My Experiences in Boston

[dissention]

I got there Tuesday morning and parked under the Prudential Tower (my parking bill was over $200 by this morning :shocked: ) and then checked into my room. Very, very nice place. I felt like the king of the trailer park finally moved right on up. :laugh: Never ran into Glenn Close, though.

I was too late for the conference that Moore and HoDe were speaking at because the lines were a mile long. However, they came out onto the veranda/balcony and spoke to us in the crowd. It really burned my ass because I was so close to making it inside just as they started closing the doors.

Lemme tell you, I cried when Braun gave her speech. I thought it was beautiful because it wasn't the usual stump speech, it had a very classy sort of passion to it and you just knew that she believed in what she was saying.

I got to hear Teresa speak to the Gay, Lesbian, and Transexual Caucus with my friend Jamie and they LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED her!!!!!!!!!! She told a story about a gay man that she met at a fundraiser who said he'd always wanted a mother like her. Then she said to the crowd "If we win the election, you'll always have a mama in the White House who loves you" and then said "Just call me Mama T." :laugh: What a woman.

My favorite speech of the convention was Sharpton's. It was AMAZING. He went over his time limit and ad-libbed almost all of it. They were flashing the red light at him from the back and he kept going. :lol: Everyone in the audience loved that man.

Last night after Kerry's speech, which I thought was fantastic and rivaled Clinton's (which I missed on Monday :( ), they had problems with the balloons. The assholes from CNN were sneaking up behind people in the audience and the nosebleeds and trying to tape their reaction. Who knows what landed on the live broadcast, but there were a lot of people asking "Where the f*ck are the balloons?!" :laugh: Ron Reagan was great, too.

I SAW Miss Randi Rhodes, but didn't get to meet her. :thumbsup: The girl loves pink, that's all she wore. I saw Hannity, who looks like even more of a douche-bag in person (and he DOES wear a LOT of make-up). I saw the whole CNN GOP crew because they were on the floor covering the whole thing. They're a bunch of assholes, especially that shill Judy Woodruff. That woman needs to go crawl under a rock. Candy Crowley stayed away on the side of the stage most of the time because she was pissing off the delegates (that's what I heard, at least). With the exception of Hannity, almost the ENTIRE Faux news crew stayed off the floor and in the skybox. And Hannity wanted bodyguards. :lol: I saw Moore walking around and someone told me he was interviewed by O'Lielly. Anyone catch it?

I read an article Wednesday night before I went to bed about how Moore and Bill Hemmer from CNN got into quite the row because Hemmer said something about people wanting Moore dead. I was in the crowd for Hardball with Tweety Matthews once on Tuesday night after the speeches, but I motored after five minutes and got a Coke at Cheers. :lol: He's a bastard, along with all of his buddies. Some woman was screaming "What about Lori?" in reference to Scarborugh's murdered intern. :shocked:

I had a floor pass for Wednesday, but not for Tuesday or last night. It sucked, but the atmosphere of that convention made up for it. The love that I felt from everyone that was there was unbelievable. I can't even put it into words. Probably the best experience of my life.

[amber]

Wow, what an exceptional experience. Thanks for sharing. I'm sorry I missed
Braun's speech. I saw Sharpton's, and I cried! :D Thanks for the scoop.
Amber

[dissention]

Wow, what an exceptional experience. Thanks for sharing. I'm sorry I missed
Braun's speech. I saw Sharpton's, and I cried! :D Thanks for the scoop.
Amber

Braun looked and sounded beautiful. I told my friend that I was with that if she doesn't have a position in the Kerry administration, I'll be furious. She has an air of integrity that I've never seen in another politician, except for Kucinich. I think Kucinich is going to run for the US Senate, personally. He can't go anywhere but up. :thumbsup:

[gldstwmn]

I

I had a floor pass for Wednesday, but not for Tuesday or last night. It sucked, but the atmosphere of that convention made up for it. The love that I felt from everyone that was there was unbelievable. I can't even put it into words. Probably the best experience of my life.

That must have been so fun! Tell us more! :xoxo:

[CarneVaca]

The love that I felt from everyone that was there was unbelievable. I can't even put it into words. Probably the best experience of my life.

Did you get any love at the protester's cage? Did you check them out?

For those of you who don't know how the protesters were treated, here's what one of them had to say:

It’s like a scene from some post-apocalyptic movie – a futuristic, industrial detention area from a Mad Max film. You are surrounded on all sides by concrete blocks and steel fencing, with razor wire lining the perimeter. Then, there is a giant black net over the entire space.

That’s not even the worst part. 80% of the space is actually beneath a construction site. You heard me, most of the zone is actually under a partially constructed building, broken up by gates, iron girders and wooden rafters, in the darkness.

No helicopter will ever be able to see an aerial shot of the people assembled, negating the major points of mass protest: to let the rest of the public see your numbers. This forced ’invisibility’ is so painfully obvious, that it is hard to believe it resulted from pure negligence. What’s more, the space fits only 1000 maximum by law, so the 1001st person who wants to express their rights, is out of luck.

That’s not all. If you go inside, you won’t be left safely alone with your fellow protesters. Right above you will be a suspended catwalk of wooden rafters traveling down the middle of the protest area. This strip is not only covered with reams of barbed wire, but officers (or national guardsmen) will be strolling above you just feet from your head.

[dissention]

Did you get any love at the protester's cage? Did you check them out?

For those of you who don't know how the protesters were treated, here's what one of them had to say:

I was talking about the feeling amongst the people in the Fleet Center, not the people who decided to put people into cages. They had no say in it, wiseass.

And, yes, I did check them out. ;) For anyone who doesn't know, though, that particular part of Boston is literally a construction site, so it's no surprise that they had them in "cages." They've been doing road work and the like there for over a year. And for any of those protesters to say they're blameless in anyhting that happened to them is absurd. They were not only vicious, but they were crude in a way I had never seen publicly displayed. I'm not condoning the use of those cages, but they were simply out of line at times and some should have been arrested for civil disobedience.

[dissention]

That must have been so fun! Tell us more! :xoxo:

I got hit with so many signs that I'm lucky not to have brain damage. :lol: The whips were running all over the place, making sure everyone had signs and stuff; they were unbelievably energetic.

The crowd itself was warm to Lieberman last night, but no one really liked the guy. :laugh:

Some people were throwing crumpled signs towards CNN after the speeches, too. Too bad none of them knocked out Leslie Wolf, Shill Woodruff, or F*cker Carlson.

And I looked all over for Mo Rocca, but he was with American Samoa for the ENTIRE convention. :laugh:

[CarneVaca]

They've been doing road work and the like there for over a year. And for any of those protesters to say they're blameless in anyhting that happened to them is absurd. They were not only vicious, but they were crude in a way I had never seen publicly displayed. I'm not condoning the use of those cages, but they were simply out of line at times and some should have been arrested for civil disobedience.

It's true about the road work. But I bet you Mumbles Menino could have come up with better accommodations. I bet even you would agree.

What about the behavior didn't you like? Give us some examples. I saw some pictures of geezers holding anti-abortion signs -- do they know Kerry is "personally against abortion?" -- and it made me laugh. They looked so terrifying and dangerous.

[CarneVaca]

I got hit with so many signs that I'm lucky not to have brain damage. :lol:


Aaaahhh... :nod:

[dissention]

It's true about the road work. But I bet you Mumbles Menino could have come up with better accommodations. I bet even you would agree.

I do agree. ;)

What about the behavior didn't you like? Give us some examples. I saw some pictures of geezers holding anti-abortion signs -- do they know Kerry is "personally against abortion?" -- and it made me laugh. They looked so terrifying and dangerous.

Gee, I got rather disgusted when I heard people syaing "No knitting needles, no hangers, no vacuum, save fetuses" while holding up sings of aborted fetuses. I almost lost my lunch when I saw those things. People also had blood wiped across their clothes and faces and holding up the bible. They yelled that liberals were evil and wanted to take over the world and eat fetuses. Betcha didn't see that on TV, eh? Of course you didn't, they didn't even broadcast the convention.

[gldstwmn]

I got hit with so many signs that I'm lucky not to have brain damage. :lol: The whips were running all over the place, making sure everyone had signs and stuff; they were unbelievably energetic.

The crowd itself was warm to Lieberman last night, but no one really liked the guy. :laugh:

Some people were throwing crumpled signs towards CNN after the speeches, too. Too bad none of them knocked out Leslie Wolf, Shill Woodruff, or F*cker Carlson.

And I looked all over for Mo Rocca, but he was with American Samoa for the ENTIRE convention. :laugh:

He was sooo funny on Larry King. Sam and Janeane's coverage was a lot of fun too.

[CarneVaca]

Gee, I got rather disgusted when I heard people syaing "No knitting needles, no hangers, no vacuum, save fetuses" while holding up sings of aborted fetuses. I almost lost my lunch when I saw those things. People also had blood wiped across their clothes and faces and holding up the bible. They yelled that liberals were evil and wanted to take over the world and eat fetuses. Betcha didn't see that on TV, eh? Of course you didn't, they didn't even broadcast the convention.

I admit I didn't see that. What I saw was text signs. Well, then again, none of that stuff is new. It should have been on TV. You're right. Too bad the Democrats made it impossible for it to be on TV.

The convention could be seen in full for anyone with CSPAN. And, really, it doesn't deserve more than one hour a night, if that, on the networks because NOTHING IS DECIDED at the convention. It's just a show.

[dissention]

I admit I didn't see that. What I saw was text signs. Well, then again, none of that stuff is new. It should have been on TV. You're right. Too bad the Democrats made it impossible for it to be on TV.

The convention could be seen in full for anyone with CSPAN. And, really, it doesn't deserve more than one hour a night, if that, on the networks because NOTHING IS DECIDED at the convention. It's just a show.

They didn't make it impossible to be on TV, pal. The networks were stationed out there and taped all of it, they simply chose what to show you.

Not everyone has CSPAN, a lot of people depend on the networks to show them the convention. You can bet your ass that the RNC will have wall-to-wall coverage. Especially with Disney and GE at the helm of the networks.

[CarneVaca]

You can bet your ass that the RNC will have wall-to-wall coverage. Especially with Disney and GE at the helm of the networks.

The liberal media!? Naah.... ;)

[dissention]

The liberal media!? Naah.... ;)

:laugh: Exactly!

[SuzeQuze]

This may seem naive but how did you get into the convention? For anyone interested in catching what they may have missed there is video of everything on http://www.dems2004.org, definitely watch Al Sharpton, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Bill Clinton, and of course John Edwards and John Kerry's videos. I found all of the speeches very moving. I loved when AS said government doesn't belong in people's bedrooms minding what they do but they should be mindful of people's kitchens, something to that effect. It was awesome. He also said when slavery ended African Americans were promised 40 acres and a mule which they never got (from republicans). So he said something like "we decided we would ride this donkey (dems) as far as it will take us". And also that "our vote cannot be bought".

The construction around the Fleet Center has been going on for a loooong time, Boston is a very convoluted city! It is "charming" ;-) I love the city but it is very hard to find your way around it.

I live in the North End and I saw the Pants on Fire "float" go by. It is a statue of Bush on a trailer, with many of his facial expressions on 4 sides of his "head", his pants on fire, and a ticker of all of the lies he has told the American people. This float was founded by Ben of Ben and Jerry's ice cream and you can read more about it at http://www.pantsonfire.net/. I wish I'd had my camera on me when it went by!

Michael Moore stayed in the hotel that I walk by every day to get to work but I never did see him. The convention was so self-contained I never saw anyone. In hindsight I wish that I had planned in advance to attend one of the open to the public forums but I am completely green and had no idea how this stuff is run.

Dissention, thanks for sharing your experience. I could see the energy that was in the Fleet Center and I can only imagine how amazing that must have felt. If we want a government by the people and for the people we need to get these guys into office and kick out the current jackasses, so let's all get out there and vote! :-)

~Susan

[gldstwmn]

Ben also has a great grass roots organization called True Majority. Anyone who's interested can visit http://action.truemajority.org/register/ :woohoo:

[dissention]

This may seem naive but how did you get into the convention?

I did a lot of campaign work and got lucky because of it. :)

FYI, if you're interested, Susan, next Saturday (August 7) the Kerry camp is campaigning in New Hampshire. If you want to join us, there's more info at the website. :wavey:

[sparky]

A good friend of mine worked the convention - did the set - and gets back Monday. If I hear any good backstage scuttlebutt, I will be sure to spread the news.

[estranged4life]

the amount of balloons used were overkill. But even worse was EDITING the guitar solo from the Van Halen track "Dreams", tsk...tsk...tsk...

Hey Diss, What were yer thoughts when "Don't Stop" played before "Slick Willy"? Even on TV I laughed then hit the mute..."Willy" & the one Mac song I hate was too much :lol:

[dissention]

the amount of balloons used were overkill. But even worse was EDITING the guitar solo from the Van Halen track "Dreams", tsk...tsk...tsk...

Hey Diss, What were yer thoughts when "Don't Stop" played? :lol:

I wasn't there the first night. :(

And it must've seemed like a lot more balloons than there really was because the balloons didn't come down properly at first, then came down way too fast.

[estranged4life]

And it must've seemed like a lot more balloons than there really was because the balloons didn't come down properly at first, then came down way too fast.

is that 500,000 balloons were dropped!!! Definite overkill :nod:

[dissention]

is that 500,000 balloons were dropped!!! Definite overkill :nod:

Yeah, but you have to understand that half of those balloons were popped before they even had a chance to hit the floor. ;)

I always felt bad for the Secret Service at conventions, a balloon popping sounds like a shot. :laugh: