Road Trip: Arrival in Denver
This is the view from Harney Peak in the Black Hills.
By far the most peaceful spot in the US was Lac Qui Parle in western Minnesota–there were almost no people in the park, just us and the birds.
The border guard coming back in from Canada gave mr. emptywheel all sorts of misinformation (told him he was eligible for a passport, which he’s not, and told him his Irish passport–which he doesn’t need to enter the country–was invalid). You can tell I was on vacation, because I just sat there and bit my lip and didn’t object to the BS.
So what did I miss? Obama even waited till I arrived to announce Biden. No one from the Bush Administration seems to have resigned in disgrace. I guess I wasn’t the only on vacation?
Thanks to bmaz (and William Ockham) for filling in this week. bmaz will continue to monitor the wide world while I get into Convention mindset and visit with my family here in Denver.
No one from BushCo resigned, but your boy Hans is back.
As I say to my american friends, coming to Canada is not a problem, getting back to the states is…
Enjoy Denver, I hope it’s a great party with lots of laughs.
FWIW, here’s my favorite link about ‘the greenest convention in history’- includes a lovely multimedia show: http://features.csmonitor.com/…../21/denver’s-second-coming-out-party/
I was extremely intrigued to note that this article also mentions the inclusion of organic foods in planning for the Dem convention, in part because of their role in sustainable policies.
This article is more evidence that global warming and climate change policies around the US are coming at city and state levels, due to the death-grip of the BushCheneyBots strangling our federal agencies.
(FWIW, one branch of my family recently moved from Denver. They loved it, except for the ‘terrible’ fruits and veggies in the local groceries there. The only place they felt that they could purchase ‘Washington State quality’ produce was at the Denver/Engelwood Whole Foods. Here’s hoping that you eat well in Denver!)
If I recall correctly EW’s brother is closer to Boulder, and trust me (used to live there) there are no shortages of organics in Boulder.
Gee, whoever would have thought that border guards would be giving out mis-information?
Given the amount of mis-information that is provided by folks in most every federal agency – check out the mis-information provided by the IRS to folks who call with tax questions sometime…
I hope you will get a chance to talk to Obama people and get some names for us to contact. It really bothers me that we don’t have any way to influence him on accountability or any other issue.
EW!
Bob in HI
Not being able to identify a valid passport — given the gazillions spent on computers and databases — is alarming, as is not knowing a valid green card holder from someone eligible for a passport. Says a lot about the hiring and training of those on our “front line of defense” against The Little Brown People, or even our friends from the northern Fifty-First State.
Did they copy your computer, phone or PDA drives, just to make sure, mind, that you weren’t carrying unlawful fruits or vegetables or political opinions? Perhaps not. All the gubmint men and machines must have been relocated to Denver, to make sure vegans and peaceniks don’t break out in an a capella version of Give Peace a Chance in the Mile High City (in more ways than one).
Give my regards to the People’s Republic of Boulder (the most expensive real estate between SFO and Chicago), always a good place for al fresco politics, literature and dining, even if only on gourmet beer and salsa.
Nice to see an image of only wilderness, like the sensation when the sailboat undocks, facing the open water, image from AK in masthead of a herbal website there, where there is open land. At the border, writer Nakashima at WaPo has a series, here’s an article this week about the 15-year hall of fame to which every person who traverses a border is enlisted, by new federal fiat.
Ahoy fine fellow friends. Right now over at mothership FDL is Jane Mayer live discussing her book “Dark Side”. This is right up our alley.
Welcome to the Denver area. Right now here in west Arvada it is very cloudy with thunder and lightning a little rain would be nice. Local peaches are plentiful as is corn.
Would this mean you packed a kazoo?
Marcy,
Glad you arrived safely. Looking forward to all your wise and on point comments during the week.
Have a Fat Tire while you are there, they are pretty good and are brewed in Ft. Collins.
My green passport is my lifeline to sanity. When not in the US I travel on my Irish passport and I feel safe no matter where (except in the US ofA of course).
Enjoy Denver, they have one hell of a good rugby team.
Biden… Bah!
I thought I’d check this out to see how the translation works on EW’s post and our comments. Seems to do a raht fine job:
If you want to amuse yourself too:
‘Swedish Chef’? LOL!
And here’s the Elmer Fudd version:
And the Cockney version:
And the Hacker version:
What fun! Let’s try some Fox noise using pig latin.
I’m clicking on the ‘drill for oil’ ads. Just because ….
French blue, periwinkle, myrtle — that sky is the loveliest colour, EW. (On my browser it unfolds slowly from the top, so I was really struck by the colour.)
Quebecois @ 2, I dunno about that. My husband, who was a Scot but had dual citizenship, never bothered to get a Canadian passport, just travelled on his British one. There came a day in 1998 when he was challenged at Pearson as we returned home, and for a while, I honestly didn’t think they were going to let him into the country if I didn’t make a fast trip to the house to find his citizenship papers. I remember the agent saying to us, “Don’t you have a Hydro bill or something with his name on it?” and me staring at her and saying, “Well, yeah, we do, but we don’t normally travel with our Hydro bills.” After that, I turned into a walking filing cabinet when we travelled.
We have so many bureaucrats working on ways to open the borders for goods, but at the same time, they are making it harder and harder for people to live as citizens of the world. I think that is such a sad thing.
Evening Sk, I was talking about americans crossing back into the States. A lot of my american friends (mostly DFHs) are scared to visit Montréal, because they already have had a bad experience coming back home.
I wanted to add my thanks to bmaz for keeping this place civil while EW was living by the tranquil lake.
Hamilton will win in Valencia…
NEW POST ALERT
When The Levee Breaks
I know that there are plenty of spots in the US that need to be nominated as the most peaceful.
There are several places in West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado that are so isolated, you can walk around for days and never see or hear anyone else. Heck even here in North Carolina, these mountains have hidden many secrets.
This is one of the great things about the US, our country is very large and diverse. Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. From Mountains to desert to tropical rain forests (Hawaii) to frozen tundra – We have a great place to live. Now, we just need to give the Republicans the beat down and we’ll all make enough money to live, work and play!
EW glad you had a break and quality time with Mr. EW.
I have spent the last week and a half volunteering for the DNC and the Obama campaign. From handing out credentialed tickets for the Thursday Obama acceptance speech, to making phone calls out of the Boulder office, packing media bags at the Sheraton on 16th (most of the stuff in those bags will be thrown out I can assure you) to folding volunteer t-shirts at the Tabor center on the 16th street mall. The Denver 16th street mall is definitely filled with a diverse group of people. Hispanics, African Americans, old white men, rastafarians, skaters (with their pants hanging below their asses) men in black, well dressed ladies , a few Muslim ladies, and lots of regular folks. A real sea of humanity.
The most interesting person I met today was on my way to see what was happenning with the Code Pink folks who were meeting at the Mercury Cafe (really great food) on California. As I was headed down California St. (off of the 16th street mall) I passed the Catholic Church called ” Church of the Holy Ghost” and there were probably about 30 folks hanging around outside waiting for the doors to open for breakfast. I talked with several homeless people and asked “if they had any feelings about the election”. One rough around the edges guy said “my life does not change whether a Republican or a Democrat gets elected”.
As I crossed California street I noticed a brown skinned woman with very long silky black hair sitting on the steps of the Federal Customs Building. She had her head down and draped over her arms and I asked if she was all right. She said “yes that she was all right”, and that she was also waiting for breakfast at the Church of the Holy Ghost. We began to talk about the election and her story (she was obviously native American). Marita (Blessed Water) is her name and she is from Green Grass South Dakota and she is a member of the Lakota tribe ( Itazipcola band, not quite sure what that means) Marita had much to share about her personal struggles and what she has learned from them. While Marita was down on her luck she was clean and well dressed. She talked about how this Presidential election was an opportunity for all of us to come together. How we have forgotten the things that are similar about all of us, “what we have in common”. She talked about how we are neglecting our elders, how we seem to as a nation just toss them aside. As I listened to Marita I was spell bound by her clarity. I told her that I thought she should be giving the address at the Democratic National Convention. We parted ways and I went on down to check out the Code pink folks (who were making preparations for their different activities and demonstrations this week. Also went onto to volunteer three hours at the Convention center (where college Dems were caucussing).
I have a feeling I will not meet anyone this week who has a clearer message than Marita. I feel blessed to have met her.
Huge police force roaming the 16th street mall. Seriously armed with gear.
Ralph Nader speaking Wednesday at University of Denver “Open up the Debates”
MSNBC will be broadcasting from 2-4 at Union Square and Monday-Thursday at 3 at Union Square.
Will be working at the Convention Center tomorrow again and attending the Interfaith gathering. Will share what I see.
It will be more of a problem after June 1 of next year. Then, all American citizens will be required to have passports to cross the border.
If you don’t have one yet, start applying now. I hear there’s a backlog–surprising, I know, that the boosh administration would be anything less than efficient.