Author's Disclaimer: have you ever written one of those diaries where you thought to yourself, "Man, this is either gonna bomb really big, or folks might actually have fun with it"? Well, this is one of those diaries. Please don't let it bomb.
Hi. My name is Scott, and I'm a Kossack. (Group: "HI, SCOTT!")
When I first started blogging here about six months ago, I was enthralled with the anonymity of it all. Here we are - a bunch of politically aware, relatively intelligent, moderately insightful folks who know each other mostly by screen name and little else. Perhaps with some exceptions, any of us could say anything we wanted, flame at will, and even toss around negative mojo without running the risk of bumping into each other at Starbucks tomorrow morning.
I can't tell you why, but the anonymity isn't as fun anymore. Maybe it's the anticipation of meeting so many of you at
YearlyKos and seeing screen names written on your "Hello, my name is" nametags. Maybe I feel like I've gotten to know many of you through your writing and your stories. In any case, I feel this urge to introduce myself to the community, and
I hope you'll introduce yourself in return.
So This is the Daily Kos Family Album.
To complete this exercise, you may need any combination of the following:
...the cocktail of your choice (I'm a Jack-and-Diet guy myself)
...a few minutes away from the TV (I'm DVR-ing Idol)
...a cigarette, if you so desire (Marlboro Lights for me)
...the slightest sense of adventure (like the kind it took 20 years ago when you did that unspeakable thing in college)
...a little extra space in your heart to meet a few new people
It's really very simple. Just tell us about yourself. Whatever comes to mind. We already know each other's politics, but I'm guessing we have more in common than that.
Getting the ball rolling...
I'm the one who goes by "Rippe" here at DailyKos. I turned 40 last October, which didn't freak me out nearly to the extent I expected.
My significant other of 10 years is also named Scott, so I guess that makes me a homo. Scott and Scott - couldn't you puke? When people call the house, they have to ask for us by first and last name. Even our parents.
We live in a home we built on a little country hillside in a Swiss village, just south of Madison, Wisconsin - one of the gayest little cities in the country. My Congresswoman is Tammy Baldwin.
And this concludes the homosexual portion of our show.
Wait - maybe it doesn't. You see, some of my friends call me a "bad" homosexual - on account of the fact that I drink beer, wear flannel, watch a lot of sports (Go Brew Crew!), play in a Texas Hold `em league, golf, eat too much red meat, and listen to country music. But I do balance out the stereotype by attending a lot of theatre and subscribing to multiple home décor magazines.
After spending almost 8 years in radio (sometimes on-air, but mostly off), I decided to go into business for myself. That business, 11 years later, is now a pretty respectable marketing firm in the Madison area. So, between the marketing thing and the gay thing, there's a fairly good chance I'm going to hell.
Clearly, I have a bit of a political bent, as evidenced by my insatiable addiction to Daily Kos. The topics that take up space in my brain (today, at least) include: the dumbing down of the American voter (future diary title, and you can't have it!), marketing within the Democratic Party (see dozens of prior diaries), and the media's influence on political leanings. Seriously, I think about this stuff a lot. I've also considered marrying Russ Feingold, since many people say the country won't elect a single, twice-divorced Jew. Of course, our marriage might just open up a whole new can of worms for the Red South.
So now I'm depressed - partly, because I just summed up my life in 6 paragraphs, and partly, because I know that hitting the "submit" button puts me in the vulnerable position of seeing my life scroll down the right side of the page without comment.
So throw a guy a bone, won't you?