Saintless

I just got this email from Pete Ashdown:

I will be joining Congressman Chris Cannon to discuss his proposal for
nationwide free wireless Internet tonight at 8:00 PM on KSL Nightside.
KSL is broadcast in Utah on 102.7FM and 1160AM.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3118044

Tags: Pete Ashdown, technology

First up is a CD case I recently bought:

Geez, how is it I’m supposed to carry this CD case around again?

Next is the Dyson vacuum head.

Look close, and tell me exactly how these instructions are supposed to translate? I won’t even start with the amazingly difficult instructions, where we’re told not to vacuum up objects while they’re on fire…

If the Super Delegates don’t follow the advice from Howard Dean mentioned in my previous post, we still have the opportunity to wrap up the Democratic Presidential Primary next Tuesday, in Pennsylvania.

You can help by making phone calls to Pennsylvania undecided voters. The first opportunity is to join Utah for Obama on Saturday to Phone Bank for Obama.

*Bring your own CELL PHONE*

Please join Utah for Obama for a Get Out The Vote phone banking session! We will be calling Pennsylvania. Change can’t happen without you!

The Obama campaign has asked us to make these calls, in an effort to get them out to vote! Please join us on Saturday, April 19 at The Pleasure Palace, to make phone calls from lists provided by the campaign. You do need to provide your own cell phone. We will not be able to provide any phones.

If you live too far away to attend, and would like help hosting your own phone banking party, please contact us.

Time:	Saturday, April 19 at 1:00 PM
Duration:	3 hours
Host:	Misty Fowler
Contact Phone:	801-386-7729
Location:	The Pleasure Palace (Salt Lake City, UT) 780 East South Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84102 View Map: Google Maps MapQuest Yahoo! Maps

You can also make calls from your home (which isn’t quite as much fun as joining the group on Saturday, but will still be enjoyable and helpful to the campaign!)

There are only five days left to go before the state’s April 22nd primary, but there are still countless undecided Pennsylvania voters.

Like you, many of these voters are tired of the distractions and negative campaign tactics that we’ve seen over the last few weeks, and are eager to discuss real issues that effect Pennsylvanians and Americans across the country.

This morning, we launched a new calling campaign targeting these undecided voters. In conjunction with our Get Out the Vote operation on the ground, we’re making an effort to reach out to undecided voters throughout Pennsylvania and raise the level of debate.

With one on one contact, we can cut through the spin and the distractions to talk about real issues and real change. No matter where you are, you can help by making calls to Pennsylvania to share your story and to talk about why you support Barack.

It only takes a minute to get started making calls using our online phonebanking tools. There are five days left to make a difference in Pennsylvania – five days to let Pennsylvania voters know that their voices are being heard, and that their vote can make a difference.

I’m proud of our future president, Barack Obama.

In this surprise appearance on The Colbert Report, Senator Obama asks Colbert to officially put Manufactured Political Distractions “on notice”. We’re not putting up with them anymore! Do you hear that, ABC? We want more substance, and your pathetic attempt at a debate isn’t going to be tolerated anymore.

Oh, and Hillary? Buh-bye. It’s been fun while it lasted, and you almost had us worried a few times, but that just made us work harder for what we know is right, and for what we want as the future of America, the future that our children will live with. You didn’t make the cut, and this continued attempt to subvert Obama in the general election is simply ruining your own chances for “next time”. If you won’t step down, I agree with Howard Dean – it’s time for the Super Delegates to stand up.

Tags: Hillary Clinton

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AqmLH9z9Qw&hl=en]

I can’t help but be impressed every time I’ve heard Michelle Obama speak. I love seeing this side of her. It will a great thing when she becomes our next First Lady. Class, style, honesty and concern for everyday people. I love it!

Tags: Michelle Obama, Stephen Colbert

Jimmy Carter may be meeting with leaders of Hamas.

Carter is on the third day of a nine-day “study mission” to the Middle East, as part of his “ongoing effort to support peace, democracy, and human rights in the region,” according to the Carter Center Web site. 

During a visit to the West Bank on Tuesday, Carter placed a wreath at the Ramallah grave of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. He also said he hoped to meet with exiled Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal when he visits Damascus, Syria, in the coming days.

“I’m going to try everything I can to get him (Meshaal) to agree to peaceful resolution of differences both with the Israelis through Gaza and also with Fatah,” Carter said.

The ever wise Condi Rice says that’s a bad idea.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she found it “hard to understand what is going to be gained by having discussions with Hamas about peace when Hamas is in fact the impediment to peace.” 

Seriously? She can’t understand what can be gained? Let me put this in simple terms, Condi.

I have two sons. They’re always fighting, and for the life of me, I can’t understand why they can’t just get along. So, when they’re in the middle of a fight, and I can clearly see which of them is being a stubborn little twit, I generally talk to that child, and try to get the issues resolved, so he’ll stop harassing his brother. Now, I don’t always play peacekeeper with them. But, sometimes it’s necessary. And if I were to talk to the child who was not being stubborn, while ignoring the stubborn child, all hell would break loose, and the stubborn child would definitely not stop.

If Condi Rice seriously can’t see what might be gained from talks with Hamas, she should consider stepping down and allowing someone with a true interest in the peace process to step up. I’m tired of the US being the world bully, and that’s what it’s come down to.

Tags: Condoleeza Rice, Hamas, Jimmy Carter, peace

I’m proud to admit that I’ve joined Wing Coop’s Hall of Shame. Recently recommended by City Weekly, my sister and I set out to prove that we are “not chicken”.

We went to the Olympus Hills location Saturday afternoon, along with Jacob, and ordered the “11 in 11″, which consists of 11 damn hot wings. You can drink all you want prior to beginning the wings, but once you start, there is no food or drink or even ranch dip to cool your burning mouth until you’re done! If you finish within 11 minutes, you get a free t-shirt and your (red-faced) photo up on their “Wall of Shame”. I’ve always liked hot food, and I have to say that their sauce is great! It’s extremely hot, but it’s got a lot of flavor, too. Apparently, there are 11 spices in the sauce, which is where the name comes from.

If you ever decide to try your tastebuds at it, have a jug of milk ready for when you finish. And prepare to let your sinuses run! And note that when they say that it helps to be crazy, they aren’t kidding.

Apparently, they had a lot of response to being in City Weekly, so the t-shirt is on backorder, but when I get it, I’ll be sure to post a photo of me proudly displaying my free advertising souvenir.

I definitely plan to go back for more, but next time, I’ll be enjoying them with a side of ranch and a beer at a much more leisurely pace. If hot isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other options, including the mild teriyaki flavor, to enjoy.

Barack Obama spoke to Advocate Magazine recently, and made a point that I feel compelled to share. When being questioned about why he hadn’t spoken to more GLBT press, as Hillary apparently has, he gave the subject a broader context:

I guess my point would be that the fact that I’m raising issues accordant to the LGBT community in a general audience rather than just treating you like a special interest that is sort of off in its own little box – that, I think, is more indicative of my commitment. Because ultimately what that shows is that I’m not afraid to advocate on your behalf outside of church, so to speak. It’s easy to preach to the choir; what I think is harder is to speak to a broader audience about why these issues are important to all Americans.

If you read the context in the article, you’ll see that what he’s saying is that GLBT issues, or African American, or any other special interest communities like them, are every day issues, that shape his entire outlook, and don’t concern him only when he’s speaking to interested press. He doesn’t have to pander to them as an audience, because these issues affect everyone in one way or another, and he brings them up often.

I very much appreciated his candor and honesty when being asked the “tough” questions on topics such as gay marriage and employment discrimination. His goal is to pass these laws as they should be, but that in each of them, he will take the issues as far as he can and still have them pass, even if they’re not yet perfect. He isn’t coloring his words to make them believe what they want to hear, and he’s presenting his reasoning in a well-thought manner.

Later in the article he talks about how to have the difficult discussions:

I tell you what — my campaign is premised on trying to reach as many constituencies as possible and to go into as many places as possible, and sometimes that creates discomfort or turbulence. This goes back to your first question. If you’re segmenting your base into neat categories and constituency groups and you never try to bring them together and you just speak to them individually — so I keep the African-Americans neatly over here and the church folks neatly over there and the LGBT community neatly over there — then these kinds of issues don’t arise.

The flip side of it is, you never create the opportunity for people to have a conversation and to lift some of these issues up and to talk about them and to struggle with them, and our campaign is built around the idea that we should all be talking. And that creates some discomfort because people discover, gosh, within the Democratic Party or within Barack Obama’s campaign or within whatever sets of constituencies there are going to be some different points of view that might even be offensive to some folks. That’s not unique to this issue.

And this is how he always is when talking about the difficult issues. Barack Obama will be a wonderful change from the lying bastard election stealing bigoted racist asshole currently occupying the White House.

Tags: GLBT

According to Dan Harrie, Utah Delegates to the DNC this August will be staying at the Warwick Hotel, which is right behind the State Capitol and a mile away from the convention. As long as that mile is mostly horizontal, rather than vertical, I’d say we got it pretty good.

It looks like the rooms start at around $190, although since the booking feature has the DNC dates blocked out, who knows whether that price will go up or down? The web site describes the smallest room as 500 sq ft, though – with a mini bar and a marble bathroom. If I go, I’ll likely split the costs with someone else, though. So, that really won’t be too bad.

Last year, when I began volunteering for the Obama campaign, I thought about how great it would be to be a delegate, but “knew” there was no way it would happen. Of course, it might not, but the fact that I am even running for it, and feel good about my chances, is one of the most amazing things that has ever happened to me (not counting my children). The whole process of running and being so involved with the Democratic Party at all levels is absolutely thrilling, even when whatever I’m doing is mundane. This process isn’t the “smoke filled rooms” that I used to believe it was.

Tags: delegate, DNC

I didn’t realize it’s been weeks since I posted anything. I hope everyone doesn’t give up on me.

I’m in the middle of moving. Well, I’m not quite to the middle, actually. I’m at the part where I’m staying with my sister, and looking for a new place. So, if anyone knows of a 3 or more bedroom home that will allow my 2 cats in, and is near SLC downtown, or possibly Sugar House, please let me know. I’d also like to be able to have a large, well-trained dog, but that part is negotiable.

I’ll be back to blogging, soon! I can’t wait to write about the two candidates for the Legislative seat in District 28. Having met with both of them, I’ll just say it’s great to have two great candidates on our side, going for Roz’s old seat. And I’m running for National Delegate. So, there’s just no way I can go without posting for much longer.

See ya soon!

Tags: Uncategorized