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Here are some updates from around the 50-State Blog Network, brought to you this week by Wasatch Watcher, the progressive community blog in Utah...Yes that Utah...because when Dr. Dean says 50 states, it means 50 states.
This week's Roundup was compiled by Thomas at Blue Indiana. Permission is granted to cross-post at your blog, too.
It's Blue Indiana's honor to present this week's 50 State Blog Network Roundup. I've been called off and have to run out of the house this evening, so I'll leave my introduction short, and direct you all below the fold. Enjoy your Friday!
Delaware Delaware Liberal
liberalgeek has a writeup on today's Rep. Mike Castle protest, with pictures to come soon enough!
Hawaii Poinography!
Poinography has some words for Dan Mollway, the executive director of the state Ethics Commission.
New Jersey
Blue Jersey tells the tale of their statehouse correspondent Jay Lassiter being profiled by the New York Times.
Louisiana
Senate 2008 Guru brings the news of Sen. Mary Landrieu's fundraising numbers, and the numbers are big.
Michigan
Our friends in Michigan are running a contest to see who can capture the best picture of a vacationing GOP legislator. Wackiness ensues.
New Hampshire
elwood gives a great report from Bill Richardson's most recent event in the state.
West Virginia
Carnacki wonders what effect GOP control has had on regulatory forces in America, most notably the Mine Safety and Health Administration..
New York
Phillip Anderson gives a unique look to the recent Bloomberg switcharoo, and asks what it might mean for the State Senate race, as well as the reform movement at large..
Maryland
Isaac Smith covers the Donna Edwards campaign announcement, as she begins her quest to knock off Rep. Al Wynn in 2008.
Indiana
Republican Governor Mitch Daniels promised "cleaner, leaner" government when he was elected, but time and time again he has proven himself incapable of achieving anything but the opposite.
Colorado
David Sirota discusses the big chance that progressives have to make huge gains in the west both ideologically, and at the ballot box.
Washington WashBlog
News of Washington 4th of July events brings us all hope of a better tomorrow.
New Mexico
New Mexico wants to know where Pete Domenici stands on the Libby fiasco, and they are tired of getting the runaround.
Georgia
It seems that "Team Abramoff" is alive and thriving down in Georgia.
Arts education is back. Kudos to Senator Sharon Broome, (D-Baton Rouge), for convincing her colleagues in the Legislature that Arts in Education works.
Back at the start of May, it was a slow Friday morning and I decided to try out a little experiment... why not visit all the blogs in the 50-State Blog Network, find a highly commented upon story at each and put it all together into a post.
It didn't take too long--except for getting distracted with all of the good material at the sites--and the process left me with an even greater respect for the great work going on at fellow state blogs. Thus was the first 50-State Blog Roundup born.
Thankfully, others also liked what they saw, and as they saying goes, many hands makes light work. The 50-State Blog Roundup has flourished thanks to the efforts of multiple volunteers who have generously contributed their time and talents:
- June 15, 2007 by Jon (a.k.a. flackattack) from Tondee's Tavern
- June 9, 2007 by isaac at Free State Politics (MD)
- June 2, 2007 by Joe Bodell of MN Campaign Report
- May 25, 2007 by LP from New Mexico FBIHOP
- May 18, 2007 by IVR Polls
- May 11, 2007 by mattw at MyLeftNutmeg (CT)
- May 4, 2007 by Clem Guttata at West Virginia Blue
Can you compile a weekly roundup? Email me (Clem G. at wvblue@gmail.com) if you can help out.
Phillip has the big news that the New York "state assembly passed a bill extending full marriage equality to all New Yorkers." Kudos to the NY state assembly for passing legislation with full and equal rights--not just civil unions or any other half measures--to all New Yorkers. Here's hoping it clears the remaining hurdles to be enacted as law.
Maryland
There's speculation in Maryland about how an upcoming court decision on same-sex marriage will turn out.
When was the last time your state Democratic Party Chairman visited your county? In New Mexico the Chairman is on his way to visit all 33 counties. He recently hit 5 in 39 hours.
odom interview Presidential candidate Mike Gravel. Curious? Read on.
Governing and Mis-Governing: Hmmm… lots of Republicans here
Rhode Island
Matt provides the inside scoop on the last few days of the General Assembly session of the General Assembly--learn about RI's consideration of the barbaric practice of locking up 17 year olds as adults.
How's this for irony: "[http://bluenc.com/le... On the same day Republican State Auditor Les Merritt failed to present any evidence of voter fraud to a state Senate committee, he submitted incomplete documents to the state Board of Elections."
Finally, in closing… on this closest Friday to the longest day of the year, I hope everyone finds time to slow down and relax. Take an evening away from that computer to connect with your neighbors, family and friends. As Carnacki wrote this week, those are the moments when you just might feel like you’re in heaven.
Cross-posted by permission from Tondee's Tavern
Hello, this is Jon (a.k.a. flackattack) from Tondee's Tavern, Georgia's progressive community blog. For this weeks roundup, I thought I would add a little color by lining up the contributing site logos with the respective submissions from each state. Hope you all like the twist. Same rules apply, so please cross-post freely. Cheers!
NorthEast
Connecticut
My LeftNutmeg continues to hammer away at Liberman, and his vote on the cloture motion for Abu Gonzalez warrants no reprieve from the punishment. What a wanker.
Maryland
Speaking of netroots action, let the shelling of Al Wynn (MD - DINO) begin. Here, Here, Here, Here, all goodness....
In "One Family at a Time, Dean Baker at BlueHampshire checks in on Paul Hodes and his efforts to wading through the military bureaucracy for soliders and their families.
New York
The Albany Project reports on the GOP's sucessful effort to kill campaign finance reform. You mean the GOP opposes campaign finance reform? I know we are all just shocked.
South
Florida
The headline says it best: Fla. Lt. Governor Kottkamp (R) Uses Government Computers to Vandalize Liberal Wiki, Lies About It
Georgia
Flackattack looks at a potential troubling consequence of the state 's GOP "tax reform" plan and the ramifications in store for local governments.
More tax news from Michigan, as the single business tax is worked out, and Republicans have had there Paris Hilton moment.
Minnesota
First-term State Rep. Jeremy Kalin, who posts from time to time on MNCR and Daily Kos, received a survey from an undisclosed organization, asking some very interesting questions, both for observers in Minnesota and with national implications.
The California Republican Party hires immigrants to do the work that no Californians want to do: work for the California Republican Party. Also, California announces the BuyCaliforniaBonds plan to invest the public in the financial stakes of the state. Awesome idea.
Ugh. Left in the West documents the re-emergence of an out-of-state push poll firm "Common Sense". As they rightly note, '08 is going to be a long and hard process folks.
This week's edition compiled by MN Campaign Report.
So there's this thing called the 50-State Blog Network, and you should check it out -- it's made up of progressive community-based sites like this one, and it's committed to connecting readers to stories not just in our state, but all over the country. This week the roundup is coming to you from Minnesota, where we have a top-tier Senate race against Norm Coleman, one of Joe Lieberman's best buds, and a third potential Dem candidate considering a run -- read the interview here.
On with the roundup!
The Good
Ohio: Buckeye State Blog does some great work -- a while back I obtained a cell number for one of the admins in order to call and compliment them on their work, but never got around to it. This week they have a great piece on Barack Obama's ground team in the always-important state of Ohio.
Michigan: Senate 2008 Guru keeps popping up all over the blogosphere, this time in Michigan and wondering if Senator Carl Levin will face any serious Republican opposition in 2008. The value of a strong incumbent with a big warchest and no serious opposition cannot be overestimated -- the less time Levin has to spend getting reelected to continue working hard for Michigan, the more time he can spend helping Democratic challengers and endangered incumbents win their races elsewhere across the country.
Illinois: A national popular vote bill recently passed the state legislature. The bill (which I assume would take effect when a set of states comprising 270 votes in the Electoral College pass similar laws) would reform the way the United States elect a President. More on the topic here.
Virginia: This one is sort of good *and* bad....could former Gov. Mark Warner and George Felix "Macaca" Allen face off for John Warner's Senate seat? And to think, we could have had a Warner vs. Warner. However, incumbent Republican John raised about $500 (yes, five hundred dollars) in Q1 2007, so it's a pretty safe bet he's giving up his seat.
Here's to hoping VA bloggers have their Macaca clips ready and waiting.
Pennsylvania: Jason Altmire, a freshman Democratic Congressman, is taking flak for voting for the Iraq supplemental funding bill. He's not alone in that, but he, like many of his fellow freshmen, is making a good effort to communicate with his constituents on the matter.
Wisconsin: Yuck. There are circumstances under which tax revenues can and should be used for construction projects that benefit the entire public, but Uppity Wisconsin is watching a project that may fit into a long-term pattern of waste and poor planning.
Nebraska: It's difficult to be in a blood-red state with a conservative Democratic Senator, but that's the situation Nebraska finds itself in with Ben Nelson. His position on immigration is...well...interesting, according to New Nebraska Network.
Hello, I'm LP from New Mexico FBIHOP, part of the 50-State Blog Network. The Network is a group of community blogs from around the nation that blog about local issues. They also allow diaries, so you can write your two-cents on local issues as well.
Every Friday, one of us compiles a Roundup of notable posts from the blogs on the network. This week, I volunteered, and the following are stories that either I found by reading, were sent to me by blog authors or readers or just came to me in a vision. If you want to help out, Minnesota Campaign Report has graciously agreed to compile the State Blog Roundup on June 1. Please send recommended stories this upcoming week to: mncampaignreport [at] yahoo.com . To volunteer to compile a future round-up contact Clem G. at wvablue [at] gmail.com.
Oh, and as always, feel free to take this post and put it up on your blog. Just attribute it to me or the 50-State Blog Network. Thanks, and on to the Roundup!
Death and...
There are inevitabilities in life, death taxes and the Chicago Cubs losing.
Blue Indiana has an interview with Jill Long Thompson, a former Congressional Representative "widely expected to announce her candidacy for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2008." They speak about an issue near and dear to all our hearts -- gas prices.
That's right: Donald Trump pays just 2.85% more of his income to New York State than do the folks who clean the floors at the Trump Tower.
In Pennsylvania, pandering politicians have pushed property taxes down at a rate so much, it is now more of a priority to them than their constituents. At least, according to an article found by the folks at Keystone Politics.
Over at Free State Politics, they tell us of Ike Leggett. Leggett, you see, is a County Executive in Maryland and decided to torpedo a tax to help out the developers.
At Michigan Liberal, one diarist is pissed off and says it is Time to Fight Back. Fight back against what?
We have bled this state dry, State government is lean and understaffed; services across the state have been eliminated, and now they want to cut education to where schools will have to shut down, cut Medicare so people won't get the healthcare they need and cut revenue sharing so cities will be able to provide less to their citizens.
Amen.
Some people just have a knack for headline-writing. Washblog's Emmettoconnell is one such person, in his post, "In Washington, We Tax Poor People." It takes a look at their anti-poor tax laws.
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life...
As your mother always said, there is a silver lining to every cloud.
The Minnesota Campaign Report looks at how the Democrats (the DFL) backing down on an issue isn't the end of the world. You win some, you lose some.
Calitics looks at how Jane Harman, a California Representative, has changed since her time in office. And, in a pleasant surprise it's been for the better. Harman has become more progressive on the issue of Iraq.
The Burnt Orange Report tells us how and what it means that the state Presidential primary stayed in March instead of moving to Super Tuesday. How can you avoid a post with this quote:
So I'm spinning the March Texas primary as one big political orgy.
All Politics is Local... Even Presidential Politics
Presidential politics from the local perspective.
If you are any sort of interested in the Presidential race this far out, you have to be reading Bleeding Heartland's coverage of the Iowa caucuses. The Iowa blog gives you the perspective from that important state.
Sometimes, it isn't a bad thing to agree with the Republicans, and Arizona's AZ Netroots. Take Russell Pearce in Arizona, who said the following of John McCain's inability to, well, show up for work (as a Senator) while on a job interview for another (campaigning for President).
"If he's going to continue not to be there, then he ought to resign," Pearce said during a news conference at the Capitol. "Otherwise show up for votes."
Sometimes it is hard to find news on the lesser-known candidates. Trust me, I know, trying to cover Bill Richardson's run for governor. That's why I am impressed by the job My Left Nutmeg has been doing in following the Presidential run of Chris Dodd, the Connecticut Senator. Take a look at some of his stuff on their blog -- you might find you agree with him more than you would have expected.
At FLA Politics (that's Florida), Mike lays into Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, giving us some questions he wishes Mitt would answer. For some reason, I think Mitt would tap dance around those questions.
And I Run...
...I run so far away. Those running for office.
Texas Kaos gives us a post by Dan Grant, explaining why he is running for Congress in TX-10. He is a Democrat we can all be proud of.
Prairie State Blue gets the jump on a John Laesch running for Congress in Indiana's 14th congressional district. Laesch ran against Dennis Hastert last time, and will face a primary to see who gets to take on the Republican in 2008.
Blue Grass Roots proudly says, "Kentucky's Next Governor is a Progressive," thanks to the primary win of Steve Beshear over Bruce Lunsford. They don't much like Lunsford over there at Blue Grass Roots.
Another progressive hoping for higher political office is Tom Allen in Maine. Allen stops by Turn Maine Blue to tell them why he deserves Maineians' (no idea if that's what you call them, but damn it sounds good) votes for Senate in 2008.
Fired Up Missouri looks into the news that Kenny Hulshof is running for the position of President of the University of Missouri. And they're not happy about it.
A potential Idaho gubernatorial candidate reaches out to the powers of the internets, and the readers of 43rd State Blues, and asks for some help with the design of his website. It's all about cooperation, people.
The Environment
Not as many environmental stories as I though there would be.
KnoxViews gives environmentalists some great news from Tennessee, telling us the Road to Nowhere is dead. Read up about the Road to Nowhere here.
West Virginia Blue has a special guest post, from the Chair of West Virginia for Democracy. He writes about the WV Public Service Commission and Allegheny Power's attempt to ruin wild, wonderful West Virginia. After all, who needs that pesky wilderness when there is money to be made?
GOPers are the Same Around the Nation
There just ain't much diversity of opinion in the Republican party.
An Ohio blog, As Ohio Goes, gets the scoop on the archaeological discovery of the First Republican politician. Caution: post includes 95% of your daily recommended allowance of snark
Sometimes, all it takes one sentence to get me to read a post. Tondee's Tavern has that sentence in this post:
I didn't know the Republicans in the 10th congressional district were just so damn gangsta?
The story is about rival Republicans getting into a scrap about... political signs.
At RI Future, Matt tells about a challenge to our corporate overlords Wal-Mart. RI General Treasurer Frank Caprio sent a letter asking the SEC to investigate Wal-Mar on "whether Wal-Mart broke the law by not disclosing that Wal-Mart's CEO's son works for a business partner of Wal-Mart." Wal-Mart breaking the law? Is there anyone we can trust?
Buckeye State Blog (Ohio) asks a very profound question: should conceal carry be easier than voting? Unfortunately for residents in that important swing state, "it's bullets over ballots in good ol' OH-IO."
Voter ID cards are a perennial favorite of Republicans everywhere. In New Hampshire, according to Blue Hampshire, the state Senate voted to prohbit the Real ID card implementation. Kudos to the NH state Senate.
In New Jersey, Blue Jersey tells us that state GOPers are trying to avoid Pres. Bush like he has the plague. Maybe I'm naive, but shouldn't a sitting president's own party NOT be ashamed to be seen with him in public?
Who would vote against a movement to apologize for racial bigotry in the south during the late 1800s? Blue NC tells us: North Carolina Republicans. I don't know what to say about that.
Not All Dems Are Good
I could have done a 50-state roundup just on posts about the Iraq vote. But I didn't. Here are some criticisms and complaints about our guys, though.
We have St. Pete here in New Mexico. In Vermont, they have St. Patrick, and the Green Mountain Daily has some quotes from Patrick Leahy about the impeachment of Dick Cheney. Let's just say St. Patrick isn't on board.
Left in the West tells us of Montana's bad political messaging on the immigration issue. Montana Max Baucus and Jon Tester proudly reiterated right-wing frames.
Other
A bit of a copout, but these excellent posts couldn't be categorized, and couldn't be excluded.
Square State (Colorado) tells us there is a middle ground between the free-market media (which gives us such gems as Fox News and Rush Limbaugh) and government-run media: public broadcasting. The CEO of Colorado's Public Television "smacks" those who forget about the benefits of public broadcasting. Personally, being stuck in traffic during rush hour would be even more unbearable without some "All Things Considered" on the radio.
Raising Kaine tells us about two large traditions on Memorial Day weekend, and both involve loud motorcycles. "Run for the Wall" and "Rolling Thunder". It is an interesting read, even if you don't know a Harley from a Vespa.
Gay marriage is a major issue in Massachusetts as well as around the nation. That's why it is important to broadcast the gay rights groups' messages throughout whatever channels necessary, as Blue Mass Group does for the group MassEquality.
The Daily Gotham (NYC) takes a look at a very important issue to residents of the Big Apple: congestion pricing. Basically, public opinion is split on the idea of charging fees to get into heavily congested areas of the city; London has already implemented such a program.
Utah's Wasatch Watcher blog sees an editorial by the Deseret News and just shakes their head in disbelief. The editorial opines against paper ballots for, among other reasons, "The younger generation sees the outcry for the tangible comfort of paper ballots as a hallmark of the fuddy-duddy." Hmm. I'm in the younger generation, and the only thing "fuddy-duddy" about that sentence is the phrase "fuddy-duddy."
Wasatch Watcher (UT) tells us Utah Republicans Bankrupt (not just morally, but literallly, as in $$$). Yet another early warning sign of trouble ahead for the Republican party in 2008.
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