Bob Bar Is At Netroots Nation: Feel The Liberty!

(Ha.)

Bob Barr is the Libertarian nominee for President. He's from Georgia. His website.



I'll try to get a picture with him when the panel is over.

Fun!

Last Night:

It was pretty cool.

I went to a private reception for Darcy Burner. She's a lady with class and guts and is going to be a great representative.

We then had a reception for many of the netroots candidates. I'm guessing it's one of the very few places where dozens of federal candidates can be found in one place other than the national party conventions.

Some of these folks will win and they will improve congress.

John Hlinko on Making Messaging Go Viral

John says a lot about how to get info across in a way that is entertaining or unusual or whatever so that not only do folks pay attention, but pass your message on.

I'll add video clips in a few days. I forgot a necessary cord at home. (Grrr.)

(oh, by the way. Everything I write about for the next few days are because I'm seeing them live at the Netroots Nation conference. I hope you enjoy it.)

Southern Bloggers Caucus

Didn't happen. Crap.

Last year it was on the official event calendar and had dozens of folks showed up.

I was actually a panelist.

This year there wasn't an official time, but we tried to do one anyway.

5 people showed up.

1 was in the wrong place.

Time to go somewhere else.

Markos Moulitas and Harold Ford At Netroots Nation

I'll soon be seeing Harold Ford (A former conservative Democratic congressman from Tennessee) and Markos Moulitas (The nations top liberal blogger).

I agree more with Harold on issues of faith. He's a christian and pro-life.

I agree with Markos more on issues of protecting citizens from corporations and the government.

I'll let you know what I think.


Update 1: Pretty boring so far. Kos is reasonable and plays well to the crowd. Ford talks a lot, but like a good politician he isn't saying a whole lot.

Update 2: We can overlook simple disagreements on policy, but we're looking for Democrats to stand up and be proud to be Democrats - Kos

Update 3: Ford makes a good argument in favor of FISA saying the government officials that order spying should be accountable; not corporations doing the will of their American government.

Update 4: Ford warns against attacking Democrats who fit their districts like Democrats for strong gun rights in the South.

Update 5: Kos says of elected officials "they work for us."

Update 6: Ford makes the point that Centrist Democrats and Liberal Democrats agree on much: universal healthcare, education, new energy, etc.

Public Question Portion:

1. How do we get more diversity in the netroots? Technology democratizes activism and blogging is just one small part of that. - Kos

2. Personal attack on Harold Ford. I have great respect for my former colleagues (from FOX News) - Ford. "I fit my district" - Ford

3. Attack on Obama saying he's going to the right. "I want to see Barack Obama elected president." - Ford

4. FISA longwinded monologue.

5. I hate this guy he talks too long and doesn't ask a question.

My tip is that they should have an egg timer so questions don't exceed 1 minute. It's annoying when people I don't care about hog the time.

Netroots Nation: Democracy For America Booth

You may recall that a big part of why I'm in Austin is due to the generosity of y'all and a scholarship y'all helped me get from Democracy for America.

I'm volunteering at their booth right now and they have a giant card for Howard Dean.

(I'll add a picture of it here later)

For those folks who donated to help me get here I've spent about $100 on gas and $30 on food. Thanks!

More soon...

CDC: Mississippi fattest state in the U.S.

For the 4th straight year Mississippi ranked as the most obese state in the nation according to a study done by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Several factors are in play here including, poor diet, poverty, and lack of education.

Read the full AP story here:

The 2007 findings are similar to results from the same survey the three previous years. Mississippi has had the highest obesity rate every year since 2004. But Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia and Louisiana have also clustered near the top of the list, often so close that the difference between their rates and Mississippi's may not be statistically significant.

Just because it's Friday

First this news:

Voters to decide: Bush memorial sewage plant?

San Francisco voters will be asked to decide whether to name a city sewage plant in honor of President Bush, after a satiric measure qualified for the November ballot today.

Backers of the measure, who for several months circulated a petition to place the measure on the ballot, turned in more than 12,000 signatures on July 7, said organizer Brian McConnell. The Department of Elections today informed those supporters, the self-proclaimed Presidential Memorial Commission, that they had enough valid signatures - a minimum of 7,168 registered San Francisco voters - to qualify for the November ballot, he said.

This one is for Chuck, Peckerwood, Reasonably Prudent Person, JD, Mathias, Mitchk and the rest if you Republican knuckleheads ;

New York Times on Netroot Nation 2008

Cotton Mouth founder John Leek is in Austin, Texas this weekend for the Netroots Nation 2008 conference. One thing is for sure, he will come back smarter than when he left. The New York Times examined both the netroots in general as well as the Netroots Nation 2008 gathering.

New York Times on Netroots Nation:

The convention, formerly YearlyKos and now Netroots Nation, or NN08, bills itself as “the most concentrated gathering of progressive bloggers to date.” About 2,000 bloggers, activists, office-holders, vendors and others are expected to attend, with 200 members of the mainstream media tracking them (yes, roughly one old-media type for every 10 new-media hipsters.).

...

Mr. Moulitsas said in an interview that like other bloggers, he is finding his own voice in the cacophony of the blogosphere.

“I’m positioning myself, at DailyKos, which isn’t the broader netroots, to not be carrying water for anybody,” he said. “We’ll work to keep our party honest. We’re not going to pretend that just because he’s Barack Obama, his actions aren’t sometimes problematic. But that doesn’t mean we’re abandoning him or that we won’t vote for him. That’s ludicrous.”

DSCC Ad In Support of Ronnie Musgrove

A tip of the hat to The Thorn Papers

Musgrove Nearly Bests Wicker In 2nd Quarter Fundraising

Daily Journal:

His Democratic opponent, former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, whose fundraising lagged earlier this year, came close to matching Wicker's quarterly total - Musgrove raised $813,708 compared to Wicker's $822,476.

Musgrove actually outraised Wicker with $607,803 from individuals compared with $475,444.88 for his opponent.

This includes $200,000 from Wicker's President Bush Fundraiser. Apparently he needed the help.

That's good news. Donate to Musgrove in the right column; after all he came out for Net Neutrality today. A couple dollars goes a long way in Mississippi.

Breaking News: Ronnie Musgrove Voices His Support for Net Neutrality

“In such a short time, the internet has developed into a key tool for our free society. It has driven economic development, enabled innovation, stimulated political discussion and provided new forums for the exercise of our First Amendment right of free speech. Net Neutrality is vital to keeping the internet free and open, and protecting access to its information for all Mississippians and Americans.”

-Governor Ronnie Musgrove