MOMocrats™

Go Bid on It: Netroots Nation Auction

Our friends at Netroots Nation are having an auction to benefit their annual conference, to be held next August in Pittsburgh.  Go on over and bid on some great items, ranging from coffee with General Wesley Clark to an autographed Dwight Schrute bobblehead to cool Obama jewelry.  Something for every price range, and a way to help a great group raise funds!

Guest Post: Frank S. on Dancing with the Senators

The MOMocrats welcome Spouse-ocrat and frequent commenter, Frank S., who gives us a peek into a fundraiser for Democratic Senators in San Francisco.

My wife, MOMocrat Glennia, and I had the good luck to be in San Francisco for a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) event early in October. This was the last event coordinated by venture capitalist Mark Gorenberg to help Democrats secure a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.  From the e-mail notice we got it looked like it would be a memorable event.

So, in the mid-afternoon, we dropped our son off at with a neighbor who has kids slightly older than ours. As we left, a board game (Life – one our son almost always wins) was unfolding, so we knew he’s be quite happy for quite a while. We climbed in our car and headed up the highway to San Francisco.

The event was in Cow Hollow, just north of Pacific Heights, in the lovely home of the founders of a software firm. After climbing up several steep blocks, our navigation system told us we were “near our destination” at about the same time that the valet approached to park the car. We climbed out and went inside, where we found a comfortable well dressed crowd, and a nonstop parade of wine and canapés offered by caterers in black and white. As we munched little salmon sandwiches and mini-kumquat skewers, we could see the breathtaking view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the rear balcony. I guess a software success can buy quite a view in San Francisco.

MOMocrats in Denver: Still Need Your Help

The MOMocrats are starting to arrive in Denver for Democratic National Convention!  We'll be here all week, providing you with our up-to-the minute coverage and unique brand of mom-centered punditry and analysis. Check back here often for the latest news, chat and photos from the DNCC.   

We still need help with the costs of the trip, so we have extended the Chip In Date for a time.  Anything you can contribute to help us would be greatly appreciated. 

We have some swag to send you as a token of our appreciation:

$10 Donation:  Listing on our "Best Looking and Sexiest People in the Blogosphere" Blogroll
$25 Donation:  MOMocrats Bumpersticker + blogroll mention
$50 Donation: MOMocrats Bumpersticker, blogroll mention, and embroidered MOMocrats Totebag
$100 Donation:  All of the above AND signature "Powerful Blogger Lady" pink trucker hat.
Over $100:  All of the above and autographed swag from the Democratic National Convention and our undying gratitude!

Just use our Chip In button to donate via Paypal, or email us at MOMocrats (at) gmail (dot) com for instructions on where to send a check. 

NOTE:  the fundraising has not ended, even if the Chip In button says so.

Thanks!

GrandMOMocrat attends Barack Obama's Hawaii fundraiser

My very own Obama Mama in the middle of a Barack-Michelle sandwich.

My mom was lucky enough to attend Barack Obama's Honolulu fundrasier held last night at the Kahala Resort. She's been a supporter of Obama's since Day 1 and wanted to go and show her support in person. Since she lives in Kahala she didn't have far to travel to attend the event, she just walked up to the hotel from her house.

I love looking at the photos of Obama in Hawaii. He looks so happy to be there. Who wouldn't be, vacationing in such a beautiful place, but I know that smile. I've smiled that smile. It's the easy smile of a local who hasn't been home for awhile.

My mom emailed me to share a brief peek into what the event was like (we MOMocrats have people everywhere), and here is her note:

Let's Talk About The Environment, Baby

News of the John Edwards affair seems to be cooling as war between Russia and Georgia heats up and our fearless misleader parties in China so I'd like to take a pause while Barack Obama is on vacation and talk about one of the reasons he's there: the environment. Oahu is a gorgeous place, but not all of it is pretty - Honolulu is home to pollution as is the Pacific Ocean. Polar bears may not live there, but humpback whales mate around the corner, and there aren't too many of them left now either.

I'm not going to spend too much time here going into why we need to do everything we can to support the pro-environment agenda because it should be obvious: destroy animals + destroy food + destroy water = people die. No more children, no more cute little furry animals, no more pretty flowers, no more fresh air. So we have to fix it. Now.

The Alliance for Climate Protection, Al Gore's umbrella organization for solving the "climate crisis," is a great place to start. Nearly 1.5 Million people have signed up to help. Watch the Planet Green channel. Learn, become engaged and informed. (I've become a huge fan of the show, Greensburg. It's incredible what one town can do when they put their heads together with a common mission.)

Swag-o-Rama Winners List

Thanks to everyone who donated to Help A Mama Swag-o-Rama.  We selected winners using Random.org.  "No Winner" indicates that there were no bids on the item.  Here's the complete list:

#1 Political Mama: Tracy Oswalt Kowald
#2 Sex & the City:  Amy Oztan
#3 Tech Mama:  Gilded Digital Design
#4 Blogger Mama:  Sandra Williams

Hillary Clinton Fundraiser in Los Altos Hills, California

My husband, 8 year-old son and I went to a fundraiser on Thursday night for Hillary Clinton.  It was billed as a "unity event" where Obama and Clinton Silicon Valley supporters got together to help pay Clinton's debt, munch appetizers and red, white & blue Hillary cookies, and hear Senator Clinton speak about party unity.  It was co-hosted by two of Silicon Valley's powerhouse fundraisers, who combined their considerable donor lists to get people out to help Hillary (and the party) pay off some of her $20 million campaign debt.

My husband and I supported Edwards and Obama in the primary.  Our son, however, is a die-hard Hillary fan.  When we got the invitation, we asked him if he wanted to have the chance to meet Hillary, and he said, "Yes!"  I asked what he would say to her if he got to meet her, and he said, "I want to tell her she did a good job in the election."

I thought that would be something she might like to hear, coming from a little boy.  During the primary season, he pointedly told me, pointing out his placemat with all the President's portraits on it, "I want Hillary to win because, do you see any girls here?  NO. It's a girl's turn."

McCain Sneaking Up on Late Twentieth Century With Occasional Computer Use

Senator John McCain, while campaigning and fundraising in Silicon Valley, says "I am forcing myself...let me just say, I'm using the computer more and more every day."

He also had this to say:

"Now, I read e-mails," he added, saying his staff is "constantly showing them to me as the news breaks during the day."

"I use a computer almost every day. I go on different web sites ... ours and the various media," he said.

How very...Y2K. How very...5 year old kid who already uses a mouse and knows how to surf PBS Kids.

AND McCain was chair of the Senate Commerce Committee which made important rulings on the telecom industry, among other high-tech issues.

Yikes. Why do I feel like that's akin to leaving the ice-seller with his horse-drawn cart in charge of the refrigerator factory?

So much for having Silicon Valley heavy hitters Carly Fiorina (Hewlett-Packard) and Meg Whitman (Ebay) as "advisors" to the campaign.

H/T to MOMos CityMama and oneplustwo.

ETA: A recent survey of people aged 100 years old or older yields these results:

When it comes to e-mail, usage is even higher: 7 per cent [of those surveyed] are familiar with the idea of an inbox, and of those more than half have either sent or received digital photos. The internet more generally has been used by 12 per cent of those aged 100 or more, though that is still a stretch behind mobile phones, which have been embraced by 19 per cent.

Showing that when it comes to using or being familiar with technology, age isn't an excuse. What's McCain's?

Cynematic blogs at P i l l o w b o o k. She's afraid her retiree mom-in-law will join Twitter and the volume of text-messages with "LOL" and "c u l8r" will skyrocket to overwhelming levels of tweet. (Just kidding, love you Mom-in-law!!) Her own retiree parents, well into their 70s, have moved on from "Neiman cookie recipe" and "flashing headlights is a gang sign" glurge to Beijing Olympics- and panda-related spam. (Joking, love you too, Mom!) PS Momses, I never--well, almost never--drop the f-bomb here.

Breakfast With Al Franken

MOMocrat Glennia's husband, frequent commenter Frank S., recently had the chance to have breakfast with Senate hopeful, Al Franken.  Franken was on a fundraising tour of California with Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.  This is his account.

Earlier this month, I got the chance to have a fundraising breakfast with Al Franken. It was one of Mark Gorenberg’s now famous Silicon Valley events. I’ve been on the e-mail list for these for some time, but seem to have the bad luck to be on travel or otherwise committed everytime he has had Senate or House candidates come through town.  This time, however, I was in town, had no morning meetings, and a breakfast at Il Fornaio in Palo Alto was not far from my route to the freeway – an ideal time and place.

And, it was Al Franken, well known SNL comedian turned Senate candidate. At least it would not be a dull morning, for sure. Al is running to represent his native Minnesota, where he hopes to rout Repub Norm Coleman. Al says that earlier in Norm’s term, he’s on tape boasting of voting with Bush nearly 100% of the time. Al plans to remind voters of that fact. A lot.

Breakfast was a delicious buffet of pastries and fruit, and as I was loading a cinnamon twist on my plate, the man at my elbow said “Sure looks good."

As I agreed, he said “Hi, I’m Sheldon Whitehouse, from Rhode Island”.

Al had brought two senators along with him on this road trip, Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and there they were, also loading up on fruit, pastries and coffee. What do you say to a Senator at the pastry line? Blast them on the status of the FISA situation? Pull the text of some legislation out of your pocket that you just happened to have in mind?

Not knowing what to say, I asked about his trip with Franken.  He said that their next stop was the airport, because they were going to Hollywood for another fundraiser.  I thought a moment and then asked “Is a guy like Al really going to fit in a place with such decorum as the Senate?”  with (I hope) just enough tongue in cheek to show I knew it really wasn’t so formal, but still, could a comedian could really get anything done?

Whitehouse smiled and said “He'll fit right in.”

Then, I handed him my wife's MOMocrats card and said he should check it out.  He put it in his pocket, and grabbed a muffin.

Good Faith, and the Good People of America

We Democrats have been through some wrenching and terrible times in the past few elections. Mention 2000 and Al Gore, 2004 and Kerry, or 2006's supposed Democratic majority in the House, and you'll be opening some wounds that haven't quite healed.

I remember vituperative, bile-filled articles like this, which talked about how those of us in the Blue Urban Archipelago wanted those in rural Red America to maybe take a flying leap. Or worse.

Hard words, and hard feelings. I remember thinking how deeply I hated anyone who voted for Bush in 2000 or 2004, summed up by this London newspaper headline: How Can 59,054,087 People Be So Dumb? Those were hardly constructive feelings, and indeed things got worse.

I bring these up not to inflame past divides, but to underscore what a disastrously and bitterly separated country we were, until recently.