Songs of Protest Saturday Night with BAPsters!

This Saturday night at the Coffee at Chestnut & Pine, 492 N. Pine Street in Burlington there will a themed open mic night hosted by Jeff Peterson. The night will feature original compositions and standard songs of protest and social significance performed by local folks. The night will include performances by BAPsters Stephen Sullivan, Jacob Merseberger and your's truly, Sean Cranley.

The set list is below and includes a couple links where you can watch and/or listen to some of the selections. It's supposed to be warm Saturday, so come on out and join your neighbors in raising your voice and perhaps a glass and proclaim in the spirit of the great Dr. Tom Lehrer:

"Oh we are the folks song army

Every one of us cares
We all hate poverty, war and injustice

Unlike the rest of you squares" ;>

Songs of Protest

Saturday, January 24, 2015

6:30 – 9:00-45

Jeff Peterson

          Intro

          Union Maid                                               Woody Guthrie

          Banks of Marble                                        Pete Seeger

Jerry Kuta

Eve of Destruction                                   Barry McGuire

If I Had A Hammer                                    Trini Lopez  version

Kevin Schwerdtfeger

          Fingertips                                                  Original Song!

          Kitty Cats                                                   Original Song!

          Halo Halo                                                   Original Song!

Reid Olsen

          Blowin’ In The Wind                                 Bob Dylan

          Thunder Road                                           Bruce Springsteen

          My Back Pages                                          Bob Dylan

Minneapolis Friend

          Song 1

          Song 2

Sean Cranley & Scott Streiff

          Revenue Stream                                       OriginalSong!

          Bunker Buster Bomb                                OriginalSong!

          Badgered State Blues

                   (NotFrom Here Anymore)             OriginalSong!

Tim Mocarski

          Stand Your Ground                                   Original Song!

          I’ll Sleep Tomorrow                                  Original Song!

          Deportees                                                  Woody Guthrie

Jacob Merseberger     

          Crabs in a bucketPolka                            OriginalSong!

          We Will Stand Here                                  Original Song!

Jennifer Eisenbart

          Where Have All the Flowers Gone?        Pete Seeger

          Sounds of Silence                                     Simon & Garfunkel

Edison Blake

          I am A Soldier

          Everything is Broken                                Dylan

          Fixin’ to Die Rag                                        Country Joe

Stephan Sullivan

          The Automation Song                              Phil Ochs

          The Power & the Glory                             Phil Ochs

Bob Wang

          Crow on the Cradle

          You Say the Battle is Over

          Peace Medley:    Arms are for Embracing

                                      Generations for Peace

Arlo Vande Vegte

          Universal Soldier                                      Buffy Ste. Marie

          Catch The Wind                                        Donovan

 Terry Murphy

          Revolution                                                 Beatles

          Talking ‘bout a Revolution                       Tracy Chapman

          For What Its Worth                                  Buffalo Springfield

Jim Lampe

          Rain On the Scarecrow                             Mellencamp

Tim Merkel

          OHIO                                                          CSNY

          War Makes War                                        John Gorka

          Kings & Fools                                            Original Song!

Mad Bark

          Signs                                                          5 Man Electrical Band

          Won't Get Fooled Again                          The Who

          Get up, Stand Up                                      Bob Marley

 Possible Group singalong

          Last night I had the strangest dream

          This Land is your Land

Vulture School Proponents Do NOT Want Accountability!

The last Four paragraphs of this Wisconsin State Journal article on school accountability bill from Jeremy Thiesfeldt, R-Fond du Lac speak volumes (the rest is good too): 

The DPI’s (Department of Public Instruction) Pertl told the committee that many times, charter schools are serving targeted populations of students and have fewer students with special needs than traditional schools, which could pose a problem for conversion.

Pertl also noted that having more than one test could harm the accuracy of the accountability system in comparing schools.

Jim Bender of voucher school lobbying group School Choice Wisconsin, however, said the use of multiple tests is strongly encouraged because the goal is to measure progress, not to compare schools.

Bender testified with Scott Jensen, a former member of the Assembly and currently the senior adviser to the American Federation for Children.

*Links and emphasis in article text above inserted by your's truly.

The last thing that the Vulture School proponents, want is accountability and apples to apples comparison with public schools because they know that the two plus decades long Vulture School experiment in Milwaukee has failed!

They want multiple tests to muddy the water and prevent transparency. And that right there should tell you pretty much all you need to on the subject, right from the horse's . . . well you know.

Through the Looking Glass - Malice in Dairyland

Health Uncare!

Despite a $2.2 billion dollar deficite after all our trouble and turmoil in The Badgered State, Vulture Vos says we should continue to turn down more federal funds in this long-time Donor state. Getting more money to give more Wisconsinites better healthcare coverage may be in the interests of the citizenry, but that is NOT who Sir Robin Shillsalot Represents.

Unfortunately, here in Wiscossippi too many folcks can't tell a "Rascal" from a hole in the ground. Our once proud heritage of progress, goodwill and clean government for the common good is being eroded by the likes of Vos and Wrong Way Walker, a fundamentalist interloper form Iowa. It's like we've fallen through the looking glass and to the "mercy" of Mad Hatters and the "Queen of Hearts". Malice-In-Dairyland, goodbye Wisconsin!

QUEEN of "Hearts"

MacIver Admits It's the Poverty Stupid!

• 
  

  After a very entertaining weekend of tying the factless and feckless commentors on their Facebook page in knots, I actually got the MacIver Institute to admit that there is not one public school in Wisconsin that has a high-student-failure-rate, that does not also have a high concentration of students in Poverty. It's the Poverty Stupid!

  "MacIver Institute: Yep, you're right about brick and mortal schools. The lowest % of economically disadvantaged students in a failing school for 2014-15 was 56%."
• The link to the MacIver piece is here and the string of comments where the Cult of Con adherents are unable to articulate why they believe what they believe and why they believe I am wrong follows:
• http://www.maciverinstitute.com/2015/01/assembly-republicans-unveil-school-accountability-bill-which-would-sanction-chronically-failing-schools/
• Sean Cranley: More mythology. There is no such thing as a failing school. Schools don't take tests, or do assignments. It's students that fail and when students fail in high concentrations it's always due to high concentrations of poverty, ALWAYS! This truth is borne out by the fact that Milwaukee's Vulture Schools have failed for over two decades to make any improvement in student outcomes. Same students, same poverty, same associated social ills, same results. It's not failing schools, but rather High-Failure-Rate- Students.
  
  The problem will never be solved so long as we follow the failed mantra of "failing schools" and recognize and address the real problem. But it really isn't about the kids. I has always been about money and power and the decades long lust of the Waltons/Walton Foundation (Walmart) and the De Vos family's (scAmway) American Federation for Children to get at our tax money. CROOKS and SCOUNDRELS!

  Like · Reply · 10 · January 11 at 10:46pm · Edited
• View 3 more replies
• 

  Tony Novinska So what you're saying is that systemic failure is not to be addressed? You are correct about one thing and even the President of the NEA Legal Counsel said, back in 2010, "This isn't about education and it's certainly not about the children. It's about power."
  
  So stop with the "My Soros is better than your Koch" divisive BS. 
  
  Accountability is not in the Liberal dictionary. Heaven forbid that something that goes against Unionista Propaganda EVER be considered.
  
  The status quo got us here. It's time to address the status quo. Directly.

  Like · 4 · January 9 at 11:18am
• 

  Sean Cranley I said what? go read it again, this time with attention and comprehension.

  Like · 2 · January 9 at 11:22am
• 

  Fred Bluhm Just because you say it doesn't make it true. I completely comprehend that!

  Like · January 9 at 8:36pm
• 

  Sean Cranley You're right Fred, I say it because it's true and I know that it's because I've looked into the matter. Now I've got challenge for you that I know you cannot accomplish and I doubt very much (similar past experience) that I will ever hear from again on the subject.
  
  A) Find me one high student failure rate school in The Badgered State that does NOT also have a high poverty rate.
  
  B) Develop an alternative theory for what causes high failure rate schools and correlate that cause with the exisiting high failure rate schools in Wiscossippi.
  
  C) Read the piece linked here and develop a reasoned and fact-based counter-argument:http://burlingtonareaprogressives.blogspot.com/.../studen...
  
  I've got the hand that can show that the mantra of "failing schools" is a myth. No actually, it's just a flat out lie. And I'm calling your bluff, put up or shut up. Accomplish one of the three things above and I will donate $50 to the non-political/religious charity of your choice. I won't hold my breath though, see ya in the funny papers.
  

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  Burlington Area Progressives: Student Achievement - It's the...

  BURLINGTONAREAPROGRESSIVES.BLOGSPOT.COM|BY SEAN CRANLEY

  Like · Remove Preview · 2 · January 9 at 9:19pm

Scott Walker Endorses Socialism!

In a dig at Blow Hard Gubnah Chris Christie, a potential rival in Wrong Way Walker's Windmill tilting bid to be Merica's Divider-In-Chief, Scotty did a little hypocritical fun poking over the rotund one's awkard and ethically bankrupt embrace of Cowboy's owner and all-around . . . one percenter Jerry Jones. After all, it isn't like Walker would hesitate for a minute to get down on his knees and kiss the ring of any plutocrat willing to endow him with dollars and dub him Sir Shillsalot. And he certainly doesn't give a rip about regular citizens like the one pictured above.

 But when the Great Divider twittered in the lead up to Sunday's match between the Packer's and the Cowboy's on the frozen tundra: "This is the type of owner I'll be looking to hug after a #Packers win on Sunday":, refering to the photo above, he endorsed The People's Team ownership model, you know socialism. Well Shazam'n surprise, surprise, Walker gets one right for a change! And yes, hell IS freezing over here in the Badgered state.

Christie responded with, "don’t worry… there are enough awkward hugs to go around." One wonders if this duo of ethically challenged Gubnah's will pay their own freight this time, while they watch this matchup of two teams whose league is THE major league success of our time because it's a socialistic organization!

The Public Shrugged

I've heard that the world will end with a wimper not a bang. Well I guess democracy ended last month with a shrug. Congressman Kevin Yoder (R-Kansas) inserted laguage at the last minute into the 11th hour spending bill that averted a government shutdown. But the language wasn't written by Yoder or any other of our erstwhile "Representatives". No, it was written by Citibank. and you can bet it's NOT in the interest of We the People. But the response to these Rulers seems to be "meh".

The new law repeals part of the Frank-Dodd reforms the resulted from the Great Republicon Recession of 2008 and once again allows the big banksters to use FDIC insured depositor money (not investors) to gamble on risky and complicated derivatives. If they win they keep the cash. WHEN they lose we bail out their Too-Big-To-Fail @$$es. Shame on all who voted for this bill, Dems & republicons, right on upto and including President Obama who signed it into law!

Did anybody vote for citibank? How about the global corporations that run the fascist American Legislative Exchange Council (fALEC), who are writing and voting on our state laws in secret. Or for that matter, the WTO or the World Bank? Our "Representatives" have become mere middlemen, our "Republic", a Demockery.

Where is is the outrage at the usurpation of our freedom and self-determination?! When in the course of human events will it become necessary for The People to dissolve their bonds and restore our inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A man ruled in the interests of others is NOT Free!

Oh well America, it was nice while it lasted. Meet your new bosses.

Republicon Hoods

In response to being outed for speaking to a meeting of a White Supremicist Group in 2002, Congressman Steve Scalise (R - LA) the new Republicon Majority "WHIP" said he didn't know about the agenda of European-Anerican Rights Organization, founded by former KKK Grand Lizard David Duke; “For anyone to suggest that I was involved with a group like that is insulting and ludicrous,”

Though in his defense I must say that he probably did not recognize them for what they are as they have a habit of "masking" their true nature.

Badgered State Blues (not from here anymore)

The Badgered State Blues (Not From Here anymore)

This is what happens when your misperceptions are swept away and you suddenly discover that the fellow citizens of your beloved Badger State are either half "Rascals" or don't know one from a hole in the ground.

Composed & Performed by Sean Cranley
CorpSerf ID: IMNFD1-OURFD2

Shame on Seth & Sony

I say this not in deference to North Korea or the current dictator of their brutal regime Kim Jong-Un, but I hope that Sony Pictures takes an absolute bath on this movie. I will not be seeing The Interview.

I'm aghast! With all the discussions of this movie amongst the pathetic punditry that I seen and heard, there's not been one single talking head that has brought up what should be a central point to this controversy. That being, that it is TOTALLY inappropriate to make a film about killing a real, non-fictional, living human being.

Just imagine the reaction if someone made a movie about killing one of our leaders! President Obama, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, even the war criminal GWB . . . The Dick Cheney.

O.K. probably not The Dick Cheney - Torturer-In-Chief.

They could have used a stand-in character that everyone would have known was a representation of The Dear Bleeder or someone like him, but making it about him literally, crosses the line. This is not about freedom of speech. I'm not making the argument that those involved in making this picture don't have the right to do so. It's just that they are wrong to do so. Disgustingly wrong. And it certainly isn't going to make the world a better and safer place to live. Bad move dudes!