The finest story you missed this week

The headline says it all: "Anarchists' Gathering Surprisingly Organized." From there, the story just gets better, a story tragically unnoted in the national press.

According to a smallish item in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday, apparently, about 150 self-described anarchists from across the United States and Canada met for a four-day convention last week in the hopes of getting organized for the upcoming Republican and Democratic national conventions. Their location of choice - that hotbed of anarchist tears, Waldo, Wis.

OK, so to get you caught up, we have anarchists, getting organized, at a place called Waldo in the famously nonanarchistic state of Wisconsin. Unless, of course, you consider making cheese an anarchistic action. For the purpose of this column, we'll assume you do not. All told, it's about the perfect story, particularly if you happen to be a columnist with a sense of the absurd and a deadline on the loom.

The tale goes on from there.

According to the story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the soirée was hosted by a group titled the CrimethInc. Ex-Workers' Collective. For those of you who haven't received membership information in the mail, they are a (one would assume) loosely organized network best known for publishing "Recipes for Disaster: An Anarchist Cookbook." This is not to be confused with William Powell's original '70s "Anarchist Cookbook." Apparently the one aspect of anarchy these folks got straight was the edict to steal whatever you need, including ideas.

According to the group's Web site, CrimethInc. is opposed to government, capitalism and conformity; in other words, they're sophomore liberal arts majors. The group allegedly has no leadership but, according to the Journal Sentinel article, does have plenty of policy and procedure. They don't allow drugs, drinking, photography or any exchange of money. They've also banned cops and national media, though the townsfolk are welcome.

"The locals are welcome," media liaison and local circus performer Pinkerton Xyloma told the Journal Sentinel. "We have a no-media policy because the media are not considered individuals. It is a concern that people from the media will not respect people's consent or consensus."

Xyloma would not say why the group was gathered in Wisconsin or what participants were discussing or, apparently why a group with a no-media policy would have a media liaison.

As to the residents of Waldo, they apparently felt no particular need to take Mr. Xyloma up on his offer. None of the 485 town residents seemed particularly interested in the goings-on. Some had assumed the campers were part of a religious retreat or were in town for a nearby vintage auto show.

Waldo Village President Mike Hintz told the paper he didn't know anything about the convergence until he happened to see the campsite as he was driving by. He didn't go into the site, though, because a neighbor told him the group had been behaving itself.

"I don't know what they're doing back there, but it seemed so far there's no disturbance," Hintz said.

And there you have it. What may be the perfect news story tucked away in the local paper. It has anarchists behaving orderly; locals earnestly accepting their strange visitors; a circus performer named Pinkerton Xyloma; and, best of all, the chance to work the word Waldo into a story. Not to mention, one of the finest headlines I've ever read: "Anarchists' Gathering Surprisingly Organized." Where's the Pulitzer committee when you need it?