… but not to play basketball. (Well, you can’t realize all your dreams.) I am pleased to announce that I will be joining this distinguished group of bloggers invited to report from the Republican Convention at the end of the month. [Did they know you are pro-gay marriage, pro-choice, anti-Drug War and think conventions are boring infomercials?--ed. Beats me.]
This will be the first convention I have attended and my suspicion is you see it better on television… but I certainly will let you know. In any case, it will be a pleasure to meet the other bloggers. They are men and women I have admired for some time.
Let me be the first to offer to buy you a drink. Or two.
I’m more excited about meeting you and Hugh than I am about blogging the convention.
Wonderful news Mr. Simon. But what’s up with these Republicans? Inviting Democratic bloggers to the convention? Very soon we will be seeing cats and dogs living together…..
Have fun, sir. Looking forward to reading your reports from NYC.
Well, crap. I knew I should have signed up to volunteer.
While you’re there, could you get me a chicken soup with kreplach from Sam’s on Third Ave?
Wonderful! Looking forward to your reports.
PS, I’m sure they know.
OK, Roger, now remember, just in case the crowd outside gives you flashbacks… this is NOT the rally where you shout, “Hell, no, we won’t go!” and “Attica!”
By the way, Roger, don’t forget what I was saying about my experiences at the Republican meeting last week. You know, the one where I admitted being a “national defense libertarian” and a Native American Buddhist who thinks the government shouldn’t be involved in deciding who can marry and was offended by the “Christian Nation” thing?
They just asked me to chair the next meeting.
You may fit in better than you imagine.
Roger
Enjoy!
New York (City) is always a pleasure to visit. The convention itself is a bit of a zoo, but there is a lot of energy and activism.
You’ll find the trinkets area of the convention to be large and amusing. Keeping control of your agenda is difficult.
I went to the Phili Repub (2000) convention and had a pretty good time there.
Jay Rosen at PressThink did the Dem convention as a blogger. You might stop by his site to review his day-by-day critique about the life of a blogger at a political convention.
Congrats Roger. I was wondering if you would be amenable to haing a “drinks with Roger” for the NYC denizens of this comments section. If you say yes and we can get a numbers estimate then I’ll be happy to set things up.
I second holdfast’s motion, especially since he’s willing to do all the work.
I’m not a credentialed blogger, but I’ll probably be reporting on something or other around the periphery, for my little blog or possible for something bigger, so I hope to see you there one way or another Roger.
Also, there’s a blogger get-together going on in Manhattan tomorrow night I think. I’ll check my e-mail for the details. I’m sure you’d be welcome Roger.
Roger-
Being the Evil One that I am, I’d be interested to know if you see our joseph outside the convention bitching at the guards to let him come in and blog. I can hear him now:
“I’ve got 18 links worldwide and 200 unique visitors a month. I belong in there!”
Keep your eyes and ears open.
Roger, to the well wishes expressed above I will add: stay safe.
And have a good time among them Republicans.
Congrats, Roger, I’ll be looking forward to reading your take.
While you’re there, stop by and pay a visit to the ABC News booth. They’re looking for somebody exactly like yourself:
http://vodkapundit.com/archives/006417.php
WooHoo!
Gaily, gaily, into the heart of darkness! Champagne and rubber chicken for all.
I hope you have a wonderful time. I hope you are surprised (pleasantly) and really hope that you are safe. Enjoy, sir.
Congrats, Roger. Don’t forget to pack a few brown shirts. I believe you’ll be issued your arm band at the door.
While you’re there you might want to see if you can track down this guy – he seems like he might be fun with a few free drinks in him
http://www.moveonplease.org/
Roger, it’s one thing to feel comfortable with GOP members in front of your screen. It’s a bit more frightening to actually meet them face to face.
Perhaps.
Since I don’t know if I’ve ever, actually, you know, come fact-to-face with a real Republican, that I know of for sure anyway. Ew. I can’t really comment.
I think I’d be scared to death. LOL
Congratulations, though! What an honor!
And fellas, just kidding! I think.
Watching C Span during the Democratic convention, the network chairs[Rather, Jennings and Brokaw, et al.] gathered for a JFK School symposium and pontificated on the sparce coverage allowed by their money men and the pressures that afflicts these $ 7 million a year talking heads. Considering how much hard political news they pump out [10 minutes for Jennings] and eyeballs watching, it was like a meeting of dinosaurs talking about that huge ball of fire whirling towards them in the skies. One might conjecture that Roger and the other bloggers going off to the convention are not a fad but the evolution and reversal of the flow of information to the American public. Filtering will not come through the Rathers/Jennings but from the give and take, back and forth, threads and links from soldiers on the ground, eyeballs at the convention and observers on the net. A good omen for open and free discourse. Thanks for telling us.
Congrats… should be interesting. Especially having a real writer there.
Taking a gas mask, atropine, and a geiger counter?
John:
I’m typing this from next door to Madison Square Garden and literally on top of Penn Station, where I spend most of the work week, every week.
Despite working at this prime soft target, I have only a bag containing a mag light, some cash, a bottle of water and some runing shoes. That’s it. I don’t know anyone who lives or works in Manhattan who is this prepared and most are less prepared, though I recognize the risk will be even higher during the convention.
Eric,
Target sells crank-up radios. You may want to add them to your emergency kit. Plus Power-bars.
Roger,
Can’t wait to hear what God says! Here’s a bit bit from a piece on Bush speaking to the Amish.
“At the end of the session, Bush reportedly told the group, ‘I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldnít do my job.’”
Syl
Come by Phoenix. We can show you a few republicans. And you don’t even have to go to the gun range. We promise not to scare you.
Eric, you forgot the most vital survival supply – toilet paper. Of course, if you have the NYT you are well prepared.
I do suspect the running shoes are a clever addition to the collection.
Ooh, Manhattan blogger get-together? Can I come?
I’ll be volunteering at the convention, with the Welcoming/Greeting programs, doing God only knows what. Maybe I can get assigned to making the bloggers feel welcome. That would be fun.
John Moore:
How on earth can Syl meet Republicans if she doesn’t go to a gun range? Oh, sorry, I forgot, she could just go to a church or a Starve the Children rally. Which of those will you take her to?
Knucklehead ó How about the Hold the Children at Gunpoint in the Church Till They Starve meeting? Get all the membership obligations out of the way in one afternoon…
And John Kerry starved children ó In Nam!
Roger:
Be safe and have an exciting time.
As hollywood noted there will be Christians there so watch your back. They might not be as anti semitic as the Berkely radical snobs but if you are not careful they might pray for you.
Interview Arnold. I kinda get a kick outa that guy.
Richard McEnroe:
How about the Hold the Children at Gunpoint in the Church Till They Starve meeting?
That would be OK. Can we go to the 4H fair afterword and ogle the livestock before slaughtering them?
Congrats, Rog! You’ll get along fine with the Repubs; you’ll be surprised how seldom we end up debating abortion and the drug war; gay marriage is certainly a hot topic.
Hey, Roger, while you’re there, you should get meatloaf from Luke’s Bar & Grill on 3rd Ave.
Mike Wallace apparently thinks it’s worth the trip.
Keith Olbermann just did a whole story on the little contretemps, including chatting with the owner of Luke’s and trying the meat loaf on air.
(In related news, the owner of Luke’s just bought 20 powerball tickets.)
Roger:
Have a blast and and follow Holly’s warning abou the Christians, you saw the Manchurian Candidate, these are clever and devious people, these corporate lackey Christians. And by the way Holly, sounds like those lying swifties are not liars after all, even Kerry has been forced to admit it. I wonder which of their lies will be proven true next.
Goodness, guys, Republicans obviously have lots of fun in the rest of the country. Here in CA we meet in dimly lit basements to shot at a target and join at prayer, even the are atheist, just on a principle. On the plus side nobody can denouce us to authorities because all 20 of us know one another.
Knucklehead ó New rules: You have to be a Democratic war hero now to machine-gun other people’s livestock.
Katherine ó Want to meet some like-minded folks ó Single-Action Shooting Society
Richard, thanks, this looks like fun!
John Moore, Roger ó Don’t forget the Cipro!
John Moore, et al ó BTW, I posted some Swift Boat specs for y’all back in the “Kudos” thread…
Roger,
I realize you are suffering from sleep deprivation, so I don’t expect anything deep, I’m just looking for some info on what the role of bloggers at conventions is supposed to be. Since I paid no attention to this phenomenon at the Dem convention, I have no insight on the point. Are you a reporter/commentator on events via the net? Do you have a wider role? Something more interactive? I don’t expect that bloggers are going to be allowed to email queries to speakers at the convention, but what exactly do you get/want to do? Have any TV networks scheduled interviews with you on the process? Do you get to roam around the place, or do they have all the bloggers in a designated area akin to a press box? In other words, if you are a fly on the wall, do you get to leave the wall and fly around?
Syl, are you quite sure that you’ve never met a real Republican before? We are not the hate-crazed loonies of Leftist fantasy, screaming about guns and abortion – some of us are quite normal and well-behaved and don’t even bring up the subject of politics if it can be avoided. (I certainly don’t – but then I live in Chicago, aka the Blue Zone Heart of Darkness, and I don’t want my windows broken.)
In short, Republicans usually have a life apart from politics, so we’re easier to talk to than Democrats. Come and try us sometime.