Hello and welcome to my second annual hijacking of Got a Happy Story to tell a story of ecstasy and share many photos from Netroots Nation. This is still a place for you to say what is making you happy and please chime in below in the comments about whatever is making you happy.
I'm coming off a very happy week.
I actually met the founder of this series and to prove to Carnacki that I actually get that this is happy story not happy photo, I'll start off with and end with happy stories in between my photo bomb.
Just a note, all of the thumbnails expand to bigger photos when you click on them and I name names.
I met one of the finest Texas Democrats during the week long hoedown. Glen Maxey who in retirement is far more active than most Democrats had already demonstrated his public speaking talents when he introduced Howard Dean for his keynote speech in the convention hall. As he told the story of organizing Texas Democrats back in 2004 he warmed up the audience by lacing his speech with a familiar saying "Empowered By Howard."
That introduction alone proved the man to be a great speaker but Glen who is enjoying a nice pension was once a great progressive Texas lawmaker and also explained to me the fact that his retirement was caused by gerrymandering from the criminal Tom Delay.
What a shame because he had a very impressive twelve year in the Texas House of Representatives. Still it didn't stop this hard working American from making a difference. Glen may just be the most hopeful and dedicated Democrat I've ever met. A wonderful man;
You may have already heard this story but to hear it right from Glen Maxey's mouth, well that what Netroots Nation is all about for me. When this warm and wonderful man came up to me and told me a one on one story about an encounter he had with Bush back when Bush was the governor of the soon to turn blue state it left an impression on me that I will never forget.
The way he demonstrated this encounter, telling me of his success in passing an expansion in the number Texas children eligible for SCHIP was to grab my two arms and get up real close to show what a conversation with Bush would be like. Could you imagine George W. Bush holding both of your arms and speaking to you with his lips four inches away from yours? While I was very comfortable with Glean Maxey demonstrating this in your face habit, I kept thinking what if it really was Bush and the thought "gut punch, gut punch" kept running through my head. Glen is far nicer than I am and had a different thought.
Glen Maxey was the first openly gay representative from Texas and after playing a crucial role in getting health care to some of the neediest children in Texas George W. Bush got up close and personal with Glen and said "Congratulations, you shoved it down our throats." Glen told me his response that went right over Bush's head. "No governor I'm a very gentle man and I don't shove anything down anyone's throat."
Glen told me that he had a little devil on on shoulder telling him to break up the close encounter by kissing Bush in front of all of those cameras but the angel on the other shoulder won out because such an act would have certainly caused a veto and 500,000 Texas children were far more important than embarrassing Bush. After his talk with the repulsive future prez Glen told a group of reporters what the governor said and asked them to sit on the information until after the veto deadline.
Glen was not done yet. Still holding me in the George W. Bush grip Glen told me about the conversion getting even weirder. Bush told Glen "What I say in public as governor about gays and lesbians does not pertain to you Glen because I like you." Ed in Montana witnessed this encounter and I heard Ed off on the side say "I'll bet he liked his gardener and housekeeper too." All I could say was "What sin did this nation commit to deserve that asshole."
Hey, you know what they say. Two Eds are better than one;
This was my third time getting together with fellow Kossasks for the big convention for both fellowship and education. I consider myself to be a three time winner. There are few events in the course of a year where I can feel as happy and fit in as well as the gathering of the Kossacks.
This year in Austin seemed so much more positive. Las Vegas was just wonderful because it was a first and we had the promise of a Democratic majority on the horizon. Chicago was probably one of the best round the clock parties I ever attended but we had the grim experience of what that Democratic majority was capable of doing. Austin happened at the six month mark to the end of Bush and very close to where a wonderful American named him "Shrub."
What a great gathering. Even the Texan with the Lowdown found us a bit surprising;
After finishing my Austin First Impressions diary, registration was at three o'clock. I waited anxiously with Bill in Portland Maine. Bill wasn't anxious. He was already on Obama time;
Many of us attended a Cheers and Jeers dinner that evening and raised a glass with some of the best people in this nation as Bill proposed a toast to the end of Bush;
That dinner arranged by Common Sense Mainer was a convergence of two great communities, the Cheers and Jeers gang and the San Francisco Kossacks.
Here vicki goes over to Timroff;
To have her TU Status checked;
As a blogger who is slightly burnt out but still smoking I even saw a sign of progress from year to year. The now infamous Chicago smoking patio was moved to a nonsmoking area;
In that Hilton lobby Dreaming of Better Days who asked that I not identify her in any photos of her face wanted her name to go with this shawl;
As she modeled for me Common Sense Mainer, who has joined the ranks of former smokers, swooped in for some photo improvement;
That touch of love just made Dreaming's Day;
That's what I'm trying to say here, the best people on earth.
Here's another camera shy Kossack. Land of Enchantment always hid from me. Looking at other photo diaries it seems she only hid from me but what are you gonna do? Here's the ingenious Land of Enchantment and our wonderful jotter in the main ballroom, another two who fall into the ranks of the best people on earth;
Unlike the people we support there is no challenge we can't handle. Take the roadblock the city of Austin erected between the hotel and the convention center right after we got there;
We just made a catapult on one side and a trampoline on the other for a soft landing and bounced on over to the show.
As a native New Yorker I found the streets of Austin to be amazingly clean;
And I got a bit of culture shock reading this notice on a convention hall door;
I may be a paranoid New Yorker who was walking around thinking I better watch what I say to any Republicans down here but Austin was no Red Town and the people seemed really great. The greatest were our organizers and volunteers who put together a convention that worked far better that any I've ever worked on and was much larger that any of the many industrial presentations I've been involved with. Three Cheers for everyone who worked on putting Netroots Nation together.
I attempted to express my gratitude to Gina in A SUPER DUPER "THANK YOU, GINA COOPER!! but didn't even come close to saying how wonderful she is and how much she has improved my life.
Besides the valuable service she has done for this nation for me Netroots Nation represents an annual break from stupidity. During the other fifty-one weeks of the year I am surrounded by working class heroes that literally go out of their way to stay in the dark. Well I do have my California trips for some rational conversation but at Netroots nation I actually feel like I fit in;
I too feel Howard Empowered because his message made me decide to give elected officials another chance. It felt good offering a little thank you to Howard Dean;
Seeing him in that little park was a great way to start the next day. Even though I sneaked away to Ironworks in the middle of his speech with friends both old and new, the best people on earth;
Lucky I did because I got my favorite photograph from Netroots Nation at Ironworks. This year my favorite photo is of one of the happiest funnyman I ever met. A trashablanca still life from my first real Texas eating experience;
Notice the fork in the ear, I'm still trying to figure that one out but it offers that special touch that only trashablanca can offer. Great tee shirts and an infectious laugh too.
Really for me Netroots was all about seeing old friends again. I met a few new ones too. You meet some of the most animated people at a progressive bloggers convention. The difference between Netroots Nation and my regular life is that when someone is trying to prove a point they are actually making sense;
Dadanation was one of the many new faces and a man that I took great pleasure in meeting. Besides he lent me his camera and I took my first photo with a digital SLR. Here's that photo of vcmvo2 and dadanation;
So many wonderful new faces to add to my list of old friends;
Besides meeting dadanation walking around with his mid format camera and Polaroid back, after promising myself that I will own an SLR by Pittsburgh I had a little photographic milestone. I took my 50,000 photo with my little Cannon Powershot A630 and it was of some one I am very proud to call a friend. Orangeclouds115's terrific food panel;
Apparently Orangeclouds115 is suffering from Post Convention Stress Disorder today.
Just one more of dadanation. Here he is with two faces I've known before last week, two of his fellow editors at Open Thread and Diary Rescue, Got a Grip and srkp23.
Thanks for all the great work Rescue Rangers. That goes to you too vcmvo2 and all of the rest who bring great work back to the surface.
I was good to see General Wesley Clark once again and I felt very privileged to be one of the people in the room who was there at the first Yearly Kos when he didn't have a microphone or a lectern. I got to see Wes Clark stand on a chair and tell it like it is at the Hard Rock Cafe;
But I could have sworn I heard Wes Clark call Baratunde Rafiq Thurston "Raw Feet" right after the comedian told the audience that both his first names translate to "one with no nickname."
The next day there was a party and what a party it was! Thank you Markos. Check out his look of adoration for Jim Hightower. Bill is right, cheeks you just need to squeeze;
Or perhaps Markos was thinking about the serious coin he was going to drop that night on the party of the century. A great time was had by all as our fearless leader proved that he can throw more than just a great website. It was a great party!
While I did get a chance to dip into Mark Warner's Stratospheric brown sauce I just followed the crowd up the stairs and never even saw the chocolate fountain.
Ah but I got up stairs at dusk and found the party mascot to be even more delicious than flowing chocolate;
Here's a few of those, you guessed it, best people on earth having a grand old time;
Here's CTLiberal (on the left)and another wonderful Kossack who asked to not have her name posted. I asked CTLiberal what she has been up to since I met her last year and found out that she is now an elected official. Humbly she added "It's just the Board of Education but I wasn't going to let a Republican run unopposed." Congratulations CTLiberal on getting elected to a very important job.
The highlight of the evening for me, even more entertaining than the "Fuck it, we'll do it live soundtrack" was virgomusic playing the spoons on a washboard.
Ukiyo mugs it up next the the woman who has already written the most excellent Netroots Nations photo diary, the always fabulous looking navajo;
Speaking of always fabulous looking, the young and happy face of kath25, an always hard working Democrat from Austin who once lived right across the river from me. Kath25 will be a New York Meet Up on August 7 and it will be great seeing her again.
And a few New Yorkers who shared a plane ride back home with me. Sidnora and casperr on the left, proudprogressiveCA on the right.
I may have been the only Kossack to see that Bill O'Reilly remix for the first time and didn't hear the audio until I went back downstairs to leave. Then I got into a one hour conversation in front of a monitor and spent the rest of the weekend with the one time that clown told the truth running through my head, "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know Fuck!"
I found the bus tour to be very interesting. Across from the hotel was the C-SPAN Bus. First question out of my mouth "What does C-SPAN stand for?" Cable and Satellite Public Access Network. I'll bet most at the convention already knew that. I'm a little slow on the uptake;
But I got to play with C-SPOT;
And sit at the patch panel of one of the few control rooms that is not totally out of control;
I'll bet you didn't know that in the movie Star Wars when the Death Star blows up the planet Alderan the lever that killed the planet was actually on the standard T.V. studio patch panel of the day. See I'm not as dumb as I look. Well maybe I am but I'm a font of really useless trivia.
No but seriously, doesn't Cable and Satellite Public Access Network sound so much better than C-SPAN? You know, the public part. I asked another question "What are the ratings?" The answer I got was "Since there are no commercials Nielsen dose not track C-SPAN's ratings? I sure would like to know how many Americans tune in.
Three cheers to everyone who participated in Netroots for the Troops;
There was also a wine party in the Hilton lobby. I never heard anything mentioned about cheese and I got to wondering if all that hanging out in the lobby made us a bunch of lobbyist but it seemed like a great party.
When I happened by Timroff was playing the guitar and everyone was singing Solsbury Hill. Brillig read the lyrics and cskendrick was singing beautifully;
There was a tee shirt signing for TexDem;
And everyone was singing along;
My heart was going boom boom boom
Hey, he said, grab your things, Ive come to take you home.
I only met two Republicans all week. First there was the most infamous Repug who I gave a piece of my mind to even though he was being his usual animated self in the exhibition hall, thank you for that great area asimbagirl. I'll let O'Connor Flood introduce him.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me lay on you a so-so entertainer, not much of a humanitarian, and this cat was never nobody's friend. In his final appearance on the great stage of life - uh, you can applaud if you want to - Mr John McCain.
Well I actually met a Republican who talked back. On the elevator from the rooms another conventioneer noticed my tag and greeted me with a disparaging remark towards the republican party and then he got off on the eight floor leaving me with an angry Texas lady.
She looked me over and said "I'm a Republican and I resent that remark." Instead of my usual New York answer "Lady you resemble that remark," I chose a line I learned here at DKos.
I said "Well the way I feel voting is just like driving. If you want to go forward you put it in D. If you want to go backwards you put it in R." I got a little demonstrative as I put on some pirate speak when I got to R and added the now infamous Jesse Jackson hand motion.
She was a little pissed off. By the time that elevator got to the lobby her face looked like a Texas Tomato. Gee I hope she didn't write for the Austin American-Statesman but that all water under the bridge now.
Hey I can't end with a Republican. How about some more party photos.
No wait I have another ending. Usually I'm camera shy but I had to pose with Gavin Newsom and inform him of my Honorary San Francisco Kossack status;
No wait the wonderful person who awarded me that status. The first Kossack I ever met Highacidity after getting a back rub from Bill in Portland Maine;
Or how about going out with an Austin sunset;