An American Story

The language may be Polish, but it is a common theme in most families about how one ancestor or another brought their family to America to live the dream. It has been going on for over two hundred years and despite the anger directed towards us (a.k.a. George Bush) this is still a land of opportunity. This year, we need to elect a candidate that supports people like Maria and all Americans, whether they are immigrants in this generation or had ancestors who came on the Mayflower.



Thanks to the S.E.I.U. for posting this.

The Second City Gets It's Second Democratic Forum

Ok well tonight was a debate, but I really do not see too much difference between forums and debates. The only thing is in forums they try to make the candidates play nicer, but they are too quick for that. So YearlyKos is over but the candidates are back to debate in front of the AFL-CIO in the windy city.

This debate in particular is a good one because it focuses on the issues of working people. Job insecurity, health care and income inequality are serious concerns (in addition to the war). Our next President has a lot of work cut out for them after eight disastrous years for the American worker. George Bush has stopped at nothing to undermine regular people to help his corporate buddies. That includes the ones at the top health industry leaders. They do not care about affordable health insurance, and they do not care about people like this:

From Crooks and Liars:

If this man’s genuine passion and anguish doesn’t move you, you’re not human. Steve Skvara, a disabled, retired steel worker from Indiana tells the story of how he lost his family’s health insurance after the company he worked for, for 34 years closed two years after they forced him to retire. Skvara received a standing ovation, and rightfully so. He represents millions of hard working Americans who have lost their jobs and benefits and face the humiliation of not being able to provide for themselves or their families. Can you imagine a Republican fielding a question like this?

Download (56) | Play (63) Download (24) | Play (34)

The question was directed toward John Edwards and his answer was passionate and on the money. Edwards vowed to stand up with the American people, calling for Universal health care for all.

Funny how Edwards stands out on questions like these. I wonder how Hillary and the corporate lobbyists that pile money on her campaign feel about all of this?

YearlyKos 07': The Day After

So YearlyKos 2007 in Chicago is now over. Everyone has gone home, the lights at McCormick Place are turned down and the place is being cleaned up. I am sitting here back in Manhattan after dealing with flying into Newark this afternoon (we circled the airport for half an hour due to air traffic and waited for the bags for forty-five minutes), enjoying the somewhat cool and muggy air.

The four days went by so quickly, in part because there was so much going on.

Thursday was a day of panels and workshops. I made some amazing contacts and great friends that I had mostly only known by their orange names on DailyKos (mine is proudprogressiveca btw, the ca is because I was living in CA when I signed up). I learned so much and heard many great things, but before I knew it, the time had come to sit down to an appetizer-style dinner and listen to Sam Seder, comic relief, a taped message from Senator Durbin and then finally an incredible speech from Howard Dean. By the end I heard myself chanting "Howard, Howard, Howard" like I had started doing four years ago. In a way it saddened me to think about those good ole' Deaniac days, but also grateful to see how far we have come since his campaign ended.

Friday was another great day that was full of running around from room to room, seemingly miles apart (probably only a quarter to a half mile, but who's counting). Hearing Wesley Clark deliver a powerful message to the ballroom audience was inspiring. Having the honor to see Eric Massa, Cenk Uyugr and John Dean in one room was fantastic. Then it was off to hear George Lakoff and Jeffrey Feldman talk about how to frame the issues. Later on I got to talk to Bob Geiger on how I can get more than five hits a day on this little blog. He gave us the message that if he can do it, so can all of us.

I missed the netroots candidate party that night due to a meeting and by the time I could head up there, I would have missed it due to the very long walk. So Friday night gave me a chance to relax with my non-DailyKos friend and get away from the McCormick behemoth.

Saturday turned out to be the longest day for me. I got there at seven in the morning and left at eleven at night. There was only one panel I attended, the second one I was going to was Tim Tagaris' campaign blogger thing but it was mysteriously canceled. No big deal though, because the best was yet to come.

This was when I got my macbook photo with Governor Richardson, followed by the Presidential forum with everyone attending minus Joe Biden. I was sitting four tables back dead center, so the view was great. But the fireworks on stage were fantastic to see. The breakout session with Edwards was also incredible. I ran up there as fast as I could and snagged a front row seat. Unfortunately he didn't call on me for the Q & A session, but there were plenty of good questions thrown out there.

Then things cooled down a bit, with the Teamsters BBQ by the lake. It really does amaze me that the body of water that looks like a sea is actually a lake. I'm used to the ocean and it looks quite similar minus the big waves. Then the night wrapped up with the keynote. Markos did his thing up there following a couple of comics and then it was over for the night. Sunday's brunch was a great wrap-up to the convention and we all said our goodbyes...but it sold me on coming back next year, even with the new "Netroots Nation" name.

John Edwards At YearlyKos

Out of the seven candidates that made it to the event, none was more impressive to me than John Edwards. Sure he went into his stump speech a couple of times, but he spoke from the heart. In this race and all that it means for our country, this is the most important attribute to me because it gives insight into how he approaches all the essential issues that we face.

Thermal Camera Proves Gov. Richardson Is Blue

He didn't go thermal in any political sense, just posing for a picture with me with my trusty MacBook here in Chicago.

Sam Seder Takes His VideoCam To YearlyKos

My little digital camera takes videos, but not as good as an actual video camera, so I'll let Air America Radio's Sam Seder take you on a little tour here at YearlyKos.

YearlyKos Goes Virtual

Can't make it to Chicago for YearlyKos? Gina Cooper has a way for you to come, no matter where you are physically. Check out the convention Second Life-style and Gina Cooper's introduction to the virtual world:

YearlyKos!!

Well its late at night before the convention, the registration opens in just a few hours and all of the amazing events start at 8am sharp. The day goes from early in the morning until late at night, only to begin early Friday for another jam packed day. Its going to be an amazing four days for all those that are here as the press watches on.

All the candidates are going to be here, the pundits and us regular folk are all together to talk about Democratic politics and fight back against the crazy rantings of Bill O'Reilly. So stay tuned for YearlyKos updates and pictures of the event from my very own digital camera.