At about 12:30 this afternoon, I was sitting at the computer (shocker!), and heard what sounded like drums beating and a crowd chanting outside. I took a peek off the balcony and was treated to a front row seat for the 2005 Milwuakee May Day Parade, brought to you by the Milwaukee Chapter of the United Anarchist Association. Judy asked what the MayDay thing was about, and I thought that it had to do with the old Russian Communist party. You can read a little bit about what the Communist Manifesto has to say about it, or you can probably just ask Les to tell you all about it -- not that he's a communist (and not that there's anything wrong with that), he's just a very knowledgeable guy on these sorts of things.. I did a bit of quick research on the anarchist's connection to May Day, and found this page that explains the 1887 case of 8 Chicago demonstrators. They were arrested, in part, for striking in favor of the 8-hour work day. Four of the accused where executed, a fifth hung himself in prison, and the other three were eventually pardoned by the governor. Google occassionaly "dresses up" their site logo in honor of various holidays. No such luck today. So, in honor of May Day and those wacky anarchists, I've posted my own version. Enjoy. As long as I'm at it, here's a nice little poem about the incident, brought to you by the Illinois Labor History Society: