Tales from the DNC: Day 3

Holy exhaustion, Batman!  I'm a tired girl!  But wow, it's so awesome here!  I found my flag lady from day one, and she had another funky outfit.

New York may have had crappy seats, but our Senator got to say hello!

Bill Clinton, elder statesman that he is, brought down the house, with, which I am told, the longest speech in DNC history.  The crowd was transfixed--we could have listened to him all night!

 Surprise guest...O!

And then, there was a mid-states reception (NY, NJ, PA & DE) at Discovery Place.  My kids would have loved it!

 This is what I look like to someone wearing heat-seeking goggles:

 My convention pal, Mary, and I having a glass of wine in Paris.

And yes folks, I tested out a real bed of nails.  The edges were dulled but still, it was a bed of nails.  It this lawyer thing doesn't work out for me, I've got a future in the circus!

So far, it's been the most whirlwhind, stressful, exciting and inspiring week!  I'm excited for tonight!  Stay tuned!

Tales from the DNC: Day 2.

Day two of the DNC was crazy!  Traveling through the city of Charlotte is extremely difficult, even by secure DNC buses.  There are police from all over the country, all wearing their home uniforms, and with every possible mode of transportation, including dirt bikes!

 

Protestors are set up in varying zones around the city.  Closest to the convention center were the 'lifers.  There's a lot of hate here, and dozens of 5 foot tall photos of aborted fetuses to be seen.

 

Just around the corner, Planned Parenthood was having a rally--it would have been much more interesting if they let the 'lifers protest right nearby!

There was one big protest, but I couldn't get close enough to it.  There were rows of police in the streets, with bicycles and riot gear.

And the weather!  Oy vey!  Like walking around in a hot cloud.  We've had severe thunderstorms every afternoon...and to think we laughed at Tampa's hurricane during the RNC.  Payback's a bitch, as they say.

We just learned that tomorrow has been moved inside to the Time Warner Arena--it was supposed to be at the Carolina Panthers' stadium, and there were over 65,000 regular people who were promised tickets (including my mom and dad).  But due to the severe weather, they are moving it inside.  Honestly, I'm good with that--I was not looking forward to sitting in the rain for the night!

Walking into the convention was amazing.  I've been fortunate to do a lot of cool things in my life, and have been a delegate to NY conventions for a decade, but nothing really prepares you for this.  Every state, each territory, and nearly every major news network in the country are here.  History is being made, my friends. 

And the speakers, there are not words.  So many of the elected officials who spoke last night, literally came from nothing.  They grew up poor--not Ann Romney's version of struggling--eating spaghetti in your basement apartment--all the while knowing that you have a serious safety net in your wealthy parents, and a trip to the country club for a bowl of lobster bisque is just a limo ride away---but really poor.  Ken Salazar, former Attorney General of Colorado grew up in a Mexican-American ranching family and had no electricity or running water in his childhood home.  Mayor of San Antonio, Julian Castro thanked his mom, a housecleaner, for pushing a mop so he could stand before the convention holding a mic.  One of my favorite speeches was Ohio's Governor, Ted Strickland.  "If Mitt Romney was Santa Claus, he would fire the reindeer and outsource the elves," he joked with the crowd.

There was a tribute to Senator Kennedy, which had clips from his 1994 debate with Mitt Romney...priceless.  Mr. Romney was asserting that he believed in a woman's right to choose and that Roe v. Wade was the law of the land and should be upheld.  How far his position has changed to court the right!  Teddy Kennedy capitalized on it, as Mitt's positions were ever changing, even 20 years ago, providing a list of all the things that Romney had decided to switch position and support during his campaign, concluding with, "Now, it looks like he's for ....reform, if we give him two more weeks, he may even vote for me!"  It brought the house down last night!

And of course, it's not a party without Kumar!  A few weeks ago we watched A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas.  Harold and Kumar are the modern-day Cheech and Chong.  Kumar is definitely the Chong to Harold's Cheech.  But he cleans up pretty well, and delivers a surprisingly insightful speech.



Michele Obama was the keynoter of the night, with some insight to the person who is our President.  She was remarkable.

Tonight is President Clinton--and I can't wait!

Tales from the DNC: Day 1

It's day one in Charlotte, and the DNC is just getting underway.  Today was CarolinaFest, and the start of activities in Uptown Charlotte.  Uptown is really downtown in Charlotte...they sort of do things backwards in the south.

 It was a day without structure.  Lots of fun activities for delegates.  I spent last night with my best friend from college, who lives nearby, and my parents, who relocated from Amsterdam, NY to Hickory, NC about 10 years ago.  My folks left in the morning, and I was free to explore.

This was the first sign that I was getting close to the action:

I was close...the Charlotte Convention Center.  Security was crazy.  Access on many streets was limited, even to pedestrians.  But like many delegates, I wanted to scope out the place I'd be in the coming days.  The Convention Center is across the street from the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which hosts a Buffalo Wild Wings in the lobby--which is the New York Delegation's hospitality station for the week.  (Yes, friends, that means all the wings, and other deep fried delicacies I can consume, on the hizzouse!)

Oddly, Fox News had an outpost just outside the NY station.  No one was there, 'cept the crickets.  I'm hoping I can debate Glenn Beck in the coming days.

This woman embodied everything I imagined a convention delegate to be.  Cool costume, hat, pins, the works!



And later in the evening, at the Governor's party, I had a blast.  We were at Strike Center--a huge bowling alley with the whole NY Delegation  Here's me with Albany's Mayor Gerry Jennings and NYS Comptroller Thomas Dinapoli.  It's going to be a fun week!

And here's me and the folks, just before they left!

Leavin' on a jet plane.

In just a few days, I'm going to say goodbye to these little smiling faces for the better part of a week.
A week!  Part of me is so excited--I'm going to be an Obama delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte--a once in a lifetime experience!

I won't have to change a diaper, wipe a little booty, or get up in the middle of the night because someone is fussing.

But, the other part of me is really going to miss these smiles.  The mad rush to the door with cries of, "Mommy's home!"  Family dinners.  Little people sitting on my lap just to snuggle.

And Big Man, who is more capable of holding down the fort than I, has once again absolutely encouraged me to participate in the things I love.  He's taken the week off, and will be, essentially, a single dad.  He'll also get a week of more sleep than he's used to getting, which is the small plus for him.

I received a really nice card in the mail today, from an old friend and teacher telling me she was so glad that I would be representing our county at this event--and telling me I should keep a journal so someday the kids can read about "Mommy's trip to the convention."  And, I will.  I've focused this blog on the kids, primarily, and not as much on the Big Man and me.  I have it printed every year, and hope that for the kids, they will be able to go back and read the narrative of their lives, and see pictures of so many days, and remember so many things.  But they will probably really want to know about what mommy and daddy did too.  So, Dani, Tori, and Tommy, Mommy's going to start telling you about the neat things she and Daddy do, as well as telling everyone what adorable little monkeys you all are!

Primary day!

Primary day folks--hope you got off your butts and voted! I'm dying here, waiting for results. I've really never been so passionate about a statewide race. I really hope Eric Dinallo pulls it off for Attorney General.

In other news, I had a great visit with an old friend tonight. An old colleague who I don't see nearly as often as I'd like--Heather braved the craziness of near-bedtime, and didn't panic when Dani greeted her at the door screaming "bye bye" and crying. She was also a pro at holding Tori--who, for the uninitiated, is like holding a medicine ball--after a few minutes, your arms are sooooo tired!

The kids are growing more interested in each other by the day. Tori's fascinated with Dani, but Dani plays it cool. If I leave the room, she climbs on the chair/couch/toy to be near Tori, but if I come back, she tries to bail. Like this:

But when she doesn't think I'm looking, she's all:

That is, when she's not immersed in her books.
They exhaust me but are so much fun!

Senator Gillibrand!

US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Tonko made a stop at city hall this Saturday. I to spend a few minutes with them and the Mayor.
As you can see, I'm already rockin' the baby belly. Only 140 days to go!

Judicial Nominating Convention.

This is Dani's tough political boss look:

The Democrats in the 4th Judicial District had their Judicial Nominating Convention to put candidates on the ballot for Supreme Court Justice. I'm a delegate, and so I brought Dani so Big Man could rest; he's got a bad cold.

The Democratic candidates will be Barry Kramer of Schenectady and Brian Stewart of Malone.

Brian Stewart is a big hit in the under 2 demographic:

Picked up pumpkins at a farm stand on the way home. Getting excited about Halloween and Dani's many costumes!

Baby blobs for Obama!

At the Obama event on Monday, I managed to capture just a little bit of video--lifting my arm over my head wasn't really conducive to good picture quality, so it's short.

As this health care debate rages on, I need to weigh in for just a moment. We need a public option for health care. As I sat in the waiting room at my OB's office today, it occurred to me that the entire cost that I will incur for this pregnancy (barring trips to the ER which are a $50 copay) is $15.00. Yep, that's $15.00. This includes every doctor's visit, ultrasound, blood test, etc., including the c-section and stay at the hospital. Pretty good deal, I'd say.

What if I didn't have health insurance, and I was so (gasp!) irresponsible to get pregnant? Clearly, that's what the right would have you believe, that it would be an act of irresponsibility. If I couldn't qualify income-wise for Medicaid, I probably wouldn't be going to the doctor regularly, couldn't afford many of the tests, and my health and possibly my baby's would be at risk. I know people who have had thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs associated with hospital stays and pregnancies, and they have insurance. The US is the only developed country in the world where people declare bankruptcy due to medical bills. Small businesses can barely afford to pay for insurance; I had a potential client in my office yesterday who was paying about $600 per month for insurance for he and his spouse, and it is now going up to nearly $900; he's almost 3 years from being old enough for Medicare, and, due to the economic downturn, is living on his $1200 social security check; he's going to spend the next 3 years uninsured; at the age of 63. Where's he going to get a job with benefits in this economy and at his age? He ain't.

If my insurance cost more so others could have it, I would pay more.

If I had to wait a little longer to see my doctor for non-emergent care, I would wait.

Health care for every American is the right thing to do.

Here's my little pro-Obama baby blob, age 8 weeks. He wants me to let everyone know that he supports the public option too and thinks that if people can say that the right to bear arms is a constitutional requirement, then so is health care as it is part of providing for the general welfare (see the preamble mo fo.)

On a lighter note, somebody's got 4 teeth:

(and it's not mommy, she has a few more than that.)

Obama!

President Obama was in the region today, and I scored a last minute ticket. I've been at events with former presidents, and with the sitting vice president, but never the president. Jill Biden and President Obama came together, and my former employer, Congressman Tonko got to ride with them on Air Force One. I took some video, but am way too tired to post it. More tomorrow.
I totally had camera envy today--I want a better camera! Need more zoom! Here's a grainy photo, but still, a photo, I took, of the President, with only 3x zoom...I was only about 50 feet away!

And, then I get to come home to cuteness!

Stew on this.

What, where are the death panels? :)
There is absolutely no reason everyone in America should not have access to health care.

Now, for the real reason you're here:

Dani's back, feeling better and crawling with a vengeance. I caught her chasing the cat tonight. Look at that determined little face!

She made us laugh at dinner tonight! So fun!

Big Man is leaving Sat AM to Sunday PM, because he is going to the Bears-Bills preseason game in Buffalo. (no fair!). So, I'll be flying solo!

During the happier time earlier in the week...

(Dani trying a pickling cuke. She gnawed on it for about a minute, then chucked it on the floor.)

It's been a long week. The fun parts have involved a visit from one of my best pals, Tara. She came over to visit, and then we went out to dinner. Dani had a great time with her!

Some local craziness going on, where suffice to say, the entire city I live in, well perhaps I exaggerate, at least those those who read certain local political blogs have been directed to my facebook page, and an old blog of mine, and my silly local paper is going to run a cover story on anonymous bloggers and attempts to out them, in which many disparaging comments will be made about me. Only in my town is that actually news. Most interestingly, the faux outrage stems from a glib comment allegedly made by me which stated, essentially, that neighborhood opponents of a certain project shared one little brain, and that one local restaurant was not fine dining. Oh, the horrors! Those comments have apparently lead to a weeks (or perhaps months) long hunt for the anonymous blogger, with multiple blogs previewing that the blogger's identity would be announced live on local radio today.

I actually learned about most of this (that the blogs that had my pictures and links to my personal info) when I got a call from the newspaper this afternoon. Fun times. I thought I got out of the fishbowl when I didn't run for re-election!

Just a working mom, enjoying my marriage and baby. Nothing to see here.

Social butterflies.

Some sucker mommy took her kid to disneyworld and spend a crapload of cash on an authentic Minnie Mouse dress--I picked it up at a garage for $1 a few weeks ago. Cuteness!!!

Dani and I were social butterflies today. We went to Congressman Tonko's birthday fundraiser, saw a ton of old friends, and Dani was super fun and happy!

And then we went to a graduation party for Rusty Decker, where Dani also had fun--she saw lots of kids, and got lots of attention because she was the only baby! I brought a blanket so she could have some fun on the lawn.

When I got home I was so sore and tired--holding a 16 pound baby for hours really does a number on an out of shape girl like me. I am so sore as I type, not my arms, or legs, but my abdomen--I feel like I just had a c-section. Ugh.

But enough whining. When I got home I was talking to Big Man and told him that every time I get Dani out of the pack-n-play, I try to have her stand for a minute or two and hold the rail, but she has yet to figure out the holding herself up part. Big Man says, "She does it for me all the time." He then picks her up, and we walk to the pack-n-play and, lo and behold, the kid stands and holds herself up! (Look at her beaming at Daddy!)

Democrats everywhere!

I went to the spring meeting of the Democratic Rural Conference of the State Democtratic Committee this weekend. Fun! Big Man brought Dani for a few hours so she could meet lots of people. Then they went home and I got to stay and mingle with the politicos, enjoy the plentiful food and open bar, woo hoo! Mommy's first night without the baby!

Her jeans were such a pain in the ass to get on and off, but were absolutely adorable!

A big shout out to Nancy who gave Dani the "Tiny Democrat" onesie.

Outside the Gideon Putnam:

With Senator Schumer:

Last night with Governor Paterson:

I had a nice sit down with the Governor today, with three other county chairs. We took some photos afterwards.

Back home and chillin' on the couch:


And, Big Man has the night off. Tomorrow's our committee's brunch with Congressman Tonko. Then, we rest, and Big Man's mom flies in on Monday for a week. She's going to have so much fun with Dani!

My congressman rocks!

I used to work for Congressman Paul Tonko, back when he was just Assemblyman Paul Tonko. It was my first, real post-college job, and I stayed for nearly ten years, until I finished law school. Paul's family to me. He has been a friend and mentor, and all of my political achievements began with him, and could not have been achieved without his help. He had these delivered to my office yesterday:

Yes, these are exactly what they look like--an official program and invitation to the inauguration.

Doesn't that rock??? Thanks Paul!