humid

image (above) from Nola Artists Fund

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Last night, I have learned something about y'all that I find disturbing:
there are comfort whores among us.

I mean no disrespect. I sit in air conditioned comfort sipping a luxurious iced beverage whenever possible. Yet beauty often involves pain, truth is more expensive than truthiness, and, regardless of humidity, Yearly Kos 2007 must be held in New Orleans.

Recently, a couple of diaries / polls were conducted (click on yearly Kos tag to go to them,) many intriguing choices were put forth, and what seemed like a large contingent of Kossians favored Chicago. Whether or not the polls were hacked, I am willing to debate vigorously against that city as yKos '07 locale.
Having lived there for about six years, I have to say that Chicago summers are as hot and humid as anywhere else, but without as much air conditioning, without architecture and an infrastructure built to handle the gruesomeness since the season is so much shorter up there than in the south.
There are less trees, iced tea probably still comes in a tiny juice cup, and pollution hovers in the not-a-dry-kind-of-heat. Sure, it's on a lake, but it is unlikely that we will be staying literally on the shores of Lake Michigan. I know I can't afford to stay at the Drake.

Admittedly, what is really stuck in my craw is the superstitious notion that humidity renders New Orleans uninhabitable (and even un-visitable!) in the summer months. Yes, it's hot, yes it's steamy, but the city is so old that much of it has been designed to cope with those factors, since throughout most of the city's history there was no such thing as air conditioning and people were expected to wear many layers of clothing.
(So put on your damned seersucker pantalettes and take one of those "hot yoga" classes or something - we can train for this!)

I have always loved the sultriness of the southern pace: hearing a long, soft drawl in someone's speech, standing around for an hour making a roux... i was born in the north but once I learned about these other ways of living, I knew I was home. The key to surviving humid conditions is surrender- don't try to fight it- take a rest, sip a drink, and enjoy the dewy appearance of your skin (and the skin of others around you.)

Warmth & airborne water vapor are necessary for life to flourish fully. Do we not want our netroots to come to its fullest flower?

Yearly Kos is a political netroots convention - and one in its near infancy. How could we possibly ignore New Orleans and everything it stands for at this point in our communal history?

I understand the logistics of Las Vegas for the first year. However, the message sent inadvertently by such a location choice could use a second-year update.
There is a lot of talk about affordability and convenience, and those are understandably important. Yet so much of what we profess to honor and hold as our values here within dKos is about making the right choice, even if it is more difficult, even if it costs more or takes longer. I see it all the time- people choose organic produce for a host of reasons, even though it is less readily available and more expensive. People choose urban planning over sprawl, hybrid vehicles or public transportation over sport utility vehicles, reading over watching tv, xeriscaping and organic gardening rather than wasting water and using toxic chemicals. And those are just individual choices; the wider progressive agenda is filled with similar concepts that, while challenging, are ultimately more worthwhile.

I hope that we collectively strive for such a solution by having
Yearly Kos 2007 in New Orleans.

y'all don't want to make me work a root on you now... ;)