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A blogger's life is tough. Roll out of bed, brew some coffee and begin espousing your views to the world — all from the safety of your home and Strawberry Shortcake bathrobe. Those are the harsh working conditions that prompt us to, like oppressed steelworkers of old, demand organization and representation. We want a freaking union. Or so say the deluded Internet scribblers at Chicago's YearlyKos blogging convention. Those attending the gathering are under the impression that a professional labor group will make bloggers more respectable. Instead, the call to arms just shows how clueless political bloggers are about the business.

Blog-union advocates want hourly pay, health insurance, and press credentials, among other demands. Right. And I want free ice cream and a pony.

But beyond those base desires, there's not a whole lot of consensus. Some argue for a standalone association for activist bloggers while others suggest an Internet-wide guild. The call has started to ring across the blogosphere. David Krug of publishing blog Telegraphik complains that many blog networks "offer a percentage of profits that a blog makes rather than paying by the post, or one of many what I consider more ethical alternatives."

A cut of advertising? We wish that were the case. Most large blog networks pay by the post precisely so they don't have to share their advertising revenues. And if a cut of the advertising isn't enough to pay a blogger's way, where on earth do you think a blog publisher's going to come up with the dough to pay you an hourly wage?

Susie Madrak, blogger and union supporter, grouses about blog's physical demands. Physical demands? Oh yes. It's very intense, she claims, the sitting at a computer and reading and typing, as your ass gets wider and your arms and neck and shoulders wear out.

Which raises the question: Has Madrak ever worked at a real office job? Or, for that matter, heard of a gym? Next thing we know, bloggers will be asking for free athletic-club memberships.