While I am NOT one to pimp or shill my diaries to get them on the Recommend list, I would appreciate having others either coming to Denver, or others who may be interested in the events and schedule at the Big Tent know what to expect or how to view the events live, and would therefore appreciate your help!

Well not live this very second, live yesterday and in a few minutes from now.

I have returned home to Denver for the remainder of the general election campaign, and wanted to share some very exciting information about  The Big Tent now being erected in Denver for the Convention.

For some background and history, here is the press release Markos used to announce the concept in late June.

Take a running start and hop over the creek to the other side for information for both attendees AND Kossacks unable to get to Denver.

Construction is underway on the Big Tent in Denver. Hosted by Daily Kos, ProgressNow, and The Alliance for Sustainable Colorado, the Big Tent will be the place to be for new media journalists, bloggers, and non-profit leaders covering the Democratic National Convention. The Alliance for Sustainable Colorado has graciously given their building, parking lot, and untold hours of staff time to make this event a reality for the mass of bloggers descending upon Denver.  The Alliance Center is one of only two double-LEED certified buildings in the world and 27 non-profit organizations currently call it home. They represent a range of educational and advocacy interests -- social justice, environmental protection, consumer awareness, public health, and cultural diversity.

In addition to resources like WiFi, podcast areas, Fat Tire beer, food, and much more for the registered bloggers, the Big Tent has a Digg Stage featuring national leaders and speakers like Van Jones, T. Boone Pickens, Carl Pope, Majora Carter, James Rucker, Donna Edwards, Donna Brazille, John Conyers, and our very own Markos Moulitsas.  The growing schedule of speakers can be found at the Big Tent website. Can't make it to Denver? Don't have a Big Tent pass?  No worries, you don't have to be in the tent to be a part of the tent. The Digg Stage will be streamed live, courtesy of UStream, on the Big Tent website, beginning with the Media Consortium's Live from Main Street Denver event this Sunday at 4pm MDT.

We'll be reporting from the Big Tent throughout the convention, so stay tuned to Daily Kos and The Big Tent website for the latest and greatest from Denver.

Yesterday, in this diary in a comment, I raised an uncomfortable topic.

It was apparently an even worse topic than comparisons to Bobby Kennedy in June.  Because people seem more than willing to discuss ideas involving ... that. (I can't even bring myself to 'say' it.)  

So, I got some donuts.  And let me tell you, they weren't Krispy Kremes.

As a person of faith, I do not apologize for being a liberal Christian, particularly a Quaker.  May I also say that I understand the plight of the atheist, the agnostic, and the secular humanist as well.  They have every right to feel as though they need not apologize for their faith, either.  I understand this personally because my father is an agnostic as was my Grandfather.  I moved towards liberal Christianity for my own reasons and I draw strength from it for my own personal reasons.  I'm sure this is true  to those who are not theists.    

Combined, we comprise a large portion of the liberal base of the Democratic party.  This is why I have urged those of us who have felt disenfranchised before to make their voices heard and to work together for a common purpose.

Tuesday was a powerful day. There are a lot of emotions running high.  

But I kind of meant what I said in yesterday's C & J.
here

We're a community.

Don't step on too many throats today if you're gloating.

And don't cry that the world is ending if it doesn't go exactly how you want it.

It is crazy out there. It is Hurricane Katrina rage unleashed on the countryside.  But in here....

There is peace.

This has been a great day at dKos for the Obama theme of Yes WE can.

In this thread I watched a YouTube video made, I believe, by Anna who is among our ground forces in Texas.  It was a great video.  Like most, it has contemporary music.

So I just dropped in a little 'gimme' into...

Yeah, its my first diary.  You already figured that out from the title.  Even more disgusting this will likely read a lot like a candidate diary, but it is me, and it is personal and if this medium isn't a place for someone to discuss how they became a Democrat and a Kossack I don't know what is.

I am not an easily defined voter.  I have a scattershot history, sometimes a foolish one even.  Up until recently I had the privilege of voting in Washington state and not having to declare a party during the primary.  That meant that my record was even more screwy as I would vote in a Democratic primary and then later vote for the GOP candidate in the general, sometimes the other way.  Sometimes I would toss my GE vote down the toilet with a write-in or third party vote.  This election I promised I would do something different.  I wanted to look deeply at these sets of candidates and see which came closest to matching my own vision for America.

In November 1980 I voted in my first Presidential election. I was 10 and it was a 4th grade "mock" election. Each of us wrote our vote on a slip of paper and we stood in a long, awkward conga line as we waited our turn to put our slip in a big cardboard box at the front of the room. Likely I was standing next to a friend of mine named Dave. The two of us came from poor families and had a ridiculous affinity for Billy Joel’s Glass Houses and a certain pretty blonde girl whose name I do not remember to this day.  (I’ve outgrown any preference for blondes, pretty much loving women of all varieties, especially the intelligent and compassionate kind. My love of Glass Houses stands.)

When the votes were counted, I knew I was very different from my fellow students. Only 2 votes were cast for Carter. I cast one of them.

Democrats like Markos often talk about the concept of our party being a "Big Tent," that is, a broad coalition of groups that mutually support each other in order to win at the polls and to achieve a range of policies on which we can find consensus.  The 2006 midterms may have been the beginning of truly embracing this idea as a party.  It's a concept that I believe our party Chairman, Howard Dean, embraces through his 50-State strategy.  Personally, I believe it's the only way forward for our party and the best way to win.  But 2006 was really only the beginning.

I wanted to post on this article but it had too many comments for my computer’s memory to handle. I detected a familiar arrogance to the tone of the diarist, a tone that Baby Boomers have reserved for those younger.

This isn’t a new idea. Remember the concept ‘slackers’, these were gen-x types born after the baby boom ended (1965ish or later) who were regarded as less ambitious, less activist, less whatever, than baby boomers.

It seems there was one in every thread last night: a 20-something bemoaning the fact that Clinton won in Nevada because of all the "Boomers" or "seniles" or "gray hairs" who showed up and voted for her.

All those hoary old people in our party are blocking the kind of swift, revolutionary progress we need right now! Those ancient crones and doddering 50-somethings are craven, ignorant "CENTRISTS" -- horrifying, I know -- and they're all willfully or stupidly knuckling under to corporate hegemony and "destroying the party from within."

In a way, I sympathize. I've been there.

    Judging by the successful results of last night's Iowa caucus, is Barack Obama's tent bigger than Kos's? One wonders. (And Dodd plus Biden are welcome in it, of course...)

    Of course, this is a Democratic site; but Barack O's outreach to Repubs and independents seems to have worked. (And the Iowa caucus seems to have worked, despite Kos disliking Iowa...)
    Remember, Kos was once a Republican!

    Now about those netroots: one hears the roots love Edwards. This is nice, but does it tally with what Americans want? (Cf. Iowa) And how many people conceive of the netroots as the American heartland, as opposed to the Capital of Corn being that heartland, or close?
    And did Edwards really need to neglect congratulating Obama? Is this leadership?

(more tentery below)

Just when we thought it was safe to put the Bush Administration into the dung heap of history along comes a shining knight to set us straight. Apparently one cannot take an eye off these guys for a minute.

Let's stop dancing around the fringes of what's going on with the Donnie McClurkin story.

He's said some really offensive, really ignorant, really appalling, and totally unacceptable things about LGBT folks.

So, the theory goes, this guy should be publicly repudiated by the Obama campaign.  

This, quite frankly, is nuts.  If you believe in a big tent.  

The cold splash of reality below the fold.

I want to clarify what I want all Democratic candidates to say to the public.  I want to define what I mean when I say we are, or should be, and can be, the Big Tent Party.  I want all our candidates, including those running for President, to stand up for all those the Republicans hate and vilify.  Because when you stop and think about it, every voter, or nearly every voter, either is one of 'those people' or has close friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors who are some of 'those people.'

So, instead of treating them like second class citizens, or someone who is kept hidden in the attic, let us announce to the whole world, shout from the rooftops, that these are the people we want to represent, along with those who seem more 'normal.'

Although, when you really take a close look at each person, you soon realize that 'normal' is just a setting on your washing machine.

So, let us go down the list of those the Republicans treat like second class citizens, and who I want to bring into our Big Tent:

Great news, folks. The Republican Party as we know and loathe it is dying. When it comes to our dear fellow freeper citizens across the aisle, the American people have spoken. They’ve spoken with their opinions, with their party ID, with their votes, with their money. The only substantive question that remains to be answered over the next year is whether the Democratic Party is ready to close the deal. So I ask you, fellow Kossacks, oh great opinion leaders of the emerging king- (or, ahem, queen)-making blogosphere: are we up for it? Are we ready? Will we be willing to take "Yes" for an answer?

Crossposted on Swords Crossed

Two days ago LarryInNYC wrote a diary titled Another Red Stater Reaches The End(er) Of His Rope. about my diary on Swords Crossed: Iraq, Bush, Congress and USA. I was somewhat embarrased by Larry's diary because I don't actively participate at RedState any longer. That kind of a "rat leaving the sinking ship" image does not help that blog, many members of which I respect. So, I would like to clarify that I am in no way affiliated with RedState nor should it reflect negatively on them. Yes my nickname means Ender from RedState but I created it over a year ago when I was a somewhat more active user there.

So I want to quickly recap why I am leaving the GOP and then address where I stand and what our points of agreement are.

Let's look at 9/11 and Iraq with the goal of understanding and integrating the legitimate views of the NRA and 2d Amendment advocates.

We sometimes accept the liberal line about guns cause gun deaths a little to quickly, without the tough examination that other issues, like John Edwards' hair, or Al Gore's weight, or Obama's skin color and genography attract.

Is it because we are being trained to fill our attention space (six ideas maximum) with the trivial instead of the significant?

Freedom is significant, is it not? Suppose that Bushco, the corporate consumerist imperial oligarchs, had succeeded in removing access to guns from Iraqis after invading and occupying Iraq? No IED's, no mortars, no snipers. Easy occupation.

Now, under the fold, imagine the USA under that same occupation, WITH access to rifles, handguns, ammunition, smokeless powder, and so on.