SOS Sent From Massachusetts

post from Taylor Marsh on 12 January 2010 11:56:19 PM. © Taylor Marsh

This quote, via Greg Sargent, who has the memo on the emergency in Massachusetts: ?It?s a little frightening how much traction he?s been able to get so quickly…” – Martha Coakley Democrats are “having trouble moving[...]

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http://www.taylormarsh.com/2010/01/12/s-o-s-sent-from-massachusetts/

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In The News

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 12 January 2010 11:54:44 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Just a quick note-Got an email from The Mom Cat that says she'll be leaving for Santo Domingo in the morning, and going from there to Haiti.If you didn't know TMC is a member of M?decins Sans Fronti?res (aka Doctors Without Borders) and had already been[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Docudharma/~3/B5wXRcMVcJs/in-the-news

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Earthquake In HaitiWe As Individuals Have The
Resources To Help

post from Texas Liberal on 12 January 2010 11:49:53 PM. © Texas Liberal

A terrible earthquake and strong aftershocks have hit our hemispheric neighbors in Haiti.Above is a picture from the disaster.UNICEF has made an emergency appeal for help for Haiti.The Haitian ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph, has made a call for help.A hospital has collapsed and poorly constructed buildings and homes have been destroyed.The resources do [...]

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http://texasliberal.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/earthquake-in-haiti-we-as-individual
s-have-the-resources-to-help/

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South Carolina Conservative Action Council wants
kids left in cars alone for more than five minutes

post from Everyday Citizen on 12 January 2010 11:40:31 PM. © Everyday Citizen

Yes. That's right.The South Carolina Conservative Action Council was out today at the state house,[...]

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http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2010/01/south_carolina_conservative_ac.html

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South Carolina Conservative Action Council wants
kids left in cars alone for more than five minutes

post from Everyday Citizen on 12 January 2010 11:40:31 PM. © Everyday Citizen

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SC Conservative Action Council wants kids left in
cars alone for more than five minutes

post from Everyday Citizen on 12 January 2010 11:40:31 PM. © Everyday Citizen

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Please Don't Run, Harold

post from FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right on 12 January 2010 11:40:00 PM. © FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right

Harold Ford says he's "gearing up" for a primary challenge against fellow Democrat and incumbent, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. The former congressman and failed Senate candidate from Tennessee could beat her, I suppose; if he does, he could win and maybe even hold the New York seat for a long time. Surely it would be good to have an African American in the Senate after Barack Obama?s departure left the exclusive club of 100 soon-to-be-lacking yet again even one African American in a country where African Americans are about one-eighth of the national population.

But I hope he doesn't run.

Now, let me admit up front my distaste for Ford. Writing for Salon three years ago, when Ford was announced as the new Democratic Leadership Council chair, I chided him for the despicable way he comported himself during his 2006 Tennessee Senate bid. By engaging in painfully transparent symbolism like wearing camouflage hunting caps, Ford bought into and reinforced nearly every trope Republicans have been peddling about Democrats for years. He spoke out against the gay marriage ruling in New Jersey, and in general talked the conservative talk on social issues. His behaviors do not excuse the patently racist television ad the Republicans ran against him, but Ford's refusal, when asked on live television, to call that ad racist was a selfish act of electorally-minded cowardice.

I'm sorry--OK, maybe I'm not--but the bottom line is that this is a vanity bid. This is a man who thinks the single best possible development for a Senate increasingly paralyzed by filibusters would be his election to the chamber.

Ford knows that when it comes to the Senate, New York, despite the famous Frank Sinatra lyrics, is actually quite amenable to what might be termed the "reverse Sinatra" effect: You can maybe still make it there even if you can't make it anywhere (else). Perhaps that's why the Empire State has been a favorite magnet for carpetbaggers past. Bobby Kennedy could have won in Massachusetts had a seat been open there in 1964, but Hillary Clinton in Arkansas in 2000? Not so sure.

The point is that Ford would have a great shot in the general election, and knows it. New York is so reliably blue, even a reddish Democrat need not don a camo baseball cap to be competitive. Which means Ford's bigger obstacle to office is Gillibrand in the primary. And yet surely Ford calculates that, because she attained office via appointment and hasn't had sufficient time since then to introduce herself to everyone in what is still the nation's third most populous state, Gillibrand is potentially quite vulnerable.

What's galling is how Ford is sporting his bluer stripes now that he's north of the Mason-Dixon line. Here's the key excerpt from his op-ed in the New York Post in which he publicly confirmed that he's "seriously considering" a Senate bid:

I am pro-choice--have always been since I entered politics almost 15 years ago. My cumulative grade with NARAL during 10 years in Congress was right at 80 percent. Any assertions to the contrary are false.

I remain committed to promoting gun safety and handgun control, and I look forward to working with Mayor Bloomberg and Newark Mayor Corey Booker and their coalition to reduce handgun violence in cities across America.

Despite what critics say about me, I enjoyed uninterrupted support from organized labor throughout my time in Congress.

And from the moment I arrived in Congress, I supported civil unions. Like New York's senior senator, after listening to and participating in the national conversation about full equality and fairness, I support same-sex marriage.

Suffice to say this wasn't the image Ford was projecting back in 2006.

Gillibrand hasn't been perfect, but she's darn good. Liberals in New York and Washington undoubtedly prefer that she be less of a Blue Dog and more of a bull dog. But, long term, I think she'll make a fine senator, both back home in the state where I grew up as well as in committee and on the floor of the chamber. She also deserves special dispensation if only for one reason: She took out one of the slimiest Republicans in Congress, former Rep. John Sweeney.

Ford offers little, if anything, in the way of a trade-up from Gillibrand. He'll only be wasting party resources that could be spent better elsewhere. And the fact that he is ignoring the wishes of the state's senior senator, Chuck Schumer, reveals the order in which Ford ranks his ambitions and his party's fortunes.

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http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2010/01/please-dont-run-harold.html

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Debunking the Hyped Up Al Qaeda Terror Threat

post from TalkLeft on 12 January 2010 11:32:00 PM. © TalkLeft

The New York Times on the over-hyped threat of al Qaeda.

[T]he politically charged clamor has lumped together disparate cases and obscured the fact that the enemies on American soil in 2009, rather than a single powerful and sophisticated juggernaut, were a scattered, uncoordinated group of amateurs who displayed more fervor than skill.

By the numbers:

Exactly 14 of the approximately 14,000 murders in the United States last year resulted from allegedly jihadist attacks: 13 people shot at Fort Hood in Texas in November and one at a military recruiting station in Little Rock, Ark., in June.

Even Captian Underpants is overblown: [More...]

“Sending one guy on one plane is a huge step down,” [former assistant director of the Central Intelligence Agency Mark ] Lowenthal said. “They’re less capable, even if they’re still lethal. They’re not able to carry out the intense planning they once did.”

And on al-Qaeda:

Audrey Kurth Cronin of the National War College said Qaeda affiliates borrow the name to enhance their appeal but are usually more interested in local goals than in the global jihad proclaimed by Mr. bin Laden.

“The proper response is to stop calling all these plots ‘Al Qaeda,’ ” Ms. Cronin said. “We’re inadvertently building up the brand.”

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Open Thread

whats my lie_ce2c4_0.jpg

"What's My Lie?" from Distributor Cap. Open thread below...

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http://crooksandliars.com/bluegal/open-thread-326

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Open Thread and Diary Rescue

Tonight's Rescue brought to you by Blank Frank, HoosierDeb, mem from somerville, jlms qkw, dadanation, grog, and pico.

Diary Rescue is all about promoting good writers, so remember to subscribe to diarists whose work you enjoy reading.

boatsie updates us on the action since Copenhagen, and the importance of working together, in ecojustice: "Umoja ni Nguvu:" Unity is Power. (jlms qkw)

Two diarists take on the filibuster with links and rational analysis. homunq has 6 options for ending the filibuster (update), and demimondian has Fixing the filibuster. (jlms qkw)

The sudden death of Glen Ith is the subject of Deep Harm's Case of dead whistleblower reopened. (dadanation)

Darkmoth wonders if we are taking the right lessons from the health care battle in Is HCR a Greenspan Moment? (mem from somerville)

Avenging Angel muses on trees and falling apples in Father Knows Best for Tucker Carlson. (mem from somerville)

behan ponders the meaning of heroism in One more diary for Miep Gies. (HoosierDeb)

BorderJumpers complete their tour through Malawi with this look at how a simple housekeeping function often has adverse agricultural and ecological impact in Sweeping Change. (grog)

The "Three Gs" feature prominently in the latest installment of Ojibwa's excellent educational series: Indians 101: California's Mission Indians.(dadanation)

Akha Drug War continues the story of the group's awareness-raising journey in Akha Ride: The Last Thirty Days. (Blank Frank)

Citizen journalist Allison Addicott takes stock of some recent work by the Pew Research Center in New Study Measures Religious Tolerance Around the Globe. (Blank Frank)