Blogging for Michigan is going to Denver!

A nice honor was bestowed on Blogging for Michigan by the Democratic National Convention Committee yesterday. They were picked to participate in the State Blogger Corps at the convention in Denver this August.

Howard Dean made the announcement yesterday:

"Similar to the record-breaking voter turnout our Party has seen during the primary season, the demand for these coveted blogger positions is yet another indicator of the tremendous interest in this historic Convention," said Governor Dean. "The Internet has played a critical role in connecting Americans to elected officials and candidates seeking office. The DemConvention State Blogger Corps will continue to foster this dialogue - in all 50 of our states and our territories too - as we head towards this year's historic election and elect a Democrat to the White House."

The DNCC previously announced an expansion of the credentialed blogger pool from past Conventions and the addition of a state blogger credentialing program. As part of the new DemConvention State Blogger Corps, designed for bloggers covering state and local politics, bloggers will receive unparalleled access to state delegations and the floor of the Convention hall. In a truly unprecedented move, the DNCC will seat these bloggers with their respective delegations during the historic four-day event, providing even greater access for local coverage and perspective. Highlights from these blogs will also be featured on www.DemConvention.com in the lead up to and during the Convention.

One blog was selected from each state and territory. You can check here to see the list of other winners picked from a field of more than 400 applicants. The applicants not selected will still be eligible to be part of a General Blogger Pool.

As many of you know, I'm a front-pager at Blogging for Michigan, so I was thrilled to hear we were chosen. (No, I'm not going to Denver, someone has to stay home and tend the hearth.) Although I help provide content to the blog, BFM is the brainchild of Christine Barry and Cathleen (wizardkitten) Carrigan, and it's their hard work that deserves to be recognized. Even more amazing to consider is the fact that BFM just celebrated their 1st birthday at the beginning of May! Those ladies are dynamos! (Not to take anything away from the other guys and gals who contribute to the blog or course, but those two are the primary contributors.)

So, as you might imagine, we've all been pretty excited since we got the news (on the same day Obama and Edwards came to Michigan no less!), and it was a kick to wake up to an article about us (wizardkitten in particular) in USA Today.

Dispatches from this year's Democratic National Convention will be penned by writers with names like wizardkitten and appear in bloggingformichigan.com and other sites, as well as coming from more traditional names, newspapers and television broadcasts.

The Democratic Party on Wednesday chose 55 bloggers who will have access to the floor of the Denver convention representing 54 states and territories and Americans abroad. Wizardkitten — aka Cathleen Carrigan, a 42-year-old Michigan blogger and former rock-band bassist — said the news that her blog was selected "thrilled" and "overwhelmed" her.

Picked from a field of 400 applicants, members of the State Blogger Corps will blog for their state and be seated with their delegation during the August convention. The fact that Democrats haven't decided whether they will seat delegates from the disputed primaries in Michigan and Florida won't affect Carrigan, but she still remains optimistic she will be alongside her delegation.

Wizardkitten is also optimistic a Democrat will be our next president! Blogging for Michigan plans on doing whatever it takes to help make that happen.

Postscript: I wanted to make sure I recognized all the other hard working bloggers in our state. Michigan is fortunate to have so many great ones (check the side bar links or click here) and I'm certain many of them will be picked to be part of the General Blogger Pool.

A little self-promotion

Three things happened to me this week that I wanted to share with everyone. First, I was invited to become a front-pager at Blogging for Michigan and I accepted. BFM is a relative newcomer to the blogging scene here in Michigan (I believe they started up in July), but they hit the deck running and haven't stopped since. Check them out. They have many talented, progressive bloggers that provide news and commentary on issues that affect us here in Michigan from the local level all the way up to Washington.

I wasn't sure I'd fit in since I tend to write about everything from soup to nuts (hence the title of this blog), but they assured me my posts didn't have to be Michigan specific and that anything I wanted to contribute would be welcome, it was all good. So, I decided I'd give it a try and see what happens.

That brings me to my second bit of news. Earlier in the week, I posted this at BFM: Our children are not safe around Republicans. It's about the smear campaign directed at Graeme Frost and his family by right-wing conservatives. You can click over and read it if you're interested. Frost is the 12-year-boy who suffered a brain injury in a car accident and continues to receive help through the SCHIP program. Anyway, that post was mentioned by Bill Scher at Tom Paine/Common Sense today!

Scher specifically said, Michigan bloggers are out in full force, and besides my post at BFM, he also mentioned posts at Michigan Liberal and Michigan Class Notes. Kudos to those blogs! Michigan definitely has a strong group of progressive bloggers and this proves it.

Finally, I have to thank Abi for something he dug up on the internet in response to my post: Must See TV: George Gipp. The Gipper's body was exhumed from a Michigan cemetery earlier this week for DNA testing without much explanation, but Abi found two entries on an ancestry bulletin board that "might" explain why. A woman claims her grandmother may be the Gipp's daughter and an author currently writing a book about the football player answered her and said DNA testing could be arranged. Anyway, since Abi posted his comment, my count meter has been zooming and 75% of the people are reading that post and his comment.

That just goes to show you that dead celebrities generate more interest than politics!

Have a good weekend.