Albany, NY -- I'm FA-A-AT

I just thought you all should know that I ate nearly an entire brick of pepper jack cheese tonight.

Thank you, thank you...

posted by jbrzoska @ 11:55 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- Repeat After Me: "Has a 34% Approval Rating"

I don't really have time to be posting once tonight, let alone twice, but I just had to share this great post from Kos:

We're living in a PowerPoint world. We've become a bullet-point-dependent society. If it can't be summed up succinctly in a handful of slides, then it must not be worth saying. If you're a Member of Congress with a dozen issue briefings to get through every day, then you're more reliant upon the bullet point than anyone.

In that light, let's try a new approach in information presentation to our representatives:

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The President

Has a 34% approval rating

Authorized and continues to authorize wiretaps by NSA of Americans in the United States without obtaining the court orders required by FISA

Has a 34% approval rating

Failed to inform the full congressional intelligence committees about this program, as required by the National Security Act of 1947

Has a 34% approval rating

Lied to Americans prior to the public disclosure of the NSA surveillance program by saying his Administration was relying on court orders to wiretap suspected terrorists inside the US

April 20, 2004: "When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so."

July 14, 2004: "the government can't move on wiretaps or roving wiretaps without getting a court order"

June 9, 2005: "Law enforcement officers need a federal judge's permission to wiretap a foreign terrorist's phone, a federal judge's permission to track his calls, or a federal judge's permission to search his property. Officers must meet strict standards to use any of these tools."

Has a 34% approval rating

Just a bit of a reminder that many bloggers are much, much better than I am!

posted by jbrzoska @ 11:40 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- Tasini Lashes Out at Mainstream Dems

Jonathan's latest on Huffington Post:

If you are one of those Democrats like me who is completely fed up with the inside-the-Beltway party hacks who continue to lose elections because they have no spine and no vision, listen closely to a little something you can do this week to rap the knuckles of the Democratic Party machine.

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As Molly Ivins writes in the recent issue of The Progressive, "Mah fellow progressives, now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of the party. I don't know about you, but I have had it with the D.C. Democrats, had it with the DLC Democrats, had it with every calculating, equivocating, triangulating, straddling, hair-splitting son of a bitch up there, and that includes Hillary Rodham Clinton."

Dude's really standing up for himself... he's got vision. Next step is to show that he has a plan to make it happen.

posted by jbrzoska @ 11:31 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- And Then There Were Two (on 24)

Oh my god... they did not just kill Tony... they did....

Jack and Kim are officially the only two original characters left from the beginning.

Amazing.

Nothing is sacred....

Tags: 24

EDIT: Kim wasn't there in Season 3, but there is in fact only one other character left who has been in every season... Aaron Pierce! (Thanks, Matt)

posted by jbrzoska @ 9:57 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- Rudy Can't Fail... But He Can Die

Man, 24 characters keep dropping like flies. Sean Astin's control-freak Lynn McGill was the next to go...

Tags: 24

posted by jbrzoska @ 9:42 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- Tasini Update

From Jonathan Tasini's e-mail list:

We’ve been busy getting Jonathan’s message and vision out all across the state. A bit over a week ago, Jonathan appeared at the Democratic Rural Conference in Ithaca, a meeting of party leaders from the 41 counties in the state with 150,000 or fewer people. His anti-war message and calls for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney were met with the loudest response of any speaker, according to the press and many conference attendees. Despite not being on the ballot, Jonathan speech drew enough support to earn him more votes as a write-in candidate than Tom Suozzi, candidate for Governor, received in his poll. You can read all about the conference here and here.

Jonathan visited Woodstock on Tuesday, where he picked up the endorsement of County Legislator Brian Shapiro, before joining up as a guest speaker on a Progressive Democrats of America tour, which made stops in Ithaca and Albany. Jonathan’s appearance in Ithaca garnered a feature story in the Ithaca Journal.

As important to the press coverage are the reactions from the people who hear Jonathan speak on the issues. Here’s one example from Ithaca: "I went in saying I would support you because you are more progressive than Hillary. I left feeling positively fired up about your campaign. My husband who is a big proponent of universal health care and I are excited about your campaign and the issues it can raise." The tour concluded this past Sunday with a rally in Manhattan.
With the approaching 3rd anniversary of the Iraq invasion, it becomes even clearer that the troops need to be brought home now, and that the only way this will happen is this through a change in leadership. We’ll continue to focus on this and other key issues as we make our way throughout the state, and thank you for your continued support in helping us deliver our message to the masses.

I have to give the campaign credit; they're picking it up... I'm hoping to get a bit more involved again in April as my schedule gets a bit better (crosses fingers).

Speaking of a campaign picking up, check out Ned Lamont, Joe Lieberman's primary rival in Connecticut:

Lamont, 52, a Greenwich businessman who has been telling his story to small groups of activists since early January, intends to declare his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Senate at the Old State House.

And Lieberman, at 64 a three-term senator who was the Democratic vice president nominee in 2000 and ran for president in 2004, already is taking the neophyte seriously.

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"I'm Ned Lamont, candidate," said Lamont, illuminated by a Corona beer sign and a television carrying a Big East game on ESPN. His audience included a bartender salting margarita glasses. Lamont glanced around the room, smiled and said, "This is a first, in a bar."

No one drank, except a bemused couple who were there for the margaritas, not the politics, and two women deep in the retelling of a domestic drama. They appeared oblivious to the candidate in their midst.

Lamont told them that Bush rushed to war in Iraq with no plan for an occupation or an exit strategy.

Lamont's appears to be a great progressive candidate, and is gaining the backing of the liberal blogosphere. Jonathan's campaign really needs to hook up with Lamont's. A Progressive Senatorial coalition could be tremendous.

posted by jbrzoska @ 6:33 PM Trackback Link 1 comments links to this post

Albany, NY -- JOSH AND DONNA!!!!

The West Wing is pulling out all the stops in its last few episodes... Josh and Donna just hooked up. Wow. I think nearly every single WW fan has been waiting for that since the first episode in the series. I know I have.

posted by jbrzoska @ 8:06 PM Trackback Link 0 comments links to this post