California Congressional District 29: Congressman Adam Schiff's Health Care Town Hall

In case you were wondering, I attended the town hall held by my congressperson a little more than a week ago, and noticed no one in attendance packing heat. I joke here, but I take any vigilantism or talk of intimidating people with arguments made in the presence of a gun seriously. That's not reasoned debate, that's bullying.

Alhambra, CA. August 11, 2009.

The town hall was originally scheduled to be held inside a library, but so many people rsvp'd that it ended up being held outside on the blocked-off street outside the library. It garnered a lot of attention as it was one of the few scheduled in Los Angeles for the week of August 10, 2009.

Netroots Nation: Day Two Highlights

Howard Dean on Health Care

The second day of Netroots Nation opened with a discussion of health care with Howard Dean.  Dean was interviewed by Tanya Tarr and Mike Lux in a town hall format.  Many audience members wore hardhats handed out by the United Steelworkers Union to show support for union efforts on health care reform.  During his talk, Dean referred to his new book, Howard Dean's Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform: How We Can Achieve Affordable Medical Care for Every American and Make Our Jobs Safer. Dean asked, "Who do you want controlling your health care, you or your insurance company?" He noted that insurance companies are not in the business to provide health care, but to make money.  They are a reflection of the free-wheeling Wall Street culture that led to the current recession.

Netroots Nation: Day One Highlights

Last weekend, MOMocrats Cynematic, LawyerMama, PunditMom, Julie and I traveled to Pittsburgh to take part in the annual Netroots Nation Conference. We spent four days attending panels, plenary sessions, and  parties, and participated as speakers on two panels.  It was an exhausting and exhilarating time, and we could go on for days about the great people we met and the stories we heard.

I wanted to share some of the highlights of my first day at Netroots.

The Myth of Post-Racial America Panel

This discussion, led by Keith Kamisugi, focused on the myth that since America has elected an African-American President, we are now in a "post-racial" period.  The first part of the panel was a screening of a part of the film "9500 Liberty," made by panelist filmmaker Annabel Park, whose documentary delves into a community initiative in Prince William County, Virginia to allow racial profiling, specifically of anyone suspected of being in the United States illegally.  She said that when they started making the film, she and her co-producer, Eric Byler, thought that they were making a film about illegal immigrants, but it turned into a film about race and the incitement of fear into a community.  The film illustrates how misinformation and agitation can take control of an issue and lead to disastrous ends. 

So Much Shouting, So Little Laughter: A Maryland Health Care Town Hall

"Well, I won't be going inside." -- Jane Aitken, New Hampshire Teabagger in response to MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan's opportunity to pose a question on health reform to President Obama

And that, ladies and gentlemen, sums it up nicely. Anti-health care reform folks are very interested in appearing on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox but totally, completely, and utterly disinterested in the facts.

Such was the case last evening at Senator Ben Cardin's (D-MD) health care town hall. Despite the 97-degree heat, code red air quality, and oppressive humidity, hundreds of people turned out in an attempt to claim one of the 500 seats at Towson University.

"'I know some of you don't want me to mention the facts, but listen to the facts,' the senator said early on, drawing an angry response from opponents in the room and applause from supporters - who were both outshouted and outnumbered." -- Baltimore Sun

Vote for Your Favorite MOMocrats!

CREDO Mobile is awarding a BlackBerry® Curve™ 8330 smartphone, plus one year's unlimited service on CREDO, to three deserving recipients. CREDO has setup a contest that you can participate in from any mobile phone regardless of whether you'll be in Pittsburgh at Netroots Nation this sweek. So take a few minutes to review the rules and then cast your votes for individual progressive bloggers you enjoy.

There will be one winner, determined by the highest number of votes submitted via text message, in each of three categories:

    * Best National Blogger
    * Best State or Local Blogger
    * Blog Activist of the Year

Please cast your votes today! Just text the keyword ("national," "state" or "activist") plus your favorite blogger's name or "handle" to short code 27336. We're encouraging people to vote for the following MOMocrats contributors, based on their work on our site and elsewhere, but feel free to vote for your favorite progressive blogger in each category:

    * National  PunditMom/Joanne Bamberger
    * State Julie Pippert
    * Activist Jaelithe

Just text your votes in using this format for your favorites! One vote per category per voter; you may vote in all three categories if you wish. Please note:

   1. Vote for your favorite blogger (a person)—not your favorite blog.
   2. If your favorite blogger usually posts under a handle or alias, please use that in your text message, not his or her real name.

Voting closes: Saturday, August 15th 10:00 a.m. ET

For more information and the full contest rules, please visit CREDO's Mobile Apptitude blog. Winners will be announced Saturday evening, August 15, at the Netroots Nation conference in Pittsburgh.  The MOMocrats will be there in force, so look for us if you're attending!

Run, Mama, Run: Dr. Judy Chu Sweeps California Democratic Party Delegates, CA Congressional District 32

Left: former Congresswoman Hilda Solis, then-State Assemblywoman Judy Chu

Part of the pleasure of seeing former Congresswoman Hilda Solis appointed as Labor Secretary in the Obama administration is anticipating which worthy Democrat will then fill her seat in the 32d district.

Teabag, Douchebag...It's All Starting to Blur

It's not tea they're brewing, it's big bottomless batches of aimless haterade.

See David Shuster's fact-filled story on why no one can put a finger on what people are protesting or whether the GOP players behind this astroturfed movement (Dick Armey, Newt Gingrinch) will join the "unwashed masses" to protest Reagan and Bush tax policies today. (My bet: the muckety-mucks of the GOP will be a no-show.)

Cynematic blogs at P i l l o w b o o k.

Rachel Maddow Tells You All About Teabagging

So, people upset with the raising of taxes from 36% to 39% (letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire and resetting the rate to the Clinton years) are taking to the streets on April 15, 2009, the day federal income taxes are due. (Or maybe they're upset about the Wall Street bailouts. Or maybe it's the stimulus package. It's all so inchoate. But the problem definitely isn't the money we've spent in the past 7 years on the Iraq war. Different protest, different people.)

Never mind that government revenue from the lapsed Bush tax cuts would fund the White House's health care reform, thereby increasing the safety net for more Americans in a time when we're all wondering just how strong our own individual safey nets are.

Instead, conservatives who didn't get any headway in Congress saying that tax cuts could get us out of a recession are now merging their tax-centric views with populist ire over executive pay, etc, and calling for a National Tea Party. It's an event ginned up by reluctant right wingers who now are distancing themselves from the event, and flogged by Faux Fox media and now hawked by many old white elected dudes in the Republican party (except for the African American guy who's supposedly GOP party head). Remember, if you can't win elections, actually govern or offer real alternatives to governing (numberless Republican campaign platform alternative budget here), you CAN be elected king of corporate media!

Apparently, people have been snail mailing tea bags to the White House, effectively "teabagging" them. I wonder how many participants will actually be affected by the tax "hike" on the wealthiest Americans?

Here, I'll let a giggly Rachel Maddow explain all about it.

Too bad no one googled to see if "teabagging" had any off-center connotations first. Really, people, Teh Goog is your friend!

Cynematic blogs at P i l l o w b o o k.

Glenn Nye, the Newbie with a Great Agenda

Now that the election season madness and celebration has tapered off, I want to talk about something that made me just as happy as getting Barack Obama into office: getting Glenn Nye elected to Congress.

I'm so excited about Glenn becoming Congressman-elect Glenn Nye, that I try to work it into conversation as often as possible and make other people say it.  Even my long-suffering Republican husband:

T: "Hey, your guy is in the paper again..."
Me: "You mean Congressman-elect Nye?"
T: "Um, yeah. Can you pass me the Sports?"
Me: "Only if you say Congressman-elect Nye."
T: "You're kidding right?"
Me: "Nope. Spill."
T: "Congressman- mumble, mumble, mumble..."
Me: "Say it properly or I'll teach the kids to call him Daddy."
T: "You wouldn't."
Me: "You know I would. Congressman-elect. Say it!"
T: "Congressman-elect Glenn Nye. OK? Happy now?"

Anyway, since my dry cleaner, the kids' sitter, and the checkout guy at the grocery store are all sick of hearing about Congressman-elect Glenn Nye, it's time for me to harass the lovely MOMocrats readers.

I've written about Glenn here many times in the past.  Since I met him this Summer, I've been trying to put my finger on what it is that is so appealing about him as a political candidate.  Perhaps his age, 34, has something to do with it.  I mean, he's one of "us."  He's of my generation, with a common history and cultural past.  He's very intelligent, which is like crack to an overeducated policy wonk like myself.  Glenn is also charming, well spoken, and pretty darn cute.  I don't think all of that entirely explains why I was willing to get involved in a campaign, his campaign, when I've never done so before.

One of 100,000 Obama Supporters in St. Louis

On Saturday, October 18th, Senator Barack Obama spoke under the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, in front of 100,000 people. It was the largest crowd ever to attend an Obama rally in the United States.

This was my view of the crowd.