Obama’s speech last night at Invesco stadium was, hands down, one of the best I have ever heard. It was a night for the history books, even if the Republicans did their best to distract us from that fact with their left-field nomination of Sarah Palin. But Obama’s speech was only the second best of […]
Obama takes second best
Posted inAugust 25, 2008: Hot Wheels
Dust on the rocks
Last summer, Constance Silver spent a week examining the world-renowned rock art in Utah’s Nine Mile Canyon, a two-hour drive south of Salt Lake City. Tucked into the rugged Tavaputs Plateau, the place contains upwards of 10,000 images, painted and pecked onto sandstone walls. Many of them are visible from the curving, roughly graded road. […]
Posted inDnc 08
A view of Obama from the West
“It was magical.” That’s how Tillie Herrera Brummell, a diminutive woman with salt and pepper hair and round spectacles, described the closing extravaganza of the Democratic National Convention. Brummell, a native New Mexican who currently lives in Mountainair, sat with her son, Daniel, on a bus taking Convention-goers from the event back into town. She […]
Posted inDnc 08
Stegner at the DNC?
It’s not that often that Wallace Stegner’s words are woven into a political speech before an audience of 75,000 (plus all those folks watching on television). But during the blockbuster, Super Bowl-esque spectacle that closed out the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Rep. Mark Udall — a candidate for Senate here in Colorado — did just […]
Posted inWotr
The less you have, the less you have to lose
The other day a friend of mine made a comment that has been rolling around in my head ever since. “You know,” he told me, “you’re pretty recession-proof.” I didn’t know how to respond. I was taken aback at first. I’d never thought of myself that way, but I guess I know what he means. […]
Posted inDnc 08
Rocking the Native vote
Health care, tribal sovereignty, education, economic development and criminal justice. These are some of the most critical issues with which Native Americans are currently wrestling, and there’s a lot on the line in the 2008 election. This was the message at Wednesday’s “Native Nations United for Change Policy Discussion.” “We’ve suffered through a long, cold […]
Posted inDnc 08
A seat at the policy table
When we came in the door, a greeter saw our press passes and grasped my hand for longer than is customary. “We need you,” she said. “We need you.” This unusually personal reception was perhaps apt — it soon became evident that the underlying theme of the event was the invisibility of Native Americans on […]
Posted inDnc 08
Johnny Five and the bomb squad
After a long day of meetings and protest-following, a police officer informed us that the road to our car was closed. A half a block away, we found a small group of re-routed pedestrians staring across the street — enchanted by an odd little robot that was inspecting a “suspicious package.” The wheeled machine, which […]
Posted inDnc 08
Protest makes waves
There was plenty of hype leading up to the Convention about the potential for big protests. Recreate 68 planned some serious, mischievous action, as did DNC Disruption 08 and other groups. As of Wednesday evening, most of that had fizzled. Protests were generally small and — except for one that snaked down the 16th Street […]
Posted inDnc 08
I fish, I hunt, I vote … Democrat?
The National Wildlife Federation hosted a reception at the posh Curtis hotel in downtown Denver on Wednesday. They called it, I Hunt, I Fish, I Vote Conservation. The whole shindig had a decidedly less liberal feel to it than other DNC events. After all, these were hunters, anglers and the like, who, as Bob Carpenter, […]
Posted inDnc 08
Freegin’, part 2
Yesterday, Andrea and I tried out Freewheelin — a free bike sharing service that helped us traverse downtown. No bus fare, no carbon emissions and no aching feet. We just signed up, selected a bike and rode to our hearts’ content. Faster transportation = more reporting. We also scored free DNC t-shirts, a fanny-pack (!), […]
Posted inWotr
Not even the privileged can deter a porcupine
When folks build homes (or mansions) next to wilderness, they are often shocked to learn that the wilderness is, in fact, wild. Critters they once thought of as cute and charming are suddenly villainous and voracious, devouring flower beds, tunneling under irrigation systems, even munching onpricey trees dropped into the landscape by crane. And one […]
Posted inDnc 08
Schweitzer on Bloggers, energy and guns
“I wake up at 4 o’clock every morning and read all the blogs,” said Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, surrounded by reporters at the Big Tent Denver on Wednesday morning. “It’s good to see what bloggers look like. And it ain’t a pretty sight.” Though that comment drew a few groans, Schweitzer’s visit to new media […]
Posted inDnc 08
Choirs on the corner
Two groups of singers bumped into each other on the corner of 16th St. and Wynkoop. A barbershop quartet had just sung for Dick Gephardt and a jolly band of Denver locals was singing “Goodnight Bush” (a parody of Goodnight Moon) up and down the mall. We had the good fortune of hearing each of […]
Posted inDnc 08
The many faces of protest at the DNC
From anti-abortion activists to 9/11 conspiracy theorists to Hillary supporters, the convention is hopping with protesters.
Posted inAugust 25, 2008: Hot Wheels
Riparian repair
How can we put the West’s broken rivers back together again?
Posted inDnc 08
Little consensus among energy experts
One of the near-unanimous take home messages from the Energy and Climate Change panels held at the Denver Performing Arts Complex on Tuesday was this: start pricing carbon emissions as soon as possible. The most important role that government will play as the U.S. moves to new, cleaner energy sources is pricing carbon, whether it’s […]
Posted inDnc 08
Schweitzer speaks!
The West got a fairly prominent place on the Convention agenda Tuesday when Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer spoke just before Hillary Clinton. The Pepsi Center was packed for the event (in anticipation of Clinton). It was so full that many journalists and other credentialed folks actually had to watch both Schweitzer’s and Clinton’s speeches on […]
Posted inDnc 08
Lobbypalooza, Denver ’08
There’s energy in the air here in Denver, and as HCN’s resident youngun, I like to think it’s because of all the fired-up young people – bloggers, protesters, volunteers – who are here to demand progressive change. But there are plenty of folks here who are trying to keep change from happening – especially change […]
Posted inDnc 08
Gratuitous Celebrity (and editor) Photo
Actress and Activist Daryl Hannah with yours truly.