Democratic convention Calif style

I spent the majority of the weekend at the California Democratic convention. Here are just a few snapshots of what I saw and heard there.

• The LGBT caucus was very well attended. Cecilia Chung of San Francisco did a great job of organizing and giving candidates a chance to speak for a nanosecond to the crowd. I didn't go in since I was working at the front desk to get everyone paid up and into the room. And I had a chair which will always be a priority. Nice to see lots of folks from around the state and the crowd was evenly divided between Obama and Hillay. What a surprise.
• The big race between Mark Leno and Carole Migden for state Senate got very wild this weekend. Well actually I believe that Migden proved that she has gone nuts. At the women's caucus on Friday night she just went crazy. She was screaming, insulting the Obama staff, saying very ugly things about them. Like calling them ugly and fat! People who were there were so shocked and it became the talk of the convention. When she entered the LGBT caucus, it w as staged to look like the queen of all was entering the room. People were in front and in back of her, carrying Migden signs on sticks so she looked like she had an entourage. I thought it was kind of gross myself.
  
• I went to my first Obama rally. Great fun and great energy. My friend from New Mexico, Raul Alvillar, is Obama's western field director. He was the MC of the rally and introduced Steve Westly, a former gubernatorial candidate. He also had on hand the new speaker of the house, Karen Bass, SF city attorney Kamala Harris. What a hottie she is! Anyway, it was wonderful to b on board with all of this.
  
• I am now officially looped in as the national Latino LGBT co-chair with Andres Duque. That will be rolled out this week. then they are hooking me up with the Latino outreach group too. I will be on the national conference calls from here on out. Yeah baby! I am so excited and hopeful. But even more important, I get to work on this campaign to change this country. The end of the nightmare is coming soon.
• Why are the Larouche people always at Democratic events? They are nuts but they sing well. I got sucked in to the their booth because they had, what I thought, was an interesting name, something Roosevelt club. So I wandered up and some guy was on a rant, just talking to hear himself. He was saying he is against abortion so I said, "Well don't have one" and walked away from those two.
  
• I really get people overload at these things. Especially at an event like this where everyone thinks they are very important. So no one looks where they are going, have no grasp of the fact they are blocking entire throughways, I don;t care who they are talking to on the phone despite how loud they talk and when I say excuse me, I really mean get the fuck out of my way.
• I skipped seeing Bill Clinton today. One of Jo's colleagues came over this afternoon after the speech and said he fell asleep during Clinton's speech. I gave my pass to my neighbor so he could take pics and see the big ma up close. He was thrilled and I was happy open the door for him.

That's it for now. When I remember more I will post more. Pictures will be up tomorrow.

Every week

Every week the Blade comes out there is a new disclosure about the DNC, and the deteriorating relationships within. When you read this and please do, remember that Donna Brazile is a lesbian. Claire Lucas has gobs of money because her grandfather or someone in her family invented the overhead projector. But she was fired for slapping someone, I think I hear the Dynasty theme playing in the background. Oh whoops, there go Krystal and Alexis flying by on their way to a slap fight in the swimming pool. And let us never forget that Dr Dean did lie to the lgbt caucus and now can't remember while his current flunkies make up some inane training that say is for people of color but are really for black folks. There is a difference folks!

And in this week's BAR, there is an article about the very genteel Carole Migden getting slapped with a $9 million suit for breaking so many election laws. But my favorite was the blog at the Chron describing the Senator in every way possible as nothing short of devil spawn. The responses targeted her hair her attitude, her New Yorkness. It wasn't pretty but I sure did laugh my ass off. I can hardly wait to see her tomorrow at the California Democratic Convention. I will be blogging here from home after my time down the street at the convention.

If I was a real Democrat, I would ride my bike.

Gone

Sister dove left this morning. No more pain and suffering. WE will bury her in the back under the St.Francis statue.

Taking in a survivor

I have a guest here. I found her in the grasp of my yorkie this afternoon in the backyard. It is a morning dove.

She has lost an eye. I thought she was dead when I got her away from Gus. But then I started petting her head and she turned her one good to me, just a little. Then she blinked. I kept talking to her and petting her, trying to figure out what to do.

After calling around to rescue places which had either closed or were not willing to take in a bird from San Jose, Jo had looked up some stuff online so I followed the directions. Put some water and sunflower seeds in the cage she was resting in, heated up the thingie in the freezer to get some heat in there and then turned off the lights in the garage.

I have checked on her a couple of times and she has gone from laying sideways in the cage to sitting as if she was nesting. She continues to let me pet her and responds (oh sure) to when I talk to her. She turns her eye to me and blinks when I visit.

Tomorrow morning I hope to give her a new lease and take her to the rescue center. Happy Easter my sister dove.

The speech

I know there has been a chingon of response to Obama's speech. But I haven't had time to watch it. That is because, as I have said over and over here, I am unemployed with no job in sight. The economy is crashing, I am a lesbian of color who is now on disability and I am struggling because life can really suck in the richest country in the world.

And as a woman of color, I have lived a lot of what my candidate is talking about. It is no surprise to me that white folks are shocked at the experiences of people of color. How many times have we heard the question, "Why are you so angry?" Because, folks, this American system of ours is racist, mysogynistic, homophobic and classist, to name a few. So what am I supposed to do as I struggle along, trying to find a way to pay the bills, deal with chronic pain and find a job. Oh wait, I am not looking for job, I am going to have surgery. Anyway, I look forward to the day when this conversation can continue and shed light for the millions of people living in the dark who think we live on a level playing field and everyone has the same chances to get ahead.

Walk in my sore little feet some time for a real shock and then tell me how well we all are doing. Maybe the light will go on.

An end to chronicity

I see sitting in a chair for long periods of time in my future. My podiatrist is going to stick tiny cameras in my right foot soon, then put me in a cast for a week and hopefully when it is all done, I will be pain free on one side. I can;t believe how horrible it is to be in chronic pain.

What does that mean in real life? I will be on crutches, I will not be able to take a big girl shower for a week, going to bathroom at night will be a big bummer and I will have to be really organized because when I sit down, I won't be able to just get up and do something easily. But I will also be able to focus more on say blogging. Read some more, watch my Netflix flix and sit in the sun and watch the flowers grow. There are worse things to do like work in the Bush White House or something.

Bush humor

Because I apparently can't make my own jokes, here is a set of stolen ones. Perfect for the subject.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library is now in the planning stages. You'll want to be the first to make a contribution to this great man's legacy.
The Library will include:

1. The Hurricane Katrina Room, which is still under construction.
2. The Alberto Gonzales Room, where you can't remember anything.
3. The Texas Air National Guard Room, where you don't have to even show up.
4. The Walter Reed Hospital Room, where they don't let you in.
5. The Guantanamo Bay Room, where they don't let you out.
6. The Weapons of Mass Destruction Room (which no one has been able to find).
7. The Iraq War Room. After you complete your first tour, they make you go back for a second, third, fourth, and sometimes fifth tour.
8. The Dick Cheney Room, in the famous undisclosed location, complete with shooting gallery.
Plans also include:
9. The K-Street Project Gift Shop - where you can buy (or just steal) an election.
10. The Airport Men's Room, where you can meet some of your favorite Republican senators.
11. Last, but not least, there will be an entire floor devoted to a 7/8 scale model of the President's ego.
To highlight the President's accomplishments, the museum will have an electron microscope to help you locate them.

More Obama supporters

I am happy to note that the lovely Mrs Miss Wild Thing is listed in the endorsements below.

CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCES LGBT ENDORSEMENTS
Equal rights activists from around nation announce support for Obama

CHICAGO, IL – The Obama for America campaign today announced the endorsement of LGBT activists from around the nation. The activists include state and municipal elected officials, the leadership of the AFL-CIO's Pride at Work initiative, and prominent equal rights activists from states holding upcoming primary contests.

"In order for America to make progress toward social and economic justice, we need a president who does not mock, but rather embraces bold change, and who advances the vision of the beloved community. Our movements for equality, for healthy families and excellent schools, for workers' rights and shared prosperity, for veterans' care, fairness in the courts, and a safer environment have more than a friend in Barack Obama. We have a champion equal to the challenges we face and able to lead us forward together," said Hans Johnson, President, Progressive Victory.

"The finger-pointing and polarization in politics have become a threat to our well-being as a nation. I support Barack Obama because his compassion, respect for even those who oppose him, and inclusive values can build a new kind of national unity across the many lines that have previously divided us," said Missouri State Representative Jeanette Mott Oxford.

"We're building a coalition that includes Americans with diverse ideologies from all regions of the country to bring the change we desperately need," said Senator Obama. "That's the type of coalition we'll need to build to achieve equal rights for all Americans. I'm grateful for the endorsements of these prominent activists who fight every day for the principles of equality and justice." The full list of LGBT activists announcing their support for Obama today are below:

Jeanette Mott Oxford, Missouri State Representative, District 59-St. Louis City

Wilson Cruz, Actor, Los Angeles, CA

Kevin Jennings, Founder and Executive Director, Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)

Donna Rose, Former Board Member of the Human Rights Campaign; Former member of the Hillary Clinton for President LGBT Steering Committee; Transgender Activist

Jeremy Bishop, Executive Director, Pride at Work (AFL-CIO)

Ian Palmquist, Executive Director, Equality North Carolina; Immediate Past Chair, Equality Federation

Jo Kenny, Development Director, Pride at Work (AFL-CIO)

Stephen Glassman, Chairman, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission

Hans Johnson, President of Progressive Victory

Craig Bowman, Former Executive Director of National Youth Advocacy Coalition

Donna Cartwright, Communications Director, Pride at Work (AFL-CIO)

Perry Nelson, Founder, Gateway Stonewall Democrats (St. Louis, MO)

Ben Turner, Co-Founder and Former Co-Chair of the Capital Region Stonewall Democrats (Harrisburg, PA)

Robert Perez, Public Relations Executive and Former WA Press Secretary for Kerry-Edwards

Judy Chambers, Co-Founder and Former Co-Chair of the Capital Region Stonewall Democrats (Harrisburg, PA)

Conrado Terrazas, Political Field Director for SEIU 1000 (CA)

Lisa Hazirjian, Visiting Professor, Carnegie Mellon University (PA)

Gregg Gallo, National Stonewall Democrats Board Member (WA)

Anita Latch, Washington State Stonewall Democrats President

Jenny Durkan, Washington John Edwards for President State Chair (2004 & 2008)

Krista Strothmann, Baltimore Chapter of Pride at Work (AFL-CIO)

John Klenert, Campaign Board of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and Member of Board of Directors for DC Vote

Marti Abernathy, Transgender Advocate (Indiana)

Joe Darby, Vice President, Pride at Work (AFL-CIO), Lansing, Michigan

Randall Ellis, Former Executive Director of Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas

Andrés Duque, LGBT activist (NY)

Gary Fitzsimmons, Dallas County District Clerk (TX)

Tim Downing, Member of Board of Directors for Human Rights Campaign (OH)

Christina Ocasio, Transgender activist; 2004 delegate to the DNC Convention (TX)

Dyshaun Muhammad, Former GLBT Caucus Chair, Young Democrats of America; Former Political Chair of Twin Cities HRC Steering Committee (MN)

Pauline Park, Chair, New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy

Glen Maxey, Former Texas State Representative (first openly gay member)

Marti Bier, Former Field Director for PFLAG

Doug Lakey, Director of West Coast Office of Alliance for Justice; former Development Director for the Human Rights Campaign

Terry Penrod, Member of Board of Directors for Human Rights Campaign (OH)

David Peña, Jr., Executive Director, National Hispanic Business Association

John McClelland, President, Denton County Stonewall Democrats (TX)

Joe Lacey, Dayton (OH) Board of Education Member

Tony Ballis, President, Dayton (OH) Stonewall Democrats

Noel Alicea, LGBT activist (NY)

*Organizations listed for identification purposes only.

Odd 'n' ends

I am about to be kicked off the lesbian team. Why? I think the L Word is horrible. I fast forward through the sex scenes and think that I would rather read something than watch that stupid show.

But then I may be back on the lesbian team since I have been asked to be one of the co-chairs of the Latino LGBT campaign for Obama. But that will be the whole team not just the lesbo section.

Tonight I finished my first successful hockey season. No goals but loads of new friends, LOTS of exercise and way too much fun.

Plus this weekend I put an ad on Craig's list to be a garden coach. You know, help people out with their gardens, give fabulous advice on how to grow, what they can grow and help them on the path to the garden of their dreams. I am now "Over the Fence Garden Coach." I had to do something since I was, once again, the #2 finisher for my latest attempt at employment. So if an environmentalist ever says we want to bring in more people of color, my head will blow off as I scream at them about their country club mentality. Yes, I was trying for a job at environmental organizations. For one place, I was interviewed for over five hours. They left a message on my voice mail telling me I didn't get the job. I later found out they gave it to a guy who had never been and E.D before. Nice. At the next place, I went to guess how many interviews????? Five!!!! Only to be told, thanks but no thanks. This job hunting thing blows.

So if you want your yard to look like the picture at the top, email me. And vote for Obama.

Hope

I am not happy with the results tonight but yet there is a glimpse of hope. I hope to never see Mike Huckabee's wife on tv again. My gawd her head is big!