After having spent a few days in San Antonio for a trade show, my friend Terry and I spent the 4th of July in Fredericksburg, Texas. Who knew I'd run into my peeps deep in the heart of Texas...?

Photos below the fold.

If you've read of the civil rights struggles in the 60s, then you know all about congressman John Lewis from Georgia.  He was the centerpiece of the Freedom Rides to desegregate the South, and was a national leader in the struggle for civil rights.   He  became nationally known during the Selma to Montgomery marches when, (according to Wikipedia), "police beat the nonviolently marching Lewis mercilessly in public, leaving head wounds that are still visible today."

He's been relected nine times (!) to congress and is "senior chief deputy whip" in the Democratic caucus

We also know him because he was a super-delegate in Clinton's camp but announced - in early February - that he was switching to Obama.

Okay, so that's background.  And here's my little story:

Some observations on stepping out onto the grassroots of politics.  This is not about why we support Obama - that's been covered eloquently and debated fully on this site and others.  This diary is about the act of standing up, how its scary, but so moving to see so many regular folks engaged and stepping out.  

We brought our kids to the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday.  We had decided to attend the parade to support the Harrisburg for Obama parade effort.  There were no advertised big names expected to attend our parade.  Hillary and Ed were in Pittsburgh, some Kennedys in Scranton.  Not sure who was in Philly.  

But the kids were excited (a parade!!!), the day gorgeous and the general mood festive in anticipation of the revelry to come at the several Irish pubs along the route down 2nd Street.  The crowd a mix of the 20 and 30 somethings with their green mardi gras beads and plastic green hats, the older Irish American ladies and gents, the families like us and the local Harrisburgers of all ages, races, shapes and sizes.  

St Paul is constrained in possible parade routes for the Republican Nation Convention(RNC) on September 1-4 by a number of factors: the river, cliffs, bluffs, major highways, and limited bridges. In addition, fast access must be maintained to hospitals, secure access to the XCEL center and access for all the people who live here to continue living here. We have limited traffic capability and limited parking as well, so that means we have arrange places for buses to park and wait, similar to the system used for the state fair. By law, the parades need to be in sight and sound of the XCEL center, which I interpret to mean one side of the XCEL center has to be on the parade route. Our restrictions are so tight, that basically there will have to be just one parade route for the whole convention. With one parade route, streets can be set aside and local people will know how to navigate. The main route can then be announced prior to the earliest permit time, which allows planning for all the groups who wish to come.

If you don't get a Sunday paper, you might have missed this gem. You can pull out your Parade supplement and read the cover story, which asks the question on everyone's mind: "Is Benazir Bhutto America's Best Hope Against Al-Qaeda?" Apparently, they didn't get the memo that she was killed by a Qaeda assassin, over a week ago.

America In Solidarity has hosted a Labor Day event for the working families of Tacoma(WA)-Pierce County for the past two years. Free bbq, kid's sack races and union tug-o-war contest have been the highlights. We're upping the ante this year and including a parade: union banners, activists, puppets, marching bands, you get the point. The theme: "What Labor Wants: Out of Iraq, Affordable health care and the right to organize."
Now who should be the grand marshall? If this was your neighborhood, city or state, who would you want to lead the way to the park?

Personally I wish I wasn't always trying to play music during the air show.

When I was watching TV the other night and I saw the ad for the 5th Anniversary World Trade Center Commemorative coin from the National Collector's Mint, complete with a silver rendition of the WTC that can stand up from the face of the coin -- and made from actual silver scavenged/salvaged from Ground Zero! -- I immediately looked around for something from one of usual venues -- you know, the ones that advertise in PARADE magazine -- to commemorate the disaster last year in New Orleans. Nothing so far as I could see.

As a resident of San Diego I am personally outraged and stunned by this hate crime. What kind of CS coward would commit such an act? If these punks are guilty (we will let the courts decide) I hope they get the preverbial book thrown at them. Here is another link to another possible suspect.

Follow on down...

Even before American independence had been declared, let alone won, John Adams was telling us how to celebrate it! Talk about vision!

It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.

First I'd like to thank the people who are defending my right to celebrate the way our Founding Fathers intended. The men and women of the military, serving wherever Bush saw fit to send them; and the patriotic Americans protesting the war in places like Fort Lewis and Washington DC.

Follow me to the parade...

It's a simple thing, admitedly, but nonetheless, pointers should be given:

In a story on Fox News Live's Studio B today, Fox asked the important question: "the economy's rebounding, so why am I so broke?" To discuss this question, Fox trotted out Dakila Divina, Managing Editor of that hard hitting publication Parade Magazine, whose annual "What People Earn" issue comes out tomorrow. You know Parade, it's that flimsy little trifle you throw out with your Sunday paper. His conclusion: "What we found in our survey is that people on the high end of the scale...the disparity, is growing bigger and bigger, especially when it comes to celebrity salaries."

More on the flip.

Now, is it just me, or is this inappropriate for a Christmas parade?