The BobboSphere: Don't believe everything you think.

So who is this guy? Well, my name is Bob "Bobbo" Simpson. That photo was taken a few years back when I worked as a summer trail crew volunteer in New Mexico.

I am a web production geek based out of Oak Park Illinois. I work for Carol Simpson DesignWorks with my partners Estelle Carol and Dana Simpson as well as for WebTrax Studio which has a bunch of cool people associated with it. I mostly do work for unions, non-profit groups, social advocacy organizations and educational institutions.

I was born in Washington DC and grew up in the Maryland suburbs. I attended the University of Maryland and raised hell as a member of the Students for a Democratic Society. I also had my first union experience there as an AFSCME member under the enlightened leadership of Gladys Jefferson. I moved to the Chicagoland area in 1975 and have lived here ever since.

I spent many years as a history teacher on the South Side of Chicago in a working class neighborhood where I met a lot of savvy young people who have the power to change this world for the better. My hat goes off to their energy and insights.

I'm an old fashioned labor socialist which makes me an genuine anachronism in our Brave New 21st Century. With Estelle Carol I help produce labor cartoons for the union movement. Yeah..... I know. Most union members don't even know the words to "Solidarity Forever" and union members are only a small minority of the American workforce.

So what. We're fighting for labor's comeback despite the obstacles and whatever the odds. What else can we do? We live in a dog-eat-dog cat-eat-mouse economy and right now the labor movement is the only real civilizing force that stands between us and total barbarism. You think that's an exaggeration? Believe me, you wouldn't want to be around if the labor movement packs it in and gives up.

I have two kids: one just graduated from college and the other is in high school. They and their contemporaries sure deserve better than joining a slave labor force scratching out a living on a dying planet. But enough doom and gloom. I first became a social activist in the 1960's and I know that people can rise to the occasion when they have to.

Here's to a better world! Bob "Bobbo" Simpson- member: National Writers Union (UAW AFL-CIO)