I'm sorry it's taken several days to find a blog that says something like this:

Here are a few things that I will not be doing in Denver:

I'm not going to cheerlead for the Democratic Party. I'm sure the oratory will be stirring and the energy and emotion infectious; we'll have to see if I get swept up in a political Hallmark moment, but I somehow doubt it. The Democratic Party has simply spent too many years killing the romance with corruption and backstabbing to rekindle the faith with a few bright roses and sweet promises. We've got some long-term work to do in order to make things okay.

I'm not going to pretend to be a reporter or pundit. I'm a progressive activist and agitator, an anti-racist anti-corporatist anti-imperialist Asian American writer, a universal human rights advocate, and a generally ornery observer of media, culture, and politics, who somehow happens to be attending the DNC. If I were forced to name a journalistic role model for this trip, I'd probably have to go with Hunter S. Thompson, though I hesitate to mention him because nobody, nobody, can live up to that legacy.

I'm not going to declare that "we" are "taking back" the Democratic Party or "reclaiming our democracy" because I don't believe that those things were ever really mine in the first place.

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Riverdaughter's post today is a hilarious must-read.

Don't know about you guys, but I'm fine with feminist women using stereotype-based humor like this; some of you may disagree. Similarly, I give far more latitude to men, GLBTs, ethnic, racial and religious groups to satirize their own groups. I freely state I'd be pissed to read something similar on Olbermann's blog. Riverdaughter's earned the right to speak so; KO hasn't. Simple. The whines I often hear about this "double standard" seem either disingenuous or humanity-bereft; I'm never sure which it is.

The US Senate’s Ladies Auxilliary met on Tuesday to discuss women’s issues... [and] finished with a demonstration on scrapbooking campaign memorabilia.

In attendance were Senators Diane Feinstein (CA), Barbara Mikulski (MD), Amy Klobuchar (MN) and Barbara Boxer (CA).

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(reposted from a comment on Avedon's blog)

How can leverage be built, or used, without the threat of a negative outcome?

If votes from Clinton supporters are desired, doesn't someone have to ask for them?

Doesn't someone have to stop insulting them by continually saying their opinions are invalid, that their power is either illusory or unimportant, or that they are delusional for wanting to wield that power in the first place?

Since there are no third parties worth even that much of a damn to consistently field downticket candidates in every state, how else should Clinton supporters -- who have been called everything from bitches, dried-up divorcees, to racists -- behave, but to offer their votes to the McCain campaign if their policy concerns are not discussed with respect?

The “Magic Number” is still 2025, or 2209. But its not 2118.

That’s because, in violation of the DNC charter, a secret meeting was held, and secret votes were taken -- violations of specific Charter “sunshine rules” provisions. A deal was struck among Obama supporters on the committee to completely ignore what is known as the “fair reflection” rule (see note below), and to treat the constituency groups that had provided Hillary Clinton with considerable margins in two states (Hispanic/Latino voters, older voters, women, Jewish voters in Florida, older voters, working class voters, rural voters, and women in Michigan) as “half voters”.

Marcy splains.

The Democratic Party's charter requires that the Party:
Establish standards and rules of procedure to afford all members of the Democratic Party full, timely and equal opportunities to participate in decisions concerning the selection of candidates, ... and further, to promote fair campaign practices and the fair adjudication of disputes. (Charter, Article I, Section 4)

Yet both the Democratic National Committee and the Michigan Democratic Party appear to be violating that requirement in their selection of which challenges to the MI Clusterfuck to hear at the May 31 Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting.

At least one group of ordinary Michigan citizens submitted a complaint that appears to fulfill all requirements. Yet the MDP has failed to follow its own rules on how to assist with and respond to that complaint--and it also did not comply with the requirement that it publish the names of those selected in the April 19 district conventions (which triggers a deadline for the submission of complaints). And the DNC will only hear the two state party-led complaints at the May 31 Rules and Bylaw Committee, thereby violating the requirement that "all members" of the party be able "to participate in decisions concerning the selection of candidates."

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This shouldn’t be so difficult, but it is. Even an “expert” can be confused by nomenclature and imprecise press releases; an interested but less than fanatic follower of the process has no chance to keep things straight.

A while back I wrote about a change in the DNC Rules and Bylaws Standing Committee, with a new membership that did not include Donna Brazille – good news, thought I. But as it turns out, I was wrong. And boy, am I embarrassed.

Or
Why Obama Supporters Want Super-Delegates To Think That One Person In Anchorage Is Worth More Than 36 In Akron

As far as Obama’s supporters are concerned, a voter in Ohio is worth only 1/23 of a voter in Alaska. In Alaska, 8,877 voters chose the state’s 13 pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention, or 683 voters per delegate. In Ohio, 2,194,851 voters chose that state’s 141 pledged delegate. That’s 15,566 voters per delegate.

The Democratic voters of Michigan and Florida are unhappy, or so we read. They, or if you will, their representatives, moved up their primary dates and drew a punishment from the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee. Since then, what have the voters of Michigan and Florida actually done to try and reverse or repair their problem? Nothing but complain.

Greg Sargent doesn't get it:

Bloomberg News takes a look at what Hillary needs to do to earn a popular vote win, and finds that she basically needs to do the political equivalent of pitching a no-hitter, hitting for the cycle, and pulling an unassisted triple play -- all in one game:

What these geniuses forget is that Florida and Michigan were stripped of their delegates, but not their votes.

All at the same time.

Going out on a limb I'm going to say that Paul and his partner are good people. I've met them, feted Dem causes in their home, and I believe them before I believe whatever the DNC is saying about this. Shame on you, DNC. Even more than you already deserve. Howard, help me out here and do something to make me believe that this is all a misunderstanding. I want to continue to have faith in you. This makes it harder.

According to documents obtained by PageOneQ, a series of senior Democratic National Committee officials has been subpoenaed in an ongoing discrimination lawsuit by former LGBT outreach director Donald Hitchcock. Those ordered to provide sworn testimony include chairman Howard Dean, openly gay treasurer Andy Tobias, and Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council executive Director Brian Bond.

Hitchcock alleges that the DNC fired him after his boyfriend, political consultant Paul Yandura, wrote a scathing letter about the Democratic party’s governing organization.

Hitchcock also alleges that the DNC paid him less than his peers and that Dean, Tobias and others attempted to smear his name. The DNC won’t comment on the case, but Hitchcock says “I look forward shining light on the facts and discussing under oath the circumstances of my employment and unfair termination from the DNC.”

And to think: the work they have done, those two, for the DNC, for our causes! If this is true, I may get even more radical and "non-partied" than I already am.

Goddess I hate the Villagers. Kicking down decent, hard working, nice gays like Paul and Don, who are the nicest people I know in DC. It makes me sick.

Susie thinks that voter disenfrachisment is the most important issue. Chris Friend says that Democrats have given up the high ground. Kirk Wentzel calls for a do over. Daddy Democrat suggests that Obama would win a revote in Michigan. Will Bunch and Booman think it is important that Clinton broke her pledge not to put her name in the MI ballot.

Sob, I'm still upset that the man behind this effort isn't president.

Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang, that's the sound of my head hitting my desk:

DNC appoints RIAA shill to run Public Affairs for convention

Today, Jenni Engebretsen was named "Deputy CEO for Public Affairs," for the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Denver -- but she is better known as the Director of Communications for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The RIAA is the most hated "company" in America, according to a recent poll on the Consumerist. The RIAA's campaign of suing thousands of American music lovers has been the single biggest PR disaster in recent industrial history -- which is why Engebretsen's employer beat out Halliburton, Blackwater and Wal-Mart for the coveted "Worst Company" slot.

Engebretsen's PR approach is centered around stonewalling and avoiding difficult press calls. She contacted me in 2005 to deny that the RIAA had sent a takedown notice to a website called RPGFilms.net, and promised to answer my followup questions in a day or two. After four months of emailing and calling her, I finally got through to her (by calling her from a different phone, so she couldn't see who was phoning).

She said that the RIAA had no comment.

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Here's a great takedown of that pariah thankfully no longer running the the DNC. I'm told this is the "polite" version; I'm sure if I were to research Terry in-depth I'd have some strong stuff to say. There is much to explain what the problem is in party in this piece, here's a quote I liked particularly:

By his own account, his friends are always selfless, whether it’s Dick Gephardt driving four hours to pick out just the right puppy for the McAuliffe kids or a strip-mall builder doing a financial favor for the Democrats (“Terry, we’ve got to do this for the sake of the party”). By his own account, too, McAuliffe is always a hero: he saves the Democratic Party (several times); he even saves a small, struggling independent bank (it’s a wonderful life). But in real life there’s always a cost, and the political effects of McAuliffe’s rehabilitation of the Democrats among the wealthy may be nugatory.

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Let’s get that clear up front, so the DNC can stop meddling in the affairs of the black community(s).

Go away.

You know our issues.

Present your platform.

We’ll talk.

Are we sure about Barrack? No! Is he better the Hillary? Yeah! Leave him alone. We don’t need you telling us what is going on in our world. I get tired of those people meddling in our affairs. Here is what we have to say bout it:

"The electorate people are tired of business as usual, and they want to put their hopes somewhere," Meeks continued. "Someone is looking for a husband, father, neighbor and friend to put their hopes on. Barack Obama is that person. Full

Look, it's really simple. We won, and I'm not sitting at the back of the fucking bus anymore. I'm sick of waiting, I'm sick of being thrown to the wolves every time some bigot pipes up (like they'd ever vote Democratic anyway), and I absolutely will not tolerate the very people who are supposed to be representing my interests refusing to do something as simple as this

Some time ago I noticed that the Democratic National Committee refused to put its non-discrimination clause on its website. After a few emails with staffers at the DNC, a number of fellow political activists suggested I wait until after the mid-term election to make this an issue.

I've waited... It's an issue.

I had another recent exchange with the press office of the DNC... And while the human resources department refused to provide the policy back when I first asked for it, the media folks sent it to me:

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