I am heading to Pittsburgh to attend Netroots Nation, held this year on August 13-16 at the David L. Lawrence convention center. This is the fourth annual gathering of the progressive Netroots (the first two cons were known as YearlyKos). This year, Kate will join the fun as well.
It's a few days of blogger madness, attended by powerhouse full-time bloggers, part-time keyboard jockeys, readers, fans, politicians, authors, journalists and MSM types. This is a really large conference, with so many sessions, caucuses, screenings and parties it's hard to make decisions on which to attend.
I am on three panels this year and will co-host the LGBT caucus.
Thursday, August 13th 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Panel, 311
From Prop 8 to Full Equality in All 50 States: Fighting for Marriage Equality and LGBT Rights Across America
Pam Spaulding, Monique Hoeflinger, Michael Wilson, Julia Rosen.
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?
Thursday, August 13th 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
LGBT Caucus, 310
Michael Rogers, Pam Spaulding
Connect with like-minded folks and talk with others from your community in our identity, issue and regional caucuses.
Saturday, August 15th 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Panel, 315/316
Women Bloggers Found: Has Feminist Blogging Gone Mainstream?
Jill Filipovic, Amanda Marcotte, Samhita Mukhopadhyay, Lindsay Beyerstein, Pam Spaulding.
A few years ago, male bloggers 'round the liberal bloglandia were wondering out loud, "Where are the women bloggers?" Many of the women in the feminist and progressive blogospheres responded with frustration—we were there, and had been, the whole time. Today, the blogosphere looks awfully different, as feminist bloggers are increasingly mainstreamed and able to exert stronger influence on online discourse. But "blogging while feminist" isn't always easy, and feminist bloggers have faced harassment and threats that are uniquely gendered and sexualized. Feminists who have been most successful at running bigger blogs have also been mostly young, white, heterosexual and middle-class—so their issues have been presented to the mainstream progressive movement as the whole of feminism. This panel will look at what has changed, what hasn't and who remains on the edges of progressive blogging. It will also examine how female bloggers—and feminist bloggers in particular—are treated in mainstream spaces, and what we can do about it.
Saturday, August 15th 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Panel, 311
The Forgotten Agenda of Race in the Obama Administration: Profiling, Immigration Detention and Mass Incarceration
Vince Warren, Pam Spaulding
This panel will discuss police abuse, racial profiling in stop-and-frisks, the Rockefeller drug laws and mandatory sentencing, immigration sweeps and detention, and opportunities for organizing online and offline. What, if any, steps has the Obama administration taken to address these problems, and what legislative and economic actions should our government take? How do the issues intersect in their effect on people of color? What political, legislative and organizing opportunities are there to challenge these policies?
On Friday I'm definitely attending this:
Friday, August 14th 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Screening Series, 406
Screening: Outrage
Michael Rogers, Michelangelo Signorile
From Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated) comes OUTRAGE, featuring journalist/blogger Michael Rogers and Sirus/XM radio host Michelangelo Signorile. The film is an indictment of closeted politicians who campaign against the LGBT community and reveals the hidden lives of some of the nation's most powerful policymakers. OUTRAGE looks at the harm they inflict and profiles those who seek to expose their hypocrisy. The film probes the psychology of these double lives, the ethics of outing, and the double standards that the media upholds in its coverage of the sex lives of gay public figures. A Q&A with Rogers and Signorile will follow the screening.
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