Here in Sacramento, there is a dedicated group of people that for more than 2 years has been standing at a very busy intersection with anti Iraq war, anti Bush, pro peace messages.  The intersection they have chosen is one of the main arteries out of downtown Sacto into the surrounding communities and is perfect for visibility.

The numbers of protesters has dwindled recently (probably due to the scorching heat wave), yet one clean cut, tall, young man wearing a battered Montreal Expos cap for protection has manned his corner dutifully.  Everyday he's been out there holding a sign that simply read "You can stop this war."

Simple, clear, concise, poignant.  

Joementum has cancelled his final two events due to low tunrout and participation.  Not a good sign at all.  I bet he needs the time to revamp his remarks for tonight blaming bloggers/the left/hackers for his pending loss.

Maybe Ned Lamont should show up to the polling places in the spirit of "Joe let you down again, I never would."

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released a poll today that focused mainly on environmental attitudes in CA, but also polled the Governors race, the US Senate race and Bush's approval.

The entire poll can be found here.

It shows that Phil Angelides has a lot of work to do (Volunteer - Contribute), trailing by 13, Diane Feinstein is well below 50% for her re-elect but is ahead of her GOP opponent by 21 points and that Bush is Bush.  There are also interesting numbers on enviromental attitudes in CA.  More below the fold.

The highly respected and accurate Field Poll (http://field.com/...) was just released and it shows Gov. Arnie up 8 points over Phil Angelides:

Angelides      37%

Schwarzenegger 45%

Undecided      15%

Other           3%

More on the flip...

Do any of the Georgia Kossacks know if your state does runoff elections in primaries?

I am asking because Cynthia McKinney is holding about a 1500 vote lead in her primary with Hank Johnson.  Her percentage of the vote is 47.1 versus 44.5 for Johnson.  Are the top two forced into a runoff if no one breaks 50%  Or is it simply the top vote getter?

I'll delete this diary once I get the info from you fine folks or can find it myself

This is just outstanding video and should serve as an abject lesson to any scumbag Chickhawk Republican who decides that they will try to smear a Democrat that actually served in combat.

Murtha is a traditionalist when it comes to the rules and traditions of the House and would not generally call someone out like that on the House floor.  His blood must have been boiling to hear his good name used like that.  Look at the video below the jump:
 

The recently released Public Policy Institute of California released their latest numbers on the Special Election here in CA this Nov. 8th.

The good news is that despite very heavy ad rotation by Arnie and his cronies, there has been very little movement in the numbers of Props 73-77.  Prop 75 has acutally lost ground since the last poll.  Historically, props under 50% at this point go on to defeat.

The bad new is that the margins are still close and we cannot take for granted turnout and mobilizing our base.

Vote No.  Nix the first six.

More below the flip:

Arnie has aligned himself with this lunatic Ted Costa who initiated the recall against Gray Davis to put forward a major plank of his "reform" agenda: redistricting.

These incompetents had to pay signature gatherers up to $5 a signature to qualify this abomination to the ballot.  However, in true Ted Costa/CA GOP form, they gave one petition to the AG to certify and circulated another with different text.  DING!  Illegal under CA law.  They knew they had done it, but circulated it anyway, only telling the AG after the initiative had qualified.  More...

From the Field Poll, released one day after the humiliating approval numbers for Arnold.

In CA, typically, initiatives that start out below 50% are in serious, if not mortal, trouble.  I think the redistricting one in particular can be slapped back by linking it to Tom DeLay and poster his corrupt mug up and down the state in all the commericials.  

The Field poll in CA is a highly respected statewide poll that is fairly accurate and methodologically sound.  They release upcoming numbers via email a day early those with paid subscriptions, but ask for them to be embargoed until release.  I am not a subscriber and the news is too good to sit on:

This diary will be brief and non-detailed so as not to give anything away.

George Lucas has really outdone himself with this movie.  Flawless effects, good acting (minus Hayden Christensen, who is annoying and whiney) and a tight story that ties up all the loose ends.  

The action sequences, which are at least 70% of the movie, are stunning.  We learn more about the Jedi Council and see Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) in an epic battle.  The final lightsaber duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan is so brutal you cannot believe the same guy who directed the Phantom Menace directed this movie.  Yoda is simply a badass.

The romance stuff was cut short (mercifully) and Jar Jar is only on screen twice with no dialogue.  Plus wookies!  Lots and lots of wookies!

There are lots of Dems on this site that routinely trash Gray Davis, calling him vomit, gutless, incompetent, deserving of being recalled and worse.  He was not perfect, but he was ARDENTLY pro-choice and a recent column from the Sacramento Bee reminded me of that.

Gray Davis deserves credit for this and I hope all of you Californians remember the good, not just the bad.

Another reason to not like the guy:

Associated Press
WILMINGTON, Ohio -- Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling made a surprise appearance Monday morning with President Bush, limping to the stage to give Bush a strong endorsement.

Schilling won Game 2 of the World Series and Game 6 of the American League Championship Series with his ankle stitched to protect a torn sheath around a tendon. He was expected to undergo surgery this week, and had canceled an appearance with Bush on Friday.

The ace pitcher said Bush was a commander in chief who will ensure troops "have everything they need to get the job done, a leader who believes in their mission and honors their service, a leader who has the courage and the character to stay on the offense against terrorism until the war is won."

Bush stood next to him, and they embraced afterward.

From Good Morning America

Posted Oct 28, 2004

ABC'S CHARLIE GIBSON: "Well, well said, Curt and Shonda. You both have certainly lifelong membership now in the Red Sox nation. It was a great thing to watch, and I think everybody ...quot; whether they were great Red Sox fans or not ...quot; had to admire what this team did. It was extraordinary, and one of the great stories of sport. And sport always produces such great stories. Curt, Shonda, great to have you with us. Congratulations."

CURT AND SHONDA SCHILLING: "Thank You."

CURT SCHILLING: "And make sure you tell everybody to vote, and vote Bush next week."

Source: ABC's "Good Morning America," 10/28/04

The California State Teachers Retirement System is the 3rd largest public pension fund in America with total assets of $116.2 billion.  Their board is made up of appointees, elected members and statewide elected officals.  

Two of the elected officials, Jack O'Connell, the Superintendent of Public Instruction and Steve Westly, the State Controller sent a letter to David Smith, the President and CEO of Sinclair questioning his decision to air propaganda on Friday.

Unlike Alan Hevesi, the 2 electeds cannot move to dump Sinclair without a board vote and that seems unlikely at this point.  But CalSTRS is a 800 pound gorilla in pension and investment sectors, so people will take note.

More below the break.

Sinclair to Air `A POW Story: Politics, Pressure and the Media'

BALTIMORE, Oct. 19 PRNewswire-FirstCall -- Sinclair Broadcast Group (Nasdaq: SBGI - News) announced today that on Friday, October 22, 2004 at 8:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. central time) certain television stations owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. will air a special one-hour news program, entitled "A POW Story: Politics, Pressure and the Media." In order to minimize the interruption of normally scheduled programming in those markets where Sinclair owns and/or programs more than one television station, the news special will be broadcast on only one of those stations. A complete list of stations which will be airing the program and the times of such broadcasts is attached. More below break:

During The Apprentice tonight Trump chose to fire a woman who was assigned project manager based on the belief she was a strong leader.  Some fundamental mistakes later, she was fired.  

Money Quotes:

Carolyn: She's a decisive leader

Trump (annoyed): She's decisive and she's wrong

Bush, you're fired!

Apologies if this has been posted already.

This poll is from the Public Policy Institute of California, which has a pretty good reputation out here. Below is a summary of their findings.