Harkin Steak Fry 08

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer

Jag, Montana's First Dog

More pictures can be found at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/zoeyp2001/HarkinSteakFry08#

To learn more about Jag, Montana's First Dog:
http://www.amazon.com/First-Dog-Unleashed-Montana-Capitol/dp/156037425X

Zoey and Zedo at 7

My furbabies, Zoey (on the left) and Zedo turned 7 this year but you wouldn't know it to look at them. Zoey (Mini-Me) is a Wheaten Terrier/Schnauzer mix that came from a shelter in Southeastern Illinois. Zedo is a Wheaten Terrier/Schnauzer/? mix that came from a foster home in Fort Worth, Texas. They couldn't love each other more and really know how to have a good time.


More pictures can be found at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/zoeyp2001/ZoeyAndZedo

Two Favorite Guys

While at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, I ran into two of my favorite guys. Craig Crawford of CQ Politics was outside the Pepsi Center on Wednesday night so I had to stop for a chat and a picture. Craig's blog is one of my favorites because he is so fair and balanced in his writing. Did we color coordinate our outfits or what?

Wes Clark was appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Friday morning next door to my hotel so I stayed up all night to get there for the 4 a.m. broadcast. I was glad the restaurant was next door but I would have found a way to get to the broadcast no matter where it was. It was worth staying up all night just to see the look on his face when he walked into the restaurant and saw me. Also pictured is a long-time Clarkie from the Denver area, Stan. Stan and I were emailing while I was at Invesco on Thursday night so he decided to show up for the broadcast.

I love a Good Parade

I spend most of the Summer doing parades for Congressman Boswell. My main job is to walk (or jog) along with the truck carrying the Congressman and throw candy to the kids. Sometimes I ride my trike in the parades. It is very popular with preteen boys. The Labor Day parade is one of my favorites because it starts at the Capitol Building and ends at the Fairgrounds. When we get to the fairgrounds there are booths from various unions and Democratic groups, as well as hot dogs, hamburgers, and drinks. Here are a few more pictures from the parade:

http://picasaweb.google.com/zoeyp2001/LaborDay2008DesMoinesIowa#

Dem Convention 8/28/08

http://picasaweb.google.com/zoeyp2001/DemConvention

The Rules Committee Meeting

We had a fairly uneventful Rules Committee meeting on Saturday, August 23, 2008, where we adopted a resolution to form a commission for dealing with 3 main topics. The 35 member Commission will be formed by the next DNC Chair next Spring.

The commission will discuss:

1. The primary/caucus schedule for 2012. The four early states will not hold their contests until Feb. The other states will start in March with no heavy front loading.

2. The role of the Super Delegates will be examined with an effort to reduce their numbers and put the nomination decision into the hands of the regular delegates.

3. More uniformity on how caucuses are run. At the moment there are various ways to implement a caucus. For many of the states that had caucuses for the first time this year, there were problems. The commission will also look at ways to give people who work or are out-of-state the opportunity to participate. Personally, I think there are probably ways to accomplish this as long as it isn't abused.

8/25/08 Democratic National Convention

http://picasaweb.google.com/zoeyp2001/82508DemocraticNationalConvention

More pictures from 8/24/08 Convention

http://picasaweb.google.com/zoeyp2001/82408BDemocraticNationalConvention

Pictures from the Democratic Convention 8/24/2008

Since I am involved in non-stop convention activities I have put together an album of pictures from Denver on 8/24/08.

http://picasaweb.google.com/zoeyp2001/Aug242008DemocraticNationalConvention

A Tale of Two Train Stations

My two traveling buddies and I departed for the 2008 Democratic Convention from Osceola, Iowa. The Osceola train station is very old, not air conditioned, and only open around the time the trains are expected in.







There is no checked baggage service or ticketing and the snack bar is a refrigerator with soft drinks and water. Thankfully there was a convenience store just up the street. Just before we left another buddie showed up which turned out to be lucky for me. We ended up sitting together and had a lot of fun. Oh yeah, and in the middle of the night we got the VP text message. That was pretty cool since the internet on my phone doesn't work in Nebraska and we were missing out on all the news.








I didn't get a lot of sleep on the trip but at least I got some. Because I had a Rules Committee meeting soon after arriving in Denver, I had to change into something a little nicer than jeans. Much to my surprise the train had a dressing room that was excellent for cleaning up and changing my clothes.









The Union Station in Denver is a beautiful old building and getting off the train and finding our way to the free shuttle went very smoothly. I was able to check into my hotel, drop off my bags, and walk to the Convention center in plenty of time for my meeting. For now, I am pretty happy with my decision to take the train. It was a good experience. Stay tuned for part two...the return trip.






The back of the Union Station. If you turn 90 degrees that is the location of the outside stage for MSNBC's Chris Matthews show while he is broadcasting during the convention. I must go heckle.

A view of the Denver skyline from the back of the Union Station.

Just One More Cow (maybe 2), a Large Pig, plus Some Large Horses

A Butter Cow.

A Real Cow. I thought she was pretty.

A Really Big Pig. Freight Train weighed in at 1523 lbs.

The front part of Freight Train.













Some of the draft horses out for a stroll.















One of the Clydesdales. It wasn't Hank from the commercial. I guess they didn't let him make the trip. Maybe he got laid off when inbev bought them.












The team is pretty impressive as they parade around the fairgrounds.

The 2008 Iowa State Fair

Of all the State Fairs I have been to, my favorite is the Iowa State Fair. It is necessary to go several times during the fair's run to be able to see and eat everything. I ended up going three times this year but have gone more often in the past. When I was a child my family would load up the station wagon and camp in the fair's parking lot. They don't let you do that any more. Instead, you have to pay to stay in the campgrounds if you can get a space.

I like to enter roses in the rose contest and have won various ribbons different years. I didn't enter any this year because I didn't think they were good enough. On hindsight, I should have entered some anyway because no one had a good year and I probably would have gotten some ribbons. I will try again next year.

Last year I entered some of the baking contests. I ended up winning an honorable mention ribbon for my almond sandies. I decided not to enter anything this year since it takes a lot of time. Maybe I will try again next year. The best part of entering the events is being able to get discount fair tickets and on-the-grounds parking.

This is a picture of gold medal winning gymnist Shawn Johnson as sculpted in butter. MMM...butter. I am saving the "Butter Cow" for another post.

The best part of the Iowa State Fair is the food. Some of my "must haves" are corn dogs, grinders, steak sandwich from the Cattleman's Association, and the occaisional pork chop on a stick. A real treat this year was a new booth run by the Thibedeaux's of Louisiana. They had shrimp etouffe, a large chicken breast on a stick with a bisquit on top, and shrimp on a stick. The shrimp were fine large gulf shrimp they obviously brought with them from Louisiana. The shrimp were breaded with a tasty fish breading and in between each shrimp on the stick was a sweet vidalia onion, also breaded with the fish breading. The booth always seemed to be busy despite the fact it wasn't in a very visable location. I hope they did well and will come back next year.

What would a state fair be without livestock? I will post some pictures of livestock later.