Visiting Netroots Nation in St. Louis last week was a watershed moment in so many ways.
Meeting people in person that were already close and trusted friends.
Sharing great energy and passion on the most important issues of our lives with like-minded spirits.
Listening to brilliant ideas and strategies and solutions to intractable problems.
Finding new provocative questions that lead us onward, personally and collectively.
Gaining a wealth of new information from progressive experts around the country.
Laughing. Crying. Suffering. Exulting. Grieving. Celebrating.
More below.
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And then there are the seeds. Little polyps of incipient possibility planted in each of us. Often these are things we aren’t fully aware of. Insights not yet fully understood or processed or internalized. Keys to problems we have not yet encountered, or not yet fully engaged, or not yet engaged in the way that will yield the best progressive results. Yet, I can feel them there, hovering on the periphery, giving me energy and optimism all the same.
Then there are the challenges, the commitments. One of them, that I have already begun tackling, is ongoing networking through email. I have a list of emails to write (this work HAS begun, and will continue) to fellow activists, occasionally to panelists in some of the presentations I attended.
One email will be to Tamara Shealey, a terrific candidate for Georgia State Senate. We visited her campaign promotion in the Marriott on Friday morning. She told us the story of her journey to candidacy, of its trials and tribulations. Very special candidate. We listened to many higher profile Democrats during our time in St. Louis, but none more committed to our causes and our fights. Just meeting her was inspiration!
Another email will be to Mondale Robinson, Electoral Campaign Manager for Democracy for America. Some of the best (short) conversations I had at Netroots Nation were with him. We attended a panel with Michael Brown’s father and four other black fathers whose children had been taken from them by police action. That was by far the most difficult panel I attended. I saw Mondale outside the room moments later, he said he had to leave, it was too hard. How those men on the panel kept their sanity was beyond me. For violence that should have never happened. For violence that should have no place in ANY human society. Mondale understood.
I also plan to write a physician who provides abortions and reproductive care to women in the Midwest. She spoke on one of the panels, and made a big impression. Special lady, in a field under serious attack.
I hope to send emails to several other panelists for their hard work and great contributions. They are very good people, with passion that lights up their eyes and their faces, with never-say-die spirits. Their inspiration lives on in me, a flame of hope I intend to keep alive.
I will write some more diaries on the NN experience. And, if my correspondence is promising, as I hope and intend, I plan (with permission) to share some of that in coming days, weeks and months.
Exciting if precarious times! Thanks for reading!
On to tonight’s comments!
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From susans:
I’m submitting this comment by Bill in Portland Maine because it is brilliant!
Is this comment by Zinger in VA about Tim Kaine. Good VA perspective.
Highlighted by evolvingplanet:
For Thursday, July 21, 2016, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on the subject.
1) I live near this town. The new police chief is a … by CocoaLove +190
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4) My husband is a mental health worker, in NYC at … by Denise Oliver Velez +139
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8) An absolute fucking travesty. Sorry for language … by barley peace +116
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10) Thanks for this diary. I said this last night ab … by ontheleftcoast +109
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12) I’m curious to see how the media finds “both sid … by Crashing Vor +106
13) Pence says we support our allies. Trump says we … by billyzero +105
13) Bravo Chelsea. … by dlbvet +105
15) Chelsea herself is sadly not a stranger to despi … by rb608 +104
16) a quick and somewhat crappy one I just whipped up by paintitblue +103
17) Me neither. Just beat this guy. … by chicago minx +101
18) Oh! What a tangled web we weave when first we pr … by missquested +99
19) Same here. Because if this wasn’t the most impor … by DiesIrae +97
20) Moussolini has left the building! by Penguinn +96
21) Everything else: … by political junquie +94
21) Policy wise, Pence may be even worse than Trump. by poleshifter +94
23) Let’s all make fucking sure he does NOT. by Loose Fur +93
23) If they’re gonna play the Rolling Stones after D … by OvejaNegra +93
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26) [embed] by Greg Dworkin +92
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28) There are those. On the other hand, there are li … by middleagedhousewife +89
29) Donald Trump is the Official Nominee of the Repu … by edwardssl +88
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2016-07-22, courtesy of jotter!