After a trial spanning nearly three months, the judicial panel dismissed Coleman's central argument that the election and its aftermath were fraught with systemic errors that made the results invalid.

"The overwhelming weight of the evidence indicates that the Nov. 4, 2008, election was conducted fairly, impartially and accurately," the panel said in its unanimous decision.

The panel concluded that Franken, a DFLer, "received the highest number of votes legally cast" in the election. Franken emerged from the trial with a 312-vote lead, the court ruled, and "is therefore entitled to receive the certificate of election."
 more this way»

And I quote directly from La Macha :

But like I mentioned yesterday, while I don't deny that the Black and Latin@ communities have some big time issues with queer hate, I also think gay organizations have to confront their very real racism within their organizing strategies. For example:

Gloria Nieto had a sense of those demographic forces, too. When Nieto, a lead organizer for the No on Proposition 8 campaign in San Jose, wanted to distribute campaign signs in Spanish and Vietnamese this fall, she had to get them made herself because the statewide campaign only had signs in English.

What this suggests to me is that communities of color have their problems--but largely white organizations seem to not value those communities until the time comes when they need them for their own agendas, and even then not so much.

Will gay organizers do anything to confront this problem? Or will they hide their racism behind "They're just conservative" excuses? The answer remains to be seen.
 more this way»

That "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs" bit is pure gold :

Selecting Sarah Palin, who was touted all summer by Rush Limbaugh, is no way to attract most women, including die-hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton. Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does. To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."

Y'all know how pissed off I got after La Steinem wrote that horrid anti-Obama Op/Ed for the New York Times and that my beef with her is just not new. This time around she serves her purpose well for, indeed, all what Palin and Clinton share is nothing but a chromosome. Yet Ms. Steinem needs to go further.
 more this way»

Image Sgt. Matthew Roe/10th Public Affairs Operations Center, via Reuters and The New York Times

The New York Times adds a little pebble to the mountain of John McCain's woes this morning with an article about that walkabout the good Senator did in Baghdad the other day. After this excursion, McCain famously declared that parts of Baghdad were perfectly safe to stroll around in.

A day after members of an American Congressional delegation led by Senator John McCain pointed to their brief visit to Baghdad’s central market as evidence that the new security plan for the city was working, the merchants there were incredulous about the Americans’ conclusions.

“What are they talking about?” Ali Jassim Faiyad, the owner of an electrical appliances shop in the market, said Monday.

Pictured above is the Senator in his bullet-proof vest. What you can't see are the three helicopters circling overhead, or the full infantry company deployed to shield him, or the traffic barriers that kept ordinary Iraqis away from him.

Every campaign has moments that crystallize them. For Michael Dukakis, it was trying to look tough by being photographed riding a tank. For George Bush senior, it was not having an answer to how much a quart of milk costs.
 more this way»

The Washigton Post reports today that Hillary Clinton is fighting tooth and nail to keep her husband's impeachment out of any discussions involving her presidential bid :

Clinton Fights to Keep Impeachment Taboo - washingtonpost.com:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has a new commandment for the 2008 presidential field: Thou shalt not mention anything related to the impeachment of her husband.

With a swift response to attacks from a former supporter last week, advisers to the New York Democrat offered a glimpse of their strategy for handling one of the most awkward chapters of her biography. They declared her husband's impeachment in 1998 -- or, more accurately, the embarrassing personal behavior that led to it -- taboo, putting her rivals on notice and all but daring other Democrats to mention the ordeal again.

Funny, because at the nail salon, the republican feminist lady that was getting a french manicure was saying that it did matter to her.

A lot.
 more this way»

I have been asked by one of my fairly oddparents, Micah Sifry, to slum it once or twice a week at TechPresident.com, the new campaign blog from Personal Democracy Forum.

I am in the fanstatic company of people like Nancy Scola, Zephyr Teachout, Ruby Sinreich and Lynne D. Johnson ... and and one guy or two.

HA!

Check out the blog. It's non-partisan, so the diversity of opinions on e-campaigns is really good.