Martin Luther King, Jr. Day -- Mid-January Update

Today's a very important day, honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., perhaps the greatest public speaker of the 20th century, and a man that in his short life accomplished so much for America's minorities. Today should be a day of remembrance, recognizing the greatness of Dr. King.

This is my first post in a few weeks, and I apologize for it-- especially considering all of the Feingold news that I missed. Here's a quick recap of everything.

First, there were the confirmation hearings for Samuel Alito. RussForPresident.com has that pretty well covered, here, here, here, and here. (Also, a side note that I wish I didn't have to make: on those pages and others, RussForPresident.com has been getting a lot of trolls in the comments. To all those who don't support Feingold, I say that all the other pro-Feingold bloggers and myself are willing and ready to get into an honest debate on the issues, Senator Feingold as a candidate, or what a President Feingold would do. But the character attacks and supposed "facts" without any proof do nothing to support your credibility. This might get me in a little trouble, but trolls such as those are cowards and nothing more. They're afraid to honestly discuss issues because they're afraid that they're not smart enough to convince anyone of anything. Seriously, folks, this kind of thing bothers me.)

Next, somewhat lower profile than the Alito hearings but perhaps even more important to a Feingold for President campaign are some good posts over at Feingold for Illinois and Tennesseans for Feingold. Just as he was a leader in campaign finance reform, Senator Feingold is the leader of lobbying and ethics reform, with his positions outlined here and here.

And Senator Feingold recently travelled to Vermont and New Hampshire, some of which apparently was covered some on C-SPAN. His visits, including campaigning with one of my favorite congressmen, Bernie Sanders, soon to be joining Feingold in the Senate. Tennesseans for Feingold has this one covered nicely as well.

And those folks keep writing some pretty high-quality things. Check out Schwompa's explanation of why Feingold's religion won't hurt him.

"Oh my," you're probably thinking. "That's an awful lot of stuff I need to read! I'd better get right on it!" Well, now I'm going to add a few new sources of information for you. The campaign moves along with the additions of several new state blogs-- California for Feingold, Feingold for President - Minnesota, New York for Feingold, and Pacific Northwest for Feingold. So, let's recap, just so that everyone knows. We've got Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, Illinois, Tennessee, California, Minnesota, New York, and the Pacific Northwest (Washington and Oregon). If we count Washington and Oregon as separate, that puts us at 10 states-- one-fifth, 20 percent, or, quite simply, a fantastic step in the right direction. The next step is to turn each blog into a network of supporters ready for the primary season. I haven't been posting as often, but I have been working some behind the scenes when I can, and hope that by the end of February I can report some positive developments in this state.

For now, all Michigan readers are encouraged to join the soon-to-be active Michigan for Feingold Yahoo group, where we can discuss how to move the campaign to the next level.

One last thing: the Irregular Times has added wiki-style sections on each of the leading Democratic 2008 candidates. Check out what's up already for Senator Feingold, and add anything left out. This could become a great resource in the future.