In a rare display of integrity and compassion, Kraft stockholders voted against a shareholder proposed pullout of Kraft support for the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago. The vote ws not close as 99% of the votes at the shareholders meeting were in favor of Kraft supporting the Gay Games. Here is the link to the article in Advertising Age

http://www.adage.com/...

Last year, Kraft was under fire from religious oraganizations to end their support of the Gay Games. I called to lend my support to Kraft. I remember how kind the lady was to take my call and how relieved she sounded to speak to someone who supported Kraft's viewpoint. Sometimes we dwell on all the negative things going on around us. Perhaps it is time to savor a small victory for equality. To start the celebration, I am going to make some Macaroni and Cheese.

I recently flew to New York and tried to check in on-line the night before my flight. My attempt failed and I was curious as to why. The next day, upon arriving at the airport, I tried to check in with the sky captain outside the terminal. Again, this attempt failed and I was told by the sky captain that I was on a no fly list and had to check in at the ticket counter. No one with the airline or the TSA could tell me why I was on this list. I do not have any criminal convictions, traffic violations or other issues. I am political and have protested the Iraqi invasion and have written letters to Senator Hutchinson and Congressman Delay as well as the president. Are polite letters of disagreement enough to get you on a no fly list? Does anyone know how the no fly list is compiled and what must an individual do to get their name on the list? Just curious, are other members of the Kos community on a no fly list?

Here is a link to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. They have an article which gives a detailed description on the Senate race between Feingold and Michels. This is my first diary, so be gentle in your criticism.

Here is the link: http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/oct04/266493.asp

Here is a brief snipet

In a blow to the campaign of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Michels, a national GOP group has canceled more than $1.2 million in television advertising that was set to run on his behalf in the coming weeks.

At this current time, we are not putting the money behind the time we had reserved," said Dan Allen, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

"I think we're assessing the playing field on a day-to-day basis from state to state and we feel like we have a lot of opportunities, including Wisconsin," he said. "We also know we have limited resources."

The Republicans control the Senate by only a single seat and are locked in tough races in Oklahoma, Alaska and Colorado, and are expected to lose a seat in Illinois.

But last month, party leaders said they were going to try their lot in Wisconsin in the bid to unseat two-term incumbent Russ Feingold, a Democrat. They said Feingold was vulnerable because of his votes against the USA Patriot Act and the war in Iraq.

With much fanfare, U.S. Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), the NRSC head, and Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee, pledged that "significant resources" would be brought to bear to help Michels.

Michels is a decorated Army veteran and a construction executive living in Oconomowoc who strongly supports President Bush.

Feingold has amassed a massive campaign war chest, and Michels, who has given his campaign more than $1.6 million of his own money, has welcomed any outside help. Michels has made fund-raising trips to Washington, D.C., and his campaign has collected thousands of dollars from GOP political action committees.

Last month, the Feingold campaign held a news conference to announce that the NRSC had reserved more than $1.23 million in independent ad buys, a figure that Dan Allen did not dispute.

Others saw the move by the committee as a sign of weakness for Michels, who has consistently trailed Feingold in polls conducted for the news media.

"They talk the talk, but they don't walk the walk," said John Kraus, Feingold's campaign spokesman.

"What this probably means is that their assessment of the race is that it's not competitive and that they're going to deploy their money someplace else," said Ken Mayer, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor. "It's quite likely that they've seen internal polling data and information that's not publicly available."

"It's certainly a big hit for Michels," said Andrew Barrett, a Marquette University political science professor.