The Interactive MAP in FULL SCREEN
The orange pinpoints are the location of each organized group of Daily Kos readers. If you'd like to join a group, click on a point and a box will pop up showing contact links. If you'd like to start a group, contact navajo for instructions.
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 at Daily Kos 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. |
Early last week, I was in Colorado for a family celebration. Whenever I fly into Denver, or change planes there, I can’t help but recall the time I got stranded there in a snowstorm, and had nothing to eat but stale donuts. Unfortunately, in order to tell that story correctly, only the long version will suffice. Although I’ve told the story many times, I have never written it down. The story is a family legend that will be repeated and embellished long after I am gone. I promise that I will share it with y’all, as soon as it’s written.
Meanwhile, as a weak substitute, here is a travel tale that I have recorded for posterity.
January, 2005
The story begins at the Phoenix airport. I arrived at the terminal at 7 in the morning, holding a ticket for an 8:20 flight. Plenty of time, I thought — until I saw the line at the baggage check-in. I swear that the line reached halfway to Tucson! What in the world was going on?
Turns out that I had not paid enough attention to the national weather reports. I was only planning to fly to Atlanta via Houston. Why concern myself with the rest of the country? The answer was etched in the faces of all those weary passengers around me, who were desperately trying to reach destinations in the snow-choked Northeastern states.
Wouldn't you know, this was the one flight where I had been unable to get a seat assignment beforehand! By the time I went through baggage line and the security checkpoint, and got to the gate, there were no seats left. Two haggard employees were trying to get the plane boarded, and find seats for people like me; meanwhile they were constantly being paged over the phone and radio. They concluded that I'd have to take an America West flight, which was fine because it was a nonstop and would actually reach Atlanta sooner. The minute they booked me on that flight, they realized that there was actually one seat left on their plane, so they put me on it. I figured my problems were solved....until I went to my connecting gate in Houston.
In all the chaos, the Continental employee booked me on a different connecting flight than was on my original reservation, and forgot to inform me. If only he had told me, it would have cut an hour off my layover. As it was, I didn't know about it until the flight was gone! Now it was as though I had just walked in from the street and asked for a ticket. Everyone else was in front of me, and I was just another standby passenger.
Expecting the worst (such as 2 days and nights at the Houston airport), I went to the nearest customer service location, which was closed, of course. I found another one about ten miles away, and whined until they confirmed me on a later flight so I would not be stuck there all night begging for stale donuts (see, I’m teasing you about the donut story again). Then I raced back to the gate to see if by chance they had found a seat for me. Once again I got the last seat on the plane. After all that, I ended up on the original itinerary that I had booked, but I would not have given ten cents for my chances at either airport.
That was a potential Trip From Hell story that turned out Happily Ever After. Have you had a trip where the breaks went in your direction, instead of the wrong way? Let’s hear your stories!
As always, this is an open thread
Community Building Updates
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.
State Open Threads
Colorado: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Mountain
Michigan: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Eastern
North Carolina: Sundays, 1:00 PM Eastern
Washington: Sundays, 3:30 PM Pacific
Missouri: Wednesday Evenings
Kansas: Monday Evenings
Events Currently Scheduled
Western Virginia Kos
From DrLori’s diary: Western Virginia Kossack Meetup
You are hereby invited to a meetup in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley at our farm, RiverBank, on Saturday, June 4th, afternoon-ish. We’ll hang out by the firepit as the sun goes down and watch the river, and get to know each other a little better. Musical instruments welcome, frisbees always work, poets get an appreciative hearing and my dog Barkley will chase a tennis ball as long as there’s someone around to throw it. I’m thinking a potluck
We have a lot of work to do this election cycle and the one upcoming, the party in our part of the state needs….shall we say, a jolt of new blood? We need to organize to bring lasting change to our state(s). I hope this becomes the foundation for a regional group that we can build on.
We are about two hours from everything—Washington DC, Richmond and Roanoke. One hour from Charlottesville. A half hour from Harrisonburg.
Please send DrLori a kosmail to attend.
Daily Kos/Cheers & Jeers Welcoming Dinner
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: Mango
1001 Washington Ave, One block from Convention Center, 2 minute walk from the Marriott
Join us for a generous buffet of Peruvian appetizers that will be substantial for dinner. Vegetarians will be provided for well.
Peru is home to one of the most exquisite fusion cuisines in the world. Mango Peruvian Cuisine brings the taste of Peru to Saint Louis by combining the diversity of their culture through locally provided food. Mango's beverage menu mirrors the marriage of diversity and locally sourced products.
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Roll call for the C&J Dinner in Connect! Unite! Act!
This will be headcount central for the C&J Dinner. Spread the word.
RSVPS:
1. navajo
2. Meteor Blades
3. Bill in Portland Maine
4. Common Sense Mainer
5. jotter
6. aha aha (Mrs. jotter)
7. side pocket
8. Mrs. side pocket
9. paradise50
10. smileycreek
11. Chris Reeves
12. Ramara
13. loggersbrat
14. Justice Putnam
15. theRoaringGirl
16. winkk
17. jakedog42
18. vicki
19. markm667
20. brillig (bday gurl that day!)
21. mik
22. K1
23. K2
24. Eddie in ME
25. moody in savannah
26. lulu
27. texasmom
28. texasdad
29. Ed Tracey
30. Raines
31. skohayes
32. 714day
33. gizmo59
34. gizmo59’s squeeze
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35. belinda ridgewood
36. evcoren
37. bfitzinAR
38. sidnora
39. peregrine kate
40. Spedwybabs
41. Malacandra
42. Will Rockafellow
43. Michael Langenmayr
44. tealbomb
45. Paul Hogarth
46. Chris Bowers
47. Mara Schechter
48. Faith Gardner
49. Jen Hayden
50. Elizabeth Strong
51. SnoKat
52. SnoKat’s guy
53. Irna Landrum
54. Carrisa Miller
55. Rachel Colyer
56. bunnygirl60 (driving carpool
from Cincinnati or Indianapolis,
if you need a ride)
57. OllieGarkey
58. Denise Oliver-Velez
59. shanikka
60. BeninSC
61. KathyinSC
62. Sidnora’s LH
Maybees:
norm winifred3
normAl1792
shanikka’s DAH
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There will also be a Daily Kos Caucus session during NN16.
Stay tuned for room location, date and time of our caucus.
Registration and hotels still available
Event Reporting
The SFKossacks welcomed peregrine kate to town on May, 15, 2016. They all met for a picnic with one the most scenic locations in the Bay Area, the Marin Headlands. It was a beautiful sunny day, fun food and great company.
The Nashville KosKats brainstormed on April 30th at their meet-up and came up with the following places that might be good to register voters:
...farmers markets around town, YMCA’s, hipster coffee shops, college campuses, local book stores, craft and art fairs, city bus station, the VA, Senior Centers, clinic and hospitals, specialized street parties for all different kinds of groups of people, some that highlight pets.
This is what we all need to do now, before the general. REGISTER PEOPLE TO VOTE!
Silicon Valley Kos had a great event on April 30th. A representative from the Honda campaign attended and Jeevan Zutshi described a side of Mike Honda not well known in that Honda is always eager to help new candidates and encouraging involvement. They also discussed ways they could work as a team to increase SVKos’s impact on local politics. Exactly what all Daily Kos In-Real-Life groups should be doing.
The SFKossacks welcomed RLMiller to San Francisco on April 2nd. Photo diary here. Stay tuned. RLMiller is the President of Climate Hawks Vote Political Action. She is the elected chair of California Democratic Party’s environmental caucus. Our dinner lasted four hours!
The Houston Area Kossacks had a small meetup with lively conversation on Tuesday, March 29, 2016. Many more photos of the crew and ChrisLove’s great food pr0n can be seen here. Kosmail Chrislove if you’d like to join his group.
Northwestern Pennsylvania Kos
Northwestern Pennsylvania had dinner and lively political conversation on the evening of Thursday, March 17 at Latinos Restaurant in Erie, PA, in celebration of a visit from Chrislove who lives in Houston. Gizmo59’s recap can be read in full here, complete with succulent food pr0n.
The SFKossacks welcomed ColoTim on his recent business trip to the Bay Area. We met at the Beach Chalet for a great lunch overlooking the ocean. A zillion more photos here: Connect! Unite! Act! Ferguson, San Francisco & NN16 Event: SFKossacks Welcome ColoTim! Photos!
While we are awaiting the official recap photo diary by JoanBrooker of our New York City meet-up on Sunday, February 28, 2016 with navajo and Denise Oliver-Velez, please enjoy this place-marker group photo. Several attendees were taking photos and we can promise some excellent food pr0n. Stay tuned for Joan’s report. We had a great day that lasted from noon until 8:30 PM! AND HERE IS JOAN’S REPORT: Navajo @ 2/28/16 NYC Meet-up!
navajo maintains the above event list. Kosmail her if you have any diaries about your event or if you have changes or additions.
This is an open thread. Nothing is off topic.