My friend Sooz took this great picture of Howard Dean a few years ago, when he came to Boston for a special Rally called ‘Democracy, Freedom, Action’ in Copley Square. I remember it well, because I designed the T‑Shirts for the event. (the front of the shirt had those words in white type on a blue shirt, the back had the date and ‘I was there’). The picture brought a lot of nostalgia for me for the recent past. This was perhaps near the height of Dean’s popularity. He had enormous crowds in New York, Seattle and Philadelphia. His picture appeared on the covers of both Time and NewsWeek. As you can see by the picture, there was quite a wind. I remember that well too, because I was pretty far back in the crowd, holding up one pole of an enormous sign (forgot what it said, but it was probably something like the ‘Beantown is Deantown’ sign at the podium). The wind threatened to pull us down, so there were some moments of excitement not entirely due to the speaker. In just a short time, Dean would lose the Iowa Caucuses and then crash to earth as a result of his famous ‘scream’ (which was really just a pep talk with the directional mike for the Public Address system fed directly into the news coverage source input).
Dean is now chairman of the Democratic Party, but already the press is trying to portray him as a hothead, and that other Democrats are ‘distancing themselves from him’ because he dared utter the words “I think Tom Delay ought to go back to Houston, where he can serve his jail sentence” at the Mass State Convention a month or so ago. I admire the fact that Dean still has the guts to stand up to the Republicans, but as you can see, he can’t win against a media and government dominated by the forces that continue to marginalize him. He would have made a hell of a great President (not just a good one), and now he’s just painted as a snarling crackpot who the rest of the party claims does not represent them.
Back to Reality
The tag sale is over. We sold most of what we needed to, and it was better than leaving it on the curb (although not much). The remaining large items, with the exception of our bed, are already spoken for. I think I might just leave a message on Craig’s list detailing where the bed will be on the morning that we leave, and hope that some sharp-eyed netizen will pick it up. With the exception of the bag and the frame, it’s like new, so hopefully it will be a nice find. My parents graciously bought the piano — it’s being shipped to my brother in Seattle, where he will be able to play it — as I will when I visit him.
More Immigration Tips
Another in my series of tips to those who want to emigrate to Canada:
Get your driving record, which you can order directly from your local Department of Motor Vehicles. Do not use drivingrecord.com, who utterly botched my order and actually cancelled it. Good thing they did, as I was nearly stuck paying twice as much by relying on their little (if any) added value.
Why do you need your driving record? Two reasons:
- If you want to get a Canadian driver’s license and want to avoid having to first get a learner’s permit and then having to take a driving test (and pay the fees for these), the driving record comes in handy.
- If your driving record is good, it can help get you a discount on your auto insurance. Apparently this can add up to $50 a month in savings, according to one report I saw.
I’m glad you like that photo! In your blog entry, could you link to it’s permanent location, too?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sooz/17874049/
Thanks!