A daily series, Connect! Unite! Act! seeks to create face-to-face networks in each congressional district. Groups regularly socialize but also get out the vote, support candidates and engage in other local political actions that help our progressive movement grow and exert influence on the powers-that-be. Visit us every morning at 7:30 A.M. Pacific Time to see how you can get involved. The comment thread is fun and light-hearted, but we're serious about moving the progressive political agenda forward.
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Have you ever been asked to capture
important insights in a pithy phrase or two?
My son begins his senior year in high school shortly. It is a heady time. He revels in being at the top of the social food chain while I prepare myself for the onslaught of sentimentality that will bombard me in the next 12 months, faced at the end of it with that cliched moment where you send your child off into the world with a few paltry words of wisdom.
For him it is exciting and fun and a time for him to be filled with himself, fully content that the power of his charms will take him wherever he wants to go. I observe and muse, hoping for him that this youthful arrogance lends itself more to the plot lines of a Shakespearean comedy than the hubris of a Greek tragedy. And while I know it is a fruitless comparison, I can't help but think back to the time when I was his age and how I felt about my imminent departure from my parents home and into the start of my own life.
I have joked before about the rules for living that my mother sent me off to college with. As the primary parent to four teen-aged daughters, in the midst of both a financial and a marital crisis, her thoughts were none too spiritual, philosophical, literary, or even sentimental. She was struggling with all her power and energy and wanted to steer her daughters away from such a future for themselves. My mother's rules for life at this time were thus blunt instruments that didn't particularly flatter even as they laid out a foundation of support:
1. What ever you do, don't expect anyone else to take care of you. Make sure you can take care of yourself. I was not to be looking for an M-R-S Degree as I set off to explore the world of higher education. As someone who had to leave college after her first year because of a lack of funds and who then married shortly thereafter and worked to put her husband through school, my mother did not want me to take a college degree for granted. Now, the coda to this first and most important rule for life-sung with a 60's back beat-was always
Don't get swept off your feet, my sweet, because you'll need them firmly on the ground...
2. I don't care how smart you are, keep up your typing skills, because you'll always be able to earn a living. My mother was a solidly working class woman. While she valued education and the power of her daughters' intellectual capabilities, she never could shake that working class sense of insecurity that travels with a world in which jobs can and do end. So back-up plans and skills and schemes (think Jackie Gleason here) were a major dimension of survival in her world Even though I was supposedly leaving that world behind by being the first female in my family to go off to college, she didn't want me to leave its lessons behind. At a time when the feminist movement was telling young women to expand our horizons along with our skills, my mother instilled an equally feminist work ethic which declared, Don't be afraid of honest work if you need it, because it isn't beneath you, no matter what your skills
3. Keep a handle on your expensive tastes. I know you're a sophisticated girl, but there's nothing wrong with a good bargain at an outlet shop. I dunno, but it seems to me this one needs no annotation. I grew up in a world of bargain hunting women. You can't shake that, ever, I don't care how much cultural capital you amass. The thrill of the discount will never, ever diminish.
4. Always remember this: you are smart; you are beautiful; you are special to us and we matter. This was my mother's way of telling me what she had always told me, what she had always told us. What we still know, even 15 years after her death: You are loved. Why, I wonder, was this rule the hardest to live up to?
I can't really compare myself to my son, or to his situation, but I can compare myself to my mother. And so, mired in the sentimentality that my son's looming adulthood brings, leads me to wonder if I can be as pithy and profound as she. I've been struggling with what rules I would offer my son, and find I am falling woefully short. The rules I come up with so far are ephemeral at best and cynical at worst. Given that my economic experience offers little in the way of teachable moments, I think it best that I leave that advice to his over achieving, affluent, professional, middle-class dads. I don't know that boys listen to their mothers the same way that girls entering into the second wave of feminism were invited to listen to their mothers anyway. I'm floundering. The best I can come up with at the moment are these three pitiful rules:
1. Try not to fall in love in the aftermath of a major terrorist incident
2. Do not forget that learning has no end
3. Know that you make my heart grow
I'm hoping I'll get better at this as the year progresses. This is one of those areas where I feel sorry for my son, since he doesn't have the advantages I had, in the mother he got. Nor did he get to have her as a grandmother. So I think I need to strengthen my game here. Help me out, please.
What about you, do you have any rules 4 life
that you would pass on to someone younger?
Let's Build Communities!
Our team is here to provide support and guidance to new and existing volunteer leaders of each regional and state group, helping them with recruiting, organizing and executing social and action events.
We invite you to join in this effort to build our community. There are many ways to pitch in.
If there isn't a group to join near you, please start one.
Instructions on HOW TO FORM A NEW DAILY KOS GROUP
List of All Existing Meatspace Groups
Where the Kogs Are: Index/Directory of the 130+ Localized Daily Kos Groups
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY
More Than 40 Kossacks Get High in Phoenix
by Mother Mags ♥ for Phoenix Kossacks and Baja Arizona Kossacks
Kossacks attended the meet-up from around the state, helped out by strong recruitment from Azazello and other Baja Arizona friends south of the Gila River.
[...] A week before the meet-up fewer than 20 people had registered, and we anticipated a big table where we could discuss specific races and issues in our communities. Then something happened, and the RSVPs more than doubled in a week. Thanks, Markos, for the recruitment tool!
navajo: "I had a great time attending this meet-up. I chatted with almost everyone individually and then spoke to the whole group about what Daily Kos can do for them in terms of organizing and helping their ranks grow. Not one person wanted to rehash the online dispute. Everyone wanted to move forward. What a great group! The evening was extremely enjoyable and I look forward to working with Arizona Kossacks on ACTION items in their state going forward."
Here's one photo:
See Mother Mag's diary for individual headshots and usernames ~Photo Courtesy of Richard
Please visit Mother Mags diary for many MORE photos! Enjoy! You can still REC it.
You can join Phoenix Kossacks by sending a Kosmail to Mother Mags.
You can join Baja Arizona Kossacks by sending a Kosmail to Azazello.
Uniting Kansas: Recap of Meetup, Hutchinson (Video)
by tmservo433 ♥ for Kansas & Missouri Kossacks
tmservo433 organized a successful event featuring 3 candidates and a AFL-CIO endorsement.
Despite 100+ degree temperature, and a normal size crowd (about 50/60) the event in Hutchinson quickly went viral, with a few thousand watching the streams online, thanks to agressive sharing, emailing and people encouraging others to spread the live stream of the video.
Please visit
tmservo433's diary for the videos of this event. You can still REC it. You can join
Kansas & Missouri Kossacks by sending a Kosmail to
tmservo433.
Connecting Kansas:
Democrats Unite in Emporia
by tmservo433 ♥ for Kansas & Missouri Kossacks
So our latest hero, tmservo433 provides a great re-cap to the event we promoted here for him.
At the time Paul Davis spoke, I had an in room headcount of 166, which is a heck of a turnout. Sam Brownback couldn't bring in 200 in the Kansas City Metro when Rick Santorum came to town.
Kossacks showed up. Several Kossacks were in the hall, as well as individuals who noticed I still had on my Netroots gear, and were happy to come and tell us how they are working for change in our communities.
tmservo433 is doing great work seeking out Kossacks and moving his state's progressive agenda forward.
Please visit tmservo433's diary for more photos! Enjoy! You can still REC it. You can join Kansas & Missouri Kossacks by sending a Kosmail to tmservo433.
Event Organizers! Please contact wink from Netrootsradio.com by KosMail to schedule airtime with them to live broadcast the date of your Event. Wink & Justice will then promote it on The After Show radio program!
Sunday, August 10th
Last-Minute Lawrence, Kansas Kossacks Meet-up
TIME: 1:00 PM
LOCATION: Rudy's Pizza
704 Massachusetts St • Lawrence
ORGANIZER: Send tmservo433 a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. tmservo433
2. stepleftforward
3. k4dean
4.
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Maybees: |
Latest diary: Kansas Kossack Meetup: Lawrence Kansas, August 10 @ Rudys 1PM
Saturday, August 16th
Nashville KosKats Meet-up
TIME: 2:00 PM
LOCATION: Shipwreck Cove at the Elm Hill Marina
3361 Bell Road • Nashville
ORGANIZER: Send ZenTrainer a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. ZenTrainer
2. Jon Sitzman
3. Sow Hat 1
4. Sow Hat 2
5. oh4thelove
6. Red Country anonymous 1
7. Red Country anonymous 2
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Maybees:
Patrick is Lucky |
Latest diary: Nashville KosKats, please help! Plus meet-up news
Saturday, August 16th
DC Kossacks Meet-up
TIME: Noon
LOCATION: National Mall
at the Smithsonian Metro stop • Washington DC
ORGANIZER: Send NinthElegy a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. NinthElegy
2.
3.
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Maybees: |
Latest diary: [Waiting for linked diary]
Saturday, August 23rd
Seattle & Puget Sound Kossacks Meet-up
TIME: 1:00 PM
LOCATION: Pyramid Alehouse, Brewery & Restaurant
1201 First Avenue South • Seattle
ORGANIZER: Send John Crapper a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. John Crapper
2. John Crapper SO
3. doingbusinessas
4. cinnamon68
5. bleedingblue
6. momomia
7.
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Maybees:
mlharges
N in Seattle
Penny GC
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Latest diary: Seattle & Puget Sound Kossacks "Dog Day Afternoon" Meet-up
Saturday, August 23rd
VA/DC/MD Kossacks Meet-up
TIME: 12:30 - 4:40 PM
LOCATION: Union Station
Food Court • Washington, DC
ORGANIZER: Send JamieG from Md a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. JamieG from Md
2. mollyd
3. Diana in NoVa
4. NinthElegy
5. mimi
6. STI
7. VeenaS1
8. JanetT in MD
9. webgenie
10. Edward Adams
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Maybees:
BDA in VA
dadadata
Uncle Cosmo
Tamar
stevenwag
Teacherken (small possibility)
TheOtherMaven
cobart
Elizabeth Amy Miller
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Latest diary: Union Station MD/DC/VA Meetup, Aug 23rd
Sunday, August 24th
Portland Kossacks Meet-up to Stamp Big Money Out of Politics
ACTION planned: Join the Stampede of tens of thousands of Americans legally stamping messages on our Nation’s currency to #GetMoneyOut of Politics. As more and more stamped money spreads, so will the movement to amend the Constitution. The Koscadia Kossacks will be bringing Ben & Jerry's stamps to the event so bring your cash to help spread the message about reversing Citizen's United.
TIME: 12:30 PM
LOCATION: à la carts Food Pavilion
SE 50th and Division Street • Portland
ORGANIZER: Send Sara R a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. Sara R (2 stamps)
2. winglion
3. llbear
4. rexymeteorite (1 stamp)
5. James Allen
6. Damnit Janet
7. Wesley
8. loggersbrat
9. Angie in WA State (birthday girl!)
10. 6412093
11. ozsea1 (1 stamp)
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Maybees:
watercarrier4diogenes
Danni
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Latest diary: Koscadia Meet Up, Sunday, August 24 - Stamp Stampede!
Sunday, August 24th
NYC Kossacks Meet-up
TIME: Noon
LOCATION: Spitzer's Corner
101 Rivington Street (Ludlow) • NYC
ORGANIZER: Send kathny a kosmail to RSVP
RSVPs:
1. kathny
2. belinda ridgewood
3. rubyr
4. joanbrooker
5. mconvente
6. ericlewis0
7. No Exit
8. sidnora
9. gchaucer2
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Maybees:
BaritoneWoman
jfdunphy
David Nir
Lysis
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Latest diary: NYC Meetup Sunday August 24 at Spitzer's
Saturday, September 6th
Sacramento Kossacks Meet-up
Potluck with BYOB
Special Guest: Derek Cressman with Yes on 49 - Money Out Voters In
TIME: 4:00 - 7:00 PM
LOCATION: Kestrel's home
Address given privately to RSVPs • Sacramento
ORGANIZER: Send cooper888 a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. tgypsy
2. cooper888
3. gotmooned
4. Kestrel
5. shigeru
6. TrevizOlga
7. paradise50
8. smileycreek
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Maybees:
navajo
Meteor Blades
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Latest diary: Sacramento (area) Kossacks Meetup With Featured Guest!
Join the Sacramento Kossacks Google Group to receive invites for future events.
Saturday, September 6th
Kansas Missouri Kossacks Picnic - Local Candidate Speaks
Meet at the Hays city park to enjoy a free hamburger/hotdog/watermelon feed. Jim Sherow along with other local candidates will be speaking.
TIME: NOON
LOCATION: Municipal Park
1st and Main • Hays, Kansas
ORGANIZER: Send tmservo433 a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. tmservo433
2. Skohays
3.
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Maybees: |
Latest diary: Major Kansas Events: Your Chance to Change a State
Saturday, September 13th
Pikes Peak Region Kossacks Inaugural Meet-up!
TIME: 6:30 PM
LOCATION: Panera Bread
7344 North Academy Boulevard (general address) or 7351 Atlas Walk Way (mall address) • Colorado Springs
ORGANIZER: Send thanatokephaloides a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. thanatokephaloides
2. tmservo433 (visiting from Kansas)
3. AmberChaos
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Maybees: |
Latest diary: Our First Meeting: An Announcement
Sunday, October 19th
NYC Kossacks Meet-up with navajo
TIME: Noon
LOCATION: Spitzer's Corner
101 Rivington Street (Ludlow) • NYC
ORGANIZER: Send kathny a kosmail to RSVP
RSVPs:
1. navajo
2.
3.
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Maybees: |
navajo maintains the above event list. Kosmail her if you have any diaries
about your event or if you have changes or additions.
EVERYONE is welcome, tell us what you're working on,
share your show and tell, vent, whatever you want.
This is an open thread. Nothing is off topic.