In my opinion Christopher Stout is the better candidate in the race for United States Senate and I will be supporting him at the Democratic convention on Saturday for a number of reasons.

First, I have been aware of Sam Granato’s campaign for quite a while but I was not following it closely since I was sitting this year out of politics. My impression was that he is just another sacrificial lamb we Dems are lining up for slaughter. I have put my time in on those campaigns and I do understand the need for them. However, I caught an interview with Granato on KCPW a few months ago and as a Democrat, I was severely disappointed. He seemed to have no central message and I was shocked that he seemed to be bragging about only recently becoming a Democrat and that he donated money to the G.W. Bush campaign. From a strategic point of view that seemed like a pretty dumb thing to be talking about before he has secured the democratic nomination. From the point of view of someone who has spent my entire adult life trying to get good Democratic candidates elected in Utah I was disappointed that we could not find a better, more deserving candidate to run for one of the highest positions in the state and frankly, I think someone needs to put a few more years in to being a Democrat before we make them a leader of our party.

Then a close friend of mine became involved in the Christopher Stout campaign when he first announced his candidacy to underwhelming fanfare. Since I am in middle of a term of service with AmeriCorps I cannot work on a campaign for pay but I can offer advice. I was asked to sit down with Christopher Stout and spend a few hours discussing the details of putting a campaign together. I had no problem with this since I am a firm believer that having multiple candidates competing for the party nomination at convention leads to us having a stronger and better prepared candidate going into the general election. I went into the meeting with Christopher Stout with the intention of discussing the nuts and bolts of setting up a campaign. Things like establishing an advisory committee to establish policy/platform issues, appoint someone to handle financial disclosures, begin forming a staff, set up a calender with all the important dates and filing deadlines, etc. Just the basics.

What I discovered when I met Christopher was a pleasant surprise. He was a rookie candidate with no clue as to how a political campaign is organized but he was prepared on the issues like no other candidate I have ever met. He did not need to go through the usual process of policy/platform prep. He had his five core issues already set. I tried to dissuade him from making the treatment of veterans a core platform issue because it just is not a high priority issue to most Utahns. Christopher would not budge. To me, this demonstrated a candidate who entered this race based on strong personal convictions and he was not going to modify his position to accommodate a campaign strategy. I admired that.Furthermore, his knowledge of the issues extends beyond his core issues. He will discuss, in detail, any issue someone brings up which leads to my next point.

What I like the most about Christopher is that there is substance behind his words. It may be that he has not learned how to talk like a politician yet with platitudes and vague rhetoric without detail. It may be that he is a goal oriented man. On every issue he clearly defines what he sees as the problem, what his position on the issue is AND a step by step solution to the problem. I have never seen a candidate delineate not just what but also why and how while addressing issues and I find it refreshing.

Finally, I have seen both Christopher Stout and Sam Granato speak at a number of events and the differences between them are quite stark. Granato has been campaigning for nearly a year and he does not have a platform beyond vague, feel-good rhetoric. When asked specific questions about issues he falls back on broad generalized statements. For example, he is for health care reform (what does that mean?). In contrast, time and again I have seen Christopher Stout directly answers the question, provide a bit of personal insight into the issue then propose step by step what he will actually do to address the issue. A rare trait in a politician.

In conclusion, I think Christopher Stout is a superior candidate to represent Utah and the Democratic party in the United States Senate. He has demonstrated a firm grasp of the issues and has set forth a plan for how to address those issues. I ask anyone who is interested or plans on attending the convention that before you cast a delegate vote in this race to compare the websites of both Stout and Granato and to listen to both candidates speak at the convention. I believe you will find Chris Stout to be every bit as impressive as I do and you will agree that he is the better candidate.

Christopher Stout and Sam Granato on KVNU

Christopher Stout begins about 9:00, and goes through about 30:00.

Sam Granato starts about 37:30, through about 54:30.

I thought that Christopher did a great job talking about the issues. He’s so well informed and definitely knows what he’s talking about.

Listening to the contrast of these two interviews really reinforces my opinion that Sam really doesn’t have any issues that are important to him, or even really much of any opinion on the issues. He’s just clueless! And he kept saying the same thing over and over.

Also, about 49 minutes in, it sounds like Sam is saying that when he was appointed to the Liquor Commission that he was a Republican. What happened to him being a lifelong Democrat? I wonder when he switched parties? Did he just switch because he wanted to run, or what?

District 25 Debate from B S on Vimeo.

Anthony Kaye, Joel Briscoe, John Netto and Dixon Hindley participated in a debate during the Salt Lake County Democratic Convention. They are running for Utah House District 25, Christine Johnson’s seat. The vote will take place this weekend at the State Democratic Convention. This video really provides some good information about each of the candidates, and I think it’s important that any delegates voting in this race to watch.

Thanks to Bendan Smith for putting this together!

The first thing you need to do is get out your supplies. I use a French Press, but you could also use cheesecloth. You want to be sure to use a glass container, no matter what you do. Coffee is highly acidic, and you don’t want plastic or metals screwing with your flavor.

When you grind your beans, you want a very coarse grind. It’s ok if your ground beans still have chunks of recognizable beans in them. You definitely don’t want a fine grind. Since it will be sitting around, those larger chunks will release their flavor into the water.

Your taste will vary, but I like my coffee very strong. So, adjust your coffee amount based on what works for you. I use about 3/4 of a cup of ground coffee for my French Press.

After putting the ground coffee into the French Press, add cold tap water. You’ll want to stir it about halfway through adding water, as the beans tend to sit on top and hold air. Use a wooden spoon for this. After you get the water added, stir again. The beans will float on top until they’ve absorbed water, and then they’ll drop to the bottom.

Cover the French Press with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge for 12 – 24 hours. You’ll want to use a wooden spoon to stir the coffee 1 or 2 times during refrigeration. If you forget about it, it’s not too big of a deal. But, it helps bring out the most flavor in your coffee.

Yes, the Pink Skull and Crossbones coffee mug makes it taste better.

I often drink this straight, but it can also be mixed with alcohol (spiced rum or espresso flavored coffee go well with it!) or watered down to the right flavor for you. If you like cream in your coffee, I recommend using a high-fat cream – half and half at the very least. Although, I’m generally of the opinion that cream and sugar are for people who don’t like coffee. If you’re one of those people, then cold-brew is especially for you! Please try this without any added ingredients before doctoring it up!

Oh, and if you use it in a recipe (such as Julia Childs’ Perfect Mousse) you’ll also want to go strong. I like this coffee cold, but some mornings really call for a hot cup of java, so I do microwave it sometimes. You’ll notice that the result is a very flavorful coffee, without being bitter, or overly acidic, since there’s no heat involved in the brewing process.

Bon Appétit!

Now, don’t get me wrong – I don’t dislike Sam Granato as a person. I love his Deli downtown, and I think his businesses are a great asset to our community.

I do admit that I held out hope that Pete Ashdown would run for Bennett’s seat. And it’s no secret that I really admire Pete Ashdown both as a person and as a political candidate. And that was definitely a reason to resist Granato. However, I couldn’t imagine even giving Granato my secondary support. He was a candidate I could ignore, but not a candidate I could admire.

I’ve never felt that he had any strong opinions on issues that were important to me. I’ve talked with him several times, and had conversations with Rob Miller about considering an endorsement. But, he just never had anything important to say. He wasn’t passionate about an issue, he didn’t have ideas on how to fix any of the issues that we face. In fact, the only thing I can remember him saying about economic recovery is that because he owns a business, he knows how to create jobs. And that’s just a little too presumptuous to me. There was no true plan telling how to create more jobs, how job creation will fit into the big picture, or even what sort of jobs need to be created.

The powers that be within the Democratic Party seem to have embraced Granato as a candidate from day 1. Granted, I haven’t had any discussions with Wayne Holland about the Senate candidacy, but when last year’s Vice Chair escorts a candidate to all the parties, it’s clear that at least the impression will be that the insiders of the party support him. And once the insiders support a candidate, the rest of us seem to follow along. Except that I don’t think that the delegate are quite the same crowd that they usually are. And the presence at the Salt Lake County Convention of so many Claudia Wright supporters seems to give evidence of that.

I believe that the delegates, are paying attention to the issues, and if you consider Sam Granato on the issues, he really has no stance on anything. And that lack of a position isn’t enough to convince Democratic Delegates who are paying attention, nor is it enough to convince the general Utah population that he’s a worthy candidate.

As delegates, there tend to be two things that we think about. The first, which is the most important to me, is whether the candidate is someone I believe in. Are they someone who represents my values? Are they true Democrats? Are my issues of importance to them? Can they provide leadership and reasoned opinions on issues of importance today?

And with Sam Granato’s history of donations to Orrin Hatch and GW Bush, I don’t feel like he has a history of believing in Democratic values. I don’t feel that my issues (environment, equality, health care) are issues that he really has any passion about. Issues of the day (economics, job recovery, future foreign policy) are not issues that I think that Granato has any particular experience in.

The second thing we think about is whether a candidate can win in the general election. I’ll leave that topic alone for now, and go back to the first.

A friend told me recently that Granato has “put the work in” and deserves the Democratic nomination. I was a bit aghast, because this person’s political opinions are ones I respect very much, and I felt that he was really just falling in line with the political game with this one. What I think it really came down to was that my friend hadn’t had the chance to really evaluate Stout’s opinions, and felt that even though he knew Granato would lose the primary, that at least Granato had shown up.

Now, my initial response was to point out that he couldn’t name one thing that Granato had actually done besides use donations to sponsor certain groups who later endorsed him, and show up to all the fun parties. And while that stuff is important, it really doesn’t mean a damn thing in the long run. When our next Senator begins voting, are we going to say “well, at least he was at the parties”? I know I’m not.

The thing that really sealed Sam Granato’s fate for me was a little more recent, though. Let me begin with this quote from Sam Granato’s campaign site, a portion of his address to Utah County Democrats:

I have friends who are judges, police officers, printers, paramedics, and every other sort of professional. I’m not dropping names here. I just want you to know that my first-name friends come from all walks of life. They are good people. I love ‘em all. But I would never judge them. We are told: “Judge not that ye be judged.” I believe that with all my heart.

And yes, I have friends who are gay. I have friends who have been in trouble with the law. ( I hired a few of those folks, hoping to give them a second chance.) And I have friends who have been through the trauma of abortion – including a close friend whose teenage daughter made that troublesome decision.

I do my best not to judge any of them. They are human beings. They deserve my love and concern – just as you do – just as all my friends do.

Now, this just really gets me angry. I’m a bisexual woman, and I don’t like politicians who compare me to criminals, and then offer human compassion. I typically call those politicians right-wingers. And when it comes from a candidate for a Democratic nomination, I typically call them traitors. I can’t believe that he turns around and sponsors LGBT events, and even gets the Stonewall Board’s endorsement, after spewing that trash.

And maybe most of my readers won’t get why that statement bothers me so badly. I won’t even get into the abortion thing. But, imagine that he’d said “I have friends who are black. I have friends who have been in trouble with the law.” Or maybe substitute “girls”, or “atheists” or “Catholics” or whatever else might be unique about you, but not mainstream in our society. Or, let me put it another way:

Because gays and criminals and people who have abortions are all bad people who he tries not to judge?

So, no – I can’t support Sam Granato. He’s not a candidate I can either understand or promote.

The day that those other things culminated, I still managed to avoid having a cigarette. Like before, I didn’t want one, although by that time it was rare for it to even occur to me that I wasn’t a smoker, or have any sort of thought about a smoke. I do admit to thinking about wanting one that day.

Instead, I called a friend and asked if I could come over for a smoke. It didn’t work out that day, so I waited until the next. And then I had a cigarette. My throat hurt. A lot. In fact, I coughed like an amateur.

I’ve had a few since then. Each of them was when I was drinking, except for one. And that one when I wasn’t having a drink reminded me of why I wanted to quit, and I’ve not had one again since. And I have drank, and been around smokers, since then, without having a smoke.

So, yes, I’m admitting publicly, it hasn’t been 10 weeks since I’ve had a cigarette. But, I do think it’s been 10 weeks since I’ve been a smoker. And I don’t seem myself picking the habit up again, even after the Chantix goes away.

The first time I met Chris Stout in person was at the Drinking Liberally Candidate’s Night a few weeks ago, when all candidates were given a chance to come out and talk to us. It was quite the packed crowd! I had already been considering, if not really leaning toward, supporting Stout. I had heard good things about him, but I took that night to verify, and put him to the test.

Now, let me say this – I’ve been a little behind on all things political, because of family issues. So, while I’d heard of Stout before then, I hadn’t done any research until just before I met him. And I’ve been immediately deleting almost any political email as I received it on my phone, without reading it, because I just was too overwhelmed with so much noise from so many directions, and had no ability to process it all.

Anyway, back to Stout.

So, the first thing I did when meeting Stout was to let him know that I needed some good reasons to volunteer for his campaign, if indeed I was going to do so. I had been asked by a mutual friend to help at convention. So, he sat down and talked to me for quite a while. I asked him some hard questions, like why didn’t he get into the race sooner? Why did he think he was a better candidate than …well… the other candidate? What issues were the most important to him? Why could he win in the general election? Why the hell would he even bother running?

He answered each of the questions I asked to my satisfaction. I can’t answer these for him, but I can tell you that I think Chris is running because he wants to make a difference, and he feels that he has unique skills and understanding that will enable him to do it. And I agree with him.

I helped him out at the Salt Lake County Convention, where I had the chance to listen to him speak to different caucuses. That, along with hearing him talk to people at the booth later, gave me an even better understanding of what motivated him. I liked that he has real plans and knowledge about the issues. I liked that he was passionate and sincere. But, more than anything, I liked that the things he said had substance. In fact, it’s a little difficult to really understand that until you spend 5 minutes talking to him without distractions, and have a chance to get into a real conversation with him.

Luckily for me, on Sunday, I was out with friends, and we ran into him. Chris sat at the table with us, and absolutely blew me away. My friends and I had been discussing politics, and the previous day’s Convention. They both had doubts about Stout, and they weren’t issues that I could really speak for Stout on. I’m not much of an apologist in the first place, at least not unless I can research an issue ahead of time. So, we moved on and were discussing other political topics, when Chris walked up.

So, I brought up one of the issues we had been talking about earlier, which was the idea of bringing manufacturing back to the US. One of my friends was very skeptical, and after the subject was thoroughly debated (and at least 2 of my 3 friends were very informed on the subject!) it turns out that Stout’s ideas aren’t quite as far out there as my friend had thought.

We continued on to discuss Chinese trade relations, and then the effect of the stock market and the recent real estate crash on our economy. Chris’ points with all of these things were very well thought-out, and made sense for long term recovery, and economic stability. I won’t speak for my friends, but they all agreed that their impression of Stout was greatly improved by this conversation, and said that Stout had a very good grasp on both the problem, and the solution. I’ll add that I think Stout will also be able to present ideas that make sense to everyone. Much like my reason for supporting Pete Ashdown in 2006 (because I felt that he had unique expertise in technical matters that the Senate really needed), I really feel like Christopher Stout has unique experience and ideas when it comes to the financial matters that are facing us now. And sound bites just won’t do justice to the information.

I’m not going to give you a list of Stout’s ideas and positions, because I think he’s done a great job of that on his blog and his campaign site, and because I think you should find your own tough question on an issue important to you, and ask him yourself. Especially if you’re a delegate who will be voting on the Senate nomination on May 8.

Now, I think I accomplished my goal of explaining why I think Christopher Stout is great, although I don’t expect to have convinced all of my readers – in fact, my goal with this has not been to sway anyone, other than maybe to get readers to take a look at Stout. Expect more posts soon!

After I talked to Eric about the events, I was a bit concerned, although I have to say I was also surprised. I’ve been familiar with many of the staff of Piper Down for a few years, and I know Dave well enough to know that he would never intentionally let something like this happen. Eric’s second article, along with a conversation he had with Dave Morris that he told me about, both made me feel like this was not a trend, or something likely to happen again at Piper Down.

So, back to my story. I decided that I wanted to watch the Jazz game from somewhere more social than my couch. So, I headed out to my favorite sports grill, SkyBox, at the Gateway. Because I was alone, and the atmosphere just wasn’t quite what I was looking for, I ended up heading to Piper Down at halftime.

I’m not normally a patron on Sunday evenings. I tend to go there Wednesdays for Geeks Who Drink (which is a recent occurrence), and to many Drinking Liberally events on Fridays that happen to fall on my ex’s weekend with the kids, along with the occasional Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon brunch with friends. But, the staff on Sunday evening was not anyone I was very familiar with.

I sat at the bar, which is very unusual for me. The bartender, “Not Jared”, was very nice and struck up a conversation with me while the crowd was at a lull. Things got a bit busy, and about that time, a strange guy that gave me the creep vibes came up to the bar next to me. I was on Twitter, and pretty much just ignored him. I said enough back not to be completely rude, but made it clear I had no interest.

At one point, “Not Jared” came over and the guy moved on. It didn’t seem like a big deal at that point. He gave me the creeps, but hadn’t done anything too far over the line. But, he ended up coming back again. He kept trying to talk to me about the Jazz game, and I just stared at the tv, and ignored him the best I could. He went away again for a while, and the game was over. Karaoke had started, so I got my check and was just going to finish my Guinness and leave. Mr. Creepy came back over and was talking to me yet again, and his friend came up on the other side of me. The pretense was ordering a drink. I responded by staring intently at my phone, and doing my best to ignore them. My personal space was feeling very voilated, though.

Finally, Mr. Creepy said goodbye, and I couldn’t quite tell if he was leaving or not. I got the impression he was leaving the bar, but he and his buddy went back to their table. I decided to head to the powder room, and then sneak out if I could, without getting their attention.

Well, that worked out like my mom’s second marriage. Mr. Creepy’s friend came into the ladies’ room just as I finished washing my hands. I had pulled my phone out and was looking at Twitter to see if there was anything I wanted to respond to before I left the bar, and in the guy walks. I told him he was in the wrong room. He responded that he didn’t think he was. I emphatically told him he was in the wrong room, and so he stepped back out the door, and then came back in and told me I was in the wrong room.

Under normal circumstances, I would have chalked it up to the fact that maybe drunk people aren’t used to what the difference between “Lassies” and “Laddies” is, but this guy being Mr. Creepy’s buddy was just too much.

I practically ran out of the room, and went up to the bar. “Not Jared” happened to be near, and I told him that a guy who had been bugging me was in the ladies’room. He responded immediately by going to the other end and getting a bouncer on the situation immediately.

I then asked for an escort out to my Jeep. I had to wait a moment for the other bouncer to return. I feel bad because I can’t remember his name. I’ve talked to him quite often when I’ve been out back smoking, but it’s probably been since last summer since that happened. Anyway, he was very sweet about walking me out. He said that those guys had never been to Piper before and that they were watching them carefully, because they seemed to be bothering single women. That explains why “Not Jared” came over the first time, and the guy took off.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask anyone – girl, guy, gay, straight – that if you’re in a place of business, especially a bar, and someone makes you feel uncomfortable, please just ask someone to walk you to your car. Don’t let your ego become more important than your safety. I know that advice doesn’t apply to all situations, and it’s not likely to have helped the couple mentioned at the beginning of this story, but I really think that anytime you feel red flags, that you should be safe, rather than sorry. Even if 99 times out of 100 that a bouncer escorts someone to their car there was never any danger, that 1 time that there is makes the rest of the times worth it.

I’m very grateful to the staff at Piper Down for protecting me when I didn’t feel safe. And that added to Eric’s comments about the previous events at Piper made me realize that while no place can ever be 100% safe, nor can bouncers ever prevent 100% of problems, Piper Down really is concerned about the safety of it’s patrons, and I won’t be afraid to go there again by myself. And I’d like to offer my thanks to Dave Morris, and his great choices in staff, for making Piper Down such a great place to be. There’s a reason that’s my favorite pub.

Also – nice win, Jazz! I hope we take out the Nuggets on game 5! Go, Jazz, Go!

I owe you guys a blog on how the not smoking is going (great, but there’s a story!) and on politics (especially why I’m passionate about supporting Christopher Stout). But for now, I’m 2 hours past my bedtime and exhausted – I’m going to bed!

I met quite a few interesting people tonight. There were at least two women from Utah County. One of which had only come out to her family last week, only to find out that they weren’t surprised. There was a woman there who brought her parents, who were very pleasant to chat with. My friend Justan’s whole family seemed to be there, including his adorable 2 year old brother.

I am really glad that I got a chance to go. I seem to have missed about 90% of the social and political events lately. And I got to meet some great people that really have made me feel very good about where our movement is going. It seems that more and more family members are standing up to support their LGBT sons and daughters and fathers and mothers and sisters and brothers. Not only supporting them, but actively taking a stand, talking to their coworkers, or their friends, and making it known that they are proud of their loved ones who happen to be LGBT.

Sometimes it’s hard to see the progress we are making. This is a fight that people like myself have been having since before I was born. And the progress from having homes and gay bars raided, and gay people sent to jail, to a more honest debate about protecting people from being fired because they’re gay, or even transgender, is a lot of progress. Although there are discouraging moments, and progress really just can’t happen fast enough, this is a battle that we are winning. And we will continue to win. The next generation, my children’s children, might not even understand that there ever was an issue. And that’s what this is all about. Equality isn’t about getting special rights for a certain group. It’s about true equality, where the difference in skin color, or who you want to fall in love with, or whether you’re male or female aren’t seen as a difference when it comes to living your everyday life. And if you can be fired, or evicted, or denied a marriage license, or arrested – your life is much different, and you are forced to hide a part of yourself because of it.

ENDA needs to pass. And it needs to pass with transgender protections. I can’t advocate for protection for myself, when my brothers and sisters who have fought for me will get left behind. And Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, has said that she the Employment NonDiscrimination Act would be her next priority. We need to make sure this happens.

Please call Speaker Pelosi at 202-225-4965. Ask that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, HR 3017, move to a vote. As always, please be polite, but firm. After you call, I’d love to know how the call went in the comments. And then get your loved ones to call, too.

As a side note, tonight was also Earth Hour 2010. I somehow missed this – I typically participate and turn my lights out for the specified hour. I’m not sure how that happened, but I wouldn’t have been home anyway, since I was up at the Capitol during that time. It was nice to talk to the guy who set this up at Capitol Hill. I can’t remember his name, but he came by and talked to us for a few minutes. It was only dusk at that point, so I hadn’t yet noticed that the lights were out (outside, though since there was a prom going on inside, those lights weren’t turned out!), but as I looked around, I did notice that all of the outside lights were out. Even though I wasn’t able to participate, this is something that concerns me on a daily basis. I always try to keep the lights and unused appliances turned off, when possible. And that’s the point of Earth Hour – to bring attention to the daily things we can do on an individual basis.

I will admit to one thing though. I have, a few times, really wished I was still a smoker. When a lot of Bad Things happen, and you have nothing left to do about them, you can go smoke. But, I didn’t want a cigarette. I just wanted to be a smoker, so I’d have something left to do.

Tomorrow night will mark my 5th week without a smoke. I’m pretty surprised by that, considering that I gave myself express permission to smoke once I reached the 30 day mark. Not only permission, but I was “supposed” to smoke then. And if I wanted one, I would. But, that sounds really gross, and I don’t want one.

When it comes time to quit the Chantix, I think tapering off might be a good idea. My older son went to the hospital twice this weekend, and I ended up missing 2 doses, and that made me feel really weird. I definitely had Chantix withdrawals. But, that’s a worry for later.