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.

Obama Invesco Field Speech Tickets Now Available At BarackObama.com

Invesco Field, Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado (CO), originally uploaded by bobindrums.

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.

The Dark Knight Reaches $400 Million In Just 18 Days

The amazing run of the movie The Dark Knight continues. According to Nikke Finke,..

So The Dark Knight posts still another best-ever. Media By Numbers is reporting that early estimates show Warner Bros' latest Batman installment crossing the $400,031,000 domestic gross milestone yesterday after only 18 days in release. This beats 2004's Shrek 2 and its 43-day sprint to $400 million. Final figures today.

Brett Favre To Tampa Bay Buccaneers - NFL Network

Brett Favre To Tampa Bay Buccaneers - NFL Network

According to NFL Network, there's a good chance that Green Bay Packers quarterback Bret Farve is going to be traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers within 24 hours. So Mark September 28th, 2008 as a day for the Bret Farve Day Against Green Bay. What a story, especially if he wins and wins big.

Commission On Presidential Debates Has Set Three Debates

The Commission on Presidential Debates, the organization intrusted with the task of setting the format, venue, and dates of the Presidential Debates, annouced that there would be three debates. This is what they reported:

November 19, 2007

Paul G. Kirk, Jr. and Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., co-chairmen of the non-partisan, non-profit Commission on Presidential Debates ("CPD" or "the Commission") today announced dates, sites and formats of three presidential and one vice presidential debates for the 2008 general election. The dates and sites are:

First presidential debate:
Friday, September 26
University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS

Vice presidential debate:
Thursday, October 2
Washington University in St. Louis, MO

Second presidential debate:
Tuesday, October 7
Belmont University, Nashville, TN

Third presidential debate:
Wednesday, October 15
Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY


The two backup sites are Centre College in Danville, KY and Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC.

The Commission also announced formats for the debates.

All debates will be ninety minutes in length and start at 9:00 p.m. ET.

Each debate will be administered by a single moderator.

The first presidential debate will focus on domestic policy; the third presidential debate will focus on foreign policy.

The second presidential (town meeting format) debate will include any issues raised by members of that audience, and the vice presidential debate will include domestic and foreign policy.

In each debate except the town meeting format, the candidates will be seated at a table with the moderator.

Kirk and Fahrenkopf introduced two format features different from CPD formats of the past. The first change will be incorporated in the first and third presidential debates as well as the vice-presidential debate.

Each of those debates will be divided into 8 ten-minute issue segments; the moderator will introduce each segment with an issue on which each candidate will comment, after which the moderator will facilitate further discussion of the issue, including direct exchange between the candidates, for the balance of that segment. Time will be reserved for closing statements by each of the candidates in each debate.

Kirk and Fahrenkopf noted that this change is aimed at increasing the educational value of the general election debates. "Our mission is to promote voter education. The public deserves to hear and see the candidates offer and defend their positions on the critical issues facing our country in the most thoughtful and in-depth manner that television time constraints will allow. Loosening the constraints within the ninety minutes debate will allow for more serious examination of complicated questions. This change will also open the possibility of the moderator inviting candidates to question each other. We want voters to benefit from as full an explanation of a topic as possible, and we feel certain that the candidates will welcome this change for the same reason."

The second departure from past CPD formats will be the introduction of internet access to the presidential town meeting debate. Questions solicited by Internet will be included with those from citizens on the stage with the candidates.

Kirk and Fahrenkopf said: "The Commission believes that by including questions from Internet participants, we will enhance and expand the effectiveness of the town meeting debate. This technique has been employed in different ways during many of the primary debates. We will continue to learn from its use in the primary season, and we intend to consult with experts in information technology who can help us integrate it into a general election town meeting in a manner consistent with our non-partisan charter."

The Commission also released the 2008 Candidate Selection Criteria which will be used to determine who is invited to participate in the general election debates. In addition to being constitutionally eligible, candidates must appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to have a mathematical chance of winning a majority vote of the electoral college, and have 15% support in national polls before the debates.

The Gallup Organization will advise the CPD in the application of its criteria to polling data as it did in 2000 and 2004. View the 2008 Candidate Selection Criteria.

The co-chairmen noted that moderators for the four debates would be chosen in the summer of 2008.

The CPD was established in 1987 and sponsored all presidential and vice presidential debates in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004.

John McCain, Cindy McCain, Miss Buffalo Chip T-Shirt

John McCain, Cindy McCain, Miss Buffalo Chip , originally uploaded by thisiswar3005.

As you may know, Senator John McCain made headline today because he suggested that his wife try out to be "Miss Buffalo Chip" before 50,000 bikers at the Sturgis Biker Rally in South Dakota. Here's my video take on it:

I read somewhere that McCain didn't know "Miss Buffalo Chip" was a topless contest, but this photo shows that it's possible both he and Cindy saw the t-shirt at the right, which features a topless woman. This was taken before his speech and the gaffe, so even if both of them knew it, I don't think Cindy had any idea Senator McCain was going to offer her as a crowd-pleasing contestant. The author of the blog "DoubleTalk Express" asks if McCain is sexist? Ya think?

McCain "The One" Ad Focus Of Controversy, Petition

A group called "Matthew25" after a bible verse, is not happy with the "White Christian Male" John McCain. Here's why:

As Christians, we are deeply troubled by the John McCain campaign's latest ad entitled "The One.” This ad, which was released on the web last Friday, portrays Senator Obama as some kind of would-be Messiah and implies that those who support him are cultish followers looking for a new Savior.

Even more troubling, many view the ad as a dark attempt to portray Senator Obama as an anti-Christ figure. View the ad here.

This is the video:



This is the text of the petition:

Senator McCain,

As fellow Christians, we are deeply troubled by your campaign's latest ad entitled "The One,” which portrays Senator Obama as some kind of would-be Messiah and implies that those who support him are cultish followers looking for a new Savior.

We find it beyond offensive for you to piece together out-of-context video snippets to suggest that Senator Obama is a false Messiah or the anti-Christ, especially in light of Senator Obama’s open and humble confession of Christian faith.

Instead of seeking to inspire false fears, we would prefer you speak more positively about how your own faith would guide you in leading this country.

We trust that this desperate and insulting campaign tactic is not an indication of your true character, and we call on you to repudiate this ad and take it down immediately.

Sincerely,

John McCain Protects White Male Power Structure & Miss Buffalo Chip

Senator and GOP Presidential Candidate John McCain appeared on Bill O'Reilly's show and let O'Reilly do the talking, and then agreed with him. This is what was said:

Bill O'Reilly: But do you understand what the New York Times wants, and the far-left want? They want to break down the white, Christian, male power structure, which you're a part, and so am I, and they want to bring in millions of foreign nationals to basically break down the structure that we have. In that regard, Pat Buchanan is right. So I say you've got to cap with ahttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif number.

John McCain: In America today we've got a very strong economy and low unemployment, so we need addition farm workers, including by the way agriculture, but there may come a time where we have an economic downturn, and we don't need so many.

[crosstalk]

O'Reilly: But in this bill, you guys have got to cap it. Because estimation is 12 million, there may be 20 [million]. You don't know, I don't know. We've got to cap it.

McCain: We do, we do. I agree with you.

Geez...

Then,on August 4th, my birthday, John McCain stuck his foot in his mouth again. You're not going to believe this, but Senator John McCain, speaking at the annual biker convention the Sturgis Bike Rally said

"I was looking at the Sturgis schedule and noticed that you have a beauty pageant and so I encouraged Cindy to compete," McCain said to cheers from the (mostly male) crowd. "With a little luck, she could be on the only woman ever to serve as both the first lady and Miss Buffalo Chip."