Sep 10

Tax the Rich Demo One Year Old

Occupella singing at first birthday of Tax the Rich. Me on the left, next to Occupella co-founder Nancy Schimmel. Occupella’s Hali Hammer and Bonnie Lockhart play guitars.

The Tax the Rich demonstration on upper Solano Avenue in Berkeley celebrated its first birthday this afternoon, and Occupella was there.  The demonstration, at the old Oaks Theatre across the street from a Private Client (read: loaded) branch of Chase, features signs urging higher tax rates on corporations and wealthy individuals, among other causes.  Numerous motorists honked their approval in passing.  Occupella (http://occupella.org) has been a regular feature of the demonstration, providing musical inspiration and entertainment.

Hali Hammer, one of the founders of the Occupella singing group, wrote a Happy Birthday song for the occasion.  Sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle, it goes like this:

Happy birthday, Tax the Rich,
Happy birthday to ya!
We will rally till we win and then shout Hallelujah!

We are out here every Monday
Holding signs and singing
Folks join in because they like
the message we are bringing!

We’ve been out here one full year
In sun and windy weather
And we come back each week because
we’re all in this together!

Cars go by and honk their horns
Bus drivers support us
99% say yes and join us on the chorus

So happy birthday, Tax the Rich
As evil we are booing
We’ll strengthen our democracy
With all the good we’re doing!

There was cake to celebrate the occasion, enjoyed all the more for lack of forks to eat it with.


[wdgpo_plusone]

Sep 09

Preparing for the Big One: Light Search & Rescue

CERT Light Search and Rescue Class 9/8/12

Lift and crib exercises

Lifting a concrete block to rescue a person pinned underneath

In normal times, the Berkeley Fire Department may be able to reach any location in the city inside of four minutes.  In a major quake on the Hayward Fault, the Department’s response time to any particular call may stretch to four days.  Or longer.  The CERT organization exists to fill that gap.

CERT is Community Emergency Response Team.  This consists of “ordinary” neighbors with training, organization and equipment to handle all but the heaviest damage in our community.  Experience has shown that neighborhoods that are organized, trained, and equipped are much more resilient in the face of emergencies than those which are not.

The City of Berkeley provides free CERT training classes; the schedule is here.  Earlier, I took the CERT fire class and the CERT radio class.  This morning I took the CERT Light Search and Rescue class, and these are my notes.

Search and Rescue (SR) is probably the first thing that CERT members will need to do immediately after the shaking stops.  All CERT work is teamwork, so SR is always done by teams of at least two.

SR consists basically of three stages:

(1)  Assess the situation
(2)  Make a plan
(3)  Take effective action

It should be understood that our assessment, plan, and action need to change continuously as the situation changes.

(1)  Assessing the situation involves a number of main elements:

 

What is the day and time?

If it’s business hours on a work day, many people are not at home.  If it’s at night, people are probably in bed.  Is there a neighborhood emergency roster so that a SR team knows which house has people with limited mobility?

What people resources are available to help?  

How many trained CERT members are present?  Are there neighbors with useful emergency skills (medical, construction, communication, etc.)?   What possibilities exist for transporting injured people to hospitals?  Are designated emergency shelters set up within range?

What tools are available?  

Ideally, SR teams will have boots, gloves, and helmets.  Lighting equipment such as headlamps or flashlights, tools such as chain saws, pry bars, wrenches, markers, and others may be necessary for effective SR work.

How heavy is the damage?  

If buildings are collapsed or off their foundations, or are on fire, or there is a smell of gas, or there are downed live power cables, then the situation is too dangerous for CERT, and the task is to report to the City’s Emergency Office (see CERT radio class notes), seal off the perimeter, try to isolate the damage, and move on.  Where structural damage is minor or moderate, CERT teams can consider entry under circumstances discussed below.

Documentation is essential

One member of each CERT SR team needs to take notes as the assessment and action proceeds.  Notes are essential for reporting the situation to others, preventing duplication of effort, helping people find one another, and sorting out possible liability issues afterwards.


(2)  Making a plan involves three main elements:  Safety, Priority, and Method.

 

Safety:  CERT members must put their own safety first.  We cannot be of any help to others if we are injured or dead.  We need to stay hydrated, to eat, take breaks, and rest so that we can work at peak mental and physical effectiveness.

Priority:  The prime directive is to achieve the greatest benefit for the greatest number of people.  As our assessment of the situation broadens, we have to make judgment calls about where we can be most effective in carrying out that aim.  As a general rule, the first priority is to save lives;  second, to preserve property; third, to preserve the environment.

Method:  Both the Search and the Rescue part of SR work require knowledge of effective methods, which must be built into the plan.  These methods are the main subject of the remainder of the class.


(3)  Using Effective Methods in Search and Rescue

 

A.  Search Methods.

Unless there is an obvious starting point, such as a building in flames, an assessment of neighborhood damage should proceed in a defined order — up and down each side of the street in a given block, or around the block clockwise or reverse, and this plan should be understood by everyone involved.

For each structure assessed, try to examine it from all sides.  Look at the sides and the back if possible before making any decisions.

Should you enter a structure to search the inside?  This depends on a risk/benefit analysis.  For example:

  • How serious is the visible damage to the structure?
  • Are there voices inside calling for help?
  • Are there babies or people with limited mobility known to be inside?
  • How stable is the situation?
  • Is there a smell of gas, or signs of downed power cables, or fire?
  • Are there vicious dogs barking inside?
  • How risky to the rescuers would it be to enter?

Marking.  If you decide to enter and search the premises, first make a visible mark on the outside wall of the building.  This is what markers (or spray paint, or chalk) are needed for. Place the mark on the wall next to the door knob (not on the door, not on the wall next to the hinge side of the door).  The mark should be visible from the street, if possible. At the top of your mark, write the date and time you went in.  To the left, write your team name, for example “SR1.”   When you leave, write your time out below your time in.  Indicate what part of the building you searched.  Also note what you found, for example, “2L(iving) sent to MLK school center, 1D(ead) inside, turned off gas & elec.”  If a more elaborate message is necessary, write it on paper and pin or tape it below your note.

 As you enter, speak in a loud voice, something like “This is neighborhood Search and Rescue team 1.  If you can hear my voice, come here!”  People who can walk, even if they have some injury, should be evacuated first.  Ask them if there is anyone else inside.

If you need to search a building for victims, do it in a methodical manner, floor by floor, going either clockwise or counterclockwise along the inner walls.  Be sure to check inside closets, under tables, in bathtubs, under beds, and other likely places where people may be found.

If you find people who are dead, leave them for now.  Never risk a life, yours or anyone else’s, for the sake of a person who is no longer alive.

If there is no smell of gas and the place looks habitable, don’t turn off the gas.  (Amateur efforts to turn it on again probably present a greater danger.)   If the electric power is on and there is no sign of an electrical fire or other electrical problem, leave the power on.

 

B.  Drag or Carry Methods

The blanket carry

People who are unconscious or who have injuries that disable them from walking should be dragged or carried out.

People can be dragged out by the shoulders, or by the feet (on flat surfaces), or can be rolled onto a blanket and dragged on the blanket.  This should not be done if head, neck or spinal injury is suspected.

Light and small people can be carried in your arms, like a bridegroom carries the bride in the movies.

Heavier people who can stand up can be carried using the back-strap carry.  The victim puts their arms on the rescuer’s shoulders.  The rescuer holds them by the wrist, bends forward, and lifts the victim up.  This requires a fairly strong rescuer.

Two rescuers can combine to carry a person.  One raises the victim to a sitting position, puts her arms under the victim’s arms and grabs the victim’s wrists across the victim’s chest.  The other rescuer grabs under the victim’s knees.  They lift together.  This is hard and takes practice.  It’s important for both rescuers to use correct lifting technique:  lift with the legs, back straight up; never stoop over the weight and lift with the back.

A much easier two-person carry involves a chair.  Have the victim sit in a chair, preferably a chair with arms.  Make sure the chair is not broken.  One rescuer tilts the chair back and lifts by the back of the chair, the other lifts the front chair legs.

Where there are about six rescuers, you can use the blanket carry.  Roll the person onto a side.  Curl up about half a blanket close to them on the floor.  Roll the person on their back onto the blanket.  Uncurl the blanket underneath them.  Roll up the side edges of the blanket to make a grip.  On the count of three, lift up together.

The blanket carry can be used if neck or head injury is suspected.  Have one rescuer stabilize the head as the victim is rolled and lifted.

If spinal injury is suspected, the victim should be carried on a board, a table, a door, or other flat surface.

C.  Rescuing People Pinned

Living people who are pinned under heavy objects can often be rescued by methods that lift the object.  Sometimes this is a simple matter, such as lifting a bookshelf.  (Be sure to use correct lifting technique:  lift with the legs, back straight.)  Three or four people lifting together may be able to lift a car off a victim.  If the person is pinned by a tree branch or other wooden object, a chain saw may be useful to free them.

Where the object is hard and heavy, other tools are needed.  A handy and widely available tool is the car jack.  It may need to be braced or supported, depending on circumstances.  Fire trucks carry pry bars, heavy steel bars that are used as levers.  In the yard behind the training classroom, we practiced lifting and supporting (“cribbing”) a heavy concrete block using a pry bar and wooden 4×4 blocks and wedges.  In the neighborhood we probably would not have such equipment but would apply the same principle of leverage by improvising with whatever materials were available.

Practicing rescue technique

D.  Communication

Marking the doorway on entry and exit is part of documenting and communicating our SR work.  The marks will let the next CERT team or the professional emergency personnel know quickly what the status of the site was at the time we searched.  Besides marking, SR work involves constant communication of findings and efforts to the neighborhood communications center (see radio class).  It’s the communication that knits the rescue effort into a coherent network and pulls together the neighborhood’s recovery resources, and thus the neighborhood.

 

A Commentary on the Class Materials

These are my class notes, not the official PowerPoint.  You can read the official version here.  Maybe you will like the PowerPoint better.  In my personal opinion, the PowerPoint is poorly organized, repetitive, filled with meaningless generalities, and inappropriately convoluted for use in emergency situations.  (Who is going to remember the Nine Points of Assessment in a real emergency?)  Our trainers in the class — firefighters Scott Hall and Dori Tieu — did the best they could with it, but the most instructive and memorable moments of the class occurred when our teachers ignored the PowerPoint and told their experiences and anecdotes.  The other two CERT PowerPoints I have looked at suffered from similar defects, but the S&R unit is in particularly urgent need of a thorough rewrite.

 

 

Aug 24

Getting Ready for the Big One

Hayward fault, Memorial Stadium

The Hayward Fault runs through the middle of Memorial Stadium, barely two miles from home.  If the Big One hits during a game, spotting the ball and moving the chains could get quite confusing, as the Home side of the stadium could move north several yards compared to the Visitor side.  However,  that will be the last thing on anyone’s mind.

All over Berkeley, emergency services — all services, period — will be so overstretched that neighborhoods will be basically on their own for a matter of days or weeks.  It’ll be fantasy paradise for Tea Party types — government shrunk to practically nothing.  For the rest of us, it’ll be a chaotic mess.

The City of Berkeley’s CERT program is a pragmatic effort to get ready for the immediate post-disaster period.  CERT = Community Emergency Response Team.  The idea is that a core of residents in each neighborhood will get trained, organized and equipped to perform basic community recovery services until a semblance of normalcy can be restored.  The classes are held at the Fire Department training facility at Cedar and 8th Street, and are free, but you have to sign up ahead of time, here.

I recently took two of the CERT classes, one on radio communications, and the other on fire suppression.  The classes take about three hours, the instructors are friendly and knowledgeable, and there’s plenty of give-and-take as well as hands-on exercises during the session.  For what they may be worth, I’m posting my class notes.  Advisory: they’re my notes, not the official PowerPoint scripts, and if you want to get it from the horse’s mouth, take the class yourself.

CERT Radio Communications

The class covered the use of readily-available portable short range radios (“walkie-talkies”) in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

Generally, telephone service including cell phone service will be down or severely limited. Two-way neighborhood communications over distances greater than shouting range will rely on inexpensive two-way mobile radios, such as these Motorola handsets available from Costco or similar models from sporting goods stores.  

These radios use the FRS (Family Radio Service) and the GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) frequencies and do not require a license from the FCC to operate.

The basic organizational context for their use is the existence of a neighborhood CERT command post and of one or more CERT mission teams composed of at least two persons, such as a Search and Rescue Team.  The various team functions are discussed in a different CERT class.  The neighborhood mission teams report by radio to the neighborhood command post, and the command post relays appropriate information to the City’s emergency dispatchers, and back.

The mobile radios have 22 channels and within each channel, 123 sub-channels or “Private Lines” (PL).  For the system to work, each neighborhood group needs to define, ahead of time, a primary and a secondary channel to be used by all radios in the neighborhood group.  The channel must be different from channels used by surrounding neighborhood groups, and must be in the range of Channels 2 – 14. The sub-channel (PL) setting must be kept at zero.

The radios have adequate range for our neighborhood, but reception may vary depending on exact location.  A useful training exercise is to survey the neighborhood to map good spots and poor spots for reception.

Unlike telephones, these radios either transmit or receive, but not both at the same time.  To transmit, you push the PTT button (Push To Talk).  While the PTT button is depressed, the radio cannot receive.  This means that within the neighborhood radio network, only one person can be talking at any given moment.  If two or more people push the PTT button and talk at the same time, the transmissions will overlap and will become unintelligible.

Because of this limitation, effective communication requires that transmissions be short, concise, and thought out before pushing the PTT button.  Minimalism is the preferred style.

Good handset technique is also important.    When speaking, talk across the microphone, not into it.  Speak very slowly and clearly; pause after every 5 words or so;  repeat important information such as numbers or spellings.  Release the PTT button immediately when finished transmitting.  The use of headphones for listening is encouraged.

CERT radio transmissions do not make use of 10-codes like police radios, e.g. 10-4, 10-26, etc.  Plain English is best.  There are some procedural words that are commonly used, such as “negative” for “no” and “affirmative” for “yes,” “copy” for “I received that” and a few others.  There are some damage assessment codes in common use, such as “red tag” for immediate action required, “black tag” for fatalities, “green tag” for walking wounded, and the like.  There are info sheets online with more details.

The basic format of a CERT transmission is to identify the party you want to reach, then to identify yourself, then to deliver the message.  For example:

“ICP SR1 Corner of California and Rose tree down blocking uphill lane of Rose, over.”

This message is addressed to ICP and comes from SR1.  ICP stands for “Incident Command Post” and SR1 is “Search and Rescue Team 1.”  Teams should generally identify themselves by their function, not by participants’ names.  The reply message might be:

“SR1 ICP Copy.  Are power lines down?”

And the response:

“ICP SR1 Negative on power lines.”

The neighborhood Command Post has to decide whether to pass this information on to the City’s emergency dispatcher, or whether to take some independent local action to deal with the situation.  The Command Post is also asked to keep a written log of all messages received and sent; there are forms for this log-keeping online.

In order to become familiar with the radios, the CERT instructor encouraged everyone to obtain the radios for their family, to keep them in the car along with spare batteries, and to use them frequently while shopping, hiking, and in other situations.

The radio class also encouraged interested CERT members to qualify for higher-level radio communications by getting a ham radio license and participating in NALCO, the local ham radio emergency network.

The official outline of this class in PDF:
http://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Fire/Level_3_-_General/Radio_communications_5.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

CERT Fire Suppression


This class covered the role of CERT members in fire suppression.  Generally, CERT members can play a vital role in suppressing small fires, in preventing fires by removing fuel, in shutting off utilities, assisting in evacuations if called for, and supporting professional fire fighters.

When calling from a land line, 9-1-1 remains the emergency number.  But when 9-1-1 is called from a cell phone, the other end is picked up by a California Highway Patrol dispatcher in Vallejo, who has to pass the call on, causing delay.  When calling from a cell phone, the direct link to Berkeley fire and police dispatch is 981-5911.  However, immediately after a major disaster, cell phone voice service is likely to be unavailable.

In an emergency, Fire Department resources are sure to be overstretched.  The City has seven  fire houses with an average of 34 firefighters on duty at any given time, city-wide.  A large single-home fire usually requires the engines and staff of five fire houses to put it out.  Therefore in a large disaster, neighborhood people will be mainly on their own.

A “small fire” — as a rule of thumb — is one where the flames fill a space smaller than a doorway, and where the fire can be controlled in about five seconds.  Anything larger is a task for the Fire Department if it is available.  If it is not available, safety requires immediate escape from the scene.

Fire can spread very, very quickly.  In the class we saw a movie where a room with a dry Christmas tree was completely consumed by fire and smoke in about 45 seconds.

Almost all fire fatalities come from smoke inhalation.  Basic fire survival skills learned in school such as “stop, drop, and roll” should not be forgotten.

The most effective contribution that CERT members can make to fire suppression is to prevent fires from starting in the first place, and if fires break out, to suppress them while they are still small.

Fire prevention involves well-known but often ignored common-sense precautions, namely:

 

  • Smoke detectors.  Smoke detectors demonstrably save lives.  They can (a)  allow people to get out of a house before it’s too late and (b) alert people to a fire while it’s still small and can be controlled on the spot.  It’s important to replace smoke detector batteries on a regular schedule.

 

  • Electrical safety.  Avoid overloading outlets.  Avoid extension cords.  Don’t run cords under carpets.  Avoid adaptors that hook three-prong plugs into two-prong outlets.  Upgrade fused electrical systems to breaker panels.

 

  • Proper storage of flammable liquids.  Gasoline for lawn engines, propane for barbecues, and similar flammable liquids need to be stored in metal containers and kept away from sources of ignition such as hot water heaters.  The garage is, after the kitchen, the most common place in a house where fires begin.


Members of each household should know where and how to turn off their utilities.  Electrical breaker panels or fuse boxes should be labeled.  A non-sparking wrench should be kept next to or near the main gas meter, where the shutoff valve is located.  On a CERT-organized block, the shutoff locations should be part of the group’s data bank so that in an emergency when occupants are away or cannot shut off the utilities themselves, a CERT team can do it.

Turning electrical power back on after a shutoff is generally uncomplicated.  Turning gas back on after a shutoff can be dangerous because of the need to relight pilot lights.  Turning on gas may be best left to PG&E or to a professional plumber.

When attempting to put out a fire, it is important to be aware of these basic points:

Fire is a chemical reaction that requires three elements:  fuel, oxygen, and heat.  Fires go out if any one of these elements is removed.

There are three common types of fires, A, B, and C.

Type A involves ordinary combustibles like wood, paper, fabric, and other solids.
Type B feeds on flammable liquids such as oil or grease, gasoline, propane, etc.
Type C arises from live electrical currents.

Type A fires can usually be put out with water.  Water lowers the temperature and stops ignition.  Or they can be put out by depriving them of oxygen by smothering them with a blanket.

Type B fires cannot usually be put out with water.  If water is applied, the flammable liquid is likely to splatter, causing wider damage.  They must be put out with chemical solids such as baking soda, or by removing oxygen (putting a lid on a burning cook pot).

Suppression of Type C (electrical) fires begins with turning off the electrical current.  Applying water while the current is on is dangerous because water conducts electricity and the electrical power will travel up the water stream and may electrocute the firefighter.  After the current is turned off, electrical fires become Type A (or rarely, Type B) fires and are handled as such.

Every household should be equipped with one or more portable fire extinguishers.  Modern extinguishers contain a mixture of stuff that can put out type A, B and C fires.  The minimum recommended size of fire extinguisher carries the rating “2A10BC.”  An extinguisher of this size will spray its material for about five seconds.  To operate the extinguisher, one pulls the pin, aims the hose at the bottom of the flame, squeezes the trigger, and sweeps the spray from side to side.

After use, an extinguisher needs to be refilled.  Depending on brand and size, extinguishers will lose pressure and need to be recharged every few years.  The gauge on the top of the device indicates its status.

After the classroom session, we practiced basic fire suppression skills in the yard.  See photos, above and below.  We aimed a fire house at a pair of cones and knocked them over with the spray.  We used a fire extinguisher filled with water to put out a small practice fire.  In real life, fire extinguishers are not filled with water, and we would rarely if ever get to use a fire hose.  However, the drill taught basic extinguisher technique, and gave us insights into the work of professional fire fighters.

The course repeatedly underlined that fire is extremely dangerous and that CERT members need to:

 

  • Put their own safety first
  • Always work with at least one buddy
  • Always have at least two escape routes from a fire
  • Never try to put out big fires
  • Stay out of smoke-filled areas


The online slide show for the course (or an older version of it) is at
http://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Fire/Level_3_-_General/Fire%20Safety.pdf


Aug 23

Will Take Photos for Food

Take photos for food?  An email forwarded by the Berkeley Camera Club offered a free meal at the Hippie Gypsy Cafe in exchange for capturing the evening’s musical talent on camera. How could I resist? The H.G. Cafe is on a rather toney block of Shattuck Avenue, a street with a dozen coffee houses, and stands out from the crowd by its decorative embrace of the counterculture of fifty years ago. There’s a carefree rendition of a flower-bedecked VW bus on one wall — hence the Hippie — and on the opposite wall, a wooden stage set that might have come from a fortune teller’s booth at a carnival, thus the Gypsy.  Inbetween roams owner Mary Dirks, whipping up frosties, grilling sandwiches, and much else, in perpetual rapid motion, so that I had a hard time capturing a snapshot of her without using flash.

The musical entertainment my first night consisted of Eileen Hazel with her guests Howie Goetz and Kimba Theurich, followed by Nic “Coppertop” Rogoff.  They were all pleasant to listen to, though somewhat painful to photograph because the lighting was challenging – lit from the top rear, leaving faces mostly in the shadow.  But there was a good crowd, all seats taken, some people standing in the rear.  I got the impression that the musicians were playing for about the same wages as me. I liked the place enough to come back the next night for Open Mic.  Same bad lighting but lots of talent.  The stars of the Open Mic were Clyde Leland, a Bay Area veteran who’s been writing and singing protest songs for decades, and Max Newton, who MC’ed the production.  (Clyde and Max, with award-winning singer/songwriter Kress Cole, will play at the Freight & Salvage Aug. 30).

Umm, the sandwich that was my reward was very good.  So here’s my work product from the two nights at the H.G. Cafe.

[embpicasa id=”5772831864936597073″]

[embpicasa id = “5773054552424766673”]

 

Aug 23

Pix of Paddleboard Man a Winner

Paddleboard man returns

I recently joined the Berkeley Camera Club and had the good luck and honor to have one of my photos selected as “Best in Show” at one of the club’s Tuesday night meetings.  The winning shot was taken from Cesar Chavez Park at the Berkeley Marina and shows a tall, slender man on a paddleboard out in the bay during one of our best red sunsets.  I go to Cesar Chavez Park frequently but haven’t seen this paddleboard person again. If anyone knows him, please pass the word that I’d like to give him a print of the photo if he wants one.  It wouldn’t have been half as good a picture without him.

I was also pleased to have a couple of other photos of mine take awards.  My night shot of the British Columbia parliament buildings took a second place, and my candid shot of a young sidewalk artist in San Rafael earned a third place in club competitions.  If anyone knows the young artist, I’d be happy to offer a print to her parents as well.

B.C. Parliament buildings, Victoria Harbor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Street artist, San Rafael CA

Aug 23

Transcription of Makana’s “We Are the Many”

Makana’s performance of “We Are the Many” is one of the great moments of courage in the history of music.  Last November, the 33-year old Hawaiian singer and slack-key guitar virtuoso was invited to play dinner music at the Asia-Pacific Economic Summit in Honolulu.

With President Obama and other heads of state feeding their faces, Makana and his band started with traditional Hawaiian love songs, then segued into a bitter song of protest over the annexation of Hawaii, sung in the Hawaiian language.

Makana then opened his shirt to reveal a T-shirt handlettered “Occupy with Aloha” and performed “We Are the Many,” the unofficial anthem of the Occupy movement.  He also managed to capture the event on video via his cellphone despite the Secret Service’s ban on cellphones; he got the phone in because, he argued, he needed the tuner app for his guitar.

Makana’s performance of “We Are the Many” on YouTube has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, but to date, as far as I know, there is not a transcription of the anthem on sheet music.  Occupella‘s Hali Hammer contacted  Makana directly via email to ask for sheet music, and Makana answered, saying he does not use sheet music.  He did, however, send a version of the lyrics with the guitar chords.  That’s posted here, below.

In desperation, I downloaded a trial version of Transcribe!, a highly rated software tool for reducing audio tracks to notes on paper.  Any illusions I had that you could just feed the audio track in one end and get pretty sheet music out the other quickly evaporated.  Music transcription by software turns out to be sophisticated guesswork at best.  But I persevered and transferred my result to the lovely (and free) online music notation program Noteflight, which allows you both to see and hear the notes.  Hali helped me find the proper key and smoothed out some of the rough spots.

Makana was kind enough to take a look at my Noteflight printout, and commented that it seemed mostly OK but not entirely.  He doesn’t do sheet music so the tweaks were up to me.

Unfortunately, with this draft transcription I’ve  trespassed beyond the outer limits of my musical competence, so all further progress depends on you, dear reader. I hereby offer this project up to the musical public and ask for the kind assistance of your ears and eyes to tweak this draft into a competent piece of sheet music faithful to the original performance.

When that’s done, my dream is that a fairy godperson will appear who will arrange the piece for Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass, with instrumental accompaniment.  It’s an anthem, isn’t it?  Choruses all over the world could be and would be performing it, given the paperwork.

Here (and in the box above) is Makana’s YouTube video.

Here is a PDF of my draft transcription.

Here is the online score on Noteflight, where you can both see and hear the draft transcription.

Here is a nicely done press story about Makana’s performance.

Here is Makana’s sheet of guitar chords for the song.

Thank you for any help.

 

Aug 23

How Rich is that Romney in the Window?

He tells such a waggely tale

How rich is that Romney in the window?
He tells such a waggely tale
How rich is that Romney in the window?
He looks like a well-nourished male

How rich is that Romney in the window?
I’d sure like to know all the facts
He always steps out in a limo
But only paid pennies in tax

How rich is that Romney in the window?
He headed a company called Bain
He became quite the prosperous fellow
By handing out layoffs and pain

How rich is that Romney in the window?
He’s never known hunger or freeze
He hides both his spending and his inflow
By stashing his dough overseas

How rich is that Romney in the window?
He preaches that idling is bad
But where did he get his first big dough?
He inherited it from his Dad

How rich is that Romney in the window?
His dance horse has never a flea
He thinks it would be a sin, though
To have health care for you and for me

How rich is that Romney in the window?
No limit to how much he spends
He’d take our retirement money
To give to his rich banker friends

How rich is that Romney in the window?
He belongs to the top one per cent
He’d evict every orphan and widow
If he should become President

———————————————-

(My contribution to the songwriting craft, with apologies to Patti Page.  You can be the first to record this for YouTube.)