It could not be easier:  use this link on Barack Obama's site to help get out the vote for Bill Foster.  He is a wonderful Democratic Party candidate running in the 14th Congressional District in Illinois.  You may recognize that District . . . it is the seat once held by former GOP operative and House Speaker Dennis Hastert.  It's also the district I grew up in, where my mother still lives.  Needless to say, it is chock full of nice people who deserve a fantastic Representative like Bill Foster.

The Chicago Tribune thinks the seat is winnable.  

Help push Bill Foster over the top to take the seat away from the GOP.  How satisfying would that be?

The polls are open until 7 pm CT . . . just make a few calls!

I'm a Precinct Captain for Barack Obama in East Dallas (yes, that is part of Dallas, Texas, despite what some may tell you).  Since the Texas campaign began, I have made more than 700 820 calls to registered voters in my precinct to find Obama supporters and ensure that they get out to both vote and caucus.  You may think Senator Obama has it in the bag, but we cannot take anything for granted, especially in Texas!

Below the fold, you will find the top 5 reasons you should be making calls RIGHT NOW:

I have been closely following the plodding progress of the Congressional committee investigations into the Attorney General's firing of "underperforming" U.S. Attorneys. While there are so  many  questions  one can wonder about in this scandal, here is the one that is bothering me the most tonight: why is the Department of Justice (the name suddenly strikes me as utterly ironic) allowed to redact information about all U.S. Attorneys and USA offices other than those pertaining to the fired individuals?

People, tomorrow is Opening Day of the Major League Baseball Season!*  

Do you feel ready for that?  [Of course, we have been ready since November 1st for the new season to begin.]  

Do you know which team will win it all?  [The Chicago Cubs, of course.]

Have you made plans as to which games you will see?  [What are you waiting for?]

*While it is just like the St. Louis Cardinals to try to steal the thunder by playing an "Opening Night" game tonight, I do not recognize such a game as the true beginning of the baseball season, which must occur in the daytime.

. . . and the Dallas Morning News is ready to report on it--sort of.

In the face of the Dems' stunning election victories a few weeks ago, I wondered briefly if the need for civil rights work would diminish or dry up. On reflection, I still think the answer to that question is "no", because there will always be knuckleheads who do things that violate the Constitution and Bill of Rights, no matter who is in power in Washington, D.C.

Heck, Dallas alone could keep civil rights lawyers busy for years. At Preston Hollow Elementary School, a federal judge recently ruled, the white Principal ran the equivalent of a private, whites-only school within the public school she was charged with overseeing.

Read about it below the fold . . .

Yesterday I arrived at the airport in Austin, Texas for a business trip and walked to the parking garage where the rental cars are located.  During this brief walk, I met a young soldier, still wearing his cammys, who had just returned from overseas (he did not specify in which country he had been stationed).  My "introduction" to him occurred when I looked over after hearing him say "asshole," not very much under his breath.  Without a word from me, he explained that he was upset because airport security would not allow him to catch a cab upstairs, but was requiring him to go downstairs to the airport cab stand.

I rarely buy the Dallas Morning News, because I find it difficult as a matter of principle to fork out my hard-earned quarters for what is pretending to be a Newspaper Containing Unbiased, Informative Journalistic Product but is actually A Corporate Media Arm for the Administration. But on Friday morning, I found myself out to breakfast with nothing to read, and that just won't do, as I am nothing if not addicted to reading while I eat (on the occasions when I eat alone, for those of you who were thinking of asking me out on a date).

So, I purchased a copy of the Dallas Morning News, knowing darn well what I was getting into.  In perusing that morning's paper, I found the answer to the question with which I have tortured myself ever since canvassing last fall and meeting folks who had not yet made up their minds about whether to vote for Bush and Kerry.  What is that question, you ask?  

The question, and its answer, are below the fold . . .

Today the DSCC held a fabulously well-attended Democratic Party reception and rally in Dallas, Texas.  Hard to say how many attended the rally, but I'm guessing it was in the thousands.  Here is a picture of part of the crowd, just to give you an idea:

Sure, they were there to hear from local Democratic Party office-holders, but they were also there to see and hear the Big Three--Harry Reid, Joe Biden and Barack Obama!

More below the flip . . .

Cross-posted at my blog, this is my simplified blow-by-blow take on Judith Miller's own article in today's New York Times.  I don't believe this has been blogged from quite this angle today, and apologize if I have missed this kind of diary on today's list.

So, here's my take on it:

In between fits and spurts of writing a brief today (thanks to my diligence, I'm nearly finished!), I have been intently reading the NY Times' story on the Judith Miller debacle, as well as Miller's own credibility-defying account of the events, also published in the NYT.

Continue below the flip, for more on Miller's breathtaking recitation of the events surrounding her Libbygate . . .

As this story reflects, the hits just keep on coming for Bush.  While you can read more about this incident in the extended text below, here is a summary:

Canada and the U.S. are engaged in a dispute about the $6 billion in softwood lumber Canada ships to the United States for use in home building and remodeling.  The U.S. has imposed duties on Canada, claiming that the wood is subsidized and dumped in the United States.  The two countries filed adverse claims under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization, and a NAFTA ruling issued in August found that Canada is in the right.

Today, Bush spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin about the issue, suggesting that Canada negotiate with the U.S. to "resolve" the issue even though Canada has already won a decision supporting its viewpoint.  Read on below the flop for a transcript of their conversation . . .

After a summer of baseball and travel, I was wondering how I would entertain myself this fall.  One of the most entertaining and blessed events I can imagine would be the trial and conviction of Tom DeLay.  An article in today's Dallas Morning News  gives me hope that this may actually come to pass.  

Apparently, the foreman from the grand jury indicting The Exterminator is a former sheriff's deputy and state insurance investigator with the guts to speak out in light of DeLay's denials and claims that the indictment was baseless and politically motivated.

Excerpts from the DMN story below the jump . . .

I think a progressive should! However, today Eddie Bernice Johnson, my district's U.S. Representative (D), announced her support of the Wright Amendment and intent to close Love Field Airport if it is lifted .  I think this is a very bad thing and am disappointed that she has taken this position.  

One purpose of this diary is to encourage others (preferably in her district) to contact Rep. Johnson regarding our displeasure in an effort to change her mind.  Another is to encourage folks from other towns who are similarly affected by the Wright Amendment to contact their own representatives.

If you are not familiar with the Wright Amendment, it is also known as the "Help American Airlines Limit Competition and Charge People Who Personally Pay for Flights More Money" statute.  And many people are working very hard right now to have this law repealed.

More below the flip . . .

Below is the text of an article I received as part of my "GOP USA" subscription (what better way to keep tabs on the enemy than to receive their propaganda?).  

I found it interesting, perhaps you will too:

Border Patrol Secrets
By Thomas J. Fitton
August 2, 2005

According to explosive documents uncovered by Judicial Watch, at a time when the United States faces an illegal immigration crisis and a war on terrorism, Bush administration officials directed Border Patrol agents to mislead the American people by withholding information about a marked increase in illegal immigration caused by President Bush's immigration agenda.

I have engaged in some spirited debates with those at this site who violently critizice Wal-Mart at every possible turn.  I get the arguments against Wal-Mart . . . I simply do not agree with them.  

So I found this article in today's Star Telegram (a Fort Worth-based newspaper) very interesting.  Its title is, "Why would Democrats fight a discount store?"

More below the flip . . .

I don't know about you, but I sometimes feel hopeless, or at least less hopeful, about our ability to make progress on progressive issues in this country.  However, an email I received today from Bobby Eberle, Jeff Gannon/Guckert's friend and mentor, made me feel hopeful.

In case you've forgotten, Bobby Eberle is President and CEO of GOPUSA (www.GOPUSA.com), a conservative news, information, and commentary company based in Houston, TX.

Check below the fold to see what Bobby has to say about the morale of his party, which is waning!

As this Chicago Tribune story explains, these two companies have been under some pressure as a result of their support of the Gay Games in Chicago.  Another Kossian, AZnomad, wrote this excellent diary about the letter a Kraft executive wrote in the face of the pressure from so-called family groups.  As that letter and other sources indicate, the companies seem to be holding up to the pressure just fine, but now the "American Family Association" and the "Illinois Family Institute" are bashing the corporate support of the games.  

Why are these "pro-family" groups upset with Kraft and Harris Bank?  

What hideous endeavor are Kraft and Harris Bank supporting, anyway?  

What can you do to support Kraft and Harris Bank in their refusal to bow to the pressure of the "religious" right?  

For answers to these and other questions, read more below the flip . . .

Last Saturday, Barack Obama, the Illinois Senator, gave the commencement speech at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois (my cousin's alma mater!).  I read his words and found them so profound that they brought tears to my eyes.  In reading them, I thought of the ferociousness that has overtaken the Daily Kos this weekend.  It is my hope that you find Obama's words as moving as I did, and that they will serve as a panacea, to remind us of the reason we are all here.

Rocking speech . . . below the flip!

CNN is reporting today that federal agents raided a slave camp filled with homeless persons in Florida.  Specifically:

More below the flip, including: Does Jeb Bush know this is happening?