This from Rook @ Daily Kos

Internal poll numbers just in!!  Harold Ford, Jr., is now leading by 6 points in the US Senate race in Tennessee!

According to the latest Hamilton Beattie poll (for the DSCC), Ford is ahead 46-40.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1 1/2/183212/037

http://mediamatters.org/items/2006103100 08

MediaMatters.org is reporting that 90 corporate sponsors have pulled their advertising - radio's lifeblood - from Air America shows carried by ABC radio affiliates.  Air America is a vocal national get-out-the-vote proponent, and their on-air election info/encouragement is a welcome component of our efforts. Plus, Stephanie Miller is funnier then Hell. I've already emailed a few of the companies I patronize - Home Depot, Discovery Channel, Microsoft, FedEx, Epson - to let them know their business choices have consequences.  One of the companies on the list - Seattle-based outdoor gear outfitter REI - was listed inaccurately.

See Charleston Gazette/AP Article for details
http://sundaygazettemail.com/section/Bre aking/000000108

More tragic news for an industry whose workers have already paid a terrible price for Bush's gutting of mine safety regulation and enforcement.  Once again, people's lives have been devalued in the face of Bush/Republican money grubbing, and the neocon quest for unregulated business. Under Bush II, Clinton-era mine safety measures have been recinded with shameless eagerness, and our country's sub-par standards have been made even worse.

Compare U.S. mine safety standards to Canada's, detailed in this Guardian article about 72 miners escaping unharmed from a mine fire in Saskatchewan.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/st ory/0,,-5582039,00.html

The Canadian mine was equipped with airtight chambers into which the miners could retreat - packed with enough oxygen, food and water to last several days. I wonder how the families of the guys lost in the Sago coal mine disaster would feel if they knew about the decent conditions miners get north of the border?

First, grieve for the families of the poor guys who have been lost in U.S. coal mines in just the past couple of weeks. Then voice your outrage at Republicans who talk family values, while supporting industries that value a slight gain in profit over the very lives of their workers.

Was Clinton's "plantation" comparison too harsh?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10889272/

NY Times link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/21/politics/21cnd-scanlon.html?hp&ex=1132635600&en=0c94f2048b 0732e2&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Nothing new here for the blog-headed, but so far the mainstream press (exception: NYT, Wa Post and MSNBC) seems to be passing on the story in favor of Cheney's daily dose of misinformation, Zarqawi, and poultry flu.

Needless to say, this story has the potential to damage many members of the Ugly Right, all up and down their ranks. It would be very good to circulate this as much as possible.

According to Slate Magazine

http://slate.msn.com/id/2109370/

Christian wingers now wish to be referred to by the supposedly more appealing title "evangelical Christians".

Not so scary - a little more mainstream sounding.  Apparently it's starting to catch on. HAH!

I say we adopt our own appellation that clearly distinguishes between traditional Christians (e.g. folks who actually work to observe the teachings of Christ in their lives) from the judgmental fatheads who use Christianity as a cover for hateful and bigoted behavior.

How about the following: Christian extremists (perhaps EX-Christians?), Right-wing Christians, ultra conservative Christians, the Christian hate movement.

Let's not let this un-American group perform an Orwellian identity shift.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/29/politics/main652417.shtml

Also - take bad for Bush vs bad for Kerry poll on upper left of page.

There are several ways in which Kerry can weave a compelling case that Osama's newest video is proof that Bush bungled the war on terrorism. I'm assuming both the Kerry and Bush camps have contingency plans for just such an Osama video scenario, and they're putting them into action right now. The real battle in the next few media cycles will be which side is best at applying a two-by-four to the collective head of the mainstream media. It's hard to know how the chips will fall on this, but this battle for the press' attention may be a deciding factor in the last remaining days.

I suggest we all start contacting newspapers, TV/radio stations, websites etc. to help make our story the most dominant one.

Suggested talking points:

How can we be winning the war on terror when OBL is still at large?

We need a president who will not brush off threats to the country by saying he is "not that concerned" about Osama (and later deny his own words). Bush hasn't done the job - KERRY WILL.

Bush has squandered America's resources in an Iraq quagmire, with no connection to 9/11, and the real threat - Osama Bin Laden - is still mocking George Bush in videos seen throughout the world.

Other ideas for talking points?  Also - can someone more tech savy than I provide a ready-made contact list for media outlets?