Calitics - Blog Roundup

Blog Roundup Subscription Information

jsw — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 05:53:37 GMT

Calitics is about to restart our regular Blog Roundup feature. You can get them one of four ways:

The Regular Ways

1) Just read Calitics.

2) Just read Calitics' existing RSS feed.

The Newfangled Spiffy Ways

1) The Blog Roundup RSS Feed.

2) Subcribe to get your Blog Roundup fix by email, either by clicking this link or entering your email address below:

Look for regular Blog Roundups to start this coming week.

Blog Post on SB 1381, a bill that would require GE food labeling in California

Belinda Martineau — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 23:10:06 GMT

I'm brand new to calitics; I joined today at the suggestion of a friend who thought the calitics community might be interested in a piece I wrote about SB 1381, a bill that would require genetically engineered foods in California grocery stores to be labeled. I'll paste the piece here but you can also check it out at biotechsalon

Rebuttal to Statements Against SB 1381, The California GE Labeling Bill
Posted on April 8, 2014 by Belinda

Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) has introduced a bill, SB 1381, which would require genetically engineered (GE) foods in California's retail grocery stores to be labeled starting in 2016. I'm in favor of this bill because, as stated in its text, "California consumers have the right to know, through labeling, whether the foods they purchase were produced with genetic engineering, so they can make informed purchasing decisions." Consumers in 64 other countries can already make such informed purchasing decisions; the food industries in those countries (and in the U.S. when preparing foods for export) already handle the logistics required to label GE foods; doing the same for foods sold in the good 'ole U. S. of A. should be a slam dunk.

But proponents of GE foods are still fighting against labeling anyway.

Statements made against SB 1381 prior to the bill being approved by the Health Committee of the California State Senate late last month amounted to a defense of genetic engineering technology comprised of definitive-sounding claims of "overwhelming scientific evidence" that GE food products "are completely safe" and mention of multiple, highly regarded scientific organizations "none of which have found any evidence" of problems with these foods [emphases added]. A plant scientist at UC Davis also said claims that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "does not properly regulate" GE foods are "not true" and that these foods are "fully vetted."

But, as I've been pointing out on this blog, the state of the science and regulation of GE agricultural products is not nearly as black and white as these statements made in opposition to SB 1381 indicate. And for anyone to make truly informed decisions-about GE food purchases or GE labeling or anything else-mention should be made of the shades of grey.

For example, as mentioned in the text of SB 1381, the FDA "does not require safety studies of GE foods. Instead, any consultations are voluntary...." While every GE food on the market today may have gone through this voluntary consultation process with FDA, that need not necessarily be the case for future GE foods and feeds. There have already been cases in which developers of GE crops have refused to provide answers to additional questions asked by FDA; there was also the case of Bt10, a GE corn variety that was accidentally commercialized without having gone through the voluntary consultation process with FDA.

The current system of regulating GE crops and foods in the U.S. uses agencies and laws designed with "traditional" agricultural products in mind; loopholes exist in it through which some GE crops could escape regulation altogether. While others (obviously) disagree, I do not consider the current system in the U.S. to be the "proper" way to regulate the powerful technology of genetic engineering.

As also mentioned in SB 1381:
"Genetic engineering of plants and animals can cause unintended consequences. It has been demonstrated that manipulating genes through genetic engineering and inserting them into organisms is an imprecise process. The results are not always predictable or controllable. United States government scientists have stated that the artificial insertion of genetic material into plants via genetic engineering can increase the levels of known toxicants or allergens in foods and create new toxicants or allergens with consequent health concerns."

These statements are all true. And in the less than 20 years since GE crops have been commercialized, we've already had examples which raised heath concerns. One was StarLink™ corn. Although it has never been established that the Bt protein in StarLink corn-which behaved like a human allergen in multiple pre-market tests-actually caused allergies in humans, the U.S. corn crop was nevertheless monitored for the presence of StarLink's GE protein for seven years after it was discovered in human food products and taken off the market. (The StarLink incident also gives an idea of how long GE crops can persist in the environment.) Even with no concrete evidence of harm, regulators did not deal with that particular GE corn product as if it was "completely safe."

Such is the concern over unintended consequences that a "Committee on Identifying and Assessing Unintended Effects of Genetically Engineered Foods on Human Health" was established by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council of the U.S. National Academies. The committee's report promotes "postmarketing studies to further assess both intended and unintended effects" and suggests that "epidemiological studies may be helpful in the postmarketing phase...."

SB 1381 also notes that "mandatory identification of foods produced with genetic engineering can provide a method for detecting, at a large epidemiological scale, the potential health effects of consuming those foods."

Yet an opponent of SB 1381 stated (in the Health Committee meeting on March 26th) that epidemiological studies would not be helped by "general" labeling of GE ingredients.

I am not an epidemiologist and so will not comment on that claim except to opine that even general labels should make the task of tracking down unintended health effects somewhat easier than no GE labels at all. (I invite any epidemiologists reading this to chime in on this topic.) Instead I'll ask: what is the alternative? Identifying the specific GE protein or other active GE component that has been added to a food, as was done for the protein conferring kanamycin-resistance in the Flavr Savr™ tomato nearly 20 years ago?

That is apparently no longer a viable option at this juncture. After the FDA treated the GE protein in Flavr Savr tomatoes as a food additive, following the laws on the books for regulating food additives, the agency announced that no other GE protein added to a food need go through that process. The food additive door was shut and replaced with the voluntary consultation process.

The bottom line is that the federal government has let Americans down on this issue. That's why grass roots initiatives and individual state legislatures are taking it up.

Unintended consequences can, and have, happened as a result of using genetic engineering technology to alter crop plants. Until very recently, there had been no long-term studies of individual GE foods and those that have been published have been attacked...and yet not repeated, the usual hallmark of scientific response to technical disagreement. As a scientist, I find that very disappointing.

And yet I am a supporter of the use of genetic engineering for basic science. I was also an early adopter of GE foods, feeding GE Flavr Savr tomatoes to my child back when they first hit the market in 1994; I and other early adopters purchased so many of those tomatoes, despite (because of?) the fact that they were clearly labeled as having been "Grown From Genetically Modified Seeds," that the company producing them couldn't keep up with demand.

Based on the Flavr Savr tomato, the only example we have in the U.S. of a labeled GE food, the labels SB 1381 would require will not necessarily "stigmatize" GE foods. Nor is SB 1381 about forgoing the powerful technology of genetic engineering; agricultural problems like citrus greening are still being addressed using genetic engineering despite concerns about the public's wariness.

What SB 1381 addresses is the downright un-American status quo that denies American citizens the choice to decide for themselves whether to adopt a powerful new technology being applied to their food. That's it.

In poll after poll, the majority of Americans indicate they want that choice, a choice citizens of 64 other countries already have.

Kudos to Senator Evans for introducing SB 1381 so that Californians might, after the nearly two decades since the GE Flavr Savr tomato was first introduced into commerce, again have that choice.

Hundreds rally for education funding

rbayne — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:44:59 GMT

By Randy Bayne
The Bayne of Blog

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger received a gift of nine works of art by local school children yesterday. The artwork was created "to save public education" by children and their parents at the Davis farmer's market and third-graders at Dry Creek elementary in Roseville and included a piece titled, "Evil Money-Grubbing Robot Seeking to Destroy Public School."

Twenty students participated in the presentation and asked for the governor's help to get the framed paintings put on display in the Capitol.
While the children went inside to deliver the paintings, more than 1,000 members of the California School Employees Association (CSEA) and other supporters of public education rallied outside after a march from the Sacramento Convention Center where CSEA is holding their annual convention. On the final leg, marchers were escorted by school children pulling wagons loaded with broken and outdated school equipment, including broken music stands, outdated textbooks and flat soccer balls.

All of these children standing here with us today deserve the best chance we can give them to achieve their hopes and dreams for the future," said CSEA President Allan Clark. "It's time for our elected leaders to step up and commit to saving education."

Parent Lonnie Buck from Plumas Lake said he is worried that his 10-year old won't get the "gold standard" education that drew the father to California from Mississippi.

"I understand better than anyone the irony of California and Mississippi resting at the bottom of the school rankings," Buck said. "I've watched our schools trying to keep up with less and less all the time."

Student Mariana Rojas said budget cuts are having a disheartening effect on students.

"The budget cuts have undermined the determination and the inspiration and the spirit that we all need so much," Rojas said. "Some of my classmates have become hopeless - hopeless in a land that was built on dreams and hopes. My goal has become the goal of so many others - we should all be fighting for our education."

California continues to rank nearly last in the nation in per-pupil spending. Thousands of local schools have cut art and music programs, school transportation, tutoring programs, school libraries and countless other programs and services. Speakers called on state legislators to keep the promise they made to students in last year's budget agreement and reject the $4 billion cut to public education proposed by Gov. Schwarzenegger in his May budget revision.

"Reason Not the Need": Housing Policy and Jobs

Vikingkingq — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:43:18 GMT

“O reason not the need! Our basest beggars
Are in the poorest thing superfluous.
Allow not nature more than nature needs,
Man’s life is as cheap as beast’s.” (Lear, II iv)

The Problem:

If there is any one area of American life that best expresses the adage “poverty in the midst of prosperity,” it must be housing. Even as thousands upon thousands of homes now stand empty, vast swathes of speculative suburban developments along the highways and hills of California turned into ghost towns, homelessness has increased. In Washington D.C, the number of homeless families has increased in the last year by 15%, with similar figures being reported in New York City and other metropolitan centers. Even when the sub-prime boom was spreading home-ownership wide and far and actually beginning to make headway against the unequal distribution of housing in America, in 2006, 8.8 million households were paying more than half their income in rent (I was probably one of them). Major systemic problems (the lack of affordable housing and workforce housing near where people work, the need to in-fill versus sprawl, racial and class discrimination) were not being addressed, even when the market was flush.

It isn’t flush now. If ever there was a need for proof that “spatial mismatch” and “credit discrimination” exist, we can find it in the fact that at a time when thousands of houses are empty rotting shells, that people who want and need housing are being turned away by banks who have suddenly become paragons of fiscal rectitude.

At the same time, the national unemployment rate currently stands at 9.4%. Within the construction industry, unemployment stands at 21%. Within California, the situation is even worse, with an overall unemployment rate of 11.5%, and a construction industry that’s down 150,000 jobs from last year. While I fully expect that the stimulative effect of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will begin to ameliorate this situation within the next six months, I personally was calling for an even larger jobs bill at the time.

I think we can tackle both problems at the same time.

The Solution:

Public employment programs – like the Works Progress Administration (WPA)- have a special affinity for has been called “light construction.” In its eight year existence, the WPA built nearly 40,000 public buildings, and rehabilitated or improved another 80,000, despite the fact that most WPA workers actually did road construction. Those 120,000 buildings included 6,000 new schools, 2,170 school expansions, and 31,000 school modernizations, 322 new or improved hospitals, and 6,400 public office buildings. Even if you divide it up yearly, it still comes out to 15,000 buildings a year, done with only a fraction of its 3.5 million strong workforce. In my own research, I have found that the one thing that the WPA wasn’t able to do, that administrators and experts within the WPA like Emerson Ross, Jacob Baker, Alan Johnstone, Nels Anderson and a handful of other almost completely forgotten New Dealers wanted to do, was build housing.

As you can see in the above memo written by Jacob Baker, the plan to expand the New Deal’s employment program to 3-6 million men (far bigger than the WPA eventually managed), also went hand in hand with an attempt to deal with the chronic market failure to provide affordable housing in the city core. This insight, the drive to kill two birds with one stone, is one that we should follow today.

My suggestion would be for the Federal government, along with the state and local governments, to go into areas where the housing market has failed (large proportions of renters paying more than 50% of income in rent, housing values far out of sync with median incomes, large numbers of abandoned foreclosed properties, or a lack of affordable housing in general) and do three things: first, to restore and rehabilitate derelict housing and second, to build new housing units where new housing is needed in central cities, and third, to destroy “ghost towns” that are now nothing of blight in such a way that as much of the materials can be saved as possible.

If we were establish a Housing Progress Administration (HPA) to employ 5 million unemployed workers (many of whom would no doubt be former construction workers) to do this, and we paid $24k a year (assuming an overhead rate of 30%, which is actually 10% higher than the WPA”s historic 20% rate), making a deal with states and localities to pitch in for the cost of land and materials, it would cost approximately $155 billion per year. If we kept the program going for the next two years, at which point economic growth would start to transition into employment growth, it would cost $310 billion – less than half the cost of the stimulus bill. And it would create at least 5 million jobs, nearly the total number of jobs lost in this recession.

Now the question becomes, what do we do with this new housing? I have a few suggestions:

Selling At/Below Cost – the wonderful, undiscovered virtue of the public sector is that it doesn’t have to make a profit. If we were to sell the new/reclaimed housing at or below the cost of construction, we could begin to reverse the impacts of the sub-prime collapse, by getting low to medium income families back into housing with low-rate, FHA-backed mortgages, instead of crooked, ballooning loans. Moreover, by moving thousands or even millions of people back into housing would help defray the cost of the construction program, pushing it well below $155 billion.
Giving Away Housing – in cities with high rates of homelessness, one of the most successful recent programs has been to simply give homeless people housing for free. For the 17% of the homeless who work, it simply gets them over the obstacle of putting together first-and-last plus security deposit; but for many more, getting a mailing address and a phone number, a place to clean their clothes, and so forth is a huge helping hand towards getting a job and staying off the streets. Even if we don’t make any money back on giving away housing, we would be solving a major social problem and a major human crisis.
Establishing Rental Co-ops – finally, we should recognize that home-ownership is not the only route to economic security, and that our public policy needs to do more to ensure that renters get the same kind of government assistance that home-owners get from the FHA, HOLC, tax breaks, and other public policies. Thus, in addition to providing new housing for sale, the HPA should also create a variety of apartment buildings and single homes for rent, working with local housing groups (yes, like ACORN) to establish local rental co-ops who would operate and maintain the units.

In the face of manifest human need and the gross waste of our current system, what else can we do but help?

On The New President, Or, The World Doesn't Change All In One Day

fake consultant — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:25:33 GMT

Those who follow this space closely will know that we, from time to time, scout around and see what the other members of my blogging community are up to.

The "Blogpower" bloggers are primarily based in the UK, but others are located in the US, Canada, Australia, Italy...and even the Sudan.

We'll see how they reacted to the US elections-and we'll discover that while many are happy, it's not all strawberries and cream out there.

We'll meet the happy, we'll meet the silly-and we'll meet the not-so-very-happy as well.

So with that said, let's head over to the UK, shall we?

"When as the rye reach to the chin,
And chopcherry, chopcherry, ripe within,
Strawberties swimming in the cream,
And schoolboys playing in the stream..."
--George Peele, "The Old Wives Tale"

Not quite 100 miles north of London, and roughly 100 miles west of Amsterdam lies a whole bunch of lovely farm country, which includes Norfolk, where the "Norfolk Blogger" is one of the happy. No longer will the USA seem as though we are "putting two fingers up to the world", we are told (for the benefit of Americans, the "peace sign" is not always seen as peaceful...); and in fact, it's "Now for America to become the "good guys" again", as the blog's title reminds us.

Our friend Ellee Seymour, besides being one of the happy, is also the one who is checking up on her fellow bloggers' predictive skills, as she reviews who was more right about the outcome, and those who were, shall we say, not exactly right at all.

There is advice to be had, as well. Matt Wardman, over at the "Wardman Wire" cautions us that "landslide" talk is helping no one. (Be sure to follow the comment thread for a most informative list that shows the margins of victory for every Presidential election since 1900.)

Thunder Dragon notes the problem of Presidential lame dickitude and the apparent pointlessness of the G20 economic summit--unless Obama attends.

Some offered advice just before the election, as well. Our friend Hercules presented cautions that seem to have also been well represented in the official John McCain message...and Ruthie Zaftig suggested people like Hercules should basically get over it.

And on a completely different subject "The Tangled Rope" blog reminds us that the Fifth Annual Worldwide Admire Your Genitals Day was celebrated November 6th...

More analysis: "A Conservative's Blog" is worried about possible protectionist tendencies from an Obama Administration, "The People's Republic of Birmingham" hopes that expectations are not impossibly high, and Andrew Allison reminds us that voting against Obama is not a sign of racism...even as he expresses his appreciation that the US has elected a President "...who can string a few words together in grammatical English..."

Analysis of the day: the "Capitalists @ Work" blog compares the 2008 and the 1860 Presidential election maps, creating some serious electoral déjà vu...and suggesting the possibility of "Republican dreams gone with the wind".

"It must be some measure of the catastrophic decline in Australian cricket that there are blokes in the squad these days who have not even published an autobiography, let alone a barbecue cookbook."
--John Huxley, "The Sydney Morning Herald", Nov 10, 2008

Australia's "Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe" offers Obama two llamas and three bananas, along with the observation that Obama wasn't the only world leader who acceded to power this past week.

Vancouver, BC's "The Conscious Earth" reminds us that political apathy is often related to the question of who's running...

Returning to the UK...the Emperor Camillus, the conquest of the Etruscans, and the never-ending question of how a Senate deals with a fiscal windfall are questions addressed by the most excellent "Westminster Wisdom" blog.

Tuscan Tony, the master of mixing the moderately naughty with Conservative politics, brings us the truly important electoral results: Whirl of Change has defeated Straight Talk Crunch in the Baskin-Robbins "Flavor Debate '08!", marking the sixth and seventh times politically inspired flavors have been tried at the ol' 31 Flavors.

There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.
--Gautam Buddha

I am myself forever guilty of this habit...and it is fair to say that I would not be here today if it were not for my habit of doubt-and there are two members of my community who have substantial doubts about this new President.

From "The Two Wolves" come concerns that the US has become a nation that votes based on race...and from the "Pub Philosopher" we are asked, basically, just how happy should liberals really feel if Obama is elected and California passes Proposition 8 on the same day?

We're almost at the end, and since we are talking about doubt I wanted to bring to your attention a blog from the Sudan that is not a part of our Blogpower community, "Soul Searching"; who sees the election's demonizing of "Muslim" Obama as a setback for Arab-Americans.

The final blog: my own. I challenged myself to dress Sarah Palin in the finest of clothes, from Saks' and Neiman's no less; and to do it for a mere $43,000-2/3 off the Republican National Committee's expenses.

The point: could you trust an Administration to spend $150 billion if they couldn't handle $150,000? Two stories full of Oscar de la Renta and Miu Miu later, not only did we do it, we did it under budget.

So there you go...we learn a bit about what folks are thinking, we get a few cautions, and we are reminded that this is our chance to redeem ourselves...if we don't screw it up.

Round-up of recent GLBT-related events w/analysis

homoaffectional — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:55:39 GMT

[x-posted to Daily Kos]

I am looking for people who would be willing to collaborate with me in an attempt to continue something similar to a very comprehensive project that gave "grades" of gay rights legislative, judicial, and executive bodies on the federal, and state/provincial levels in the US, and even the rest of the world, that, until recently, was done by Bill Myers. You can see one of the latest versions of it available on the web here, courtesy of The Wayback Machine. I could especially use someone to keep track of events in California as they happen.

The recent Field Poll suggesting that a majority of Californians are indeed ready to reject bigotry, though often touted as a very positive development (and rightfully so) hasn't been thoroughly analyzed in either the newspapers or blogs.

The most interesting development is the change in sentiment among the Hispanic community - in February of 2000, 39% supported civil marriage rights for gay people, while 55% didn't, with 6% undecided. In last month's field poll, 49% said they were supportive, 42% were opposed, and 9% were undecided.

In all the brouhaha about equal marriage descending on California, what may have gone unnoticed is how this may or may not affect the Domestic Partnership that Kevin Walker and Scotty Wandell entered into on the season finale of Brothers & Sisters, depending on whether or not the writers choose to have the B&S universe follow ours (for one thing, there's no way in hell California should have a Republican senator, regardless of whether or not he's considered a moderate, though it's hard to believe he would have gotten away with voting for an amendment banning gay marriage in CA). The obvious thing would be to have them take the final step and get full-on married. But what would be interesting to see is if, Kevin, who hasn't ever declined an opportunity to give Senator Robert McAllister grief for his vote on the federal marriage amendment, would be actively campaigning against the state amendment in a storyline we would be able to see bear out parallel to what happens in our universe on November 4th.

Speaking of couples taking the next step, Greek's Calvin (played by Paul James) and Michael (played by Max Greenfield) kissed on the May 26th episode of the show. But don't get too excited. The scene which featured the couple of gay kisses between the two (both in a row) were presented in a shadowy way, and you could mostly only see their silhouettes. Even so, that much alone is very interesting since Greek airs on the same channel that is the home of none other than The 700 Club -- ABC Family.

Here's what the key players had to say about it:

Paul Lee, president of the ABC Family Channel, in a web interview from last summer:

I've actually not heard anything negative at all about [Greek's] Calvin. We're very open about the storylines that we're going to cover, and I think very responsible in the way that we cover all topics, not just 'issue' topics. I mean, these kids are at college.

Tim Wildmon, president of the American "Family" Association:

If they want to have a relationship as gays or homosexuals [portrayed on television], you can do that, in our view, that's okay. "We don't approve of it because of our worldview, but we understand that gay people are real people and part of the social fabric of our country. [But] what's the next scene, a bed scene? Do we show them doing other kinds of activities? All we're saying is let's draw the line at kissing, at physical activity and beyond.

And summed up by Brent Hartinger, an AfterElton.com columnist:

By his statement above, Wildmon basically concedes that the AFA doesn't object to gay characters and gay relationships on television. This concession alone is revolutionary, even if it was probably spoken, at least in part, to fool a pro-gay Canadian radio audience into thinking the AFA is more reasonable than they actually are. But Wildmon's only argument for drawing the line at kissing? Because it'll somehow lead to actual gay pornography on television.

Another expert on gay themes entertainment is Jenni Olson. She was the brainchild between PopcornQ, a comprehensive database of GLBT themes in film. But like this attempt at blogging, , she doesn't wish to restrict herself to entertaining topics. She argues in a rather serious editorial in The Advocate that since FTM Shannon Minter who one of the lead plaintiffs on the case that resulted in the landmark verdict in favor of equal marriage rights in CA, we ought to return the favor. She wants to persuade us to... um... advocate for only a trans-inclusive version of The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to pass Congress. Let's hope Speaker Pelosi listens to her and the overwhelming majority of gay rights groups and activists that do not feel it is fair to leave our trans brothers and sisters behind. Every bill that has passed the California state legislature in the last decade or so that could include the gender identity and expression categories did not leave them out if the categories were applicable. Now, let's do our part to make sure the US House and Senate follow California's lead.

Meanwhile, a shareholder resolution to formally add a nondiscrimination policy to the books at ExxonMobil was voted on last month, getting 39.6% of the vote, almost two percentage points higher than last year, but obviously short of a majority.

If you, like me, have been following this for a while, and thought Exxon was bad, you should see just how bad it is at Dish Network.

The good news is that it's a lot more meaningful to boycott one cable company in favor of its equality-oriented competitors than it is gas from one chain in favor of a fair-minded oil company. And besides, it looks like there won't be many gas stations with the ExxonMobil banner printed on their signs for much longer, anyway.

Finally, contrast Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick's handling of his daughter Katherine coming out to him to how disgraced multiple election-loser Alan Keyes handled it when his daughter Maya did. Keyes even makes Dick Cheney look good by comparison.

"Body of War" Premieres in Los Angeles with PDA Benefit

lindasutton — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:52:37 GMT

One hundred and ten Progressive Democrats of America members and their guests filled the center section of the Nuart Theater in Los Angeles for the premiere of Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro's new film, "Body of War." It was a sold-out house and a very special evening for everyone lucky enough to have gotten their tickets in advance.

The "Body of War" is the story of Tomas Young and his journey from healthy young man from Kansas to that of the face and body of the broken warrior returning to his country, disillusioned by the lies that sent him to war and a leader who jokes about non-existent "weapons of mass destruction." Tomas begins his new life paralyzed from the chest down in a wheel chair. City riding in an unarmored Humvee on his first mission into Sadr City, he had been shot above the collarbone.

In the front row with us was one man who has lived his life this way since Vietnam, Ron Kovic, author of "Born on the Fourth of July," which became the Oliver Stone movie of the Vietnam generation's war.

"Body of War" is that film for the Afghanistan/Iraq generation showing what Tomas now must endure to adjust to this changed life and take care of himself. Scenes include his marriage, discussion of sex with a Vietnam vet with a similar injury, and the demonstration in Washington with the Gold Star Families whose sons and daughters did not come home. We all cried with them as they reached out and touched the son who had returned (http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1172373785/).

Overlaid between scenes of Tomas' new life is the roll call that took us to war. We watch as our senators parrot the White House talking points, almost word for word, and vote FOR the war. California's own Dianne Feinstein and Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton are joined by Democrats such as Bayh (IN), Breaux and Landrieu (LA), Cantwell (WA), Reid (NV), Schumer (NY) and, of course, Lieberman (CT). For the complete roll call, go to: http://www.senate.gov/legislat...

The final moments of the film are with now 91-year-old Senator Robert Byrd, who as the lone voice implored his Senate colleagues to NOT rush the vote for war. Senator Byrd meets with Tomas in his Senate office and carefully takes down the framed list of the vote and honored the "Immortal 23" who in HJR114 stood with him against the race for war. He called it the most important vote he had ever cast. From the record he slowly reads:

NAYs ---23
Akaka (D-HI)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chafee (R-RI)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corzine (D-NJ)
Dayton (D-MN)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Graham (D-FL)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Reed (D-RI)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Wellstone (D-MN)
Wyden (D-OR)

The film ends with Tomas Young in his wheelchair and Senator Byrd with his cane leaving the capitol together, both having "mobility issues" and both not knowing what tomorrow shall bring.

Winner of the Best Documentary award from the National Board of Review, the film is the collaboration of Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro as co-producers. Eddie Vetter provided the original soundtrack music.

It is currently showing for ONE WEEK at the Nuart theater in Los Angeles,
(310) 281-8223, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West LA (Just west of the #405)

Go to the website: http://www.bodyofwar.org/ for links to other cities where it is currently playing.
###

50 State Roundup

Brian Leubitz — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 01:19:22 GMT

<b>Brian's late edit:</b> Thanks to Betsy from BlueNC for doing this.

We're down to the final days before the North Carolina and Indiana primaries. We have a complete primer on the North Carolina primary process posted at BlueNC.

In North Carolina the excitement has spilled over to the down ballot races. It's the biggest year I can remember in my voting life. I was 14 the last time North Carolina had a say in who would be the Democratic nominee. I'm almost 46. At this rate it may never happen again in my life, so I'm enjoying every minute of it. I can even get past the negative ads so that I can celebrate the unprecedented voter registration numbers and so that I'm prepared to help the other North Carolina races take advantage of the organization efforts once all eyes are on to the next state.

On to the roundup:

Iowa
demoinesdem has taken to providing a "McCain Shameful Behavior Roundup" to help us keep track of the myriad reasons not to vote for him

Wisconsin
Uppity Wisconsin traces the history and legacy of Earth Day and its founder, Sen. Gaylord Nelson

New Mexico
The Center for Independent Media launched the New Mexico Independent with FBIHOP's own Matthew Reichbach as a writer for the new online news source.

Texas elects its judges, which can lead to a whole mess of issues. Texas Kaos traces one of those issues related to campaign contributions in Connecting the Dots-Texas Justice Edition.

Alabama
Homewood Alabama Mayor unilaterally decided to give John McCain's campaign an 80% discount on room rental for a fundraiser and provided free inmate labor for setup. Previously, a Homewood citizen was required to pay the full charge for the room to host a Democratic event there.

Virginia
"Dominion has been making up the truth in Virginia for a long time, but, thanks to the efforts and activism of people like you, its days of unchecked power are coming to an end."

South Dakota
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are turning their attention to the South Dakota primary on June 3.

Texas
Burnt Orange Report, having just celebrated its 5th Anniversary as a blog, is a member of the Texas Blog PAC which just endorsed its first candidate with a $5000 check.

California
The Budget Deficit is growing, it's now at $10 Billion.

Arizona
Bob Lord, challenging John Shadegg in AZ CD-3, practices what he preaches with solar polar

North Carolina
BlueNC favorite Larry Kissell is featured in a well-written article in The Nation magazine while despicable Patrick McHenry is featured in Roll Call as having paid for an employee's legal defense out of his leadership PAC. His offense? Voter Fraud.

West Virginia
At West Virginia Blue Clem outlines why Obama is the best candidate for West Virginia and for America.

Indiana
Indiana Blue gives us a rundown on delegate math - the Indiana and Guam editions.

Vermont
Vermont's latest attempt at campaign finance reform goes down in defeat.

North Dakota
They are seeing double in North Dakota....or at least they're trying to.

Ohio
Zack Space has a little more job security.

Michigan
At Michigan Liberal, Perfectstormer decides that being out is better than being silent. Bravo.

Odds & Ends April 22

Brian Leubitz — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:57:29 GMT

The eyes of the nation are upon Pennsylvaia, but there's still a lot going on right here in California. So, here are a few stories of note:

(SacBee) Remember that big plan to privatize the lottery that was going to bring in billions upon billions of dollars? Well, it turns out that potential bidders don't really like the way our lottery works, and want us to make some changes before they'll pony up. Of course, that requires a vote of the people, so it might be a while before Arnold's billions come rolling in.
(LA Times) A federal court is hearing a class action lawsuit against the VA alleging gross incompetence. Over 120 veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan commit suicide, while the backlog for services grows. Good to see that the Bush Administartion supports the troops on TV, too bad they don't do it in real life.
(SF Chron) The fight between CNA and SEIU continues in court today, with SEIU arguing that CNA's restraining order violated the rules against SLAPP suits, thus infringing their first amendment rights.
The board (CCCC) that regulates salaries for elected officials meets at 10AM in Van Nuys. A note to you legislators out there, don't expect big pay hikes today. (h/t CapAlert)
Arnold has now dropped over $1.25 million into the redistricting initiative, and is hosting a fundraiser tonight. And, of course, he convinced his good friend "independent" Michael Bloomberg to drop $250K in as well. And oh, by the way, he still clings to the notion that McCain can win California. I think he should have a chat with Maria.
(SR P-D) Gas is expensive. Thanks for the insight there. I couldn't tell that by looking out the window, I need the media to confirm it for me. Incidentally, McCain's Dole-retread idea of pausing the gas tax would be disastrous for our infrastructure needs, and it's not clear that the oil companies would even pass the savings on to the consumer. Obama calls him out on it.

What else is going on?

50 State Roundup

Brian Leubitz — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:00:00 GMT

How's the tension at your favorite national blog community? Take a break from all the nastiness and drop by your favorite state blog for a change. Look in on our statewide and local races.....just stay away from the presidential primary threads. They bring a whole new meaning to March madness! Here are a few posts from last week and the roundup for March 14, 2008, over the flip...

Illinois
Barack Obama's ad endorsing Bill Foster for Denny Hastert's abandoned seat in the 14th District caps an exciting week of new endorsements and good news in the polls

Wisconsin
mal contends argues that as a superdelegate, U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin should reject Hillary's burn-down-the-house strategy and throw her support to Obama

Indiana
7th District special election news includes coverage of the latest debate

Iowa
Senator Tom Harkin introduces The Complete Streets Act of 2008 to promote street design that benefits all users, not just motorists

Michigan
Michigan Liberal starts off Women's History month with profiles of Michigan's 22 female Democratic state lawmakers

Minnesota
An endorsement in Minnesota's Third district race, currently 9th most likely to flip to the Dems according to the Washington Post's The Fix...

Texas
Burnt Orange Report makes an attempt at humor in the presidential contest and asks people to "OMG, Plz stop w/ teh stupid!!1".

Georgia
Rand Knight, candidate for U.S. Senate goes to a worthwhile conference, can't take a joke and is overly sensitive. Read the comments to learn why.

California
The Sacramento Bee published a database of all state employees, with their names and salary info, online. Privacy is last year's concept.

Ohio
Ohio GOP Committeemen are getting into the spirit of throwing around the 'ole "Hussein" Reference to Obama. Glad to see the Republicants are really backing off that one. Not.

Iowa
desmoinesdem is pleased to report that a bill requiring all counties to use voting machines with paper ballots is moving forward in the Iowa legislature.

Nebraska
Three months after a tragic shooting at an Omaha mall that left eight dead, the NRA has flexed its might in the Nebraska Legislature, perverting a stong bill that would have addressed the problem of gun violence to actually make handguns more accessible.

Virginia
Virginia Republicans get mainly "F"s when it comes to the middle class. Virginia Democrats get "straight A"s. Virginia Republicans get mainly "F"s when it comes to the middle class. Virginia Democrats get "straight A"s.Virginia Republicans get mainly "F"s when it comes to the middle class. Virginia Democrats get "straight A"s.

South Dakota
Check out the interview with George McGovern on Democracy Now! Check out the interview with George McGovern on Democracy Now!Check out the interview with George McGovern on Democracy Now!

West Virginia
As the ENDA act banning employment discrimination against gays made it further than ever before in the W.Va. legislature, some delegates covered themselves in appalling shame with excuses for not passing it. You won't believe what they had to say.

New York
Daily Gotham rips the Spitzer administration (for incompetence) and the Bush Justice Department (for partisan malice that the media are completely ignoring) and New York republicans (for hypocrisy).

Ohio
Visit Ohio Daily Blog for frequent roundups of news and notes on Ohio's contested congressional and local races, such as this one on the congressionals.

Oregon
Think blatant and embarrassingly ignorant prejudice against gays is dying off? Unfortunately, not on the Republican side of Oregon's State Senate. Now with bonus slurs on African-American colleagues!

Alabama
Alabama's Bush Dog Bud Cramer decides not to run for re-election this year, just 3 weeks before the filing deadline.

Illinois
After winning the special election last Saturday, Rep. Bill Foster makes his first comments and first vote Tuesday

Wisconsin
Obama picks up another superdelegate in Wisconsin's 7th District

New Mexico
There's an investigation into a GOP vote-buying scandal in New Mexico.

North Carolina
Mecklenburg Co. schools in North Carolina adopted an anti-bullying policy that includes bullying based on an individual's real or perceived race, color, sex, religion, creed, political belief, age, national origin, linguistic or language differences, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, socioeconomic status, height, weight, physical characteristics, marital status, parental status, or physical, mental, or sensory disability. ...

New Hampshire
Why elections matter.....at Blue Hampshire.

50 State Blog

Brian Leubitz — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:18:34 GMT

I'm headed off to Texas here in a bit, and juls is off to Ohio. This weekend should be really interesting heading into what might be make or break primaries. Over the flip, check the 50 state roundup.

California
Karen Bass will become the new Speaker of the Assembly. She will team with Senator Darrell Steinberg to lead the California legislature for the next two years. She is the first female Democrat to lead the Assembly.

New York
Daily Gotham reports on endorsements in a Congressional race beginning to heat up in New York's 13th District. This one is all that stands between us and a free-of-republican-Congressmen New York City.

Iowa
noneed4thneed reports that corporate groups are already funding television and radio ads attacking some Democrats in the Iowa House.

North Dakota
What if one of the people spreading the crazy lies about Barack Obama is a senior Republican member of the North Dakota House of Representatives?

Kentucky
In the wake of the KY debacle two weeks ago with the state party in the Senate primary, BlueGrassRoots made a Wiki project to give Kentuckians the informational tools to "infiltrate" and take over their party at the local/county level.

Washington
Nicole Brummitt is mother of a son whose father is incarcerated in Washington and transferred to a private prison in Arizona. In her story, $3.3 billion company profits of the pain of incarcerated Washingtonians and their families, she sheds some light on Corrections Corp of America. Washington Department of Corrections currently contracts with CCA. In a time where we are seeing crime decrease in Washington there is also a strange epidemic of the prison population increasing. More prisons and more prisoners means more profit for CCA.

Virginia
The Virginia GOP says it won't stoop to smearing Obama, allowing the media to talk about smearing Obama. Every Virginia GOP representative voted against energy efficiency last week.

Texas
Sen. John Cornyn tried to swiftboat Democrat Rick Noriega by calling on him to release his military records. Looks like that backfired as Noriega released them and his records are stellar.

New Mexico
Outgoing Senator Pete Domenici is a shill for Big Oil and an opponent to alternative energy proposals.

Oregon
Vicarious Thrill Dept: It was endorsement week in Oregon, and everybody went Obama. Senate candidate Steve Novick offered his highly-developed support for Obama, with primary competitor Jeff Merkley following up with his own version, as well as a dig at Novick for not endorsing him HARD enough. But maybe the most important blessing came from a new Oregonian who may actually be more popular than Obama in the state: Greg Oden got a call from Barack and tells us in his blog diary he will cast his first vote for Prez this fall for Obama.

Illinois
A bill to correct some of the state's over-reliance on local property taxes for education by "swapping" out a portion with the state income tax is making its way through the Illinois Senate

Iowa
Shows of support for an Iowa House bill that would make it easier for moms to breastfeed will include a "nurse in" at the State Capitol next week

Indiana
Another nutty complaint was lodged against the Andre Carson campaign this week

New Jersey
Paid family leave is one step closer to being a reality in New Jersey.

North Carolina
Greg Flynn at BlueNC covers the drought that extends to every area of North Carolina. Not one area of the state is spared.

New York
The Albany Project deconstructs the GOP spin the day after an historic state Senate win of an upstate seat in republican hands for 128 years.

Arizona
Rick Renzi "Staying the Course" in Arizona while facing a 35 count indictment and many years in prison if found guilty.

Alabama
Thirty-one counties in Alabama lack a hospital offering maternity care, yet midwife assisted home birth is not legal in the state. The Alabama Birth Coalition organized a march on the State House last week advocating for legislation to allow licensed midwives to practice in Alabama.

Wisconsin
Rabid wingers in Wisconsin tur "mistakes" molehill into "voter fraud" mountain.

Ohio
An eloquent self-produced video reflects the excitment building for Obama in all across Ohio, in Testimonial and Field Report From Morrow County, Ohio

West Virginia
At West Virginia Blue they're going after Shelley Moore Capito. The woman doesn't stand a chance.

Pennsylvania
Democrats in Pennsylvania want Ralph Nader to pay his legal bills from his last failed run for President before gaining access to the ballot in the state this year.

Missouri
Show Me Progress outlines the qualifications of Andria Simckes who is running to be state treasurer.

Minnesota
Barack Obama picked up two more superdelegates in Minnesota this week

Nevada
Freshman Rep. Dean Heller (NV-2) is among the worst in Congress on Children's issues according to the Children's Defense Fund. The Clark County Democratic Convention in Las Vegas to allocate delegates for Obama and Clinton for the state convention ended up in a big mess with a do-over necessary. Here's an eye-witness account.

Kentucky
BlueGrassRoots has the inspirational story of lobbying to restore voting rights for felons.

Maine
Maine's Morning Sentinel apologizes after headline reads "Video shows Allen burning flag"

50 State Roundup

Brian Leubitz — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:22:02 GMT

Thanks once again to the good folks at BlueNC for putting this together. Check the roundup over the flip
Rick Renzi's under indictment, Sue Myrick gets caught with her fingers in the cookie jar - possibly legally, Patrick McHenry has questions surrounding just about everything he does, John Shadegg can't make up his mind. How many more Republicans will get caught up in legal or ethical controversies prior to November? One way to stay on top of this is to follow along with the state blogs. We're discussing our congress critters and their shenanigans long before it hits the national scene. Stop by. Check us out. You too can be the first to know. Here's your roundup for the week:

New Mexico
Republican Senate candidate Steve Pearce says legalizing same sex marriage will lead to legalized pedophilia. Classy.

California
The California Yachting association wants you to call the California Republican Party and thank them for not taxing your yachts!

Virginia
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th) politicizes the Iraq Study Group

Texas
Krazypuppy at Texas Kaos thinks John McCain may have gotten a bit too smart for his own good. FEC Investigates McCain, May Be Forced to Use Public Financing.

North Dakota
North Dakota's Republican Realtor-legislators and developers plan to build the Emperor a new prison using hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars so they can subdivide public riverfront land and build McMansions and starter castles.

Alabama
Payday lending vultures thrive where "fake Christians" have political power.

Maryland
Art Brodsky of Public Knowledge comments on a bill to collect information on broadband deployment.

Nebraska
Republican Attorney General Jon Bruning claims to be "surprised and disappointed" by the Nebraska Supreme Court's declaring the electric chair an unconstitutional form of capital punishment. Nevermind that the notorious hypocrite is on record as a state senator predicting and expressing support for the court's decision.

Oregon
Rasmussen polls the Oregon Senate race, and finds Gordon Smith vulnerable, two strong Democratic challengers running within range despite low name ID. The Oregon Republican Party admitted this week the IRS has a lien on their assets, they're a quarter million dollars in debt, they got kicked out of their already crappy strip mall office, and they owe AT&T 60 grand. So much for effective GOTV in that open seat in CD5!

West Virginia
Keeping an eye on the right in W.Va., first with "Cartoon: Maynard and the 3.5 Million Dollar Man respond" and next with... Keeping an eye on the right in W.Va., first with "Cartoon: Maynard and the 3.5 Million Dollar Man respond" and next with...Keeping an eye on the right in W.Va., first with "Cartoon: Maynard and the 3.5 Million Dollar Man respond" and next with... Keeping an eye on the right in W.Va., first with Cartoon: Maynard and the 3.5 Million Dollar Man respond" and next with... a look at coal industry Sludgeroots"

South Dakota
If Steve Kirby runs against Tim Johnson, he'll be making a big mistake. If Steve Kirby runs against Tim Johnson, he'll be making a big mistake.If Steve Kirby runs against Tim Johnson, he'll be making a big mistake.

Vermont
Ben Cohen redecorates his vehicle for Obama

Minnesota
In an important race, some Dems are doing their best to be as dirty as possible in Minnesota's Third district open seat race.

Chris Baker gives a moving personal perspective on the Clinton legacy in Ohio in The Prodigal NAFTA.

Kentucky
BlueGrassRoots carpetbombs Chuck Schumer, Gov. Steve Beshear and the KY Dem Party for the Horne/Lunsford debacle that let Mitch McConnell off the hook. Chuck Schumer responds by slamming the KY blogosphere. Falsely.

Nevada
NV-02: Jill Derby announced this week she'll seek a rematch against Republican freshman Congressman Dean Heller.

Louisiana
Supporters of Gilda Reed held a 24 hour blogathon fundraiser for Democratic Candidate Gilda Reed at Daily Kos. All of the posts are linked to here. Supporters of Gilda Reed held a 24 hour blogathon fundraiser for Democratic Candidate Gilda Reed at Daily Kos. All of the posts are linked to here. Supporters of Gilda Reed held a 24 hour blogathon fundraiser for Democratic Candidate Gilda Reed at Daily Kos. All of the posts are linked to here. Supporters of Gilda Reed, including Ryan of the Daily Kingfish, held a 24 hour blogathon fundraiser for Democratic Candidate Gilda Reed at Daily Kos. All of the posts are linked to here. Here's a look at one of the Democratic candidates' ads in LA-06 Here's a look at another one of the Democratic candidates' ads in LA-06

Michigan
Some thoughts on how to do better GOTV in Michigan

North Carolina
It's been rumored for years, but BlueNC outlines how Republican Sue Myrick is legally(?) pocketing hundreds of thousands in campaign contributions.

Arizona
At AZNetroots Shadegg is back in an Renzi is out......for a loooooong time.

Colorado
At Squarestate, they're laughing at The Heritage Foundation.

Connecticut
At My Left Nutmeg, they take at look at Lieberman as McCain's VP.

New York
Daily Gotham sees a brewing fight between party establishment and netroots in New York.

Idaho
They're discussing bigots in Idaho at 43rd State Blues.

Illinois
Illinois GOP Advocate Wants Women and Girls Investigated for Using Birth Control.....This is not a joke.

50 State Roundup

Brian Leubitz — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:36:35 GMT

There are some interesting stories coming out of the 50 State community blogs. If you don't see your favorite state on the list check out the state blogrolls at Open Left and MyDD.

Texas
Phillip Martin of Burnt Orange Report lays out the strategy of how Barack Obama can win Texas.

Oregon
First recorded version of Ginsberg's HOWL was in Berkley, right? Nope--a new discovery puts it at Portland's Reed College, 52 years ago this Valentine's Day.

Michigan
Clinton, Obama campaigning for - but not IN - Michigan

Iowa
desmoinesdem discusses the preferences of Iowa's superdelegates and notes that Democracy for America has endorsed Ed Fallon, who is challenging incumbent Leonard Boswell in the primary to represent Iowa's third Congressional district.

New York
The Daily Gotham diagnoses a rebellion among national Democrats and wonders what that means for the State of New York.

Texas
As the focus on the Democratic Presidential Primary shifts to Texas, Fort Worth Is Fired Up and Ready to Go!

Arizona
Incumbent Republican John Shadegg is out of the picture in AZ CD3 and Bob Lord has received increased support from local and national Democrats.

California
Arnold Schwarzenegger talks a big game about putting all options on the table, but won't be forthright about the need to raise revenue.

New Mexico
New Mexico's filing deadline came and went this week, and now we know who is running for the three open House and one open Senate seats. Fun times.

Delaware
Republican State Rep. Nancy Wagner uses earmarks to give her husband a job. Rev. Chris Bullock announces his candidacy for Delaware's sole congressional seat. State Sen. Harris McDowell delays Delaware's move to wind power with meaningless hearings.

Virginia
RK Conference Call with Gov. Kaine.

South Dakota
What Was That You Were Saying, Gov. Rounds?

Utah
Is Utah the worlds nuclear landfill?

West Virginia
W.Va. state Sen. Hunter says "I introduced Senate Bill 588 because I fervently believe that God did not intend for us to destroy the mountains, the streams, the forests and His people in order to mine coal." Jay the Telcom Operator: Sen Rockefeller's unwavering support of telco immunity earns him a new nickname "One Ringy-Dingy Rocky" (with a must-see photoplay by OneCitizen).

Minnesota
SurveyUSA indicates a dead heat between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken.

Alabama
Mooncat brings us a heartbreaker on Valentines Day. Read about payday lenders preying on the elderly and disabled.

Colorado
At Squarestate, David Sirota is reporting a Colorado Superdelegate plans to ignore the will of Colorado voters.

North Carolina
At BlueNC, Jerimee reports that Congressman Brad Miller has taken a leadership role in passing the contempt resolution.

Connecticut
Shays embarrasses Connecticut.....again.

Wisconsin
At Uppity Wisconsin, xoff says Wisconsin doesn't need another presidential debate.

Georgia
At Tondee's Tavern we find tha Rep. David Scott flipped to Obama and Rep. John Lewis is looking that way.

Idaho
At 43rd State Blues Idahogie takes on the Super Delegate petitions floating around with a convincing argument.

Illinois
At Prairie State Blue, Michael in Chicago writes about raising Democratic visibility.

Indiana
Must see video at Blue Indiana. An Indiana State Rep., John Elrod (R) is caught on tape doing campaign work during a legislative session.

Maryland
Donna Edwards wins! And Eric looks at the implications of that victory.

50 State Blog Roundup

Brian Leubitz — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 19:30:00 GMT

Thanks to Betsy at BlueNC for putting this together. In all the mad rush surrounding this time of year bloggers at the 50 State community blogs are busy staying on top of local news. It's a bit shorter than last week, but should give you some good reading over the weekend. A personal thank you to Karl for putting together a comprehensive roundup for us last week and for helping me pull together submissions for this week. Here's your 50 State Blog Roundup for the week of December 21, 2007:

Illinois
PSB poster bored now serves up an excellent updated analysis of the Dem candidate three-way for Denny Hastert's abandoned seat in IL-14. In IL-03: Lipinski wants to have his cake and eat it too

Maryland
Maryland Republicans are suing to prevent recently passed tax legislation from going into law. Gotta give them points for moxie.

Texas
Texas Democrats http://www.burntorangereport.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4528 pick up a Republican state house seat in a special election in Fort Worth. Dems are now only 5 seats away from regaining the majority!

Louisiana
The REAL story out of New Orleans this week Also out of Louisiana: An Open Letter to Senator Barack Obama

California
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom doesn't like the new health plan, saying that he is not sure that the plan is "moving us toward our ultimate goal of affordable and quality care for everyone."

North Carolina
Leslie H wrote a beautiful testimonial about why she supports John Edwards for president.

Minnesota
Joe Bodell finds More Ramstad Color Envy? -- The spotlight is back on MN-03 congressman Jim Ramstad, who's considering going back on his declaration that he'll retire at the end of the current Congress.

Iowa
Demoinesdem finds it sad that fellow Iowans complain about efforts to engage them politically. Also at Bleeding Heartland they report on more endorsements for Obama

New Hampshire
John Edwards, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne rock New Hampshire.

Wisconsin
Xoff at Uppity Wisconsin has an action plan to end the war.

Alabama
At Left in Alabama there's a rundown of what happens when the pot and the kettle go to war.

New Mexico
Senate candidate from New Mexico, Steve Pearce predicts US in Iraq for 50 years.

Arizona
DUI? Expect the Max! Or maybe not. Zelph at AZ Netroots has more.

Michigan
Yet more on the January 15th Michigan presidential primary.

Colorado
SquareState has the good news that racist Tancredo out of presidential race.

Connecticut
My Left Nutmeg wonders, Is Chris Dodd making a run for Majority Leader?

Georgia
RIP Speaker Murphy

Idaho
Larry Grant receives endorsement from United Transportation Union, 43rd State Blues reports.

Indiana
Blue Indiana has Gubernatorial news

Kentucky
BlueGrassRoots has Andrew Horne's announcement, plus gloating. Ditch Mitch!

West Virginia
Is West Virginia really a "Judicial hellhole"? Learn the facts about Chamber of Commerce propoganda.

Washington
At Washblog, Emily Stebbins tells about a cooperative organic farm, the Whatcom County Agricultural Workers Coopertiva Jacal.

Virginia
Lowell sets WaPo's Tim Craig straight at Raising Kaine.

Vermont
Green Mountain Daily has an excellent discussion going on in the comments of, Growth: Beyond Ponzi economics.

Alabama
Quaor notes that Alabama is no longer rated as a "judicial hellhole" by the Chamber of Commerce. Is that really a good thing?

Florida
Hillsborough County Elections Supervisor, Buddy Johnson, is dragging his feet on election law compliance.

Texas
At Texas Kaos, Libby Shaw begins to outline why Texans deserve better than John Cornyn.

--
TennViews covers the launch of a website geared toward alternative transportation: Tennessee Smart Commute.

South Dakota
Badlands Blue covers a poll showing Senator Tim Johnson with a huge lead over Republican challenger Steve Kirby.

Rhode Island
At Rhode Island's Future they're discussing what really drives the cost of education.

Pennsylvania
Keystone Politics covers Senator Casey's first year at bat.

Maine
Turn Maine Blue outlines why Maine and the rest of the country need Tom Allen in the Senate.

Massachusetts
Blue Mass Group offers up another in its series of endorsements for president.

50 State Blog Roundup

Brian Leubitz — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 19:16:06 GMT

Over the flip you'll find the weekly 50 (more or less) state roundup. Thanks to Betsy of BlueNC for this week's roundup.

New Mexico
The greatest YouTube video you will ever see, featuring Republican candidate for House in NM-01, Darren White. He's telling us to just say no. Impossible not to watch more than once.

Virginia
How Virginia Won't Close Its Budget Gap, and How It Should How Virginia Won't Close Its Budget Gap, and How It ShouldHow Virginia Won't Close Its Budget Gap, and How It Should

California
CA-12: Tom Lantos could get a challenge from former state senator Jackie Speier.

Michigan
The Michigan January 15th primary is back on!

North Carolina
At BlueNC we're putting together a resource that will help our readers Buy Blue in North Carolina this holiday season and throughout the year.

Kentucky
Gunterman calls out Markos and Jonathon Singer of MyDD. MediaCzech gives us yet another reason why Mitch McConnell has got to go. Getting rid of McConnell is getting easier as he loses support of Independents.

Nevada
My Silver State asked the candidates Nevada related questions that weren't asked at the debate. Thus far, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Mike Gravel have responded.

Alabama
Alabama Gov. Bob Riley hates elections.

Colorado
SquareState issues an open invitation to blogger boot camp. Congressional District 2 candidate, Jared Polis, announced his plans to visit Iraq over Thanksgiving.

Connecticut
Lamont roasts Lieberman and My Left Nutmeg gives us a recap.

West Virginia
At West Viriginia Blue they're wishing Senator Robert C. Byrd (D - Beloved) a happy 90th birthday.

Washington
At Washblog, BryceM reports on Mitt Romney's meeting with Microsoft's PAC. Don't miss this great first-hand report.

Vermont
In Signs, Polls and Conventional Wisdom Green Mountain Daily discusses Governor Douglas's re-election prospects.

Utah
Over at Wasatch Watcher, Marshall informs us that Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is endorsing a company that could very likely be committing fraud.

Delaware
Delaware Dem laments Joe Bidens way with words but pegs him for Secretary of State.

Georgia
They're discussing water woes in Georgie which is the norm in the south these days.

Idaho
At 43rd State Blues:Democracy for Idaho there is a series of videos of speeches from the Ada County JFK banquet.

Iowa
Don't miss the 6th in a series of diaries on how the Iowa Caucuses work hosted at Bleeding Heartland and written by DemoinesDem.

Indiana
At Blue Indiana there's good news in the polls for Democrats.

Texas
Subprime Lending in Texas is being discussed at Burnt Orange Report. Subprime Lending in Texas is being discussed at Burnt Orange Report.Subprime Lending in Texas is being discussed at Burnt Orange Report.

New Hampshire
Elwood makes the case for New Hampshire going first in the presidential primaries.

Massachusetts
Blue Mass Group covers the Boston Herald's Obama/Osama mix up in their dead tree version with pic.

Oregon
Oregon's College Dems go after Gordon Smith. See the video at Loaded Orygun.

Minnesota
Quick review of the just-released Almanac of American Politics, 2008 edition.

50 State Blog Roundup

Brian Leubitz — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 15:49:02 GMT

Hello and welcome to another week of the 50 State Blog Network Roundup! This week's compilation was done by TJ out in Loaded Orygun land. Flip it.

Oregon
The media start to prick their ears to the primary race, now that '07 elections are over.

Nevada
John Ensign, Nevada's junior Senator and head of the NRSC, is utterly optimistic by privately saying that he expects a net loss of two seats for Republicans in the Senate.

{the rest of the roundup below the fold!}

Nevada
Sven at My Silver State is wondering if Hillary is giving up on the SEIU Nevada endorsement.

California
Desalinization will be a major part of the West's water future. Is that a good thing?

Maryland
The regressive tax package currently in Maryland's General Assembly is the fault of... progressive Montgomery County?

Louisiana
Mike Stagg Continues His Research Into the GOP Money Machine ...

Louisiana
More special interest funding of GOP candidates ...

Louisiana
The REAL heroes are the ones who stayed to rebuild New Orleans ...

New Mexico
Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez is attacking Tom Udall before the primary.

Michigan
The latest on Michigan's on-again/off-again presidential primary

West Virginia
The latest front in Bush's Appalachian War: "Immunity" For Mining Companies

North Carolina
Lt. Governor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bev Perdue posts live at BlueNC to introduce her new webpage dedicated to building a new North Carolina.

Utah
Another Republican just helping out his buddies - Cheney's secret nuclear power deregulation and Tilton's scam on Utah

Alabama
An AP reporter erred in saying Judge Deborah Bell Paseur announced her candidacy for the Alabama Supreme Court in front of a sign about a recent ruling in favor of Exxon/Mobil, but the error is being repeated and embellished in the Alabama press.

Nebraska
Kyle laments that the state's entire Congressional delegation has signed Grover Norquist's anti-government tax pledge, including Democratic Senator Ben Nelson.

Nebraska
Kyle celebrates that the first statewide polling released in a long time shows President Bush with a lowly 41% approval rating.

Arizona
John McCain's mother campaigns with her son for the first time.. and immediately offends Mormons on Hardball.

Colorado
They're getting ready for the convention in Denver, and Howard Dean stopped by again to show folks around the place. Looks like new media will be prominently credentialed!

Connecticut
A guest appearance by Rep. Chris Murphy graces the 'Nutmeg, subject Iraq: not another dime except for redeployment.

Delaware
Are Saturday elections offensive to Jewish people?

Florida
Joe Garcia, Miami-Dade Democratic Chair, is considering and being drafted for a run against incumbent Mario Diaz-Balart (R) in the 25th district.

Georgia
Dale Cardwell triangulates against progressives on immigration to help get support against Saxby Chambliss.

Idaho
Boise businessman Walt Minnick joins the field of Democrats looking to unseat (R) Bill Sali. He joins Larry Grant and Rand Lewis, already announced.

Illinois
Prarie State Blue stays closer to Dan Lipinski's corruption scandal than white on rice, exposing the family's fake children's charity.

Indiana
Indiana's (literally) dirty secret: 3rd in the nation for CO2 output

Iowa
Presidential endorsements by state legislative officials? You want em, Bleeding Heartland has em!

Kentucky
Rep. John Yarmuth confronts the BS emanating from the State Department Inspector General, and smacks it down, hard.

Maine
Sen. Susan Collins says she needs $8mil to win her race...but don't worry, she'll mostly be asking people not from Maine. (Really!)

Massachusetts
The Mass GOP goes Kevin Bacon in Animal House, shouting "All is wellll!" while Republicans continue to panic.

Minnesota
Steve Sarvi, DFL candidate in the 2nd district, and perhaps part of Fightin' Dems Wave Two- raw, but just what folks are looking for?

Missouri
Gov. Blunt did not like having an ex-staffer reveal that the Office deletes his work emails!

Missouri
House Armed Services Chair Ike Skelton reminded folks in Kansas City about Iraq: It's the Readiness, Stupid.

Montana
Montana's only Constitution Party legislator looks to put a "fetus as person" bill onto the ballot for next year. Good luck with all that.

New Hampshire
Sununuism: Look Smart, Do Nothing.

New Jersey
Gov. Corzine proposes to slash the state's debt a nickel at a time, borrowing from future toll revenues.

New York
Steve Harrison campaigns in Manhattan to replace NYC's only GOP Congressman, Vito Fossella.

New York
Iraq vet Jon Powers, running in NY-26, gets Wesley Clark's endorsement.

Ohio
Quinnipiac polling suggests Gov. Strickland won't necessarily carry Ohio as someone's VP.

Ohio
And here's Mrs. Strickland, talking about Hillary.

Pennsylvania
PA schools are running nearly $5bil short of necessary funding, and need an immediate sextupling of the per-student rate. Yowza!

Rhode Island
RI writer Tom Sgouros notes taxes are just taxes--until you ask who pays them.

South Dakota
SD makes the list of 16 "Zero Star" states failing to seek and use cleaner energies.

Tennessee
Got a ban like Knoxville's on new billboard advertising? Maybe you should go digital to skirt it...like they did in Knoxville.

Texas
Netroots Nation comes to Austin!

Texas
Property taxes, Demagogues, and Schools

Vermont
Hooray for Sen. Leahy, who end-arounded Arlen Specter and got telcomm immunity stripped from the likely FISA bill draft out of committee!

Virginia
Anti-immigrant sentiment flares in the Richmond suburb of Chesterfield County.

--
Washington

George Fearing, Fearless to Challenge Doc Hastings in the 4th

50State Blog Roundup

Brian Leubitz — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:06:39 GMT

This roundup comes through the fine work of the good folks at BlueNC. The really heavy lifting was performed by the excellent bloggers you'll find at each state site. Flip it for the good stuff...

Texas
Texas Kaos reports that rogue Judge Sharon Keller got a rebuke from another quarter this week when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals changed its rules to allow email appeals.

Texas
The Burnt Orange Report staff reflects on the enormous shifts that have occurred in Texas since the fateful 2002 elections.

Indiana
Blue Indiana takes a look at the anatomy of Tuesday's big electoral upset in Indianapolis.

Michigan
Michigan College Republicans turn on their own. Michigan Liberal reports the Jan 15. primary date has been struck down.

Ohio
OH-10: Rosemary Palmer Attacks Kucinch, Progressives Online Point Out What a Fool She Is

California
San Diego bans drinking on the beach , what will the frat boys do now?

Nevada
Democrats are increasing their voter registration advantage in Nevada, especially in NV-03 which will feature one of the top house races in 2008.

Montana
Another moderate Republican legislator feels pushed out by his own party. Left in the West gives the good news of Senators Baucus and Tester opposing Mukasey.

Alabama
State Senator Harri Anne Smith looks to be the Republican choice for the AL-02 Congressional seat being vacated by Terry Everett. No Democratic candidate has announced for this seat yet, although rumors persist that Montgomery mayor Bobby Bright will throw his hat in the ring. Also, Do high profile endorsements mean Hillary will wear well in Alabama? It would mean more if they were from people who are running next year.

Arizona
One of the major environmental issues in Arizona is the contamination left from uranium mining. Now, Howard Shanker is trying to get congress to act.

North Carolina
Democrats Kay Hagan and Jim Neal, candidates for the NC Senate seat held by Elizabeth Dole, were both asked what their vote would have been in the nomination of Michael Mukasey for attorney general.

West Virginia
wvblueguy tells the story of book banning in Kanawha County.

Delaware
Delaware Dem muses on a 62 District Strategy and the Lesson of New Hampshire.

Florida
Election Roundup from South of Gulfport tells of three slow growth candidate wins in Venice and a sales tax increase passing in Sarasota.

Georgia
SilenceDogood brings a good perspective to the WGA strike and why we should support it in every state.

Illinois
Blue and Bush Dogs including Melissa Bean of IL-08 are blocking mortgage relief legislation being pushed by real Democrats. Also, Prairie State Blue reports on how Bush Dog Lipinski is out of touch.

Minnesota
Joe Bodell gives a roundup of Minnesota election results.

Wisconsin
Uppity Wisconsin gives the scoop on how the Veterans Day parade excludes veterans

Iowa
Bleeding Heartland asks, what happened in your city or town (election)?

New Mexico
LP covers the release of two new YouTube videos by Second Congressional District candidate Bill McCamley.

Maryland
Maryland's Comptroller Peter Franchot decries the regressive tax package coming out of the state Senate.

Utah
Vouchers go down to a flaming defeat in Utah while Voucher supporters call the voters of Utah idiots.

Kentucky
Mediaczech provides video of Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo who had quite a bit of praise for Lt. Col. Andrew Horne who may run against Mitch McConnell. Don't miss the liveblog of the Kentucky Democratic Party Victory Celebration.

New Jersey
Blue Jersey created the marriage equality ad that will run for two weeks and is being paid for by New Jersey's largest gay rights organization.

Virginia
According to Rob at Raising Kaine Immigration is not the silver bullet the GOP had hoped for. There was dancing in the streets as Democrats took control of the state senate in Virginia.

November 6, 2007 Blog Roundup and Open Thread

jsw — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 03:48:18 GMT

Today's Blog Roundup is on the flip. Let me know what I missed in comments, or just use this as an open thread.

To subscribe by email, click here and do what comes naturally.

Read This

Claim of California Jobs Moving Out of State Shown by Study to be a Myth - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/claim_of_califo.html

When you have a union of writers, what do you think you get when they strike?

How We Think of the Striking Screenwriters Says a Lot About Us - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/how_we_think_of.html
skippy the bush kangaroo: strike one
http://xnerg.blogspot.com/2007/11/strike-one.html
LAist: Writers Strike - Day One Recap
http://laist.com/2007/11/05/writers_strike_1.php
LAist: Photo Essay: WGA Strike at Fox
http://laist.com/2007/11/05/photo_essay_wga.php
Metroblogging Los Angeles: More reason to support the WGA
http://blogging.la/archives/2007/11/more_reason_to_support_the_wga.phtml

What to do about McNerney?

Drinking Liberally Oakland - Listen Up Jerry!
http://drinkingliberally.org/blogs/oakland/archives/2007/11/listen_up_jerry.html
The Bayne of Blog's - California Notes: Are you ready to hand CD 11 back to the Republicans so soon?
http://blog.bayneweb.com/2007/11/are-you-ready-to-hand-cd-11-back-to.html

Health Care

The Bayne of Blog's - California Notes: New health care compromise to be put on table
http://blog.bayneweb.com/2007/11/new-health-care-compromise-to-be-put-on.html
California's Opportunity to Pass a Compassionate Choice Law on the Tenth Anniversary of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/californias_opp.html
Squeeze Play: The California Democratic Health Care Compromise to Be Unveiled Today - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/squeeze_play_th.html
California Takes First Step Towards Disenrolling Children from Health Coverage Because of Bush Veto of SCHIP - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/california_take.html
Today's press conference on the California compromise Democratic health bill is our site of the day - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/todays_press_co.html
Democrats Compromise on Health Care? Mandates Coming? | Working Californians
http://workingcalifornians.com/blog/julia_rosen/2007/11/05/democrats_compromise_on_health_care_mandates_coming
D-Day: On Gimmicks
http://d-day.blogspot.com/2007/11/on-gimmicks.html

Mike Carona

Joe Scott: The Body Politic - Carona and Schwarzenegger
http://www.joescott3.com/index.php/js/permalink/carona_and_schwarzengger/
The Liberal OC » The Wayback Machine: Flash Report Endorses Carona’s Re-Election
http://www.theliberaloc.com/2007/11/05/the-wayback-machine-flash-report-endorses-caronas-re-election/
The Liberal OC » Peace Officer Code of Ethics
http://www.theliberaloc.com/2007/11/06/peace-officer-code-of-ethics/

Local

Left In SF » SF Election slapdown?
http://leftinsf.com/blog/index.php/archives/2331
Left In SF » Notes from the PTA’s Achievement Gap Forum
http://leftinsf.com/blog/index.php/archives/2332
BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News » Time to Scrap the 2009 Municipal Election
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=5077#more
BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News » Yawn, it’s Election Day in San Francisco
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=5079#more
BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News » San Francisco Election Predictions
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=5072#more
The People's Vanguard of Davis: Sights from the School Board Races
http://davisvanguard.blogspot.com/2007/11/sights-from-school-board-races.html
SFist: Breaking News: Record-Low Voter Turnout Expected
http://sfist.com/2007/11/05/low_voter_turno_1.php
Left In SF » Stop by the Yes on A, No on H election night victory party
http://leftinsf.com/blog/index.php/archives/2335
happening-here?: Election day, 2007: a moment for ranked choice voting
http://happening-here.blogspot.com/2007/11/election-day-2007-moment-for-ranked.html
SoHum Parlance: Did anybody else get the Maxxam push poll?
http://redwoodreality.blogspot.com/2007/11/did-anybody-else-get-maxxam-push-poll.html
GregDewar.com: Yeah, I Voted for Mayor Newsom. SFW?
http://www.gregdewar.com/2007/11/yeah_i_voted_for_mayor_newsom.html
Daily Kos: Sonoma County: the toll of police slayings
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/11/6/16748/4596
SoHum Parlance: All said and done
http://redwoodreality.blogspot.com/2007/11/all-said-and-done.html

Everything Else

D-Day: Ending The Bush Dog Majority
http://d-day.blogspot.com/2007/11/ending-bush-dog-majority.html
Irvine Housing Blog » Blog Archive » Mortgage Magma: The Coming Eruption of Option ARM’s
http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/2007/11/05/tick-tock-tick-tock-the-sound-of-the-option-arm-timebomb/
California's Civil Rights Commission Caving to Pressure from Schwarzenegger Administration to Defend Itself from Planned Dismantlement - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/californias_civ.html
The California Majority Report // Today's Fresh Meat
http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2412
SFist: Rights Are Wrong?
http://sfist.com/2007/11/05/rights_are_wron.php
I'm Not One to Blog, But...: Feinstein Monster and the Abby-Normal Voting Record
http://imnotonetoblogbut.blogspot.com/2007/11/feinstein-monster-and-abby-normal.html
The BRAD BLOG : Duncan Hunter Calls for Paper Ballots in Response to Why Tuesday's 'Candidate Challenge'
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5249
The California Majority Report // Poizner: California's Next Quackenbush?
http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2415
Combating the New Jim Crow in California - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/combating_the_n.html
The California Majority Report // Today's Fresh Meat
http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2419
Anti-Hillary Sentiment Tests Spiritual Principles of This Californian - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/anti-hillary_se.html
California Policy Inbox » Blog Archive » California’s Budget Woes Deepen
http://inbox.berkeley.edu/?p=395

November 4, 2007 Blog Roundup and Open Thread

jsw — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 04:03:44 GMT

Today's Blog Roundup is on the flip. Let me know what I missed in comments, or just use this as an open thread.

To subscribe by email, click here and do what comes naturally.

Pax Nortona - A Blog by Joel Sax » In the Blasted Lands
http://paxnortona.notfrisco2.com/?p=5143
If I Ran the Zoo: Creamery Bay
http://tehipitetom.blogspot.com/2007/11/creamery-bay.html
The Liberal OC » Liberal Media Bias?
http://www.theliberaloc.com/2007/11/03/liberal-media-bias/
Ocean Water Desalination Promise of Carbon-Offsets Doesn't Hold Water at California State Lands Commission Hearing - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/ocean_water_des.html
California Senator Kuehl Receives Paul and Sheila Wellstone Leadership Award - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/california_sena_16.html
The People's Vanguard of Davis: Commentary: Election Day is Upon Us
http://davisvanguard.blogspot.com/2007/11/commentary-election-day-is-upon-us.html
If I Ran the Zoo: Sunday Sierrablogging
http://tehipitetom.blogspot.com/2007/11/sunday-sierrablogging.html
Northstate Science: Lassen County Times in Review Oct 30 Edition
http://northstatescience.blogspot.com/2007/11/lassen-county-times-in-review-oct-30.html
Big Tobacco Has Big Influence in California: Effective Anti-Smoking Advertising, Research, and Legislation All Blunted by Campaign Contributions and Lawsuits - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/big_tobacco_has.html
The California Majority Report // Today's Fresh Meat
http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2411
If I Ran the Zoo: The Story of Lead
http://tehipitetom.blogspot.com/2007/11/story-of-lead.html
The Bayne of Blog's - California Notes: Moral clarity
http://blog.bayneweb.com/2007/11/moral-clarity.html
LAist: Same Number of Commuters, Different Methods
http://laist.com/2007/11/04/same_number_of.php
Left In SF » View of 2007 Mayoral Election
http://leftinsf.com/blog/index.php/archives/2330
Speak Out California! - Weblog: While California Dreams- Weekly Update Vol.1 No. 22
http://speakoutca.org/archives/2007/11/while_californi_19.php
DownWithTyranny!: IF DEMOCRATS CAN'T EVEN GET THE MOST BASIC THINGS RIGHT-- LIKE "TORTURE BAD"-- WHAT GOOD ARE THEY AT ALL?
http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2007/11/if-democrats-cant-even-get-most-basic.html
If I Ran the Zoo: Tomales Bay
http://tehipitetom.blogspot.com/2007/11/tomales-bay.html
jawfish - Smart Fortwo Car Review
http://www.jawfish.net/wordpress/archives/176
Daily Kos: Republicans STILL trying to steal California!!!!
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/11/4/211525/658
voiceofsandiego.org: Opinion... Another Option to Sunrise Powerlink
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2007/11/05/opinion/03lynn110507.txt
voiceofsandiego.org: Opinion... When Money Burns
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2007/11/05/opinion/02merge110507.txt
Pax Nortona - A Blog by Joel Sax » In the Blasted Lands 2
http://paxnortona.notfrisco2.com/?p=5144

November 3, 2007 Blog Roundup and Open Thread

jsw — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 00:42:41 GMT

Today's Blog Roundup is on the flip. Let me know what I missed in comments, or just use this as an open thread.

To subscribe by email, click here and do what comes naturally.

Read These

Seeing the Forest: The Power of the Words "We, the People"
http://www.seeingtheforest.com/archives/2007/11/the_power_of_th.htm
Pacific Views: Thought for the Day
http://www.pacificviews.org/weblog/archives/003182.html
Irvine Housing Blog » Blog Archive » Home Sales Data thru 10-29-2007
http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/2007/11/03/home-sales-data-thru-10-29-2007/

Dianne Feinstein is Principle-Free or Actively Pro-Torture: You make the call. (With Bonus Jane Harman Posts)

SteveAudio: Smile for me, my Diane
http://steveaudio.blogspot.com/2007/11/smile-for-me-my-diane.html
SFist: DiFi & Shrub: Love, It Seems, Is In the Air
http://sfist.com/2007/11/02/difi_shrub_love.php
North Coast Curmudgeon: "California Joe" Feinstein Again Votes with Bush
http://bodegabay.blogs.com/north_coast_curmudgeon/2007/11/california-joe-.html
Hoffmania!: And, Yes...
http://www.hoffmania.com/blog/2007/11/and-yes.html
Whatever It Is, I’m Against It: Not Gonzo
http://whateveritisimagainstit.blogspot.com/2007/11/not-gonzo.html
DownWithTyranny!: WOW! PEOPLE ARE PISSED OFF TODAY-- AND IT'S A WEEKEND! DIFI & CHUCKY ARE LUCKY THEY'RE NOT UP FOR RE-ELECTION
http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2007/11/wow-people-are-pissed-off-today-and-its.html
The Democratic Daily » Chuck Schumer & Dianne Feinstein: Judas'
http://thedemocraticdaily.com/2007/11/03/chuck-schumer-diane-feinstein-judas/
Busy, Busy, Busy: Shorter Dianne Feinstein
http://busybusybusy.com/b3_arc_07_1029.shtml#November03071245PM
cab drollery: Oh, Please
http://cabdrollery.blogspot.com/2007/11/oh-please.html
From the Fever Swamp: The Power of Just Saying No
http://fromthefeverswamp.blogspot.com/2007/11/power-of-just-saying-no.html
From the Fever Swamp: Come on Jane, at Least Make a Show of Engaging Your Critics
http://fromthefeverswamp.blogspot.com/2007/11/come-on-jane-at-least-make-show-of.html
Cannonfire: On behalf of Californians everywhere...
http://cannonfire.blogspot.com/2007/11/on-behalf-of-californians-everywhere.html
The Reality-Based Community: Push comes to shove
http://www.samefacts.com/archives/torture_/2007/11/push_comes_to_shove.php

Reflections on the SoCal Fires

LA Observed: Postcard from the California fires
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2007/11/postcard_from_the_califor.php
The Liberal OC » Santiago Fire UPDATE: Final 10% May Be Contained Soon, Unless Returning Santa Anas Cause More Havoc
http://www.theliberaloc.com/2007/11/02/santiago-fire-update-final-10-may-be-contained-soon-unless-returning-santa-anas-cause-more-havoc/
The Hackenblog » More on why California catches fire so often
http://hackenblog.hackenbush.org/2007/11/02/more-on-why-california-catches-fire-so-often/
Red Flag Warnings for Southern California as Winds Forecasted to Shift and Two Fires Still Burning - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/red_flag_warnin.html
terryfaceplace: During the worst days of the recent Southern California fires...
http://terryfaceplace.blogspot.com/2007/11/during-worst-days-of-recent-southern.html
voiceofsandiego.org: Opinion... The Fires, the Economy, and Housing
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2007/11/03/opinion/02toscano102907.txt

Local

Left In SF » Prop J wants your BRAINS!
http://leftinsf.com/blog/index.php/archives/2325
San Diego Politico: Too Many Dots, Too Easy to Connect
http://www.sandiegopolitico.com/2007/11/too-many-dots-too-easy-to-connect.html
The N-Judah Chronicles: Last Call for Folks to Help Out Measure "A" , If You're So Inclined....UPDATED
http://www.njudahchronicles.com/2007/11/last_call_for_folks_to_help_ou.html
San Diego Politico: Kickoff to Victory
http://www.sandiegopolitico.com/2007/11/kickoff-to-victory.html
LA Observed: The LA Sun/Star
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2007/11/the_la_sunstar.php
LA Observed: Commie Girl aroused by the Carona story
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2007/11/commie_girl_aroused_by_th.php
LA Observed: Injunction against Daily News slapped down
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2007/11/injunction_against_daily.php
Liberal Atheist Vegetarian » Blog Archive » Green Party of Orange County General Meeting - SqueezeOC.com
http://lav.freedomblogging.com/2007/11/02/green-party-of-orange-county-general-meeting/
The Liberal OC » Sheriff Carona: ‘Our Steadfast Mission’
http://www.theliberaloc.com/2007/11/02/sheriff-carona-our-steadfast-mission/
The Matt Smith / Alioto-Pier $4 Million Mistake
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=5069
The Hackenblog » That there has to be a law against this
http://hackenblog.hackenbush.org/2007/11/02/that-there-has-to-be-a-law-against-this/
happening-here?: Dia de los Muertos, San Francisco
http://happening-here.blogspot.com/2007/11/dia-de-los-muertos-san-francisco.html
The People's Vanguard of Davis: Valley Oak Charter Passes Signature Threshold
http://davisvanguard.blogspot.com/2007/11/valley-oak-charter-passes-signature.html

Environment

If I Ran the Zoo: Tomales Bay Before Dawn
http://tehipitetom.blogspot.com/2007/11/tomales-bay-before-dawn.html
So Cal Grassroots: Why we protect our California Coastline
http://socalgrassroots.blogspot.com/2007/11/why-we-protect-our-california-coastline.html
Daily Kos: Californians! Stop an anti-environment Trojan Horse!
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/11/2/134331/896
Imminent Eminent Domain Rip-Off Threatens California's Environment - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/imminent_eminen.html
The Ruth Group » Eminent Domain Masquerade Rent Control Abolition
http://www.ruthgroup.org/2007/11/02/eminent-domain-petitions-masquerade-rent-control-abolition/
If I Ran the Zoo: Sand Castle
http://tehipitetom.blogspot.com/2007/11/sand-castle.html
Saving the California Condor So It is Not Just on the Back of the Quarter - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/saving_the_cali.html

All the Rest

Poizner Aide Secretly Helped Insurers in Lawsuit Against Commissioner, Should Be Fired - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/poizner_aide_se.html
Physicians and Californians Support Aid in Dying, but the California Medical Association Doesn’t - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/physicians_and.html
Choosing Democracy: PACT and California Teacher Preparation
http://choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com/2007/11/pact-and-california-teacher-preparation.html
Joe Scott: The Body Politic - California and the Clintons
http://www.joescott3.com/index.php/js/permalink/california_and_the_clintons/
Hoffmania!: A Writer On The Writers' Strike
http://www.hoffmania.com/blog/2007/11/a-writer-on-the.html
LA Observed: Nuñez caught with hand in jar again
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2007/11/nunez_caught_with_hand_in.php
Is California Headed in the Right Direction? How the Media is Interpreting Today's Field Poll and How the Numbers Stack Up - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/is_california_h.html
The Citizens: Bloggers will not be on strike, however.
http://thecitizens.blogspot.com/2007/11/bloggers-will-not-be-on-strike-however.html
Left In SF » Young Workers are United
http://leftinsf.com/blog/index.php/archives/2326
SFist: SFist Photo: CA's New Law for Lighting Bikes at Night
http://sfist.com/2007/11/02/sfist_photo_cas.php
Daily Kos: Kind of a drag: Clinton in California
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/11/2/14237/4054
Working Californians Have Low Levels of Health Care Coverage | Working Californians
http://workingcalifornians.com/blog/julia_rosen/2007/11/02/working_californians_have_low_levels_of_health_care_coverage
LAist: Breaking News - Writers to Strike on Monday
http://laist.com/2007/11/02/breaking_news_w.php
The California Majority Report // Tick-Tock: Is Time is Running Out for GOP Power Grab?
http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2409
LAist: Entire Mexican State Underwater, U.S. Slow to Notice
http://laist.com/2007/11/03/entire_mexican.php
A Matter of Life or Death: Health Care Reform in California - California Progress Report
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/11/a_matter_of_lif.html
The California Majority Report // Today's Fresh Meat
http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2410
Firedoglake - Firedoglake weblog » McNerney Chips Away At Estate Tax
http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/11/03/mcnerney-chips-away-at-estate-tax/