Home » The Watercooler for 08/28/08 9:00 AM
The Watercooler for 08/28/08 9:00 AM
DFA's home for a free form, open-ended discussion of what matters most to committed progressive activists.
Watercooler resets everyday at 1am, 9am and 5pm. Past threads can be found in the Watercooler Archive
Thursday, August 28 2008:
Change You Can Believe In
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM (LOCAL) MST
...
Voter Registration Presentation
Remarks
The Honorable Luis Gutierrez
Member of the US House of Representatives, Illinois
David Plouffe
Obama Campaign Manager
Ray Rivera
Obama State Director, Colorado
Call to Order
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
...
Invocation
Rabbi David Saperstein
Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism – Washington, DC
Presentation of Colors
Disabled American Veterans
Pledge of Allegiance
Shawn Johnson
US Olympic Gymnast
National Anthem
Jennifer Hudson
Academy award-winning singer and Broadway performer
Welcome
Elbra Wedgeworth
President/Chair, Denver Host Committee
Presentation of Resolutions
Democratic National Committee Vice-Chairs
Mark Brewer
The Honorable Linda Chavez-Thompson
The Honorable Mike Honda
The Honorable Lottie Shackelford
Susan Turnbull
...
(continued)
...
Remarks
Honorable Bill Ritter, Jr.
Governor of Colorado
The Honorable Ed Perlmutter
Member of the US House of Representatives, Colorado
The Honorable John Salazar
Member of the US House of Representatives, Colorado
The Honorable Diana DeGette
Member of the US House of Representatives, Colorado
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM (LOCAL)
Video & Remarks
The Honorable Howard Dean
Former Governor of Vermont
Chair of the Democratic Party
Video & Remarks: Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King
The Honorable John Lewis
Member of the US House of Representatives, Georgia
Rev. Bernice King
Daughter of the late Dr. King
Martin Luther King III
Oldest son of the late Dr. King
Remarks
The Honorable Bill Richardson
Governor, New Mexico
Live Performances
will.i.am
Accompanied by John Legend (piano)...
Sheryl Crow
Singer/songwriter
Remarks
Ray Rivera
Obama State Director, Colorado
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (LOCAL)
Remarks
The Honorable Jan Schakowsky
Member of the US House of Representatives, Illinois
...
(continued)
...
The Honorable Mark Udall
Member of the US House of Representatives, Colorado
The Honorable Tim Kaine
Governor of Virginia
Live Performance
Stevie Wonder
Remarks
The Honorable Al Gore
Former Vice President of the United States
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM (LOCAL)
Remarks
John Kuniholm
Wounded Iraq veteran
Live Performance
Michael McDonald
Singer/songwriter
Remarks
Susan Eisenhower
Granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Retired Generals Tribute
Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration (Ret)
...
American Voices Program
Roy Gross
Monica Early
Wes Moore
...
Remarks
The Honorable Dick Durbin
US Senator, Illinois
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM (LOCAL)
Video/Remarks
SENATOR BARACK OBAMA
DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
Benediction
Pastor Joel Hunter
Senior Pastor of Northland in Central Florida
Adjournment
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Permanent Chair, Democratic National Convention
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080827_questions_for_hillarys_zealots/
As the Democrats convened in Denver to celebrate Hillary Clinton and nominate Barack Obama, a tiny minority of her supporters continued to behave petulantly. They whined, they blustered, they agitated themselves and each other. But what was it about Sen. Clinton’s repeated endorsements of her former opponent that they could not understand? How do they honor her by undermining him?
From the Irony Plus files: Alegre's Corner is the home for former myDD Clinton shock troops who have somehow succeeded in simultaneously hanging on Sen. Clinton's every utterance, expression and body moevement, and remaining ignorant of her consistent, insistent message throughout the convention to other Democrats to get out, work for, and support Obama for President. The founder, a real genius by almost no imaginable standards, had this to say in preparation for President Clinton's address to the convention last night:
President Clinton is expected to take to the podium in Denver soon (9 pm est) - I thought we could all do with an open thread where we can celebrate the one and only Democratic president to win re-election since FDR.
. . . .
I'm always amazed at the anger out there among people who claim to be Democrats, but yet clearly can't stand other Democrats. Bill and Hillary are two of the finest Democrats ever to hold public office.
myDD ?
Is Dean and Deval -- the foundation blocks upon which how to run an election, and the way to inspire people, was built.
Obama is standing on the shoulders of all who have proudly stood before and continue to stand today. Hillary and Bill's shoulders are included too (Bill, you've won my respect back and matches that of Hillary's for me).
As Thomas J so effectively has stated here on this blog, words do matter.
We're ALL daring chaps here on this blog and I'm so proud of the long journey we have been on, through thick and thin, not giving up, through all these past five years here on this blog.
We've dared to dream a second time.
So, myDD can also be looked at as - Dared to Dream.
It's been a great week so far.
Today, with Al and Barack scheduled to speak, what can I say, except WOW !
I regard both as very impressive people, rd. Patrick gave a really good speech; pointed, poignant, a very clear call for ousting the current regime. Technically, I liked it more than some of the ballyhooed speeches the media insists we see due to the celebrity status of the presenters. I suspect we'll be hearing more from him.
Tom -
Indeed.
I watched most of the convention on my computer (CSpan and MSNBC) devoid of the bobblehead, talking head ('same as it every was') TV and radio pundits.
Of course, tonight it will be a TV sit down -- too much good music and wide angle shots to see and hear as clearly with as with a computer screen.
I'm sure that ole Johnie is pulling the rest of his hair out today in a jealous fit -- mumbling to Cindy and anyone else in hearing distance "But I'm a POW, I'm a POW, this isn't fair, this isn't right, this isn't the American way of devisiveness ".
- Trouble in Keithie's "Paradise"? - Politico Article on MSNBC Infighting...
By Annilow on Aug 28, 2008 9:43 AM EDT
MSNBC prez defends convention team
|
By MICHAEL CALDERONE | 8/27/08 7:40 PM EST
+++++++++++++++
Reading this article makes it sound like Keith's fault to me -- gotta run...
|
And MSNBC's ratings have soared since Olbermann turned it into the Anti-FOX network. I see nothing wrong with that since objectivity in the news -- always more ruse than fact -- barely qualifies as a pretense anywhere these days.
Biden, Kerry and Clinton gave great speeches last night.
I thought it was a powerful moment when Charlie Payne, Obama's great-uncle was introduced. To see Charlie and Michelle together and the obvious admiration they have for one another was wonderful. I didn't think it was possible but I keep getting more and more impressed with Michelle everyday.
Tammy Duckworth was very impressive. Talk about a profile in courage. I understand the MSM totally ignored her speech.
Joe Biden's son Beau was awesome, Joe's mom is precious.
ABC Reporter Arrested in Denver Taking Pictures of Senators, Big Donors
Asa Eslocker Was Investigating the Role of Lobbyists and Top Donors at the ConventionDENVER -- Police in Denver arrested an ABC News producer today as he and a camera crew were attempting to take pictures on a public sidewalk of Democratic senators and VIP donors leaving a private meeting at the Brown Palace Hotel.
Police on the scene refused to tell ABC lawyers the charges against the producer, Asa Eslocker, who works with the ABC News investigative unit. [...]Read full article and video HERE.
... and you know what ? this "O" (now joined by "B" campaign) seems really to have it's act together; so ...
... that being the case, I'm going to Leave It To Beaver :
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/pabeaver/
The Obamas and the Bidens in Beaver, PA
Join the Obama family and the Biden family on Friday, August 29th.
An Evening on the Road to Change
Irvine Park
3rd Street and Insurance Street
Beaver, PA
Friday, August 29th
Gates Open: 6:00 p.m.
Program Begins: 7:30 p.m.
is giving the Pledge of Allegiance? Oh boy, my son will want to watch that. He loved watching her during the Olympics. He thinks she's pretty cute. Hilarious.
Olbermann had a diary up about the supposed infighting yesterday at DKos. I think it's all more gossip than anything. Keith defended Brokaw in the diary he wrote too. I do think he and Chris have their issues sometimes though.
Great pics of both of them in the bloggers' tent. Patrick learning to blog, Dean eating BBQ and corn.
great pics, floridagal. I just love Howard Dean. He's done such an incredible job. He is the unsung hero in all of this. Sigh, I will miss his speech tonight too. ;-( But I know it will be up on Youtube.
----
If anyone missed Kerry's speech - you can catch it over at Talking Points Memo. It's a winner.
For the first time, researchers have converted fully-differentiated cells in vivo into another type of cell without first reprogramming them to a pluripotent state. The conversion of pancreatic exocrine cells into fully functioning beta cells in living mice is described in a paper to be published tomorrow (August 28) in Nature.
"This paper is an important milestone on the road that hopefully leads to the generation of new beta cells from other, more available cell sources, at will," Harry Heimberg, from the Vrije Universiteit Brussels, who was not involved in the study, told The Scientist in an Email. [...]
Cells change identity in promising breakthrough
Talk about an extreme makeover: Scientists have transformed one type of cell into another in living mice, a big step toward the goal of growing replacement tissues to treat a variety of diseases.
The cell identity switch turned ordinary pancreas cells into the rarer type that churns out insulin, essential for preventing diabetes. But its implications go beyond diabetes to a host of possibilities, scientists said.
It's the second advance in about a year that suggests that someday doctors might be able to use a patient's own cells to treat disease or injury without turning to stem cells taken from embryos.
The work is "a major leap" in reprogramming cells from one kind to another, said one expert not involved in the research, John Gearhart of the University of Pennsylvania. [...]
Offices of Berkeley activist group raided
Federal agents and local authorities have seized 14 computers in a raid of a Berkeley activist group.
A UC Berkeley spokesman says the Long Haul Infoshop was raided Wednesday by the FBI, UC Berkeley police and Alameda County Sheriff's deputies.
Spokesman Robert Sanders says the raid was part of an investigation into threatening e-mails tracked to computers there.
Sanders has been the university's spokesman on investigations into animal rights activists suspected of harassing researchers at the school. [...]
I wanted him for nominee in '04, and the media helped destroy his chance.
Since he became Chairman of the DNC, he has done wonders with it. He was criticized for spending money on his 50-state plan, some felt the money should go towards candidates that were in need of help, but as you can see his work has made us viable in all 50 states, we even have a chance to turn a few states blue, and that is not a bad thing.
(continued)
...
I watched him on stage with his dreamy blue eyes back in '04 (we women just swooned over those eyes), and his passion for US, THE PEOPLE, telling us time and time again, that WE HAVE THE POWER. No truer words were ever spoken during a campaign, and it bears repeating in THIS campaign season. He treated us (all ages, races, religious affiliation, and genders) as we should be treated, as the owners of this great country.
This is why it is so important for us to realize this. WE DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE THE KIND OF CRAPPY GOVERNMENT WE HAVE, WE, THE PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE IT!!!
As Barack says, it starts from the bottom up!!!
YES, WE CAN!!!!
Thank you Bill and Hillary for magnificent speeches and support.
WE ARE UNTED, AND WE WILL WIN!
God Bless all of you.
rd -- This woman sounds like a Crushie for Dean.
looks like it will be hitting the Gulf Coast late Monday afternoon/Tuesday early. This is absolutely tragic. There is also Tropical Storm Hanna right behind Gustav - looking like it will hit Florida.
- The storm right behind Hanna is the biggest of the bunch aimed for the Carolinas
By Phil Specht on Aug 28, 2008 12:38 PM EDTGustav looks like it might be headed for Mobile instead of New Orleans by my reading of the steering winds.
Hurricane season is late but in earnest.
Faye has left a path for Gustav to follow and that should just about end the drought in Tennessee
to roll out his VP. Now will the traditional media report this enthusiasm gap? Obama sold out Invesco (75,000) in an hour!!!!!!!!!
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/28/112537/466/306/577344
The McCainstream media will frame Obama as a vacuous rock star, and as usual, McCain as a heroic, straight-talking maverick!
and move it to The Cheescake Factory.
http://www.wvablue.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1798
The Orwellian named clean coal is a myth spun by Big Coal. Don't believe the hype. There is no such thing as clean coal.
There are two types of coal: toxic coal and even more toxic coal.
There are two ways to mine coal: mining with debilitating social, ecological and environmental effects and mining with merely devastating damages.
There are two ways to burn coal: by letting all the toxic stuff spread out into the earth, water, and air (long term consequences be damned) or by concentrating the toxins into difficult to contain, difficult to store, and highly dangerous pollution stores (long term consequences be damned).
Coal, in any form of extraction and production, is arguably the most environmentally damaging source of energy. No matter how hard Big Coal tries to green-wash itself, coal remains toxic.
It is toxic to mine, toxic to extract, and toxic to burn.
when Gov. Brian Schweitzer didn't even mention coal in an interview in which he promoted clean energy.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/08/14/1267049.aspx
MEET ERIC MELDER
Thursday, August 14, 2008 3:54 PM
Matthew E. Berger
An evangelical Christian who gave money to Mike Huckabee ... who the Obama campaign ... welcoming Eric Melder with open arms -- and a ticket backstage.
Melder, a 59-year-old counselor for at-risk youth from Carlisle, PA, was one of 10 people the campaign chose to fly to Denver, hear Obama accept the Democratic nomination, and meet the candidate backstage. He said he initially was supporting Huckabee in the Republican primaries. But he began giving money to Obama, drawn out of concern for single-parent families and others at risk.
... he said. “I think Barack Obama has that unique influence to get people on the same page and moving in the same direction.”
Melder’s ... donation to Obama came upon an e-mail request from David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, and with a challenge -- write a 100-word essay on why you’re supporting Obama
...
has Obama up +6 in their meaningless daily tracking poll. This is just for poll junkies.
-----
not Rasmussen although Ras. shows Barack up as well.
There was a walkthrough this morning on C-Span of the blogger's hall at or near the Pepsi Bldg. Quite a place and very interesting tour.
Along with many other there was a large banner on the far wall that had the Democracy for America logo.
Fay has filled the lakes and aquifiers and is doing the same north of Atlanta according to our son who lives there.
But NO or Mobile would be awful.
Mississippi has much left to be cleaned up from the previous storms. FEMA has allocated more cleanup money for MS but is slow in getting the clearances finished to send help there according to our son who has done work for FEMA is MS and LA in the past.
The messes that still exist in those two states would be brought to the forefront again if they get hit by more storms now. More bad news not only for residents but definitely for the McCain camp.
- local Red Cross emergency crews are headed for the Gulf
By Phil Specht on Aug 28, 2008 2:13 PM EDTso maybe FEMA will be a step behind again, but in Iowa every little bit helped
one of our local gov'ts had news for maybe 40 buyouts and 740 expressed interest
we need to rethink our whole disaster response with the reality that weather related catastophes will happen every year instead of being so hung up on terrorism
we also need to quit building on floodplains
so wherever it hits will take a blow of 100mph winds
silver lining ... due to the housing slump at least plywood is cheap for boarding up windows
my son's first Tiger Weekly is on news stands
http://tigerweekly.com/article/08-27-2008/9043
Three years after Katrina, therapists say psyche improving
http://tigerweekly.com/article/08-27-2008/9040
Three years after Katrina, therapists say psyche improving
Gustav will hit the Gulf coast during McSnakebit's convention.
Competing story, anyone? And will Bush's response be tied to McSame?
http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2008/08/27/obama-chief-of-staff-calls-mccain-a-schmuck/
Jim Messina, Barack Obama's chief of staff, said Wednesday that if John
McCain continues to be a "schmuck" the Obama campaign will be able to compete
just about anywhere it wants. "Let's do some math," Messina said during
an Iowa delegate breakfast in which he spoke about Obama's prospects in
traditionally red states. "If Senator McCain continues to be the schmuck he's being, we're going to
play there, you know, and go tell some truth," Messina said speaking of McCain's
home state of Arizona. "The national polls don't matter to us. We don't look at them in Chicago. We
focus on the 18 states we have to have to win this election," Messina added. "We
care more about the enthusiasm gap in the campaign in the daily polling than we
do the head-to-head."
The top of the ticket is part of every coordinated campaign GOTV. If 18 states are in play above all the safe blue states not many media markets won't see Obama ads.
- In Iowa as in most states different campaigns take the lead role in the GOTV.
By Phil Specht on Aug 28, 2008 3:33 PM EDTHere Sen. Harkin calls the staffing shots wherever Obama doesn't and where there is overlap often the local candidate is on point, with tageting done on the basis of State Senate or House races, and Congressional candidates plugging in wherever works.
Obama running a nationwide fifty state top down GOTV would be counter productive for everyone. Not to worry the effort is being co-ordinated at the appropriate level and will be happening in all 50 states.
DFA even has a role in the tossup races with a Progressive candidate especially where Obama doesn't have a District role.
DFA was critical in IA One and even drove the (R) Jim Leach to speak at the Convention in Denver it was so impressive of responsible politics.
"We focus on the 18 states we have to have to win this election,"
There's a difference between focusing on 18 states and conceding 32.
Red-state delegates thrilled that Obama campaign pays attention to their states
Obama has been very proactive in this campaign - reaching out to younger voters by using networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. He has also been working hard at opening campaign offices in all 50 states.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the US of provoking the conflict in Georgia, possibly for domestic election purposes
Mr Putin told CNN US citizens were "in the area" during the conflict over South Ossetia and were "taking direct orders from their leaders".
He said his defence officials had told him the provocation was to benefit one of the US presidential candidates.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/26/AR2008082600301.html
United Nations officials in Afghanistan said Tuesday that there was "convincing evidence" at least 90 civilians -- two-thirds of them children -- were killed in a U.S.-led airstrike last week that caused the Afghan government to call for a review of U.S. and NATO military operations in the country.
Kai Eide, the top U.N. official in Afghanistan, said local officials and residents in the western province of Herat corroborated reports that 60 children and 30 adults had been killed in an Aug. 21 military operation led by U.S. Special Operations forces and the Afghan army.
- President Carter called Georgia "in play" on talk of the nation on NPR just now
By Phil Specht on Aug 28, 2008 2:47 PM EDTinteresting interview
Just a suggestion.
When referring to our Georgia (the peanut state), use the term stateside Georgia.
If talking about McCain's Georgia (the Caucuses, mountains that is, not voting), use the term no South Ossetians need apply Georgia.
The truth of former Soviet Republic of Georgia bombing South Ossetia (and McCain's role) and provoking a Russian responses hasn't yet reached the public, but it may well have been what swung the balance to Biden as VP pick.
- The Guardian history article by Seumas Milne: This is a tale of US expansion not Russian aggression
By Susan Rowe on Aug 28, 2008 4:44 PM EDTThe outcome of six grim days of bloodshed in the Caucasus has triggered an outpouring of the most nauseating hypocrisy from western politicians and their captive media. As talking heads thundered against Russian imperialism and brutal disproportionality, US vice-president Dick Cheney, faithfully echoed by Gordon Brown and David Miliband, declared that "Russian aggression must not go unanswered". George Bush denounced Russia for having "invaded a sovereign neighbouring state" and threatening "a democratic government". Such an action, he insisted, "is unacceptable in the 21st century".Could these by any chance be the leaders of the same governments that in 2003 invaded and occupied - along with Georgia, as luck would have it - the sovereign state of Iraq on a false pretext at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives? ...
Development of Caspian oil and gas resources and export routes has been slowed by regional conflict, political instability, and lack of regional cooperation. Many of the proposed export routes pass through areas where conflicts remain unresolved. Most of these are in the Transcaucasus part of the Caspian region, where conflicts in Georgia, the Chechnya portion of Russia, and between Armenia and Azerbaijan, hinder the development of export routes westward from the Caspian. ... full article HERE.
To Our Leaders: Give us 100% clean energy
$427 million. That’s what the oil and coal industries spent during the first half of 2008 on lobbying and advertising. They’re protecting their interests – and hurting ours.
This ad is running on TV right now, but we need millions more to see it. The special interests will outspend us, but we can compete head-to-head with them when we find ways to share these messages for free.
I haven't seen too much interest on the internets or the news that suggests anyone is remotely interested in McCain's running mate. Enthusiasm gap.
The fact that McCain has only got about 4,000 screaming Republicans so far to fill his 10,000 person venue is another indication of an enthusiasm gap.
I hope this gets played far and wide.
with quotation marks no less, is about as tacky as political commentary can get. Especially on this of all days.
Check out these comments from Reid about John McCain. Frickin' scathing.
http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/8/28/134959/535#commenttop
Now if the rest of the Dems would just jump on board.
- Howard Dean is first.
By Phil Specht on Aug 28, 2008 9:00 AM EDTanyone doubt it now watching the Party united and fighting for the people in fifty states