Here's a Democracy Fest update for ya...

[PDittie]

The seminars are terrific and the people are all beautiful and the food and drink is muy delicioso and it's as hot as a fox in a forest fire in Austin today.

So far I've seen Darth Velma (she's working the sign-in table so she can flirt with everyone) and Blue Collar and Aquarius and NoPasaran (also volunteering but not flirting with anyone as far as I can tell) and johncoby; have NOT seen CitySky and ginbarn and derby and others who may be here but are hiding from me.

The Blogger's Caucus yesterday was incredible. Mark Strama described how he won HD 50 despite being outspent by $250,000 in the final days of the campaign (sorry, no hints for the Freepers lurking). Charlie of Pink Dome let us in on a couple of QTs about the special session and the TRMPAC indictments coming down next Tuesday. And the Austin Kossacks were out in full force.

The campaigns were well-represented; Seth Davidson of Barbara Radnofsky's and Tim McCann of Chris Bell's and Dave Collins of David Van Os' and at least a dozen others. And I met a number of Blogonians: Umpire Garemko of ComeandTakeIt.com among many others.

People came up to me at Threadgill's last night, saw my media badge and said "Really enjoy your blog."

This being the media is the shiznit, I gotta tell ya.

[GOPisEvil]

1. I'll see you tonight at Stubb's!

:hi:

I had fun with Crispini and dgwolverine last night. Bouncy Ball is staying at the Hotel GOPisEvil, too.

[PDittie]

2. Add to the list

CitySky and sonias (how could I have forgotten her?) No ginbarn and derby sightings, but crispi says they're here. And we saw again the one-post wonder, Not My Real Name.

Who'd I leave out?

[acmejack]

5. I made it and saw BB at the check in table

Too much beer at Stubb's I'm afraid! Other than this hangover, the fest is terrific! Really educational, plus the schmoozing is terrific!

[WolverineDG]

7. ME!!!

Oh sure, PDittie, leave out the person who actually scored the table for us DUer's at Stubbs!!! ;)

We even chased away a couple of republicans who were dumb enough to BUY TICKETS to the Stubb's event. :dunce: Too bad they didn't stick around for Howard Dean.....I soooo wanted to yell down the stairs "REPUBLICANS IN THE HOLE!!!" But then, I'm evil. :evilgrin:

dg

[PDittie]

8. Bowing and scraping to the Wolverine

for my Alzeimer's-like omission.

Please post an update on your kitty when you can.

[derby378]

9. Hey hey hey!

Glad I was able to see you guys, even if it was just for a couple of minutes. Tried to bring ginbarn up to see y'all, but we only found Bouncy Ball and GOPisEvil.

Stubb's was way too cool. See my pics in the DU Lounge!

[Melissa G]

3. If Folks are doing things tomorrow night please post here!

Thanks,
Melissa

[sonias]

4. Let me add a plug for Tara

Go read the post at the Blog for America complete with pictures.
http://blogforamerica.com/

DemFest is freaking great. A little too hot outside but worth the sweat.


And let's add Asling's Daughter to the DUers in attendance.

And I love your blog too PDittie!

Sonia

[ashling]

6. Sorry Ashling's daughter's mom and dad

couldn't make it. Sound's great.

[CitySky]

10. One More DemFest Report

First off, note that A Grand Ole Time Was Had By All!

In addition to the pleasure of one another's warm, witty, and progressive company, we enjoyed a lot of information and inspiration to fuel our continued efforts. Highlights for me:

1. SESSION ON FRAMING

The founder of this site: http://jeffrey-feldman.typepad.com/frameshop/ spoke about the importance of knowing our VALUES and being able to talk about them succinctly, as opposed to burying people in an avalance of facts. Powerful Democratic values that emerged in the discussion included FAIRNESS and OPPORTUNITY, and most of all WORKING TOGETHER. A big theme of the conference is that the country is stronger when we are working as "WE" instead of all about "me me me me." Talk about it. It works.

2. SESSION ON RELIGION AND POLITICS

I have a lot to say about this one... so much that I'll do it later, in another post.

3. SESSION ON "THE DELAY FACTOR"

Other folks have written about it, but this panel including heroes Chris Bell and Richard Morrison was just about the most informative bit of realism ever. The Bugman is bleeding, and we can take him down in 2006. The time has come. God bless Chris and Richard for punching the holes in his corporate-money-padded armor.

4. "TAKE IT BACK," THE FILM

THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE. The film chronicles Howard Dean's presidential campaign from the perspective of the dedicated volunteers who drove or bused from state to state and knocked on doors in the snow wrangling votes for Dean in the primaries. The film's heroes include guys like Ron, who is shown pushing a voter's car out of the snow in an effort to win her vote for Dean, and William, who felt compelled enough to get involved that he put down his violin, picked up a clipboard, and got into politics for the first time in his life at the age of 81. Ron and William were both at DemFest, and were available for a moving Q&A after the film. This is how we're going to win elections folks: voter by voter, door by door. Watch the film and get everyone who might care even just a little to do the same. Buy the DVD for $20 here: http://takeitbackfilm.com/ or else come to Houston and watch it at my house. :)

5. VISITING THE GUV

What would a weekend with fellow Democrats be without a protest? Someone asked us to visit the governor's mansion to share our views on his signing a version of House Bill 1609 that eliminated that pesky public hearing requirement for people who want to build dumps for hazardous (and other) waste. Here we are: http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=139724

Our views, as expressed very loudly by the human megaphone (yours truly) and friends, included the following:

"DUMP PERRY, NOT WASTE"
"HEY-HEY, HO-HO, THE PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW"
"HEY HEY RICK, YOU'RE MAKING US SICK"
and our own tribute to Doctor Seuss:
"We can dump waste FAR/We can dump waste NEAR/Since you like it so much/Can we dump it RIGHT HERE?"

Most of the signs had been thougtfully, environmentally fashioned out of discarded pizza boxes from the luncheon, and included such sentiments as, "No Polluter Left Behind."

The 3 main local TV stations were all there, so that's success. You know how it is with protests: if the cameras aren't rolling, did it really happen?

6. THE RALLY @ STUBB'S

One wee little comment about Saturday night. Can we just mention that guitar player????? Yowza! I was dancing next to another California gal; we could not comprehend how the folks around us could possibly listen while standing still.

And of course Governor Dean rocked the house too. I loved waving the "Dean Speaks For Me" signs. Keep talking, Doctor Dean - we've got your back.

[PDittie]

12. I've got mine up now

my post, that is, on the "Religion" seminar, at Brains and Eggs as well as Houston Dems.

(I should have thought about that subject line a bit more before I wrote it...)

[NoPasaran]

11. I am glad everyone seems to have enjoyed it

Sorry I didn't get to spend more time with my fellow DUers. The panels and training that I did get to attend were excellent. Now let's take what we've learned and the contacts we've made and take back our state!

[crispini]

13. Here's a good Kos blog on it:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/21/1129/97219

[derby378]

14. I admit it - I'm the goober

Read the section on "Religion, Democracy, and the Common Good" and you'll understand.

I think Stink Tank over-simplified my question - though I admit to being long-winded at times. But the point I was trying to make is that many on the extreme religious right use hatred against the religious left to good advantage, while the religious left seems oblivious to the gathering storm they may soon face here in America.

A few folks came up to me afterwards with their own comments and answers, and I appreciate them all. One guy even told me, "That was a very uncomfortable question you asked, but someone had to ask it, and I'm glad you did."

[crispini]

15. LOL!

Well, I wasn't there, but it sounds like an interesting question to me. To speak to the blogger's general point, though, I have to admit that I find it simply infuriating when people grab the mike at the end of a Q&A session and start pontificating -- a lot of times, about something which is not related to the session. Especially when they are preaching to the choir. Very common at these events, and very annoying.

[CitySky]

16. ooh! ooh!

Forgot to mention I saw a fabulous woman wearing the pink "FUGWB" tshirt. Didn't get a chance to introduce myself b/c by the time I got to you, you were gone! But I am ASSUMING that was someone here, and I hereby acknowledge your public fabulousness.

[ChickMagic]

17. How very faboo of you!

Yes, twas me. There were a LOT of people that didn't get it, so I proudly told them what it stood for.

I saw a lot of DUers, but missed more than I saw. I'm a proven incompetent when it comes to finding DU tables!

[yellowdogintexas]

18. I liked the black "Jesus would slap the shit out of you" T shirt on

the sweet lady from Arkansas.

[ChickMagic]

21. I have that one too

I'm almost as obscene as Rick Perry!

[Carmerian]

19. I had a great time

Despite the temperature, not getting to go to all of it, and not feeling well for most of what I did go to, I still had a great time at DemFest. I got to meet VelmaD, NoParasan, and Crispini (I think I've run into VelmaD and NoParasan at Meetup before, but I didn't know it was them). Without knowing it, I probably ran into everyone else who frequents here and was there.

The were certainly two highlights. One was the comedy hour under the tent with Molly Ivins, Jim Hightower, and Glen Maxey. The other was the rally/concert at Stubbs. Those two events themselves were worth the price of admission.

I am seriously impressed with the folks who organized DemFest. The conventions I've attended before all cost far more and were put on by people who run conventions for a living. This may have been put on by amateurs, but you'd think they were pros by the numerous positive comments I heard from other attendees. I'm still trying to wrap my head around what logistics had to be necessary to pull it off.

Some miscellany :

• I'm glad someone else noticed Doyle Bramhall's guitarist. He's one of the best I've heard. I'm trying to figure out why I've not heard of this guy before, even though I live here in Austin. I still don't know his name, either. Seriously, I think he's at least as good as Jimmie Lee Vaughan. Given his youthful looks, he may end up as good as Jimmie Lee's brother, that other Vaughan guitarist. Austin : still home of the guitar hero!
  
  
• I feel really bad about bailing on Joe Ely, as next month it'll be 20 years since I first saw him play. I was so worn out that after Mr. Dean finished, I left. I gather from what Fran said at the bloggers' breakfast the next morning, a lot of people left after Mr. Dean did. Maybe they were also tired, or just weren't music fans.
  
  
• As is typical at conventions, there was lots of "what's your name badge say" rubber-necking.
  
  
• I own a Sony Cybershot V1 digital camera. The first time I saw someone else with one at DemFest, I smiled. Then...I started seeing them EVERYWHERE. What the heck? Was someone handing them out at the check-in tables?
  
  
• Barbara Ann Radnofsky reminds me of someone - Madeleine Albright, maybe?
  
  
• Why the heck is a cancer survivor like Molly Ivins still smoking? Egads.
  
  
• Saturday was the 33rd anniversary of the Watergate breakin, and no one mentioned it.
  
  
• Nice view of South Austin from the tent! I didn't know beforehand that the college is on a hill.
  
  
• I still wonder why Ann Richards couldn't make it. I can only imagine her and Molly Ivins going at it.
  

[muse]

20. why Richards was a no show

Ann Richards was at a DNC fundraiser for a very short time at Cedar Street Courtyard before the Stubbs thing. When she arrived, Dean went right over to her and thanked her for coming since he knew she had just arrived back from Italy that day. As I said, she didn't stay long.

[CitySky]

22. found that smokin' guitarist:

Mike Keller.

http://www.audioe.com/circus/photos/austin2003/doylebramhall/

For those of you in Austin, he appears to be playing this Sunday at Momo's: http://www.momosclub.com/calendar.asp

This is the guy though he looks older in the photos above than he did in person: built like a skinny 18-year-old, with the gnarly sinewy right arm and strumming hand of a 81-year-old woodcutter.

And as to the sound, I repeat, YOWZA!!!