DENVER - EVENING ONE

All's quiet on the western front, til tomorrow, when delegates slowly start trickling in. Everyone with a badge, and almost everyone has a badge of some sort, is walking around purposefully, making you wonder what you're missing. No major, or minor, celeb spottings as yet or else I just haven't recognized them.

Lonnee, my roommate and fellow blogger - barackoblogger.com - and I went to check out the blogging 'tent', sponsored by Daily Kos along with a variety of corporate sponsors. Hey, what are corporations for except to vilify and then take their corporate bucks?

The place was in somewhat of a shambles as they were only 3/4 of the way through getting everything up and running, and will probably work thru the night, but it looks like it's going to be the place 'to be' if you want to rub elbows with the virtual world, and even some real live pundits. MSNBC is just down the block and has invited everyone to watch their live telecasts. It's hard to watch Chris Matthews on the little screen, nevermind a giant, outdoor tv with Matthews head 10 stories tall. Some people, however, can't wait to see the oh, so smart, Rachel Maddow up there.

I must say, Denver has gone all out to make things convenient and easy. There are volunteers on practically every corner, ready in their bright yellow shirts, to give you directions, advice, but no money. The rapid transit system is one we, in L.A., can only conjure in a wet dream...trains zipping every which way, on schedule and often, clean and cool, and some even for FREE. Imagine. Actually, I can't...it'll never happen in L.A.

Ok, then, time for some rest, and get ready for the hoards to descend mañana. Should be fab!

DENVER - DAY ONE

I'm here in Denver, and from the moment I got off the plane, you knew you were at the Dem convention. Obama and/or Dem logos are plastered on everybody and everything...t-shirts, signage welcoming delegates and conventioneers, the welcome committee and helpful volunteers wearing convention ID's, everybody all set for the big deal. Airport security is tight with killer dogs, and cops, ready for anything. I doubt if there is Republican left in this city. If they had to stay, they're probably covered in hives.

Haven't hit downtown yet, but will keep you posted on important stuff like celeb and politico sightings, and general goings-on. I feel like we're starting out on our best behavior, smiling, and thumbs-upping perfect strangers cause now we're all on the same page...or most of us, anyway. The Hillbrats are probably walking around with intense, glum sourpusses etched on their battle-weary faces, itching for a fight, ready to explode in a hissy-fit majoris. They'll be easily identified as the only people not wearing Obama gear.

Ok, I've gotta go...leaving for downtown to check things out...see ya later then!

Please sign: Petition to Hillary Clinton to...

...unequivocally support Senator Obama at the convention in Denver. Let's give Hillary a chance to reclaim the high road by requesting that she pull her demonstrators off the street, and strongly support Obama and his candidacy in her convention speech. The window of opportunity is small, and it is critical that the world see a cohesive Democratic Party coming out of this convention. There is strength in numbers, and our unified support will ensure a Democratic victory in November.

As the powers that be have agreed to let Hillary's name be put into nomination, let's call for Hillary to turn over her delegates immediately after the roll call. Hillary, hear our plea!

Please sign the petition. It will be delivered to her next Sunday:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/please-Hillary-do-the-right-thing


Thank you for your efforts and support.

NEW YORKER COVER, BILL BENNETT AND ME

I was going to get right to this, and blog my head off about the New Yorker cover, but I'm getting ready to go to China for 3 weeks and am going nuts getting ready. I always get pretty anxious before going on a big trip, because, like everyone else, I'm worried that I'll forget something important like my toner, or favorite something. Everything I'd ever need is made in China, so what am I worried about?

But I've been pretty upset by that cover, and immediately canceled my subscription. My excuse was that the magazine has gotten pretty tabloidy, anyway, these days what with all of their boring celebrity profiles. I mean they try and make these incredibly ordinary people, so hip, so cool and after you're finished reading about them, you don't want a smoke, you just kind of scratch your head, and wonder why you just spent 20 minutes of your precious fleeting time reading crap because it's in the New Yorker. While I had an inkling, I never knew George Clooney was so dull.

Anyhow, I got the magazine today and took it with me to the sushi bar - I always have a sushi meal before I leave town just in case it's the last meal I'll ever have - and read this totally fun article about shopping in Shanghai by Patricia Marx that made me remember why I've gotten the New Yorker for oh, so many years. It was so en point, and so well written, and she made Shanghai sound so fun and funny...I can't wait!

Oh, I'm going to China for about 3 weeks and I'll try and blog a bit but I'm actually very happy to be away from the computer. FYI: I'm going to see the solar eclipse in the Gobi desert on the 31st, and touring around before then. If you ever get a chance to see a solar eclipse, and as beautiful as lunar eclipses are, do try and get to a solar eclipse once in your life...it's cosmic.

So, last night I saw Bill Bennett and James Carville duke it out on some talking puke-head show about the now pukey-infamous New Yorker cover, and I found myself agreeing with Bill Bennett for the first time in my entire life. And he didn’t look half bad compared to the live-action, cartoon that is James Carville. Man, can that guy get any weirder looking? Hey, he got his panties in a twist because he thought people were somehow picking on Hillary, because she’s a girl, about her looks, so I feel it’s AOK to pick on him. As I was saying, this guy is some cartoonist’s idea of a camel fart. Besides, can you understand what he’s saying? I caught just enough to hear that he was endorsing free speech and pontificated – no, that’s not the right word for him, more like ‘spewed’ - that satire was ok because it was political and it went back to the stone age or some such incomprehensible bullshit…what the hell, I didn’t get past that. Who knows what he the hell he was saying, and who cares.

My take on this is that he hates Obama, and anything that will take him down is good. Watch him seething with disgust, practically drooling venom as he garbles something just intelligible enough to hear that he’s 'down' with the cover. He thinks he's so sneaky the way he undermines Obama and tries to trash the Conqueror who dethroned Mr. Carville’s Queen. Everyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of Republicans, but what in the WORLD does Mary Matalin see in that guy? I defy anyone to say he’s crazy sexy.

Anyone, I’m off topic here…so, I was saying that I agreed with Bill Bennett, which is setting off alarm bells as we speak. He absolutely seemed so reasonable about this. Does this make people who were outraged by the cover, uh, conservative? I’m not going there except to say, at times, there are idealogic convergences that are best left unexplained.

My bet is that there will be t-shirts aplenty with that cartoon image, and guess who'll be wearing them. Thanks, David Remnick, super sophisticated sophisticate who made a big mistake and can't admit it. Here is a real instance where an elitist just doesn't get it.

"It's the Supremes, Stupid"

TO: All people of all political persuasions, particularly those who, at this moment in time, feel wobbly about voting for Obama.

John McCain about Justice Alito: "I supported him, I thought he was a magnificent choice, I spoke on his behalf from the floor of the Senate...I've said several times that I'd like to find clones for Justices Roberts and Alito."

"Every town hall meeting, I've said, we're going to have justices like Roberts and Alito."
- John McCain

"Let me just look you in the eye," McCain told me. I've said a thousand times on this campaign trail, I've said as often as I can, that I want to find clones of Alito and Roberts. I worked as hard as anybody to get them confirmed. I look you in the eye and tell you I've said a thousand times that I wanted Alito and Roberts. I have told anybody who will listen. I flat-out tell you I will have people as close to Roberts and Alito [as possible], and I am proud of my record of working to get them confirmed, and people who worked to get them confirmed will tell you how hard I worked."
- John McCain

Source for above quotes:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-03-13-judges_N.htm#appointments

McCain and the Supreme Court
by STEVEN G. CALABRESI and JOHN O. MCGINNIS
Wall St. Journal; February 4, 2008; Page A14

"The judiciary is different. On Jan. 20, 2009, six of the nine Supreme Court justices will be over 70. Most of them could be replaced by the next president, particularly if he or she is re-elected. Given the prospect of accelerating gains in modern medical technology, some of the new justices may serve for over half a century."

A look at judicial appointments by the numbers:

President (term)	Ronald Reagan (1981-89)	George H.W. Bush (1989-93)	Bill Clinton (1993-2001)	George W. Bush (2001-present)
Supreme Court	4	2	2	2
Appeals courts	83	42	66	57
Trial courts	290	148	305	237

Bush has made key appointments to:

• the U.S. Supreme Court: John Roberts, 53, and Samuel Alito, 57, are the nine justices and the youngest of the consistently conservative, and were in the Reagan administration.

• the prominent U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, regarded as a steppingstone to the Supreme Court: Janice Rogers Brown, 58; Brett Kavanaugh, 43; Thomas Griffith, 53; and, before he was elevated, Roberts. Perhaps the most controversial was Brown, who as a judge on the California Supreme Court earned a reputation as a bold advocate of property rights and an opponent of affirmative action.

OK. Enough Already. FISA Go Away.

I'm so over it. FISA. I have spent waaaay too much time sending out tortured emails, reading interesting blogs and idiotic blogs, reading their comments, wailing about character and courage, listening to Russ Feingold, sending Russ Feingold money, defending my position, and I'VE HAD IT. The only good thing to come out it is that my son has been regularly emailing me. Man, I'm exhausted.

People are spinning this to death, trying to make sense out of Obama's reversal and his vote; projecting on to him a 'higher purpose' to make such a bitter pill digestible. Listen, why not not spin it, accept that he made a gigantic mistake, twice. To me there is no possible excuse for what he did. Period.

That said, here's where I stand: I am moving on. Getting ready for the next fish fry. And, still working my heart out to get Obama elected. I have written about my 'marriage' to Obama, and I will put this down as having our first huge fight, doors slammed, I hid his flag pin, and I stalked out. Now I'm back.

Did Obama just 'Swiftboat' himself?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/washington/10fisa.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

"The issue put Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the presumptive Democratic nominee, in a particularly precarious spot. After long opposing the idea of immunity for the phone companies in the wiretapping operation, he voted for the plan on Wednesday. His reversal last month angered many of his most ardent supporters, who organized an unsuccessful drive to get him to reverse his position once again. And it came to symbolize what civil liberties advocates saw as “capitulation” by Democratic leaders to political pressure from the White House in an election year.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who was Mr. Obama’s rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, voted against the bill."

This will prove to be the worst possible decision for Obama. In my opinion, and I HOPE I'M WRONG, he has just Swiftboated himself. He had a chance to reverse his mistake, and now with Hillary voting against it, her supporters will hammer open the crack in Obama's support, and push, even harder, for her name to be brought up for a vote at the convention. They are probably on the phones at this very minute.

This is so sad. I can hear a chorus of Democrats saying that's how we sabotaged Gore and Kerry. I respectfully disagree. Gore and Kerry were terrible candidates to begin with, and they were weak when it came to rebuffing GOP attacks, vote counts, etc. Obama is/was an incredible candidate, who made an near impossible run for Democratic candidate for President a success, because he represented real change, and what we thought was, finally, a breath of fresh air in our political hot air landscape. Wow. I'm bummed. Again, I hope I'm so wrong, but I hear a distant rumbling of the foundation of his support. I will vote Democrat in November, but I'm taking a vacation for now.

And, Pelosi and Reid, and the rest of that sorry gang have lost the confidence of the majority of the electorate long before this, but this is the last straw. I hope they're proud of their pathetic performance. Time to kick the bums out...all of them.