Since there's only so much one can do with shoes as a subject, I do have other pictures to share. Even if I am a little late for covering the confab from the weekend before last...
First: We gave ourselves the luxury of a slow drive up in the Great River Road scenic byway, starting where the Ohio River flows into in Mississippi at Cairo, IL. This from a county road heading west out of Paducah, KY.
There's two parts to this NN11 diary. First is the road trip to get there. Second is some pictures I took at NN proper, including a few from the backstage pass experience. Next year, with the location being an Amtrak stop, maybe there'll be pictures from "train parties" enroute.
From Wickliffe, KY looking upstream to the bridge crossing the Ohio River from Kentucky to Cairo (pronounced like the Corn Syrup.)
We crossed a bunch of rivers with "state" names, starting with the Tennessee. Then on to Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Most all of them were swollen, with signs of flooding everywhere.
Nowadays, we've almost forgotten the downstream flooding, as we watch Minot, the Prohibition-era booze-smuggling center, being inundated. But folks downstream are still dealing with flooding and its aftermath. Note the mostly submerged cyclone fence:
One wonders what happens to all the piles of sandbags as time goes by:
Aside from the boarded up and missing window buildings in Cairo, it took me awhile to figure out why it seemed so economically depressed: No box stores!
Upstream at Thebes, the river was running high. High enough that some roads were closed.
Thebes is a tiny town. Only a few hundred people live there now. But back in the day? They built themselves a stone courthouse in 1848, and it's where Dred Scott, of the famous very bad Supreme Court case, was locked up. It leads me to wonder what's gonna hafta happen to reverse today's horrible Supreme Court actions. (There was a Supreme Court panel at NN11 that had me thinking those exact same thoughts.)
But one always wants some kind of hope to hang onto. I found this bit of graffiti on that same National Historic Monument of a one-time courthouse:
We didn't stop for more than a few pix at the Mormon pilgrimage destination/theme park at Nauvoo, IL.
Across from St. Louis at Alton, IL.
I'm always on the lookout for New Deal projects, so when I read in a Great River Road pamphlet that the grand lodge at Pere Marquette SP near Grafton, IL was completed in 1937, I had to check it out.
This lodge was built by a CCC crew of WWI veterans, who were older and more experienced than the typical crew. And the project looks more like what the WPA did.
But, WTF? In 2011, a public park is using a wooden Indian as a rack to sell lollipops?
(Did I say WTF?)
During the Great Depression, many of these wonderful treasures were added to our national commons. Sad it is that today, during the Great Austerity, we're letting so many of those treasures fall to ruin thanks to decades of deferred maintenance. (Something over $6 billion for just our National Parks.)
The Illinois River was right about at flood stage, too. Grafton, IL, has signs expressing civic pride that Bald Eagles winter there from December to March. But we saw a couple of 'em in mid-June, too.
A little product placement in Iowa:
We crossed into Wisconsin, and there were signs for Jennifer Shilling for State Senate everywhere.
Didn't notice anyone making a public stand for Dan Kapanke, who's one of more noxious of the Republicans getting recalled in the Badger cheesehead state. Go, Shilling!
Wyalusing SP overlooks the confluence of the Wisconsin & Mississippi rivers. In addition to a nice array of New Deal-era rustic-style structures, it has this memorial to what was once the most abundant bird in North America. (The last one died in captivity.)
On to Minneapolis, with rain the whole rest of the way, mostly on Highway 61.
Thanks to Common Sense Mainer for organizing the C&J dinner. It's a great way to catch up and touch base as the Netroots Nation conferees gather together.
This on the way to that overcrowded place (apparently, they didn't believe the numbers CSM gave them - dang it all!) outside:
And inside:
Anyhow, like I said - thanks CSM!!
The session on the Arab Spring featured visiting international bloggers, moderated by American Ahmed Tharwat (right, below.) Also shown are a woman from Bahrain and a Palestinian man. The panel was rounded out by a Moroccan and an Iraqi.
Photographers were everywhere! I noticed that the Muslim women in hijab were not easily distinguishable from the other women vis-a-vis footwear. Despite their attention to modesty on some fronts, Victorian England would have been scandalized by their exposure of their feet and (gasp!) ankles.
This was part of a State Department project that brought bloggers/writers from 20 or so countries visiting around the U.S. The Obama administration deserves credit for this - the "loyal Bushies" wouldn't have done something like this. (We know for sure, because they didn't!) These two women, from Pakistan & Zimbabwe, addressed the first plenary. (Their names were not included on the schedule due to last minute substitutions, dagnabbit!)
I think our gathering was enriched by this international perspective and presence. Their "den mother" was J.B. Leety of the State Department (below). I don't think she ever sits still. At any rate, there's no way the "loyal Bushies" would have done something like this. (After all, they didn't.)
I was interested by a panel that brought out ties between the Dream Act movement and gay rights issues, both of which involve people "outing" themselves. Dan Choi was a big draw for that panel, and he was there early, greeting all the members of the audience as they arrived. He also accommodated a lot of people who wanted to be photographed with him.
Felipe Matos, Dream Act activist, is to the left of Choi in the picture below.
Others on that panel were Jane Hamsher, John Arivosis and Daily Kos's own mcjoan. Again: Everything was thoroughly documented. Photographers were ubiquitous.
The Latino Voters panel devoted much attention to the Dream Act, too. Kos & Rep. Luis Gutierrez:
Here's Markos and Paco Fabian from Change to Win:
Photography! Common Sense Mainer helps San Diego Dem figure out how to zoom a loaner camera.
A little later, some of the pieces fit together as John Aravosis (from the "not so into you" panel) and the blogger from Morocco talk with Sam Seder for the radio.
The organizers clearly underestimated the interest in the panel on corporatism and the courts. They definitely could have used a double room for this one. It's a good thing a fire marshall didn't stop by!
From that panel, Carl Pope with the Sierra Club who did a sardonically funny presentation of the current Supreme Court's "new math."
Below: Dahlia Lithwich and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who's way better than "good" Republican Lincoln Chafee who lost his seat in 2006. The Bushes have left lasting damage on the nation due to their court appointees. Sometimes I wonder if I'll live long enough to see this court improved from the horrible right-wing tendencies it operates under today.
You never know who you'll come across in the main hall. The Daily Kos FPers didn't get the weekend off. Hunter found a quiet workspace between sessions in the back of the main hall.
Meteor Blades worked to deadlines in the midst of all the other activities.
N in Seattle was disappointed he didn't make navajo's picture diary, nor my shoe compilation (too blurry!) But I did find this picture:
Saturday, I had a backstage pass (from the auction) so I didn't spend as much time out and about. I totally missed photographing Sen. Franken. I was looking out for the shoes, but didn't want to explain myself by asking, and his feet were under the table while he worked polishing his speech. I thought I'd get 'em after he was done, but he was off the stage and out the door in two shakes of a lamb's tail, so I missed the opportunity.
Van Jones spent more time around the conference. He seems finally to have come around to seeing that fleeing his White House job when he came under (ridiculous) attack only "emboldened the enemy." Better late than never, I guess. Here, he has a quiet moment of concentration before his speech.
Reviewing general points and approaches with Joel Silberman.
Mostly, Jones is a kinetic presence, so this is more typical. Here, he's talking with some women having troubles at Walmart.
Saturday night, there was entertainment. Outernational was joined by Jill Sobule, and provided a nice set of music. Amongst other songs, they did Woody Guthrie's "Deportees", here accompanied by Tom Morello and some powerful imagery in protest to the Arizona immigration law/boondoggle for the private prisons:
And a few performance shots:
After they finished playing, Rep. Keith Ellison started fooling with Jill's banjo a little, and we all reflected on that instrument's African origins.
And Kitsap River, bless her heart, kept a memorial seat for exmearden at her table. I didn't have much to say in the book she had there: Miss ya, exme. Love ya, E. Same thing I still think pretty often - but especially at NN. Great gesture, KR!
So, Sunday came - all too soon! - and it was time to head home. We came down for breakfast and checked out of the room. Gave the car claim to the valet, and he came back: "Sorry to have to tell you that you have a flat tire." On Sunday, no less! So we had about three extra hours before that got all resolved. Extra visit time, extra gossip, and some pressure for time on the road to get home by Monday night. (We made it!)
Anyhow, I found my way back from the garage that fixed the tire by generally steering towards the tall buildings downtown. Along the way, I came upon the downtown New Deal Armory. I'm always interested in CCC, WPA &c projects. This one was Public Works Administration. PWA predated the WPA, which first passed Congress in 1935.
I saw a combo post office/federal courthouse as I circled around downtown looking for the Hilton, but didn't have the time to pursue that. But I did stop for a few details of the armory.
There was one last stop on the way home. I'd read about a monument in St. Paul, where the Minnesota CCC collected stones from CCC projects in all 48 states to build it to honor the whole CCC program. I asked Sen. Franken about it, but he didn't know. Rep. Ellison, however, had seen it, giving me the confidence to go looking for it. And I found it!
After this, it was concentrated driving the rest of the 1,000-mile distance home. We made it Monday night, tired but safe, just in time for another excursion that got us home yesterday.
And a good time was had by all.