Rochester Prog-Bloggers
If you're in Rochester, NY, and have a progressive blog, please add your blog address in the comments below along with a description, and I'll be glad to add you to the Links section.
Ted
Hip, happening, solid, and otherwise right-on: Drinking Liberally Rochester
Peoples,
A clarification and a request:
DL-only Thursday night happy hour: the great and almighty Liz S.
confirmed that it is indeed $2 for well drinks and domestic drafts.
All bow before the Liz, like a bunch of Ewoks before Carrie Fisher.
Wasn't hosting Chris Maj fun? Or am I just a supergeek politically?
Either way, it's kind of broadened my horizons as to what DL Rochester can be. I used to think we were just a waymeet, a tavern where weary Valley Forge-ensconced patriots meet to get REAL news and hook up (POLITICALLY, PEOPLE. YEESH.) But it could be a lot more, and we could do a lot more. This is a call out to all you regulars, toe-dippers, and lurkers (that's right, you 60 people who have yet to come out!). Tell me what you'd like to see/do. More "special guests"?
Pub crawls? What? Discuss tonight:
Where: Monty's Korner When: 8-10 PM, this and every Thursday night Other Rochester City Leads, we need to chat soon about something important, so please email me when you get a chance!
Cheers,
Ted
The Power of New Ideas at Drinking Liberally Rochester!
So, over the last couple of years, I've had this idea that we should train up a few boatloads of expert mediators and just ship them around the world, Jedi knight-like, to resolve regional to national level disputes. You wouldn't totally eliminate the need for military action, but by cracky, I'll bet you could reduce it significantly. And it would take just a fraction of the 40 Oreo cookies the US spends on defense (for all you True Majority fans out there).
Come to find at the primaries last year, Congressman Dennis Kucinich is all about creating a "Department of Peace". I don't know if he technically stole my idea or not, but I couldn't have been happier. He raised awareness of a glaring gap in our government, where peace is a byproduct (if we're lucky) rather than a goal.
Last Thursday, Chris Maj, Rochester Mayoral candidate (http://www.rochestermayor.com) came by to chat with us. I like to feel I'm as open-minded and non-judgemental as they come, but I have to say, based on some of Chris' ideas I went into Monty's thinking "This guy's going to be a little wacky. At least he'll be interesting." I was pleasantly surprised to find him down-to-earth, well spoken, and passionate about his beliefs and about Rochester. He had an impressive command of what's going on in Rochester, as well as what's going on behind the scenes.
Whether he wins or not, I'm glad he's running. At the very least he brings a host of fresh ideas and offers an unusual voice. And to me, that's a big part of what democracy's all about -- the strength you get from listening to a multitude of voices and ideas. Sometimes you get a camel instead of a horse, but more often you get a Prius.
Chris, you're welcome back anytime, and I promise to announce you a little earlier in the week!
Cheers,
Ted
P.S.: Remind me to bring up the movie "The Corporation" this week. We're watching it now. I'm curious to hear what you all thought of it.
Oh, and we can dicuss it, as always at:
Monty's Korner
This (and every) Thursday, 8-10 PM
PPS: Remember to flash your DL bling (a.k.a button, that's my way of showing how incredibly hip I am) to the crackerjack bartender/bartendrix to get the DL-only special rate! Liz S., if you're out there, can you clarify to me what that rate is? Just making sure it's "good" special, and not "more expensive" special. :-)
Chris Maj, Mayoral Candidate at DL tonight at 8 PM, Monty's Korner!
It's been crazy-- More later, but wow, our first guest speaker!
Cheers,
Ted
They're changing times at DL Rochester!
Hi all,
Two (2) important things to discuss here:
1) We're changing the times! Instead of 7-10, we're going to meet from 8-10, due to a nearly universal inability for anyone to come by 7. HQ, if you're reading this, can you please change the time on the website? So, in review,
Where: Monty's Korner
When: 8-10 PM every Thursday
Why: because our beloved democracy is under attack and even diehard Republicans are waking up to it. I don't want my kids raising their kids in the vast slums of the corporate state, forced to go to some abusive, corpratist church where the money changers aren't just IN the temple, they ARE the temple!
2) How freaking cool Toronto is.
I touched on this at Monty's last week, but for the benefit of those not there:
* How about a government sponsored science center (that's way cool in general), but also has an ENTIRE WING devoted to "Understanding Global Warming and what we can do about it". The USA can't even officially ADMIT there's a problem, and other countries are educating their people about how to help. The US should be a world LEADER in this, and instead, we're stone-aging it.
* How about mass transit that's clean, convenient, and fun to use.
Rochester used to have trolleys just like Toronto. Rochester got rid of theirs, Toronto kept theirs. Look what's happened to both cities since. 'Nuff said. :-)
* How about not just citywide recycling, but citywide COMPOSTING?
No, that's not a typo. Little green buckets EVERYWHERE. What's even better, a lot of restaurants are starting to use cups that look like clear plastic, but they're made from corn starch. That's right, compostable.
* There's a big ol windmill on the shore right at downtown Toronto, clearly visible as you drive by on the Gardiner expressway. I almost wrecked the car.
But fortunately I didn't, so instead of being hospitalized, why, I'll be seeing you tonight at Monty's.
Remember it's at 8 now!
Cheers,
Ted
The front line is at Monty's Korner, 7-10 PM, this Thursday
DL-ers,
So, I have a line from a Rage Against the Machine tune going through my head.
"The front line is everywhere."
For comfort, I like to think about how we're in a blue county, in a blue state, but the reality is, there's red all around. From the lone "W" guy on a south wedge street filled with a sea of "No War In Iraq"
signs, to the "Kerry's Scary" lawn-sign folks on my street in Perinton.
And it's good that the front line is everywhere. When brains need more smarts, they develop more crinkly nooks and crannies (note my high-tech lingo here) to make more surface area. The wigglier the coastline looks on a map, the more footage of coast there is.
And since we have this wiggly, crinkly "front line" between progressives and others around us, we have many, many opportunities to interact with folks that don't necessarily agree with us. We have many chances in a day to start the conversations that will bring America back to some sort of sanity. And what better place to start having those kinds of conversations than at your friendly neighborhood DL? (That's right, there isn't any better place! )
Last week my wife was under the weather, so many thanks to Rainy, who stepped up (to the bar), and hosted for the first part of the evening.
I'm looking forward to hearing how the rest of the evening went! Did royalty stop by?
We're close to 70 fun-lovin' American patriots on the DL list, so those of you that haven't gotten on down to Monty's, come on down!
Cheers,
Ted
Beat the heat with a pint, at Monty's Korner tonight!
DL peoples of Rochester!
Okay, the heat is gawdawful. As members of the Reality-Based Community (TM) we acknowledge this, take full accountability (global warming, HELLO), and Move On to solutions. Since the Apollo Alliance isn't going to convert our energy supply to renewables by tonight, I encourage you to come by Monty's Korner this fine and sultry eve to quaff some chilled beverages. Be they water, G&Ts (hi Rainy!), or fine lagers.
Is it a band-aid? Sure.
We'd like to do more, Kirk, but for now, we DEWN'T HEHVE TH' PEWER!It reminds me of a sci-fi book on global warming from back in the 70s where on the back it said "At last mankind had done something about the weather. Something horrible..."
You could almost cut that kind of prose with a knife.
Anyway. We had a fine time last week out on Monty's patio, where we swapped chairs with other tables as people came and went, in the true spirit of community that we need to spread across this great city, county, and dag nabit, nation of ours.
This week we might be a little late, so anyone that comes spot on 7 or thereabouts, if you don't see the red, white, and blue bottle out on the table, ask one of Monty's crackerjack staff to hand it over to you, and be a DL Pioneer! Set that baby up on the table and wait as patriotic dissenters like yourself flock to that crazy beacon of liberty!
Whoa. Note to self: never mix ibuprofin and coffee. Whee.
Cheers,
Ted
