You made this site a place that would invite good content and great writers. For that we are all very grateful. Now go get some sleep, ya hear?

It's come a long way from those cozy, edifying and fulfilling chats and exchanges at the Evening Blues at TOP. The times that I came it was always for me an oasis of sanity, rebels, dissenters, kindred spirits, and music lovers, of the 99%, especially as that place became more and more rotten, diseased by Neoliberalism. I found your and Joe's spot a refuge, full of warmth and mutual recognition of the world's problems, but just as much a celebration of all the great art, music, travel and culture that makes you want to live and remind us of why we do this anyway.

Was like a gathering of like-minded folks that went late into the night, in your funky, artistic apartment in an otherwise average neighborhood, with no one wanting to leave because the company and conversation was so alive, invigorating, warm, and uplifting.

Now it's like we've taken over the neighborhood. With more like-minded travelers.

As the Occupy chant went:

We Are Unstoppable
Another World Is Possible

And, just as I write this, my girlfriend is relaying an amazing story told by a friend of ours reporting from Croatia, right now (bolding mine):

(Reporting from one the ground, Zagreb, Croatia)

More than 40,000 people gathered today in Zagreb to demand education reforms that have been stalled by an uncooperative center right government. This is the largest protest in recent Croatian history and comes in the wake of reform leader Boris Jokic’s resignation from the project after the government attempted to place 10 additional people in the seven person group that was heading the project.

The protest was in Zagreb’s main square, and featured a bill almost exclusively of teachers and education NGO members on an amplified stage. No elected officials were allowed to speak as the 300 plus coalition of organizers wanted to stress that these reforms are not about politics. The organizers also invited parents with school age children to attend, so the protest was a massive gathering filled with babies in slings, toddlers on shoulders, and older children darting through the crowd as people cheered, blew whistles, and sang.

The education reforms have been under way for several years and for the last year, 300 teachers have been working on the pilot program for some 60 schools in Croatia. The pilot program was to begin for the fall 2016 school year, but teachers say that the government has failed to complete paperwork for EU funding for the project and have not yet named which schools will be the pilot. Still the government says the pilot will begin this fall. With summer vacation looming, the project is increasingly set for failure.

Education reform is a hot issue in Croatia as there have been no reforms since the mid-1990s, a time when the work was hastily done amid the Homeland War. The current education is based on memorization of facts rather than critical thinking. While there are certainly other contributing factors, the quality of education is a factor of the country’s unemployment rates and consequent large scale migration to other EU countries. Croatia is amid a massive brain drain.

The current center right government used opposition to education reforms as an issue in their election, and have a counter program of reform that they would like to see: more emphasis on Croatian language, domestic history, and especially on the history of the Homeland War.

One teacher I spoke with said that this government, bolstered by the more conservative parts of this largely Catholic country, has already gone through reading lists and redlined texts that “promote” homosexuality, promiscuity, or women’s rights.

Meanwhile, the reform movement has been subject to a smear campaign, called Ustaše (WWII Croatian fascist org) and also communists. Teachers have vowed to lead by example and refuse to engage in name calling or devisive politics.

Of the day, one teacher, Snjezana Kristofik Juranic, said it felt “something like a Facebook revolution” and mentioned that it felt like a tipping point for people who have been frustrated but afraid to be public with their views.

There was some fear of possible nationalist counter protest, but none emerged and the event was peaceful.

In possibly related news, I decided to go to this protest instead of the Slayer/Anthrax concert happening in another part of town.

Congratulations JtC and Joe on making this a successful reality, for you and us!

I did lose the password, I think.

I was on a working vacation last week. I am working and living in state of the Washington and my family is still back in Indiana- they are finally getting ready to move (my youngest son graduated from High School on Saturday). Therefore, last week I had 7 days to work on the Honey Do list- 14 hour workdays, so I did not have a chance to login and provide sarky comments or even positive commentary, but I am back