The DNC

Political leanings aside, I was not too excited for the Democratic National Convention to come to Denver. I viewed it mostly as an interruption and as the primary reason we had to start fall semester what felt like ridiculously early this year. As with any situation however, the DNC ultimately had both negative and positive consequences for me during its week in town.

Although I personally avoided the downtown area during the DNC's reign over Denver, its presence inconvenienced many of my friends who live in that area, and thus vicariously affected me likewise. Some friends complained to me repeatedly about certain road closures, which I found tiresome after awhile. Similarly my own fear of facing potentially insane traffic and mass amounts of people convinced me not to partake in certain downtown activities that I would have otherwise. In this way, I found the Democratic National Committee a bit of an obstacle.

Although the DNC precluded my venturing downtown, I truly appreciated it for the gift of time it gave me. I enjoyed having week-long break from school (who wouldn't?!). I was able to work more hours, thus making some extra cash. Also, I used a portion of the week to move all of my stuff into my brother's old room. He moved out for good in August and, as I have been eyeing his room since I was a sophomore in high school when he originally left for college, I jumped on the opportunity to finally move down there permanently . In the process of moving, I want through a lot of stuff and got rid of significant amounts of old junk; on some level you could say the DNC afforded me a sort of cleansing experience.

Homelessness

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2-3% of the U.S. population experience at least one night of homelessness over any given five year period. This statistic caught my attention because, even though I regularly notice homelessness people on street corners and in parks in downtown Denver, I never gave much thought to homelessness as an issue that effects what equates to 5 to 8 million individuals. With the DNC coming to Denver, the city has made many strides to put its best face forward, including preparations such as planting flowers, repainting parking lines, and assuring security. City officials have also made an effort to make the homeless population disappear during the week of the convention, offering day passes to the zoo and one-way bus tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S. I have to wonder, however, whether, instead of hiding such a blatant subsection of society in order to increase the city's prestige, perhaps politicians should attempt to make more long lasting strides in alleviating these homeless individuals' situations. After all, the Democratic Party stands on a platform of being the party of the people. They should turn their attention to the dire needs of the homeless during their convention, instead of merely pretending the problem does not exist.

First Blog Assignment

http://www.slate.com/id/2197433/

I found Jack Shafer's call for a press boycott of the upcoming political conventions highly compelling. Maybe I found myself amenable to his arguments in part because Denver's role as host for the DNC seems like nothing more than a great hassle to me, but Shafer's arguments definitely made me wonder all the more about the actual point of these conventions. Shafer's arguments about the cost and lack of actual significant happenings of the conventions made sense, yet his humorous undertones kept him from seeming overly confrontational. His subtle use of humor kept me connected to him throughout the article. I also like how he even inculpated his own organization, pointing out his embarrassment that multiple Slate reporters will attend each convention. Overall, I believe Shafer succinctly and effectively made his point.