If you’re not going to be in Houston for the Green Party Convention this weekend, you’ll still have a chance to get some hot 3rd party action right here in good old Fort Worth.

The Texas Libertarian Party will be holding their state convention this weekend at the Radisson hotel Fossil Creek, where Libertarian Party Presidential nominee Bob Barr (man, his website looks really similar to Obama’s) will be speaking.

If you feel like your voice isn’t heard or your views aren’t represented by the two major parties, you’ve always got alternatives!

During her speech to the Texas State Democratic Convention, Chelsea Clinton confirmed that her mother, Sen. Hillary Clinton, will formally endorse Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in a speech tomorrow.

Okay, so it turns out that the scuttlebutt I was hearing about the “Fort Worth” rally actually being in Denton was wrong. Just announced today is the final time, date, and location for Barack Obama’s appearance in Fort Worth.

The Senator from Illinois will be appearing at the Fort Worth Convention Center Thursday night. The doors open at 6PM, and the program begins at 8, but I suggest you show up early if you want to be sure to get in.

(The above sung to the OLD David Letterman “Letters” theme.)

Just a couple of things that have been floating around the Fort Worth rumor pool and have made their way over to us in the deep end:

Could Fort Worth finally be getting a Whole Foods? Someone with connections to the corporate offices assures us that we will, but as yet there’s no address. I’d like to suggest the old Carnival location on 8th Ave. It’d be nice to see a company like that take a chance on an up-and-coming neighborhood. I suspect, though, that it’s destined for the West Side or somewhere in the West 7th/Cultural District area. (Note to Whole Foods: Although the area outside the 820 Loop is technically “Fort Worth,” you’d be stupid to put your store there, because there’s no incentive for anyone to drive that far from the westside or downtown when Central Market is so much more, well, central.)

On the political front, I’m hearing from sources close to the negotiations that Sen. Barack Obama will not be appearing in Fort Worth proper, but rather his “Fort Worth” rally will actually be in Denton. That sucks, but if it’s on a weekend, I’ll be there, because the musical act lineup is looking pretty awesome, with some big name local and national acts in the works. I can’t share more now, but as soon as I find out more and can post it, you bet it’ll be here.

When Jenna and I got to the T&P station in Fort Worth, the woman at the ticketing kiosks asked us if we were headed to Dallas for the Obama Rally. We responded proudly that we were, and she said that a group of “like 500 people” had been there for the first train of the morning, heading over for that as well.

I was afraid that we wouldn’t be able to get in if that many people were already lining up that early.

Fortunately, Reunion Arena holds 19,000 people, so we made it in, along with nearly 17,000 of our fellow North Texans, to hear Barack Obama give his stump speech.

I’ve been to a Billy Graham revival meeting, and that’s exactly what this rally felt like. Obviously the place was going to be full-up with Obama supporters, but I guess I didn’t expect them to be THAT enthusiastic.

I was really surprised at the lack of pomp and circumstance in the event. (Apparently we didn’t get into the arena early enough to witness the pomp or the circumstance.) It kicked off a little late because the organizers were trying to squeeze as many people as they could into the arena and still keep it safe for everyone involved.

Then local Obama supporter Ron Kirk (former Mayor of Dallas) took the stage to get the crowd fired up. After him came Emmit Smith, who really got things rockin’.

After an introduction by a young Hispanic man (sorry I didn’t catch your name, dude), Obama took the stage. He thanked various local people and groups for about 5 minutes, then launched into his stump speech.

As you can see, the crowd was surprisingly diverse. I don’t know the actual breakdown, but I know that Jenna and I were most definitely not in the majority there. It made me feel good about the political climate in the country that Obama is not only getting a chance to run, but also that he’s by most measures the front runner to be our next president.