Convention Observations

Today I had to go to work. That takes me through the convention area, so I chose to ride the bus rather than attempt to drive. The first thing I noticed is that the most reliable bus in my home area wasn't totally reliable on the schedule. One should come at least every 15 minutes, but we waited longer than that. When the bus finally arrived, one came right behind another. The bus ride was usual until we got about 3 blocks from the Xcel Center where the convention is held. Then we were on a long detour around it. That made the usual 25 minute bus ride take almost an hour.

Coming home, the bus came on schedule. I was glad I was on the bus because it was definitely bumper to bumper traffic. Going so slow allowed me to see a few things. First I was a bit puzzled about a van that said Capitol City Police Service and had a logo obviously from Washington D.C.

Near the Minnesota Capitol area I could see a lot of tents and what looked like a minor protest being organized. A bit later we went by a bus display -- the best word I can find for it for an organization called votesmart.org. Haven't looked that up. (Oh later, I did look it up and it reminded me that this is called the Voters Self Defense Bus. The web site says it was at the Democratic convention, too. You can see a picture of the bus on the web site.)

Then we went by a huge video screen being operated by something called Vote Blue Minnesota. It is displaying pictures of politicians involved in the Abrahamoff scandal as we went by. Later this evening I learned this is sponsored by two very average Minnesota Democrats who decided they wanted to create an alternate message nearly two years ago when it was announced that the RNC would here. They spent a good part of the retirement funds to do this for four years.

A slight way later I could see down a hill to the Xcel Center and noticed a lot of tents obviously not usually there. The biggest tent had the FoxNews logo on it.

Oh, I forgot the biggest hit in town. We went by the History Theater which is being used by the Daily Show. The lines to get in there rival the convention.

One more day of this and then they leave town. I suspect it will be the last time St. Paul bids on a convention for awhile. It's a lot more trouble than its worth. Readers from elsewhere may find the best source of local news to be the Minnesota Public Radio web site: www.mpr.org

I've changed the photo to the right to the Xcel Center for a few days, so that folks elsewhere can better envision this place.

I'll add that during this ride through middle class neighborhoods and then down Summitt Avenue where the houses are over the million dollar mark I didn't see a single lawn sign for the Republican candidates. I thought certainly if anyone was supporting the McCain candidate that during the RNC they would have signs up. If you don't understand about the signs, lawn signs are a big thing in Minnesota, something I really don't like about Minnesota. I don't like anyone put a lawn sign on my property.

Adventures in Life

I have to scream at the world! I just watched Cindy McCain being saluted for adopting two girls from an international orphanage Been there and done that myself. Now I see Palin being saluted for raising a child who is developmentally delayed. Been there and done that too. And they are saluting her for supporting a teen age daughter who became pregnant. Been there and done that. And not only have I done all those things, I did it alone as one of maligned "single parents."

I'm not at all impressed with the honoring of these women. There have been many of us who have done just exactly the same thing, and we don't have any political convention saluting us!!

Adventures with the weather & the RNC

The past few days have been very warm -- nearly 90 degrees and very muggy, and the air conditioner isn't working. Well, at this stage of summer one doesn't fix it, and hopefully by next summer I won't be living here anywhere. So I'm very glad we've had a 25 degree drop in the temperature in the last 22 hours. Life is much more comfortable.

The local news is that the out of hand protesters were not part of the original protest.

And now this afternoon, an intersection is closed due to a package under questions.

First Day of Convention

Update
It is being reported that about 250 people were arrested today, more than the total in Denver. The difference -- there wasn't a huge antiwar protest in Denver. There are an estimated 10,000 participants in today's demonstraton protest, and I think they will continue during the next few days.

Things did get out of hand. Had it been a work day, and had I gone to work, I would have driven home right into the a protest in an unexpected place. But I've always thought what we needed to plan for was the unexpected would happen during these days.

I stayed home all day sorting and moving things around with the goal of moving sometime in the next few months. Meanwhile here's what happening in Saint Paul:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/09/01/protestsmonday/

It is locally reported that nearly all the national media has left Saint Paul deciding instead to cover the hurricane instead. If you have a convention and no one listens, is it a convention?

Political Convention Adventure

For the next few days we will be dealing with the Republican Convention in Saint Paul. Interested folks in other parts of the country or the world may wish to follow the news by going to a very good blog called News Cut maintained by Minnesota Public Radio. You may find it here:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/

As of Sunday evening, August 31, it looks like a convention that isn't going to happen. Absolutely no one around the Xcel Center.

Politics and Manicure Adventure

I go to nail shop almost weekly that is operated by 3 women who immigrated here from the Ukraine. I felt so lucky when I stumbled into this place about three years ago. It's my little bit of Europe every week. And we've had wonderful conversations about food, language, all kinds of things relating to Central Europe. They have patiently listened to my stories about Poland, and enthusiatically gave me great advice in advance of my 2007 trip to the Ukraine. They also attract a clientele that speaks Russian, and have roots in Central and Eastern Europe.

However, today was amazing. One customer started out saying, "What do you think about what is happening in Georgia?" (Now please, she meant the country, not the state.) And the conversation was off to the races. I'm betting it was the only place in St.Paul that had a stimulating debate about Russia's actions and motives in this situation, how the United States is viewed in that part of the world and questions and ideas in between. I'm certain no one expects this kind of dialogue to be in a nail shop, and I'm struck somewhat speechless by the fact that it was undoubtedly a more comprehensive discussion of the situation than will be occuring about 3 miles down the street at the RNC convention!

Polish Train Adventure

On several travel web sites I've found questions about riding the trains in Poland. People seem to view this with trepidation. Thus, I'm offering some photos. Yesterday I explained that I stayed at the Hotel Hetman. That placed me a 5 minute walk from the Siedlce West station. The train from there to Warsaw is a local train, it stops everywhere and is only 2nd class. However, it is very comfortable. I've added a picture that shows that stations are clearly marked. Also I've added a sign that shows that the EU is funding improvements in the Polish train system. I did see some new, sleek trains while waiting at the Warsawa Polwisle station. It was explained to me that ironically these new trains are being manufactured in Siedlce, but one hasn't yet been assigned to the Warsaw to Siedlce route. Again, I'll say though that the train was comfortable. I also took the train from Siedlce West to Torun. I did that all 2nd class as well. It was perfectly comfortable and led me to have some wonderful interactions with Polish people. I hope by naming this post as Polish Train it will make it come up in searches when people are concerned about riding trains in Poland.