Jesse Jackson appears at the Wisconsin protests and compares it to the recent uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia...

... and leads the crowd in a singing of "We Shall Overcome" — which is probably more inspiring than the trio of recorded songs I heard the people sing/sway along with yesterday: "We're Not Gonna Take It," "Revolution," and "We Didn't Start the Fire."

I'm working at my desktop computer, writing this, and a text message comes in from Meade, who's gone back to the demonstration, to get his extra share of abuse, and the text is: "Rev j about to give speech." The news report I linked to above is from 10 a.m. So Jackson's been there for a long time. Anyway, I should have the video soon.

Meanwhile, oddly enough, before we left for the rally this morning, without knowing Jackson would arrive, I picked up my old "Jesse Jackson '88" button and told Meade he should wear on his lapel as part of a blending-in strategy. Am I psychic?! (He declined the button. Blending-in is more about being inconspicuous.)

As for the Wisconsin-is-like-Egypt theme... man, am I sick of that. I'm seeing it everywhere. For, example, today...



"Hey Scottie I hear Egypt is looking for a leader. So is Wisconsin!" says that guy, who was very proud of his sign. And see the woman next to him? In the red hat? Her sign says "Walker like an Egyptian" or something like that. And remember these charming folks from yesterday?



UPDATE: Jackson is still not out there, as the folks wait in the cold. It's dinnertime, maybe they have to pee, and they're only just now getting to sing "We Shall Overcome." Hey, how bad are your tribulations, compared to segregation? You're cold, you're hungry, you have to pee, and you have to pay 5.8% of your salary into your own pension fund. The oppression!

UPDATE 2: Jackson finally speaks.