Writers: Save the Date

WriteAngles, Western New England's longest-running writers' conference, will be held on Saturday, December 1st at Willits-Halliwell, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA. I'll be speaking on a panel titled: "Your Web Platform: How to use your Web presence to maximize your profile and your sales."

The conference is sponsored by the Western New England Chapter of the National Writers Union, the preeminent writers' organization in the region.

Conference details forthcoming. Watch this space. Or this space.

Stephen Baldwin: "I am going to break your face."

It seemed like it was only a matter of time before actor Stephen Baldwin emerged as as a person of interest on the religious right. That's why when I read a very strange profile of him last year, I made note of it in a short diary last year.  In light of Max Blumenthal's report for The Nation about Baldwin's role in Operation Strait Up, which seems destined to be much discussed around here, I thought I would reprise that diary on the flip.  First a word from Max:

Baldwin became a right-wing, born-again Christian after the 9/11 attacks, and now is the star of Operation Straight Up (OSU), an evangelical entertainment troupe that actively proselytizes among active-duty members of the US military. As an official arm  of the Defense Department's America Supports You program, OSU plans to mail copies of the controversial apocalyptic video game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces to soldiers serving in Iraq. OSU is also scheduled to embark on a "Military Crusade in Iraq"  in the near future.

Much more.

The Blogosphere Arrives at the Center of Public Life

Today marks a turning point in the history of the blogosphere.

The New York Times has a fair and (mostly) flattering profile of our friend and pastor-to-the-blogopshere pastordan. (Pastordan responds here.) And The Washington Post op-ed page features a piece by Susan Garder and Markos Moulistas-Zuniga tiled, How We Won the Mainstream that explains how the "centrist" Democratic Leadership Council epitomizes the new marginality -- and how central the progressive blogosphere has become in American politics and public life.

The effort to cast bloggers as pajama-clad losers and crazies has failed -- and a new era has begun.

The Death Rattle of the Democratic Leadership Council

Markos of Daily Kos fame writes:

Fox News Democrat Harold Ford goes on Fox News to attack this site and YearlyKos. This is what the DLC has been reduced to -- going on Fox News to attack Democrats and being forced to debate a guy [Markos, on Meet the Press this Sunday] who "wasn't respectable 3 or 4 years ago" in a bid to justify their organization's existence.

So let's do a brief recap: In the last election, the DLC's hero Joe Lieberman lost the Democratic primary, abandoned the party and became the defacto Republican candidate, winning as an "independent." Harold Ford, darling of the DLC lost his U.S. Senate campaign in Tennessee. Now as chairman of the DLC, a corporate funded entity with 350 members, he lectures the rest of the Democratic Party on how to win, and goes on Fox News to join in the bashing of the netroots, the most dynamic element in the party; widely credited as a major factor in the retaking of both Houses of Congress.

It should go without saying that the end is near -- or at least it ought to be.

PDM's Final Endorsement of Jamie Eldridge for Congress

PDM Endorses Jamie Eldridge for Congress. Here is the PDM announcement:

After careful consideration, the Statewide Coordinating Committee (SCC) voted, at its last meeting on July 15th, to recommend that PDM endorse Jamie Eldridge [www.jamieforcongress.com] in the Special Democratic Primary on September 4th in the Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts. The SCC asked that the Executive Committee finalize the endorsement decision after allowing for comment from the broader membership. After reading member comments, the Executive Committee ratified the endorsement decision at its August 2nd meeting.

PDM members will canvass in Chelmsford on August 18th. Chapter representatives have pledged the support of chapter members for additional phone banks, canvassing, and fundraising. If you would like to participate in PDM activities to support Jamie, please contact us at letters@progressivedems.org.

Jamie is an excellent match for PDM. He is solidly progressive on all the important issues in this race, and he has also demonstrated a grassroots philosophy in the way he has organized and run his campaign. Jamie has demonstrated his progressive values through his work as a Legal Aid attorney, and in the legislature through his active and vocal support for equal marriage, closing corporate tax loopholes, and making health care a constitutional right.

As part of our evaluation process, PDM contacted supporters of the other candidates in the race. We encourage our members to learn more about the
race. Blue Mass Group [www.bluemassgroup.org] is providing extensive coverage. We also encourage you to support the Democratic nominee in the October 16th general election.

Song of Ourselves and Others

If Walt Whitman were a Democrat and writing today, he might have written something like this.