Live from Chapel Hill... it's Wednesday afternoon!

There's plenty of seats left @ 3:00pm.

Filling up but there's still 15 or so seats left.

It sounds like a pretty full (and happy) crowd. Al says the topic today is grassroots organizing and the guests include:

Jerry Meek, NCDP
Barry Saunders, N & O
Mike Nelson, Carrboro
Mark Kleinschmidt, Chapel Hill
...and some others I didn't catch.

It's interesting that Al brought up the death penalty moratorium, I wonder if he was aware what Mark K. does for a living?

There's some definite turnover - so I imagine you'll get a seat during any of the breaks.

As far as guests, I think the last was Paul Wellstone's UNC mentor Schwartz.

I like Meeks comment about bringing the game to the Republicans - like calling for energy independence - a point Al followed up with a rhetorical "After 9/11..why wasn't there a crash NASA style program to get us off oil?"

It's interesting that Meeks keeps talking about "giving the people" this and that...I don't think that's how grassroots really works - at least not in the post-Dean era. Shouldn't the ideas be flowing up the chain? What's this "giving" stuff?

Looks like a bunch of people had to head of to class or work. Plenty of space at the 1pm break.

Also, here's the Franken blog's post about today's show with a little more info about the guests and bunch of unrelated comments.

Barry Saunders is on now. What's up with the fedora? They're talking about Fred "godhatesfags.com" Phelps coming to the Triangle!

If you're interested in triangulating the response to the show, Paul Jones and Sally Greene are live 'blogging the event.

One neat thing about being here is I wouldn't of never known Al stands to sing the welcome to Christy Harvey of the American Progress institute.

Mark K. is getting to explain the recent recent unpleasantness. It's great that Chapel Hill's tolerance is getting some national play.

I wonder how our friends at the Herald feel listening to their news-partner's program host repeatedly calling the N&O the region's leading newspaper.

Saunders is discussing the Phelpsians coming to town to protest the "Laramie Project". Al joked
that the Phelp's clan is very good on staying on message.

If you're not familiar with their message, here's a bit of local recent
history where the enlightened "I see dead churches" Called2Actioneer's Dr. Hamm tried to get Mark
Kleinschmidt to repeat it for the Council.

Considering how well the Neocon Republicans corral their candidates to stay on message, they stilll could learn a thing or two from the Phelp's - a clan that has honed their message of hate to
the point of dullness.

Since Coach K. came up again - it was interesting that an audience member shouted out that Coach K. hosted a fund-raiser for Elizabeth Dole. I don't know if all the hissing this comment created in the crowd made it on the radio.

Mark K. is up next. This will be the second incidence (at least that I'm aware of) of major national exposure he's received in less than two months.

One minute.

Mark K. flushed when Al asked what Mike Nelson meant by "off and on" five year relationship.

Al's joke about lesbians being the "threshold" gay person to break the political barrier.

Mark and Mike did great! Katherine had Mark tell the story about the carpet-bagging right-wingers' futile attempt to get the Town Council to stop supporting gay rights.

I wish they would have let Mark talk more about the death penalty, but I'm glad they let him weigh in on it. That seems to be emerging as the theme of this show.

For the technically inclined, the Franken show seems to be %75 committed to Macs. Wish I had a Mac as my IBM T30's batteries both died in less than 1 1/2 hours.

It was great that Al did ask Mark about the dealth penalty issue. Mark luckily told Al about his day job in passing just before the interview.

I'm hoping Mark K. and Mike N. will post their impressions of what it's like to be on the other-side of the microphone.

If you're a regular listener to the Franken show you probably already figured out how integral Katherine Lamphor is to the Al Show.

Sitting here, it's more obvious than on the air. She's had a subtle but steady-hand on the flow of the show.

Sally has a monstrous talent to 'blog. Maybe she'll be one of those pioneering talents that could move fulltime on to the 'net.

And, thanks Paul, for the
kind comments.

The show is beginning to wind down with the last guest being Joel Schwartz, a good friend and mentor of Paul Wellstone.

Joel gave an incredibly touching speech at the commemoration of the Wellstone Memorial Benches located halfway between South and Wilson on UNC's campus.

Joel said that Paul told him (just prior to his death) that he planned to vote against the authorization for the Iraq war.

Joel pointed out that instead of costing Paul votes in his election, Paul's stance against the Iraq mess actually seemed to help.

That's it. It ends with Joel S. and Al, heads together, sharing a personal story about Paul W. (something about Paul's stature being a possible liability).

I listened on the old fashioned radio & the Coach K - Dole moment came thru loud & clear. Funny stuff.

It was a great show, except that it was depressing to hear someone like Meek reeling people in to squander their energy with a political party that has failed in every meaningful way to contain the Republican's societal destruction. Like blowing into a balloon with holes in it.