I caught the announcement that Barack Obama was visiting Tampa for a rally a few days ago via the local paper. So, Debi and I signed up for tickets and went today. We had already been to two rallies for candidates we’re not going to vote for (Mitt Romney and John McCain), so we figured we better go see the candidate we actually like.
The doors were supposed to open at 10:30. We wanted decent seats, so we got there around 9:30 only to find that the line to get into the St. Pete Times Forum literally wrapped all the way around the building:
You can’t see it very well in this photo, but this is about 3/4 a mile from the entrance and they were already letting people in. The people you see in the distance are part of the line and they aren’t even close to the beginning. Debi, as always, was quick to point out the demographics (she beats me to it every time): It was close to 40% black; the rest were white or Hispanic. And, Obama supporters come in every shape and size:
When we first arrived we thought we might not get in, but lines can be deceiving - we got in with plenty of space. In fact, we went against the recommended seating and sat all the way across the Forum, directly opposite the podium. When we arrived, no one was sitting there so we got front row seats. It was kind of far, but gave us a great view. (Note: The security personnel and volunteers were trying to position everyone behind the podium so the place looked full for the news media. Yes, Democrats do stage their rallies too. It wasn’t really necessary as the place filled up anyway, but so it goes.)
The news media probably worked against filling up the St. Pete Times Forum by claiming tickets were running out the day before, but the Forum was still pretty full by the time Obama arrived. The NYTimes article on the rally estimated around 15,000, which is what I estimated it at as well considering the upper level was mostly empty and the capacity of the Forum is 20,000. Here’s a panorama (click on it for full size) of the Forum about 30 minutes before Obama actually arrived. Tampa Mayer Pam Iorio, who endorsed Obama at the rally, was speaking at this point:
I snapped this shot zoomed in as close as I could with my camera (not a great zoom). You can barely see Senator Obama in the picture:
So, I went the easy way and snapped this one off the jumbotron:
Having listened to Mitt Romney, and based on Debi’s report on McCain, Obama is a much more charismatic speaker. Maybe it helps that we agree with him on most issues - ending the war in Iraq, providing better healthcare (we actually think Hillari has a better plan here, but he at least wants to try), funding alternative energy research, etc. Whatever it is, the guy is likable and charismatic. What’s more, he spoke for over 30 minutes extemporaneously and kept our attention the whole time. (I’d love to see our current president try to wing it like that for 30 minutes…) It took up most of our day, but here’s to hoping we just saw the next president of the U.S.!
I’ve been buried in classes and haven’t been doing much of anything other than school related stuff as of late, so not much to post. Here’s my round up of the last few weeks:
I just received an email from a friend with this link rating Bank of America as the worst bank in America. In case you don’t recall, I predicted this several months ago when they took my money and days of my life away, all because they screwed up multiple times! I knew I wasn’t alone in cursing Bank of America.
Peas, wonderful peas… We have a garden! I don’t think I mentioned on here that back in February we planted snow peas, tomatoes, and cucumbers. The snow peas grew like pubescent teenagers, so we’ve spent the last couple of weeks harvesting snow peas for salads and Chinese dishes. Unfortunately they are starting to die (we think it’s the heat - yes, it’s already 80 degrees here daily), so they may be a short-lived crop, but we’ll replace them with something else. We also have zucchini, watermelon, and basil growing too. We’re hoping to have quite the little harvest this summer.
Finally, in case you haven’t heard, the presidential hopefuls (Obama, Clinton, and McCain) turned down a chance to debate science and instead opted to “debate” faith (read: see who can claim to have the most faith). What a sad day for America… Judge a candidate not for the faith she wears on her sleeve but for the prowess of her intellect and her grasp of the issues facing the world. Alas, no, it’s not to be. America is more interested in a divine pissing match than real issues…
Okay, now go check out this article from the St. Petersburg Times on the War in Iraq and the costs - both financially and in human lives. When you’re done reading that article, come back to this page, check out the cost clock again, and write down the number. Now do me a favor and post both numbers in the comments. I just thought this would be a good way to see the cost of war…
Second, if you happen to live in Florida (or even if you don’t), you may be interested in this editorial in the St. Petersburg Times about attempts to tear down the wall between church/state to start handing out taxpayer money to religions. I spent 20 minutes emailing all of the members of the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, encouraging them to not go down that road. I don’t have a problem with people being religious and with most religions, but I do have a problem with my money paying for their religions (which it already does enough of considering religions aren’t taxed). They are voting on these issues Thursday, so, if you are going to email them, do it soon!
I just received an email from a friend with 
