Fitz!

Fitz maybe this week?

As an ardent supporter of our left-wing blogs I was truly saddened and disappointed by the choice of Las Vegas as being the site of the “YearlyKos” convention. I’ve been there once for a law enforcement convention and will never return.
I found Las Vegas to be the epitome of capitalistic swill. It is the face of “Corporate Amerika”. Gambling, it’s main attraction, totally void of virtue, and the antithesis of benevolence, appeals to personkinds most base and vile goal-”I want to be filthy rich!” And why would one ever choose to patronize and be associated with a city that advertises itself with such a deceptive-laden slogan as, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”? Why not support with our dollars a much more worthy and economically distressed city such as Philadelphia, culturally rich, ethnically diverse, and hell-bent on defeating Rick Santorum, or choose any of our other needy progressive cities.
I can imagine no more of an appropriate city than Las Vegas for conventions of our much-disdained media and “thirty percenters”.
Does anyone else feel this way? Or, can anyone explain to me why Las Vegas was an appropriate choice for this convention?
Where are our Mitch Snyder’s?

fitz

I’d say I’m a better man than you. :) However, I did register at the site, but I haven’t gotten an email from them, so I can’t watch the videos.

It was mentioned in the previous thread that you can watch the whole Meet the Press show here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10005066/

You can’t fast forward, though.

Ray Lewis 3 — You’ve never commented here before, and in the midst of this rather remarkable achievement you de-lurk to bitch about the LOCATION? That is just amazing to me. Absolutely amazing.

Ron Zuber 5 — thanks for finding that & emailing me. I sent it to my mom ;)

ray at 3–The America spelled with a K thing got old about 30 years ago. Can we leave the Commie propaganda behind please?

Actually, I just checked my email, and I can now watch the videos on ForaTv

Ray Lewis,

$$$$$$$$ – Las Vegas gave YK a good deal, making it more affordable for the masses. Personally, after being here and experiencing the convention, I don’t think it matters where YK is held. I wanted to spend every minute with my fellow bloggers and barely left the premises.

That said, the smokiness of the place was very annoying.

To answer the purity troll:

Las Vegas was chosen because _hotel and convention space rates were cheap_.

Now go away.

Rootz! baby, Rootz!

Vegas is the heart of America.

I first visited there in 1957 with my parents. The Strip began at The Sands. We stayed at the New Frontier but caugh margueirte Piazza at the Sands. It was a really cheap vacation in those days. Hotel rooms and food was cheap because they MORE than made up for it at the gaming tables.

Last time I visited Vegas I saw Jerry at the telethon live. Great fun.

The key Vegas moves are the original Ocean’s 11, Viva Las Vegas, One From the Heart and Mars Attacks!

THere are conventions in LV in the summer (and Phoenix also) because it’s the off season and rates are lower. ALthough there isn’t a lot to do, if you aren’t into gambling or shows. (been there, done that, have the nametag, but not yKos.)

Thanks to all of you at yearly Kos!Great work!

i agree with ray. and, we could put a dent in global warming just turning off all those marquee lights and air conditioning. maybe next time the place chosen will be more in harmony with the message. how bout pittsburgh? they have the largest Green convention center in the country, and it is home to richard mellon scaife and santorum.

This may have gotten EPU’d,but I did get good feedback on it,here’s a repost;
Here’s a little off topic opinion I’ve been thinking about lately;the top of the thread cry of’Fitz!’,and the new cry of’rootz!’.
The call of Fitz!(a time honered FDL tradition,I’ve logged a few ‘Fitzes’myself)can be seen as a wish for a superman(superprosecuter)to come save us.
To call out Rootz! says we are going to save ourselves.
JMO

Oh and I forgot one of the very best — Casino.

Besides Vegas it’s the best film ever made about modern American capitalism, as coporations have moved in to take over from individual entrepreneurs.

Thanks to all who reported from YKos…kept us in the loop….My fav is still Jane and the Plame panel.
THANNNNNKKKKKKKKKKKKSSSSSSSSSSS

Ray,
AFAIK, inexpensive hotels.
With the exception of legalized gambling, I think every other city offers the same “pleasures,” although not as you observe, in such an unveiled manner.
Part of the process was to leverage traditional media coverage of it. It’s a lot easier to get whores such as Byron York to Vegas than Philly.
Victories are never total, compromise is part of life. Your entire comment about a huge victory for Kos, FDL, and the liberal blogosphere was about one decision. With all due respect, in the calculus of all the factors, I think Vegas was an inspired choice. I want to go to YKos next year and I hope it they hold it in Vegas again. I’ll be happy to go to Philly too, if it’s there.

ray lewis (3) – you are missing the poetic irony of it.

what las vegas is to the spiritual universe, the bush administration is to the political and social one.

it is fitting in this sense that the rebirth of the nation, after this long dark night of the soul, take place in the darkest depths of the godforsaken nevada desert.

from darkness, light…

there were several locations for YK that were put up to a vote last year i guess. las vegas got the most votes— cuz it was cheap & relatively accessible from lots of places.

I had a very similar reaction to Ray Lewis’ when the YKos location of Las Vegas was announced.

The one time I was in LVNV (for my mother’s 65th birthday, at her request) I was overwhelmed–not just by the crass/money/gambling aspect of the city, but even more so by its environmental piggishness. I was nauseated by the utter waste–all the electricity needed for LV glitz, all the water stolen from elsewhere to accommodate the masses of tourists. And that’s not even considering the whole raison d’etre of Las Vegas: the place where marks come to get fleeced by the casinos.

Las Vegas will be gone in fifty years, I bet. And yes, Ray–a very odd choice of a place for Progressives to meet.

Fabulous photo! It’s going to be fun watching the pundits and press get busy on “framing” the event (bow to George Lakoff). Always amusing when experts start lecturing you on the real meaning of your own intentions and actions.

Congratulations to everyone who was part of YKos.

That Plame panel was amazing, and Jane did a remarkable job. It’s honestly one of the best C-SPAN programs I’ve ever watched, and I’ve watched that channel for more than a decade.

I hope Jane, Christy, Markos and others get more invitations to such events.

Yesterday, I said Jane is the new MoDo. :) And I don’t have to pay to read her articles. :)

… not suggesting that the whole operation wasn’t wonderful (I watched a good deal of the meetings on Air America’s feed). Just a cognitive dissonance: Las Vegas/Progressive Activism

DMM wrote:

The call of Fitz!(a time honered FDL tradition,I’ve logged a few “Fitzes” myself)can be seen as a wish for a superman(superprosecuter)to come save us.
To call out Rootz! says we are going to save ourselves.

Hear! Hear!
peace,
jim

Having organized and attended many confrences back in my professional life, I can tell you that cost is the major consideration. And, as those who commented earlier, that is what drove the venue location for this one.
-sofistic

Or, can anyone explain to me why Las Vegas was an appropriate choice for this convention

It’s cheap. to get to and to stay in. Maybe if there’s a YKos 2, some smart city tourism bureau will seek it out as a host city in Chicago or Philly.
Though I will say, isn’t Las Vegas, on a per square mile basis, the biggest damn preventable environmental disaster? the lights, the AC, the wasted water? No reflection on YKos, the gambler, drinker and out-all-nighter I used to be loved Vegas.

Anyone who starts with something like “As an ardent supporter of left wing blogs…” and then trashes the place is a troll.
The wingnut trolls always establish their street creds in the first sentence or so. I remember a troll from another site in 2004 who was totally anti-Kerry, pro-Bush, but she described herself as very left wing—a lesbian substance abuse councilor living in San Francisco, activist for 20 years.. etc.
Ha ha.

I like this from the Observer article:

“At their helm was former soldier Markos Moulitsas. At the age of 34, Moulitsas has progressed from private policy nerd to one of the best- known public voices in Democratic politics, described last week on Time.com as ‘the left’s own Kurt Cobain and Che Guevara rolled into one’.”

So the left’s “C”-word is “Cobain-Che,” and the right’s “C”-word is Coulter? Whatever. Jane is correct that the depth and quality of the Observer article is so far unmatched by anything we’ve seen from the US national press.

Jane, i’m glad you called out Barbara Boxer

The best articles I’ve seen are by Ron Brownstein and Dan Balz.
.

Not completely ignored by major outlets:
Net-Savvy Democrats Aim to Pack a Digital Punch
A gathering of online liberals indicates they’re evolving into a force within the party.
By Ronald Brownstein, Times Staff Writer
June 11, 2006

LAS VEGAS %u2014 Fans of the popular liberal website Daily Kos gathered here this weekend for an irreverent and impassioned conference that blended elements of a political convention, a revival meeting and what one attendee called a “summer camp reunion for people who have never met each other.”

The four-day event, which drew 1,000 people, may have marked a milestone in the evolution of the online liberal community from scruffy insurgents to an institutionalized force within the Democratic Party.

PointedHead @17 — excellent point (and I don’t mean the one on your head).

I’d never been to Vegas, and in some ways I feel like I still haven’t. I didn’t gamble, didn’t see any shows, and had two drinks the entire time (at Mark Warner’s party).

The only real indulgence I engaged in was the amount of bacon I had at the FDL breakfast.

“Jane, i’m glad you called out Barbara Boxer”

Hear hear!! I’m lying in wait for my next email from her. What is she thinking, honestly? Besides the war (which, I keep screaming into the storm, is enough reason to oppose him ), Lieberman has been a big administration enabler on the Feds’ lousy response to Katrina. He and Collins whine to the media and do nothing. Both of them would be nicely replaced by the dead armadillos lying next to them.

A couple of years back I was dating a woman who headed info security operations for a very large bank …. She told me she thought Vegas would be the next major terror target, because it was the symbolic center of Western decadence (and because of the fact that the casinos pump a lot of oxygen in — keeps the gamblers from nodding off, but also would give more bang for the buck).
Needless to say, I’m relieved that her predictions have not yet come true.
Re: Pointed 17 and the poetic irony of it: let us also not forget the late Dr. Gonzo.

Las Vegas is cheaper by miles, and that’s one of the main reasons it was chosen, by votes. I voted for Chicago just because it was closer, but I wouldn’t have been able to attend after all due to unforseen circumstances. (Plus lack of $$.)
Try booking a flight to Chicago, see how much it costs. Try the same with Vegas: It’s cheaper. Hotels are cheaper.
Over a thousand people got to attend YKos. That’s the point; not where it’s held.
Next year I’m going, God willing and the creek don’t rise!

I sent a kind word to Meet the Press about having Markos on. I hate the show, but I figure if they get enough emails, they might have progressives on more often. You can email them here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6872152/

Maybe there should be a BYKos – bi-annual with eastern and western continental sites. Funding might be prohibitive still, but I get the feeling the interest level wouldn’t be.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..v=hcmodule

“Democrats Closing Fundraising Gap With Republicans
Increase in Grass-Roots Support Buoys Party as GOP Efforts Falter

By Jim VandeHei”
Interesting article.

I agree w/#3 — didn’t see any tie-dyes either. snark.

Too many Powerbooks and iBooks, too. Apple filed suit to ‘kill bloggers rights’. Actually, it was about keeping industrial secrets secret. Well within their rights. I don’t think the legal team really pushed as hard as they might have, given legal times as they are. (ie. they wanted to make a point, not really WIN the case.)

Note that Apple is PRO-Net Neutrality. All those downloads from iTMS get alittle less attractive with push tax.

Last, but certainly not least, zennurse’s smile is as beautiful as her spirit and heart.

I would hope too that the next con is more accessible to east coast attendees. Someone on Kos suggested Baltimore; I’d go for that if the rates are reasonable.

Or, if we want to go for cheap decadence again, there’s Orlando …

Jane,

A suggestion for the next Yearly Kos, if the location hasn’t been chosen already– how about New Orleans? Let’s give that battered city a shot in the arm with some tourist dollars and some progressive political energy.

I think it would make a great statement from our community.

Let’s not forget: Las Vegas was the venue that produced THE gonzo document of our time. The words ‘Fear and Loathing’ will always lurk behind my ears every time that town is mentioned.

Ralph Steadman rocks! He can sketch some, draws a bit, too.

ray lewis 3 -

Don’t be crackin’ on BobbyG’s home town.

Others have by now dispositively ’splained to ya the reasons. And, YKos was a MAJOR success, both in terms of the logistical administration of the event and it’s political impact, bucko. So, spare us the Red Herring ad hominem’ish whining.

two fav moments from ykos: 1. the look of incomprehension on the face of a reporter when i explained i wasn’t choosing events to attend based on the presence of a Washington VIP, but by subject and panelist, and 2. seated next to a writer from “the weekly standard” at one of the dinners i asked if anything had surprised him at the event. after a hesitation he replied he couldn’t believe how nice everyone was, to him specifically and in general, and at the high level of discourse. our cover has been blown.

OfT: Harry Gave ‘Em Hell
by emptywheel
“When I taught media history, I did it from a wide perspective. I brought my students to the rare books archive to look at papyrus and a Gutenberg. I talked about multiple media revolutions: the introduction of the printing press, the industrialization of print in the 19th century, broadcast in the 20th century, and finally the Internet. I tried to show that our little Internet revolution had much in common with the earlier media revolutions, and that it might (or might not) bring the same kind of change as those earlier revolutions.

Imagine my thrill when the Senate Minority Leader stood before a room full of bloggers and made the same argument….”

I too find Vegas distasteful, but understand the need to minimize costs for all the ordinary folks going to ykos. It bothers me, though, that someone gets called a troll for pointing out that many of the things that Vegas represents are antithetical to progressive values. If you disgaree with ray’s point, argue your case. Calling him a troll just discourages discussion. I quit participating at dkos because of all the aggressive self-appointed diary and comment police (well, that and the pie fight)and would hate to see this site succumb to the same sort of thought policing.

Dateline June 11, 2028
It came from the fever swamps.
Few of the children attending the tour of what was once Washington, D.C. – but now an arm of the Smithsonion Institution – could believe that this was the center of power for the United States of America.

In the early years, beginning in 2006, a remarkable event took place that changed the face and function of American government. A small group of what were then called bloggers, began to build a blueprint for what we now see. The country has become completely independent in terms of all essential goods and services. The internet backbone crisscrossing the country is now owned by employees and customers, in much the same way that the old food co-ops were. The same is true of banking and insurance organizations, as well as energy production and distribution systems. Everyone has the finest health care from conception to death. Bullet trains on maglev tracks crisscross the country and are more efficient than the old airplanes. Private transportation is all electric, and people plug them into their house wiring systems, which are, in turn, powered by the wind, wave, and solar systems dotted across the landscape. Elected representatives live in their own districts and debate legislation over the internet, and only meet twice a year face to face in rotating host states. None of this would have existed but for this small band of “transformational” bloggers back in those early days.
-sofistic

I just watched Meet The Press (Pacific Time Zone). Markos – yea! In fact that entire segment was a down-to-earth examination of what Democrats need to be aware of in this upcoming election. Quiet presentations, no ranting by anyone at all, and very informative. How many millions do you suppose came away from this show with a slightly (can I hope completely?) reformed view?

I’m on a high!

Actually, it was about keeping industrial secrets secret. Well within their rights.

That’s like saying Bush is within his rights to prosecute journalists rather than the leakers themselves. There’s no defense of Apple’s behavior. They should have pursued only the leakers instead of trying to strip bloggers of free speech rights.

When does the CtG discussion start?

Philly for sure. I see the logic of Vegas, but the next gathering should be in the East and Philly is a city (in a region) that is full of potential supporters and should be affordable as well.

You can’t beat the prices in Vegas. Airfare to the place, hotels, rental cars, meals – you name it.

I dislike the place intensely, but that wouldn’t keep me from going there to a convention, nor from considering it as a place to hold one.

A Vegas secret we took advantage of when the kids were younger – In the off-season, you can rent RVs there really, really cheap. We did it twice, then cruised on outta Vegas to the Grand Canyon one year and to the Utah-Colorado parks another. Greatest, cheapest way to show your kids the Rockies or the Sierras there is. An RV provides you with the rental car, a hotel and a place to prepare meals for the kids – all in one.

margot, thanks for linking to Pool boy’s latest about fundraising.
FWIW, imo ten or fifteen years from now, we will learn that probably starting in 1992, and through 2004, Republicans outspent Dems four or perhaps five to one. My speculation of course contradicts the numbers from the Federal Election Commission, which don’t suggest anywhere near that disparity.
I think the neocons “laundered” a lot of their “K” street loot in non-profits in name only such as the Hudson institute where Irving Scooter Libby now “works.” It was those non-profits in name only, as Jane and Christy have documented so well, who played a very significant role in poisoning the traditional media. It served the neocons and the Republicans very well to hide the huge lead they had in sheer cash.
I have absolutely zero documentation to support my speculation.

FYI, the YearlyKos bloggers brunch is now airing on AirAmerica’s room 1, if you paid the $10.

mamayaga 42 -

“Seven Deadly Sins, One Convenient Location. Las Vegas”

;) (actual I-15 billboard)

I’ve lived here for 14 years (which makes me a Native, I guess). We now number roughly 2 million in Clark County. Amazing. Without gaming this place would be Barstow2 — a dessicated truck/railstop of ~30,000 cranky hardscrabble blue collar souls. It is testament to [1] the chronic aggregate (and profitable) inability of people to compute “expected value” [ p(a) x the payout of a ] and the empirical valaidation of Skinner’s theory of Operant Conditioning (recent epistemological/academic ascent of the cognitivists notwithstanding).

I blog about a totally non-political aspect of Vegas here:

http://santafeandthefatcityhorns.blogspot.com/

Those of us who live here reside in an overall environment not unlike Phoenix or SoCal.

I like it here, for now.

Hey guys, good morning!

Anybody know what’s up with the streaming video of the brunch (supposed to be up and running on the Air America site)?

I was there to log in at 10:30 Pacific Time, the scheduled start time, and until 10:45 the RealPlayer response was “The Event is Not On the Air at This Time.”

Now what I get is a streaming video (yay, finally!) which shows nothing but the “Yearly Kos Convention” sign (boooo!!!).

It’s great that AAR decided to offer streaming video for only 10 bucks, but do you think they figure that for that price you shouldn’t actually expect to reliably SEE and HEAR anything?

Yesterday the Room 3 feed had no sound whatsover. Another Room had the sound delayed and out of sync by several seconds. Feeds were mislabeled (Room 2 labeled as Room 3, and vice versa). In the middle of a conference session the stream died, and was replaced with “This Event is Not on the Air at This Time.”

Sigh. If I hadn’t poked around dKos diaries, I wouldn’t have finally figured out that setting RealPlayer to play at LOW connection speed would finally get a stream to play, albeit jerkily. That was just in time to get the last few minutes of the session.

Oh well. It was only 10 bucks, after all. I’m just very disappointed after having thought I could vicariously “participate” from home.

p.s. Jane — I too am glad that you had a few choice words for Senator Boxer. Her cluelessness is baffling. And the hostility expressed is a surprise, considering the great talk she gave early in the conference (happened to catch that in the middle of the night — Friday overnight — on C-Span while they were still broadcasting bits of the conference). Senator Boxer assured “us” that our voices are being heard…so why doesn’t she want to listen to the huge numbers of folks who find Lieberman an offense to any reasonable Democratic agenda? Thanks for all you do, Jane! [And Christy, if you’re here — you were terrific, caught you on C-Span, thanks to you, too!]

Much love to all those leaving L.V. today and on the road or in the air. Get home safely! Look forward to “meeting” y’all again back here.

Rosalind, your post was delicious. Thanks for making me smile.

Update –

The AAR stream is now providing video. I can SEE everyone talking, gesturing to make their points energetically, but there is NO AUDIO.

Too bad I don’t know how to read lips.

Hi everybody!

I’m home now, exhausted after catching a 6am plane from Las Vegas, which may be a wonderful town — but I never left the Riv, so who knows?

Kinda feel like I’m in a timewarp, there and not there, so’s here’s my quick take on yk:

My favorite moments:
1. Hugs from zennurse, they’re absolutely the best!
2. Christy inviting His Hairness into our fdl caucus, who then made a beeline for Matt O’s corner and sat on the floor at Matt’s feet. hmmmm….
3. op99: “I got a pony!”
4. Sitting with the brain family while we all yelled to Harry to give ‘em hell!
5. Watching Mr. ReddHedd, proud as punch, as were we all, during both of the panels Christy sat on.
6. Being really glad that Jane is completely unwilling to compromise about the issues that matter. And hoping Barbara Boxer kicks some ass on her staff.
7. Reading through the comments this morning and wishing ALL of you had been there — and very happy to have met and laughed with all of you who were!

There’s more to say, and I will later. Suffice to say it was all a little Matrix-y, meeting everybody as they folded from their digitial to their real selves. But at least I’m back where I belong. Sleep now, talk to you all later….

Ron Zuber –

Is the stream working for you, both video AND audio?

If so, do you have any suggestions for me on how to make it work?

I just disconnected, then connected to the stream again. Still no sound.

It is working for me. Pach is speaking now. :) Don’t really have any tips, other than maybe let it run for a minute or two.

Pach is on this panel! he is speaking now …. those that have Air America

YAY! Pach is on the panel! Excellent, this is so great.

‘Boy, that YKos sure blew up good, huh? ‘… ‘But not as good as Iraq, Big Dick!’

;>)

So they determined that more people could come to the conference if it was in Vegas for a variety of reasons nobody has taken the trouble to study before running their mouths, it was an incredibly successful conference that nobody currently complaining took the trouble to attend, and there is some big complaint that this isn’t a politically correct city enough for you?

I don’t often say this, but really, you are just fucking way out of line.

Discussion on LV location … all I have to say is it’s about the people, plain and simple. The great thing about Dems is that we will figure it out … together.

I don’t often say this, but really, you are just fucking way out of line.

*Dons protective gear*

Cover your eyes! The flash can blind you forever!

Great closing comments at Yearly Kos. Pachacutec
Bloggers are the media and I believe that blogging will be the news in a few years. The comment about people learning differently and learning by watching you, was right on the money. We need to take it to the states and do it everywhere. Thanks for the great job you guys did

I had to twist Pach’s arm to sit on the panel and I’m so glad it happened. Wasn’t he incredible?

So much good content was produced. I really hope that all the video becomes available. I’d happily pay for it if YearlyKos sold a DVD.

Like I said before, we’ve been mostly politician/consultant/journalist free and have spent our time with our readers. I don’t think a whole lot of people who aren’t a part of the blogosphere realize that this is where our strength derives from, not from relationships with politicians or those in their orbits.

Thank you for this, Jane.

the pols will come to you if you have the people. But you need the people. Who are here because the blogosphere provides honesty, analysis, etc., not available elsewhere.

Oh well, I give up.

I tried fiddling with every type of control, lowering speed to the lowest choice they gave me, etc. etc.

No dice. No sound, no matter what I do. It worked for parts of yesterday’s events, so what’s different now?

I think I have to walk away now. This is way too frustrating. (sound of head hitting desk, again)

Jane H (68) — a very hearty welcome home! ;-)

Don’t worry about the ‘naysayers,Jane.
Can’t please all the people all the time.
I just stubbed the sh*t out of my toe,and I’m not very pleased.

Teddy! It was so good to meet you. And yeah I saw Op99’s pony this morning (lifted from Luke). I was very jealous.

DMM 77 — I’m much more worried about your stubbed toe ;)

72 – Jane. Yes indeed, Pach was more than incredible. Very, very impressive – indeed.

Jane 61…LOL!!

Yeah.

BTW- BobbyG just had an idea. Given the MAJOR play FDL has now gotten, and the new traffic and discourse it will without a doubt drive to your fabulous and increasingly important blog, I propose an eventual “FireDogLakeside Retreat” ([tm] FireDogLake.com)

Ruminate on that a bit…

Just an idea. Some bucolic not-Vegas location…hmmmm.m..m…

I would certainly attend.

I gotta run shortly. In addition to Elvis impersonators, Vegas also has basketball impersonators:

http://www.bgladd.com/BobbyG_hoopitup.jpg

attendance at conventions is usually covered by corporate expense accounts — the vast majority of YKos participants paid for everything out of their own pocket. Usually convention attendance is ‘required’ for organizational reasons — nobody at YKos had to be there — it was purely voluntary. Quite remarkable, I’d say !

From Political Wire:

(Snip)

“Key finding: “At this point in the 2003-2004 cycle, Democrats raised 69 percent of what Republicans did. So far this cycle, Democrats are raising 85 percent of what Republicans have.”

(Endo Snip)

To have reduced the R’s advantage to just a 15% deficit is enormous. It says several things….That more and more people are opening their wallets to support the D’s and that the ever flowing and bountiful spigots that feed the R’s coffers are getting twisted slowly shut…..

Remember, they don’t have that engine firing on all cylinders…Casino Jack Abramoff and the Native American gravy train has been DERAILED and Cheesy Tom Delay and his PAC/K Street Machine is busted to shit….

Now the D’s–as witnessed at KOS are getting the message machine into shape……We’ll need some think tanks and maybe e few more Scaife style sugar daddies to boot….but things are realigning….

Great work.

-GSD

Rootin’ Tootin’ ROOTZ!!! (big ol’ *g* to DMM)

Awrighty, I been whacking away at my Draft 1/Net Neutrality LTE (with the fine support of Anne, cbl and BobbyG — much obliged), so now lemme run Draft 2 past youse goise:

“‘Net neutrality’ backers vow to fight telecom bill” (N-J, June 10) reported that House Republicans Friday passed a bill backed by the telecom industry that would — provided the Senate and the President agree (and the President surely will) — make the Internet operate like cable TV, place toll-booths on the Information Superhighway, and force our health insurers, banks, favorite online retailers — all websites, in fact — to pay heavy new fees to keep their broadband sites available to us.

As the measure heads to the U.S. Senate this week, you may spot TV or print ads opposing it from “Hands Off the Internet” or “NetCompetition.org,” organizations that are the “fake IDs” of AT&T, Verizon and Comcast.

Please phone or fax Senators Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez immediately to ask them to vote FOR S.2917, the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, as introduced. You can reach Sen. Nelson at 202-224-5274 (phone) or 202-228-2183 (fax), and Sen. Martinez at 202-224-3041 (phone) or 202-228-5171 (fax).

True ’tis that any writing you cut by 50%, you improve by 100% — so, again, please share any guidance you may have on further refinement. Thanks!

Damn. I still haven’t seen stills or footage of Pach. My brother appreciated his comments on the gospel post the other night.

Congratulations again, you guys.

You know the red state guys and li’l green fascists are going to have to have their own convention now. Won’t is just suck, though? That crowd isn’t big on cooperation, are they?

Thank you Jane for that. He was great. He just said
It’s up to US. Agree
It’s not enough for Murtha to go and take the fire and they leave him hanging, Amen to that!

Very impressive Jane. I’m thrilled with it all and I will move mountains next year to attend this. All I can do at this point is pray we still have an FDL Brunch in Chicago later this year that we’ve brought up several times last winter. It will be a fascinating summer and fall to see what else manifests and watch our important progressive movement grow.

TRex -

Pach asked me not to post any stills of him. I respect and comply with the reqest.

Mea Culpa to the poster who recommened the URL from the Washington Post re: fundraising. I can’t find your post again and decided that a note of Thank You was more important than more looking.

I don’t know how many of you followed that link, but the Poster is absolutely right. It’s uplifiting, not slamming either party, but we sure come off looking good.

Poster, maybe if you post that link again now more posters would follow it? Just a thought.

Thank you again!

Sitting on my deck on a cool, gray Seattle morning while listening to the birds chatter away is quite a change from the heat and hubbub of Las Vegas. Probably the most significant thing I took home with me was that every Firepup I met was someone I’d be pleased to invite to my home for dinner. I already miss you all.

There were so many special moments, but a personal highlight was watching siun work her magic with the media. If they aren’t writing good things about us, it sure ain’t cuz they weren’t treated well.

It’s great to see so much interest in YKos07. For all those folks who have commented about future locations, this site might be a good place to influence that decision.

In this universe, _everthing_ becomes food for new life.

Vegas may be the belly of the beast for some of us, but what better place (metaphorically, at least) to start a process that may transform the beast?

IMHO, YKos was the best thing to happen to American politics since the progressive reforms of the early 1900s. Immense props to all for making it happen – planning, participating, attending.

lawn ornament (74) — what’s REALLY surprising is that many of us are consultant/journalist-types in real life, but that we aren’t jaded politicians nor have we completely abdicated our roles as citizens. We are just brash political neophytes that take to heart the words of those who’ve gone before us: There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why… WE dream of things that never were and ask why not.

Why not change the state of this democracy? And why not us?

Hello, Firepups! Blogging from the Sunday brunch. Attended the Sun morning interfaith service – actually, a service where all religious factions could speak a bit. Now there is an impromptu panel to try and sum up and look forward. Maryscott O’Connor (My Left Wing) at the audience microphone with a signature rant about the three republican talking points and why? why? McJoan, on the panel, said, “Uh, that’s sorta why we’re here..” Skippy the Bush Kangaroo up to thank all the volunteer for a convention that he expected to be the size of the booksigning room. I understand that there is a flickr site for pictures. i will sign up and upload all of mine.
Please know that while here, i was plugged into an outlet so that i could read your comments and feel that i was hearing you all beside me. Thank you for your being with us.

RBG 83 -

Thank you, bro’

The sentiment is fully echo’ed here.

Check out the c-span link, second entry down from top of page:

http://www.c-span.org/videoarc…..veDays=100

The Plame Panel etc. are on any time you want, just click on “YearlyKos Convention.”It’s not rocket science, and it’s free.

For those claiming the Left who rail at the usage of Mammon as the cradle of a progressive renaissance…Ruminate on the concept of detournement awhile.

Kathryn, thank you for doing such a great job
I hope that the machines will be an issue that is watched very closely. I didn’t get to see all of this but I hope it was discussed.

Squirrel hiller at 16-
Isn’t Squirrel Hill a suburb of Pittsburgh? Sounds like you have an ulterior motive.

I really think now is the time to take the momentum and energy of this conference to start some serious future scenario building. I made a clumsy attempt to do that up at 50.

Can we find or create some kind of space devoted to scenario building for the future? We need to think big and long-term, far into the future.
-sofistic

I’m outa here.

Just in case anyone is still in town tomorrow night, come see my guys at the Palms. They are indescribably wonderful.

http://santafeandthefatcityhorns.blogspot.com/

Off to put my geologic time shake ‘n bake moves on the homies at 24 Hour Fitness.

I tell these kids “dude, I may be 60, but I gotta warn ya, I got the moves and reflexes of a 50 yr old.”

Later, firepups…

There are some great pictures at flickr. Try:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=yearlykos

Here’s a big picture featuring our exceptionally cute Jane:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zo…..amp;size=o

Shez (87) – I’m so there. Chicago, maybe 6-8 weeks before the election, call it BACK TO SCHOOL.

We could try the DTW area, too, though, even if not parallel with Fitz. I’ve got peeps in that area that could line up an activist training program geared towards the sprint towards Election Day.

The media coverage to those of us watching at home has amply shown that the crowds are largely *not* a bunch of dreadlocked WTO protestors with bones through their noses, by the way, but rather a bunch of very respectable grown ups with clear, atriculate points of view and good heads on their shoulders. Our hearts are bursting with pride. Maybe this will finally counter some of that ‘wild-eyed liberal bloggers’ spin.

I don’t get the bitching about Vegas either, had my circumstances (timing) allowed, I would have met with any ONE of you in Barstow given the opportunity – and folks are bitching about meeting up with MANY of their FDL mates in Vegas – crikey !

btw, I guess I’m one of those eat dessert first kinda folks b/c I love LV, all of it, the 24/7 gaming, eating, drinking, dancing, probably the most unionized city left in this country AND any place that offers a full Room Service menu at 3:45 am is AOK in ol clare’s book

Firedogs, come home safe, rest up and report back as soon as y’all can

“Yesterday, I said Jane is the new MoDo. :) And I don’t have to pay to read her articles. :)”

Not yet at least. Rootz. Tomorrow. Calling all Senators.

Markos was just GREAT on MtP – made me proud and I’ve now got the Plame panel on c-span. Jane, your intro was masterful!

I’m in heaven! Thanks so much FDL, YKos people. I have hope!

Morning all. Back from LV, now in Sacramento en route to Far East, etc, but just wanted to say the YKOS was spectacular even without the Plame panel, but that panel was beyond awesome — I do lots of conferences, sometimes chairing, speaking, etc, but that was the finest panel I’ve every seen, on any topic. The audience was ready to give a standing ovation as soon as the panelists walked onto the stage, and it just got better.

A note to those at home: meeting the FDLers was a special treat — they are in person even better than on page — impressive all, and I even got a hug from zennurse, the only saint I’ve every known. What a treat.

The most unexpected discovery? Jane is shy. I kid you not. So send her hugs. If she ever gets any self confidence, watch out!

Steve, for one thing you’re off topic. I can’t answer your questions from here because I’m not in Vegas. A lot of the people on this thread are in panels right now blogging from the conference, so their attention is divided.

I’m sure there will be a time and place for us to discuss this, however. Warner’s not my favorite candidate either. But please don’t come in here and start throwing verbal grenades when you’re not really sure what’s going on.

Bobby G

Great idea! I would try to get there. I suggest UCLA’s Lake Arrowhead convention center. Beeeooootiful!

Frankly this Vegas/KOS coverage must be a whitewash.

Where are the stories about all of the orgies, the free abortions, the open drug use, the nude sit ins, the firebombing of Starbucks, the smashing of religous statues, burning of bibles, the open cursing of God, forced homosexual conversions, witchcraft, lechery, sodomy, white slavery, gangsta wars, knifings, fights, spitting upon of veterans, man-dog sex, Al Qaeda fundraisers, Zarqawi candlelight tributes, Bush effigy burnings, the filling of envelopes with feces, the ranting, raving and wild eyed rampant moonbattery…

Come clean.

-GSD

Jeebus…are the concern trolls out in force or what?!?!

For the goofball upthread who thinks that building community strength and networking THIS WEEKEND is irrelevant as compared to a race decided LAST WEEK:

Voter Registration (as of February 2005):
Democratic 29.70%
Republican: 44.52%

[Source: Chris Bowers, MyDD.com, 28-NOV-05 — just one of those “navel-gazing” “look-at-me!” bloggers at YKos.]

Busby is damned lucky she didn’t tank further after her untimely misstatement mere days before the election; given those facts on the ground, Busby made a helluva lot of progress. With a stronger, more cohesive progressive community behind her, she might have picked up a few more points; imagine how much better every race will be this fall given YKos under the belts of these “navel-gazing” bloggers.

And some of us Firepups didn’t go to YKos, stayed home and tended the fires while dropping in from time to time to see how our fellow pups fared — we worked hard concurrently, to help our fellow progressives get elected.

Good f*cking gravy. I swear if I ever run into a concern troll F2F, I’m going to shove a clipboard with voter registration forms up their *ss sideways until they find it in their hands walking down the street.

I agree we need dialogue. Trolls suck, but we don’t have to sink to their level. I think there were plenty of good responses as to why YKos was in Vegas, money being #1. We aren’t K Street. We are about freedom, privacy, choices. Vegas has all of those in spades. Otoh, the environmental aspect of that city bothers me everytime I go there, and yet I still go occasionally.

I think the idea of having it in NOLA is perfect. They need the money, it’s the true melting pot of America, and I’d much rather spend my free time (in the middle of the night) seeing great music then gambling. :)

TeddySanFran, a nice very upbeat synopsis of this wonderful convention. Who would have believed this in 2003?

Thank you for being there. I feel as if every one of you represented those of us who couldn’t be there. And from the tone of your post, you must have been a very good rep!

You sure are a bright spot in the midst of so many complainers – about what? What counted here? What’s going on? So again, Thank You Teddy!

If there’s a Firepup meeting to be planned, I’m hoping it could maybe take place in Phoenix.

Okay, that’s for selfish reasons. It means that I could get to it. Traveling is so very hard for me to do. If it were in AZ, even if it were in Flagstaff, I could get Mr. K8 to drive me there.

And it’s warm, sunny, and pleasant weather in the winter!

After having a weekend of not even getting the AAR stream to work for me, I just want to weep! For some reason the fates seem determined that I stay on the outside looking in!

OK, I’ll buck up now. None of that feeling-sorry-for-myself business is of any use whatsoever. Sorry about that slip. Won’t let it happen again. :-)

But if someone DID want a meet-up in AZ, I’d be happy to do any kind of work for it that entailed phoning and computer stuff — it’s just physically getting around that’s so hard. Can’t drive, still can’t walk very far, and flying is very hard on the body. But anything else? I’d work ’round the clock!!!

[BTW on a more serious note — For other disabled out there — check with your local Democratic Party or PDA or DFA chapter to see what they might have for you to do from home. Here in AZ in 2004, I was able to put in at least one hour every day (some days lots more) doing phone calling to voters by means of the AZ Dem Party online voter database. Using passwords and stuff to get into it. I hope to do the same again this fall.]

You betcha Rayne. I didn’t get to attend this because I stayed home instead and sunk hundreds of more dollars into software and dedicated servers this week, which included upgrading my VoIP software to give us all a netroots community to gather and be able to talk live with audio and video, hold seminars, and whatever. It will be debuting very soon.

To watch the convention all weekend on Air America was fantastic and inspired me, us, everybody even more. With everyone coming together and all these great ideas manifesting things are going to move swiftly all summer for us all.

I take it Kansas and South Dakota are not on next years short list for Yearly KOS locations?

-GSD

A Little Correction:

The “warm, sunny and pleasant” applies to Phoenix [or Tucson!], but not to Flagstaff. People go skiing up there in the winter, ’cause they actually get SNOW.

Rob Zuber @ 101

thanks so much for the snaps !

Jim Deryich and Mike Stark – oy, the mischief you could get in to with those boys!

of course the Plame Panel WAS the piece de resistance, exceeding even my own hyped expectations – that said, I would have LOVED to also caught the panel with Dauo, Lakoff, and Derych (former ditto-head) – what little I caught of it had Lakoff easily and reasonably refuting every major right wing talking point – am embarassed to say I had never heard of him before – imagine a little red book or wallet size flash card for all to carry as we engage our families, friends, co workers, and neighbors in conversations about what is going on and what should be going on

I think it would be a good idea b/c when the opportunity arises, it’s almost like a ‘Where do I start ?’ kinda deal. simple, heartfelt, and easily digestible responses to their crap is something many of us could use.

CSpan 1 will replay a segment from YKos at 3:40pm EDT — I think it’ll be the Plame Panel …

GSD #111:

Just don your hazmat suit and head over to HotAir (what’s in a name?), where”AllahPundit” pulls out all the stops at finding some flyspecks ‘midst the pepper.

BTW, I followed a link from Memeorandum, but I’m not linking it here. I regret contributing to their traffic.

1000 people attended the event…..but how many attended the event live, through blogs???

OT, but someone mentioned this last night — It’s official, the first name tropical storm in the Atlantic is, “Alberto.” It will turn your house inside out, water board a few people, leave the fabric of a society in shreds — all without a warrant!

Let me be the first to start the rumor: you will see no pictures of Pach because HE DOESN’T SHOW UP ON FILM and on digital media all you get is THAT WEIRD PIXILLATION EFFECT!!!

immanentize-
I thought of the same thing when I heard the name. The next ones should be Bolton, Condi, Dick, Enron, can’t think of one for f, George, Haliburton, etc.

GSD @ 111

you forgot dogs sleeping with cats !!!

yup — CSpan calls it the CIA Leak Panel — 3:40pm ET

cathy,

storms might be destructive, but that isn’t always bad, so for “F” I go with “FITZ!”

Maybe it will clean out Washington….

Vegas has the convention infrastructure in place,and for the most part they do a good job.My hubby ends up there at least twice a year because it’s generally more cost effective for the businesses that chose that locale.

Vegas wouldn’t be my first choice,but cost was a factor here,we don’t have the endless money pit on our side of the political canyon these days.As far as practicality and the most for the dollar,Vegas fills the bill,probably better than most major cities that could host that many folks in one place.

Doesn’t take a THING away from the good stuff that happened at all.This wasn’t a high roller crowd soliciting hookers and shit,it was people meeting up and finding ways to work together,and to learn stuff to take home with them and share.The GOP has been doing the same stuff(without near the buzz or attention)all along.It’s about time,and I say the more the merrier.If this sort of gathering were more commonplace on our end,it wouldn’t be all that noticeable after awhile.Perhaps the YK organizers can help others put together similar events in other parts of the country too.We learn by doing and passing along what we learn.

So many media types showing such an interest means somebody’s gettin nervous.Heh,good.The gates are rattled and being pushed in,it’s a sign that Democracy isn’t dead.

ccmask, I’m wondering that myself, I hope Air America will be able to give some kind of estimate soon how many extra weekend YKos passes were purchased, which doesn’t include the people with current premium accounts who could tune in. I bought one, for $10 it was incredible to be able to choose panels from any 3 rooms.

cbl #118: “what little I caught of it had Lakoff easily and reasonably refuting every major right wing talking point – am embarassed to say I had never heard of him before – imagine a little red book or wallet size flash card for all to carry as we engage our families, friends, co workers, and neighbors in conversations about what is going on and what should be going on.”

Absolutely! Lakoff was amazing! His most recent (I think) is Don’t Think of an Elephant. and it deals with this exact issue: framing. He mentioned putting out a “tool kit” for framing issues so keep your eyes open for it.

ccmask @ 113
1000 people attended the event…but how many attended the event live, through blogs???

Plus all of the people who followed through coverage by CSPAN, AirAmerica, and Link TV. Despite the technical problems, following the convention via Air America was well worth my $10. Curious how many people subscribed.

*ilson46201 says:

yup — CSpan calls it the CIA Leak Panel — 3:40pm ET

Fantastic. Now I can finally watch it in its entirety! The link from C-span archives just sets Quicktime spinning into futility for some reason… I usually have no trouble with Quicktime but haven’t been able to access and it’s been driving me nuts!

Oops. I will use preview from now on. I see being new to this site requires extra diligence.

rat 112 –
Also, having the convention in New Orleans would be a useful political statement/reminder that things are very very far from normal there and that Katrina still trumps, massively, all of the Bushistas’ protestations that they will keep us safe ….
In other words, a less cynical version of the GOP having its 2004 convention in New York.

New Orleans is desperate for tourism and probably will still be a year from now.

thanks rat bastahd,
will definitely check out ‘Don’t Think of an Elephant’!

rat bastahd (130) — equally important to reading “Don’t Think of an Elephant” is reading up at Lakoff’s site, http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org — as new spin emerges from the right, prepare yourself by checking in with Rockridge Institute.

It’s safe to say that New Orleans is the most exciting choice possible. Ha, I’m ready to book my flight now.

FWIW, NOLA was my favorite place to work conventions. I spent many a happy hour there, especially when I wasn’t at the booth. So much history, and so readily available. As someone who likes to eat, that aspect’s pretty great, too.

Jenny from the Blog,

You may be new to the site, but I have long appreciated your stuff over at Eschaton. You are truly a great addition to this great community (and, you learned how to do blockquotes!)

I will be going to next year’s Daily Kos if it’s being held on Mars. Even with a paralyzing fear of flying, I will go to the FDL brunch as well (if I’m lucky enough to be asked to do so.)

As someone who’s planned larger corporate events, I echo everything Jane said. dK was held in a town known for tourism off-season, and surely mounted for a fraction of the cost of pulling it off anywhere else.

It’s an amazing achievement. I am so sad I wasn’t able to attend — just the Plame panel would’ve been worth getting on a plane for. Maybe those fortunate enough to attend and participate should be able to tell their stories to the rest of us before the concern trolls attack.

-S

Loving (!) all the YK reportz, y’all, and all this fizzy ferment around ‘em. The NOLA suggestion for next time absolutely rocks — and no one’s even mentioned the FOOD! Though Orlando is just down the road a piece from me, I’m 100% anti-Disney, which contributes to my prejudice against O’ville … as does the ho-rrendous traffic over there — for which, a big ol’ h/t to Jebbie & the Repugs dominating our state lege of late.

OT to Audrey Yoeckel, if you’re around — thanks for that Sun-Sentinel link! (I tried to answer via email but it wouldn’t go through.)

In other OT news: prolly have to scoot my boots off this machine soon — the outermost band of Don Alberto (insult on top of injury!) is just reaching here. OTOH, HOZANNER: RAIN!

Lakoff’s got a brand-new book out — Whose Freedom?: The Battle Over America’s Most Important Idea — not even in the stores yet, but you can get it through amazon.
I like the vast majority of what he says (try Women, Fire and Dangerous Things and Metaphors We Live By too) except I’m not much on the “strict father vs. nurturing parent” thing — because of the gender disingenuousness lots of folks have talked about, and also because in a democracy it’s wrong to frame our political leaders as “parents” — they’re our employees.

Yesterday many of you’outed’yourselves as far as linking to pics of yourselves.In that spirit,for anyone on myspace,here’s the URL for the roots project page;

http://www.myspace.com/rootsproject

I’m the first friend on the list.
Why aren’t there more?

Goddammit, I love FDL! I can’t wait to hear more from the YK attendees in person.

Hey RBG – wold love to have you join us in the Seattle/WA roots group for a group dinner we’re gonna be having very soon here. Go to the google site and you can find out more about it. I think there’s only one other WA person who was at the convention.

Our nation-wide conference for clinical law teachers will be in New Orleans next year — for all the reasons that everyone has mentioned. It is going to be a long slog back to normalness there. Did y’all know that they still do not know where all the prisoners are? Some of my students and friends have been working on a project trying to first find detained folk and then try to get their cases resolved. There were a bunch of people transferred to other jails who have been locked up for longer than the maximum legal possible sentence for their acts. No ability there to have a jury trial yet, either. But if any city has the ability to recoup, I think N.O. does.

immanentize -

Thank you so much. It’s nice to be welcomed because I’m really enjoying it here at FDL.

btw, a big hello to you!

Mrs. K8:

On this C-SPAN page you can click on the video of part of the YK. It has the Plame panel (first up), Nancy Pelosi, who was very good, a liberal comedian, also good, and a “meta” panel with Kos and other DailyKos poobahs.

http://www.c-span.org/videoarc…..veDays=100

Glad everybody had fun in Vegas. Wish I could’ve been there, too.

Ready to get back to work, though? Got to get busy saving the internet from the same people who ruined the rest of the media!

Although I’m an hour from Disney, I hope that is not a choice for yk2….too much damn traffic!

shoephone (145) — only ONE other attendee from WA??? Damn! so many of my progressive friends hang in the greater Seattle area, too!!

Hey, drop Rob S. at EmphasisAdded.com a note and invite him; he’s in Seattle, too. Tell him Rayne sent you.

Hey, Jenny!

Long time, no see! How’ve you been?

Do you still hang out at Eschaton? I always read the main postings, and sometimes take a peek at the comments, but it got so fast-paced in its snarkiness, that I was eventually out of my depth.

Lots of fun, mind you, but I enjoy the more thoughtful postings here. People really explain what they’re thinking and why. That’s so valuable to me, I’ve learned so much in my time here at FDL.

Hope to see you posting lots here!

I’m not sure if anybody here at fdl had picked up on this yet, but Michael J. Smith has been blogging the YKos convention from way over on the left. He’s not a particularly apt writer, but it is interesting to read a viewpoint from the left highly critical of aspects of the convention:

“At this event, my benign impression of the Kosniks started to fray a little. There he was, General Clark, pigeon-chested, lizard-faced, the former butcher of the Balkans, his chalky cheeks ghastly under the camera flashes — as scary as anything I’ve ever seen outside an autopsy suite. And the Kosniks were loving him.

Kos made his slow ceremonious way over to Clark and the two of them exchanged courtly greetings, like the Doge of Venice unexpectedly meeting the Duke of Muscovy but remembering his manners — the least you could expect of Doges and Dukes, surely. The Kosniks were in raptures: witnesses to history. A burly six-foot chap standing next to me — a guy who could have tied the General in knots — gushed girlishly, “Now this is People Power! I mean, who are WE?” I wanted to ask, “Who is HE?” but remembered my disguise before I spoke. The General’s free booze had slowed me down a bit, fortunately.

Clark stood up, with a little help, on a table, and gave a smooth little speech. The burden of his song was, “send money.”"

A link to his articles:

http://www.smithbowen.net/linfame/

Mrs. K8 -

Hello there! Boy it’s nice to *see* so many old friends. I’m loving the conversation here, the depth and the pace of comments. Wonderful.

tracy –

Thanks so much! However, I do believe we got all of that taped on DVD.

All the stuff that C-Span taped and put out on their 2 channels BEFORE their satellite connection fried (or whatever it did) was on in the middle of the night Fri to Sat., and we taped it thinking that even if I could see it all on the AAR stream (I wish!), that we’d want our own copy.

But thanks for the link! — as that’s useful to mail around to others.

If anyone discovers that all the panels got recorded and will be up on a website somewhere, or available to be purchased, please pass on the info. Even for the one session I got to see on AAR, there were two other sessions happening simultaneously that I couldn’t see in real time. It would be SO wonderful if the WHOLE thing gets packaged somehow, or at least archived online.

DMM @ 144: Thanks for the reminder. Feels funny having a myspace account at my age, though…

Shoephone—I meet quite a few attendees from WA. I’ll send you some mail later today.

Las Vegas, First Annual Yearly Kos Convention — my comments.

I have enjoyed many parts of the convention via firedoglake, Air America and C-Span. I wish it would have been possible for me to attend in person.

Someone else posted a suggestion for college campuses to be considered for next year’s convention — college environments are already set up for learning, large numbers of people, very economic dorm rooms, are wireless, etc. Borrowing or expanding from that suggestion, I would like to suggest that consideration be given to holding simultaneous state-wide Yearly Kos Conventions. With technology, it would be possible for local, statewide groups, to meet in a facility and hear the same speakers, and still do the meet and greet with like-minded bloggers. Just an idea to get out there — this might be something tied to the statewide Roots projects — a way to meet and network with fellow bloggers.

rcauthen at 143:

I’m troubled by your saying “it’s wrong to frame our political leaders as ‘parents’ – they’re our employees” because, as I understand Lakoff, whom I know and whose work I’ve been in a position to teach, what he does in his books is, through the study of language use, reveal the conceptual metaphors (and metaphor systems) underlying people’s (mostly unconscious) understanding and reasoning about morality, politics, love, etc. His work is empirical: i.e., he looks at the data and tries to come up with a coherent theory that best describes/accounts for the data.

Jenny –

And in addition to plenty of the “old gang” there are so many NEW friends over here. Folks are terrific and very supportive. Just the occasional troll now and again, and I really appreciate the policy of Jane and Christy to nip that stuff in the bud right away. There were times at Eschaton when the trolls were really spoiling everything for everybody.

[I appreciate that Atrios has a more hands-off policy, and it’s his decision, and that’s cool. But the air seems free and clear over here, no need to swat annoying gnats constantly.]

Jane at 156,
I know what you mean,but I’ve found there adults there as well.I don’t think I’ve got a friend under 30 and some are older than me(40)

Curious –

I like your idea of college campuses during their “off-season” for cost reasons.

That’s how the whole “Elder Hostel” movement manages to have such great activities all over the country every summer for such low prices — the dormitories get to make a little money while the students are gone, and the schools like that.

OT to everybody in hurricane country:

Meteorologist Jeff Masters opens his latest post on wunderground.com,

Well, I’m back to blogging on the hurricane season of 2006 earlier than I had hoped. We managed to put together a string of nine straight days without an active tropical cyclone in the Atlantic this hurricane season, but now that streak has come to an end with the formation of Tropical Storm Alberto. I scheduled my summer vacation for the period I though most likely to have ten straight days without tropical activity, but the tropics had other ideas. …

Something tells me we’re in for another tacky summer, keeds.

Mrs. K8 -

I hear ya! Watching the Plame panel now and boy is it delicious. Mr. ‘Valerie Plame’ is speaking…

Looking forward to talking with you again, and to making some new friends here as well. So nice that you are here!!!

I like the idea of a YKos in NOLA, but was hesitant to suggest it. I’m trying to get out of here, but if they hold a YKos here, I’ll come back for that. Just imagine, stepping out of your Lear to your waiting limo … http://www.orleanslevee.com/images/Hu…..ina69.html … oops, oh well. I’m sure we’ll have that fixed in a jiffy.

To all of those who are wringing their hands at the “rude” treatment here of those who question the location of Ykos.

First, what Jane said.

Second, this convention took over a year to get from just a “wouldn’t it be nice” thought to what is was this weekend.

All along the way, the organizers, self appointed (volunteers again) task managers asked for feedback. Members on daily Kos who chose to take the time to speak, got a voice. After extensive consultation decisions were made.

And then votes were taken for location. The fact that were any panels was due to people putting up their hands and offering to speak.

Not only did the people who attended put up money to be there, but many people who knew they could not, put up money so that others could attend.

There was no top down authoritarian decision making. There was consensus building.

I’d like to point out that posters here are not the first the bitch after the fact. That’s part of the aggravation with such posts.

If you had taken the time during the decision making to get involved, you would know “why Las Vegas”.

If you had made the effort during the multiple posts put up by the committee, you would know “why Las Vegas”.

If you had bothered to go to the yearly kos web site, you would know “why Las Vegas”.

But you didn’t.

You chose to barge in here and ask “why Las Vegas”.

If you actually knew Jane and Christy and all the other posters on FDL,you would have realized that we have a remarkably low tolerance for your brand of pecksniffery.

But you didn’t.

And mamayaga, if the way this blog is run really bothers you, go out and start your own and then you can run it just the way you want. You can even banish the word troll from your site. Call them Uriah Heeps.

Just caught wind of the fact that PoliticsTV.org has Harry Reid’s YKos address up. [If this has been mentioned here before and I missed it, my apologies.]

This is great, because AAR never put up WHEN Harry was going to speak. It just said “TBA” or somesuch, but never said when it would start, not even right before it happened. There must be plenty of folks relying on AAR to see YKos who would love to see “Give ‘Em Hell Harry.”

p.s. That cutie-pie, Dan Froomkin, is on C-Span right now. He’s so great, and it doesn’t hurt that he looks like a hug-able teddy bear either.

Froomkin gives a shout-out to FDL!

[Y’all probably know that already, but I hadn’t seen the beginning of the panel before. So cool.]

Curious in Central Texas says “I would like to suggest that consideration be given to holding simultaneous state-wide Yearly Kos Conventions.”
June 11th, 2006 at 12:49 pm

This is an excellent suggestion.

Bionic –

Wooo Hooo! Thanks for your 158. A thing of beauty.

And everyone here who is bursting with good ideas for what should be done next year, go to the yearly kos site and volunteer!

A friend of mine has a great site called talk2action. That’s what’s required here.

Cathy @ 124–
How about a list of names for hurricanes from everyone who’s been indicted … Duke, Jack, Kidan, Libby etc. etc.?

Hey Lotus, I camped out on Wunderground last season–Masters is excellent (though I don’t think that’s his post–he’s on vacation until Wed). I live in Pinellas County. Half a mile from the Gulf. Good information is essential.

I’m in agreement about YKos 07: Orlando No, NOLA, Si. I think O-town would cost way too much, and could teach Las Vegas a thing or two about environmental profligacy.

Thanks for your work on the letter to our Sens. I’ll be calling them tomorrow rather than doing the usual email routine.

Bionic at 171 — thanks for the suggestion. Absolutely NO CRITICISM was intended — I love FDL, Jane, Christy, and the community. I felt comfortable here at firedoglake — and wanted to share my thoughts.

Bionic –

I just found talk2action this past week. They are GREAT. Their series on that hideous violent so-called “Christian” (really Dominionist) video game was terrifically done. [And of course that site is now being targeted by the lunatic Christian Taliban.]

I highly recommend the site to everyone:

http://www.talk2action.org

Wow, Murray Waas is absolutely charming. This whole panel experience is bittersweet. Wonderful and funny while discussing the most horrible circumstances. Only folks from the blogosphere could pull that off.

YKos has certainly been inspiring. The vibe has spread throughout the land to everybody. Yea!

New Orleans is a great idea for next year. Does anybody know how the infrastructure is coming along down therre? And with hurricane season just kicking off this week, keep your fingers crossed that there won’t be a repeat of last year.

Here’s a suggestion for everyone who has something to say about Vegas as a location, next time you organize it. If you feel that strongly about the location, get involved in planning the next one.

Seriously folks, you can find good and bad in all locations. Look at the positive force that arose form this weekend, and take that to the streets and fight for your rights.

Thanks very much, Hypatia (o, she of the marvelous blog-name). Did you catch the Sens’ phone ## above at what’s now 83?

(I thought Masters was o-o-t too, but that post sorta sounds like he’s run back to work for this, maybe.)

fahrender 177, the infrastructure is very creaky. Sewerage & Water Board reports daily production of 135 Million gallons of water, of which 85 Million gallons leaks out some place. The French Quarter and hotels are in decent shape, SuperDome to re-open in September, roads are pretty terrible (always have been), top restaurants are doing ok, but dishwasher help is hard to find … it’s not as far along as it should be, and even a weak tropical storm will hurt if it hits us. So much debris everywhere still, it will blow all over. But at least the smell is long gone, as are the “Katrina flies” …

[A weekly standard reporter] “couldn’t believe how nice everyone was, to him specifically and in general, and at the high level of discourse…”

rosalind @ 47, thanks for this. We may disagree with a person’s politics and concepts, but in the end, kindness cuts through the barriers to a humanity we all have in common. (I’m not there yet though with GWB and co.)

About locales for future YearKos, with the way it’s going for Jon Tester (yeah!) and Big Sky country, how about Montana, that is, if it’s financially feasible?

BTW, Hypatia, did y’all get any Royal Reds in your fish markets over there this winter? I’ve wondered how their deepwater range fared last year.

Murray Waas is absolutely hysterical. He was telling stories at dinner last night and had us all in stitches.

Bionic-166

Had that person been answered respectfully – given some of the valid and thoughtful answers that you and others have provided – it may have produced some positive result. By shunning him and calling him a troll, anything good that could have come of his engagement with the fine people here is lost.

Sure, this person should have posited his view with a more respectful tone. However, I did not read anything he wrote that would indicate that he is a troll. He made a valid point or two. Maybe he is a young person and doesn’t know that Vegas is the cheapest (airfare and hotel rates) and most accessible (flights available cheap and often from anywhere) convention destination in the US.

I’m just asking, rhetorically, what’s the use of running that person off like that? It doesn’t help anyone. I consider inclusivity to be one of our progressive ideals.

If he came back and started trolling, then jump his ass. But shouldn’t you give a newbie just a little leeway?

Pach! Murray Waas’ stories! Ahora mismo, por favor!

Going way back up to Ray @ 3 and subsequent comments. Conventions like YearlyKos are courted by cities. I know Charlotte competes to have different conventions and tournaments here. I have a feeling that there will be other cities competing for YearlyKos next year. It would be nice to see it come closer to me, but I’m sure keeping the costs down are vital to getting more people to attend. I have no problem with Las Vegas….I’m just jealous. It would be nice if the panels were taped and we could buy them individually. Great way to raise money :)

There’s a terrific (and sweet) diary over at dKos now, deceptively titled “The Trouble with Yearly Kos” found here -

http://www.dailykos.com/storyo…..13185/8274

What really touched me is the fact that this person insisted on attending, in spite of the fact that she (I think it’s “she”) was just diagnosed with cancer.

She told her doctors that they’d just have to wait until after the conference to start chemo, because this was the most important event of the year, couldn’t miss it.

That’s impressive, and for me, moving.

She got the “spread the fever” stuff going right away, on her way home, just striking up a conversation with someone who happened to see Markos on Meet the Press and was intrigued. [And her account of talking with the press in Vegas was pretty funny, too.]

See? It’s a beautiful thing, and will grow and grow. This is no time for crepe-hangers.

lotus:

I can’t tell them the way Murray can, and anyway, everything was off the record. But some of the stuff he was telling. . . all I can say, you should have seen the look on Glenn Greenwald’s face. Admixture of amazement, suspense, amusement and shock. Glenn, by the way, is an unbelievably nice guy.

rcauthen (143) — In theory, in a democracy with a government of, by and for the people, those parental figures are US.

They are the parents we respected/disrepected, were born to; they are the parents we have become; they are the parents our children will model upon.

To use another model from business, Lakoff’s “strict father/nurturant mother” is Theory X/Theory Y management. We on the left typically lean towards Theory Y — but we’ll make more progress if we can migrate ourselves and drag Theory X’rs to Theory Z.

Bad dawg-in-the-manger, Pach!

Wow, Murray Waas is absolutely charming.

Here’s a little YKos anecdote … yesterday, just after Mark Warner spoke, I stepped out into the common area between rooms with just a short time to kill before heading to the airport — and right in front of me was Murray Waas, talking with QuickSilver (who must have been cloned, because I kept seeing him everywhere I went).

Murray was the only member of the Plame panel I hadn’t met yet, so I joined the conversation. When Mark Warner came out of the room, followed by a small pack of people with cameras and tape recorders, Waas asked us, “Who’s the famous person?” QuickSilver answered that it was Warner, and Waas mumbled something about not knowing much about him.

Barely five minutes later, though, Murray had corralled Warner and was asking him a detailed policy question as I headed out to catch the airport shuttle. I thought, “Now that’s a real journalist in action.”

Lotus,

Time for an email handshake. j…buhrman AT aol dot…com (think that’ll fool the spambots?). “Royal” Reds??

hackworth –

How could that have been a young, naive person if the poster asked “Where are our Mitch Snyder’s [sic] ?”

For all you tropical storm (or greater) watchers here is a web site to check now and again; note the list of (global) active storms down the left side (might be a bit hard for some to decipher since it is made for the U.S. Navy)

I`d love to see a YKos in Kansas (we could invite Dorthy & Toto too !) but I know it ain`t likely so NOLA would be an excellent choice (my $0.02 anyway)

Oh, and what she said about bein “out of line”…(Jane Hamsher at 11:23 am #68)

Soooo let us all be more “dreamers of the day”

“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible.” – T.E. Lawrence

The only place in Las Vegas which is safe for people with tobacco allergies is the airport (thanks to federal regulations). But if the convention was held in a tobacco-free environment, you wouldn’t get smokers such as Joe Wilson and Larry Johnson attending.

I’ve gone to major conventions all over the country, and from voting on WorldCon sites certainly understand the dynamics of roomrates and function space and amenities. Las Vegas was a good choice for the majority of the atendees, even if allergic people like me can’t go there.

Pach 188

I imagine that you must have had a jawdropping expression as well. Must have been exciting.
Waas is what Woodward used to be before Woodward turned World Class Media Whore.

Agh. Something is wrong. I haven’t been able to get into DailyKos all day, pulls up a blank page, no error message. Can’t pull it up with either Firefox or IE. Grrr…

Pach @ 183 and 188 — dammit, now I’m kicking myself for not staying the extra night. Waas invited me and QuickSilver along to the dinner (unless he meant some other event), and I had to pass.

I’d go to YKos in freakin’ Timbuktu or Perpete Les Oies*

*translates roughly as “Bumf**k”

Hypatia — okay, be right there, but first let me check sumpin’: three dots after your j?

Rayne –

That’s weird. Does it happen if you click on a link (like mine just above at 187)?

I guess you cleared your cache out, right?

If I wasn’t already engaged I’d run away with Zennurse :-)

From the perspective of someone who wasn’t there in body, but who has relied on the updates and various reports and cspan coverage, this could not have been any less about Las Vegas.

I think major kudos are in order for the success of an event that came together in a relatively short period of time. I live north of Baltimore, but work in the heart of downtown, and I can tell you that conventions here are booked years in advance. Years. For YKos to have been booked and planned in less than a year is much more of an accomplishment than some of you seem to realize, and that it was such a success is a reflection of what must have been heroic efforts on tha part of those who organized it.

What I take from this is yet another example of the power we can wield from within the framework of the blogosphere.

And while in theory I think statewide or regional meetings would be great, it probably takes almost as much work to plan and organize an event taking place at multiple locations; I would prefer to see us harness our organizational energy on the very things the YKos convention covered. Too many meetings and not enough meat are not where we want to take this.

Dubhaltach –

Hey! How ARE you?!?

So great to see you! Big, big hugs. How’s Erdla? Your Dad? [I have only been been able to be around here infrequently, so I may well have missed him posting here.]

Really, it’s so good to see you back here. I’ve been thinking of you and hoping all was well.

Mrs. K eight-

OK, so he’s an old guy. Who is Mitch Snyder(sp)?
He must be before MY time. :) I don’t recall having ever heard that name.

Swopa 189 — thanks for that vignette.

It reminds me of the time, summer ‘85, that a local journo friend and I bumped into David Broder in a hallway during the National Women’s Political Caucus convention in Atlanta. The three of us chatted for a few, and after we parted, my friend grinned at me, “WELL. YOU’ve just been interviewed by DAVID BRODER, whaddya think of THAT?”

They’re never off-duty, the aces, are they?

Quick Grab Hug Squeeze and Smooooooooooooooooooch to Shez, K8, and Siun.

And now proving heredity is true:

*poof*

Swopa, man, we could have used you there. More merriment for all!

Lotus:

If you still want suggestions on your LTE, here are my humble submissions:

I would take out the parenthetical dig at Bush because it doesn’t advance your argument and may detract from it in some eyes.

This clause might be a little obtuse for people unfamiliar with astroturf groups: “organizations that are the ‘fake IDs.’ ” I would change it to “organizations that are underwritten by the telecom industry and created by their lobbyists.”

And while in theory I think statewide or regional meetings would be great, it probably takes almost as much work to plan and organize an event taking place at multiple locations; I would prefer to see us harness our organizational energy on the very things the YKos convention covered. Too many meetings and not enough meat are not where we want to take this.

Anne, my experience working on the prep for a similar state convention some years ago says you are absolutely on-target.

Nononono, Lotus, just fooling the spambots. It’s the standard jbuhrman at aol dot com. Sorry. Should have mentioned extraneous punctuation to be ingnored.

Thanks, Tracy 207 — I’ll take another look at those passages in the light of your good ideas.

hackworth –

Here’s a brief bio on him –

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_Snyder

Mitch Snyder was a guy who went to prison with Dan and Phil Berrigan. He called out Ronald Reagan, frequently and loudly, through his actions and civil disobedience, for the cruelty of Reagan’s policies of dumping people out on the streets to be homeless.

But before that he did lots of amazing work with Vietnam vets. And great, creative non-violent action in protesting the war itself.

There’s a movie about him, with Martin Sheen playing him. They actually were great friends in real life, getting arrested together often. Working together to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless, etc.

He died in 1990.

lotus – building on tracy’s comments, I might say, “organizations that are little more than lobbyist-created stand-ins for the telecom companies.”

Hackworth: Mitch Snyder was an activist for the homeless (back in the day when people cared about such things).

Re the purists and Vegas: I attended the Labor and Power panel at YKos and learned that Vegas has the highest number of unionized service and hospitality workers in the U.S.

The people who work in the service/hotel industry in Vegas can actually afford to live in Vegas. That’s not true in most popular resort towns.

I’d vote for having next year’s YKos in exactly the same place. You can’t beat $99 hotel rooms in June – with an easily accesible airport.

Rayne at 137:

Thanks so much for that link to Lakoff’s site.

I’ve got it bookmarked now.

That Dubhaltach, what a smarty-pants.

Wish he’d stand still long enough to say how things are going. [Anybody else know if he’s back for good from the M.E. or just home on leave?]

Oh well, I guess I’ll have to track him down (or his Da) later. Serves me right. I’m lousy with keeping up on email correspondence…better be more faithful in that regard in future.

EPU zone, but I’ll lay it out there anyway . . .

Re Boxer and Liebermann, I’m one of Boxer’s constituents, so I’ve got a dog in this hunt. For me, one of the services she can render is to challenge her colleagues when they are spreading fertilizer. If they want to spread it, so be it, but she doesn’t have to shovel it for them.

As for motives, put me down in the “clueless” camp. My gut tells me that she probably relies on the heads (formal or informal) of NOW, NARAL, and the like to keep her abreast of what “women’s issue discussions” are going on, as much as she does her staff. Given how the national office folks had to be called out by CT NARAL for their support of Joe, is it any wonder that Boxer might be surprised to discover how angry some folks are about this issue? I can’t say that I’d expect the national NARAL folks to say “Heads up, Barbara – you should know that folks are pissed at us for backing Joe against Ned.” As another poster noted this weekend, other local branch folks of NARAL and NOW are just getting up to speed on the endorsement bruhaha. I’d put Barbara Boxer in that same camp.

Reluctantly.

It’s been a busy weekend, for those of us who work on Sunday mornings, but I can see that it’s been a spirited weekend for many! Drive safe!!

Hokay, Hypatia (I was about to say when the power went off, and now all my modern clocks are blinking), I’ll be right there — soon’s I check the radar again to see what’s doing above. Weird — the thunder settled down nearly an hour ago, so I don’t know what to make of that power outage.

Anne, thanks for your suggestion too. Will apply y’all’s guidance to my third think about it soon.

Peterr @ 217: ITA. Boxer is also one of my senators; she’ll hear from me about Lieberman, respectfully but firmly, when I fax her my thanks tomorrow for her support of Net Neutrality. We do our elected representetives no favors by letting them get away with idiocy.

Boxer and others like her need to understand that regaining power isn’t enough for the netroots. We want real representation, not theatrics or posturing, and bloody well not business as usual, either.

new thread

http://www.firedoglake.com/200…..-crashers/

just want to add, in the friendliest way possible, that anyone taking exception to the YKos location is making a Vague Ass of him/herself.

I am watching & taping Plame panel on cspan. Awesome people, awesome discussion. Thank God for you wonderful bloggers. Info concise & panel flowed so well. It is no wonder that some journalists are pissy about bloggers…you guys put them to shame. A lot of that pooh-poohing stuff has got to come from feeling embarrassment on some level.

steve N @223 – that doesn’t sound like FDL to me. differing opinions are respected around here as long as they are expressed in a civil way.

steve –

I have a hard time believing that, too. Did you get a message “comment awaiting moderation”? If so, EVERYBODY gets that here, from time to time, it’s a function of imperfect software, we all just put up with it.

If the post was civil it’ll be up here shortly.

Phoenix’s brand new Convention Center will be up and sparkly next year.

;)

lotus:

I like Anne’s revision:

“organizations that are little more than lobbyist-created stand-ins for the telecom companies.”

but I would delete “little more than.”

Phoenix’s brand new Convention Center will be up and sparkly next year.

Petro –

Yeah, that’s the ticket! Glad to see someone else pulling for AZ.

:-)

A note to the FDL gang. You have a link for Crooks & Liars in this post that is actually linked to Fora.tv…

De lurking to say I am so proud of all the Fdl’rs. I watched the plame panel on Cspan and it was excellant. Y’all did us proud!
(p.s.) I think that Las Vegas was a fabulous place for ykos, just wished I could have gone.

Well, the new Denver Convention Center is already finished, complete with a Blue Bear trying to get in . . .

http://www.deskproto.com/gallery/bear.htm

How about a blue state?

Seriously, Minnesota in June is beyond spectacular. The spirit of Paul Wellstone still stalks the land. We LOVE good writing. We have a powerful progressive tradition from Donnelly to Veblen to the Farmer-Labor Party, to the politics of Keillor.

And June is beautiful–did I mention that?

We are not as easy or cheap to get to as Orlando or LV. But everything else is affordable.

Just a thought.

Rosalind 47 – You’re right on. A funny comment to add on: Some would call the YK convention a far left event. Yet, filled with friendly people. Try reversing this scenario – Whennever there is a far right convention, it is usually filled with a lotta hate, prejudice, etc.

I was kinda disapointed with CNN when they ran a story about neo-nazis and KKK klanners hosting an event (where like 50 people showed up) the very same weekend of Yearly Kos, yet they had no story on the YK convention.

Hamburger 159:
I disagree — there are prescriptive elements to Lakoff’s work as well as descriptive ones when he talks about politics. He speaks of “reframing” all the time.

No Kossack here, so we’ve mixed feelings about YK which we’ll keep to ourselves (we don’t “follow” Kos, Atrios et. al.; we do pay attention to FDL & TNH for its Plame content).

However, while we think it naive to imagine perfect venues for any inaugural event, or nitpicking to dwell on location rather than content, we don’t see trolls or find it “way out of line” when someone questions Vegas if YK itself isn’t forthcoming — which it wasn’t, as far as we can tell (About, FAQ, comment Q&As).

That said, we’ll note YK did choose what could be the one Strip hotel owned, operated, financed by individuals who lean Democratic.

Crosschecking CRP, we can confirm all principals (Westerman, Bluhm, Sternlicht, Torino, Sillerman) with the exception of Kanavos cited in this press release announcing Riviera’s merger are or have been, primarily, Democratic contributors.

Ah, I’m EPU’d for sure!

The Vegas location was, to my mind, perfecto — not just because of gonzo journalism & fear and loathing, but also because of this: what better place to hold a meeting of this sort than in the belly of the beast?! Yeah, Vegas is a freak show, but that’s part of its charm . . .

I’ve always loved NOLA, but now the LA gov has come on with this abortion ban plan, hopping on the South Dakota bandwagon to force a showdown on Roe v. Wade. As a feminist, this gives me pause about supporting business in the state.

Just a note here in the EPU Zone – the picture above was taken by Kathryn in MA – i forgot to identify myself as such in the emails to Jane.

“The strength of the netroots is in the aggregate power of the individual voices. We don’t always speak with the same voice but, honestly, I don’t ever want us to do so. Issues get tested through the arguments…all of the arguments – and if a particular proposal or solution cannot stand up to some criticism, then it isn’t really a very good idea in the first place, now is it?

But when we do speak with the same voice – very powerful.”

Christy

“Like I said before, we’ve been mostly politician/consultant/journalist free and have spent our time with our readers. I don’t think a whole lot of people who aren’t a part of the blogosphere realize that this is where our strength derives from, not from relationships with politicians or those in their orbits. But far be it from me to hip anyone to this fact.”

Jane

A few months ago, Jane posted that Left Blogosphere was punk rock, and that everyone should enjoy it while it lasted.

Now people seem to think that FDL is the vanguard of a millenial political movement. Clouds in our coffee.

In my view, the giddiness of my favorite political blogs seems familiar. On various political campaigns that I have worked on, there was a similar sense of excitement. Heck, even those long ago talks about big issues at young christian retreats had a somewhat similar thrill. For an old, but perhaps slightly more hip frame of reference, I might mention Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters – at least according to the mythology in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

notions of glory

Anyway, I have a couple comments. For what it is worth.

First, not all blogs need to be the same. In fact, I would hope that they would be as diverse as a field of wild flowers. And I am pretty sure that will happen.

Second, to the extent that blog folks want to acquire and exercise political power, then blog folks will eventually need to take specialized initiatives.

It will require organization (eventually). It will required organized thinking, and organized effort. Eventually, that will mean money. And employees. And management problems. And, probably, a bunch of wild-eyed bloggers tearing your butt off at every opportunity.

And it will require effective communication with “politicians and those in their orbit.” At least, as long as the people with power are people who get elected.

Punk rock. I cringed when I read it. I hope Jane was mistaken.

PPS – i shall identify the people in the photo – Zennurse, Daniel Froomkin, and bobbyg.

I saw your panel discussion broadcast on C-SPAN the other night, about the Plame incident, blogging and the future of news media and I got to thinking…

I’m too young to remember the days of Walter Cronkite and a supposedly independent news media that operated with a mission to present an unbiased, non-partisan view of events. Being a child of the Reagan era, I don’t ever remember a time when the mainstream media actually reported independently, without kowtowing to the current administration.

I remember back in 1992 just after Bill Clinton’s victory in the presidential race was first announced, one major television network’s investigative news program took the opportunity to run stories about how hundreds of millions of American tax dollars had been used to subsidize exclusive country clubs and horseback riding lessons for the children of the wealthy. I remember thinking, “Why the hell did they wait until the Republicans were out of office to report on those topics, which were obviously chosen to provoke outrage among average Americans?” The answer today is painfully obvious.

It appears that the American public has come to rely on a corporate empire of news outlets. These organizations have been built on the business of dishing up sweet morsels of fluff, shocking action footage and commercial press releases, all the while toeing the line set down by the current presidential administration. It’s news-as-entertainment. What’s worse, the general public is so conditioned to this candy-assed garbage that respectable news outlets, by contrast, appear esoteric and bland.

For this reason, I feel that if independent bloggers are ever going to effect meaningful change in the way the news is reported, or the way business is done in Washington, there’s going to have to be a radical paradigm shift with regard to the role of independent internet journalism vs. mainstream channels.

Bloggers can call attention to the shortcomings of the mainstream media, present alternative opinions, and even conduct their own investigative inquiries, and that does make a difference. But in the eyes of the average American, the news media possesses more credibility merely by virtue of their being on television, in newsprint, and on the radio. The media is the message, and I believe that to most Americans, freely-accessible news from independent online sources are percieved as cheap and unreliable. It’s the same sort of stigma that has plagued internet journalistic channels since the heyday of grudgereport.com. Internet news is seen as quick-and-dirty, the rantings of lunatics and maybe good for a laugh.

In order to move into the mainstream and/or effect a lasting change on the media landscape, I think these online news reporters will have to call attention to themselves by their professionalism, and at the same time overcome the public perception of jankiness and cobble together some semblance of integrity and respectability without coming off as stuffy or radical. Think you can pull it off?

Just thought I’d throw in my 2 cents on that.

Leisure Guy was right!