Haven’t heard about a Juicer meetup (yet) — leave a message here or email me if you want yours front-paged. Been told the TWiB crew is there, so I’m sure there will be much talk next week. To tide us over, here’s Dave Weigel’s first impressions:
… This conference, which has drawn more than 3,000 activists to Silicon Valley, is proudly un-newsy. Conservatives like to schlep their big events by telling activists who they can meet—Rand Paul! Donald Trump! Sarah Palin! It was difficult to even find out who’d be lighting up the night at Netroots, and the closest thing to a politics/2016 story to come out of here so far was CNN’s scoop (from Peter Hamby) that Howard Dean had not ruled out a 2016 challenge…
“Is the president perfect? No,” said former Vermont Gov./DNC Chair/2004 Great Hope Howard Dean. “But it sure is better than having Bain Capital—I mean, Mitt Romney—in there!”
The 2012 election was remembered more for its tactics than its results. Every round of panels included at least one debriefing from organizers who’d outsmarted the GOP—two simultaneous panels told progressives how the Romney “47 percent” video broke. I spent the first day looking for opinions and new activism on the NSA surveillance story. It was there, but it was far from an obsession.
No, the Democrats in power were afterthoughts. Barney Frank, who’s just as avuncular and sarcastic out of power as he was in Congress, asked his fellow progressives to “support President Obama’s unwillingness to be pushed into Syria,” but to be otherwise realistic about terrorism. He drew boos when he defended the idea of drone warfare, asking his audience of 200 or so to consider the costs and benefits of sending troops versus sending robots. But his offense didn’t stop him from giving a quick, well-received speech to the main ballroom before his plane took off.
“Harass us, because we really do pay attention,” he said. “Look at who’s on the ballot, and vote for the candidate you agree with the most. The next time, you get better choices.”
That being said… What’s on the agend, in San Jose or elsewhere, for the start of the weekend?
danah gaz
“Is the president perfect? No,” said former Vermont Gov./DNC Chair/2004 Great Hope Howard Dean. “But it sure is better than having Bain Capital—I mean, Mitt Romney—in there!”
That much is true, at least. Still “at least he’s not as bad as the other guy” isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.
Baud
Are there any political headliners there to meet?
Litlebritdifrnt
Tomorrow morning I will do my usual routine. I will potter into the kitchen in my jammies, put on the kettle, let the dogs out, make myself a gallon of hot tea and then turn on all my stupid on demand shows. I will sit there, in my jammies, watching absolutely brain dead (Storage Wars, Ghosthunters, Flea Market Flip et. al.) shows until noon at which point I will get on with the rest of my day. I have to admit that I really look forward to my Saturday mornings when I veg out and just enjoy doing absolutely nothing. We are preparing for a serious armed robbery case to be tried on July 1. Any chance I get to think of nothing but trivia is welcome right now.
pacem appellant
Pub quiz tonight! I’m the guy in the hat! If your political knowledge is Ken Rudin level, then you can be on my team.
This con is rocking. I am meeting so many interesting activists and bloggers and regular joes and janes.
Violet
I’d forgotten all about NN. I don’t visit GOS much at all these days. The few times I’ve visited, it’s been a cesspool of how much Obama is teh suxxors. I get tired of it, so I just don’t go.
Any idea if the attendance at NN is up or down from previous years? Not asking for any reason–just curiosity.
danah gaz
@Litlebritdifrnt: I think I just turned a little more British after reading your comment.
pacem appellant
@Baud: Locally, Mike Honda and his youthful minions are out in force. He reps my district (CA 17), so I’m glad to see him earning his progressive creds.
Litlebritdifrnt
Oh and by the way, some good news, Boss and I were driving to Swansboro to interview witnesses on Thursday and as usual we drove past Camp Lejeune. On the side of the road, in full view of everyone is one of the largest solar farms I have ever seen. Panel after panel after panel, all arranged in neat rows, all hooked up to the main power plant for the base. It warmed the cockles of me heart to be honest.
Litlebritdifrnt
@danah gaz:
Was it Jammies or Hot Tea?
Baud
@pacem appellant:
Good for him. Local guys need to press the flesh.
lamh35
I’ve commited myself to taking my God daughter and her crew (wherever she goes THEY go…lol) to Chuck E Cheese’s. It was her choice, the Audubon zoo or Chuck E Cheese, so Chuck E Cheese it is…lol. Then off to Harrah’s casino for the dinner buffet since my cuz has free vouchers for buffet and I’m sure I’ll need the free drinks at casino after spending the afternoon at Chuck E Cheese
piratedan
@danah gaz: I could very well be wrong, but when you have liberal bastions of thought such as Mark Pryor, Joe Manchin and Claire McCaskill (amongst others) inhabiting your Senate chamber and the House is a clown car full of fail, my expectations are altered based on the hard cold realities that he’s doing the best that he can with the cards he’s been dealt.
pokeyblow
There goes Howard Dean again, talking like a republican.
lamh35
um ok, I’m in moderation and I can’t figure out why…oh well
Violet
I think I’ll go to the farmer’s market tomorrow. Then I’m cooking a birthday dinner. So far melon from my garden with prosciutto, then spring roll wrappers baked into little cups with a modified crab rangoon filling served with some kind of sweet and sour sauce. I think I might go with a blackcurrent vinegar I’ve got in the cupboard. Not sure of the main course yet–farmers market will probably decide that. Dessert is flourless chocolate lava cakes. Might serve that with some sour cherry jam, but not sure yet. I’ve got raspberries in the fridge. Thinking a coffee ice cream might be an accompaniment too. We’ll see.
TaMara (BHF)
I just got my bike back. Two days early. Now I can stop twitching and go riding. Phew. Oh, wait, is that lightening? Dang.
Omnes Omnibus
@lamh35: I am guessing that you did something very, very bad. Okay, not so much guessing as hoping.
Baud
FWIW
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud:
Fucking Obots.
Anne Laurie
@lamh35: You mentioned a “casino” — FYWP hates those. (Me, I’d blocked the ‘Chuck E. Cheese’ ref! /snark)
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
Botsplainers.
Chyron HR
Why did Barney Frank and Howard Dean betray us? Must be afraid of winding up as the third and fourth spots on the
CLINTONOBAMA DEATH LIST.danah gaz
Well then. I’ll never again be able to mention this show with a straight face.
http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr02/2013/3/25/10/enhanced-buzz-19972-1364221617-4.jpg
Violet
@Baud:
Refreshing to hear from someone in his position. Now if only the mouth-foamers on his site would listen.
Violet
@danah gaz: Awesome!
Baud
@Violet:
He should have stood up to them in 2009. On the other hand, if he had, I might never have found this place. :)
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: That too. Botsplainer doesn’t the verve that cudlip has as an insult. Disappointing.
Davis X. Machina
@Violet: @Violet: Stone him! Stone him! He has said that which is not!
TaMara (BHF)
@lamh35: OH MY, that is one group of adorable. And maybe a bit of trouble. Yup, looking closer, I do see trouble.
Violet
@Baud: Yeah, he should have. Instead he was urging people to call their reps to tell them to vote against the healthcare bill. So…
lamh35
@Anne Laurie: ah, the dreaded C word is what did it huh…lol. Dang, either I never used the word before, or I just wasn’t paying attention last time?
boss bitch
Barack Obama is not just better than Mitt Romney. He’s a lot better than many in the Dem leadership and way better than what’s on the plate for 2016. The Dem party should be bowing to him for what he’s brought to the party.
Chris
@Baud:
Back in 2000, a few left-wingers disenchanted (very understandably) with the modern, DLC/Third Way “New Democrats” decided to vote for Nader – whether because they thought both parties had become too similar or in an attempt to remind the Democratic Party not to take them for granted, or whatever. Gore lost, and we the most catastrophic eight years in decades. I think that experience sobered up a lot of people with puritan tendencies and graphically illustrated the fact that no matter how bad you think it is, Republicans can always make it worse. Much, much worse, in ways you can’t even imagine right now.
(To be clear, I’m not saying that Nader voters are the reason Gore lost – it’s not like I’ve studied the election in depth and even if it’s true, it’s only one of the reasons. But I think the “look what happened last time we thought the Democratic Party was too impure for us” narrative has left a mark whether it’s justified or not).
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Yahoo News reporter auditions for AP as a stepping stone to Fox:
What’s truly amazing is how these right wing talking points seep into coverage by reporters who probably genuinely consider themselves “liberal”. This is an obvious and pretty stupid example, but the benefits of “austerity” and the evils of “spending” are treated as unchallenge-able facts by people who buy into the “liberal media” whine because they themselves have gay friends and recycle.
danah gaz
@Litlebritdifrnt: Actually, kettle, jammies, and hot tea, off the top of my head. =)
Punchy
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: whats wrong with that statement? He wont be stopping in the US, cuz he’s in ‘Frica. Seems accurate to me.
danah gaz
@piratedan: “House is a clown car full of fail, my expectations are altered based on the hard cold realities that he’s doing the best that he can with the cards he’s been dealt.”
Oh I agree with that to a degree, but just maybe not the degree that a lot of the people that voted for him do. Particularly as it pertains to executive power. YMMV of course. And again, I’m just a bomb-throwing leftist, not a liberal, so std. disclaimer and all of that.
Baud
@boss bitch:
Yeah, that quote rubbed me the wrong way.
rda909
@danah gaz: How about the most liberal president in any of our lifetimes, and possibly ever when you consider the number of Democrats in the Senate and House during his TWO terms and THE MOST obstructionist Congress EVER. That’s not my opinion, that’s a simple fact when one takes an objective look at his record across the board on every issue.
Is that enough of a “ringing endorsement” for you?
rda909
@boss bitch: Agreed.
Chris
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
That’s a huge part of the reason for their drumbeat alternate reality media. They don’t have to convince everyone of their ideology in order for a huge part of it to seep into the general public consciousness. It’s the old story about repeating a lie often enough that it becomes the truth.
amk
@Violet: If only markos follows what he preaches.
Svensker
@lamh35:
Take drugs or a flask or psychedelics or prozac or something. God, I hated that place. Was so glad when my kid got beyond it. Like a nightmare with screaming children, clowns and lousy food.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@boss bitch: Hear, hear. I was surprised to see BooMan, usually an arch-pragmatist, saying he would prefer Dean to Hillary Clinton. God knows I’ve had and have my beefs with HRC, but even at the height of Dean-mania in ’04, I was lukewarm, and I don’t think he’s a very strong candidate.
amk
@danah gaz: Does your ‘liberal’ standards stop with the #kenyanmuslin or do they extend to the other part of gobinment, you know the congress & senate ?
Eljai
I see Dave Weigel. There is more than one guy wearing a hat.
Svensker
@Violet:
Well, dang, I wanna come hang out by you.
I’m not sure about the crab, though. Welfare moocher food, you know…
Jebediah
Trying to decide whether or not to take Chucky for a run. She needs it, I need the exercise, but I don’t know what my shins and knees will have to say about it.
On the other hand, if I time it right, we will run into Ziggy, who has a major crush on Chucky and is pretty damn cute himself. I took that picture during our walk this morning – Ziggy spotted us from about half a block away and dragged his human over to us as fast as his (very short) legs could manage.
Leaning towards doing it, and fuck the sore knees and shin splints, since I have to work tomorrow anyway.
maven
Thank god I didn’t go to the awful Values Coalition Thingy………
Every round of panels included at least one debriefing from organizers who’d outsmarted the GOP
lamh35
@Svensker: I haven’t been to Chuck E Cheese since I became an adult…so I am dreading it, but I asked maddie and the words “shuc e shees” was her answer and I couldn’t say no…lol.
So my plan is to not eat more than a slice of pizza, and save my appetite for the c-a-sino buffet
amk
@Jebediah: Don’t stand in the way of puppy love
sacrablue
I’m not doing anything for awhile, except doctor visits and insurance forms. On Tuesday morning, my neighbors’ puppy got stuck under their deck. The neighbors were not home so after more than an hour of barking I decided to see if the puppy was really stuck. I never got there. Instead I got a no expenses paid trip to the nearest emergency room to repair my dislocated elbow. I guess I tripped over my own feet. Now I am trying to navigate the Tricare system and remembering why I still can’t stand being a “dependent”.
lamh35
Julian Assange intervenes to help Snowden get to Iceland
Jebediah
@lamh35:
Love the color coordination… looks like there’s a fairly wide age range – they all get along OK?
and yes to Svensker’s advice, I can’t imagine handling Chuck E Cheese without some help, alcohol or some other chemical. Fingers crossed that you survive the trip.
Jebediah
@amk:
I think you are right. Who am I to keep them apart? Off I go to find a clean (enough) pair of shorts…
ETA: And leaving for a run is so much fun… she gets so excited she levitates!
amk
@Jebediah: I want a pic of the lovebirds smooching.
Cacti
@lamh35:
One fugitive assisting another.
How sweet.
Svensker
@lamh35:
Oh, I know that “couldn’t say no” thing to the cuteness. But still, the place is a hellhole. I had to get sit in a darkened room and breathe into a paper bag the last time I went to one. And it WAS the last time! Good luck!
Jebediah
@amk:
I’ll try…
lamh35
@Jebediah: yep Maddie’s the youngest, the oldest is 8 years old.
lamh35
@Svensker: lol…thx. I remember to bring a barf bag and addt’l brown bag…lol
amk
@Jebediah: You must, for ziggy’s sake.
Jebediah
@amk:
Yup, I am about to break out her leash and watch her start leaping about in irrepressible, endearing joy.
TaMara (BHF)
@Jebediah: Sweetness. I second the request for a pix of the two of them together.
The prophet Nostradumbass
@pacem appellant: I happened to see Zoe Lofgren in the hallway today as well.
ruemara
I’ve run off with one of the office cameras and will be photographing the local Livestrong bike thingy (race? ride? tap dance tournament?). It’s like I’m indulging in a last hurrah of doing what I enjoy before I’m cut off for…reasons that make no fiscal sense.
Yatsuno
@lamh35: Iceland has an extradition treaty with the US. There may be issues relating to his asylum claim since there right now is little evidence his prosecution would be politically motivated.
eemom
Fuck Howard Dean.
What a perfect testament to the actual, you know, relevance of this event, that he’s the opening act.
amk
@Jebediah: Looking forward to the pooch smooch pic.
Jebediah
@amk:
@TaMara (BHF):
It is with great disappointment that I report that there was no Ziggy sighting. But I will get a pic of the two of them together as soon as I can.
wmd
I helped at a booth again today. Met emptywheel (I’d met bmaz the previous day and he helped put me in touch with Jon Walker at FDL – the booth I was helping should be featured at Just Say Now on FDL).
met markos too FWIW (not much in my opinion).
The TWiB booth was at the end of the same aisle as the booth I was helping and I must say they were having fun.
Around the corner was a booth that had some fantastic posters, wish I could afford them. My favorite:
They had 4 slut empowerment posters, I like that one the most.
amk
@Jebediah: Bummer. Oh, well, next time.
danah gaz
@amk: I don’t have “liberal” standards, amk.
I was the one that set fire to your Prius last week, cupcake.
/leftist bomb thrower
danah gaz
@wmd: yay!
I’d be a total slut if I had more of a work ethic…
danah gaz
@rda909: I’ve not been enamored with any of the politics in this country for a very long time, which is why I’ve set up shop south of the border as well.
Don’t take it too personally. I hate the “other” pols too.
amk
@danah gaz: Got it. Just a blowhard then. Seen many.
danah gaz
@amk: I just farted. That’s as close to giving a sh*t about your opinion as I’m going to get.
nineone
Ego or idiocy? You decide.
Still, it’s gotta be tough for Howie to watch B-Rock accomplish what he has and not think “I couldda been a contendah”. Oh well, there’s always ’16, amirite?
David Koch
It’s telling that no possible 2016 candidate attended. Not even the liberal Elizabeth Warren.
It wasn’t like that. But dailykos turned themselves into a joke.
David Koch
Wow! 200 people! Main ballroom!
What a massive audience.
Gian
@eemom:
he’s not my type.
I did like the 50 state strategy though
David Koch
Howard Dean on Medicare:
Dean on Social Security:
Dean on why he opposes the public option:
Dean on Iraq:
On teh ghey:
On moolims:
On the Confederacy:
Hmmmm, tell me how Dean is better than obummer, again?
wmd
@David Koch:
RIght, a non congressional election year, 3 years before the next presidential election is when all the potential candidates are going to court the progressives.
James E. Powell
@David Koch:
Damn! You put a lot of work into that. Did somebody break your heart or what?
David Koch
@wmd: keep whistling past the graveyard.
David Koch
@James E. Powell: no work at all when you have a good memory and google to help you pull up exact quotes. I can remember the 2003/4 cycle like it was yesterday, perhaps because, I, like so many others, fought against the 2003 invasion.
Kathleen
@lamh35: Aside from the “ambiance”, I had issues with an establishment that paid homage to a stuffed rat. I always felt like my soul was being sucked out when I took my grandkids, who, thankfully, have outgrown Chucky.
Bart
“He drew boos when he defended the idea of drone warfare, asking his audience of 200 or so to consider the costs and benefits of sending troops versus sending robots.”
Or — and here’s a novel, revolutionary idea — you could simply STOP KILLING PEOPLE.
LAC
@amk: you mean teh Obama is not in charge of teh whole government? Three branches of government? NOOOOOS!!! So he can’t executive order the meanies away?
LAC
@danah gaz: sorry you had to lift a finger to type since amuurica sucks hard. Since you will be sending a fart my way, make it a small one. Don’t want your brain falling out.
AHH onna Droid
Why is torture in scare quotes? It was torture. Fucking liars. @Baud:
danah gaz
@LAC: “sorry you had to lift a finger to type since amuurica sucks hard”
If you conflate the country in which you live with the politics of it then I feel sorry for you.
“Since you will be sending a fart my way, make it a small one. Don’t want your brain falling out”
Pro-tip: Don’t try to be clever. You’re simply not very good at it.
As far as trolling me on a thread from yesterday, you need better hobbies.