I'm going to write about two great events this weekend, but I'm sure there are many more. Saturday at 1 PM, there's the kickoff for the Coordinated Campaign at Nuevo Leon Restaurant, 1501 East 6th Street. We have this great thing in Travis County - the Coordinated Campaign. You can go into one office, and help every Democrat in Travis County. You can pick up any- and everyone's literature, you can make calls from a central list - you can help everyone. Come to the kick off rally Saturday (wear sunscreen!) and hear all the great speeches, talk with your friends, and get fired up to win in November. (Meaning - figure out how much time you can spend and set up a schedule for volunteering)

So, I've talked to lots of folks here about the Hill Country Ride for AIDS, and I thought y'all would like to know how it turned out.

Friday night, we had the kickoff dinner, which was fun. We check in or register, catch with people, and celebrate the Ride. Congressman Lloyd Doggett usually speaks at this dinner, but was not able to attend, because he broke his leg last weekend, ironicaly, while out bicycling. He did send a message, but I was sorry not to see him. We had some rain Friday night, but not a ton, and Saturday dawned clear & bright.

So, here's my "before the ride" picture

Hi there - in case you have missed all my prattling on about the Hill Country Ride for AIDS, let me fill you in. Currently, the HCRA is a 1-day event that raises money for 10 local AIDS organizations. (In previous years, it was longer, starting out as a 2 day event) In nine years, our riders and volunteers have raised over 2.5 million dollars. Some ride to honor loved ones. Others ride to support friends and family living with AIDS. Some ride just to do something big to help our neighbors in need. All riders leave with an experience they will never forget. There us a route for everyone on the Hill Country Ride. The main route is ~ 50 miles, with the choice of the Olympic Extension, which adds an additional ~ 20 miles, and the choice of a shorter 10 mile route, that lets you choose how far you want to ride. The route is fully supported, with Pit Stops every 15 to 20 miles, and SAG support all along the route. All levels, from very beginners to serious cyclists, have fun on the Hill Country Ride for AIDS.

Hey - if you live in Texas & didn't vote in the Republican primary, you need to vote again tomorrow. Anyone who voted in the Democratic primary, or who didn't vote at all, is eligible.

Statewide, there is a runoff between Dale Henry, a man with many years of experience in the oil & gas business, and who struck me as a good Democratic candidate when I saw him speak. He has been endorsed by the Austin Chronicle, always a good sign. What they had to say, and the District Attorney's race, below the fold.

This is, more or less, an e-mail that I just sent out to most of my friends about the ride that I'm doing in - ulp - a little over 2 weeks. (Yikes! I need to train more!!) I talk about the Ride a lot here, and I wanted my DK friends to know what is up

Dear friends:  

So the Hill Country Ride is in a little over 2 weeks, on Apr. 26. I've raised $1601.01, which is quite good, and includes donations from folks who have donated more than once, and one really gigantic donation (thank you, Karen!!). But I really want to do better. If you have already donated - and many of you have - please pass this message on to any friends you think might be able to donate. The agencies benefiting from the Ride have had their budgets slashed to the bone.

Hi - I don't know what happened yesterday. I felt like I was sleepwalking all day, I knew something was missing but I just pushed it out of my mind.  Then, in the afternoon, I read an upsetting diary that I just should have stayed away from....... Anyway, I didn't want a whole week to go by without any Fitness talk, so here is my make-shift diary.

Ok, so you want to get out the vote for your candidate, of course you do - we all do. But if the people running the election don't have enough workers to run the election, then that literature you gave out with teh election day location will be wrong. They'll have to combine precincts, causing confusion, and some voters will be disenfranchised.

More below the fold.

So, it is that time of year again - time for me to be telling people about the best bike ride, with the best people in the world. This year will be the ninth year of the Ride. In nine years, our riders and volunteers have raised over 2.5 million dollars. Some ride to honor loved ones. Others ride to support friends and family living with AIDS. Some ride just to do something big to help our neighbors in need. All riders leave with an experience they will never forget -- and a bunch of new friends. More below the fold.

So, last week, I wrote a diary about health & fitness that got the most responses of any diary I have ever written. Obviously this is something people are interested in. And something people who support different candidates can agree on.

At first, glance, this might not seem like a topic for a political website. But food and health are definitely political subjects, and we are a community - we talk about all kinds of things in our lives, and several people have said that they are interested in this topic. So we'll see if this works. Also, the fitter we are, the more work we can do for our candidates, right?

WooHoo! When I checked the Walk's page while writing this, they were up to 61% of their goal raised. Earlier this week, I was getting worried, because they were only around 50%, but people are coming through. Thousands of our neighbors are counting on us to be heroes.  They are counting on us to make sure that ASA and the other beneficiary agencies  continue to be able to provide their clients the services and support they need and deserve. The money raised for the AIDS WALK allows AIDS Services of Austin (ASA) to provide vital services to this community- our community. ASA currently serves over 1,500 clients, providing vital prevention, education and other support services.

cross-posted at Burnt Orange Report and Texas Kaos

Today is the mid-point for Seven Straight Nights, a national event that is providing straight Americans with opportunities to do justice and motivate new allies to stand up and be counted for equal rights. This is an action of Atticus Circle and Soulforce. It consists of a coordinated campaign of overnight vigils led by straight allies, sweeping across capital cities throughout the nation during the week of October 7 - 13, 2007, gaining momentum in the national media as more states participate in the event.

More on Seven Straight Nights and an appeal for AIDS Walk Austin below the fold:

On Sunday, October 28, the  20th annual AIDS Walk Austin will take place. I have been to every one of them. Um, 20th..... that means I've been doing this since.... um, I must have been a child when this started. Yeah, that's the ticket. I was a small child. But really - I walked back in the bad old days, when we used to get heckled by religious zealouts. (I actually kinda enjoyed getting heckled by Mark Weaver & his merry little band of troglodytes, as I called them. I walked taller when going by them. If Mark Weaver is yelling at you, trust me, you are doing something right. Also, I could make them turn amusing shades of red & purple. They'd yell something horrible like "God hates fags" & I'd yell back "No, She doesn't!" and watch the color changes. Great fun. Yes, I am a mean, mean person.)

Seven Straight Nights is a series of events sponsored by Atticus Circle and Soulforce. It will consist of a coordinated campaign of overnight vigils led by straight allies of the GLBT community. It will sweep across capital cities (though, it looks like we in Texas have 2 events!) throughout the nation during the week of October 7 - 13, 2007, gaining momentum in the national media as more states participate in the event.

There is a big impeachment rally in Austin next Saturday, the 15th. If you're within driving distance of Austin, you should come! Information from the flyer I got is below the fold. Also, plans to publicize the rally (stuff I copied from the website)

I know that there is also a nationwide Iraq Moratorium Day on the 21st, but I haven't heard if there's a rally here or not. If you do know -  please post info here!

I wrote a couple of diaries about this a few months ago - figured it is time for an update. The story so far: there is a group of neighborhood people fighting a proposed 24-hour super Walmart in the neighborhood. It will gridlock traffic, no doubt. There's some funny stuff going on with the required traffic study, which just makes me more sure that the traffic it will generate is unsuitable for the already very busy Anderson Lane. I am not an officer or official spokesperson for this group. I'm just barely involved - gone to some protests, have a t-shirt & bumpersticker, etc.

Below the fold is an e-mail I got from the group RG4N. If you live in Austin, this is of interest to you (and if you're a Travis County candidate, I know where there will be a crowd on Saturday morning. Besides at the Farmer's Market):

So, I've been talking to a friend about our congressman, Michael McCaul, and we were comparing our level of service as constituents. I sent Mr. McCaul an e-mail from his own website a week & a half ago (they've had it for 8 working days, by my count), about a legitimate constituent concern (funding cuts for the National Library Service for the Blind). Completely non-political. Well, as non-political as funding for a federal program can be.

I have had no response whatsoever from my congressman. Nada, nothing, crickets chirping. Yes my e-mail address is somewhat partisan (anotherdemocrat), but I'm still his constituent & I deserve a response to my concerns. When Jake Pickle was my representative & I was involved in the University Democrats, we had some very intense discussions about whether or not we should endorse someone so conservative. I'm sure that the congressman &/or his aides were fully aware of what was said in those meetings. I still would have had a written response by now if I had contacted him with similar concerns. And if he was going to fix this problem, it would be on the way to being fixed.

cross-posted at Burnt Orange Report & Texas Kaos

On June 16 - 24, all over the world, people have a chance to help out a great organization, Equality Now, and see a great movie. For the second year in a row, for Joss Whedon's birthday, screenings of the movie Serenity will be shown all across the globe as a fundraiser for Equality Now.

According to the Can't Stop the Serenity website, "Equality Now was founded in 1992 to work for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women around the world. Working with national human rights organizations and individual activists, Equality Now documents violence and discrimination against women and mobilizes international action to support their efforts to stop these human rights abuses."