Update: As of 5:36 PM, $755 is in! We're almost there! Chris is continuing the updates in a thread above this one.
Update: Also, another cool metric: 48% of the 241 contributors giving an average of $41.83- or 116- are first-time contributors. That's almost half. Thanks so much!
Update: As of 3:58 PM, $345 has come in! If you've given, you can also post the ask to your friends and on Facebook/Twitter!
Update: As of 2:58 PM, $175 has come in. That's $350 with Debra's match! Every dollar you contribute will be doubled. Chip in!
As of 2:11 pm Eastern, we are at 225 contributors, with a goal of 400. Thanks to Debra for her generosity, and please chip in! -Adam
This is an adaptation of last spring's Match Appeal. This is for both Open Left and a group from my second home town, New York City known as Living Liberally which also has Drinking Liberally, Laughing Liberally, and Eating Liberally (also organically)
Actually the title should really read Make Me Match You. And just like last year when it was celebrating my daughter's marriage to a really great guy, she and he are going to be home owners soon which of course will hopefully bring me closer to fulfilling my new obsession, baby lust. I have stopped notincing good looking guys, my eyes are always dropping lower to espy whatever absolutely adorable toddler, baby, or child there is sauntering or wobbling or racing on the sidewalks of New York. Children remind us that there is a future that must be preserved, so that their gaiety and joy in every new thing can be justified.
I consider Open Left an investment in the future that I want for my daughter, her new husband and the grandchildren I (and they too, really I am not just a typical, nudgy mother!) am hoping for.
When I have the occasion to meet other Drinking Liberally hosts -- folks who volunteer to create a progressive social space for their community -- I often hear the question: "Do you really know Chris Bowers?"
Chris, I don't want to make you blush, but you -- and the Open Left gang -- are celebs around the country. Liberal Drinkers frequently toast you...and, more critically, they regularly read you.
For many liberals living in conservative areas, the posts at Open Left serve a similar role to our political happy hours: you help people know they are not alone.
Which is why it was a natural idea to team up our network and yours to make sure both keep running.
We wrote earlier this month about how the Working Families Party is doing some of the best work out there in creating an accessible narrative for progressives in the economic crisis, the most recent example being their use of Monty Burns in fighting for Fair Share Tax Reform. Well, in the aftermath of the AIG bonuses debacle, the WFP in Connecticut is doing some wonderful narrative-building of their own - drawing attention for their "Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous" tour of AIG Financial Products Division executive homes - a story in today's New York Times, after some perfunctory "it's so hard to be an executive when people are angry at you" tearjerking, highlights the effort:
The Connecticut Working Families party, which has support from organized labor, is planning a bus tour of A.I.G. executives' homes on Saturday, with a stop at the company's Wilton office.
"We're going to be peaceful and lawful in everything we do," said Jon Green, the director of Connecticut Working Families. "I know there's a lot of anger and a lot of rage about what's happened. We're not looking to foment that unnecessarily, but what we want to do is give folks in Bridgeport and Hartford and other parts of Connecticut who are struggling and losing their homes and their jobs and their health insurance an opportunity to see what kinds of lifestyle billions of dollars in credit-default swaps can buy."
When I was out in Denver the weekend before last for the Netroots Nation in Your Neighborhood conference, Darcy Burner turned to me at one point (after a really fun and raucous dinner with about 20 people from the conference) and to me in a burst of pure spontaneous enthusiasm, "I just love grassroots progressives." What she said.
Being on the road promoting my book is a blast because I get to meet so many interesting people. I wrote earlier about Deb Kozikowski and her organization because I got to spend a lot of quality time with her, but there are so many interesting people you just meet briefly that I'd love to spend more time getting to know some day:
As we joked last year, it used to be simple for Drinking Liberally to prep for the State of the Union address: guess where the Bush team would get creative (Human-animal hybrids! A new Mars mission! Uranium from Niger!), get ready to cringe so hard at our President that you required medical attention, and you were more or less set.
With President Obama at the podium tonight, it's a bit trickier: aside from the fact that it's not technically a State of the Union address tonight (oh, DC protocol...), and that we don't expect to hear Bush-caliber falsehoods and belligerent "tough" talk, there also hasn't been a SOTU address in a while where the size of our problems, and the President's interest in solving them, seemed to be even close to commensurate. As much as some of us critique and push the administration on the issues, a lot of us forgot what it's like to watch a State of the Union address where we weren't set to be strictly in cringe-mode throughout.
To make things a little more intuitive, we're bringing back our ever-dependable State of the Union Drinking Game after the jump, as well as a mini-game for the Republican response. And if you want to watch with progressive friends, check out whether your local Drinking Liberally chapter is hosting a watch party (in New York, we'll be at the Grisly Pear in Greenwich Village.) Check out the game (and hope the item about Sarah Palin doesn't come true), make predictions about tonight's address in the comments, and maybe we'll see you this evening.
Drinking Liberally is big on our anniversaries. Maybe it comes hand-in-hand with the culture of drinking -- you always want to toast to something.
Now, how about a Weekiversary? May seem silly, but the original chapter of Drinking Liberally measures its life in weeks, not in years...because every week for nearly 6 years we have been meeting at the same time and the same bar.
The values are all there: teamwork; fairplay; a transparent and honest judiciary. By many counts, sports embody liberal values.
So why does it seem like pro sports -- and its apotheosis, last night's Super Bowl -- are the domain of conservative thinking? Is it the martial posturing (although, despite the on-field pre-game presence of David Petraeus, the NFL does claim it's moving away from military metaphors)? Is it the culture of excessive consumerism embodied in the ads? Is it the machismo that sometimes resembles an anti-woman ethos (and has led to Superbowl Sunday having a horrid reputation for spousal abuse)?
As we dive head-long into these first 100 days of the Obama administration, we can't help but think of just how whirl-wind the last few months have been - seeing the Obama candidacy become the Obama administration-in-waiting become, as of Noon EST this past Tuesday, the Obama Presidency. By our count, there are 208 Drinking Liberally weeks to go before we do this whole Inauguration thing over again, and we wanted something special to remember this special time by - so we announced our quest for the Official Unofficial Drink of the Obama administration, and opened it up to your suggestions, awaiting some brilliant names and ideas.
And boy, did our chapters deliver - we received many dozen spectacular, hilarious, original, clever, and, even moving Drink recipes sent to us via e-mail, our website, blog comments on Open Left and Daily Kos, and even in-person suggestions. (Let's just say that people can be very open about their ideas at a Drinking Liberally meeting.) Some of you called on Obama's multifaceted heritage, putting together elegant multicultural concoctions which you might think wouldn't work, but do. Others got all punny, asking us to celebrate with humor the fact that Bush was gone and the Obama years had commenced.
We'll be announcing it on Monday, in time for you to make sure your local bartender is ready to brew it up. Tell us in the comments thread what'll quench your thirst.
The Spartanburg, SC, chapter held their own competition and here were some of their candidates:
"Yes We Caffiene" - Coffee, Brandy and Chrystalized Pineapple
Team of Rivals:
- Kahlua, Cocoanut rum, Baileys, layered in shot glass.
Hope Float:
- Baileys, Butterschotch Schnapps, float Creme de Cocoa on top.
(a dozen more drinks on the flip -- we need your input)
Do you know the Democracy Burlesque in Chicago? Or the best food co-op in Nebraska? What about the lefty cafe of Salt Lake City...or that same town's unique vegan S&M gear?
Chances are that unless you live in one of those town's, you don't (and even if you live there, you may not); fortunately, The Nation Magazine has found them for you.
In The Nation Guide to the Nation, you can find the cafes, film festivals, historical hotspots, a bleeding-heart romantic hide-aways that dot the "purple" landscape of America.
It's not a book you sit down and read straight through. But it's a thick volume that welcomes you to thumb to almost any page and smile with surprise. It's the kind of guide that may help settle a bet after a night of too much liberal drinking ("I told you that there were liberal oases in Idaho!").
And it's especially the book you'll turn to as you plan your travel around the country -- because you'll find new destinations in any state you plan to visit, sites that will amuse, educate, and generally make you feel like Liberal America is everywhere...and that you are part of it.
The book isn't complete -- it can't be. It doesn't list my favorite liberal dive...but that's part of the fun. If the book can start an conflict among friends as to which historical homes should really be included on a drive along Route 66, or which films should never have been left off a top-ten progressive movie buff's list, then the book will prove itself a true lefty institution: one that gets liberals arguing with each other.
As for my favorite listing: well, it has to be the New Belgian Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado. The maker of Fat Tire runs its brewery on wind-generated energy. That's Drinking Liberally...
For more from the guides behind the Guide, check out the video below.
Last year, Rachel Maddow, Lee Camp and others offered their resolutions for 2008. Below are a round-up of this year's progressive goals from friends in progressive media, progressive organizing, and...well...just friends.
What are your resolutions? Here are a few of ours.
Fred Gooltz, Advomatic:
A few days ago I saw Holiday Inn which reminded me how it takes an audience's protest to move hate from the mainstream. This armchair activist resolves to make a point of telling friends and family exactly why I refuse to watch movies riddled with cheap bigot jokes. For homophobia to go the way of blackface minstrel routines, the actors and producers responsible for the homophobia need to hear that we think they are shameful embarrassments who spread hate for money.
John Javna, 50 Ways To Fight The Right:
Number one on my list is to reuse stuff more instead of buying new things. Finding ways to reuse household consumer goods, for example, saves me money and also cuts back on the production/packaging/ transport etc of stuff. Freecycle is a great site for this. Another approach is just finding ways to reuse items for other purposes, e.g. an old shoebox helps me organize my closet. For me, this will also include shopping more at consignment and second hand shops to update my wardrobe. I've gotten addicted to online shopping, so this is gonna be a good challenge.
Negin Farsad, Laughing Liberally/Nerdcore Rising:
Mentor a young woman! If your field is anything like mine - standup comedy, film & tv production - you're surrounded by a veritable and exhausting sausage fest. Only 15% of directors, producers and editors are women which seems downright medieval. The figure among professional standup comics is equally abysmal. So if you're a VIP in whatever field, mentor a young woman. Yes we can... shift those numbers!
I've been asked many times since November 4th what Drinking Liberally does now...as though a Democratic President would negate the need for a national network of progressive social gatherings. I respond that political communities -- and the activism and ideas that flow from them -- don't come and go with campaigns...they are needed between elections just as much.
But it's one thing to say that -- it's another to actually live it. And honestly, many of our chapters are in a little bit of a post-election hangover / holiday daze. We continue to meet, enjoy holidays and plan for the Inauguration, but it feels a little bit like we're waiting for our next moment.
However, one movement that isn't waiting is the marriage equality movement. Obviously Prop 8 served as a jolt that required the movement not to rest -- but at a time when I don't witness as much direct activism taking place, folks like Join the Impact are delivering creative, social, passionate opportunities -- from national rallies to vigils to guerilla activism.
In New York, we're hosting a screening tonight of the Oscar-winning documentary Freeheld. Its story -- about a dying police officer whose same-sex partner is denied pension rights -- resonates with the the chilling results of Prop 8. We're using it to prompt a conversation about how New Yorkers can promote the marriage equality fight in our state, which has a chance of passing it legislatively.
Today is the 75th Anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition - or, as some want to celebrate it, Repeal Day. (It's already a semi-official Drinking Liberally holiday.) It's kind of remarkable to realize that our country outlawed booze Constitutionally with the 18th amendment; then, 15 years later, on December 5th, 1933, Constitutionally fixed that mistake by ratifying the 21st amendment.
It's a small reminder that we really do have the power to form a more perfect union, and to make mistakes along that path and then have the confidence to recognize those mistakes and own up to them. In a much bigger way, progressives face a similar question of confidence as the Bush Years soon give way to the Obama Years. Coming off eight years of disastrous right-wing governance, will we as Americans have the courage to fully admit those errors and do what it takes to undo them? It's going to be hard work - but perhaps we can take a small pill of encouragement from the fact that a new progressive era had the courage in 1933 to do the Constitution right, and undo a mistake from an earlier progressive era, bringing countless underground businesses back into the light.
This is, of course, a special side consequence to that amendment - it means that today is the 75th birthday of many, many beloved pubs, dive bars and alehouses that started as illicit speak-easy establishments during the 20s, and then came to light on this day, 75 years ago. One of those places is the much-beloved Rudy's in New York City, one of our favorite businesses to serve left-leaning clientele, the bar that has served as home and supporter of the original Drinking Liberally since it started in the run-up to the war in Iraq (not to mention home to one of the greater liberal card benefits, free drinks.)
They've spent 75 years quenching the thirst of activist-types and locals, and tonight, this New York institution will be celebrating with $7 pitchers at night and $5 pitchers during the day (7 and 5 for the 75th). Tonight, we lift our glasses to Rudy's...and to a Constitution that can correct our country's errors.
Happy Cyber Monday -- that's right, the newly-minted term for the big post-Thanksgiving day of online holiday purchases. While we often dedicate our column to cool organizations -- from Trick-or-Vote to CREDO -- that build social networks through activity...we thought if ever there would be a day to talk about building social community through consumerism, it would be today.
So if you're mind is still wandering from your long weekend off, or if you've started surfing for stocking stuffers, we just have to suggest: The Liberal Card -- promoting liberal pride, liberal community and liberal discounts.
Who wouldn't want to open slender package beneath the tree, beside the menorah, or after the Festivus gathering, and find an attractive, personalized wallet card that declares the bearer a "Card Carrying Liberal" this season?
Your co-workers would enjoy it. Your family would boast it proudly in their wallets. And how do I know? Because even Howard Dean is proud of it (and don't get me started on Ed Asner! Adorable photo below the fold...).
Central Park's been home to a lot of celebrations -- so why not an Inauguration Watch Party? Council Member Eric Gioia -- one of the more dynamic, progressive members of the NY City Council -- suggested setting up giant screens in the Park for the public to enjoy on January 20th.
As he quipped: "If it's good enough for Bon Jovi, it should be good enough for the inauguration."
Gioia is by no means alone in believing we should find ways to create shared, public experiences, even when there isn't a tradition in place or a day off from work. Living Liberally has already begun planning an Inaugural Ball in New York (because DC shouldn't have all the fun) for Sunday the 18th, and Netroots Nation is working with an array of progressive blogs and communities to throw an event on Monday the 19th in DC. We hear that DC is planning for millions of Americans to descend on the Mall...but how should the rest of the country mark January 20th?
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