The private organizer of Friday's Debate Watch Party reports 285 paid admissions to the event! After only 8% overhead (some of that went to buy drinks for you!), your contributions at the door amount to more than $2600.00 pesos directly to the Campaign to Elect Barack Obama as the Next President of the United States.
(No figures as of yet from all of the T-shirts and buttons and stickers and books you that you purchased ...but I'll be back with you as soon as we get contribution numbers from those private vendors!)
Counting press and people we missed (and no admission was charged before 8pm or after about a half an hour into the debate) we well exceeded 300 people! Quite possibly the Biggest Debate Watch Party on Planet Earth! The Obama campaign privately informs me that there is only one other debate watch party that could come close.
Democrats Abroad Argentina has broken record after record this year because of the tremendous efforts of all its members and volunteers.
YOU did it ...and we hope to proudly display the FEC filing statement for the contribution as soon as possible.
We love you madly.
In gratitude to all of you that showed up Friday... the Sarah Palin - Joe Biden debates will be free and open to the public! Come on down to Sacramento Resto Bar this Thursday from 8pm to whenevah! It should be some great fun ...and you should congratulate yourselves.
And while you're at it, send some congratulations to everybody who organized and volunteered for the big event. See you Thursday for the FUN one!
Early last year, some notable Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle speculated that the Democrats just might gain enough seats in 2008 to hit 60 votes, a filibuster-proof majority on strict party-line votes. At the time, the prospect seemed pretty outlandish.
When I heard it from Democrats, it seemed like overly optimistic happy talk -- the kind frequently ventured after a landslide win such as the one they enjoyed in 2006. Hearing the idea from Republicans was a bit more interesting, but I considered it a fundraising tool, the kind of "apocalypse is coming" hyperbole that first appeared in over-caffeinated direct mail -- and, more recently, e-mail--appeals for money. Since neither the Federal Trade Commission nor the mail-fraud folks at the U.S. Postal Service pay any attention to political fundraising, Republicans were pretty safe crying, "The sky is falling!"
Earlier today, Jake Tapper posted an item about the commemorative bracelet given to Barack Obama by the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq. The mother had, apparently, contacted the campaign back in February to request that Obama stop referencing her son; back in March the mother's ex-husband told Tapper:
"because of some of the negative feedback she's gotten on the Internet, you know Internet blogs, you know people accusing her of... or accusing Obama of trying to get votes doing it... and that sort of thing, she has turned down any subsequent interviews with the media because she just didn't, she just didn't want it to get turned into something that it wasn't. She had told me that in an email that she had asked, actually asked Mr. Obama to not wear the bracelet anymore at any of his public appearances."
But before the mother of the soldier could react to Obama's mention in the debate (and before anyone could verify the mother's wishes first-hand), class-act Jonah Goldberg commanded Obama to "Take Off the Bracelet, Senator."
If only the families of fallen soldiers had more advocates like our man Jonah.
Tracy Jopek of Merrill told The Associated Press on Sunday she was honored that Obama remembered Sgt. Ryan David Jopek, who was killed in 2006 by a roadside bomb.
Jopek criticized Internet reports suggesting Obama, D-Ill., exploited her son for political purposes.
"I don't understand how people can take that and turn it into some garbage on the Internet," she said.
Jopek acknowledged e-mailing the Obama campaign in February asking that the presidential candidate not mention her son in speeches or debates. But she said Obama's mention on Friday was appropriate because he was responding after Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, said a soldier's mother gave him a bracelet.
Ms. Jopek told the AP she was "ecstatic" when Obama made the reference.
In all the time that's past, even since before the invasion, some right-wing bloggers STILL haven't learned not to demagogue the service of our troops.
WASHINGTON (CNN)— Sen. John McCain retracted Sarah Palin's stance on Pakistan Sunday morning, after the Alaska governor appeared to back Sen. Barack Obama's support for unilateral strikes inside Pakistan against terrorists.
As I've always said here and to the press, "If Democrats Abroad actually had money for offices, I would hang the BIGGEST portrait of Geo. W. Bush behind my desk ...and screw me ...I'd put the nameplate "Our Founder" on the gigantic frame."
"Of course, I'm in BA. I'm on Beruti, just up the block from the Cinemark and the Alto Palermo.
Mike, your nervous wolfing about "how easy it is" does nothing to enhance your credibility.
And now, please name for me one single qualification that Obama has for office (other than the bare minimum required by the constitution)? Like most Obama supporters, you're unable to come up with a solitary Obama accomplishment that merits the job he's seeking.
He was head of the Harvard Law Review? A college popularity contest.
Community organizer? He wasted $100 million in record time.
Illinois State Senator? Present!
Associate of thugs, terrorists, crooks, and a dirty cog in Chicago Democratic party machine? Too right!
As for being a senator, he got elected by defeating Alan Keyes (!!!!!) in an overwhelmingly Democratic state. Big deal. The Democrats could have run Obama's crooked mentor Emil Jones and won that race. Let's not forget that the famously corrupt Carole Mosely Braun previously held the seat.
Again, aside from blind party loyalty, there is no logical reason anyone could possibly support Obama.
It's all squishy emotional response, something unreasoning and limbic. Irrational exuberance and emotion over reason.
As I said, he makes you feel warm and gooey inside. There's nothing you can point to by way of qualification that isn't laughable.
Mike, if you'd just come out and say that you're supporting Obama because he's a Democrat, and you always support the Democrat, I'd respect that more. It wouldn't be as sad."
You Democrats knocked one out of the park last night.
I'm still waiting for figures from the Obama campaign but 300+ attendees could end up being the largest Debate Watch Party in the Américas. That's a big 300 thank yous ...but I'd like to get a little more specific.
With a big assist from new friends Unión Cívica Radical Argentina, Alicia Blumencweig was able to hammer out a deal with the owners of Sacramento Resto Bar ...a great looking joint that most of the crowd hadn't heard of before. She also brought in the local press in a big way, with print and live TV that was early enough in the evening that some people may have decided to switch off the tube and come on down.
Volunteers staffed and over-staffed key positions such as the door, Voter Registration, and merchandise tables... something we've learned to do from past DAA events. National Secretary, Emilia Ramirez hosted a lovely party in her home to brief and train our veterans and 15 new volunteers. DAA Counsel Laura Adkins, drilled the troops in the finer points of 50 different State rules and requirments for voting from abroad. Communications Committee Chair Joe Macaluso scrambled through the myriad unattended details to put the finishing touches on the big monster of a gathering ...that went off with hardly a hitch.
Once the debates were finally settled after the McCain stunt ...we received a wonderful push fromMartin Frankel and Expat Connectionwith an email alerting their entire membership.
All of these seperate components converged on the Palermo site ...and rocked the house.
But it was the devoted membership of Democrats Abroad Argentina that really made it happen. What a tremendous bunch of individuals; the kind you'd love to be associated with ...if you're not already.
It was truly the place to be in Buenos Aires for one night ...and just wait for the Sarah Palin - Joe Biden debate for next week!
Thank you everyone who helped to make this event such a success. We were covered by multiple news organizations. That helps get EVERYBODY's vote out and that's what Democrats Abroad Argentina does for a living.
Here's more and more and more from tonight's record breaker...
"Good evening. The television and radio stations of the United States and their affiliated stations are proud to provide facilities for a discussion of issues in the current political campaign by the two major candidates for the presidency. The candidates need no introduction. The Republican candidate, Vice President Richard M. Nixon, and the Democratic candidate, Senator John F. Kennedy."
48 years ago today, the first televised presidential debates were broadcast from Chicago.
The timing of this development could not have been better for the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy, who was in an intensely close race with Republican Richard M. Nixon, the incumbent two-term vice president. Kennedy, who at age 43 was seeking to become the youngest man elected as president of the United States, had scaled back some of his campaign activities to prepare for the first of the candidates’ four debates on Sept. 26, 1960. The handsome candidate looked hale and rested.
Nixon, though just four years Kennedy’s senior, had an older appearance — some said he was born with a “5 o’clock shadow” — and looked worn by comparison. Health issues and a rigorous campaign schedule before the debate did not help.
(Thursday, September 26) Later today, I'll be traveling to Washington to offer my help in getting this deal done. Then, I'll travel to Oxford on Friday for the first of our presidential debates. Our election is in 40 days. Our economy is in crisis, and our nation is fighting two wars abroad. The American people deserve to hear directly from myself and Senator McCain about how we intend to lead our country. The times are too serious to put our campaign on hold, or to ignore the full range of issues that the next President will face.
David Letterman tells audience that McCain called him today to tell him he had to rush back to DC to deal with the economy.
Then in the middle of the taping Dave got word that McCain was, in fact just down the street being interviewed by Katie Couric. Dave even cut over to the live video of the interview, and said, "Hey Senator, can I give you a ride home?"
Earlier in the show, Dave kept saying, "You don't suspend your campaign. This doesn't smell right. This isn't the way a tested hero behaves." And he joked: "I think someone's putting something in his metamucil."
"He can't run the campaign because the economy is cratering? Fine, put in your second string quarterback, Sara Palin. Where is she?"
"What are you going to do if you're elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We've got a guy like that now!"
Looks like the world wasn't going to end for seven days...
McCain advisors say they will do all the debates but the schedule is up in the air. They also deny that there is a political calculation in this and say without action the country could slide into a Depression by Monday and added "we'll see 12 percent unemployment" if action is not completed. GOP sources say they believe the current deal is dead on the Hill and reject suggestions that without McCain's vote Democrats would not support a package. (msnbc.com)
I hope Obama doesn't let them get away with this.
Read more...
I was talking with Telam, the Argentine Wire Service, when the news came in about a possible delay in the debates.
I told the reporter that I hoped that, if nothing else, Obama goes ahead with the debate holding an empty chair aloft while he eviscerates that chicken shit bastard AND his phony the-world's-gonna-end crisis.
First they try to kneecap Obama with $1 trillion more debt ...now they want to delay/cancel the debates.
So why not show up tomorrow at 5pm, across from the US Embassy (you know, the one with the big American Flag on Libertador and that fucking tank next to it!) and show your opposition to giving the same amount of money, $1,000,000,000,000, that the Iraq/Afganistan wars have racked up so far... only this time it goes directly into the pockets of all Bush's friends.
They told us Monday that the world would end in two days if they didn't get the MONEY and IMMUNITY as to how they would spend it. Well ...it's Wednesday.
If they get away with this, Obama AND his posse are finished before they even start.
Calling all Obama supporters. That is, if you're not too weary already. (Yes, I'm "challenging your integrity.")
(I'LL be there ...and I was a gaddam Edwards supporter!)
There MAY be a US citizen protest in front of the embassy; stay tuned for details...Some bad paper like student loans got you down, bunky?
Maybe you've "overextended" your plastic to the point that they can see your signature without even turnin' it over. "Underwater" with a mortgage that's too high to pay on a house that's worth nowhere near what you owe anymore?
Well come on down today and talk to Crazy Hank Paulson! Crazy Hank is buyin' up ALL that stinkin' crap pile ...AT TOP DOLLAR ...so you can go back to what you do best: spendin' like a drunken Chief Petty Officer back in Subic Bay after 18 months at sea!*
Call and politely suggest that giving Hank Paulson 700 billion dollars is insane. Use Teh Google to find their numbers, or call the House switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
"Good evening. The television and radio stations of the United States and their affiliated stations are proud to provide facilities for a discussion of issues in the current political campaign by the two major candidates for the presidency. The candidates need no introduction. The Republican candidate, Vice President Richard M. Nixon, and the Democratic candidate, Senator John F. Kennedy."
48 years ago today, the first televised presidential debates were broadcast from Chicago.
The timing of this development could not have been better for the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy, who was in an intensely close race with Republican Richard M. Nixon, the incumbent two-term vice president. Kennedy, who at age 43 was seeking to become the youngest man elected as president of the United States, had scaled back some of his campaign activities to prepare for the first of the candidates’ four debates on Sept. 26, 1960. The handsome candidate looked hale and rested.
Nixon, though just four years Kennedy’s senior, had an older appearance — some said he was born with a “5 o’clock shadow” — and looked worn by comparison. Health issues and a rigorous campaign schedule before the debate did not help.
Franklin Roosevelt adopted the term during the '30's.
This from reader, Bob:
"Mike,
I wrote Harry Reid a very stern and strongly worded email this morning wherein I said not just "no," but "HELL NO!" Yes, the time to have drawn a line in the sand was several years ago, but if this doesn't bring people out into the streets, I can't imagine what will.
Check out what an anonymous Democratic congressman thinks about the situation. I hope to hell there are plenty more like him."
Get thee to your congressperson and let them know YOUR opinion tonight.
In case you're wondering about my comparatively strange headshotcito ...they took it from this foto of me at a cattle auction. All trace of cows in the little photo of me have been brushed away ...but I kinda like it!
Perhaps a record croud at Drinking Liberally Buenos Aires last night!
Lot's of new people and the happy return to Argentina of Tom and Maya Frost of Sexy Spanish Club.
Drinking Liberally is an international organization and the chapter here has been going STRONG every Thursday since our first gathering on May Day of this year. They still haven't put us on their map.
No rules, no members, no leadership ...just cheap drinks at the same easy location at the same time on the same day every week. Always every Thursday, always at 7pm, always at San Martín 678 (microcentro).
We now have a special space IN THE REAR of the bar dedicated to Drinking Liberally!
If you consider yourself a liberal ...Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent, Radicalista, o Péronista ...see you next Thursday!
...well, maybe not LAST call, but you'd better start headin' for the well with some nice words for the bartender. These are the deadlines for YOUR State.
Take it from an "ol' cattleman": Yer burnin' daylight ...and the gaddam herd's gittin away from us, Slim!
Alabama Register by: 10/24/2008 Request ballot by: 10/30/2008 Return ballot by: 11/04/2008* *Postmarked by the day before election day **Postmarked by election day
Alaska Register by: 10/05/2008 Request ballot by: 10/25/2008 Return ballot by: 11/19/2008* *Postmarked by election day
District of Columbia Register by: 10/6/2008* Request ballot by: 10/27/2008 Return ballot by: 11/14/2008** *Postmark by registration dates above **Postmark by election day
Iowa Register by: No fixed deadline, submit early Request ballot by: No fixed deadline, submit early Return ballot by: 11/10/2008* *Postmarked by the day before the election
Kansas Registration is not required Request ballot by: 10/31/2008 Return ballot by: 11/04/2008
Kentucky Register by: 10/28/2008* Request ballot by: 10/28/2008 Return ballot by: 11/04/2008 *Postmarked at least 29 days before the election
Maryland Register by: 10/14/2008* Request ballot by: 10/28/2008 Return ballot by: 11/14/2008** *Postmarked at least 21 days before the election **Postmarked by election day
Massachusetts Registration not required Request ballot by: 11/03/2008 Return ballot by: 11/14/2008* *Postmarked by election day
New Jersey Register by: 10/31/2008 Request ballot by: 10/31/2008 Return ballot by: 11/04/2008
New Mexico Registration not required Request ballot by: 10/31/2008 Return ballot by: 11/04/2008
New York Register by: 10/10/2008* Request ballot by: 10/28/2008 Return ballot by: 11/11/2008** *Postmarked at least 25 days before the election ** Postmarked by the day before the election
Oregon Register by: 10/30/2008* Request ballot by: 10/30/2008 Return ballot by: 11/04/2008 *Postmarked at least 21 days before the election
Pennsylvania Register by: 10/06/2008 Request ballot by: 11/03/2008 Return ballot by: 11/11/2008* * Postmarked by the day before election day
Rhode Island Registration not required Request ballot by: 10/14/2008* Return ballot by: 11/04/2008 *A voter may request a ballot to vote only for President and Vice-President by 10/28/2008
Washington Register by: 11/04/2008 Request ballot by: 11/04/2008 Return ballot by: 11/25/2008* * Ballot return envelope must be dated no later than election day.
West Virginia Register by: 10/14/2008 Request ballot by: 10/29/2008 Return ballot by: 11/10/2008
...since I got back from a week-long trip in Yanquilandia and taking yer blog to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver as the Official State Blog of Democrats Abroad.
Recovery would have been easier if I'd been younger, richer, and hadn't just returned from a visit to the campo this evening!
But I've laid low enough, long enough, to develop some reflections on my first trip back to the old country in more than 3 years. My wife has prodded me for my thoughts... especially since she feared that I might like it so much that I'd never come back.
Ha, fat chance! After two nights, I was homesick for BuenosAires.
So, volver ...to return; returning where? Leaving what? I was much too busy to think about how my compass was spinning on some strange pole between North and South. I could feel the magnetic fields as I passed back and forth through them but there were so many tasks to distract me: making the airline connections, finding a place in Denver I'd never been before, getting to locations for credentials and stories, feeding and watering my muse (who stayed with me constantly), bucking security, waiting in lines, and walking, walking, walking.
I was determined to immerse myself in yanqui culture as if I'd never experienced it before and as I'd never experienced it before. The fact was, however, it slipped on like a beloved pair of shoes that I'd somehow not worn for years. There was nothing foreign to me. It had only been 5 years since I'd left ...not 25. All the things that I'd left were still there and there were no real surprises.
But the convention experience aside, if that's at all possible, everything was much as I'd left it: places to go, people to see, work to be done, more... better... faster. The American Way.
It's something to be proud of: the efficiency, the fearlessness (that's not the same thing as bravery), ...the willingness.
It's the willingness that gives me the willies ...and probably always has. There's probably never been a pool of humans so imbued with "can-do" and "yankeeingenuity", and ready sacrifice as are the estadounidienses. It's usually awe-inspiring. It is also scary to consider those noble qualities once co-opted.
Forced to compare the feel of the US to the feel of Buenos Aires, I couldn't help but think of myself in a pinball machine. I was launched, launched myself, by way of metallic springs and plungers, into slick surfaces ...full of light and lights, gladly hitting bumpers, racking up points, making things spin, dropping into holes ...and getting popped right back out of them for an extra replay. Everytime I thought it was over, I was flipped back into the game with tremendous force and speed ...repeating as much as possible until it was all over.
Life in Buenos Aires is much more like a game of marbles, a game that is not played much anymore but once was the biggest game in town all over the world. The human contact and skill take the place of the steel springs and electromagnetic relays. It takes place on a rough surface, it's circumscribed. The stakes are higher for the individual. No one thinks it can go on forever. You take your best shots and you consider them carefully. There's no flipping madly, hoping to keep your ball in play until another opportunity presents itself ...or doesn't.
Consider, as well, the experience of a sidewalk table both acá y allá. To sit at a wonderful sidewalk table in the US is an occasion for relief, an escape, an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors ...very pleasant. Those same qualities make up part of the Buenos Aires café, too. However, there's more of a destination to it here.
From the most ritzy tablecloths to the rough-hewn tables where working men and women spray a little seltzer into their borgoña, there is a birthright quality that pervades the feeling of sitting with friends in the open air. More often than not, I could not smoke in Denver even after being seated outside.
More than that, really, is the attitude that although there are great fortunes to be made ...there is no shame in not making them. Making a living here doesn't equate to living in the same way it does in the US. Life is friends and family and living the "good life" isn't possible without them. Only steps away from that attitude is another: being poor is not a crime nor a shame nor even your fault.
Lest I leave you with a lackadaisical view of life in the "belly-button of the world", in the 11th largest city on earth, consider this: competition is real here and it's for all the marbles.
The fantasy that you can have competition and all the good that it brings to the surface ...without any losers ...just doesn't exist here like it does in the US. And it's not far from that table to the one that considers health care and education a human right instead of a blingy priviledge to the ones that have already succeeded the most.
So, I'm back home in the land that I love, with the people I love and, ...if not feeling more alive ...feeling a little more life in me. God Bless América.
Argentina celebrates Immigrant's Day on 4 September since 1949, by a decree of the Executive Branch. The National Immigrant's Festival is celebrated in Oberá, Misiones, during the first fortnight of September, since 1980. There are other celebrations of ethnic diversity throughout the country, such as the National Meeting and Festival of the Communities in Rosario (typically at the beginning of November). Many cities and towns in Argentina also feature monuments and memorials dedicated to immigration. There are also Immigrant's Festivals (or Collectivities Festivals) throughout the country, for example: Bariloche, Berisso, Esperanza, Venado Tuerto, and Comodoro Rivadavia have their own Immigrant's festivals. These festivals tend to be local, and they are not advertised or promoted nationally like the festivals in Rosario and Oberá
It's truly satisfying when good things happen to good people ...and the reviews filtering-in from allá regarding Maya Frost's new book are actually exciting.
I knew that Maya was working on this book for a long time ...and that impresses me even more; the timing of the release put this book in the vanguard of recession consciousness!
How'd she do that?
The number of parents willing to consider alternatives to the sudden sticker shock of today's 4 year institutions must be suddenly enormous. When that alternative is as attractive as what Maya describes, the book strikes me as a must-have for anyone with children reaching that age.
Although I've never been blessed ...I'm still fascinated at economic aspect of the subject.
The responsibility that parents feel ...and the responsibility they are trying to instill ...takes on a new aspect in what could be a long recession: student debt is crushing some of the US' brightest. A recent NYT article was most noteworthy for the more than 400 comments it generated, mostly from students describing the life-long hell they are facing in order pay the bill (more than one is pondering leaving the US permanently to escape the unpayable debt.)
Parents both with and without the means to pick-up the tab can't go wrong by adding Maya's book to their survival kit. Making sure that their kids are aware should be a cinch when it's presented as such an attractive and fulfilling alternative.
...
Buenos Aires' own Ian Mount reports on a subject close to the Yanq's heart: producing the beef that we all know and love.
Ian's piece on American Public Radio's Marketplace is only a few minutes but if I haven't been able to get through to you on this very important subject, I'm confident that Mount's fine audio piece will do the job.
Give it a listen here.
My wife and I are trying our very best to hold onto our cattle, unlike ALL our immediate neighbors who have had to "take the bull by the tail and face the situation" ...for their own survival.
Hats off, man! Good job.
Bourdain en Baires
I'm probably the only person here in Argentina that has not seen the No Reservations episode (here's a link to it... get it while you can) where Ant'ny comes to our fair burg to sample our burg's fare ...but I don't watch a lot of TV.
However! When my pitiful channel surfing does land on an episode of his... my television treaty with My Missus invokes the Anthony Bourdain Clause and all other viewing ceases ...a cease-fire is invoked, as well ...and quiet reigns for the duration.
Ok. Maybe you've seen the episode (or not... I'm not really sure that we have this particular season here on cable yet)...
...but just maybe I have something new for you!This particular scene looks like it was cut from the episode ...but was good enough to make into something of a promo. Man, am I glad it was. This shows Tony in the venerable El Cuartito...finding his love for Argentine empanadas. For the love of God, please, don't blame that indescribable commercial on me.
What struck me about the promo is that in something less than 4 minutes, Bourdain travels the length and breadth of my own experience with empanadas!
I love meat-pies of just about any description but, for some reason, I could not fall in love with empanadas here. I don't know why. Argentine empanadas are truly champions among that food group ...but for my first 2 years here, I avoided them as the most pedestrian and uninspiring food in town. Never could explain it to myself nor anyone else. Nowadays, empanadas are my backstop whenever I get bored with local food! Couldn't live without them.
I've always liked and admired Anthony Bourdain's approach and savvy and program. However, seeing him condense my 2 years of personal experience with a touchstone Argentine food ...into what couldn't have been more than 2 hours of shooting ...makes me admire him so very much more.
The guy's not just another talking food head.
The figures are in!
