(mostly a repost from 2010)
Well, today's my birthday. But this diary? It's not about me. It's about much more important people around us who also share my birthdate.
Follow me below the fold to see what heroes were born on this day.
First, the guy on DailyKos who has a lower ID than you do, gets to post on the front page, and will soon return in just a few days full-time here, Meteor Blades (born 1946)! Words can't do him justice for all that he's done, not just online, but his lifetime of activism in the real world, so I'll just leave it at that. Moving on....
Gary Hart (born 1936)
Hart was a Senator from Colorado who ran for President in both 1984 and 1988. He was the one who went neck and neck with Walter Mondale all the way to the Democratic National Convention in 1984. He was supposed to be the frontrunner for the 1988 race, until this photograph was published by the National Enquirer.
That was after Hart had dared the media, saying:
Follow me around. I don't care. I'm serious. If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead. They'll be very bored.
Yeah, we all know how that worked out. He's kept a relatively low profile since then, though he does blog at Huffington Post occasionally and is considered an expert on national security issues.
Michael Bennet (born 1964)
Interestingly, Hart's former Senate seat is now held by Michael Bennet, who won a very tough and close election against Tea Party favorite Ken Buck, in one of the bright spots of 2010. Whew!
Randy Newman (born 1943)
Newman's made so many great songs, written one of the greatest paeans to Los Angeles ("I Love L.A."), and is a UCLA grad to boot! What's not to love?
And of course, who among us doesn't love his screeds "Political Science" and "Rednecks"?
His song "Louisiana 1927" came back to prominence with its poignant lyrics after Hurricane Katrina.
And his latest piece came in 2007, "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country".
There's also another well-known piano player born on this day, Paul Shaffer (born 1949), the band leader for David Letterman.
Actors Ed Harris (born 1950), Judd Nelson (born 1959), Ryan Kwanten (born 1976), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (born 1984), and directors Alfonso Cuarón (born 1961) and Joe Dante (born 1946) also share this birthday. But they pale in comparison to someone who is arguably a DailyKos hero, even after the last few weeks of "false equivalence" arguments (I mean, TiaRachel dedicates almost all her diaries to him to keep us up to date on what he's saying):
Jon Stewart (born 1962)
What more needs to be said about Jon Stewart (along with his good friend Stephen Colbert) as they've woken up a generation to what's really going on in politics and the world around them? Heck, he even published his own textbook! He's been with us through good times and bad, always getting us to laugh. Except one time. On September 20, 2001. This remains one of the more powerful moments I've ever seen on TV.
I should also note that Paul Dinello (born the same day as Jon Stewart) is one of Stephen Colbert's good friends from their days together on Strangers With Candy, and appears on The Colbert Report as Tad the building manager.
Sam Seder (born 1966)
Former Air America host, guest at liberal blogger conventions, and all-around funny guy. I got to meet him at Yearly Kos 2007 (pictured above). Awesome.
apl.de.ap (born 1974)
will.i.am's now more famous, but apl.de.ap is one of the founders of the Black Eyed Peas. Just for helping write "Where Is the Love?", he gets a spot. (Though he gets a demerit for his role in "My Humps". Yeesh.)
There's others too, born on this day, who probably won't be viewed so positively here, like the late actress Anna Nicole Smith (born 1967), Rep. Joe Knollenberg (born 1933), the Republican from MI-09 who lost to Gary Peters in 2008, and ex-Clinton adviser turned Fox News analyst Dick Morris (born 1948). Former U.S. Senator James Eastland (born 1904), a Democrat from Mississippi, was one of those Southern Democrats who opposed the Civil Rights Movement. Oh, and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was killed on this day in 1994, though I view that as a good, not bad, thing.
Chamillionaire (born 1979)
Born Hakeem Seriki, Chamillionaire is known for his #1 hit "Ridin'".
I dunno, me, I prefer "Weird Al" Yankovic's version "White & Nerdy".
I mean, nothing says "I understand the devastating effects of poverty in my community" as calling yourself Chamillionaire, right? < / snark >
So here's to the heroes who were born on this most awesome day, November 28th. :-)
Me? I'll be celebrating by going to the Sports Arena to cheer on the UCLA basketball team against Pepperdine tonight, even if we're 1-4 and haven't won a game against a Division I opponent. We need this, especially after losing in football the way we did to those cheaters across town.