Illinois

The IL-14 Congressional District has been safe Republican for many, many years. Until recently it was the safe seat of none other than pedophile protector Dennis Hastert. Hastert finally resigned in disgrace, following in the footsteps of disgraced Republicans Tom DeLay and Mark Foley.

Today, March 8th, was a special election to replace Hastert. This safe seat has just been won by DEMOCRAT Bill Foster. This is a huge blow to the Republican Party and may just mean the downfall of Tom Cole, the Republican in charge of the National Republican Congressional Committee. The NRCC has spent about 30% of their total cash on hand on this election. The DCCC has spent about 3% of their total cash on hand to back Foster. And now Foster has won.

With 94% of the votes counted, Foster is leading Republican Jim Oberweis 53% to 47%. In a majority Republican district!

Bill Foster isn't just any Democrat. He was a successful businessman, who started a business quite young which now supplies the lighting equipment for most theaters. He then went on to become an eminent physicist at Fermilab. This guy is smart, a great manager and brings an understanding of science to Congress. We need that these days.

Welcome to Congress, Bill. Congratulations. And to Tom Cole, Dennis Hastert, and Jim Oberweis: it is time you learned your lesson. Corruption and fear mongering do not win in the long term

Republican corruption has inspired voters to vote out a good chunk of the Republican leadership. Democrats have replaced Tom DeLay and Mark Foley. This coming Saturday, March 8th, voters might elect Democrat Bill Foster to replace the disgraced Dennis Hastert. Bill Foster is a successful busiessman and eminient physicist and would make an excellent Congressman. The race is very close.

Among Bill Foster's many supporters is Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Obama has taken time out of his presidential campaign to make an ad supporting Foster:

You can make a last minute contribution to elect Bill Foster to Congress through Senator Dick Durbin's Act Blue Site. And if you live in Illinois, you can volunteer on Saturday, March 8, for Bill's campaign: Marianne_at_foster08.com.

I was reminded today by a foolish comment in another diary on Culture Kitchen by a global warming denier that this nation needs more common sense in Congress. The latest global warming denial foolishness is claiming that because it is cold this winter, global warming can't be happening. This is a huge fallacy. Trying to deny a century-long pattern based on a single season is about as wrong as you can get in science. What we need is more scientific input in Congress...and what better way to do that then electing a scientist to Congress. We have that chance March 8th in Illinois.

Corrupt Republican Dennis Hastert was the Congressman in the IL-14 district until he resigned in disgrace. Hastert was one of the leaders of the Republican Party who knew about and ignored, even covered up, the pedophilia of Republican Congressman Mark Foley.

Now Bill Foster, an eminent scientist at Fermilab and successful businessman, is running to take his place. This race pits Foster, who is against the Bush/McCain Iraq quagmire and for affordable healthcare, against pro-Bush, pro-War, right wing extremist Oberweis. The choice is clear. Bill Foster is the man.

Before he became a scientist, starting at age 19 and with $500 from their parents, Bill and his brother built a company that now manufactures over half of the theater lighting equipment in the United States. At Fermilab Bill is a leading scientist in elementary particle physics. He has also managed several multimillion dollar accelerator construction and research projects, and led teams of engineers and physicists to help build the latest round of Fermilab's giant particle accelerators. An impressive career as a businessman, scientist and manager. Experience that would be excellent in Congress.

Next to the Democratic Primary, the most exciting and important race of Super Tuesday is the IL-3 Democratic Primary. Our readers in Chicago and Cook County have a very real choice in this Congressional primary. This race pits an anti-choice, pro-Bush incumbent, Dan Lipinski, against a grassroots progressive challenger, Mark Pera.

Dan Lipinski has been a consistent opponent of a woman's right to choose, a consistent opponent of life-saving stem cell research, and a consistent supporter of Bush's Iraq quagmire. He votes more in line with Bush's agenda than practically any Democrat in the House. In fact, he has voted with Bush 50% of the time!

By contrast, Mark Pera is a true Democrat. He has been endorsed by the National Organization of Women, the Jewish Political Alliance of Illinois, United Muslims and Arabs for a Better America, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Citizens Action/Illinois, Democracy for America (DFA), Mexicanos for Political Progress, Planned Parenthood, United Citizens for a Better America, and Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century as well as a whole slew of local politicians. For Americans who want change, THIS race is critical.

Here is Mark Pera speaking about special interests:

Darwin's Bulldog's presents: Darwin Day #199
Start Date and Time: 2008-02-12 19:00
Event Website: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/darwins_bulldogs/

Activities:
Sponsored by the Darwin's Bulldogs, this free-to-the-public event is a video followed by panel discussion. It is a BYOB event and you are invited to bring your favorite beverage and enjoy it responsibly.

A video by the BBC titled, “A War On Science”, examines the attack on classroom pedagogical standards by religiously motivated adherents of Intelligent Design. The 49-minute programme (after all...it is a BBC production) begins with comments from Richard Dawkins, David Attenborough and Ken Miller and proceeds to examine the tactics used by ID proponents to try and influence the high school science curricula in Dover, PA.

This event culminated in the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial and landed a devastating blow to the ID movement. But what is next? As stated in the BBC’s concluding remarks about this documentary: “Evolution supporters heralded this victory as the damning blow to the intelligent design movement. However, as history shows, law suits have little effect on the support for creationism in a country where over 50% of citizens believe that God created humans in their present form, the way the bible describes it.”

You may read more at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/war.shtml

Mark Pera is a progressive Democrat running for Congress against a corporate Democrat who is anti-choice, anti-stem cell research and pro-Iraq war. Here is a video of Mark Pera speaking about Healthcare:

Those of us who don't just blindly follow Democratic Party line, but rather push a more progressive agenda, Mike Pera's Feb. 5th primary election is a critical one. Mark is supported by Daily Kos, Democracy for America, Citizens Action/Illinois, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and NARAL/Pro-Choices America. If ending the Iraq war, quality and affordable healthcare for all Americans, choice and stem cell research are your issues, this primary is just as important as any race against a Republican. Mark is also featured in my Primaries Act Blue page, which is designed to highlight progressive Democrats who are involved in primaries against machine or conservative Democrats as well as, in some cases, challenging Republicans.

Disappointed with the Democrats these days? Well, I am as well. But what I always keep in mind is that the vast majority of Democrats vote the way I want them to about 90% of the time.

Some tell me that's not good enough. And, perhaps they are right.

The vast majority vote the right way, but in combination with the Republicans, there are still enough Democrats who vote pro-Bush too often to give Bush what he wants.

There are two solutions. Defeat more Republicans, hopefully bringing in more Democrats who really do vote like Democrats and target some Bush-leaning Democrats with primary challenges.

I don't often venture into other people's districts to discuss primaries. But today I want to introduce you to Mark Pera, a grassroots Democrat endorsed by Democracy for America and NARAL. Mark is challenging Dan Lipinski (IL-3), a "Democrat" who is anti-choice, opposed to life-saving stem cell research, and who has voted in favor of Bush's Iraq Quagmire at every chance.

Mark Pera would represent a welcome change in IL-3, bringing in a Democrat that is more in tune with mainstream America and more willing to stand up to Bush's extremist agenda. Lipinski is too entrenched in the era of politics where Democrats were too scared of Bush to do anything but quiver in fear. We need a Democrat with more spine.

Again, I don't often discuss primaries in other states. I have enough to focus on in my own NYC area. But this is one of those cases where the choice is clear: collaboration with Bush (Lipinski) or fighting for mainstream American and Democratic values against Bush's extremism (Mark Pera).

I've seen this piece of news iterated in hundreds of news feeds :

"Given the responses that I've been getting over the last several months, I have thought about the possibility" although not with the seriousness or depth required, he said. "My main focus right now is in the '06. ... After November 7, I'll sit down, I'll sit down and consider, and if at some point I change my mind, I will make a public announcement and everybody will be able to go at me."

Obama was largely unknown outside Illinois when he burst onto the national scene with a widely acclaimed address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

In recent weeks, his political stock has been rising as a potentially viable centrist candidate for president in 2008 after former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner announced earlier this month that he was bowing out of the race.

In a recent issue of Time magazine, Obama's face fills the cover next to the headline, "Why Barack Obama Could Be The Next President." He is currently on a tour promoting his latest book, "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream."

People are desperate in this country for a real leader when they place their presidential hopes on a guy that became famous for a political convention speech, has written a good book about being the son of immigrants, and not much else.