Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Blown Away by Beto

I must confess, I had some reservations about driving down to Kent State University (Kent, OH) to hear Beto O'Rourke speak at Risman Plaza. It would be a long trip and I'd already seen Bernie Sanders in the morning.

It was well worth the drive. Before Beto arrived on schedule at 6:30 PM, I had the opportunity to talk with students attending the event as evidenced by this photo posted at kentwired.com. Kentwired.com is the independent new website of The Kent Stater & TV2.


He addressed the group of mostly students for close to half an hour and then took another 15 minutes or so of questions! He presented his wish list -- would there were money to implement it all -- and the crowd responded with great exuberance. And when he was done, he invited anyone who wanted to line up for a photo with him. The line was long.




When it was my turn, I told him I had just finished writing a musical with 20 songs about the issues we all care about and that I would like to give him a copy. He took it, thanked me and told me he would listen to it on the way to Cleveland.

Beto is warm and friendly. He speaks with ease and is comfortable with a crowd or with people individually. I was very impressed.

Bernie Sanders at Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly Plant

Bernie Sanders arrived at the Detroit/Hamtramck GM Assembly Plant main entrance just after 10:30 AM. A windy day with lots of picketers as well as a boatload of media waiting for him. Carol Dunitz also made an appearance, joining the picketers for about an hour.




Sanders was surrounded by media as soon as he arrived. He walked around the picket line once and then went across the street to a small stage where he gave a very short speech. All his interaction was with the press. As quickly as he arrived he was off to his next campaign stop.



Dunitz stuck around for a while. As usual, many wanted to take photos of or with her. See one of those above. :)

Monday, September 23, 2019

Michigan House Democrat Meets with Constituents

This evening I had the pleasure of meeting with Lori Stone, a Michigan State Representative from the 28th House District (Warren/Centerline). Several times a month she gets together  with constituents to inform them about what is going on in Lansing, the State Capitol, and hear about their concerns.

I was there with videographer Earl Clark to get input from her about creating a promo piece for 2020: The Musical. She did not disappoint. Lori gave us several excellent suggestions which may be able to be worked into a video.



At the end of the meeting Lori invited me to share information about 2020: The Musical with those in attendance. I took several minutes to talk about the show and then sang a verse from Dump the Trump in 2020. It is always a great feeling when one's work is received with great enthusiasm. Several people said they planned to look into how a full performance might be arranged in Warren.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

You Got Some Balls, Girl!


With so many Republicans attending the event and infiltrating the quaint area, Carol Dunitz felt compelled to arrive in full Uncle Sam attire with her "Dump the Trump in 2020" sign. Democrat vacationers she saw gave her "thumbs ups," smiles and positive feedback. One told her, "You got some balls, girl!" And indeed, he was right.  Many Democrats asked to have photos taken with her. We just received this one from Zaharia Nicu.



Comments from Republicans included, "Idiot" and "Dump you." Their immature comments mirrored the behavior of the man they curiously have so much admiration for and who we need to get out of office.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Hanging Out at the Ann Arbor Climate Strike

Thousands of people turned out Friday at the Ann Arbor Climate demonstration. The Strike was held at the Ingalls Mall next to the Michigan League. A stage was set up where groups sang songs. Leaders on the stage spoke with passion and read meaningful messages about fighting climate change."Eleven years," they told us, "eleven years is all we have to stop the disastrous trend that is threatening our planet." 




Carol Dunitz was there with her "Dump the Trump in 2020" sign.  The photographer for the event was one of the first to snap a shot. A reporter from Eastern Michigan University asked her a few questions and took photos. Many took pictures of her. Some asked others to take photos so they could be in the pictures. 

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

PoliPix.Co Publishes Houston Interview

I received an email from Winston Churchill O' Neal today, a blogger who was out capturing stories at the Houston debates. You can visit his blog at www.PoliPix.Co or simply view the interview he posted of me at: https://youtu.be/YWhmRpglSIQ.


I had a great time talking with people and spreading the word about 2020: The Musical in Houston!

Saturday, September 14, 2019

AP Photo Blast

Carol Dunitz was interviewed, videotaped and photographed by many news professionals outside the Houston Democratic debates. A photo taken by AP photographer Eric Gay has gone viral and appears as the lead photo for many articles for countless news agencies across the country. It has also been attached to an AP article by Bill Barrow and Steve Peoples where is appears in a series of photographs about the debates.




A partial list of media including the photo includes: AP (Eric Gay)

Beatrice Daily Sun (Beatrice, NE)

Bulgarian News Agency

Central Florida Future

Daily Journal (Park Hills, MO)
Facebook (Lauren Elizabeth Summerville)

Argus-Press (Owosso, MI)
Atchison Daily Globe (Atchison, KS)

AZ Daily Sun (Flagstaff, AZ)

Bakersfield.com (Bakersfield, CA)

BDTonline.com

Brownsville Herald (Brownsville, TX)

Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls (Coeur d’Alene, ID)
Colorado Springs Gazette (CO)
Courier-Tribune (Asheboro, NC)
Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, MA)
Daily Star-Journal (St. Warrensburg, MO)

Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY)

Gazette Times (Corvalis, OR)

Gladstone Dispatch (St. Liberty, MO)
Green Acres Publication (St. Joseph, MO)

Greenfield Recorder (Greenfield, MA)

Herald-Dispatch (Huntington, WV)

Herald Review (Decatur, IL)


Journal Gazette and Times Courier (Mattoon, IL)

Journal Times (Racine County, WI)

KTBS

Los Angeles Times (L.A., CA)

Lancaster Online

Lee.net (Davenport, IA)

Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, NE)

Madison.com (Madison, WI)

Magicvlley.com (Twin Valley, ID)

Miami County Republic (St. Paola, KS)

Muscatine Journal (Muscatine, IA)
My San Antonio (San Antonio, TX)

NH Register  (New Haven CT)

New Milford Spectrum (New Milford, CT)

News-PressNow.com

News and Record (Greensboro, NC)
NWCABLE.net

OA Online (Odessa TX)

Oneida Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Pantagraph.com (Bloomington, IL)

Rapid City Journal (Rapid City, SD)

Ravalli Republic

Richmond Times Dispatch (Richmond, VA)
Santa Ynez Valley News (Solvang, CA)

SG gate.com (San Francisco, CA)

St. Louis Post Dispatch (St. Louis, MO)

Scottsbluff Star Herald

Sioux City Journal (Sioux City, IA)

Skagit Valley Herald (Mt. Vernon, WA)

Spectrum News www.ny1.com (NYC, NY)

St. Joseph News-Press (St. Joseph, MO)
Stanwood Camano News (Stanwood, WA)

The Chippewa Herald (Chippewa Falls, WI)

The Courier (Waterloo, IA)

The Daily News (Galveston County, TX)

The Daily Times (Maryville, TN)

The Eagle (Bryan, TX)

The Facts (Brazoria County, TX)

The Lufkin Daily News (Lufkin, TX)


The News Item (Shamokin, PA)

The North Platte Telegraph

The Post-Star (Glens Falls, NY)

The Record (Troy, NY)

The Roanoke Times (Roanoke, VA)
The Saratogian (Saratoga, FL)

The Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale, IL)

Times Union (Albany, NY)

The World (Coos Bay, OR)

Traverse City Record Eagle (Traverse City, MI)
Tucson.com (Tucson, AZ)

Waco Tribune Herald (Waco, TX)

Wisconsin News, Lee News (Davenport, IA)

Voice of Alexandria (Alexandria, MN)


We decided to stop listing media because it was clear the photo with explanation had been distributed widely.

The Bulgarian News Agency sent this photo out across the wire:


Beto Supporter Lauren Elizabeth Summerville snapped this and posted it on Facebook. 


Photographer Carlos A. Martinez caught me taking a break.



Many others snapped selfies with "Uncle Sam."

We're sure there was lots more coverage on TV and radio but we are not using a service to track this. Have you seen something we should know about? Let us know!