I will be hosting NY-26 Democratic candidate Jon Powers on my show, The Robert Harding Show at 11 a.m. EST today.

You can listen live to the show and ask questions. You can leave questions in the comments section of this post or call in at 1-646-716-8492.

One of the questions I will ask initially and one of the more popular questions that people have asked me to ask Jon is regarding FISA and the recent legislation that has drawn the ire of our netroots base. I will get Jon on the record about FISA.

With the Democratic nomination contest finally over, Democrats now have the opportunity to put the rancor of last many months behind them and unite to defeat the Republicans in November by taking the White House and adding to our leads in the House and Senate.

Among the most important issues that will arise for the next administration is the question of accountability for the villains that preceded it in the Executive Branch.  Yesterday on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Richard Clarke suggested a "Truth and Reconciliation Commission".  Some would go farther, others less far.

But few in American politics today have as much personal knowledge and experience with the Bush Administration's lies and its mafia-style intimidation as Ambassador Joe Wilson, whom clammyc and I will be interviewing today at 2pmPST/5pmEST.  And the topic we'll be covering?  Accountability for Bush and his cronies after that glorious day on which they leave office.

Want to stick it to George W. Bush?  Well, today you have your own special chance to do just that, by supporting a great Democrat on a day when George Bush is at a fundraiser to help his opponent.

No, I’m not shitting you.  This military hero, respected veteran, Vice Chairman of VoteVets.org, not to mention author, blogger, and one of our own will be joining me and thereisnospoon on BlogTalkRadio at 5:30 Eastern/2:30 Pacific.

Who, you may ask, is this tremendous voice?  Well, none other than Brandon Friedman, formerly known around here as The Angry Rakkasan, and we will be talking about the current state of things on the foreign policy front.

Were you impressed by what happened in MS-01?  Well, then wait 'til you get a load of what's happening down in Alabama's 3rd district.

Proud Democrat Josh Segall is all set to take out Bush Rubberstamp Republican Mike Rogers in this northeast Alabama district, and you can hear me and clammyc interview him live today at 3pmEST/noonPST.  Now before you scoff and think this is just another vanity candidate running an unwinnable race in the deep south, think again.  I'll let Wikipedia do the talking for a bit here on this tightly contested, extremely doable race:

We are all familiar with the longest serving republican Senator Ted Stevens – whether it be his frequent outbursts on the Senate floor or his comment about the internet being a series of tubes or his "Bridge to Nowhere" or his promises to resign from the Senate if he doesn’t get his way on whatever it is he is whining about on any given day.

Or, of course, the little fact that his home was raided as part of a Federal criminal investigation.

And for the first time in a long, long time, Senator Toobz has his hands more than full on the re-election front, with a recent poll putting him 5 points behind Mark Begich.  Needless to say, this is one of the most telling opportunities for a Democratic pickup, as there hasn’t been a Democratic Senator from Alaska since Mike Gravel in 1981.

Full disclosure: I serve as a the (volunteer) Netroots Coordinator for the Mary Pallant campaign

If we learned nothing else from Travis Childers' incredible victory in the R+10 MS-01, it is that all but the verry most conservative Republican House seats are in play and winnable this election cycle.  Democrats who may not have had a legitimate shot in other election years have a decent shot of taking over otherwise impossible districts this year.

What that also means is that many Democrats in swing districts that are trending blue may actually be favored to win this year--even if they're not technically on the front radars of organizations like Blue Majority or the DCCC's Red to Blue list.  Of course, demographics aren't everything: the candidates themselves have to be capable, determined and charismatic.

Many of you know that the area of election fraud and election integrity is a huge one for me.  And while I am not going to link to each of the 20 or so posts I have done over the past 2 years, they are easy to find in the link above.

So with that, thereisnospoon and I am honored to be interviewing noted author and election fraud expert Mark Crispin Miller today at 4PM Eastern on BlogTalkRadio.

This will be a short but important post.  Some of you may know the excellent work that Cliff Schecter has done around the blogosphere, both at The Agonist, at Huffington Post, and other places.  Some of you may have seen him take down and destroy right wing talking heads over the past few years on cable "news" channels.

And some of you know the fantastic work he has done researching and bringing to light the Real McCain.

Some of you may be familiar with former Democrat-turned republican Congressman Virgil Goode for his "walking tour" pork project for a town less than one square mile.  Others may remember Goode’s comments towards Muslims and directed at Rep. Keith Ellison how he should not be allowed to be sworn in on a Koran, or how he told a constituent that he would have Ellison deported.

However, you may not know about his challenger - Tom Perriello, who is an excellent candidate in his own right, let alone who his opponent is.  And you can hear Dante Atkins (hekebolos) and I interview Tom today at 3:30 PM Eastern on our BlogTalkRadio show.

Attention!  While Clinton's desperate attempts to prolong the presidential primary may be interesting, you may remember that there are all these other races that will determine whom our nominee will be working with in the Congress.

And if you stretch your mind back to 2006, you will remember that one of our biggest targets was Chris Shays in CT-04.  Shays is the last of a dying breed: the New England Republican.  In fact, he's the only one left in the House.  In 2006, he beat our Democratic candidate Diane Ferrell in an incredibly tight race.  This year, Jim Himes will be the Democrat to give Shays and New England Republicans the knockout punch.  Best of all, you can listen to me and clammyc interview Jim live at 3pmPST/6pmEST today on BlogTalkRadio!

Want to start your own radio show?  Well, you're going to need an agent, a lawyer and a big contract.  Just kidding!  With new online radio platforms, all you need to get started are a few basics.  Oh, and co-hosts aren't a bad idea.

***Scroll down for an On Topic radio show discussing this diary***

Yesterday I wrote a diary about the importance of wrapping up the presidential nomination in order to pay more attention to all-important House and Senate races.  One of the races I mentioned was the one in CA-42, where our own fellow Kossack and all-around great guy Ron Shepston is working to defeat the über-corrupt Gary Miller.  Full disclosure: I have served and still serve as an unpaid advisor and strategist for the campaign.

It may come as a surprise to some, but Colorado’s 4th District was recently ranked by the Washington Post as a top 10 House race to watch, despite Marilyn Musgrave holding onto the seat for the past three elections.  However, to those who know Betsy Markey, this is not really a surprise at all, especially when you consider that Musgrave’s vote total in 2006 (46%) was the lowest winning percentage in the entire country.

And you can hear Betsy LIVE today at 11AM Eastern/8AM Pacific talking to thereisnospoon and me on our BlogTalkRadio show.

Over the past 2 months, there have been a number of diaries written about Heather Ryan, the Navy Vet mom-turned Congressional Candidate who Senator Mitch McConnell had fired from her job on MLK day for the horrific crime of her and her 12-year old daughter daring to ask McConnell a question about the Iraq War during a campaign fund raising stop in Paducah, KY.

She is running against incumbent Ed Whitfield, whose most impressive list of missed votes would put the rest of Congress to shame (over 250 since 1997), and when he has bothered to show up and vote, he has voted with the republican party close to 90% of the time in the current Congressional term.

And you can listen to Heather talk to us LIVE on BlogTalkRadio today at 4PM Eastern/1PM Pacific by clicking on this link.

Every Saturday morning from 10:30am to 11:00am, Blue Jersey Radio streams live with the latest buzz in New Jersey politics, interviews with newsmakers, and live callers from around the state and the country. We've been fortunate enough to be joined by State Legislators, Congressmen, and a Presidential Candidate.

But, this week, co-hosts Yours Truly and Jay Lassiter celebrate Oscar Weekend with one of our most interesting guests: Cynthia Wade, Director of the Academy-Award Nominated Documentary Short, Freeheld, which tells the story of Police Lieutenant Laurel Hester's courageous battle for justice for herself and her domestic partner against the Ocean County, NJ Freeholder Board. Thanks to the good folks at blogtalkradio.com, you can listen live to the interview right here.

One of the cardinal rules of politics is that a candidate must frame themselves positively before their opponent has a chance to do so.  The corollary to that rule is that one should attempt to paint a negative picture of one's opponent before they have the opportunity to cast themselves in a positive light.

These rules are particularly applicable in the general election battle against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.  The conventional wisdom is that the Republican Party currently has an advantage because they are largely unified behind a candidate, while the Democratic Party is still in a bitter fight to determine its own nominee.  McCain, the thinking goes, is in a position to concentrate on the general election and begin framing the debate, while Democrats are still stuck fighting the primary.

Some of you may have heard of Mark Schauer, although if you live outside of Michigan (like me), chances are that if you have heard of him, you don’t know enough about him - because there is a lot of good things to know.

If you are looking to take a brief break from the Presidential candidate wars, you can hear thereisnospoon and I interview Mark today at 1PM Eastern/10AM Pacific on our BlogTalkRadio show.  

Mark’s website is here, and you can find out why he has a lot to offer the people of his district as a Congressman, what he plans to do differently in Washington as he is doing now in Michigan, the issues facing his district, and his other thoughts on how he will serve his constituents if you listen to him in his own words at 1PM Eastern today.