Southern Netroots, it is time for another Meetup! This time, we are at the far northern limit of the Alabama Netroots Meetup pendulum - Huntsville, Alabama. Also known as Rocket City, Hunts-Patch, the Patch, and to some people as Hunts-Vegas (I don't understand that last one, but then, I don't understand many things).
On Saturday, August 25th from 5:30 to whenever, we'll be at the Beauregard's at 511 Jordan Lane NW in Huntsville. They have draft beer, reasonably priced food, vegetarian options (Veggie burger, vegetable plate, salad), a health department rating of 90, and a big space so we can get comfortable and hang out. They are on the southwest corner of the Jordan Lane/Holmes Street intersection (Map and information Here 'tis) Whether you are coming from South, North, East, or West - get on I-565 - then watch for the Jordan Lane/Alabama Hwy 53 North Exit. Take that, and from 565 it is not very far at all. If you go over a hill (on Hwy 53) with a church at the top, you've gone too far.
Also, please be aware this is not just an Alabama Thang! If you are a Kossack/Kosniac/Kosopolitan in Middle Tennessee, Northern Mississippi, North Georgia, or anywhere in the shadow of the Orange Mothership, please come by!
Why the Patch? Well, it is all part of our deucedly clever plan to build a Netroots Conspiracy here in the land of Sweet Tea and SEC Football. Consider, if you will, the size and shape of Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. All these states are longer in the north-south direction that in the east-west direction. So, to promote good feeling between the longitudinal extremes, in Alabama at least (Lord knows we need all the good feeling we can get!), we have adopted a pendulum model. We started slightly north of center, in Birmingham, at Jim & Nicks. We are going to have meetups at alternating locations between northern and southern extremes. The pendulum swings northerly for this occasion, to within 15 miles of the Tennessee state line. Next time, we will swing toward the Gulf Coast.
We hope this "strategery" will help everyone at each end of the pendulum's swing to join in. We know, it's a long drive from Mobile, Auburn, Dothan, or Montgomery, to Huntsville. (It's a long drive back to Huntsville from Birmingham after an evening of the wisdom of BenGoshi and Grapes!! GAAAH! Y'ALL! My Brain is Full!!) It is even longer from Gulfport, Biloxi, Macon, or Valdosta.
So, if you can't make this trip, keep a lookout for a more Southerly venue - we in Alabama have talked about Mobile and Montgomery as locations to include more Netroots whose roots are south of I-20. If we get folks interested and participating from points East and West, we'll try to expand our scope in those directions. We'll also try to make these events fall on weekends, so if you are coming a long way, you can make a short vacation of it. Come to Huntsville, look at the rockets; come to Mobile, look at the battleship; come to Birmingham, look at Vulcan's butt; come to Memphis, look at the Peabody ducks; come to Vicksburg, look at the battlefield; come to Atlanta, see the Big City; come to Chattanooga, SEE ROCK CITY!!
The object is to get the Netroots engaged with each other, like the roots of Johnson grass, to the greater confusion of conservatives everywhere.