Where Were You 6 Months Ago? [VIDEO]

I know where we were. Six months ago today, we showed up in Pittsburgh for Netroots Nation '09.

We were here, @FDR Is There A New Deal?:











And here, From Prop 8 to Full Equality in All 50 States: Fighting for Marriage Equality and LGBT Rights Across America:











And we were here, The Myth of Post-Racial America:







Oh, and we were here, also, too, How to Get The Most Out Of The Polling Data You Read About:







And here, Bloggers and Blue-Collar Workers Unite: You have Nothing to Lose but Wall Street Domination:









We also plotted, The Secret Plan to Defeat the Right Forever:







It was an exciting first day. Hopefully you will join us next summer at Netroots Nation in Las Vegas! And check back tomorrow when we will relive Netroots Nation '09 Day 2.

Next Sunday, February 21st, we are beginning our fundraising for our efforts to cover Netroots Nation 2010. Chris Hayes, Nolan Treadway, and local grassroots organizers from inside and around the beltway will join us at a house party in Bethesda, MD. You can also join us online at Sum Live Change (we'll be running a live camera feed of the event), at 2:00pm on the 21st.

The Secret Plan to Defeat the Right Forever

(Reposted as part of our staff picks from 2009, originally written by Will Urquhart on 8/23/2009)

One of the panels I attended at Netroots Nation on Day 1, Thursday August 13th, was titled 'The Secret Plan to Defeat the Right Forever'. The panel focused on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Stewart Acuff does a great job explaining some of the more important details of EFCA:



He also talks a little bit about what it is going to take to get this legislation passed:



And Tanya Tarr explains why EFCA is the secret plan to defeat the right forever:



We've got lots more videos from Netroots Nation available, and we will be releasing plenty more over the coming weeks at the Sum of Change NN09 page.

From Prop 8 to Full Equality in all 50 States

(Reposted as part of our staff picks from 2009)

From Prop 8 to Full Equality in All 50 States - Netroots Nation Day 1 from Will Urquhart on Vimeo.

We at Sum of Change have been releasing lots of videos from Netroots Nation. We have released some 40 highlights videos, but today we release a panel in entirety for the first time. This was the first panel I attended, bright and early at 9:00am on Thursday, August 13th.

From Prop 8 to Full Equality in All 50 States: Fighting for Marriage Equality and LGBT Rights Across America
Thursday, August 13th 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Panel, 311
Time: Thursday, August 13th, 9:00am - 10:15am
Room: 311

From the passage of Prop 8 to the election of Barack Obama to the White House, the 2008 election had a profound impact on the fight for full LGBT equality in all 50 states.

This panel will tackle how we win and defend marriage equality state-by-state and how we build momentum for full LGBT equality across America. What are the lessons learned from the Prop 8 loss in California that Maine and other states can learn in their battle for marriage equality? How will we restore marriage equality to California? And how can the netroots help win these battles?

PANELISTS: Pam Spaulding, Monique Hoeflinger, Michael Wilson, Julia Rosen

I hope you enjoy this video. We will be releasing more coverage over the coming weeks. Visit the Sum of Change Netroots Nation page to see all our NN09 videos and a list of every event we covered. We do not have footage up from every event that we filmed yet, but we are making updates every day, and we will have at least one video from every event that we filmed. Once again, you can find a full list of everything we filmed in Pittsburgh at our NN09 page.

Thanks

How to Get The Most Out Of The Polling Data You Read About

There were a lot of good lessons to come out of the Netroots Nation panel, 'How to Get The Most Out Of The Polling Data You Read About'. Today, we present the panel in it's entirety. Our panelists are Greg Dworkin (DemFromCT), contributing editor at Daily Kos, Charlie Cook of The Cook Political Report, Mark Blumenthal, editor and publisher of Pollster.com, Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com, and Charles Franklin, the co-developer of Pollster.com.

Greg Dworkin was not lying when he called these men "experts." It is rare to find this much knowledge and experience with polling in one room. I hope you will take the time to watch this entire panel. Lastly, I will leave you with this brief interview we did with DemFromCT after the panel ended:



For more videos of Netroots Nation, visit our NN09 page. And if you enjoy these videos, sign-up to receive an email alert when we add a new video.

The Secret Plan to Defeat the Right Forever

One of the panels I attended at Netroots Nation on Day 1, Thursday August 13th, was titled 'The Secret Plan to Defeat the Right Forever'. The panel focused on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Stewart Acuff does a great job explaining some of the more important details of EFCA:



He also talks a little bit about what it is going to take to get this legislation passed:



And Tanya Tarr explains why EFCA is the secret plan to defeat the right forever:



We've got lots more videos from Netroots Nation available, and we will be releasing plenty more over the coming weeks at the Sum of Change NN09 page.

(VIDEO) The Myth of Post Racial America

To an ignorant few, the election of a black president signals a transition into a period of post-racialism, where all of the racial tensions and struggles of the past have been overcome and racism no longer exists. Even though there are signs of improvement, such as the election of Barack Obama, America is far from overcoming it's embarrassing racial past and becoming a 'post-racial' society. (Some of us hope that we never do become a post racial society. Even though race is a social construct, I believe that especially in America, it is important to understand and embrace our own and each other's racial identities and histories). It is inevitable, however, that we are increasingly becoming (or recognizing that we actually are) a multi-racial society, which can be very uncomfortable to those used to the status quo.

The speakers on this panel at Netroots Nation 2009 in Pittsburgh titled, 'The Myth of Post Racial America", all have front line experience dealing with the issues that arise with this shift of racial influence. Annabel Park is a documentary filmmaker whose new film '9500 Liberty' (www.9500Liberty.com) presents Prince William County Virginia, an affluent suburb to Washginton DC, as a microcosm for how this struggle has and will continue to play out as America progresses. Rich Benjamin (www.richbenjamin.com) traveled to the fastest growing predominantly white communities in America for his book, 'Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America'. Rinku Sen is the executive director of The Applied Research Center (ARC), a public policy institute advancing racial justice through research, advocacy and journalism, and publisher of 'ColorLines', ARC's magazine focused on race and politics (www.ARC.org).

This was a very interesting panel and informative panel and we will be posting a more complete version of the entire session shortly. Keep checking www.SumofChange.com/NetrootsNation for that and many more videos of Netroots Nation 2009 from Pittsburgh.

From Prop 8 to Full Equality in all 50 States

From Prop 8 to Full Equality in All 50 States - Netroots Nation Day 1 from Will Urquhart on Vimeo.

We at Sum of Change have been releasing lots of videos from Netroots Nation. We have released some 40 highlights videos, but today we release a panel in entirety for the first time. This was the first panel I attended, bright and early at 9:00am on Thursday, August 13th.

From Prop 8 to Full Equality in All 50 States: Fighting for Marriage Equality and LGBT Rights Across America
Thursday, August 13th 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Panel, 311
Time: Thursday, August 13th, 9:00am - 10:15am
Room: 311

From the passage of Prop 8 to the election of Barack Obama to the White House, the 2008 election had a profound impact on the fight for full LGBT equality in all 50 states.

This panel will tackle how we win and defend marriage equality state-by-state and how we build momentum for full LGBT equality across America. What are the lessons learned from the Prop 8 loss in California that Maine and other states can learn in their battle for marriage equality? How will we restore marriage equality to California? And how can the netroots help win these battles?

PANELISTS: Pam Spaulding, Monique Hoeflinger, Michael Wilson, Julia Rosen

I hope you enjoy this video. We will be releasing more coverage over the coming weeks. Visit the Sum of Change Netroots Nation page to see all our NN09 videos and a list of every event we covered. We do not have footage up from every event that we filmed yet, but we are making updates every day, and we will have at least one video from every event that we filmed. Once again, you can find a full list of everything we filmed in Pittsburgh at our NN09 page.

Thanks

(VIDEO) Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh, Day 1

6:50pm - I finally found a minute to sit down and type up some thoughts on my first trip to Netroots Nation. We are close to done with day 1 of filming. We filmed 8 panels, interviewed a handful panelists, and are prepping to film President Bill Clinton's keynote address. Below, you will find a play list of day 1 coverage, including interviews with Greg Dworking (DemFromCT), Nate Silver, Congresswoman Donna Edwards, Monique Hoeflinger, and Michael Wilson:


7:56pm - I'm sitting on the press rise, getting ready for President Clinton's speech. This is a big moment for me, as President Clinton inspired me at an early age and sparked my interest in politics. As I got older, and watched the Bush administration reek havoc on our nation, I studied the Clinton administration (which I was too young to fully comprehend during his two terms). This is the first time I have ever seen him give a speech in person. The crowd has filled the room, it's time for me to check my gear one more time. As I look out over a crowd of bloggers and blog enthusiasts, fellow kossacks, I can only feel pride.

8:30pm - Judd Legum, from ThinkProgress just took the stage.

8:37pm - Debra Bowen just too the stage. #socialvoter

9:20pm - I am an activist by nature, not a reporter. So you can imagine the odd feeling I have as I sit in the only section of the hall that no one claps in. No nodding heads, no chanting, no applause. Surrounding us on all sides, are lefty bloggers who take no measures to restrain their... Oh crap, Markos just walked right by me. I was ready to leap off the high rise.

Check back at SumofChange.com/NetrootsNation all weekend for Netroots Nation coverage.