Photos from Thursday night – First installment

No time for words – Rich

Thursday pm photos

No time for words. Enjoy the pics – Rich

Ray Nagin and New Orleans – follow up

Ray Nagin left the convention last night to go home to New Orleans ahead of Gustav which may hit the city as a Category 2 or even 3 hurricane. Tomorrow is the 3^rd anniversary of Katrina. I called up an old girlfriend, Angela Breckenridge, PhD who teaches at Delgado College. She said the college is now at level 2 emergency management procedures getting regular text messages and prepping for the storm. The SPCA is evacuating animals early and the city has enough trains and buses on standby to evacuate everyone out of the city – no Superdome holding areas. Just get everybody out.

Breckenridge went to Wal-Mart last night to get bottled water and charcoal. A lot of her neighbors in the city were buying plastic storage bins to evacuate for this storm. One neighbor had already booked a block of rooms in Jackson, MS. The bayou near her house is drained. It was drained for Hurricane Faye.

She said people were being more conservative this time around – for themselves and for their concerned families. Asked whether Mayor Nagin’s return to New Orleans was warranted or simply a political move, she said that it is the right thing to do given the potential severity of risk to the city. She’s worked with the mayor on projects before although I wouldn’t call her opinion of him glowing – more mixed.

As for the rebuilt levees, Breckenridge said her neighbors have been told so many things about the strength of the levees, they don’t know what to think. People aren’t willing to count on them.

NOLA houses 18 months after Katrina

NOLA house 18 months after Katrina.

NOLA tom cat.

Wednesday night wrap up

I’m starting to curse the UAA rule of no alcohol consumption while on university-paid travel. Dear Board of Regents, you try four days of 4-5 hours of sleep while working 16 and see if you can’t really use a beer (pale ale, amber, stout – not that Bud of Miller swill) at the end of the day. I’m sure you folks have never had a drink after hours on university travel. I’m double the drinking age, for goodness sakes.

Well, it’s official. The convention is now crazy. In the movie “Bull Durham” about minor league baseball, they refer to the majors as “the show.” Monday and Tuesday were minor league. Wednesday is the major league – the show. Tonight? The World Series – literally when you consider the implications of the election.

Barack Obama is now the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. History has now been made and Hillary Clinton had a starring role in making it happen. Wednesday afternoon’s highlight was the roll call where each state in alphabetical order can cast their votes for whichever candidate they wish or are obligated to. Clinton had released her delegates earlier in the day to vote as they wished. In the past states, have even cast votes for a favorite son in a symbolic measure.

States also have the right to pass their turn and vote later if they are not ready or, as is more common, it is a large state whose vote tally would clinch the nomination for a candidate before a small state got to cast their vote. New York had passed on the first round. Later, when it was their turn again, Hillary Clinton showed up and moved that they suspend further voting and declare Barack Obama as the nominee – a procedural move called “acclaiming.” The general census from people I spoke with was that it was a very suspenseful build up.

Getting on the floor yesterday was more difficult. More people were waiting in line for passes and when you had one there were still times when security was closing the floor off to press saying “delegates only” even though the networks were all on the floor. My plan was to forego trying to get on the floor for my allotted 30 minutes during the Bill Clinton speech because of the potential to be blocked out by security and then be too late to even snag a seat in the nose-bleed seats. Clinton was scheduled to speak at 7:00, so I got to the upper level around 5:45 and got one of the last remaining seats.

Melissa Etheridge put on a great performance which included “America the Beautiful”, “The Times They Are A Changing”, “Give Peace a Chance” and “Born in the U.S.A.”

Bill Clinton delivered a great speech – as expected. The guy knows how to work a crowd. The first sentence out of his mouth was that he was here to support Barack Obama. He spoke about the heated primary increasing global warming. Clinton drew comparisons between himself in 1992 – when the Republicans said he was too young and inexperienced to be president – and Barack Obama. With respect to foreign policy, Clinton took a shot at Bush’s unilateralism saying “People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.

So who drew the short straw to go on after Clinton’s speech? Party pariah John Kerry.

I saw Bill on the Club Level after his speech. Madeline Albright came up and gave him a hug. I got within two feet of him with my recorder and asked him to give a shout out for college radio, but he just smiled. He’s about the same height as I am. Was it nice to see the former president that close? Yes. Was it a life-changing experience? Was he a god-man like some people make Reagan out to be? No and no. And no to Reagan too. People idolize their politicians too much. They are just people. Well…most are. I still want to see an autopsy report on Karl Rove whenever he passes to see if he is part machine like Darth Vader. Of course, if he is, he will never die and we’ll know that way.

About the club level, it’s where the well-heeled hang out. You’ll see suits on the convention floor and the main and upper levels, but the Club level is where the private booths are and the limited-entry lounges reside. You can catch a fair amount of big wigs and celebrities on this floor. Keep your camera ready.

I did get to meet Sen. George McGovern a few minutes later and thank him in person for the telephone interview he granted me back in the spring. Well into his 80s, the guy still keeps a very busy schedule and doesn’t grant a lot of interviews.

Joe Biden closed out the night with more family members than I’ve ever seen on a single stage. If they could sing, the Von Trapp family would be shaking in their boots. Biden’s drum beat was simple on every issue he brought up last night including Afghanistan, Iran, setting a date for troop withdrawal: McCain was wrong. Obama was right. McCain is a good man, he said, but he is wrong.

Ray Nagin left the convention last night to head home to New Orleans. Tropical storm Gustav is looking to build and currently projected to hit New Orleans. Nagin said if it grows to Category 3, he will evacuate the city. Tomorrow is the third anniversary of Katrina.

So today, I’ll be prepping for the World Series of politics, which means filling some more stories for KRUA 88.1 FM Anchorage, figuring out where I’m supposed to be in our new venue of Mile High stadium, as well as finding my digital SLR which wasn’t in my pack when I got home last night. Wish me luck.

Breaking news – Ray Nagin leaving convention because of Gustav

The News Hour with Jim Lehrer just came by my station and told us that Ray Nagin is heading back to New Orleans to get the city read to evacuate in case Hurricane Gustav grows to a Category 3. All models are currently pointing towards the hurricane hitting New Orleans. “This will be the first real test we’ll have of the federally rebuilt levees,” News Hour reported Nagin as saying.

The entire video is at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/share.html?s=news01s1041q3a6

Only photos – no time for words (Part 2)

Bill Clinton after his speech. I got within 2 feet of him, but couldn’t get him to give a shout out for college radio. I tried, Paul.

Jamie Foxx

The famous “thumb.”

Chelsea and Hillary

Alaska delegates

Henry Cisneros

Only photos – no time for words (Part 1)

Melissa Etheridge sang America the Beuatiful (Words by former Colorado College professor Katherine Bates)

And she sang Dylan’s “The times they are a changin'”

And she sang The Beatles “Give Peace a Chance”

AK Delegates dance to the music.

Gary Waid and his Tlingit robe.

Rev. Al Sharpton

Reno’s finest? No Denver’s.

Obama in a Bottle vendor. I don’t think this stuff will sell.

Faloun Gong protester.

Prayer song for Arkansas DNC Chairman shot and killed last month.

Me with Congressman Mike Honda (CA). He was just given a shirt with the same design as mine.

Rep. Mike Honda.

Rev. Leah Daughtry, CEO of the DNC

Dr. Susan Rice, foreign policy advisor to O

Fox News talks during the invocation at Dem Convention

Not only did Fox News talk during the National Anthem, but they also talked during the invocation prayer at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colo. on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008.

-Rich Stromberg, KRUA News, University of Alaska Anchorage

Fox News talks during the invocation prayer.

Fox News talks during the National Anthem

I’m not the most patriotic guy, but I thought Fox News was purported to support American values. See what they did on Wednesday during the singing of the National Anthem at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. There were reports of this behavior yesterday, but today KRUA University of Alaska Anchorage caught it on film.

-Rich Stromberg, KRUA News

Video of Fox News talking during the National Anthem

Tuesday evening update

I hugged a lesbian Tuesday! Walking out of the Convention Center, someone caught my eye. It was Dallas Timmons whom I worked with at Intel for several years back in New Mexico up until 2000. She was at the convention focusing on GLBT issues. Small world. I’m now two-for-two on hug days at the convention.

About an hour earlier, I met a fellow from Iowa Public Television. When I mentioned Alaska, he said his cousin had just moved from Cordova, AK to Iowa. Turns out I met his cousin at my front yard during the Salmon Jam weekend. Again, small world.

The convention is getting more crowded. Clearly, some delegates are arriving a day or so late. I assume these are high-ranking officials within each state’s delegation such as governors and former members of Congress. Moving through the convention floor is getting difficult and people weren’t being allowed on the convention floor or the upper seating areas during the later speeches even if they had the proper credentials.

The Tuesday speaker for the Alaska Delegation’s breakfast meeting was Doug Jones, a U.S. District Atty. who personally prosecuted two former Klansmen, Bobby Frank Cherry and Tommy Blanton, for their role in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala.

Tuesday’s agenda had the first Women’s Caucus at this year’s convention, a conference on American energy independence, a presentation on the Hispanic vote in the west, the disability caucus, the faith caucus and the veterans and military families caucus.

Congresswoman Grace Napolitano from California spoke about accomplishing so much with only a high school diploma. Looking at problems of Social Security and health care, she said it is incumbent on women to make things happen. California has two women senators and she said women get out and vote and they like to talk. She encouraged women to talk about issues everywhere.

The most moving speech I saw was Tammy Duckworth, who was a major with the Illinois Army National Guard who lost both her legs and partial use of one arm in Iraq. She spoke about how her government had failed her and how soldiers give up their freedom of speech.

N.M. Gov. Bill Richardson spoke on the Western Majority Project about the importance of all Western States, but especially the Hispanic vote in Colo., N.M. and Nev. Gov. Richardson predicts Obama will get 70% of the Hispanic vote in N.M. pushing him over the top for the entire state. Part of the conference was conducted entirely in Spanish so I won’t be able to report out on what was said until I can get back to UAA and review things with my Spanish professor.

The National Conference of Democratic Mayors is kicking off an effort to increase the vote for Barack Obama.

I’m beginning to see a lot more expensive suits on the convention floor. A lot of these are mid-tier party officials and top-tier people who have name recognition, but their faces are fairly anonymous – like Terry McAuliffe.

The Democrats are doing their best to associate John McCain with George W. Bush and warn of four more years of the same policies. You will continue to hear this along with ending the war in Iraq responsibly. These are the drumbeat messages you will hear between now and Election Day. Bush and McCain are one in the same. End the war responsibly. And the new one introduced tonight is the analogy of a clean energy initiative equivalent to the Apollo project to put a man on the moon.

Fairbanks Mayor Jim Whitaker made it official that he is endorsing Barack Obama despite being a registered Republican. He claims there’s been no backlash back home, but there’s got to be at least a little – probably not enough to affect him when he needs to be reelected. His decision is based on the simple economics of what high energy and other impacts to the middle class are doing to Fairbanks citizens’ ability to break even – or not.

Of course, the speech the crowd was waiting for was Hillary Clinton. I heard someone refer to her as the loser, but she sounded more like the runner-up. She didn’t waste any time, coming out and saying she was a proud supporter of Barack Obama. “It’s time to take back the country we love and have a single party with a single purpose.” She thanked her sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits. (Plenty of laughs.) She made it clear that she supports Barack Obama. She laid out specific reasons in the economy why Barack would be much better than John McCain without making it sound like lip service. The crowd cheered when she reminded them that great things had been accomplished when Bill Clinton was in the White House, so it’s entirely conceivable that Barack Obama will accomplish great things.

At the end of night, attendees I spoke with were unanimous in the opinion that Hillary delivered a great speech. It’s the best one I’ve heard her give. Her tone lacked that sharp edge that in the past had sometimes turned me off to her message. People carrying
Hillary signs said she did a good job of uniting the party and explaining why her supporters should vote for the Democratic candidate. (She asked them, were you in this for me, or for these causes that I support?) I’d say she still has a long political career ahead of her.

Fairbanks Mayor Jim Whitaker endorsing Barack Obama.

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Analyst Andrew Myers and N.M. Gov. Bill Richardson discuss the Hispanic vote.

Providence, R.I. Mayor Cicilline announcing an effort by the National Conference of Democratic Mayors to increase the vote for Obama.

PETA wants to tax meat.

Affordable health care could help this man.

Note to Mitt: You’re in Denver, but nobody gives a s***.

Onbe of the many memorials recognized today.