive legislation.

But today was one of the largest that we've had in a while. It felt good to go back to the positive energy we had earlier in the year.

Two stories from today rather illustrate what these ongoing protests are like:


1. As I was taking pictures, a very Republican looking woman walked in front of my camera only to inform me that she was not sorry she had done so.

2. A solidarity sing along in the Capitol Rotunda included the song "Solidarity Forever" ending with a chant of "Thank you! Thank you!"

The evening rally ended with us surrounding the capitol, linking arms, and singing "We shall overcome." Pardon the militaristic expression, but while we lost 2 more battles today we will win this war.

Today's rally in Madison for worker and immigrant rights was larger than it has been in recent years, thanks in large part to a push back against Republican Governor Scott Walker's ongoing war against workers. Thousands of us followed our now traditional path up West Washington from Brittingham Park. Unlike last year where so few of us participated that we stayed on the sidewalks, this year we took over the entire east bound lane of the street. Even our new mayor Paul Soglin, veteran of many a protest himself, joined us on the march.

Today's Saturday Protest in Madison was Thunda Around the Rotunda, tapping into a demographic not commonly visible in previous protests. In a notable display of unity, Gov. Walker's war on the workers brought together Harleys and Hondas (and even some scooters) around a common concern: Republican policies to concentrate wealth in the upper income wealth brackets are not in our best interests. In a roll of thunder, the bikers first lapped the capitol and then parked--so many bikes that they wrapped all the way around the square. In referencing an earlier sign at rallies "now you've pissed off Grandma," Senator Mark Miller noted that Walker's policies now have pissed off bikers as well.

1. WORT, hands down the best community radio station in the world.

2. Politics. Participating in a small way in the Cheddar Revolution was an incredible experience, in addition to solidarity and other activist groups plus having a Green Party as the second most potent political force in town.

3. Music, mostly free: summer festivals, free concerts, plus world music acts that come through town.

4. Nature. A nice range of hiking opportunities within range of town, plus not having to go that far for some decent camping.

5. Biking. Madison is largely a bike friendly city.

6. Being normal. It's like being back in Amsterdam when I was 20. Who I am falls so completely within the normal range of expected human behavior that I never have to watch what I do in case someone looks at me as if I'm from, well, Madison.