Good morning!
This is the weekly DKos Asheville open thread where we try to get together every Saturday morning around eleven, and then drift in and out throughout the day. We hope this group serves to reinvigorate us locally and regionally here on Daily Kos, building on the sense of community that's grown through our online engagement. DKos Asheville can give us all a better sense of connection, a better understanding of who these people are that we stand with, work with, and share with in the political process. We hope, through this community, that we can do a better job of leveraging our orange passion for progressive politics to help elect more and better Democrats.
If you would like to host a weekly open thread, please let us know.
As announced last week, our next meetup is just three weeks from today - 1:00 Saturday, January 25, at Cantina Biltmore. Please kosmail randallt if you plan to come or if you are a maybe; and you can check the lists of who's planning to attend each morning in the New Day diary. Looks like about ten definites and eight maybes so far.
And we have a guest speaker, Gordon Smith; he's a member of the Asheville City Council and one of the area's great progressive voices. So it looks to be a great meetup. Do let Randall know you're planning to come so that we'll be able to better coordinate with the restaurant staff on space and seating.
Oh, and I should mention that the menu looks great and that the restaurant is locally owned and supports local growers. UPDATE BELOW.
Greetings and warmth everyone, we have officially committed to reserving the meeting room at The Cantina for 20 - 25 guests. Following is the delicious sounding buffet for Jan 25th 1 - 4pm:
Chips, salsa and guacamole for 20.
Salad de la casa for 10.
Fiesta layer dip for 20.
Tacos 2 dozen
Chicken taquitos 3 dozen
2 key lime pies
http://cantinabiltmore.com/....
Instructions to the manager were that there will be no need for festive decorations, etc. A warm room and good food to accompany our gathering is all we’re asking for. We’re mostly interested in munchies while discussing issues at hand. Guests may want to order their own beverages or a heartier fare off the menu.
So come feed your spirit and your body on June 25th!
Best wishes, stay warm!
randallt
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As a reminder, we now have a google group for DKos Asheville, setup for the purpose of making it easier for us to send messages to group members. We'll use it to send reminders of the Saturday open threads, meetups, voter registration events, etc. If you would like to be added to the google group, kosmail me an email address and I will send you an invite. Note, this is a private group and your email address will not be public. A couple people who asked to be added have not yet accepted the invites; so remember to check your email for the google invite.
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And for those who can make the trip, there is a Moral Monday event scheduled for Raleigh on Saturday, February 8th. Asheville PARC is planning to have buses going to the event. More information can be found in the event announcement on the NAACPNC's facebook page.
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I'm getting ready to head out this afternoon with my intentional community group to look at a piece of real estate that we had previously visited a few months ago. It has been, and continues to be, a wonderful experience being a part of that group. I think that as human beings we have a natural inclination to both some degree of solitude and some degree of community; and for each of us there is a balance of these two that works best for us.
That is reflected, I think, in online communities as well. In the online groups that I participate in there is a meaningful sense of community that members feel, and that contributes to each person's life in response to that natural inclination toward community. Personally, it has been very fulfilling for me to be involved in both online and in-person communities of various types; and that participation balances my own very strong inclination towards solitude. In community we are able to share what we have learned with others, as well as just share the gift of being with each other. And of course for activist groups there is also the benefit of working together to make our world a little better.
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So I'll be away from the computer for most of the day; but I'll check back in when I can. Please post in the comments any events here in Western North Carolina that you think we might find of interest, or report on any interesting activities you're doing, even if it's just what you are doing to stay warm in what seems to be an exceptionally cold winter (I've got the heat turned down and I'm wearing multiple layers, wishing I had a wood stove in the living room).
Enjoy your day!