Navel Gazing

The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."

"But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."

The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"

"But Lord , " Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

The LORD answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together."

Judges 6:11-16

Last week I went to Detroit for my family reunion and reconnected with a lot of cousins that I haven't seen in many years. It was an excellent time of affirmation as I had an opportunity to hang out with people who are a lot like me - goofy, opinionated, and exceedingly disdainful of Barbara Bush's firstborn. One thing that I noticed, however - rediscovered, actually - is that within my family my immediate family - my clan, if you will - serves as the facilitators, the organizers and workers who make things happen on behalf of others. My father is the youngest of six boys and my mother is the middle child of nine, but when things need to get done they are the ones to step up to the fore in order to get 'r done, along with my mother's two youngest sisters. This get 'r done mentality has been passed on to me and my sister such that whenever something needs to be done I am there. Whenever someone needs something I am there. Whenever anyone that I know has a problem I am there - I'm Johnny-on-the-spot or Sir-Fix-Alot, but the question that I have never really asked is, "What do I want?"

For as long as I can remember I have been about the business of assisting other people's aspirations, facilitating other people's dreams, serving other people's needs, but beyond my childhood dream of becoming an astronaut I cannot recall ever asking the simple question, "What do I want?" I've done the NASA thing and I'm no longer interested in spending a lifetime preparing for one week in space as a mechanic, but what do I want? I am called to ministry and I enjoy helping others but at the end of the day, what do I want? The totality of my self esteem is tied into my ability. I am confident to the point of arrogance when it comes to my abilities - I know that God has blessed me with the ability to learn and do just about anything, such that if I put my mind to it I can learn and understand anything that I need to know and do whatever needs to be done. However, we are human beings - not human doings - and in my being I have little confidence and even less esteem. I see it manifest in many ways - in the difference between how I treat other people's stuff and my own stuff, in how I prioritize other people over myself, in my penchant for pushing up on sisters like Captain Save A Hostess Ho Ho. I'm partial to the thinking of Jung over Freud so there's no throwing mama under the bus here - my personality is The Duty Fulfiller, I know this already - but I still need to ask what it is that I want.

I've got issues.

Gideon had many of the same issues - he esteemed himself lightly, his family wasn't the most powerful in the region or nation, and his country was in deep caca. Despite this, the angel of the LORD was dispatched to inform Gideon that his nation would be delivered from its trouble and that the deliverance would be enacted through Gideon's hand. The angel said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." I am certain that Gideon looked around to see who the angel was speaking to since Gideon hadn't had any parts of fighting a war - Gideon was one of those who hid in caves and shelters when war came his way. Picture Gideon, clad in Birkenstocks, his dreadlocks flowing over his tie-died shirt as he's tending to his hash stash, and the angel of the LORD pops up addressing him as a mighty warrior.

Holy hallucinations, Batman!

Gideon's immediate response was to present the angel of the LORD with the evidential problem of evil, saying, "But sir, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian." One of the most annoying things in life - at least for me - is when you are going through drama or tough times some well-intentioned idiot coming up to you saying, "The Lord is with you" or "The Lord will make a way somehow" or some such similar churcheese nonsense. It may well be true - I know it to be true - but that's not exactly what I'm trying to hear at that particular point in time. That's one big problem with extroverts - too busy talking to stop and think about what is actually proceeding from their lips, but I digress. Gideon said, if I may contemporize and urbanize his words, "How you gonna tell me that the LORD is with us when Midian has its foot square up our behind? If He was with us then we wouldn't be having all these problems that we got! He may have used to did stuff for us but what has He done for us lately? Not a freakin' thing!"

Gideon was a little upset.

Gideon's problem, however, was that he misunderstood the angel's words numerically, existentially, and temporally. First, Gideon misunderstood the number in the proclamation. The angel of the LORD said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior" - He did not say, "The LORD is with all y'alls, mighty warriors." There's a cliche in the church that says, "What God has for me is for me!" and while I am loathe to encourage selfishness and I hate to propagate cliches it is indeed a true statement - what God intends for you is for you and you only. Where we get it twisted - much like the Israelites of the Old Testament - is that we believe that what God has for us is purely for our benefit. Let me make this plain - when God blesses me with this or that it in no ways means that He will bless you in the same way with the same thing. God blesses me in order for me to be a blessing to others as only I can in that particular place and time, much like God chose Israel to be His special possession for the specific purpose of blessing others, not merely for them to sit back puffed up, proclaiming themselves to be the only ones worthy of God's grace (no one is worthy - that's what makes it "grace"). When God blesses you He blesses you for the purpose of you being a blessing to others, in a way that you and only you can bless them at that place and point in time, so when the angel of the LORD said to Gideon, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior" that is exactly what He meant - the LORD was with Gideon.

Second, Gideon misunderstood the existential nature of his nation's predicament. God had not forsaken Israel, God was allowing Israel to reap the rewards of its decision to forsake the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for the idol gods of the Amorites. Decisions have consequences, and all too often we make stupid decisions and then get mad at God for allowing us to reap the harvest of the seeds that we have sown. We sow sin and wonder why we're reaping stress. We plant pride and wonder why we're reaping problems. We place immorality in the earth and wonder why the earth provides us with issues. "Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." This applies to families, communities, and nations as well. Israel was reaping what it had sown - broken fellowship with the Creator of the Universe - but God took the initiative to restore the fellowship and to deliver Israel from yet another set of problems that Israel had brought upon itself. God had not forsaken Israel, Israel had forsaken God.

Third, Gideon misunderstood the temporal nature of the angel's statement. The angel did not say that the LORD had always been with Gideon and the angel did not say that the LORD would always be with Gideon. The angel said that the LORD is with Gideon. Rev. Charles Walker preached the sermon, "What You Gonna Do With Your Day" in which he made the poignant point that this is the day that the LORD has made - yesterday is a cancelled check and tomorrow is a promissory note, but today is cash in hand - what are you going to do with your day? The angel told Gideon that at that very moment God was with him and would deliver Israel through Gideon's hands, but Gideon initially couldn't receive that message - it made no sense to him.

Gideon missed the message of God because he was focused on himself and his own problems - his own solitude in the winepress by himself, his own status as the least in his family, his own stature as the least in the tribe of Manasseh - instead of focusing on the God who can change things in the twinkling of an eye. He had heard about how God had delivered his forefathers out of Egypt, how God struck down the enemies of Israel, how God facilitated their entry into a land flowing with milk and honey with livestock they did not raise and crops they did not plant. He'd heard all of those stories, but he'd had no experience himself to buttress that fledgling faith. He hadn't seen God move or operate in his life so from Gideon's perspective there was no God, or if there was one then he didn't care much about Israel. Gideon needed a personal encounter with God, and God made himself known to Gideon in a spectacular way - a personal encounter with the angel of the LORD. God did this not for Gideon's benefit alone, but that others through Gideon might be blessed, namely the children of Israel.

I can relate.

You may recall that last year I was really going through it (q.v. 30 Pieces of Silver, Death Becomes Us, The Divine Conjunction, To Be Or Not To Be), but shortly after that I got a contract position that paid me almost the same thing that I had been making full-time. Today I can report that I have been hired in full-time and that I am now making $25,000 more than I was at the previous job. Considering the fact that the previous job limits you to no more than a 5% annual raise it would have taken a decade or two for me to get to the income level where I currently find myself. What's more is that I am doing exactly the same thing that I was doing at the previous job, only we are starting from scratch the very department that I was part of creating at the old job so I have a good idea of how it should run and what its shelf life is. And I'm being fast-tracked.

The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.

Things are starting to come together for me, I am beginning to see my direction much more clearly. I know that I want a fruit-bearing P31 wife, right now. I know that I want a son to be named after my father and another son to be named after my Uncle Wille. I know that I want to make a difference for the Kingdom of God. And I know that I want the Steelers to win another Lombardi Trophy. I know that once Gideon received that which God had revealed to him Gideon was able to rout thousands of Midianite soldiers with 300 men. I know that God can use the weak to rout the strong. I know that with God all things are possible so I need to spend some time in prayer and meditation to connect my wants, my needs, my desires and my aspirations with the will of God. I just need to spend the next few weeks distilling exactly what those wants, needs and desires are. God has certainly provided the means to achieve those ends, and for that I give Him all the praise, all the glory, and all the honor.

May the LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who wants you to be a blessing to others,
May He turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Alternate link to comments

Flood update from TeaTimeTim

Well after a grueling day of work on what seemed like 3 days rolled into one, we were able to repair the minor damage to our barn and get the horses back to some normal space. One of the good things about a packed gravel floor is they aren't hard too repair.

Today I will be installing a pump to draw from an old well which we will use for showering, and spraying salvaged equipment off, Then on to draining all the fluids into the tractor and pulling the carbarator off for seal replacement and cleaning. Plugs and cylinders will also be checked, and the head removed if necessary.

My truck is going to need extensive work in preventing it from rusting to death, but it looks like the insurance is covering all but $500.

I have fences to repair, debree to remove..

Our pond is the worst of it. A 5 foot wave come off the creek, over the the far bank, and out the dam side. Contaminated water in the pond, and the dams have take severe damage. We will have an engineer out monday, and were hoping that since our pond is our water souce that we can get some insurance. (small hope) We will more likely harvest about 100 Oak, Cherry, and Walnut tree's to pay for the repair.

Thanks for all those heart felt comments and concern.
...
I'm touched that you folks want to help. Really, we are very well off. We have rich incomes by most peoples standard. You can best help, by helping those less fortunate.

Red Cross has taken in many people during this time of crisis.

http://www.redcross-cleveland.org/
...
I put up some pictures for the family. I'll take more as we go along.



Alternate link for comments

Welcome to a gathering of the restful Sabbath

from listener



From time to time I will offer a Sabbath thread to perhaps help us through the world's difficult, dark days. With so much to take in, grasp, mull, act on and let go of these days, it may be helpful to support one another in the spaces between our actions, so that our mullings go deep enough to be meaningful and creative.

I will begin by offering the quote that begins every publication of Friends of Silence Newsletter, which was begun by my friend Nan Merrill:

"Is there enough silence for the Word to be heard?"

What helps you embrace and hold and lean into the deep Silences at the center of your being?

For some it is music. Here are two related quotes to ease your soul...

For a composer silence is something pregnant with expectation ... The most naturally spiritual medium. The music grows in the spiritual life: the silence of monks, the silence of meditation, the silence of not knowing something, the terrible silence of God when we are confronted with evil in the world. Music has always been intimately connected with the numinous and the immaterial. I increasingly believe that the non-corporeal quality of music can be a direct challenge to the world and its materiality.
~ James MacMillan on "Silence," Symphony No. 3

A small bird with a red bonnet on its head came and perched on a rock opposite us. It waved its tail, turned its head anxiously in all directions, then glanced directly at us and as it did so, it grew bold and began to whistle softly, tauntingly at first; but soon it threw back its head, swelled its throat, and gazing at the sky, the light, burst into song with abandon. Everything vanished; nothing remained in the world save this bird and God: God, and a beak that was singing.
~ Nikos Kazantzakis in St. Francis

Peace be with you.
~ listener

Alternate link for comments

Saturday Comics

Objective Reality
Democratic National Convention
Free Market Conservatives
Sealed With A Kiss
Kiss It Good-Bye
Peace Symbol
Condi's Baby
Mother Of All Boobs
Supply-Side Jesus Freaks
Housing Arrangements
Disproportionate Response
Rocky Hard Place
Audacious Actions
Brave Men
Targeting Priorities
Blending With Civilians
Civilian Casualities
Embedded Target
Collateral Damage
Hide and Seek
Deadwood
Surrounded By Enemies
Like A Good Neighbor
Mic Check
Quagmire Redux
One Two Step
Die Gropenator
Hands-On President
Fat Chance

And my favorite for today: Navel Gazing



Alternate link to comments

Bloggers Against Torture in Blogathon 2006

Remember when, all through the month of June, we had the "This Blog is Anti-Torture" button in the upper left hand corner of the page?

Bloggers Against Torture will be participating in the 24 hour Blogathon 2006, which is taking place tomorrow, July 29. The folks at Bloggers Against Torture will be blogging 24 hours nonstop to raise money for Amnesty International. Click the graphic below if you'd like to sponsor them.

Update: Don't forget Howard Dean will be on TV tomorrow.

Links to other recent posts:

A message from TeaTimeTim
Happy Birthday, Maura! (Charlie checked in in the comments of that thread.)

And finally, last, but definitely not least, please check out the Freecycle-inspired brainstorming thread. We got a lot of discussion of Freecycle, but the brainstorming part, not so much. So I'm doing some gentle prodding by reposting the link.

Alternate link for comments

Howard Dean on TV

I just stopped by the DNC blog and found this post: "Tune In: Governor Dean on TV"

Governor Dean will be making the rounds early tomorrow morning before heading to The Democratic Reunion. Tune in before heading out:
7:00 AM - ABC Good Morning America Weekend
8:05 AM - CNN Saturday
8:15 AM - MSNBC Live

Alternate link for comments

A message from TeaTimeTim

From Renee: I just got home and saw the messages from Tim (thank you jc for bringing them over from the other blog) as well as people's expression of their desire to help. I don't have any ideas myself, and there's a lot I'm preoccupied with at the moment, but I figured that pulling the comments together into a single post that people could link to might be a good first step. If nothing else, it will allow people to share the news with interested parties more easily.

Natural Disaster

This morning my wife woke at 1:00 am and become concern for our horses. I horses are in a barn about 10 feet above the flood plane. I trudge out in the dark and rain, found a massive flood the likes that had never happen in recorded history for this area. Getting to the barn I found the houses in 6 inches of water, with a foot and half of rushing water right out side the door. The farther down the drive the deeper. My wife and I made hast clear out our garage, and then guided the hourses through 3 feet of water at times to the hide side where our steps are.

Horses will climb steps folks. They are safe but shaken in the uper barn/ Garage. We begin to salvage some hay, and saw dust which would could access through a back way. Then I realized that my truck was parked on the steep bank of our lower driveway. I found it had 6 inches in the cab and the back end almost submerged. It a steep hill. Lucky for me the truck started, and the 4 wheel was already locked in. Our tractor is a complete loss.

Then we realized that our neighbors were down about as low as our barn, so we went up the road to check on them. The fire departant was on sceen already but because their drive crossing the creek no one could get to them. I guided them around the back woods and we brought them to our house safely.

Then I realized that our Office is also down low.. So I drove into work. 15 minute normal drive took 2 hours as I mazed around to try and find a safe route. I found the river rising well behond the 500 year flood mark. We pulled servers and equipment all morning. Mean while you could hear people scramming from the appartmetns across the Grand River. They spent the night with boats and helecopters rescuing people.

I'm tired and in need of sleep, and I have a laul.

You folks can read about it here.

Update

The devestation of my property is imense. My horse Paddock is a debree field. Good news, I put fence post in deep, and most of my fence held. We found the dock that was on our pond in the horse padock. Two steel bridges we used daily to cross the creek are gone, and no where on our property. The list goes on.

I will be resigning my position of campaign manager. I must manage for my family now. Our house is the bright spot. Its still here, but we have no potable water. We spoke with FEMA and EMA from Geauga county and they were out to asses the damage. We are hoping for a low interest loan so we can have excavators come in and shore up our drinking supply, and purge our septic system.

This will be my last blog for awhile. We are safe, and no one died, and for that I'm greatful.

by TeatimeTim*in*NEOhio on Friday, 07/28/06 @ 01:24 PM

Alternate link for comments

Open Thread

If I haven't sent you a Blogger invite so that you can be a front page contributor, and you would like to be one, you can e-mail me at howardempowered at gmail.com

FYI, I've been playing around with a MySpace page. If you're on MySpace, and feel so inclined, let me know who you are there. I've also set up a couple more Squidoo pages.

Talk amongst yourselves.

Alternate link for comments

Happy Birthday, Maura!

I wasn't aware that today was Maura's birthday until I saw it in the comments. But if someone is Howardly enough to respectfully challenge Joementum at a public event*, I think she deserves her own birthday thread.

Happy Birthday, Maura! You always do us proud--you go, girl!

Update: jc posted a link to this stroll down memory lane for Maura.

*If you didn't see the video of Maura asking Joe Lieberman why he was being a "fair weather Democrat", it is the first video on this page.

Alternate link for comments

Blogathon

It's too late to sign up as a blogger for this event, but you can still be a sponsor.



I meant to post about this last night but got busy doing something else and ran out of time, but I did want to make sure I did a quick post drawing it to your attention. Basically, various bloggers or teams of bloggers agree to do a post every half hour for 24 hours, and other people sponsor them, and donations go to the charity of the bloggers' choice.

History of the event here.
Frequently asked questions
List of bloggers
List of charities

Different topic, but if you haven't done so already, please check out last night's brainstorming thread.

Alternate link for comments

Freecycle-inspired brainstorming thread

It was Kimmy who first told me about Freecycle. If you haven't heard of it before, it's definitely worth checking out.

The Freecycle Network is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by clicking on the region on the left. You may then go directly to your local group by clicking on "Go To" or you may immediately joining by clicking on "Join." It will generate an automatic e-mail which, when sent, will sign you up for the local group and send you a response with instructions on how it works. Can't find a group near you? You might want to consider starting one (click on "Start a Group" for instructions). Have fun!

The Freecycle Network was started in May 2003 to promote waste reduction in Tucson's downtown and help save desert landscape from being taken over by landfills. The Network provides individuals and non-profits an electronic forum to "recycle" unwanted items. One person's trash can truly be another's treasure!

Anyway, I'm signed up via Freecycle Columbus, which is a Yahoo group. Posts all have in their title line the words "Wanted", "Offer" or "Taken".

I realize, at this point, that I've let you onto my train of thought in between stations. Here's what started this...

I was getting ready to put out another call for contributors. But not, contrary to what people have sometimes believed, because the workload of this blog is a big deal and I need help. After the big redesign I did a while back, posting to this blog has never been what I would consider a lot of work. If I don't have an idear for a main thread, I can always just post a few interesting links, or something from Cute Overload, or I can use an open thread to shamelessly promote the Cafe Press products that Demetrius has designed.

What I really want is for this blog to be a community blog, where people feel welcome to contribute what they have to offer, and with a variety of interesting, productive, discussion-provoking content that would make people want to link to it elsewhere, even if I didn't ask.

Ideally, I kind of wish that we could be set up more like one of the Scoop-style blogs where anyone can post a diary. But even though I could repeat the words "Scoop is free" in my sleep, I don't know the first thing about setting up that kind of system. I have tried, and it appears to be beyond me. In addition, just because *I* think that sort of setup would be ideal for a number of reasons, doesn't mean everyone else would like it, and I try to be sensitive to those here who are "change-averse".

I'll repeat the basics as far as contributing front page posts. If you are not currently a front page contributor and would like to be, just e-mail me and I can send you a Blogger invite. If you don't feel like making that commitment, or feel like the "technical" aspects are beyond your abilities (or what you have time to learn), then you can always send a single blog entry to that same address, and I can publish it for you.

But I've said those things any number of times before, and frankly I'm beginning to bore myself.

On my drive home from work today, I started thinking about the Freecycle model as a way to start talking about new front page content.

Wanted: what sorts of posts would you like to see, on what topics?
Offer: if you'd like to offer to post on a regular or semi-regular basis about some issue, let us know
Taken: if you see a Wanted post and think, "Hey, I'd like to do that!"

So...let's discuss.

Alternate link for comments

Must. Resist. Happy dance.

Update: If you weren't here for the earlier thread, please check out what I said there about the Squidoo page, and let me know if you have any suggestions. (You can also set up a "lens" of your own, if you like.)

I've already posted this in the comments, but I think it deserves front page status. Plus, another Open Thread just seemed desperately lacking in creativity.

I found the following newsy nuggets at Buckeye State Blog:

The Ohio Fraternal Order Of Police endorsed Democrat Ted Strickland for governor today, turning away from a Republican gubernatorial candidate for the first time in more than 10 years.

The organization, which represents 24,000 police officers, had little to say about why it likes Strickland more than Republican Ken Blackwell.

and...

"Blacks against Blackwell" has formed and begun distributing a pejorative flyer that groups Blackwell with President Bush and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

"Our color -- but not our kind" reads the flyer, complete with photos. "Joined at the hips and lips. The bad bunch. This trio has worked hard to suppress votes, erase civil rights and kill public education. In November, vote Ted Strickland for Governor of Ohio."

You can donate to Ted Strickland's campaign through our Act Blue page

Alternate link for comments

Open Thread

Just a few links to share with you this evening...

I've been working on this Squidoo page for Howard-Empowered People. Let me know if there are any blogs you'd like me to add feeds to. I still plan to add a module with some of jc's designs, but I'm still figuring the whole thing out. It has a place to post Flickr photos, so if you know of any Deaniacs with Flickr pages, let me know so that I can add them. There is a section with YouTube videos, and I just added a new one with Connecticut pro-Lamont bloggers being forbidden entry to the Lieberman rally where Bill Clinton was speaking, even though they were legitimate ticket holders.

Just got this in my e-mail via Ken Blackwell keyword news:
Ohio gubernatorial candidate compares gays to arsonists, kleptomaniacs
Charming fellow, that Ken Blackwell. Before that, it was barn animals.

Thank goodness he's 20 points behind Stickland in the polls.

I leave you with something adorable from Cute Overoad.

Alternate link for comments

Mary Jo Kilroy for Congress

As I mentioned in the comments, today I got mail from the RNC, telling me how important it is to work to re-elect Deb Pryce, and how those scaaaary libruls (including "extremist organizations such as moveon.org") are fighting against her. In fact, hers is a *nationally targeted seat"*. So won't I pitch in and give some money? After all, there are so many great things to recommend her, like, for example, she is "well-positioned to influence issues of importance to Ohio's burgeoning banking and insurance industries". Oh, right, because those industries are *totally* looking out for average Americans. Cough bankruptcy bill cough.

I don't have time to do a full-fledged post, as I really need to get to bed so I can get up and work in the morning, but I figure it's the least I can do to reward the nice Ohio Republican who sent me this stuff is to do another front-page plug for Mary Jo. Remember, you can donate to her campaign through the Howard-Empowered Act Blue page.


After all, I think Jo Ann Davidson, the "Co-Chairwoman, Republican National Committee" deserves something for troubling me--I mean for her trouble. So let's thank her by donating to Mary Jo Kilroy.

Previous posts
Dean Dozen Mary Jo Kilroy to challenge Deb Pryce (Oct 20, 2005)
It's Kilroy vs Pryce for OH-15 (November 17, 2005)
Mary Jo Kilroy on the Plunderbund Podcast (transcript) (June 8, 2006)

* For a fleeting moment there, I felt tempted to riff off of Pryce's "nationally targeted seat" and say something about "kicking her ass out of Congress. But, like Eliza Doolittle, "I'm a good girl, I am!" So I won't go there...

Alternate link for comments

Breakfast with Senator Durbin

The classic political junkie question is, "If you could choose anyone to have a meal with, who would it be and what would you ask?" Well yesterday, I had a chance to do just this with one of my top pick politicians, Senator Dick Durbin.

As many of you know, I was chosen to be a delegate to for the Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership 2006 class. This organization was developed by women leaders of the Illinois Democratic Party, with Loretta Durbin as founder and president. Similar to Howard Dean's plan for the 50-state strategy, the IWIL program recognized the importance of a developing a "farm team" for future politicians. This has given me an opportunity to have some incredible training, to network with leaders in the Democratic Party and to share this experience with other fledgling female politicians. Our group of fourteen women is as diverse as the Democratic Party. Seven of the 14 are from Chicago and seven of us are from "downstate" four are African-American and two are Hispanic. I represent the old-age group. :-)

This weekend we met at DePaul University in Chicago. This makes two weekends in a row for sleeping in a college dorm. Friday evening our group watched "Iron Jawed Angels". Our Friday night video about women's suffrage was a great way to start an inspiring weekend.

The meetings were at the university student center. On Thursday I received and email from our organizer that Sen. Durbin would start the day with a short talk. So as a seasoned Dean fan, I started my planning. When I entered I scoped out the room, four round tables with 6 chairs each and a long table at the end set with a warm breakfast. I figured that a front table could give me a closer view. I noticed that only two other women chose to sit there leaving 2 empty seats.

After we sat down, in entered Sen. and Loretta Durbin. Sharon said, "Look he is wearing a green tie." We noted that it matched Loretta's well fitted, lime green blazer. Jacky stated, "I have noticed a lot more green ties on men lately." As Sen, Durbin was filling up his plate with food, I could tell all the chairs were almost full so I quietly motioned for the Sharon to take off her bag from the chair next to her. Durbin, with a plate load of scrambled eggs asked, "Can I sit here?"

We had about ten minutes to talk before he was to speak. "Thanks for your great work in the senate for getting the stem cell research passed." stated a delegate that joined us. Yes it did force Bush to make his stance by vetoing it. We told him how we appreciated him coming here and how Loretta was insightful for organizing this women's training program. We continued to expressed appreciation of what he was doing in the Senate but I certainly didn't bring up my husband's concern about the Lebanon situation nor my son's anger about the upcoming Senate bill that would stop on-line gambling.

When we finished eating, he stood before the group directly in front of me. Sen. Durban, like someone else we know, is not a tall man. He started by saying he didn't want to take time away from the scheduled speaker but we all heartily expressed approval for him to continue his talk.

You could see his pride as he looked around the room filled with empowered woman (and amazingly, I was one of these women!!). He looked affectionately across the room to his wife of 39 years, and acknowledged her for making this all a happen.

Like all good politicians, he talked to his audience. He opened with encouraging us to run for office. He said if someone encourages you to run for office, consider it closely. 'Don't be discouraged, not everyone wins the first time. I ran four times before I was successful.' He proceeded to describe his failed candidacies. I never think about all that people go through prior to their success.

He talked about some successes this last week with the passage of the Right to Vote Act and the approval of stem cell research, at least in the Senate.

I especially love to hear insider stories. He talked about a recent meeting other Democrats and he had with the (evil!!) Republican message maker, Frank Luntz, Luntz talked with them about messaging and how successful the Republicans have been and what the Democrats need to do. This is amazing, Luntz sees this all as one big game and he is more interested in the ability to control people and how they vote yet he seems to have little alliance to a belief system of his own or a loyality to a particular party. Someone asked Durbin if there was a Democratic plan and he said they would be releasing it in the next month. He went over a few points, which we DNC people know is what Dean has already introduced.

Apologizing for interrupting our sessions, Senator Durbin left us to our instruction by two women from Emily's List organization and message maker, Pete Giangreca from John Edward's campaign. Giangreca had helped to develop the idea of "Two Americas." When asked about blogging he warned us not to blog because what you say there cannot be taken back, too late for me!

***An interesting side note. Saturday evening there was a BBQ with past delegates from the IWIL program and Loretta told Sen. Durbin that he could not attend because there was not enough room for spouses.

Alternate link for comments

Katharine Jefferts Schori on CBS Evening News

Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Presiding Bishop Elect of the Episcopal Church, was on the CBS Evening News earlier this evening.

What do you say to people who don't think that the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church should condone homosexuality and same-sex marriages?

Katharine Jefferts Schori: Well, my sense is that Jesus invited everybody to the table, to the "great feast", and for us to say that some people are not fit to come to that feast is not our task.

You can find the rest of the transcript here.

Alternate link for comments

Truman The caterpillar

from listener Look how happy our little Monarch caterpillar is!

Ate a smilie-face in the milkweed leaf today!

I actually saw the butterfly lay the egg and brought it in so the mean red bugs couldn't eat it.

Our biologist son recommended wrapping the ends of the milkweed leaves in a wet paper towel.

It works great for keeping the leaves from wilting quickly!

We named the little fellar Truman. ;-)

took this clearer photo a short while later... which seems to show the smile turning into a belly laugh! I think Truman must have a great sense of humour!

Truman is three days old now, and for the first day I was really worried because it didn't appear that our caterpillar was eating anything, and caterpillars are supposed to be all about eating!

But as I continued to observe, I noticed on the second day that the little fellar had probably been eating all that time, but such a small layer of the leaf that it didn't show. It wasn't until the second day that Truman began to make a mark across the top of the leaf. Now, as you can see, Truman chomps right through like a champ, and is now big enough that we can make out body stripes! Truman is not only humourous but quite intelligent (especially considering brain size!); I noticed last night that Truman sleeps aligned along the center spine of the leaf, to be camouflaged! Why didn't I think of that?

What could Truman be saying here?
Is Truman asking about our housecat?
Celebrating CATS, being a CATerpillar?
Or is it a special message for Catreona?
;-)

It took Truman half a day to munch the smilie, most of the evening to laugh, and another couple hours to create the Cat. =^. .^=
Truman the Artist! Imagine what Truman will be able to do as a Butterfly!
;-)

Alternate link for comments

The Immigration Debate

Testing to see if the YouTube "embed" thing works



Or visit this link. This particular one is from CurrentTV (Al Gore's station). Apparently a lot of the blogs are having a YouTube war. I don't know the particulars, but here's the post from Firedoglake, linking to a song, "Keep your Jesus off my--" (male reproductive organ).

What good stuff have you found on YouTube lately?

Alternate link for comments

Sabbath

The image that appears above is from a page on Walking the Labyrinth that I put together a couple years ago.

Whether or not we follow a specific faith tradition, the idea of Sabbath has some merit. Even if it's not commanded by God, it is something our bodies can beg for and our minds yearn for.

Wayne Muller wrote:

Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the compass points that show us where to go. We lose the nourishment that gives us succor. We miss the quiet that gives us. Poisoned by the hypnotic belief that good things come only through tireless effort, we never truly rest. And for want of rest, our lives are in danger.

What do you do to rest, replenish, restore?

Alternate link for comments

Nevada & South Carolina Move Up in Primary Calendar

For some reason, Haloscan has decided I've been banned by the Webmaster and won't let me comment. Don't forget to see Renee's post below with a new pic of Howard taking the stage at DemocracyFest.

Today was the DNC's Rules & Bylaws Committee (RBC) meeting to add two states to the presidential primary calendar. Nevada will hold a caucus and South Carolina will hold a primary in the pre-window primary period. Iowa will remain the first caucus in the pre-window period and New Hampshire will remain the first primary.

Hotline On Call

The two open windows -- one caucus immediately following Iowa and one
primary after New Hampshire -- drew proposals and submissions from across the country, though by yesterday, only AZ and NV were considered finalists for the caucus slot, and only SC and AL -- finalists, for the primary. (A few other states--like Colorado and Mississippi--were mentioned this morning.)

The battle for the western caucus came down to Arizona and Nevada although RBC member Mame Reiley (you may know her from her work on Mark Warner's Forward Together PAC) opined that had this process begun earlier, Colorado would have been the front runner. (Personally, I don't see it.)

New Hampshire was hoping that the District of Columbia might be chosen to hold caucuses between Iowa and NH. DC sent a sizable contingent to the meeting, which sat in the front row, and applauded wildly at any mention of DC's bid.

Making the Case

The battle between Arizona and Nevada seems to center on the contest
between organized labor and Hispanic-American activists. Many supporting Arizona cited Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano during their speeches, while those backing Nevada cited the state's heavy labor population which, coupled with the state's
high Latino population, provides what one committee member characterized as a kind of double whammy.

Harold Ickes and DNC Secretary Alice Germond supported Nevada while Mame Reiley and former Gore advisor/Harvard Prof. Elaine Karmack supported Arizona. Hoping to protect New Hampshire's position in the primary calendar, NH Dem chair Kathy Sullivan supported DC as did Donna Brazile.

How They Voted

In the end, however, it wasn't even close. Nevada won the caucus state slot with 20 votes and South Carolina won the primary slot with 22.

Vote totals:

• Nevada (20), Arizona (5), DC (2), Michigan (1)
• South Carolina (22), Alabama (5)

The new calendar looks like this:

Iowa's caucus will be held on Monday, January 14th, which means Nevada caucuses on 1/19, New Hampshire holds its primary on 1/22 and South Carolina primaries on 1/29. The window for other states to hold their primaries would open 2/5.

Hotline credits two reasons for Nevada's win:

1. Organized labor, which overlooked their own internal breach to support a service-union heavy state like Nevada. Labor officials made a persuasive argument behind the scenes that a labor-infused early caucus would excite labor rank-and-file around the country, would demonstrate the party's continuing respect for labor's foot soldiers, and help to more broadly vet the potential frontrunner.
2. Harry Reid, the minority leader. Not only did he heavily lobby on behalf of his state, he's gone out of way to publicly and privately embrace DNC chairman Howard Dean. The two met recently to discuss Dean's 50 State Strategy and '06, and while Reid wishes that Dean would spend a little more on Senate seats directly, he told Dean that he was an enthusiastic supporter of the project in general and would do whatever he could to help. The vote today reflects the respect that members of the RBC have for Reid as the leader of the Democratic Party, as well as their gratitude that he, almost alone among Democratic leaders, is an ally of Dean's party-building orientation. Also: Reid's chief of staff, Susan McCue, has calcified her position as perhaps the single most powerful Democratic staffer in the entire party. (Note: I have a problem with anyone being identified as "the single most powerful Democratic staffer." I think it's asking for trouble.)

Arizona's position as a late favorite is attributed to Governor Janet Napolitano and the respect she has in the party. Hotline notes that as late as Thursday, Arizona was the odds-on favorite to win, if there hadn't been a swing in Nevada's favor.

Harold Ickes lobbied heavily against South Carolina, claiming a presidential bid by John Edwards would take the state out of play, thereby defeating the purpose of holding its primary early. SC Rep. James Clyburn said that was the "most ludicrous thing I've ever heard in my life." Clyburn said that if Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack were a presidential candidate the DNC wouldn't take Iowa's "first in the nation" caucus away from it.

South Carolina seemed to be a no-brainer to me, especially compared with Alabama but I can't explain why. I won't even try to dissect what Ickes was complaining about...

Howard's official comment:

"From the beginning, I have strongly believed in the importance of broadening participation in the nomination process to better reflect the rich racial, regional, and economic diversity of the Democratic Party and ensure that our Party produces the strongest possible nominee. The Rules and Bylaws Committee has worked hard to achieve that goal while pacing the process more evenly and balancing the need for change with Iowa's and New Hampshire's important, traditional roles. This has been a long, thoughtful and rigorous process. I want to thank the members of the Rules and Bylaws Committee for their hard work. They have conducted this process with the highest integrity; I support this final recommendation to add Nevada and South Carolina in the pre-window period. I also want to thank all of the states who applied, their participation has been absolutely critical in ensuring the rigor and integrity of this process."

The reaction from New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Kathy Sullivan is predictable:

"The short sighted action taking by the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee
exacerbates the current problem of frontloading in the primary calendar. In
addition to ensuring that the Democratic Party will have a nominee by February 5th after only a handful of states have voted, the committee trampled on the grassroots tradition of the New Hampshire primary. Instead of going door to door and meeting the voters face to face, the candidates will spend millions of dollars on television advertising."

I'll be curious to see how this plays out. New Hampshire could decide to hold its primary before the Iowa caucus to preserve its "first in the nation" status. New Hampshire law says that no similar state contest can be held seven days before or after the state primary.

PoliticsNH.com

Gov. John Lynch warned members of a Democratic National Committee panel
today that if they vote tomorrow to add a state presidential caucus between the Iowa and New Hampshire that the state is fully prepared to send the presidential nomination process into chaos.

In a letter to members of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee, Lynch said they should assume Secretary of State Bill Gardner will move up the date of the state's first in the nation presidential primary, even in front of Iowa if it has to.

How far can New Hampshire push the DNC before it pushes back? I'm hoping Howard exercises his prerogative as party chairman to put New Hampshire in its place.

Alternate link to comment.

Howard Dean, rock star

I know not everyone likes that phrase used in connection with Howard, but I look at this picture mprov took at DemFest, and that's my first thought. ;-)



Alternate link for comments

Apology to Chancellor Merkel

I posted a link to this diary in the comments last night, but since there's an update, I thought I'd do the frontpage thing with it.

Dear Chancellor Merkel: UPDATE petition

There were a lot of comments, so the page is hard to load, but here's a new diary about the petition:

Apology to Chancellor Merkel: Sign The Online Petition!

And, in case anyone missed it, here's the video of the segment Jon Stewart did about it on The Daily Show.

Somebody should have been to a social skills group a *long* time ago...

Alternate link for comments

A message from Charlie

Hello friends,

I have decided this morning to NOT qualify for the 2006 general election for the Florida House. This was a difficult decision - as I believe I could have won this race and played a significant role in bringing change to our political system from the level of the State of Florida.

With the legal battles ongoing I have had to neglect my campaign to instead redirect efforts into the fight for the rights of the residents of one city in my district.

I believe that, at this time, the best use of my talents and those of others who support me is to focus them inward - prove we can indeed take back our government for the people in one city - while at the same time building a true grassroots movement in the counties of North Central Florida in preparation for the 2008 election cycle.

This will enable us to refocus these efforts over a two-year period of organization and development so that we can be even more effective in our struggle.

I hope to build the Alachua Project in two directions: 1) Recruiting national support for a grassroots effort to take back one town - and prove we can do it; 2) Expanding this to taking back the local level of government town-by-town across Florida and across the nation - thus turning it into the Democracy Project.

I believe that if we can direct 10% of the national grassroots movement into a focused local reform effort - we can level the playing field and we can begin re-establishing the true rule of law and real democratic government BY THE PEOPLE. With our collective knowledge, energy, resources, etc. we can take back America one town at a time.

I believe, furthermore, that with two years of organization and mobilization through such a project we can lay the foundations for a truly independent grassroots wave of empowered citizens who will be the primary, rather than secondary, forces in the 2008 election cycle nationwide.

I will announce my plans for the next two years in the upcoming days. I apologize to all of you who have done so much to support me and I hope that I have not let you down. This is a very hard decision - but I believe that in the long-run it will prove to be for the best.

This is not about me alone - but about all of us - and I am committed to do any and everything in my power for the next two years to accomplish our goals and objectives. This is about all of us - as a community.

I will need your support in these endeavors - and hope that I can call on you for assistance in these efforts.

Feel free to call or email me to let me know your feelings on this and if you have any ideas or suggestions.

Again, I apologize to all who have done so much to assist me in this effort to date. Its people like you that have given me the ground upon which to remain optimistic that WE, together, can fight this very important battle - and it is a struggle that will not be won overnight - and bring it to a victory within the next few years.

Alternate link for comments

Open Thread

jc has some new designs up at her graphics blog.

Also, earlier this evening I found out about a laughably bad web site by the Focus on the Family people.

and later discovered that it was in response to a pro-gay ad campaign in Colorado Springs.



I've posted about both here.

So, what else is going on?

Update... one of the way too many times I woke up last night, I saw that cHeRyL had uploaded a picture of Howard speaking at DemFest.

I've downloaded the photo and posted it here. So, for anyone who's been clamoring for this, don't say I don't ever do anything nice for you. ;-)

Alternate link for comments

Ken Blackwell does African American voter outreach

Thanks, Corinne, for pointing this one out to me...

Crossposted at My Left Wing and Daily Kos

Have you seen this new ad Ken Blackwell has put out, targeting African American voters? Pardon my French but, holy crap is it bad!

From Openers:

Black voters should be afraid of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland, who is white.

That's the implied message of a glossy new piece of campaign literature being distributed by Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell, who is black.

It features an image of a black man, dressed in a T-shirt and baggy sweatpants, who looks as if he'd just seen a ghost, mouth agape and hands up. The image is also distorted, which makes the man's head as big as his torso. The headline reads: "Strickland for Governor? NO WAY!"

Geez, and here I was trying to resist the temptation to go negative. While I was messing with bumper sticker ideas recently, I was thinking of stuff like sing with bumper sticker ideas recently, I was thinking of stuff like "White supremacists for Blackwell". Or "Ken Blackwell: honorary rich white guy".

"Blackwell '06: this time, he'll rig his OWN election".

Maybe we need some ads showing African American voters standing on long lines to vote, courtesy of Ken Blackwell. Or the picture of him acting all chummy with this person

You know, the woman who showed this kind of compassion for Katrina evacuees:

"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this [she chuckles slightly]is working very well for them."

Yeah, Ken Blackwell is all about looking out for his homies.

Just only when they're agreeing with him on "values" issues. When they're standing in line in the rain on election day--or concerned about cuts in funding for schools and various social programs--not so much.

But I do have his blatant play for the Black "values voters" (as well as Bush's veto of stem cell research) to thank for these new bumper stickers Demetrius just made.

And remember, you can donate to Ted Strickland's campaign here.

For more on Ohio Republicans behaving badly, check out the current posts at Buckeye State Blog. In addition to Ken Blackwell having the nerve to put out this piece of trash, we've also got Mike DeWine using a doctored 9-11 photo in his campaign ad.

Oops--sorry for starting the day with more outrage overload. Here, how about looking at this for a while (or any of the other adorable animals here) to balance that out a bit.


Alternate link for comments

Part 2 Demfest 2006

Part 1 is here and more DemFest and Howard Dean posts here. If you have photos from DemFest and would like me to post them, please e-mail me at howardempowered at gmail.com

OK, so the plane lands safely with fire trucks and ambulances ready to rescue us.

On Saturday morning it was decision time. The opening speaker was a "mystery guest" but we wanted to have a decent breakfast. Marcia voted to see the presentation. I recommended, with input from Paula, that we eat at Denny's. Our pride was on the line, we could eat a warm breakfast with protein and possibly miss Howard Dean if he were the mystery guest, or we could have another missed meal and see someone we didn't even care about. We understood our risk because if we were eating instead of seeing Howard, we crushies would never live it down. True crushies were sorted out. Lois, Paula, Jennifer, Barbara and I succumbed to hunger. Marcia would never let hunger get in way of possibilities. In the end, our pride is still intact.

The evening "Blastout" was the big event of the fest. It was preceded by a BBQ which would have been lovely except for the atypical sweltering heat. The outdoor arena sloped steeply down to the stage but it gave excellent visibility to all seats. Unusual for a Dean event, there was assigned seating. Because we had bought out tickets on-line that meant none of us could sit together. This was disappointing because there is nothing like seeing Howard Dean while next to a crushie. I ended up making, "new best friends" with people sitting next to me. Al Frankin opened the event (I wonder what it cost to have him around for 2 days!!) There were several excellent musicians ranging from country to instrumental guitarist. My favorite outspoken female politician, Maxine Waters, was her usual inspiring self. I always feel like I am at a liberal revival when she is the speaker. The comedian, Mark Malon had me in stitches. I love line about Bill Gates having a giant bank account up in space that deposits all that time that "disappears" while we are on the internet.

There is nothing like Howard Dean in a room full of his supporters. He was at his best, reminiscent of his campaign days. Howard entered with shirt-sleeves rolled up, ready to inspire us. As he came on stage Marcia, who secured front section seats, moved forward and stood directly at his feet. You must see her incredible pictures.

Hopefully someone has the transcripts of what Dean said but tc described it well in her Dean report "Do you know what Americans really want from their government?" He paused half a second and someone called out "Truth and Love!!" Howard responded, "That's an interesting way to phrase it, but that's right. People want to know that their government will tell them the truth and respect them enough to care about working with all of them instead of trying to divide them."

By the time of the Bloggers breakfast, we had already found each other several times. Darrel was not able to be present, but the speakers recalled the first blogger"s breakfast. It was interesting to go around the room as we each introduced themselves. Several people said they used to blog or they hope to start blogging. Hope the do.

The spontaneous meeting put on by DFA at Sunday lunch was one of my favorite events. It was lead by Tom Hughes, Arshad and of course Jim Dean. It opened with everyone introducing themselves, plus what the most significant thing that happened to them in the last year. I wish this would have been video taped for Howard Dean. I never fail to be overwhelmed by what Gov, Dean has inspired. Paula stood up and thanked Jim Dean for supporting her husband during a difficult time of their campaign. Someone else followed this with praise for Jim. During all of this Jim kept turning a deeper shade of red. Arshad efficiently moved through his agenda of planning and networking.

It really is a disservice to San Diego not to visit the Pacific Ocean, so 5 of us trekked over to the lovely Coronado beach. It is a very deep beach so just hiking down from the street was a days worth of exercise. I have never been swimming on a California beach so I couldn"t pass it up. I walked inside the exclusive Coronado Hotel like a guest and changed into my bathing suit in the restaurant bathroom. The great waves were worth it. We closed out Deanfest with drinks at the beach bar.

It looks like the new plane will eventually get me home around 24 hours after I arrived at the airport. Back to the realities of the world.

Alternate link for comments

Battle Lines by Jon Stewart

Apparently there is a weekly column now by Jon Stewart. I did not know that (think Dana Carvey doing his Johnny Carson impersonation). I found it in one of our local newsweeklies, Columbus Alive, which I read while I was on break. You can find the column here.

The first part is about the nonbinding Iraq war resolution, which I think most of us heard about--saying that we are going to win the war on terrorism. I remember hearing that part on the Daily Show a week or so ago. What I don't remember is this part:

Look Who's Talking Points

It turns out the Republicans had some help in last month's game of rhetorical one-upmanship. Before the debate, the supposedly nonpartisan Pentagon sent Republican lawmakers something called the Iraq Floor Debate Prep Book.

Hmmm. Wasn't it just a few months ago that several former U.S. generals were chastised for criticizing the war effort in Iraq? The role of the military is to provide military advice unfettered by political concerns, they were told. You stick to your military stuff. Stay out of politics...

Unless, apparently, you can do it through the proper secret back channels.

The briefing book consisted of 74 pages of "rapid response" talking points defending administration policy and countering arguments that the war had been based on flawed intelligence or had been badly executed.

It was sent via e-mail, since, at 74 pages, it was much thicker than the Pentagon's actual Iraq war-prep manual.

Democrats blasted the Pentagon, saying the document's preparation and "limited distribution" was inappropriate and perhaps even illegal.

Uh, Oops

The briefing book became public after it was accidentally sent to some Democrats, prompting Defense Department officials to send out another e-mail a few hours later. It read: "Hey, my Pentagon roommate was totally drunk and I think he logged into my e-mail, so if you got anything from me, just delete it, OK?"

Another clue came from Representative Dan Lungren, a Republican from California, who, unlike other Republicans, didn't rewrite the talking points in his own words but read them—verbatim—to his colleagues.

Click here for the rest. I know nothing is beyond the pale for this administration, but isn't this, um, really, really inappropriate?

Alternate link for comments

Even More Howard

Kossack aimai was lucky, lucky, lucky, last night. She attended a DNC fundraiser last night, a reception and dinner for Howard. And Jim was there as well.

At the dinner the Governor spoke briefly about the 50 state strategy and what they were doing. He took questions from all sides and they were pointed but very supportive. He really showed his familiarity with every race, the polling in every region, the issues from the top to the bottom of tickets (people were constantly coming up to him and telling him personal stories about friends running for very low level positions because of Dean's influence on them and his insistence on really grass roots level politicking.)

[...]

He is very aware (and so was everyone else there, even quite elderly people) of the blogs, of dailykos (mentioned prominently by one of the donors), of the issues the bloggosphere thinks are important. Some of the things we talk about daily--framing, messaging, aggressive partisanship, were discussed in quite a bit of detail and Dean seemed very familiar with all the ins and outs. He argued that we could pick up the needed seats in the house, though he was sceptical about the Senate, but he stressed the need to keep our candidates on message. And he felt that was a difficult task, more difficult than it needed to be, because of the more or less free agent nature of the democratic party (my words, not his) and the inherent indpendence of the liberal mindset--that makes us "good at governing but not good at running elections" was his take on it. Keeping the candidates on message, 24 hours a day, until the election is important because (although he didn't use this phrase) it enables the public to grasp the brand/Democrat. It gives the public confidence that the democrats are a known quantity. He pointed out, in a wide ranging discussion,that this can be bad for individual politicians because its a risky proposition for them but that its good for the party ultimately because it helps the party define itself agressively. The analysis was strikingly good and he went back a bit historically to back it up.

He alluded delicately, and politely, to the DCCC/DSCC/DNC infighting but said that, in some ways, it had ended up being very good for the 50 state strategy because if there hadn't been so many complaints about it it wouldn't have been as well publicized as it had been and, since it resonates so strongly with the grassroots and the electorate, that publicity is important. Another example of "every knock's a boost." One of the Donors who had made many phone calls to help organize the events said she found that everyone she called to raise money knew about the 50 state strategy and was very enthusiastic.

Read the entire post, "My Dinner with Howard Dean."

Alternate link to comment.

More Howard

Alert: There's a new article about Charlie Grapski at Raw Story--Florida House Candidate banned from city of Alachua by judge To help get/keep this story in the public eye, please recommend it at My Left Wing, Booman Tribune, and Daily Kos.

From tc...

Extra! Extra! Howard does an interview on our local KPBS station!

He was on last night.

Watch it here:



Click on Monday's archive on the right side of the page.

From Corinne...

Here's a photo of Howard:

Hekebolos has some DemFest photos and a Kos diary to go along with them.

Part 1 of Holly's report can be found here. tc's report on Howard Dean's speech, in case you missed it earlier, is here and truthout's story about Howard's speech at DemFest is here.

I will post additional links, pictures, and stories as I receive them. Meaning, of course, that I have to receive them in order to do so. Please let people at other blogs know we're collecting these things, and pass along your links/stories either in the comments or by e-mailing me at howardempowered at gmail.com. Thanks.

Also, there is supposed to be a Blogger outage some time tonight, so I'm crossposting this at the Wordpress blog.

Alternate link for comments

Unofficial Report of Demfest in San Diego 2006

Part 1

Putting the rest of the world "on hold" is the sign of a true vacation. Not knowing the date or the day of the week reminds me that I have launched myself successfully into a different world. My mind tries to ignore a deteriorating outside world but signs kept trying to nudge its way back in as I checked in on the blog threads or when I saw newspaper with pictures of cities exploding with bombs. Ironic that I should spend such a week of world turmoil cloistered at Deanfest in tropical San Diego while I become trained and inspired to work for a better America.

The idea of spending 5 days housed in a college dorm with fellow crushies and with the prospect of seeing Howard Dean sure looked like a dream vacation to me. Being surrounded by 1500 like-minded liberal activists could also easily entice me away from other choices for vacations. Husband and children were not invited because gripping about sitting in seminars or groaning when hearing to middle-aged women swoon over Howard could not be tolerated.

I never thought there was a perfect place to live in America until I came to San Diego. The city is a little oasis on the ocean side of the desert of southern California. It is understandable why the palm trees, new buildings with old southwest architecture, and the surf have grown the city to become the second largest in California. It feels like some grand architect designed the seaside hills so the home would have a good few of the ocean. No wonder the steep roads and year round perfect weather spawned the likes of Tony Hawks. The outdoor stairway rails have small knobs to discourage sliding down on skateboards.

Boarding the plane, I couldn't help but notice that the other passengers either where overweight bald men or tattooed women. When I asked the lady with the devil on her ankle where she was going, she answered, "the Harley Davidson convention". Oh dear, San Diego was being overtaken with bikers and liberals.

I was relieved to see I had transportation to San Diego State University because, Lois, had rented a car. She basically spent the day circling the airport as all seven of us arrive one by one from all over the United States.

When I heard we would be housed in the university dorm, I tried not to have a panic attack. I hoped that if I brought my own pillow from home I could sleep. But the facilities were amazing. I could understand the ten year-old kid who was with me in the pool later that day. As we swam viewing the nearby hills he said, "I am going to tell Dad that I want to go to THIS college." Our suite consisted of 7 single rooms connected by a kitchenette/living area. It would have seem like a nice hotel except for the "loft beds" that made me fear for a broken ankle if I climbed out of bed half asleep. The common area was perfect for crushie-talk that always occurred if 2 or more were gathered there.

Cheryl had emailed us prior to the weekend inviting us to attend a party put on by Bill Moyer. No, not Bill Moyers, but Bill of the Backbone Campaign. Transportation was on your own but Charlie G didn't mind squashing in the "Crushie mobile" with 7 women. I gave him an honorary C for D pin for surviving, The house party was located in a home that gave a beautiful view of the bay. The company was energizing and it was inspiring to see the work that Bill is doing with his media grabbing giant backbone and giant heads of Bush and Co.

While San Diego is known for its moderate weather there was no moderation in the near 100 degrees we experienced. The vender at the Quick Pick store swore that this was unusual. There is something unforgiving about an area that is taken back from the desert. Combined with the sea of cement sidewalks and the cloudless sky, heat came from both below and above. Luckily most of the classes were housed close together and the ocean breeze still seemed to find its way through the canopied throughways.

Air America's Al Franken started the conference. He was live on the radio for 3 hours and WE got to be his audience. In the cases of both Frankin and Dean, I am surprised how someone so "big" could be so short. Franken runs a disciplined ship. He did a short introduction prior to the show but during commercials he would sit quietly preparing his mind for the next segment. He always opens after a commercial with a laugh and I had always assumed I had missed out on a lot of fun during the breaks. Between live segments we used the time to find other DFAers. I met Carolyn, Puddle oc, and seashell for a short hello. Frankin interspersed interviews with news. The audience of about 500 would clap, cheer and groan appropriately. When Frankin interviewed the local newspaper writer we could no longer contain our displeasure when he sprewed his republican talking points. When he talked about immigration and how kids won't work the hard jobs, Barbara couldn't help but yell out. "Pay decent wages!" Don't mess with us liberals. This is a progressive gathering (unlike TBA) and if we hear republican spin the speaker is going to hear from us. I respect Franken because he knew exactly how to handle us. He would interpret accurately to the guest why we booed and then would ask an appropriate question.

Cheryl had written on the blog earlier in the week that she was more interested in socializing so I decided to adopt this philosophy. It was easier to pass up a session than a swim or a break with friends.

I was glad to see Jim Dean attended the entire event and made himself available between sessions so we could to talk with him. Here and there were small clutches of DFAers. Fearing that we wouldn't have a chance to meet as a group I spontaneously made reservations for a large group for dinner for Friday and Sarah spread the word to our internet friends. Jim and Arshad were asked to join too.

The dinner turned out to be the only time that most of us BFAers were together as a group socially.. The Italian restaurant in downtown San Diego lined up several tables so we could sit together in one long group. The food was excellent and the wine drinkers said that was even better. Thankful and I panicked a little when we were still $200 short after we gathered money for the bill but our friends pulled through. Next time we will order out pizza and meet in a hotel room so we can give the difference to a favorite candidate.

Despite the socializing, we did manage to make the majority of sessions. Often the problem was deciding on which forum to attend. I tend to choose the grassroot organizing sessions, Marcia would go to election integrity workshops and Lois would gravitate to speakers I also love documentaries and they are especially meaningful when the producer is present. Look for "Votergate" in the future because it will be very useful for motivating possible volunteers for poll watching. It was a difficult choice between hearing Charlie speak and hearing Arshad's presentation so our group split up. Charlie also had an interview on the local Air America radio station to spread the word about his fight with his local government over election integrity.

Christine Cegelis from Illinois was also a part of two panels so I braved the walk across the frying cement to distant classrooms. I was interested to see if Christine would talk about how the DCCC screwed with her primary, which she did but it bit more articulately. This is good because LINK television was recording. I can't report on Hackett's session because I missed it. Suggestion for future Demfest - print a program with font big enough to read and list speakers for each forum. Reports have it that many were not real happy with Hackett's statements about the servicewomen who was raped and his opinion that drafting everyone was good. Kind of makes you wonder if the DLC was right on this one.

Another must see presenter was David Sirota , author of 'Hostile Take Over'. He talked only a short while and discussed cooperate take over of our Democracy. He had a book signing afterwards, so of course I had to buy one. I have learned to ask if I can have a picture of him with me for the blog.

Most evenings we would gravitate to the swimming pool. Some of us have better endurance for staying up late than others. I tended to end up back in the room with my roomates but still rarely made it to bed before 1:30 (3:30 CDT!!!)

***Well I guess I will have more time to finish writing this because our plane just turned around due to "smoke in the cockpit"!?!?!?
_______________________________________________________
Alternate link for comments

Open Thread

From Cute Overload. I really do feel about this sleepy right now, so I'm off to bed.

If you're checking in for the first time tonight, be sure to check out the news from Kimmy. And here's the link to tc's report on Howard Dean's speech at DemFest. And Kimmy posted this truthout story about Howard's speech as well as a link to a project she's been working on.

I've got a few new posts up at my Religious Left blog including one about how our weekend ended. I'm not trying to get sympathy, but if that's what it takes to get more DemFest stories and pictures from you people, so be it. :p


Alternate link for comments

Kimmy!

So glad that Kimmy checked in! Read her whole comment here. Highlights...

A couple things kept me away .. moving into a new house for one! Now that theres another Cash-Valdez on the way we need more space!
...
So.. I'm gonna upload this ultrasound picture and share it with you guys! Its so totally cool. SO amazing.

I'm sorry I missed meeting everyone!~! BUT check this out, now that I have this AMAZING house its open house here and ALL OF YOU are always welcome. Was thinking about doing some kind of shindig when it cools down a bit.. would have to really plan it out but anyway...

Congratulations, Kimmy!

For Kimmy, and all the rest of us who were unable to make it to DemFest for whatever reason, if you attended, please share your stories, diaries, links, and pictures. Or even if you didn't attend, but you've seen posts about DemFest elsewhere, please share those links here as well.

Alternate link for comments