Not really MIA - tidbits of my convention coverage
August 27, 2008
Apologies for being MIA here at Pandagon. I'm here in Denver writing, taking photos and video to try to give readers a taste of the convention that you don't see on the television coverage. I'll just share a few of the things that are being filed over at The Blend.
I attended the Human Rights Campaign/Victory Fund LGBT Delegate luncheon. There are over 260 out LGBT delegates in Denver, and they (and we) were treated by a surprise appearance by Michelle Obama, who spoke movingly about why an Obama administration will strongly support civil equality.
Video is below the fold.
Here's the first video as she's introduced to a roaring, enthusiastic crowd. Sorry for the shaky, unedited video - it was crowded on the media riser.
The rest of the video:
Later that day it was chaos getting to the convention hall from the Michelle Obama event. While it's not humid in Denver, the sun is blazing hot, and I have a bit of sunburn from my longish walk to the Pepsi Center. Taking a cab was not possible because of the traffic tie-up from the presence of Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton at the same hotel (the latter was at the Emily's List event). I spent the evening on Radio Row at the Sirius Satellite radio booth. I was interviewed by legendary gay activist-turned-radio host Mike Signorile about the Michelle Obama lunch and the general goings-on at the convention re: LGBT issues.
Mike kindly let me plug in and recharge my laptop, but I ended up sitting there on a folding chair with the laptop on another chair for most of the evening, taking shots of media figures and pols passing by. Mind you, if you're watching the convention on TV, you're seeing more than I am. We have no view of the stage or the floor. Anyway, lots of pols and bigwigs have been walking by. I saw Anderson Cooper (he flew by, sorry, no pics), and Dennis Kucinich, who was being interviewed after his speech on the stage.
At one point I looked up and who is walking by? Rep. Tammy Baldwin, who earlier in the day introduced Michelle Obama at the HRC/Victory Fund LGBT delegate luncheon. She actually recognized me and came over (I've interviewed her before), and Mike Signorile snapped up his audio equipment to do a short interview, and I videotaped it. I got in a question as well (video here).
Front pager at the Blend, Autumn Sandeen, has been doing great coverage on transgender issues (see her interviews with Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), on gender identity platform language and marriage equality). She has also attended and reported on the California delegation breakfast meetings.
The posts from contributor "Radical" Russ Belville, who is on the fundie and protestor beat, has managed to catch all the major freakshows going on in Denver.
A couple of good sample posts: "Discussions with the Pro-Government-Enforced-Procreation demonstrators," and his stroll down 16th Street yesterday yielded some really interesting encounters.
My other front pager here, Terrance Heath, has a long chronicle about some of the logistical nightmares that I'm sure more than one blogger has experienced in Denver.
Today at noon I will facilitate a session at The Open Space (next to the Big Tent) sponsored by the New Organizing Institute, "LGBT Civil Equality: Educating Potential Political Allies." I will also be on a 2 PM panel at The Big Tent put on by Alliance for Justice on the state of the legal system, Overruled: Taking Back the Courts Through Progressive New Media. Also on the panel: Arianna Huffington, Glenn Greenwald, Dahlia Lithwick of Slate.com, and Christy Hardin Smith of FireDogLake.com.
Anyhoo, here are RSS feeds you can add to your reader to follow coverage:
RSS Feeds available:
2008 DNC Blend convention posts only:
https://feeds.feedburner.com/pamshouseblend/pspu
The regular Blend feed, which also includes non-convention-related posts:
Related Post