MoveOn PAC Rally

Lady and I want to the MoveOn PAC rally at the Sheet Metal Workers Union in South Philly. It was my first venture into a union hall. It was a great gathering of what I'd say was about 2000 people or so.

Julia Stiles spoke, I can't stand her movies, but it was nice to see a fairly articulate Hollywood personality speak at a rally in a union hall. Vanessa Carlton, a Pennsylvania native, got up there too. She's 24 and this is the first election she voted in. I say did because she already mailed in her absentee ballot. Jessica Lange got up there too. She wasn't scheduled to talk. Apparently, she's done quite a bit of work with UNICEF in the Congo.

A couple got up to speak about their son who they lost in battle during the "war" in Iraq. The mother was incredibly eloquent despite being so overcome with emotion. It pains me to see these parents during these rallies and in documentaries like Lila Lipscom in F9/11, but we do need to hear their stories and honor what their children gave up.

Al Franken was the keynote speaker. He came on after the parents. He mixed in his comedy while making some good points. He also threw in a few of his impressions of Dick Cheney and my favorite, Donald Rumsfeld.

We stuck around and tried to meet Al, but to no avail. We waited around patiently, right behind him, but others just grabbed at Al. I didn't get to say hi, but it's OK.

Here are some pictures from the rally. They're not the greatest in quality though. I forgot to change the ISO setting to a higher speed. I did get a couple of nice shots though, so check them out anyways!

Comments

[ixtayul]

Nice coverage of the events. Love the shots. As the election draws near there seems to be more Political action in Philly. Lucky you. Keep up the good work.

[dragonballyee]

It really is quite a change from NY. While there is so much activism in NY, since PA is a swing state now, there's a heightened sense of urgency here. And there's no way to escape all the ads on TV. Wolves! Ostriches!