There's hope for us yet--I met several Dems at a conference!

[knitter4democracy]

It was a knitting and crochet conference, and yes, it was on the East Coast, but there were many of us from all around the country there. I was shocked at how many Dems I ran into--many were quietly furious with Bush, and some were not so quiet about it.

One of my faves was a vendor there selling jewelry (gorgeous stuff) whom my friend and I sat with at the after-hours lounge on Friday night. She's a retired Navy vet, and she was one of the ones who briefed the Joint Chiefs during Reagan's years. She had some interesting inside info on the Challenger. She'd never heard of DU, so of course I told her and her friend all about it. ;)

Another interesting person, while not a Dem, was a woman there promoting Guidepost magazine's Sweaters for Children program (they donate hand-knit and crocheted sweaters to children all over the world). She was sitting behind me in my Friday class, and we all got to talking while working up a practice sample. She was obviously more along the lines of an evangelical or maybe even fundamentalist, but she has a good heart and is trying to make a real difference.

We got to talking about airport security (can't bring yarn cutters on planes, etc.), and she said that there's no problem on Israel's airlines and that it's because they profile "those people" and get rid of the problem. I asked her how we could profile anyone here when we have homegrown terrorists like Timothy McVeigh, the Atlanta bomber, the Branch Davidians, and the abortion doctor murderers who are white and sure look like much of the rest of the population. You could see the light go on in her eyes--she'd never thought of that before. I let that one lie there for awhile. ;)

The best part, though, was riding over to the hotel from the airport with some lovely women going to an Armenian Relief Committee conference--boy, were they hopping mad at Bush and not afraid to say it loudly enough for all to hear. :D (They also confirmed that the Turkish toe construction is Armenian, something I'd long wondered.)

Oh, and I almost forgot the lovely veterinarian from the UK I sat next to on the flight home--he and I had a fun time talking all about how crazy Michigan can be (he's moving here for a new job) and how fun at the same time. We talked politics some, and he wondered at how Michigan's a blue state. I told him to never underestimate us. :D

All in all, it was a great time had by all, and it gave me a lot of hope--if knitters and crocheters from all over the country are mad at Bush, it's time for him to leave.

[MissWaverly]

1. enjoyed your post

nice to hear what the talk on the ground around the country is.

[Sherman A1]

2. Good to hear!

It's awful easy to get depressed and feel there is no hope.

[knitter4democracy]

3. I started feeling down on the way home and had to remember.

All those wonderful people I ran into are just as angry and impotent-feeling as the rest of us. This situation in Lebanon is so horribly depressing on top of Iraq's civil war with us in the middle. We saw a soldier being sent overseas saying good-bye to his wife, and I came really close to breaking down. We saw several others heading other places, hopefully home.

There are many who want change, and I think they're ready to fight for it.

[CrispyQ]

4. Good stories! Thanks for sharing!

Yes, it's time for him to leave.

[Aviation Pro]

5. "She had some interesting inside info on the Challenger."

Shhhhh. Nobody is supposed to know about that, but if you talk to some of the technicians who were servicing the boosters a couple of days prior to the disaster you'll find out some interesting facts (maybe).

[knitter4democracy]

7. It was more on the political side, but she knew some engineers.

She said that they knew about the O-ring issue, as she had a couple of engineers tell her about it ahead of time. She also said that she was told to leave out the Challenger in the briefings, since it was considered routine. She was never comfortable with that, and she remembers hearing about it on the radio on the way home from work (briefings started getting prepared at midnight, she said, and went on for hours from there) and pulling over to cry.

She also said that many of her friends in the military were furious that Christa McCauliff got most of the press--six others were there and died in the cause who seemed to be ignored. She was still obviously angry about it.

[Aviation Pro]

6. Michigan's a blue state

Then under no conditions should Dick Devos, son of Scamway co-founder Rich Devos, bro-in-law of Erik Prince CEO of BlackwaterUSA, be allowed to win the gubernatorial seat in November.

[knitter4democracy]

8. Working on it!

The polls reflect his five million dollar ad campaign, while Granholm is waiting to win the primary and have him win his before going on the attack. I'm not sure I agree with that strategy, but she doesn't have the millions he does.

Did you know that he already owns the website devosforpresident.com? Yup--he wants to be Bush (another rich kid who inherits everything and doesn't have to really work for a living and then buys the political positions he wants). Oh, and he and Betsy (who's seriously crazy) are one of the 19 families backing the anti-estate tax campaign. I wonder why.