FROM AUSTRALIA TO NEVADA:

This is the first entry for my Diary of going from Sydney, Australia to Las Vegas, Nevada to work on the Kerry Campaign.

Recently I became part of the 2004th Airborne for Kerry-Edwards.  The 2004th Airborne sends Americans Living abroad like me to key swing states to help with the election.  I just got my posting from the DNC yesterday September 28th, and they are sending me to Las Vegas, Nevada.  I am taking my long-service leave from work in Sydney, Australia to come and help out.  I can't wait!!

This must be good news if they still have Nevada in play!!

I just booked my tickets and will be arriving October 10th for a full-on, three week adventure to turn Nevada blue!!

So HOPE AND HELP are on the way!!!  

I will try to keep a daily diary of the trip--Wish me luck!!!

•  Thank you

  from all Democrats for being willing to make such a sacrifice.

  Just shows you how motivated the left is this year. We're fighting this thing to the last dollar and the last hour.

  by BaltimoreDem on Tue Sep 28, 2004 at 09:30:39 PM PDT

•  Good for you

  by Ben P on Tue Sep 28, 2004 at 09:31:05 PM PDT

•  Two words:

  Bellagio Buffet. Soooo good. And, you can only go if you regester 50 people.  Please make your pledge here.

  by Rhett on Tue Sep 28, 2004 at 10:02:36 PM PDT

  •  Buffet Recommendations Welcome

    I miss American home cooking so any buffet suggestions would be great as I loo-ooove to eat.

    Do they have an Izzies Buffet there?

    by Norwegian Chef on Tue Sep 28, 2004 at 10:32:19 PM PDT

•  I'm already in Vegas

  Hi,

  Hope you like it here in Las Vegas. You'll soon realize that most people here aren't interested in politics and it's no surprise Nevada has one of the worst voter turnout rates in the country. (For local elections we sometimes have below 20% voter participation)

  On the positive side of things the Democratic primaries had a huge turnout and there were tons of people there. But if you asked your average guy on the street who's running and what the issues are in this election, you'll just get blank stares.

  Have fun in the Silver State!

  by jazz on Tue Sep 28, 2004 at 10:21:32 PM PDT

•  I'll see you

  On 10/9, 10/17, 10/23 and from 10/31 to the election.

  I drove once solo from LA to LV, last weekend. From now on I'm taking the bus.

  Get ready, it's not glamorous work, but the people in the LV office are great. Look up Megan and Stacy in particular.

  Oh, and if you've never been to Las Vegas, you'll soon know the meaning of the phrase 'White Trash.' By that I mean primarily the Republicans and politically uninterested. As you walk around streets named, without apparent irony, 'Spring Rain Lane' and 'Autumn Shower Court' filled with poorly made stucco houses identical in every detail, you'll grasp the essential soullessness of a city that is nothing but suburbs. You'll marvel at a city so dry that tapwater is capable of delivering a static electric shock. You'll stare in amazement at the people who spend their entire days at the 7-Eleven slot machines. You'll contemplate how self-worth is defined by the size of one's truck. You'll wish you had a dime for every person whose hairstyle dates from 1987. You'll scream in vain at the world's longest traffic lights.

  But you'll meet some good people along the way.

  And don't forget to bring lip balm.

  by djangone on Tue Sep 28, 2004 at 10:30:44 PM PDT

  •  Thanks for tips and info.

    Australia is really one big desert so at least I will be prepared for the dry stuff.  Since I speak Spanish I think I will be spending a fair bit of time working with the Latino community.  I did my Doctorate on National Parks in Costa Rica and will love the chance to exercise my Spanish.

    by Norwegian Chef on Tue Sep 28, 2004 at 10:44:01 PM PDT

    •  In that case

      You'll meet the better people in town, the Latino community, and you may avoid that smug SUV-heavy area known as 'Summerlin,' which took its name from Howard Hughes' mother's maiden name. You'll know East Charleston Boulevard like the back of your hand. You'd be surprised how few people at the Dem office speak Spanish--you'll be a real asset.

      Here's some good airplane reading for you:

      Next to Hughes, written by a friend of my father's, particularly the chapters about Hughes' residency at the Desert Inn in the early 70s. Forget Steve Wynn, Howard Hughes made Las Vegas.

      The Enforcer, a really quick true-crimer that tells the story behind the movie 'Casino.' Much of the formative 70s and 80s in Las Vegas centered around the ambitious mafia soldier Tony Spilotro (who's fewer than six degrees separated from current Senator Harry Reid and of course Mayor Oscar Goodman, former mob consigliere). This book goes a long way toward explaining why the main private high school in Las Vegas has a plaque commemorating Moe Dailitz, the Mayer Lansky of LV. The best part is the story of the casino skim operations at the Stardust and other casinos.

      Also, the book to the movie 'Casino,' by Nicholas Pileggi, is quite well-researched and much more well-written.

      It's an interesting place.

      by djangone on Tue Sep 28, 2004 at 11:37:42 PM PDT