These Talented Natchez Kids Need Help Now!

UPDATE: We made it! Thanks to all the generous people of Natchez - and to the Natchez Democrat for running an article, which definitely helped.

Did you know that the Robert Lewis Middle School Orchestra is the only orchestra in the whole state that was accepted for the National Orchestra Festival? That’s right, I said orchestra – not band – and they play classical music! And it’s students from our public schools – not from one of our private schools. This is a fantastic success story, and we should all be proud of these extremely talented musicians. The sky’s the limit for these kids. As their teacher, Shawn Smith, told them, “That’s your ticket to college, that’s your scholarship.”



Photo from article in the Natchez Democrat.


There’s just one problem. They have to pay their own way, and they’re far short of their goal. They have to send a $3250 deposit to the festival by Wednesday – and they only have $1075. Imagine how these kids will feel when they’ve worked so hard and done everything right but they still lose – just because this town would not support them. We cannot let this happen!

Please send a check for whatever you can afford to Orchestra Booster Club, P O Box 198, Natchez MS 39121 by Wednesday. Then forward this to everyone you know.

For more information, call the school at 601.445.2926, email the orchestra at natchezorchestra@gmail.com or email their teacher, Shawn Smith, at shawny@earthlink.net.

UPDATE: A contribution is tax deductible, and I have their tax id number, if you need it.

Ho Hum Debate

The biggest news out of the debate was that McCain was coming. Word on the street is that Governor Haley Barbour told him, in so many words, to get his butt down here or else. If there was one thing all Mississippians agreed on, it was that the debate must go on - we wanted our moment in the national spotlight. Haley wasn't about to be embarrassed by having his nominee ruin Mississippi's day.

I read somewhere today (sorry but I forget where) that a debate is like Nascar. Everyone watches for one reason - to see a crash. Unfortunately, there was no crash. There were some fender benders, but they were about equal. I doubt seriously that this debate will win or change any votes.

However, I did go to a great debate watching party and enjoyed great food, drink, and friends - all Democrats, of course. (Contrary to popular opinion, there are some here.)

UPDATE: All the polls are saying that Obama won the debate quite handily.

AG Jim Hood to the Rescue

Attorney General Jim Hood said Entergy is playing a shell game with energy and fuel costs to drive up its profits at the expense of ratepayers - and he's taking them to court to prove it. Way to go, Mr Attorney General! Finally, someone is standing up for us poor souls trying to pay our bills.

Some of you may recall that back in July, I posted an open letter to the Public Service Commission about Entergy's outrageous fuel charges. As I predicted, the PSC did not bother to respond to my letter. (These elected officials need to learn that they work for the voters - and they'd better start answering their letters.) It's true that about a week later, the PSC did tell Entergy to lower its fuel cost adjustment, but it was too little too late. Looked to me like a deal worked out between the PSC and Entergy to make them look good.

But apparently Attorney General Jim Hood, unlike the PSC members, is not in the pocket of the utilities, and he is really looking out for the consumers.

When Entergy raised their rates by 28%, AG Hood asked very nicely if they would please give his office the documents about its pricing policies and its buying and selling practices. But Entergy said no - that he had no right to the information. Excuse me, Entergy, but you are a PUBLIC utility, and he is the State's Attorney General. Of course, he has the right to the information, you idiots!

So did the AG back down like all the other wimps that run this state? Hell no! He took them to court and sued for the documents. So why in the world would Entergy refuse to give the AG the documents, when I'm sure their well paid attorneys told them they had to do? It's pretty obvious, isn't it? They're hiding something. They're hiding that their profits are out of sight, while the poor Mississippi taxpayer is struggling to make ends meet.

Just in case you think the AG is off on some wild goose chase trying to get publicity, just look at what happened in Louisiana where an Entergy subsidiary was charged with deceptive pricing schemes and overcharging customers. According to Consumer Affairs:

"In Louisiana in recent years, Entergy has been ordered to repay more than $100 million to ratepayers who had been overcharged by the company in two separate cases going back to 2000. In addition, Louisiana's efforts to recover the money has resulted in additional savings of more than $150 million for customers."

One of the many things I like about our Attorney General is the way he just tells it like it is.

"For decades, Entergy Mississippi has operated under the premise of 'just trust us, we know what's best for you.' But secrecy is never best when it comes to the pocketbooks of hardworking Mississippians who struggle each month to keep their lights on. . . But I have news for Entergy. The law in this matter is on the side of ratepayers and this office is charged with protecting their interests. We are going to shine some light on these practices and allow our citizens to look inside the company that is supposed to be serving them."

I don't know about you, but I think lower electric bills would be mighty nice - not to mention a few hundred million dollars.

Your Library Really Needs You Monday

Your Library desperately needs an increase in the funding it receives from the City of Natchez. Unfortunately, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, in their infinite wisdom, seem not to have granted the request. The public hearing for the budget is Monday, September 15 at 5 pm in the City Council Chambers.

Please come and tell the City you don't mind paying a couple of bucks extra a year to help your Library.

How much extra? The exact amount will be presented at the hearing, but the average homeowner would have to pay $2 - $3 extra a year. The Library's funding was put on dedicated millage in 2006, but the rate - a little more than 2.5 mills - was figured to give the Library exactly the same amount it had the year before. The Library has requested it be increased to 3 mills.

The Concordia Parish Library. with only 20,000 population, gets 8.5 mill bringing in $850,000. Do the math! Adams County has almost twice the population, but slightly more than a third the millage. Something is wrong with this picture.

Did you know that the Library has not had an increase in funding in 10 years? Imagine the shape your household would be in if your household income had stayed exactly the same for 10 years - no cost of living and no inflation factor. Only through excellent management and creative financing solutions has the Library been able to keep up as well as it has with the needs of this community.

But you can only do so much before you reach the end of your rope - that's where the Library is right now. To understand the dilemma, you need to know that the City owns the Library building, and the Library must pay all of its operating expenses. Although the Library serves all the citizens of Adams County, it does not receive funds from the County government - only from the City. In addition, the Library obtains funds through state and federal grants, as well as any other grants it can find.

If you go by the Library, you will see that the outside of the building badly needs repainting and some structural repairs. However, the City will not pay for this - because it says it has buildings in worse condition. Hurricane Gustav made the exterior situation even worse. Insurance will pay for the damage done by Gustav itself, but not for the wear and tear on a building whose exterior is in such a state of disrepair.

If you frequent the Library, you know the long running saga of the air conditioning. The Library frequently has to close for days at a time when it's not working. When it is working, it gets so cold that heaters have to be used in parts of the building. That's because the air conditioning has to run all the time, because the thermostats quit working years ago. The system cannot be repaired - it needs a major overhaul or even complete replacement. Paul Dawes and his staff at the Inspections and Building Department are very good at performing miracles at keeping it going - but there is a limit to even their abilities. Do you know how much the Library paid for electricity last month? Almost $7000! It should be less than half of that. I bet if the City had to pay that electric bill, they'd do something about the air conditioning.

Now, the Library cannot pay for the air conditioning with the increase in millage - in fact it is not allowed to make capital improvements - one of the conditions for some of the grants received from the State. That is the responsibility of the local government. However, it may be able to pay for part of it - and it stands a much better chance of obtaining grants if it can show the City's willingness to invest in the Library.

Plus, with the increase, the Library could probably get the exterior of the building painted and repaired - and could do some much needed repairs inside. It could also expand the hours that it's open and increase the services provided to patrons. There is so much the Library could do with that couple of bucks.

So if the increase is so small and the need is so great, why didn't the City approve it? Well, you'll have to ask them, but here's my theory. Once the County announced they were cutting their taxes, the City didn't want to look bad by increasing theirs.

I know for some people and some politicians, cutting taxes in the most important thing in the world. They could care less if their infrastructure is collapsing. (Do you hear me, Henry Watts?) However, there are also citizens and politicians that understand that investing in your community pays off in the long run. Just look at how easily the hotel tax passed referendum. Citizens will pay taxes, if they think it will be spent wisely and will benefit the community.

So will you please come to the hearing and tell the Mayor and Board that you're willing to invest a couple of bucks in your Library?

Monday, September 15 at 5 pm

City Council Chambers

FULL DISCLOSURE: I work part time at the Library.

Baracky High in Colorado

Going to Denver was like going to the mountain top. There we were on the anniversary of Dr. King’s March on Washington, celebrating a historic moment in American history – the nomination of the first African American as President of the United States. However, in the back of the minds of the Mississippi delegation was the potential destruction of our homes or our friends’ home in Mississippi and Louisiana. You could feel the tangible tension between the high of being in Denver while our eyes were watching the weather way back in Mississippi.

The evening was one of celebration, and the Mississippi Delegation was high on Obama at the Invesco Field party. While the substantive content of the evening can be seen through the traditional media, being on the ground was a very different experience. The Mississippi delegation was seated in the back of the field to the right of the podium and just in front of the CNN stage with MSNBC on our right and ABC on our left. Although we had the side view of the podium at a distance, we had close up and personal contact with the media. We got to watch as the makeup artists touched up the sweating faces of Wolf Blitzer and Campbell Brown. They had their backs to us but when not filming they would watch intently. Joe Scarborough, who is very large in person, was clearly moved by the event although he’s a Republican. Katy Couric stopped by the ABC stage to speak to Diane Sawyer whose hairdresser was desperately trying to fix her hair in the wind. You could really see Sawyer’s dark roots, so we now know she’s not a natural blonde. During the music moments Donna Brazile grabbed a rather stiff Wolf Blitzer and started to dance with him. The Mississippi delegation below the media were also dancing and singing along to the music. For that night we were all celebrities and the media were part of our delegation.

However, it was when Barack Obama actually took the stage that a calm intensity pervaded the crowd and turned the party atmosphere into a moment in which we all felt that history was being made. Obama explained that this has not been a campaign about him; it’s about us. In other words it’s about what we, the American people, hope our country will be. If you read his book The Audacity of Hope, Obama clearly explains why Americans are different; our sights are always on the ideal because we are a country based not on land, not on aristocracy, but on an idea of equality. We are all celebrities, and celebrities are just people like us. The message and the moment merged.

So, the night ended. Contrary to the prayers of some conservative ministers who prayed for rain, it was beautiful weather-- clear, cool, and dry. Considering that hurricanes in the Gulf are taking the spotlight away from the Republican National Convention, we might conclude that someone up there is for the Democrats this year.

Sarah Who????

We had to stay up all night Thursday. We were advised to arrive at the airport 4 hours before our flight, because of all the thousands of people who would be leaving Denver that day. Our flight left at 7 am, so we had to be at the airport by 3 am. It takes about an hour to get to the airport, and it was almost 1 am when we got to our room. We needed that hour to bath, change clothes, and pack.

True to form, the advice to arrive 4 hours early left out some crucial information. The airport doesn't even open until 3 am, and you can't check in until 4 am. Consequently, there were bodies stretched out on the floor of the airport sleeping. It looked like a homeless shelter! Have you noticed how airports no longer have couches or any place to lie down and catch a nap or just rest? And guess what? None of the carts to carry the handicapped were operating yet. Plus, only one of the security gates was open. This was probably the busiest day the Denver airport will ever have, and they treated it like any other day. Go figure! It's been a hundred years since the last time Denver hosted the Democratic Convention. I bet it's another hundred before the next one.

While we were in the airport waiting for our plane, we heard rumors of Sarah Palin being picked as Vice President by John McCain. We didn't know for sure until we got to the Houston airport. We didn't have time to learn much about her, because there was little time between our flights. (But Houston did have electric carts - and nice people running them - one of them originally from Natchez.)

Once we got home I started researching Sarah Palin, but I was way too sleepy to learn much. But today, I've been doing plenty of research.

My bottom line analysis is that it was a brilliant move for McCain. The political pundits had been making much of the "enthusiasm" gap between the Democrats and the Republicans. And after the Democrats had such a successful Convention with their exciting candidates and excited delegates, McCain needed something bold to innervate his campaign. Picking Sarah Palin was definitely bold, and it immediately took the media attention away from the Democrats.

Palin will continue to get media attention, because she is a very interesting character. In fact, if McCain isn't careful, she'll eclipse him.

The first thing she did was excite the base of the Republican Party, because she is perfect on all the issues that they care about - guns, gays, God, and abortion. Plus she has a son in Iraq - and a handicapped child. What more could they ask for? Experience? Knowledge of foreign affairs? That's not important, and Senator McCain has that. Of course, he's 72 and might easily die in office and leave her as President - but they don't seem to worry about that.

Liberals and Democrats are horrified at the thought of President Sarah Palin, and they think every thinking person will be also. "Thinking" is the key word here. Most voters don't base their decisions on thought - but on who they like. (Think George Bush.)

And lots of voters are going to like this woman. If you want an interesting SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of Palin, check out this blog article by Andrew Halco, who ran against her as an Independent and lost. He has been a critic on his blog ever since the election, but he gives what appears to be an objective analysis. Here are some comments he made:

"You really have to have a high level of respect for Governor Palin in the sense that she has the real ability to connect with people. . . I've learned you never underestimate her. . . While I and others criticized her glittering generalities during the campaign, the more she spoke them the more people fell in love. That is the significant power she has of making voters forget about the policy and focus on the person."

She is extremely popular in Alaska, with favorability ratings in 80's. According to Halco, her Democratic opponent, Tony Knowles, was totally surprised by what his polling showed:

Palin scored off the charts with well educated moderate and liberal women. This seemed counter intuitive given Palin's inability to articulate public policies and her very conservative postion on issues such as abortion. But this was the power of Palin.

So Democrats had better not underestimate this woman. Is she unqualified to be Vice President? Absolutely. Will people care? That remains to be seen.

She's definitely not used to the unbelievable media scrutiny she will be under. She will undoubtedly make gaffes and have unfavorable press. She's used to saying what she thinks and doing what she wants - and getting away with it. That won't happen anymore. But will it matter?

Palin's selection was a blatant play by McCain for the disillusioned Hillary supporters. Hillary has done everything she possibly could to persuade her supporters to get behind Obama, and the Obama campaign has made several significant moves in the right direction. However, it's obvious his campaign still doesn't get it when it comes to women. (That pathetic roll call vote was a perfect example.) However, most Hillary supporters will vote for Obama because of the issues they care about. But a certain percentage will be drawn to McCain by the presence of Palin. The size of the percentage may determine who wins this election.

Any person who runs for President has to have a healthy ego. Obama's was too big to allow him to take a chance on selecting Hillary (and Bill) for Vice President - a move that would have guaranteed his election. McCain's ego is also huge, but he took the risk of selecting Palin, because he thought it might be the move than wins him the election. We'll see in November who made the right decision.

Denver & DNC Insensitive to Disabled

Denver never should have been chosen for the Democratic Convention. It simply does not have enough hotels, and its public transportation system is inadquate. Denver was chosen for political reasons - the Democrats want to win in Colorado - and its logistic weaknesses were overlooked.

In order to house all the thousands of people who come to a Convention, Denver had to use hotels scattered over several miles from the location of the Pepsi Center, where the Convention was held. There were supposed to be shuttle buses running from the hotels downtown, but this was not really true. Buses were for delegates only, so that all the other people had no access. In addition, the buses didn't start running until the afternoon to take delegates to the main event at the Pepsi Center. If they wanted to attend a meeting, go to an event, or just tour Denver, even delegates were SOL.

State delegations are assigned to hotels by the Democratic National Committee. Since Mississippi is not considered important, its hotel was in the boonies. Fortunately, we were relatively close to the last stop of the light rail. If you were young and healthy and unaffected by the altitude, you could walk, if you don't mind walking on roads with no sidewalks, which was quite dangerous. The staff at our hotel was extremely nice, and they would run people to the station in their van, and you could call them to come get you when you returned. Some delegations had to take shuttles for an hour to get to the light rail.

Denver made changes in the light rail service because of the Convention. There was only one problem, no one knew about it. People who worked at our stop had no idea about the changes, so they gave bad advice. Once we arrived downtown, there was no one to tell us where to get off. It took us a couple of trips to figure it out. When we got off the light rail, we had to take a shuttle bus to get closer to the Pepsi Center - but once again, no one told any of us that. And we had to figure out on our own where to get on and off the bus. Then we still had to walk several blocks to the first security fence. Once inside, we thought for sure there would be carts for the handicapped, but there were none - although we saw lots of "important" people in carts. It was a very long walk in the sun, with reduced oxygen because of the altitude, until we arrived at the second fence. Still no handicapped carts in evidence.

The trip from the hotel to the Convention took about 2 hours one way, so there was no going back to the hotel during the day. We were invited to parties and events, but we didn't go to any, because it was too much trouble to get there.

To make matters worse, Denver police and/or Secret Service would sometimes just stop the light rail or the buses without telling anyone - and with no idea when it would resume. Then you were just stuck wherever you were. Taxies are prohibitively expensive. One time when the buses just stopped running, I had to take a pedicab (a cart powered by a young person on a bicycle) which cost $2 a block - so it cost $20 plus tip to take me 10 blocks.

There were a few times that we were lucky enough to find the carts for the disabled, but there was no way to call for one and no one knew where they were or how to get one. We had one woman in our delegation in a wheelchair, and she seemed to have a slightly easier time of it. At least she had wheels, and sometimes people would offer to help by pushing it. Also, people could at least tell she was handicapped. But there were several of us in the delegation with handicaps that aren't visible, and we got no sympathy at all - especially from all the young people who seem to populate campaigns.

One time, I was about to faint, and people around me caught me and called the paramedics. But they didn't even have oxygen - and had no way to call me a cart. They didn't even have one themselves. Unless I wanted them to call me an ambulance, I had to just keep walking. The place was a nightmare.

There was another state blogger who was handicapped, and she and I shared our total dismay with the way we and others in our delegations were treated. Once we've recovered from the Convention, we plan to communicate our concerns to the DNC. However, I don't really expect much of a response.

Our Media Coverage

When we went to the Blogger party that the DNC gave, I was interviewed by M S Bellows from Huffington Post. I don't think it made it into an article, but I did find a clip of it on YouTube.

I've also been told that CNN ran one of our video clips of a Clinton caucus meeting and gave credit to our blog.

It's interesting that both of these deal with Hillary. I think the media really wanted some kind of Clinton/Obama drama - and were disappointed when it did not really appear.

I just found another story about the roll call vote.

Before we left, the Natchez Democrat ran an article about us.

Vice President Biden

First nominator was Quincy Lucas of Delaware, an activist on violence against women. Then he was nominated by acclimation.

His son Bo introduced him. He is the Attorney General of Delaware who has just been called to active duty in Iraq. You couldn't ask for a better, more heartfelt introduction.

Biden started by acknowledging his son and family. Then he accepted the nomination. His mother was in the audience, and he told wonderful stories about her.

Then he talking about the middle class, their needs and values - and why Obama can be their hero. Good quote: "Work is more than a paycheck - it's dignity. It's looking your kid in the eye and saying we're going to be alright."

He talked about Obama as a person and a Senator. Then he attacked McCain as more of the same. "That's not change - that's more of the same" was the chant. "We need more than a good soldier - we need a wise leader."
"That's the change we need."

He's a powerful speaker - especially on foreign affairs. He gave us multiple examples of why "John McCain was wrong, and Barack Obama was right."

I think millions of Americans will immediately bond with this man. As Bill Clinton said, "Obama hit it out of the park" when he picked Biden.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I've been in love with Joe Biden for 36 years, from the first time I saw him after he got elected to the Senate when he and I were both 29. My admiration for him has continued to grow, and I think he and his family are a perfect match with Obama and his family. The song they played afterward was "We Are Family" - but we are America is also true.

Support the Troops

Democrats show what "Support the Troops" really means - actually supporting the troops - not wearing a bumper sticker. A moving video that brought tears to eyes. This was followed by an inspiring talk by disabled Iraq vet Tammy Duckworth. The crowd loved her.

John Kerry Rocks

He contrasted Maverick McCain with Candidate McCain. "Talking about being for it before being against it! Before McCain debates Obama, he should finish the debate with himself." He was very skilled with his attack on McCain. Then he went on to praise Obama. Great speech!

We Love You Bill!

President Bill Clinton got a rousing welcome by the whole place. (See video of Mississippi's reaction). I can tell from our delegation that all is forgiven, and it's okay to love Bill again.

He made a convincing case for Obama. Great quote: "People abroad have always been more impressed by the power of our example than the example of our power." He went on to attack the Republicans and MCain.

He was the Bill Clinton we all love. Another great line: "I was elected when the Republicans said I was too young and inexperienced. Sound familiar? It didn't work then and it won't work now."

I dare anyone to criticize that speech - he was terrific! Well, maybe he was just a tad less wonderful than his wife.

Wednesday's Speakers

The tribute to the troops was led by a very good speaker. The Democrats need to recruit this guy - he's good!

The women in my delegation liked Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright. One of our delegates, Angela Cockerham, went to a luncheon where she spoke and came away very impressed.

Senator Evan Bayh is making liars out of all those who said he was boring. He's really pretty lively and interesting.

Senator Jack Reed was interrupted by the arrival in our midst of Jamie Foxx, and then Secretary Albright. (see video) Senator Daschle came next.

Bill's up next!

The Roll Call Vote

I found out this morning that the roll call vote would be at 3 pm today. We had assumed it would be during prime time. So I just rushed (to the extent possible with our transportation challenges) over here after the morning caucuses. I think the early hour is an attempt by the Obama campaign to downplay the vote, which I personally think is a mistake. People love to watch the roll call of the states.

Delores Huerta of California made the nomination for Hillary. Most delegates are not here, including all the Hillary delegates who were meeting with Hillary herself. The New York delegation is practically empty. Of course, like all these early events, no one is listening. Everyone is roaming around talking. A young boy from Utah is seconding the nomination. Then Denise Harris of New York also seconded. They seemed to all be from regular people. The speeches were brief and only took about 15 minutes.

Michael Wilson, an Iraq veteran, is now nominating Obama. He's getting a much better response. Next up is Colorado Senator Ken Salazar. Congresswoman Wasserman-Schultz of Florida and the Florida Clinton Chair is the next seconder. Next is Representative Artur Davis of Alabama - with a rousing response from the Alabama right next to us.

Alabama casts 48 for Obama and 5 for Clinton. Alaska 15 to 3. American Samoa 9-0. Arizona 40 - 27. Arkansas 47 - 0. California passes. Colorado 55 - 15. Connecticut - 38-21 ? Delaware 23 - o. Democrats Abroad 8.5 - 2.5. DC 33-7. Florida 136-51-1 abstention. Georgia 82-18. Guam 4-3. Hawaii 26 - 1. Idaho 20 -3. Illinois pass. Indiana 75-6. Iowa 48-9. Kansas 34-6. Kentucky 36-24. Louisiana 43-7. Maine 24-8. Maryland - here I lost track in the commotion in the Mississippi delegation getting ready for their moment in the sun.

Right after the roll call started, there was a huge fracas going on in the Mississippi delegation, because they'd been told they would not get to announce their votes. They were furious and started complaining loudly. Other states must have done the same, because the initial plan was changed. The yielding did not start early but instead the roll call went on to New Mexico.

I have posted video of Mississippi casting their vote and their reaction to finale.

Hillary More Than Meets Expectations

There was tremendous pressure on Hillary tonight, and she absolutely delivered. I've been a Hillary watcher for over 15 years, and that's the best speech she's ever given. Her goal was to convince her supporters to get behind Obama, and she gave them reasons that she knew would work best - the issues she knows they care about.

The media criticized her for not saying more about Obama personally, but that would not have worked. Her supporters are not going to be convinced to like Obama, but they can be convinced to vote for, and even work for, him to assure universal health coverage and other key issues she represented.

I've already seen the effect of Hillary's speech on the Mississippi Clinton delegation. Yesterday at their caucus, all the Clinton delegates indicated their intention to vote for Hillary on the first ballot. This morning when they actually had to cast their votes, about half voted for Obama.

On a personal note, I must admit that tears streamed from my eyes from the moment Chelsea appeared to introduce her mother until after Hillary left. I was very proud of Hillary's speech, but it was also very sad for me to let go of my dream of an ideal woman President - and I doubt there will be another in my lifetime.

You Might Be a Blogger If ... Top Ten

On Tuesday, Casey and I attended a luncheon/tailgating party for all the official state bloggers. We met in the tent reserved for the bus drivers. Howard Dean, Chair of the National Democratic Party and the originator of bloggers being seated with each state delegation, spoke to the group. Looking around I came up with this list:

You might be a blogger if… Top Ten

10. You only wear shorts and sandals even to a luncheon.

9. You worship Howard Dean.

8. You don’t own a razor (this goes for men and women).

7. You wear skinny dark- rimmed glasses.

6. You have a permanent bad-hair day.

5. You use acronyms.

4. You love gadgets and don’t mind photographing yourself.

3. You’re smart and techno-savvy, but socially challenged.

2. You are suspicious of main-stream media.

And the top way to know if you might be a blogger….

1. You and your wacky friends might be responsible for electing the next leader of the free world. Awesome!

In Mississippi Home Is Not a Plural Noun

An energetic young woman in the Mississippi delegation is distantly kin to John McCain. However, she is more kin than kind (with apologies to Shakespeare). Maggie Lowery is representing our state as a true Mississippian. How do we know? She knows how many houses she owns, and more importantly, she knows what home means to Mississippians.

When you enter the great state of Mississippi, our welcome sign reads: “Mississippi: It Feels Like Coming Home.” Like Maggie, real Mississippians understand the depth of our sense of place. Our writers celebrate it; our people live it.

However, as we have recently learned, John McCain has a very different view of home. Although he proudly claims Mississippi roots, McCain is no Mississippian! When you own houses across the United States in places like Los Angeles, Aspen, New York, Washington and Coronado and all of those “homes” cost millions of dollars each, you can’t really understand the meaning of home to Mississippians. In Mississippi, average homes cost approximately 200,000 dollars; In Mississippi foreclosures jumped over 91% in 2007 and real estate professionals are expecting it to rise by the end of 2008. How can Mississippians think that John McCain can relate to their struggles?

Explaining how out of touch with real Texans Geroge H. Bush was, the great, late Molly Ivins explained: “In Texas, summer is not a verb.” It’s time for Mississippians to explain to John McCain that “In Mississippi, home is not a plural noun.” We know where home is, and we know how many we have.

The Governors Speak

Governor of Ohio Ted Strickland had some great lines and received good response from the crowd. He emphasized jobs.

Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts, got a enthusiastic response from the Mississippi delegation - and the rest of the delegates. His theme was education. He's good!

Now we have Brian Schweitzer, who ran for Governor of Montana with a Republican Lt Governor on a theme of bipartisanship - and it has apparently worked there. He got the crowd involved. I liked this quote: "The most important barrel of oil is the one you don't use." And also "You can't drill your way to energy independence even if you drill in all the back yards of McCain's homes - even the ones he doesn't know he has." He acted like he was just talking to the crowd - and they liked it. He's definitely the best speaker so far. He thrilled our delegation when he mentioned Mississippi - brought them to their feet.

Hillary's up next, so I'm packing up the computer so I can pay attention. I'll write about the speech tomorrow.

I Am Woman!

There is a great series of speeches going on right now. Introduced by Senator Hillary Clinton on video, all of the women Senators are giving brief speeches about the important issues of this campaign. There are an impressive group and make me proud.

Today, of course, is the anniversary of women getting the right to vote.

Then they all came out on the stage to the band playing Sisters. Although this was an early speech, there was enthusiastic response.

Now speaking is Janet Napoletano, Governor of Arizona - another rising female star of the party.

Jennifer Grenholm, Governor of Michigan, is leading a town hall discussion about energy. Pretty boring.

But we just had a bit of excitement here. Charles Barkely just came by on his way to the Alabama delegation. Someone said they didn't know he was a Democrat. He said "I'm a Democrat, but I'm rich like a Republican!." I think I got him on video. (I did - it's posted.)

Kathleen Sebelius, Governor of Kansas, now up - talking about McCain's many homes.

So far no one in the arena is paying much attention to the speakers. I don't know how these speakers do it. However. they've started passing out signs to waive, so I think we're supposed to be getting excited soon.

I was hoping I could wander around and talk to some friends in other states, but I'm really stuck in my seat. I'd have to crawl over the whole delegation to get out. I can't even talk on the phone, because it's so noisy!

The natives are getting restless - they're starting to chant.

Lilly Ledbetter from Alabama (famous because of the Supreme Court decision against her on a sexual discrimination) was the first to mention the anniversary of women getting the vote - and she talked about the importance of this issue of fairness. She got a response, and then the band played "I Get Excited".

Now the crowd is on its feet for Mark Warner, former Governor and next Senator of Virginia. He's inspirational, but not a star. Interestingly, somebody is sending a message to the delegation of when to stand and wave signs. I get the feeling that Warner is speaking to the public - not the delegates - providing words of substance. It's also pretty obvious that Virginia is proud of him.

When he finishes, I think Hillary may be next, when I'll quit live blogging and will be paying attention.

Tuesday at the DNC

The day began, as always, with the caucus breakfast. The speaker and sponsor was a representative from the unions working for the Free Choice Act. Afterward the major topic was again dispensing of the passes.

After the dispensing of credentials, there was a caucus of Clinton delegates. Gloria Williamson, Chair of the Clinton delegates, handed out a memo from Hillary laying out her support for Obama and saying she would release her delegates. She indicated how they voted was their personal choice - she was not asking for a vote either way. Gloria then announced that she personally was voting for Hillary - and then would be on board with Obama. She asked that the delegates also support Obama, after casting their vote. I asked the delegates how they were planning to vote, and they all indicated they were voting for Hillary. Then they had to leave to get their picture taken. In discussions with the delgates, I found no evidence of a split. It seemed they would all support Obama - although there was a lot of heartbreak.

Then Dianne and I had to rush off downtown to pick up our daily credentials. We barely made it in time. By the way, as members of the press, we are getting to see a lot of media stars. We try not to look like star struck country girls.

Then we went to a party put on by the Democratic National Committee for bloggers only. Chairman Howard Dean came and talked to us. He is a hero to bloggers, because the State Blogger Program was his idea - and he had credentialed unprecedented numbers of bloggers as members of the press. It was great to meet all the bloggers from across the country that I only know online.

Dianne and I split up again. It's my turn to go to the Pepsi Center.

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