Thursday, August 07, 2008

BRETT FARVE TO THE NEW YORK JETS - PACKERS SCREWED UP



BRETT FARVE TO THE NEW YORK JETS - PACKERS SCREWED UP



You can find over at NFL Business Blog, too, but it's important. Green Bay Packers Quarterback Brett Farve is now former Packers QB Farve as of today. Marshall Fauk on the trade deal.



My personal feeling is that the Green Bay Packers and Head Coach Mike McCarthy in general, really screwed up. I'll get into that in more detail later.

Convention News from DemConWatch

Convention stories are coming fast and furious as we get closer to August 25th.

- Does your insurance cover protest damage?
Individuals who own businesses and property near the convention’s Pepsi Center location and other sites such as Civic Center Park, where many protesters plan to congregate, should check their insurance policies to see what they would cover – and what might come out of their own pockets. - Colorado Independent
- If you're staying at the Howard Johnson's on Federal Blvd... you may want to give them a call.
Heavy smoke from a hotel fire in Denver early this morning resulted in 11 people being taken to local hospitals, including five children - Denver Post
- Is the Convention vulnerable to cyber-attacks?
The Democratic National Convention in Denver this month could be the site of a series of attacks — cyber attacks, that is. According to security experts, the event is a perfect occasion for computer hackers to attempt a wide range of break-ins, from accessing delegates' credit card information to cutting off cell phone service in the convention sites, sending out fake news releases and planting porn in an unsuspecting politician's laptop. - Colorado Independent
- Denver is allowed to keep fences and pre-set parade routes
The U.S. Secret Service and city of Denver may restrict protesters' access to the Democratic National Convention at the Pepsi Center, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Marcia S. Krieger said that while a designated parade route and fenced-in protest zone may inhibit protesters' ability to express themselves, they do not violate First Amendment rights to free speech. - RMN

- If Tent State can't camp at City Park they have other plans

The Tent State University organizers say they believe they have resolved questions about what to do once the curfew strikes at 11 p.m. at City Park: Pack their belongings and tents and march every night to the Pepsi Center's protest zone. - RMN

- Detroit Mayor and Superdelegate Kwame Kilpatrick is going to spend the night in jail.

A judge on Thursday ordered Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to jail, shocking the city and plunging the leadership of the nation's 11th-largest city into uncertainty. - Detroit News
- A new concert has been announced for the Republican convention: The Charlie Daniels Band at The Depot (which is in downtown Minneapolis). Is he older than McCain?

- MSNBC and MySpace announced their convention video winners.

- We've added a bunch of events to our Convention Calendar

- We all know the McCain campaign is a train wreck... but did you know it's a bus wreck too?

- As you may have noticed there are some new names posting for us. We have a growing list of people coming to Denver as bloggers, volunteers and delegates ready to share their experience with you. Thanks to all of you! And if you're coming to Denver and would be interested in posting let us know.

- You can vote for who you think should win the DNCC's Why Are You a Democrat video contest.

- And finally... a look at construction progress at the Pepsi Center

"Jarod Allred - Military vs. Professional Sports: On Caleb Campbell

First of all let me get this off my head, I want to say something to all the kids who would like to play professional sports, do not join any branch of the military if you think your good enough to play professional sports. Take it from Caleb Campbell, you can't change your mind once you join the military, it's too late for that. Caleb Campbell should have seen this coming and he should have known that the military comes first and no one is immune to the deployment bug. The military doesn't run it's ship like the NFL, NBA, or MLB. They have INTEGRITY.

Unlike professional sports teams, when you sign that military contract your held to it to the highest standard. Businesses and professional sports teams could learn something from the military. I mean how many times have you heard about someone trying to get out of their contract early because they want to work somewhere else, or because they want more pay. If I would have acted like Bobby Petrino, or Nick Saban and bailed out of my contract to go somewhere else I would have ended up in jail. Maybe we should make that a punishment for contract violations in all businesses.

I do feel bad for Caleb because the military gave him the assumption that he would be allowed to play football even though he is under a military contract. They even let him enter the draft and was drafted in the 7th round by the Detroit Lions in the 2008 NFL draft. He was one day away from starting practice. The military dropped the ball on this subject. They should have told him from the beginning that he wouldn't be allowed to join the NFL due to his military contract. I understand they thought it would be a great recruiting tool, but let the recruiters deal with that impossible task. But to the kids who think they might have a good shot at making the NFL, please don't join any branch of the military or this could happen to you. Give Caleb credit though, he took it like a man and went on about his business, here is what he had to say, "When I got drafted, I told people that I was going to have the best of both worlds," Campbell said. "I was going to be in the United States Army and I was going to have a chance to play professional football. Now, I have the best of one world and I'm very positive about that. It's all going to work out. "I'm in great shape and I'm going to stay in great shape. I'm going to fulfil my duty to the United States Army and do what I've got to do. One day, hopefully I'll get another opportunity to play in the NFL."

Convention transportation map released

Hello! I'm Oreo from DemConWatch. I want to thank Zennie for letting me post on his blog (and for posting on ours). I promise it won't be as hot here during the convention. It's only supposed to be 78 today!

Yesterday The Colorado Independent had a story about the Secret Service denying bikes from the Pepsi Center parking lot.

Repeatedly citing the Secret Service and the Denver Police Department as making all security-related mandates, including not allowing delegates, volunteers and gathered media to park a bike within the convention perimeter, organizers said not accommodating leg-powered transportation is the exception to the rule when talking about the true greenness of the event.

This was especially surprising to me considering the Freewheelin' press conference I attended back in May. I figured we'd be seeing bikes all over the city during convention week.

I was able to obtain a convention transportation map from the City of Denver and bikes are definitely in the plans for the week. While you may not be able to park your bike at the Pepsi Center there will be a bike station located just across the street.

As you can see from the map (Click here for a full view) there will be two bike stations near the Convention Center. The one called "Green Central Station" sits at the entrance to the Cherry Creek trail which takes you to the bike station near the Pepsi Center.

I think we'll see a bunch of bikes during the convention after all.

United Airlines at Denver Airport DNC Convention Get Ready For Lines!



I love United Airlines and have flown them since I was two years old. But currently, United is faced with the same challenges that other carriers face. As the official airline of the DNC Convention, United is on the hook to perform well.

The last time I was in Denver for the Invesco visit, there was an enormous customer service line unlike any I've seen before. In this video, I explain how you can avoid that problem. There are several steps:

1) Plan ahead and know what flights are coming in and out.

2) Come to Denver early, like the 23rd of August or the 22nd.

3) Take the Red-Eye. Avoid on-peak hour travel.

4) Get the United customer service number and save it. It's 1-800-864-8331 for domestic flights, and 1-800-426-5561 for Spanish language persons, 1-800-426-5560 for Asian speaking persons, and 1-800-323-0170 for persons who may be deaf or blind.

There's no reason why your trip to the DNC Convention can't be a good one. Plan ahead. See you there.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Obama Invesco Field Speech Tickets Now Available At BarackObama.com

Leah Doherty, the CEO of the Democratic National Convention Committee, held a press conference today to say that tickets are available for the Thursday August 28th event where Senator Barack Obama will accept the Democratic Party's nomination for President of The United States.

For more information, read the account at DemConWatchBlog, and go here >> BarackObama.com to sign up.

Gopalan Nair Blogging Truth About Singapore Judge; Stands Trial

Gopalan Nair, a lawyer who was a citizen of Singapore and is now a U.S. National, is standing trial for blogging the truth about two Singapore judges...

Nair faces two charges of insulting judges on his blog. Each charge carries a jail term of up to one year, a 5,000 Singapore dollar fine (3,676 US) or both.

In the first charge, he is accused of insulting Justice Belinda Ang, who presided over a defamation case where Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew and his son Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong testified against the leader of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).

Nair, 58, alleged that Ang was "prostituting herself during the entire proceedings by being nothing more than an employee of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his son and carrying out their orders," a court document said.

In the second charge, Nair is alleged to have sent an e-mail to Supreme Court Justice Lai Siu Chiu in 2006 saying he has "no shame" and that judges "are selling their souls and their conscience for money," according to a court document.



Nair should have done it in the U.S., but I think we need to force Singapore to relax their laws just by blogging about whatever's going on over there. Nair should be left alone. Seems the judges were acting in a way not consistent with best practices anyway.