It’s about people.

When you look at the scene that I’m sitting in the middle of (and I know, its never the same from the outside as the inside – it cant possibly be) there are a lot of reactions you could have. But the first test in determining how you will react comes down to a simple question:

Do you like people?

There are facts that simply cannot be disputed. One fact is that Barack Obama is having a tremendous effect on people. On many many millions of people. There are few people this side of the Pope who could fill a stadium like this, and that means something.

Now people take on a collective identity when they get together on such a large scale, and unquestionably that can be a scary thing when what draws them together is destructive. But this astonishing collection of people from a wide swath of backgrounds (there are a lot of local people filling up these seats, obviously from many, many social, economic and cultural backgrounds) are coalescing around this guy not out of anger, or out of blaming somebody else for their problems, or out of any desire for revenge or desire for empire building or anything of the like. These people are happy. They’re smiling, not sneering.

Right or wrong on individual policies (and lord knows the stadium runs the gamut on that front), these people are here for all the right reasons, and that matters. These are people being people in an undeniably positive sense of the word – because they all want to make the world a better place, not just for themselves, but for everybody, and it is Barack Obama, whatever his flaws, that is inspiring so many, many people in such a positive way.

If somebody can’t grant that simple credit to a man who is the clearly most historically significant African American leader in decades, I’ve got to wonder if you just don’t like people.

(NOTE: I can’t sustain a connection long enough to upload big files like pictures, but I’ve got some good stuff that will go up later – including a Stevie Wonder and dancing legislators vid)

One of the things I wanted to do when I came out here was to talk to a delegate or a blogger from some state that is completely different from Vermont. Well, how's Alabama? Larisa Thomason of Left in Alabama shared me her thoughts on blogging, as well as what it's like to be a lefty in Alabama. Enjoy.  

I ran into Ralph Nader, who stopped by the Democratic National Convention in Denver on Wednesday and shared some strongly worded criticism of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders over Single-Payer Healthcare. About ten minutes later, I ran into Vermont Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin who shared some equally strong words in Senator Sanders defense.

It’s clearly not a showdown I would’ve expected to capture…

One of Vermont’s “local” papers has a piece in it this morning which I noticed was an AP piece seconds into reading it (I hadn’t looked at the byline yet).

I’ll give an example.  The piece quotes Biden:

“Barack Obama will bring down health care costs by $2,500 for the typical family, and, at long last, deliver affordable, accessible health care for all Americans.”

It follows that up with the “fact” about the story:

Obama’s health care plan does not provide for universal health care coverage. He promises to make it affordable and would require children to be covered, but not adults. Estimates of how many would remain without insurance vary. Hillary Rodham Clinton said during the primaries that Obama’s plan would leave 15 million people uninsured.

You know what’s interesting about this?

It doesn’t contradict what Biden says.  It presents the “fact” as though it’s contradictory, in a format suggesting there were facts missed, but Biden refers to “affordable” health care, and the AP hack piece responds with a comment about universal health care.

More, after the fold, all of these from the August 28th edition of the Brattleboro Reformer, “FactCheck: The fuller story in Denver by Darlene Superville”

The piece quotes Albright:

Sen. McCain says that American troops should remain in Iraq perhaps as long as they have been stationed in Korea and Japan, as if there were no difference in history, religion or culture between our friends in Asia and those in the Middle East.

It’s response?

Democrats have made much of McCain’s “100 years” comment at a town-hall meeting earlier this year in New Hampshire. It was in response to a questioner who had challenged him about President Bush’s view that U.S. troops could be in Iraq for 50 years.

“Maybe a hundred,” McCain said. “We’ve been in South Korea. We’ve been in Japan for 60 years. We’ve been in South Korea for 50 years or so. That’d be fine with me as long as Americans, as long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed. Then it’s fine with me. I hope it would be fine with you if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world where al-Qaida is training, recruiting and equipping and motivating people every single day.”

McCain also has said he envisions victory in Iraq and the return of most U.S. troops by January 2013 – the end of his first term if elected. He also says withdrawal should be based on security conditions in Iraq, not hard deadlines.

In other words, the piece confirms exactly what Albright says, but frames it so as to present her as incorrect.

Next they target Chet Edwards, who said:

In the last two years, Sen. Obama helped pass the new GI education bill.

The AP’s comment on this?

The GI bill became an issue during the presidential campaign because it illustrated a stark difference between the two candidates. Obama, a member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, supported the bill; McCain, a veteran himself, did not. Each side accused the other of playing politics with the issue.

The bill, part of a larger war funding bill President Bush signed into law, increased education benefits for troops and veterans. McCain, siding with the Pentagon, said he opposed it because the enhanced benefits could encourage people to leave the service early during a war. McCain and Republican colleagues proposed a bill to tie increased benefits to length of service. Obama showed up for the Senate vote; McCain, who has missed more than half the votes in the Senate during the current Congress because he was campaigning, did not.

So… the news here is that what Edwards said was entirely accurate…?  And you’re presenting this in a statement vs. fact format because…?

The piece in question opens with:

Sen. Barack Obama’s formal nomination Wednesday as the Democratic candidate for president brought with it a barrage of renewed attacks on his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain. Some were on point, others missed the mark.

What I’d like to know from the AP is what “mark” those attacks missed.

I mean, seriously, what the hell is this crap?

Per The Rutland Herald:

Final details of a plan to fill a $24 million hole in the state’s General Fund were hammered out by administration officials and lawmakers Wednesday and will rely in part on cuts to the state’s funding of higher education, already the worst in the country by some measures.

and…

…The salaries for a dozen executive branch spokespeople… were left untouched. There were still few specifics given about 13 new layoffs expected among state workers, except that the workers cut would likely be all classified or union positions.

but at least Symington knows enough to make an issue of this:

…Governor Douglas is fighting to keep his million dollar PR operation while sacrificing services vital to Vermonters. The Governor has repeatedly been asked by legislators to reduce spending on public relations and each time he has stubbornly refused.

…He would rather promote himself and his administration than fund the affordable housing, college scholarships, job training and other critical programs Vermonters need.

The Governor’s misplaced priorities are just another reflection of his short-sighted and piecemeal approach to handling our budget problems…. I will follow in the tradition of Governors Snelling and Dean and pull the Lt. Governor and legislative leaders together in a bipartisan effort to develop a long-term fiscal plan. That is the common sense, responsible approach that Vermonters expect their leaders to take, and it builds on my track record as Speaker where I have reached across party lines to get results for Vermonters.”

More like this, Gaye.  Good job with the rapid response.

More pictures from inside and outside the Big Tent. Lots more to come. Believe me!

Well…..here it is folks. Hope you all get a good laugh out of it.

The “good grief” moment: This convention has been managed, coordinated and implemented masterfully for purposes of messaging to the nation. It really has. That’s why the cringe-worthy moment that just passed is so anomalous.

Can somebody tell me why, oh why somebody thought it was a good idea to pipe through the sound system this particular 80’s gem after Bill Clinton himself wrapped one of the best speeches of his life (and that’s saying a lot):

Whoa, you like to think that you’re immune to the stuff, oh yeah

It’s closer to the truth to say you can’t get enough, you know you’re

Gonna have to face it, you’re addicted to love

Arg.

The “holy crap” moment: I think John Kerry may have given a speech as good as Bill Clinton… god, maybe better. I was actually choking up a little. And I really don’t do choke.

(Cross posted at Broadsides.org)

The so-called blogging revolution is dead. Yep, stick a fork in it. And it died in Denver in the lap of the Democratic Party – purring happily and doing nothing at its death but holding a mini-cam in its paws so as to document its last, pathetic moments.

Let’s face it: Blogging is the new opiate of the current activist generations. Instead of hitting the streets, disrupting the conventions, confronting the power elites or penning their own Port Heron statements, the new blogger generation is busy taking photos of those taking photos of them while they all race to the nearest wireless connection to be the first to upload the photos of nothing really in particular. But they were there! And they’ve got the photos to prove it, damn it.

Quick, someone put out the memo: Blogging is NOT activism. Because simply telling someone about something doesn’t mean you did anything about it – no matter how fast your Internet connection or your prowess with YouTube is.

Take, for example, the bloggers and the current Democratic Convention. If only half of those filling the bloggers’ official home in Denver – known as the “Big Tent” – put down their cameras, their Blackberries, their laptops, and their cutesy “look where I am!” commentaries long enough to actually join in the protests and the activism going on under their noses, the Democratic Party might be forced to actually address some important issues. You know, things like the war (remember that?), health care, global warming, the housing crisis, and – oh yeah – jobs.

Instead, the bloggers (for the most part – because there are some exceptions) are ego-bent on making the story in Denver more like a remake of a Chevy Chase vacation flick than a chance to actually provide some insight into the struggles, the challenges, the power, the privilege and the activist possibilities of it all.

While digesting more coverage of the convention than I thought I could stomach, I’ve been particularly struck by the coverage of the protests outside. Specifically, I’ve noticed how few protesters there are compared to how many people are standing around documenting the protests. Sadly, somewhere along the line, documenting attempts at change became “cooler” than actually risking something and participating in change.

The Howard Dean-led Democratic National Committee took it all one-step further, too: They made the blogs fight for the “one pass per state” to come into the convention as “official” participants. And so, like little fish fighting for the hook, they trampled upon each other and lunged for the almighty bite of – say what? – an inside ticket. Ah, bait ’em with “access,” bring ’em in with a ticket and then own ’em. Because, once inside, they know who’s buttering their bread.

The result, of course, has been one gooey-eyed report after another from the “anointed bloggers,” gushing continuously about “the history,” “the enthusiasm,” “the celebrities” (oh-my-God, is that Walter Mondale?) and the absolute “importance” of it all – with photos and video!!!! Mission accomplished, Mr. Dean, the blogger lapdogs have been neutered.

It’s more than sad to think that the more media – mainstream and citizen – that there is at this convention has equated to less meaningful coverage. I mean, how much have you read about the rallies, the protests or the issues? Instead, we know more than we’d ever want to know about the mood, the cheers, the celebrities (is that Susan Sarandon?) and how “exhausting” it all is for the poor, insider bloggers.  

For the most part, blogging has become about witnessing. And the more people are merely witnessing – especially with tickets to the inside – the less people are “doing.” Indeed, “instant” messaging has replaced “effective” messaging.

Ding-dong, the blogging revolution is dead.

I'm down on the floor right now… it is really crazy down here between the media and the crowds, it's quite exciting, actually, a marked contrast to the speech that Harry Reid just gave. ;). They're locking off the floor now, as it's getting quite nuts. Anyways, I just want to throw up a few quick pictures.

 Nancy Pelosi formally nominating Obama –

A bunch of roses on the Secret Service gate:

Melissa Etheridge: