DNCC Day 3: Midday update 8/27/08

Today's schedule is a bit different than the previous two so I am able to type a few lines. During our morning breakfast meeting (this morning sponsored by Xcel Energy and Qwest) we had another line of notable speakers including Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans and author of The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street and Washington, David Sirota (we all got copies). At the end of the meeting, however, we uncovered a bit of frustrating "system failures" in our delegation. Recall, last night I said that I had given my floor pass at the Pepsi Center to an Alternate so that he might be able to experience the convention at that close up level. The DFL and our delegation as a whole has not been terribly helpful in promoting this process. For instance, on Monday, three of the five delegates from my Congressional District were not here in Denver yet and their passes for the night went unused. Hopefully today, anyone who has been left out will get a chance to participate!

After the breakfast meeting and having our delegation photo taken, some of our delegation (including me, of course) along with Colorado volunteers, and Alaska and Puerto Rico delegates sorted and packed meals for the local Meals on Wheels and emergency food supplies here in Colorado. I'll tell you what, I learned a lot about donating food to food shelves. There is a huge need for canned fruit and meats as well as cereals. When donating the next time, really try to skip the "emptying out your cupboard" habit we all get into. I gained a much greater appreciation for providing food for the needy. I was also interviewed by our Channel 5 News which the gentleman said would air tonight at 4:30pm and/or 6pm--let me know if you catch it. I was asked, of course, about the unifying force of Hillary Clinton's speech last night and took the opportunity to give a plug for our local chapter of Obama Works in the Twin Cities! I missed out on some really good panels this morning participating in this service project but it made my journey to Denver all the more rich and worthwhile.

I will try to write more at the end of the day!