While we at DailyKos tend to fixate on Presidential and Congressional races and issues, it’s worth pausing from time to time to look at local races and think about how they can have much more of an impact on our daily lives. As Tip O’Neill once said, "all politics is local." While he was talking about the way in which concerns at home shape representatives’ actions in D.C., it’s true that in terms of making a difference, each of us pretty much has to start on a micro-level in our own neighborhoods.

It was with this idea of shaping the politics close to my home that I decided to volunteer for Randi Shade, a candidate for Austin City Council Place 3. I know her campaign manager, Marti, as we live in the same precinct and are both delegates for Obama to the Texas Democratic Party Convention. I liked the idea of being able to have a greater impact on a race due to its size and proximity to, well, me.

With that in mind, yesterday morning I arose bright and early to block-walk for Randi Shade. Photos, videos, and a few anecdotes below.

"Why bother?"

This is the question Michael Pollan poses in the New York Times Magazine today, wondering why Americans make the effort to reduce our carbon footprint and do right by the planet when so much of the rest of the world seems willing to pick up the slack in our stead. Global warming is proceeding faster than the scientific models predicted, and most rational folks will conclude that whatever we might do, it’s probably too little, too late.

This is the last weekend to help Obama in Pennsylvania! We’ve all seen the great photo diaries from last night’s 40,000+ supporter rally in Philly. Obama’s leading the news across the Keystone State.

Now, Obama needs your help to capitalize on this attention and turn it into VOTES. Remember, folks, it’s votes that count. How do we get more votes? Easy – we make calls. Today, it’s all about phonebanking, and Obama needs your help.

I’ve got a community phonebanking diary set up here, and to make it more fun for you all, a few local Philly celebrities have agreed to drop in and encourage us. More from them on the flip.

Greetings, folks. No diary tonight -- we're in need of contributors to keep the series going.

Got something on your mind? Please proffer it as a future diary topic. We're up every Thursday from now until we run out of issues that plague young voters.

Again, we welcome contributors who are over 35. Many fine Kossacks have shared their ideas on everything from prognosticating the future to professional attire to financial management. So please, don't hesitate to share.

Folks, we’ve got one week until the Pennsylvania primary. Time to hunker down and do all we can to help Obama close that gap.

All week, several Kossacks and I will post these action diaries to remind you how you can help Barack Obama in Pennsylvania. Today: phonebanking, contacting friends, and donations. More below.

We have so many insightful and powerful diaries written here at Daily Kos. Our diaries inform, inflame, impassion, and even entertain. We Kossacks have strong voices and an even stronger will to be the change we wish to see in this country.

One of the richest, and perhaps most under-appreciated, areas of thought come in the form of comments attached to these diaries.

Here at Top Comments we strive to recognize and promote the talent of this community by highlighting outstanding comments found throughout the day by the diarist, and through nominations at made at topcomments at gmail dot com by your fellow Kossacks.

These nominations are subjective, and certainly not complete (as no one can read the complete site on a daily basis!). But hopefully they will serve to shine a light where deserved, and to give the reader a good starting point in finding conversation on the site.

Please come in and make yourself at home! Join us beneath the fold...

Welcome back to Kossacks Under 35, the regular series for DailyKos users under 35, and those that just pretend to be on the internet.

As we get back into the regular swing of things, I thought we could talk tonight about an issue that impacts all of us, several times a day at least. A subject that for some has deep political impact, not to mention the ability to both destroy relationships and bring people together.

Cooking.

That’s right, cooking.

Join me on the flip for more.

We have so many insightful and powerful diaries written here at Daily Kos. Our diaries inform, inflame, impassion, and even entertain. We Kossacks have strong voices and an even stronger will to be the change we wish to see in this country.

One of the richest, and perhaps most under-appreciated, areas of thought come in the form of comments attached to these diaries.

Here at Top Comments we strive to recognize and promote the talent of this community by highlighting outstanding comments found throughout the day by the diarist, and through nominations at made at topcomments at gmail dot com by your fellow Kossacks.

These nominations are subjective, and certainly not complete (as no one can read the complete site on a daily basis!). But hopefully they will serve to shine a light where deserved, and to give the reader a good starting point in finding conversation on the site.

Please come in and make yourself at home! Join us beneath the fold...

Yesterday, as you may have heard, the Texas Democratic Party held its County and State-Senate District conventions to certify the results of our election-night precinct conventions. While you might have already seen my pictures, there are plenty of other DailyKos diarists who offered their own unique perspectives on their respective conventions.

More on their experiences below!

Hey, folks!

I'm exhausted, so this will be heavy on the photos and light on the context. I spent a lot of the day running around with a clipboard so I missed a bunch of stuff, but I will do my best to recollect. Other folks from Travis Co., feel free to chime in. Also, add your photos!

Unfortunately, the lighting in my pictures is not so great, because my camera lacks a setting for "crappy flourescent lighting in a rodeo arena." Oh well.

Sign ins, after it had calmed down.	People inside the Expo Center, upper decks.	A delegate from the BEST precinct in Austin, TX, Pct 136!!

Tomorrow, Texas Democrats will attend their County and State Senate District conventions to certify the results of their election night precinct conventions. This will determine once and for all that Barack Obama won the most delegates in Texas.

This diary contains the information you will need to either attend your convention, follow the results online, or help Barack Obama by calling delegates and alternates in Texas and urging them to attend.

IMPORTANT: If there are any problems with your County / State Senate District convention, call the Obama hotline: 512-476-2002. Calm, cool and collected volunteers will be standing by. This is the number for all of Texas. Put it in your cellphone now.

"Obama Gains Delegates in Texas!"

That’s what the headlines will read on Sunday, if you make it happen.

This Saturday, Texas will hold its Democratic County Conventions and State Senate District conventions. Until Saturday, election-night caucus results are NOT certified. The delegate totals predicted from March 4th are approximations. The final delegate numbers all depend on who shows up this Saturday. All the precinct conventions did was determine which people go to their County or State Senate district convention, in what proportion for each candidate from each precinct. The real numbers are determined by the sign-ins at this weekend's conventions.

We need to turn out all of our Obama delegates and alternates. I need you to call Texas delegates and alternates and make sure they can attend. There are too many numbers for those of us in Texas to do it alone. You all did such an amazing job calling Texas the weekend before the primary. Can I count on you, one last time?

So you’re going to your Texas County or State Senate District Convention this Saturday as a delegate for your candidate of choice. Good news! This diary contains the basic information you need to do your delegate duty. I’m going to cover the basic who/what/where/when, give a rundown of what happens at the conventions, and provide more links than you can possibly click through between now and Saturday.

Important: If you are going to your convention as an Obama delegate, alternate, or observer, make sure to RSVP here. If you want to receive some training beforehand find a training event near you.

And while the information in this diary may be largely candidate-neutral, I’d just like to say that we’ve already Baracked the Vote, we’ve Baracked-Us the Caucus, and now it’s time to bring our BO-mentum to the Convention.

(Ok, that was horrible. I apologize.)

Snow and Donuts, or What I Saw and Ate on my Winter Vacation.

I’m not going to bore you with too much context. Suffice to say, I went north where the baked goods are better and the weather is cold enough to snow. Philadelphia, NJ/NY, and Montreal. Here are some pictures, as I actually don’t really have any funny anecdotes to relate from the adventure. (I know! Odd!)

If you don’t like looking at other peoples’ pictures, this diary is not for you!

What have you done for Barack Obama lately?

This contest isn’t over yet. We may be winning in states, votes, and delegates, but we need to do all we can to protect Barack Obama’s lead. We’ve got a tough primary calendar coming up, and we can’t slack off now. Have you gotten complacent? Too much mass-media negativity got you worried? You’re in luck: there’s a time-honored cure for frustration and anxiety, and it’s called action. Today, Obama needs you to give just one hour of your time to his campaign. Make calls. Write letters. Donate.

Join other Kossacks below as we report on our efforts. We’re hoping for a few field reports from Pennsylvania, and I’ll be posting pictures from my precinct’s Action HQ after 2 p.m. Central, where we’re making calls. But don't just sit back and watch other people act. We have to do it ourselves!

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

--Barack Obama

Attention Superdelegates:

When Barack Obama is the Democratic Nominee for President, I will give his general election campaign more time, energy, and money than I have ever given any candidate before. I will eagerly vote for him, knowing that Barack Obama has the unprecedented opportunity to turn my very Red State back to Blue. However, my one vote is the least I can do for Barack Obama, in the grand scheme of things. What matters is that I will do all I can to help him win the election, and I will encourage everyone else I know to volunteer and contribute to his campaign as well. Most importantly, in this sentiment I am so energized to know that I am not alone.

Attention Superdelegates:

If Hillary Clinton is the Democratic Nominee for President, I will not give her one dime of my money or one minute of my time. I’ll vote for her—I’m a Democrat in a Red State, and for this reason I feel it is my duty to do so. But my one guilt-laden vote is really nothing, in the grand scheme of things. What matters is that I won’t help her get elected, and I won’t encourage anyone else to volunteer or vote for her, either. Most importantly, in this sentiment I know I am not alone.

This is a re-post of a diary I put up yesterday. I want to make sure more people can participate in our phonebanking drive if they're interested. If this is not your bag, feel free to click along!

It’s not over.

Yes, many of us hoped that "Super Tuesday II" would end this long and increasingly divisive primary campaign, but unfortunately that did not happen. Barack Obama still leads in states won, delegates, popular votes, and money raised, yet Hillary Clinton shows no signs of stepping aside gracefully for the good of the party. Barack Obama will be the nominee, but we’ve got to do our part to help him get there.

This is where you all come in.