UPDATE! bubbanomics is matching. From now on, FREE BEER. See me here or Marcos in Vegas. Ask him for a drink ticket ;-)
Credit NetRoots Nation for hosting a panel of my heroes. They are:
- Meteor Blades, Grand Poobah of this joint and, IMHO, one of the finest patriots I've ever met;
- Sandy On Signal, the woman who has made I Got The News Today into one of the internet's most highly respected series honoring the lives of soldiers who've died in the wars we hate;
- TexDem, who has spent way too much of his personal time to make sure Net Roots for the Troops functions like clockwork - if your clock is on steroids;
- Nurse Kelly, who writes Nurse Kelley Sez, a series of diaries which no doubt cuts into the profits of a number of shrinks throughout the country.
- and Sara R, whose Community Quilts proves that a stitch in time realy does save nine - or as many people for whom she makes a quilt.
. . . but first a word from our sponsor:
All of these heroes have been involved with NetRoots for the Troops. In what has become an annual event, in a frenzy of activity, NFTT and volunteers attending the convention put together Care Packages filled with stuff requested by the troops. Then, they are sealed, labeled, and sent - all within minutes.
This year there is a problem. We are -$1,946.37- short - NOW LESS THAN $1200 - of our $35,000 goal. So, if you can possibly help with even a $10 donation, do so now. Tomorrow afternoon is when the majic happens.
Netroots Nation Alert: get your butt to Brasilla 3 now!
For those of us not in Vegas, the following Bios are from the NetRoots pages [except Sara's. She's too humble to write one, I guess. So, blame me.]
Community Building Within the NetRoots
At 3:00 in Brasilla 3
The panel:
Tony Gattis
Kossack (TexDem) since 04-05. Started Mojo Friday, 4 May 2007.
Co-Founder Netroots For The Troops(NFTT) with several other Kossacks. Also Executive Director of NFTT.
T. Lee Lange
Timothy Lange has blogged on-line as Meteor Blades since 2003. Born in 1946, he has been politically active since 1964 when he participated in voter registration in Mississippi with the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee in Freedom Summer. He was involved as an organizer in Students for a Democratic Society and, for 16 years, as a member of the American Indian Movement. He was incarcerated at the Industrial School for Boys in Golden, Colorado, for 23 months and spent 13 months at a federal prison camp for refusing the draft.
He has remained active as a foot-soldier in the antiwar and anti-intervention movement ever since. His most serious political campaign work was in third-tier paid positions for Pat Schroeder and Tim Wirth during their first election efforts in 1972 and 1974, respectively. He continues to do precinct work in Los Angeles.
In 1973, together with 14 other women and men, he co-founded and served on the board of the Boulder Valley Clinic, one of nation's first nonprofit abortion providers. He has been a reporter, editor and publisher for both alternative and mainstream publications, including Front Range Publishing, Westword, the Associated Press, Rocky Mountain News, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner and Los Angeles Times.
He is currently Director of Community at Daily Kos.
Sandy Lusk
Sandy Lusk, who writes under the name of "Sandy on Signal", is one of the contributors to " I Got the News Today" or IGTNT, which is a series of tributes to members of our military who were killed while serving in the Afghanistan or Iraq wars. The series appears most nights on Daily Kos. Sandy is a graduate of Texas A & M Univerisity with a major in psychology. She resides on Signal Mountain, Tennessee with her husband, Bill, and their son, Kyle, who has non-verbal autism. She is the founder of AutismChatt, which is an online support group for those dealing with autism in eastern Tennessee. Sandy is a parent advocate with the Chattanooga Autism Center and a volunteer with Orange Grove Center, which is a support facility for handicapped members of our society. Sandy, also, has her own website dealing with southern issues called Southern Liberal Living. It is similar to the popular magazine, but has a left leaning, progressive side to it. She is on the State Executive Committee for the Tennessee Democratic Party. Her husband, Bill, is also active in politics and serves as Mayor of Signal Mountain, TN.
Kelley Sanderson
Kelley Sanderson, RN is known to readers of Daily Kos as Nurse Kelley, a combination scold, therapist, school nurse, advocate for the disabled, occasional humorist, proud pootie person, and cheerleader for the community. She helped found the popular series for the disabled and their loved ones, KosAbility, providing a safe place for discussion of difficult topics. Her most fulfilling work is done offline, networking with Kossacks enduring severe life challenges. Kelley lives on Pikes Peak, a mother, grandmother, fourth generation Texan, and lifelong yellow dog Democrat.
Sara Reed
Sara is an artist with heart. Her Community Quilts have lifted the troubled souls of many Kossacks and are a tangible hug for those too sick to partcipate in Daily Kos.
