8:30 AM - wake up.
9 AM - out of the house.
9:15 - went to Panera for some emergency fast-speed internet time since my Mom was on the phone, needed to read the news of the morning for today's big events *and* get my state rep and senator's phone number.
9:45 - breakfast finished (a muffin), heading to Wonderland to catch the Blue Line.
10:50 - in Boston. I wanted to go to the State House, but I had a brain fart and left at State... State Street. Whoops. So instead of paying another 1.25, I decided to walk it, which took about 20 minutes only because I went the wrong way at first LOL.
11:20 - Got to the rally, bumped into a friend I know, snapped some photos and had a good - though brief - time.
11:45 - Walked to the JFK Federal Interview, met up with some of my fellow netroot activists, and went through the security.
12 pm - Time for the day's purpose: a meeting with one of Senator Kennedy's top staffers. There were 5 or 6 of us there - a PhD, minister, lawyer, energy consultant... and little old me. I try to mentally keep up with those smarty pants and think I do alright, considering. BTW - folks - these are the bloggers of the world, not merely a bunch of angry, lefty whackos, huh?
At the meeting, we talked about a whole lot of issues. Generally, we like Senator Kennedy. The only reason he isn't on my "strongly supported" list is because of his Cape Wind position - and if he shifts just a tad more on it, I'll give him that distinction.
I'll post more on the meeting later because some of it was real top secret stuff (seriously, I'm not even kidding - and I'm not even talking about stuff from Kennedy's office) and I have to respect the anonymity of my peers in the activist networks.
But, I can safely say we talked about who we are; why we we're there; how we're (frequently) talking with the Kerry office; how we want to help Kennedy with his projects we support (and how could we do that better?). I think it's also okay to mention we discussed Fiengold's censure resolution and hoped that Kennedy would change his position on it, especially now that Hamden (the Supreme Court case on Gitmo) has come out.
Of course, I want to hold Kennedy accountable on Cape Wind, but there was a lot to talk about and - as a goal - we want to have a good repor with Kennedy before we really start pushing him because it will ultimately be more effective. Plus, I'm really the only one of the bunch that knows a lot about Cape Wind and need to work on updating everyone else.
The meeting lasted about an hour or so and I found it a pleasant experience. I think the aide (and his intern) seemed not only nice, but geniune, and I can generally sniff the phonies out in a heart beat. However, future meetings and dialogue will determine just how genuine the office is. However, they are paying attention. The aides and interns are reading the blogs and keeping up to date on the progressive revolution.
Though we weren't there for the marriage amendment, the aide was keen to discuss it (I think he knew some of us had just come from the protests there) and was generally interested in that conversation - so that really made me feel good about Senator Kennedy in his choice of staff... it's good to know he was so interested in marriage equality and that bodes well for Kennedy.
Btw, did I mention Kennedy has a sweet office - not just his office in general, but actually where his desk is... because that's where we were! It had an incredible view and all sorts of pictures a history buff like me would find fascinating (seeing as how Kennedy's a Kennedy and all). It was like stepping into a Museum.
1:30 ish - went out to lunch with my fellow netroot activists. We discussed the meeting, Iraq, corporations... and just about anything else. Anyone beside me find deep political discussions interesting? Again, I try to keep up with the mental heavy weights... it's a good thing bloggers aren't anything like Lieberman and Republicans like to paint us.
Then I decided to go back to the protests. I got lots of pictures, I'll post more later (running out of time). I was going to go into the chambers and watch the ConCon in person - and I probably should have (since there was lots of room for spectators at that point), but I had prior engagements and the ConCon was only on the 4th amendment proposal - which means it wasn't going to be voted on (in all likelihood) today. So I selfishly started heading home.
5ish - Stopped by Radio Shack to buy a new cord for my Digital Camera so I could upload some pictures for my readers (lost the old one). That was key, so give me some major thanks and praise for spending $20 on you all =p
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5 comments:
you live with your mom? no wonder you think the world is ending. You've accomplished nothing in your life.
I hear the anti-cape wind folks are taking bets on when you plan on haning yourself - before or after dEvil loses.
Um... dude, I'm still in college. Not many people who are in college live entirely without parental support. In fact, I don't know one person that does. Yet, 250 days of the year I live in my apartment in Dartmouth, I'd call that relatively indepedent. You, of course, are welcome to your own, anonymous, unfounded opinions.
And I didn't know you knew me so well that you could judge whether or not I've done anything with my life. While I'd suggest that I have, it's a good thing I'm nice and young - Mr. Anonymous - to continue to do good things.
Ted Kennedy need to come to Germany and SEE windmills. I can't even tell you how cool these things are. Oh - and everyone drives these things called "smart" cars. It's a subsidiary of Mercades-Benz, and they get like 70 miles a gallon or something disgusting off of normal gas, and they have a sportscar model.
What kind of pressure/info sheets are you putting on the senator to change his position? Did the meeting make it seem like he was leaning to change?
oh, and anonymous, the lack of sensicality in your second paragraph gave me a stomach ulcer. thanks.
LOL Joe - see, I totally found something you could post about on prognow =p
You're a progressive now =)
I'm not sold on the smart cars out of safety concerns, but I do drive a Honda Civic, so I think I'm pretty good in doing my duty to save the earth. I didn't really touch on Kennedy on Cape Wind yet, but I plan on making it a big part of my next meeting with his office. I have high hopes he'll come around on this issue, especially since all the issues surrounding Cape Wind have become non-issues (mainly, it largely won't be visible in any meaningful capacity).
May I suggest...Professor Silva of the science department has a DVD that has a pretty comprehensive look at the use of Windmills in (Denmark or Holland) that lead them to becoming 100% energy independant of the whole world. I know it wouldn't be feasable to watch it with Ted, but there's a LOT of ammo in that movie that you could use. IN FACT, Silva is a great supporter of Cape Wind, and I bet he could hook you up with everything and anything you need to make Teddy see the lig...er...wind.
And I'm not progressive (liberal =P) God gave us this world and we shouldn't trash it. Plus, who doesn't love to sit in a park and admire the green trees and listen to the birds...nobody should have to lose that.
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