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though protests, meetings, events, mixers had been taking place all weekend, monday was the first actual day of the democratic national convention.

our hotel, the hilton doubletree valley forge, served as home for the week for not only the hawaii delegation, but also idaho, utah, north and south dakota, and west virginia. they’re delegations were similarly sized to hawaii….

starting on monday (July 25, 2016), all the delegations met first thing in the morning for breakfast to hear welcome messages from some of the delegations and presentations from speakers they had invited (hawaii’s was on thursday). the breakfasts were really the only time, aside from sitting together at the convention, when the entire delegation was together, so it was a great time to develop a comradery. we also received our credentials for the day at that time.

we had gotten word a day or two before that bernie sanders had scheduled an event/meeting for all of his delegates at the philadelphia convention center. of course, the bernie delegates were thrilled, especially given that there weren’t many, if any, from hawaii that had previously had the opportunity to see him in person.

the event was scheduled for just after noon, so we had to get ourselves organized for the day; once we left the hotel, it wouldn’t be possible for us to return before arriving at the wells fargo center for the 4pm opening gavel. though there were hourly shuttles from the hotel to the convention center, monday we decided to use the city’s public transportation system to get into the city. a nearby train took us to a station where we caught the subway.

once in the city, others made their way to the convention center while, as the hawaii point person for progressive democrats of america, i made a quick detour to a nearby marriot, where i met briefly with a staffer to collect stickers and other materials to share with other bernie supporters and like-minded people i met. then i raced back the three or four block back to be there in time to hear bernie speak.

bernie had publicly endorsed hillary two or three weeks prior, but there were still a lot of his followers that were disappointed and angry with that decision and that anger was expressed at that meeting on monday.

i was stunned, myself, with the strong reaction from so many in the room; that bernie sanders, the hero to so many, would have been booed by his own people would never have occurred to me as a possibility. to witness it first hand made me a bit angry. little did i know, this was just a glimpse of things to come as the week went on.

among the speakers on monday that proceeded the senator was rosario dawson. i’d her clips from her here and there over the last several months, but her assessment on monday of the campaign and the work that still needed to be done going forward was without doubt among the best i’ve heard:

And they booed her too….

by the time the event was over, it was time for delegates to make their way to the wells fargo center for the convention’s opening gavel. there were shuttles transporting delegates, but some of us chose again to use the city’s fabulous public transportation as there’s a subway line that ends right at the wells fargo center.

we’d been told security would be tight and take some time, but we passed through quickly and with no trouble. the five minute walk from the security checkpoint to the entrance of the center was exciting as our anticipation built for the events of the evening.

among them was the passage of the most progressive platform the dnc has ever had and a new rule limiting the influence of super delegates on nomination process in future presidential races: two huge victories for bernie sanders and his supporters.

once inside, it wasn’t long before the official business of the convention began.

as the evening proceeded, there were loud boos and chants in protest of some of the speakers who blatantly ignored the bernie campaign, their efforts, or the fact that no roll call vote for the nomination had taken place; though hillary’s nomination was a foregone conclusion, many bernie delegates, including myself, felt strongly the dnc and clinton-surrogate speakers made no effort to acknowledge the work of the senator’s campaign, nor made any overtures of unity. whether this was meant as an intentional slight, or was simply a short-sighted tone-deaf ignorance, it only served to enrage and embolden the bernie delegates toward protests and angry outbursts.

for my party, i only booed once during the evening’s proceedings; the woman (whose name i can’t recall) who conducted opening prayer referenced hillary clinton in her benediction. i found it highly inappropriate. otherwise, though i shared the anger of my fellow bernie delegates, i didn’t join in on “bernie” chants and persistent and prolonged boos, as i didn’t believe it served the interests or messaging of our long-term goals.

following the votes of the day, the agenda proceeded with various speakers until the primetime hour came and bernie sanders spoke to the crowd. of course i think he did a fantastic job and witnessing his speech in person was absolutely one of the highlights of my time at the convention. unfortunately, his speech to the convention was also met with boos when he again encouraged his supporters to transfer their efforts and energy to the election of hillary clinton in november. as he ended his speech and exited stage left, he did receive a standing ovation, cheers, and tears….

first lady, michelle obama was the last speaker for the first day. she gave a rousing and inspiring speech, definitely one of the best of the entire convention.

by the time the convention was gaveled into recess, it was 11:30pm. delegates scrambled for busses back to their respective hotels. hanging back to make sure all our delegates knew where to go, i boarded the last bus back and made it back in time for one beer and a bowl of clam chowder which served as a very late dinner.

it had been a good, exhausting first day of the convention, with only small frustrations, but as i crawled into bed i had no idea what was in store for tuesday, convention day two.


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earlier this week bernie sanders, sadly, endorsed hillary clinton for the democratic nomination for president. i, like so many other bernie supporters was disappointed to hear the news. rather, i had hoped to see him take the nomination fight to the convention.

still, to call bernie’s endorsement of hillary a sellout i think is hyperbolic. it’s impossible to know the details, the nuances of the conversations and agreements made between bernie and hillary. it seems to me the “bernie-or-bust” folks who have turned their ire on their one-time hero and leader is egotistical and, maybe, short-sighted. bernie hasn’t called it quits on the “revolution.” quite the contrary, in fact.

we have to remember that bernie’s been fighting the good fight longer than many of his supporters have been alive. as for myself, i’ve been navigating the ebbs and flows of local and national politics as an activist for a decade and i won’t presume to judge the strategic decision bernie made to endorse his former rival.

but let’s take a look at what bernie’s actually saying.

has it called off the revolution? nope. in fact, despite his endorsement of hillary, his campaign hasn’t officially been suspended and it continues to actively engage its supporters, particularly those who have been elected delegates to the national convention.

the contrary is actually true; he’s talking about next steps and about how to transform the presidential campaign to a long-term enduring movement for economic and social change. from the beginning he’s told us it’s not about HIM, it’s about US.

he’s talking about working and channelling our energies into congressional races and local races in which there is a progressive candidate that share’s bernie’s, shares OUR ideals. it’s not as if a magic veil would have lifted and all our hopes and dreams would be realized if bernie were the next president. this work that would have been necessary even if he were to be the nominee, even if he were elected the next president.

sure, with clinton as the nominee and potentially the next president our work may be more difficult, but no less important. nothing ever truly worth-while came without hard work and a long-term commitment; in politics, forward movement comes in excruciatingly small steps. don’t give up, don’t be angry with bernie. instead, stay focused on the issues.

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as i begin, yet again, to try and post regularly, i’ve been giving some thought to the kinds of things i’d could write about. in addition to personal matters and glimpses at my life, i think it might also be good to share my thoughts on current events, politicts, etc. i had originally set up a entirely separate blog for that purpose, but years later i’m not sure it’s valuable.

to that end, i’ll be closing down and migrating my other blog, peoplesdialectic.com, to this site, and forwarding the domain. maybe making it a sub-domain of this site, though i’ll need to do some research to ensure that’s the best choice.

in the meantime, i’m looking for good new agregators. though facebook is my default, a recent announcement to what it prioritizes in our newsfeeds, has sent me on a search to find an alternative. initial searches suggest flipboard may be the best option, based on how it functions and some of my own personal preferences.

still, i’m curious what sources others might use, or if, similarly aware of facebook’s announced chagnes, if anyone has found other interesting new aggregating alternatives.

as an aside, now that my flickr account is easily accessible via the blog, i’m hoping to share more photos, both recent and not-so-recent. so come back occasionally and take a look.

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though i am a loyal apple customer and think they’re products are generally think they’re products are pretty great. do i think they’re perfect? certainly not. nor would i say everyone should get an iphone, over an android, especially given their cost. there are some cool things androids do that apple doesn’t and i recognize that.

still, whenever apple comes out with a new iphone and it has problems, the media and everyone else freaks out. since i’ve never owned or used an android phone, i don’t know much about them, but i can’t imagine they’re perfect and free of flaws when new versions are released, though i’ve never heard the press say anything about it.

when apple released the iphone 5 to problems with its antenna when the phone was held a certain way, that was a pretty big snafu and to me a legitimate cause for griping.

the things people are complaining about now, to me, are not good reasons to complain. they’re complaints by stupid people and they should be dismissed as such.

 

if you’ve subscribed to my youtube channel, but aren’t getting emails when i post a new video, here are the steps:

  1. go to your youtube channel
  2. click on “my subscriptions”
  3. on your subscriptions page, you should see a link that says “manage subscriptions” click on it
  4. check mark the box next to my channel (regardingfrost) under “send me updates”
  5. then, on the activity drop down, you can either select “all activity” (default) or “uploads only”

if you have trouble, let me know, though i think it’s pretty straight forward. and of course, that’s if you want such notices (i think you do).

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…and the referendum vote in scotland to stay part of the united kingdom.

i do my best to stay up on world affairs, but as the world seems to be spinning out of control at an ever-increasing rate, it’s hard to stay engaged knowing there’s little i can do about it without wanting to give up and set the whole thing ablaze.

still last thursday’s historic vote in scotland on whether or not to leave the united kingdom was particularly interesting. i watched patiently as the votes were counted, while political commentators discussed the vote from every angle imaginable. actually, part of what was so entertaining for me was how much the coverage seemed to mimic election coverage here in the states: reporters camped out at the different watch parties, talking to supporters on both side of the issue, and speculating on the outcome.

in the end, somewhere around 90% of scotland voters decided to continue on as a partner in the united kingdom, with both sides promising there would be positive changes in the future.

i know the politics in europe are different than they are here, but i will be nonetheless surprised if there are any real, substantive changes to the benefit of the scotish people….

laborfest was great fun. and what an inspiring way to spend an evening. the keynote speakers were gerald horne, moors professor of history and african-american studies at the university of houston, and steve early, a labor journalist, lawyer, organizer, and union representative. both were entertaining and interesting, but i have to say professor horne was great. i bought his book, fighting paradise: labor unions, racism, and communists in the making of modern hawaii. my friends bart dame and bill puette also participated, as well as others from various backgrounds.

if you’re interested, you can see the whole event broadcast on olelo:Screen Shot 2014-09-20 at 3.32.16 PM

also, check out hawaii alliance for progressive action (hapa). it’s an organization from which i expect great things. consider getting involved and help make hawaii a better place for all of us and for future generations.

and stay tuned for exciting news about the new collaboration project with my old friend shawn steiman.

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