I went to vlog an Edwards Town Hall in Dover, NH on Saturday. It was a day marked by torrential thunderstorms yet about 300 NHer-ites turned out to see the candidate speak and take hard questions from Granite State voters. They, my neighbors to the north, know they're king makers and they take their job seriously. Thank God that at least "some people" still have respect for the process.

cross-posted at dailykos

So I went to New Orleans last March to partake of some guerrilla vlogging and it was awesome.

Although my stay was far too short, I was richly rewarded for the effort. I talked to a bunch of small business owners and regular people in the French Quarter and then I got a tour of the Lower Ninth Ward, Bywater, Gentilly and Lakeside before catching my flight back home.

I met so many wonderful people struggling to bring their lives and their city back from the brink of well, extinction. They are alive. Harvey, Cecile, Bernadette, Cecil, Kojak, Don, John Barquet, Tessa, Katie, Kathryn, Hillery, Ed, Gregory, Jerry, Mike Brown (no not that one)

... and Eddie Mims.

cross posted at Blue Hampshire

I went to a NH meet and greet with Ned Lamont appearing on behalf of Chris Dodd for President. It was old school Granite State grassroots with about 30 people attending an open discussion of current events in a lovely private home.

cross-posted at dailykos

Last week Harry Reid stood in front of one of those backdrop banners with the slogans: "Transition the mission" and "Support our Troops" repeated all over it.

Well according to McClatchy Newpapers : The mission has been transitioned for months now.

But according to the MSM: Nothing to see here except a Democrat making a huge mistake because he won't "support the troops."

Reid argued that the war is lost and we need to start having a real dialog in this country about where we're going as a nation in Iraq.

cross-posted at daily kos

I went to New Orleans last month to do some guerrilla vlogging. I asked people what they wanted to say about New Orleans today and their future. I asked people what they wanted me to know about their city. They wanted me to tell you that they're alive.

They are alive.

In this installment of the NOLA Speaks series we take a tour through the Ninth Ward through the "high water" areas that got as much as 20 ft. of water when the levees failed. Eddie Mims is our guide.

This installment is not presented in the standard format because I didn't sit down to interview Eddie. We just drove and talked while he made sure to point out stuff that I might want to film. He was an excellent guide, but if the tour seems a little disjointed that's why. Eddie wanted me to get a good look at what happened in the Lower Ninth and what is still happening all over the city today. Katrina is everyday for Nawlin-ians. There's a lot more to this story, but as in every installment in this series I'm going to try to maintain the focus here and just cover a few aspects of the story here. Eddie is also the focus, he was as old-school as you can get and he's the star of this show.

cross-posted at dailykos

I went to New Orleans last month to do some guerrilla vlogging. I asked people what they wanted to say about New Orleans today and their future. I asked people what they wanted me to know about their city. They wanted me to tell you that they're alive.

They are alive.

It's not the politics. It's not the water. It's not the death and devastation. It's not the humiliation that Katrina brought to all of our homes through the scenes of government failure and abandonment.

cross-posted at Blue New Hampshire

Last Monday night I attended a Town Hall meeting on the UNH campus in Durham, NH. Both John and Elizabeth Edwards were there to talk and take questions from a group of about 500 attendees. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) was there and received a very warm reception from all in attendance. When I left she was in a circle of at least 15 kids discussing her current work in DC as the US Rep from their district (NH-01.)

The questions were tough, but I think fair. This is NH after all and these voters are very savvy to say the least. They were there to hear the candidate speak, but they also had a lot to say to the Edwardses and those that asked a question generally conveyed their concerns in doing so.

Most people do not want to speak on camera at all and as I canvassed the crowd before the event I told many of those on line that I do this because I don't think the media gets it right, everyone agreed.

cross-posted at Blue New Hampshire

I met a doctor at the Edwards Town Hall on Monday Night. I'm still working on the vlog, it'll be up soon, but I'd like to take a minute to post this clip from an interview with the doctor I met. His name is Dr. Terry M. Bennett and he is the last family doctor in Strafford County NH that will see poor or modest income patients in his practice. I think that his remarks and his work are vitally important to the debate we need to have as a country on health care. He's in the trenches everyday and I hope you take a minute to view the short interview and listen to what he's saying.

Dr Terry Bennett (4:44)

I went to New Orleans recently to do some guerrilla vlogging. I asked people what they wanted to say about New Orleans today and their future. I asked people what they wanted me to know about their city. They wanted me to tell you that they're alive. They are alive.

It's not the politics. It's not the water. It's not the death and devastation. It's not the humiliation that Katrina brought to all of our homes through the scenes of government failure and abandonment.

They are not pathetic, doomed, corrupt, racist, lawless or any such nonsense. They are alive and struggling to bring themselves back from the absolute worst thing that any one of us can face in our own lives. They got wiped out.

But they are alive and I've got the tape to prove it. Follow me below the fold to meet Kojak Davis.

I went to New Orleans recently to do some guerrilla vlogging. I asked people what they wanted to say about New Orleans today and their future. I asked people what they wanted me to know about their city. They wanted me to tell you that they're alive.

They are alive.

It's not the politics. It's not the water. It's not the death and devastation. It's not the humiliation that Katrina brought to all of our homes through the scenes of government failure and abandonment.

They are not pathetic, doomed, corrupt, racist, lawless or any such nonsense.

They are alive and struggling to bring themselves back from the absolute worst thing that any one of us can face in our own lives. They got wiped out.

But they are alive and I've got the tape to prove it. Follow me below the fold to meet John Barquet and Tessa too.

I went to New Orleans recently to do some guerrilla vlogging. I asked people what they wanted to say about New Orleans today and their future. I asked people what they wanted me to know about their city. They wanted me to tell you that they're alive.

They are alive.

It's not the politics. It's not the water. It's not the death and devastation. It's not the humiliation that Katrina brought to all of our homes through the scenes of government failure and abandonment.

They are not pathetic, doomed, corrupt, racist, lawless or any such nonsense.

They are alive and struggling to bring themselves back from the absolute worst thing that any one of us can face in our own lives. They got wiped out.

But they are alive and I've got the tape to prove it. Follow me below the fold to meet Ed and Hillery Moise.

Last week, I went to New Orleans at the invitation of another blogger. She, Tessa of My Left Nutmeg, was going to be there for a conference that she and her husband, Mike Brown - no not that one, were running and it seemed to make sense to do some guerrilla vlogging in the Big Easy. I went down there because I don't think the media is willing or able to tell the story of NOLA - today. Boy was I ever right.

In fact the media was not willing or able to tell the story of Katrina or NOLA back then. Even back then when we were glued to our tubes and all the internets drinking in the scenes of devastation, abandonment, chaos and government failure. Even then when Anderson Cooper was doing his righteous reportage of the Katrina story - they got much of it wrong.

I got a lot of tape, nearly four hours and I hope you enjoy these vlogs as much as I enjoy bringing them to you.

The third in a three-part series on Hunger in Massachusetts and part of the continuing guerrilla vlogger series.


Last summer, the food pantry near where I live sent out an urgent request:

Please help, we are having the busiest summer in five years. We need help feeding all the kids that are out of school and not receiving their school lunch.

The cold winter months and school vacation are the toughest times for providers to cope with their demands.

For this part of the story I sit down with a couple of providers for a one on one discussion and get out to a food pantry to see what they do exactly. Tony Luna of Central Food Ministry in Lowell, MA allowed to tape at his facility and Janet Barsorian of the Lowell Transtitonal Living Shelter, the largest homeless shelter in Lowell, gave me a few minutes of her precious time at the MVFB to discuss the challenges she faces as a provider.

The second in a three-part series on Hunger in Massachusetts and part of the continuing guerrilla vlogger series.

Last summer, the food pantry near where I live sent out an urgent request:

Please help, we are having the busiest summer in five years. We need help feeding all the kids that are out of school and not receiving their school lunch.

The cold winter months and school vacation are the hardest times to make ends meet when you're on a modest income. Massachusetts has a particularly severe problem with hunger because we have intense cold in the winter and the cost of living is so high all year round.

There's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to alleviate the ever increasing and ever expanding needs of the providers in your area. This week a brief recap of part one and the full tour I got at Merrimack Valley Food Bank.

The first in a three-part series on Hunger in Massachusetts and part of the continuing guerrilla vlogger series.

Last summer, the food pantry near where I live sent out an urgent request:

Please help, we are having the busiest summer in five years. We need help feeding all the kids that are out of school and not receiving their school lunch.

So in an effort to learn more about this issue, I decided to do this vlog and I've been video-taping at the Merrimack Valley Food Bank for this diary.

I contacted them through their website and they were happy that someone, even a guerrilla like me, wanted to do something, anything, to shed some light on this problem and promote awareness about what they and all the other providers do and how you can help.

I hope that you follow me below the fold for the video and some facts about hunger. Please let us all know about your experiences in your area.