Event: Blue Skies Falling endorsements, 2008.

MY ARGUMENTS:
Information. Where to Get It and How to Use It.
What is Socialism? Is Obama a Socialist?
MICHIGAN : PROPOSAL 2008-02 : Embryonic Stem-Cell Research.
California Proposition #8.
MICHIGAN : PROPOSAL 2008-01 : Medical Marijuana.
Why I'm Voting Against Jan Schakowsky in the Illinois 9th District Race.
Understanding the Subprime Mortgage Crisis.
"Here's how Gov. Sarah Palin's Clearwater visit unfolded"
The Executive Branch is a Committee, with an Economic Example of Why it Matters.
Palin is a Footnote; Clinton is a Chapter.
A Few Thoughts on Abortion for Voting Catholics Like Me.

OTHER ARGUMENTS:
Chicago Tribune: Tribune endorsement: Barack Obama for president. The Chicago Tribune has a respected conservative-leaning editorial staff. Barack Obama is the first Democrat they have nominated for President since the newspaper was founded in 1841.
The Economist: An Endorsement of Barack Obama. The Economist is an editorial magazine based out of the United Kingdom. It has a well-respected global perspective, and is considered to be politically moderate by the standards of most American political discussions.
The Economist: Global Electoral College: What if the Whole World Could Vote?
EGAD or, (de)mythologizing the fetish of place: Flames.
New York Times: Barack Obama for President. The New York Times has a respected left-leaning editorial staff.
Purple Scarf: Harold and the Purple States.
Purple Scarf: In the Real America...
Third Rail Themes: Get Me a Beer, Bitch!
Third Rail THemes: Palin(g) in Comparison, Part the Second


A brief comment on "protest votes": Protest votes were one of many things that earned us the first Bush Administration, and unfortunately this entire class of political opportunity (theoretically equivalent to what is possible in Unions through striking) seems interminably linked to Ralph Nader.
Yet 2008 should be a great year for protest votes in low-risk national races. Many congressional Democrats will win by a large margin; yet since 2006, when the Democrats retook Congress with a mandate, their leadership has failed time and time again to use to tools at their disposal to stand up to the Bush Administration.
We don't want to unseat Democrats; a protest vote is a bad tactic in a closely contested race. However, votes are the ultimate currency in politics, and we can use it to demonstrate that our loyalty comes with a price. Democrats ought to behave as Democrats. Our Democratic led congress has lower approval ratings than President Bush; this is due to disillusionment by a base that feels that they have been represented by an unassertive and unmotivated congressional party leadership.



A brief comment on third parties: There is no time or space here to wade into the myriad and complex arguments about why we should or should not encourage the growth of third party movements in the U.S. My operational premise is that, while third parties in general expand our options and encourage a more mature and nuanced political perspective (both among the electorate and office holders), in the U.S. they are often manipulated by the major parties against each others. Voting Green, for example, is often promoted by the Republicans as a way of whittling away support for Democrats (and Republicans often lead in financial support for Green candidates). With this in mind, I generally discourage voting for a third party candidate unless, 1) you think they could actually govern well and 2) they have an active chance of winning. When these criteria are met, vote-away! For cases where the criteria are not met, but you still want to register a protest vote, consider a write-in instead.

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MY ENDORSEMENTS

PRESIDENTIAL

Barack Obama - Democrat

MICHIGAN

U.S. SENATE
Carl Levin - Democrat
Please follow up your vote with a letter to Senator Levin that he is on notice until he justifies through legislation that the Wall Street bailout is administered with both robust oversight and strict penalties for mismanagement among recipients.

U.S. CONGRESS - DISTRICT 5
Dale Kildee - Democrat
Please follow up your vote with a letter to Senator Levin that he is on notice until he justifies through legislation that the Wall Street bailout is administered with both robust oversight and strict penalties for mismanagement among recipients.

PROPOSAL 1 - Yes.

PROPOSAL 2 - Yes.

ILLINOIS

U.S. SENATE
Dick Durbin - Democrat
Please follow up your vote with a letter to Senator Durbin that he is on notice until he justifies through legislation that the Wall Street bailout is administered with both robust oversight and strict penalties for mismanagement among recipients.

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - 9th DISTRICT
Morris Shanfield - Green

STATE SENATE - 7th DISTRICT
Heather Stearns - Democrat

STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - 13th DISTRICT
Greg Harris - Democrat

BALLOT MEASURE
Illinois Constitutional Convention - YES

JUDICIAL ENDORSEMENTS

COOK COUNTY - 4th SUBCIRCUIT
Pat Rogers - Democrat

COOK COUNTY - 12th SUBCIRCUIT
Pamela Elizabeth Loza - Democrat

North Side Judicial Ratings can be found at:
http://democracyforamerica.com/groups/247.

Event: Information. Where to Get It and How to Use It.

EVENT

Information on National and Local Races.

ILLINOIS - COOK COUNTY
MICHIGAN - GENESEE COUNTY
NEW YORK - KINGS COUNTY

Congress.org: My races.

This website is a great, nonpartisan tool; it contains each candidates' statements of their own positions. Input your address and zip code and it will tell you which races are contested in the executive and legislative branches. Illinois residents can learn about their judicial candidates here.

Michigan voters should also consult the well-edited and comprehensive League of Women Voters guide.

Newspaper endorsements can be great as well. They have the benefit of knowing both the candidates and their immediate public thoroughly. Still, take a few minutes to scrutinize how they back up their assessments. Many editorial boards have at least a subtle partisan bent; it is telling this cycle that so many Republican-leaning rags have voiced support for Obama.

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I personally, believe that it is very telling when a candidate won't provide a direct statement to surveys such as these; this is as close as we can get to direct, concise policy statements. It speaks volumes for a candidate to remain silent.

Additionally, each candidate deserves scrutiny on the basis of not only the particular office and policy positions they will hold, but on the political baggage they will bring to the position. Don't get me wrong; personality is important in any elected office. But in positions of national prominence, such as countrywide, congressional, or statewide posts, we should consider very carefully what a candidate's affiliations are, where their campaign money comes from, and who they are likely to appoint. These are at least as important as how likeable or reliable or even responsible the candidate is.

More locally, a small number of votes are more likely to make a big difference, and the cost of campaigning is low enough that it doesn't require candidates to take as many favors with strings attached. Often at this level personality is more important and party affiliation is less. Judicial races, city/township/town/village and county positions, school board governorships and so forth are all ideal for independent votes. They can give third parties and independent candidates a chance to assert and argue for their platforms without undermining a progressive coalition nationally, and liberation of such votes from compromise reduces the level of unnecessary baggage politicians tend to pick up early in their careers.

If you want to cast a protest vote in a national level race (I will be doing so, voting Green for Illinois' 9th congressional district), that can be effective, but please do so in an uncompetitive race. We need to acquire a large Democratic majority in this cycle.

If you consider yourself Independent, but want to vote Republican in a national level race, I urge you to consider very carefully why you are doing so. Parties change with time, and the last twenty years has made the Republican Party into a much uglier and more unfriendly entity than it has been in decades. These are not the Republicans who will cut your taxes or help small businesses, and they are certainly not the Republicans who will keep government out of your dining room and bedroom. Policy-wise, Eisenhower has more in common with Clinton and Obama than with Bush or McCain, and Gerald Ford spent the last several years of his life appalled at the behavior of his own party's leadership. An Independent who believes that extremes in government are destructive, and that policy-decision dictated by ideology and not a sober assessment of human nature and the world is an independent that should vote for Democrats this cycle.

Finally, it is a truism that when one party dominates government, it leads to a mess. However, the Republican party has pushed the U.S. so far to the right, and has drawn so much of the left towards center, that we need a Democratic supermajority in the senate and a large majority in the House to pass the needed changes. We will have to hold these Democrats accountable and make sure that they behave responsibly and answer to their constituencies, but there is a lack of both credibility and policy soundness in the Republican Party that cannot enjoy rational and reasoned discourse.

This doesn't mean that we should call off discourse; conversation with friends and enemies is essential, to paraphrase one of our presidential candidates in a different context.

But we shold be honest in confronting politicians and their organizations for what they are and how they have behaved.

The Republican Party does not deserved to be called sound or responsible this decade.

It deserves to be treated for the radical, reactionary, xenophobic position it has staked out in the world.

In this election, in national races, we need to look to the Democratic Party for leadership.

Event: Socialist Convention.

The Democratic Socialists of America are throwing a convention this November 9-11, in Atlanta of all places.

I wish I had more money, so that I could go.

I also wish they had better web design, so that I could read about the convention without feeling like I'm reading about a preschool Easter Egg hunt. That has to be the least flattering picture of Bernie Sanders ever.

Event: If it looks like a rat*...

The New York Times Lede: Leaping to Seantor Craig's Defence.

*By "rat" I mean "hypocritical senator."

Event: Freedom House Rankings

The Freedom House has ranked nations as 'Free,' 'Partly Free,' and 'Not Free' according to their measure of political freedom and civil liberty. They are nonprofit and nonpartisan, but the Wikipedia article does note that there is a steady coming-and-going of U.S. government officials within their organization. What do you think?

Here are their 2006 lists. Any surprises?

Free

Andorra, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus (Greek), Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Monaco, Mongolia, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palau, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Serbia & Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu.

Partly Free

Albania, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Colombia, Comoros, Djibouti, East Timor, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, The, Georgia, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritania, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tonga, Turkey, Uganda, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia.

Not Free

Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, China, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Cote d'Ivorie, Cuba, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Laos, Libya, Maldives, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zimbabwe.

Oh, yeah. Here's what they say about the United States.

Body: 100 Places in the U.S. I'd Like to Live (2007).

I do this once a year, 99% from memory. It's a fun exercise, and it's interesting to see what changes from year to year. I choose 100 places in my country (the U.S.) that I would like to live for at least 3 months. This assumes food/clothing/shelter, and some discretionary income. I pick places based on how interesting they seem. If I think I can learn more from a place I've already lived, I put it down too.

For today's question of the day, do this exercise yourself choosing whatever-number-you-like of interesting 3-month homes from your own country.

Albuquerque, New Mexico
Anchorage, Alaska
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Austin, Texas
Baltimore, Maryland
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Boston: South, Massachusetts
Charleston, West Virginia
Chicago: Rogers Park, Illinois
Chicago: Edgewater Beach, Illinois
Chicago: Uptown, Illinois
Chicago: Pilsen, Illinois
Chicago: Bronzeville, Illinois
Chicago: Back of the Yards, Illinois
Chicago: Bridgeport, Illinois
Chicago: South Shore, Illinois
Chicago: Roseland, Illinois
Chicago: Pullman, Illinois
Chicago: East Side, Illinois
Cincinatti, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Davenport, Iowa
Denver, Colorado
Detroit: Denby, Michigan
Detroit: Boynton, Michigan
Detroit: Downtown, Michigan
Detroit: Corktown, Michigan
Detroit: Van Steuban, Michigan
Emporia, Kansas
Eureka, California
Fairbanks, Alaska
Flint: Downtown, Michigan
Flint: Carriage Town, Michigan
Flint: Hall's Flats, Michigan
Flint: Civic Park, Michigan
Flint: Eastside, Michigan
Flint: East Village, Michigan
Flint: Sugar Hill, Michigan
Flint: Westside, Michigan
Flint: Glenwood Hills, Michigan
Flint: 3rd Avenue Neighborhood, Michigan
Flint: The Hole, Michigan
Flint: Mott Park, Michigan
Hamtramck, Michigan
Harrison, Arkansas
Harrison, Michigan
Hilo, Hawaii
Holbrook, Arizona
Homestead, Florida
Honolulu, Hawaii
Houghton, Michigan
Iota, Louisiana
Jackson, Wyoming
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kansas City, Missouri
Lake Lure, North Carolina
Little Rock, Arkansas
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Angeles (Echo Park), California
Louisville, Kentucky
Marquette, Michigan
Memphis, Tennessee
Meredith, Michigan
Miami, Florida
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Nashville, Tennessee
New Orleans, Louisiana
New York City: Alphabet City, New York
New York City: Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York
New York City: Harlem, New York
New York City: Inwood, New York
New York City: Jackson Heights, New York
New York City: Coney Island, New York
Oakland, California
Omaha, Nebraska
Pahokee, Florida
Pentwater, Michigan
Philadelphia: South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Portland, Oregon
Providence, Rhode Island
Raleigh, North Carolina
Rapid City, South Dakota
Reno, Nevada
Saginaw: Westside, Michigan
St. Louis, Missouri
Salt Lake City, Utah
San Francisco, California
Savanna, Georgia
Seattle, Washington
Suttons Bay, Michigan
Traverse City, Michigan
Washington, District of Columbia
West Hollywood, California
Wheeling, West Virginia
Yazoo City, Mississippi
Zanesville (South Side), Ohio
Zion, Illinois