At the rally today

I took today off from work to attend the ALIPAC rally in downtown Raleigh. I was helping provide the internet audio feed so that people could listen live to the rally via the web. I was asked to be there at 8 AM. I did not comprehend why I would have to be there at 8 for an 11 AM rally, but OK. I left early, found where I was going, and got a parking space. It turned out that I was being asked to be a lobbyist today and help knock on the doors of state legislators and senators. I had no idea that I would be expected to do that today. If I did understand that, I would have dressed more business like. I wore some old jeans, sneakers, and a short sleeve button shirt. I thought I was just going to be a guy in the background that was running the podcast audio.

I got to see how some things run at the state level. I have been asked in the past to go and do this sort of thing with a gun rights group. Now that I know what to expect, I may just agree more readily.

I got to meet a few people that I had talked to on the phone, either through one of my podcast shows or in conversation. I also got to meet people who are legislators from all over NC, from SC, and from various anti-illegal immigration groups. Among them was someone I have seen on TV and read about.

Chris Simcox is co-founder of The Minuteman Project. For quite sometime, I have been wanting to go to the southern border and join the Minutemen for a tour. I have often though of spending my vacation doing just that. I got the chance to talk to him a little bit. He personally went on a lobbying tour with some of ALIPAC's leaders, as well. Here is Chris's project web site. I got his contact information and may work with him for an interview when I start my podcasting again.

The picture is one I took of Chris Simcox with my tiny digital camera that is disguised as a cigarette lighter. He was right next to me at the time. I thanked him during the rally told him that I appreciated the work he has done, regardless of what Penn & Teller had to say about him. He chuckled and said that he actually had fun filming that episode with their crew. By the way, Simcox is not to be confused with Jim Gilchrist.

You can even catch me in a shot or two of the news coverage on News 14's web site. I find it amusing that Ms. Chen gave more face time to an opponent of the speakers at the rally than anyone speaker there and used extraneous, useless file video footage. But of course there is no bias in reporting nowadays...yeah, right. I just caught WRAL's news footage, but it is not on their web site yet. I did see myself in the background on WRAL, too. Doggone, I am not exactly beautiful.