DCCC launched new radio ad against Republican
Chris Lee in NY-26. The guy really is bad news.

post from AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth on 03 November 2008 09:52:00 AM. © AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

Last week, I wrote about Alice Kryzan, the Democrat running for the open seat in New York's 26th Congressional District. It's a GOP leaning seat currently held by Republican Tom Reynolds, who is retiring. Kryzan's GOP opponent, Chris Lee, is a typical GOP sleazebag:

Her opponent, millionaire Chris Lee, gave his campaign an additional $230,000 this week, bringing his total contributions to himself up to $1.1 million -- most of that money has been used to run negative ads against Kryzan. And, listen to this douchebag move. Over the weekend, Kryzan and Lee were both scheduled to appear on a local radio show, WBEN's "Hardline with Hardwick." Lee chickened out. But, during the call-in segment, Lee's campaign manager called and started asking questions. So, the boss won't show up, but sends his hack to attack. How weak is that? Typically Republican.

But, it gets worse. Over the weekend, the Buffalo News reported on some unethical behavior from Lee's past:

Congressional candidate Chris Lee acknowledged Friday that he was fired from Ingram Micro years ago because he ?made a mistake.? Sources familiar with the mistake say he hacked into a company computer for personal gain.

Lee would fit right in with all the other GOP sleaze bags in Congress. But Kryzan can and should win.

The DCCC blasted Lee in a new radio ad:

video details and more

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Deep Thought

post from Talking Points Memo on 03 November 2008 09:51:00 AM. © Talking Points Memo

All presidential candidates now sport the Ahmadinejad Look. [...]

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Races To Watch Tuesday Night

post from TalkLeft on 03 November 2008 09:45:00 AM. © TalkLeft

Besides the Presidential race, the races I will be most interested in are (1) Jim Martin's attempt to unseat the execrable Saxby Chambliss in the Georgia Senate race, where Chambliss has a narrow lead. Winning this one would be sweet. It is probably heading for a runoff as the winner must clear 50% in Georgia. (2) Al Franken's bid to win the Minnesota Senate seat once held by the late Paul Wellstone from Norm Coleman. It's tight, with a strong 3rd Party challenger as well.(3) Gary Trauner's bid to capture the Wyoming House seat once held by Dick Cheney. It's a close race. (4) Darcy Burner's bid to defeat Dave Reichert in WA-08. Burner did not run the campaign I would have recommended (too soft on Reichert imo) but she would be a great addition in the House. (5) Joe Garcia's bid to defeat one of the Diaz Balart brothers in Miami. Joe is a good guy and funny to boot.

What races will you be following?

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

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Gibbons Cleared In FBI Investigation

post from TPMMuckraker on 03 November 2008 09:43:00 AM. © TPMMuckraker

Maybe things are starting to look up for Jim Gibbons, Nevada's beleaguered Republican governor, who has had a host of problems in the last few months. According to the Associated Press, the FBI has cleared him of wrong-doing after an 18-month investigation into claims that he helped a friend win defense contracts and received luxury vacations and private flights in exchange.

The allegations against the governor and his friend, Warren Trepp, who owns eTreppid Technologies, arose during the legal tussle between Trepp and former employee Dennis Montgomery over ownership of anti-terrorist software. The two men settled their lawsuit in September, but the FBI probe had expanded to include thousands of dollars in consulting payments from a military contractor that had gone to the governor's wife, Dawn.

From the AP:

Defense attorney Abbe Lowell said the Justice Department told him that Gibbons would not be charged. Such assurances are commonplace when prosecutors have completed a case.
"The prosecutors in the case confirmed what the governor has been saying for the past two years -- that he did nothing wrong and there was no basis for any allegations against him," Lowell said in a prepared statement.
The Justice Department had no comment on Lowell's assertion Sunday. But a law enforcement official close to the case, speaking on condition of anonymity because authorities have not even officially acknowledged the investigation, confirmed the substance of Lowell's statement.
"I anticipated this would be the result," Gibbons said in a telephone interview Sunday. "This is taking a little of the weight off my shoulders. I hope the public is starting to see that the partisan attacks and attacks of personal destruction against me are false."

With the FBI probe concluded, now Gibbons only has to deal with his acrimonious divorce, his rapscallion reputation, and an ongoing suit filed by a cocktail waitress who accuses him of battery, second-degree kidnapping, false imprisonment, and threats of rape.

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vote NO on prop 8 updated

post from Pasadena New Progressive on 03 November 2008 09:42:00 AM. © Pasadena New Progressive

No on Proposition 8 - Equality for all
Debunking the myths used to promote the ban on same-sex marriage.

November 2, 2008
Los Angeles Times

Clever magicians practice the art of misdirection -- distracting the
eyes of the audience to something attention-grabbing but irrelevant so
that no one notices what the magician is really doing. Look over at
that fuchsia scarf, up this sleeve, at anything besides the actual
trick.

The campaign promoting Proposition 8, which proposes to amend the
state Constitution to ban same-sex marriages, has masterfully
misdirected its audience, California voters. Look at the first-graders
in San Francisco, attending their lesbian teacher's wedding!* Look at
Catholic Charities, halting its adoption services in Massachusetts,
where same-sex marriage is legal!** Look at the church that lost its tax
exemption over gay marriage!*** Look at anything except what Proposition
8 is actually about: a group of people who are trying to impose on the
state their belief that homosexuality is immoral and that gays and
lesbians are not entitled to be treated equally under the law.

[* the use of hate-mongering by the Right in this campaign, is appalling.]

[** did I read "Catholic Charities"? what is charitable about this behavior? (or religious?)]

[*** and NOT lose their tax exemption, even when some fanatics (even Klan members!) openly preached racism from the pulpit before the Civil Rights movement?]

That truth would never sell in tolerant, live-and-let-live California,
and so it has been hidden behind a series of misleading half-truths.
Once the sleight of hand is revealed, though, the campaign's illusions
fall away.

read the full article here

Read The Full Article:
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vote NO on prop 8

post from Pasadena New Progressive on 03 November 2008 09:42:00 AM. © Pasadena New Progressive

No on Proposition 8 - Equality for all
Debunking the myths used to promote the ban on same-sex marriage.

November 2, 2008
Los Angeles Times

Clever magicians practice the art of misdirection -- distracting the
eyes of the audience to something attention-grabbing but irrelevant so
that no one notices what the magician is really doing. Look over at
that fuchsia scarf, up this sleeve, at anything besides the actual
trick.

The campaign promoting Proposition 8, which proposes to amend the
state Constitution to ban same-sex marriages, has masterfully
misdirected its audience, California voters. Look at the first-graders
in San Francisco, attending their lesbian teacher's wedding! Look at
Catholic Charities, halting its adoption services in Massachusetts,
where same-sex marriage is legal! Look at the church that lost its tax
exemption over gay marriage! Look at anything except what Proposition
8 is actually about: a group of people who are trying to impose on the
state their belief that homosexuality is immoral and that gays and
lesbians are not entitled to be treated equally under the law.

That truth would never sell in tolerant, live-and-let-live California,
and so it has been hidden behind a series of misleading half-truths.
Once the sleight of hand is revealed, though, the campaign's illusions
fall away.

read the full article here

Read The Full Article:
http://pasadenanewprogressive.blogspot.com/2008/11/vote-no-on-prop-8.html

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Today's Candidate Schedule

post from Daily Kos on 03 November 2008 09:34:34 AM. © Daily Kos

Where will the candidates be today?

Barack Obama

Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
Doors Open: 8:30 am (EST)

Charlotte, North Carolina
University of North Carolina-Charlotte
Hayes Recreation Fields
Doors Open: 3:00 pm (EST)
Program Begins: 5:30 pm (EST)

Manassas, Virginia
Prince William County Fairgrounds
Gates Open: 5:00 pm (EST)
Program Begins: 9:00 pm (EST)

Joe & Jill Biden

Lee's Summit, Missouri
Longview Community College
Recreation Center
Doors Open: 7:30 am (CST)
Program Begins: 9:30 am (CST)

Zanesville, Ohio
Putnam Hill Park
Doors Open: 1:45 pm (EST)
Program Begins: 3:45 pm (EST)

Copley, Ohio
Copley High School
Doors Open: 5:30 pm (EST)
Program Begins: 7:30 pm (EST)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Marconi Plaza
Doors Open: 8:30 pm (EST)

Michelle Obama

Las Vegas, Nevada
The College of Southern Nevada
Cheyenne Campus- South parking lot off Cheyenne Avenue
Doors Open: 10:30 am (PST)
Program Begins: 11:30 am (PST)

Littleton, Colorado
Dakota Ridge High School
Doors open: 3:00 pm (MST)
Program Begins: 4:00 pm (MST)

John McCain

Tampa, Florida
Outside Raymond James Stadium
Doors Open: 6:00 am (EST)
Program Begins: 9:00 am (EST)

Blountville, Tennessee
Tri-Cities Regional Airport
Doors Open: 9:45 am (EST)
Program Begins: 11:45 am (EST)

Moon Township, Pennsylvania
Atlantic Aviation
Doors Open: 10:45 am (EST)
Program Begins: 1:50 pm (EST)

Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis Airport
4:00 pm (EST)

Roswell, New Mexico
Great Southwest Aviation
Doors Open: 3:00 pm (MST)
Program Begins: 8:00 pm (MST)

Henderson, Nevada
Henderson Pavillion
10:45 pm (PST)

Sarah Palin

Lakewood, Ohio
Lakewood Park
Doors Open: 6:30 am (EST)
Program Begins: 9:00 am (EST)

Jefferson City, Missouri
South lawn of the Capitol
12:00 pm (CST)

Dubuque, Iowa
Grand River Center
3:00 pm (CST)

Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs Airport
Jet Center Aviation
Doors Open 3:30 pm (MST)
Program Begins: 7:15 pm (MST)

Reno, Nevada
Reno-Sparks Livestock Events
10:30 pm (PST)

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'I never dared dream of a black president.'

I sat in a cafe in West London today reading several black writers, poets and filmmakers talk of what the election of Barack Obama will mean to them. I found it to be genuinely moving. I can't even imagine how this moment must feel to someone like Maya Angelou, who has written all her life about "the childish idea that human beings are different."

How will I be spending election night? On my knees. Maybe getting off them to have a very nice Scotch and then getting back down on my knees again.

And then there was the eloquence of Jay-Z, the rapper:

Rosa Parks sat so that Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so that Obama could run. Obama's running so that we all can fly. I can't wait until 5 November and I'm going to say 'Hello, Brother President'. I can't tell you who to vote for. All I can do is tell you to vote."

Then there was Samuel L Jackson who grew up in the segregated South:

It's not just about what an Obama victory will mean to the African American community, it's for the nation in general. It means something for the little Asian kid, or the little Hispanic kid, for everybody of a different origin than Anglo-American. It actually means that the lie that they told us all these years ? that you can grow up to be anything you want to be in America, even the president ? might actually be true now. Until this election, it was just a fantasy ? you had to be white to be president. The closest we got to it was when Jimmy Smits was elected president on the West Wing or Morgan Freeman being president on screen.

I grew up in the segregated South, and there's probably still two generations who grew up next to "Whites Only" signs. We were part of that time in America when we were second-class citizens, so no, I didn't expect to see this in my lifetime. It's really wonderful and revelatory in terms of how far we have come so fast. And hopefully it will signify a major change in how we are perceived in the world community. Obama represents what we hope America can be.

After the last eight years I regard an Obama victory as a victory for the world, for all of us who yearn for an America which lives up to the fine principles which it preaches.

Barack Obama is a man of such principles. But to people like Maya Angelou and Samuel L. Jackson and Jay-Z, something much more profound is taking place. We can't even pretend that we know what that must feel like.

Maya Angelou:

I never thought I'd see a black president in the White House in my lifetime. I didn't even dare dream it. I feel like a child approaching Christmas, you can't believe election day is finally here. It's been so long since we've had people ? Asian and black, white and Spanish-speaking ? come together and say YES. Some did during the civil rights struggle but not as many as today.

Tomorrow the US is set to make it happen. Happy days. For all of us, but especially for those who have yearned for so long.

Click title for full article.

Tags: Barack Obama, John McCain, US election 2008, Maya Angelou, Samuel L Jackson, Jay-Z

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Indie Retailer of the Day: LilyPang Art and
Design

While the main products at LilyPang Art and Design are the original works of art and prints, the laptop skins are what drew me in. There’s a retro kitsch to the designs on the easily applied (and removed) vinyl skins that offsets the sheer[...]

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Republicans to Chrysler/GM Workers: Drop Dead

For auto workers the Bush cavalry is on the way, except they are years too late. The latest shoe to drop is George Bush's rejection of a potential merger between GM and Chrysler. Coincidentally the merger is said to be a threat to many workers in Ohio and Michigan, since it could mean the closure of plants in those states.

Ought the Federal government keep its nose out of the declining U.S. auto industry? Will the new program for fuel efficient vehicles be sufficient? I'd say no to both.

A GM/Chrysler merger is not necessarily a positive step. More to the point is the long-standing indifference from the national government to the course of U.S. manufacturing, built on conservative nostrums about the free market. If we can't see now where the free market has gotten us, we never will.

Jimmy Carter bailed out Chrysler in 1979. The company revived and paid back the money, providing some profit to the Feds in the bargain. Was this a catastrophe? I would say not. Would it have been better to let the company die? Some people think so, but that is a risky, radical proposition to defend. Good luck to any politician, such as John McCain, who tries.

One way to shore up the industry and the many good jobs therein is to launch a national crusade for rail travel. That means lots of railroad cars. I don't need to recapitulate all the reasons more rail and less auto and air would be good, except to note that a big push for rail reduces if not eliminates the need to make auto and air more expensive.

A set of high-speed rail lines (in the Northeast corridor, the Midwest hub centered on Chicago, in California from San Diego to SFO) would transform the nation's economy. Four or five systems might cost $200 or $300 billion to build (total), much less than the apparent outlays planned to deal with Wall Street's machinations. Did I mention, by the way, John McCain doesn't like Amtrak?

Auto workers don't look forward to careers delivering pizza. What's bad for General Motors is bad for the U.S.A. John McCain can afford his own bus. Let him spend the next four years driving it around the U.S., maybe he'll figure out what's going on.