... certainly should NOT stay in Vegas!
Thank you so much for allowing me to join you in Las Vegas for YearlyKos -- the first of what I'm sure will be many more gatherings of the progressive political blogosphere.
It truly was a tremendous event. Congratulations to Gina Cooper and the entire organizing committee for pulling together a wonderful conference.
Personally, I had a fabulous time. I was enormously impressed by the energy, the passion, and the enthusiasm of everyone who attended. I loved talking and meeting with all of you in conference rooms, crowded hallways, food lines, and our reception at the Hard Rock Hotel.
I also really enjoyed participating on the "Championing Science" panel with Chris Mooney, Dr. PZ Myers, Wendy Northcutt, and Darksyde. It's so important that we continue to fight against right-wing efforts to hijack and distort science for their own partisan purposes. (For those of you who didn't see the panel, we hope to post audio via our podcast feed and/or video at www.securingamerica.com in the coming days. Stay tuned.)
I was somewhat discouraged by some scattered media reports about the event, like NPR's characterization of YearlyKos as some kind of "Star Trek convention." Clearly, nothing could be further from the truth. All of the 1000+ people who attended were so serious and committed to changing our country. And in time, the mainstream media will catch up with what all of the rest of us know.
In the coming months and years, we need to have more events like YearlyKos, and more often, so people can see how passionate the progressive blogospere is about making a better America.
Thanks again for the very warm welcome you gave me in Las Vegas. I look forward to seeing all of you at more of these events in the future.
If you have any comments or questions about our science panel or any other topics, please feel free to post them below. I'll be around for the next 30 minutes or so to respond to as many as I can.
UPDATE (2:08pm CT): Folks, thanks so much for being here and for the questions. I've got to sign off now and get started on my list of "honey-do's" for the grandkids, because we only have a couple of days left before they arrive. But in closing, let me put in one more plug for Jim Webb. We really need him in the Senate. He's our kinda person -- he cares about the country, he's not a "careerist," he'll do the right thing. Let's make sure he wins that primary in Virginia tomorrow. Wes