Open Thread and Diary Rescue

This evening's Rescue Rangers are Louisiana 1976, PaintyKat, jennyjem, dadanation, BentLiberal, and joyful with Got a Grip as editor du jour.

• faithfull posts the first volume of a collection of blog articles concerning the mining method called, "mountaintop removal," and asks any interested Kossacks to make a journalistic contribution in Mountain Mondays v 1.0: Becoming the Media. (jennyjem)
• The ever environmentally-conscious A Siegel reports on the recent movement to educate the public through our nations botanical gardens in Energy COOL: A stroll in a garden. (jennyjem)
• JohnnyRook points out how the White House Ignores SCOTUS By Sticking Fingers in Ears and Shouting La, La, La, La, but sometimes Congress gets the last word in RenaRF's No Funding for Spy Satellites (via the NAO). (joyful)
• In A Confluence of Catastrophes, Milos Janus Outlook points to the problem of crumbling infrastructure and the capital infusion needed to fix it. (BentLiberal)

• jimstaro writes that it's high-time for the verb "Swiftboating" to be declared an insult in My 'Brothers' Want Their Proud Name Back!! (jennyjem)
• Tasini illustrates exactly why the conflict in Iraq must end in War, The Economy And The Death Of A Man. (jennyjem)
• First-time diarist mscharizmaa writes on the beauty of friendship and the importance of remembering in the heartfelt The Man in the Room. (joyful)

• Nuisance Industry offers a thought-provoking analysis of Senator Obama's recent actions in Obama recentering the Democratic Party. (dadanation)
• seabrook explains why there might be bleaker portraits for our country than those found daily focusing on the Presidential contest in priorities for progressives; why Obama's maneuvers shouldn't be our biggest concern. (PaintyKat)
• janis points out that this election is about the personal in the well-crafted diary, My First Obama Organizing Event in Red, Red Virginia (BentLiberal)

• The evangelical Christian right may be becoming more enlightened and less hypocritical regarding certain issues, according to Detroit Mark in Be-Like-Me-Or-Die Christianity Becoming Passe? (Louisiana 1976)
• mamabigdog shares her family's most recent experiences dealing with our health care system in Are you forgetting something? (dadanation)

Enjoy these selections and please promote your own favorite diaries in this Open Thread.

Absolute final push

Apparently, the ActBlue deadline is Eastern Time. So we're down to the last 40 minutes or so.

We're about 55 donations away from our goal of 1,600. Let's wrap this up!

And man, do we love Darcy Burner or do we love Darcy Burner?

We're down to eight minutes. Dan Seals is currently at 666 contributors. That's bad luck. Someone please drop him something so we can get him out of "satan" territory.

"National liberal special interest groups"

Wingnut John Shadegg's final end-of-quarter email blast:

Dear Friend,
             
With the FEC financial filing deadline at midnight tonight, I wanted to send you a quick email.
             
As you know, I am a “target” of the Democrat Party.  They are raising large sums of money to use against me this November.
             
This money is coming from national liberal special interest groups in an attempt to turn another seat Democrat. If they succeed, Nancy Pelosi could have another vote for her agenda that includes raising your taxes, taking away health care choices by mandating government-run health care and voting against measures to lower our gas prices.
             
That is why I need your immediate help before midnight tonight.
             
Please make a generous contribution to my campaign of $500, $250, $100 or even $35 by visiting my Web page at: <http://zewola.com/fs/d:l/x7p2c90bab43ku/x86s20ilctcqj8/0> www.johnshadegg.com/contribute.
             
Your contribution, before tonight’s FEC financial filing deadline, will send the Democrat Party a clear message that Arizona does not support their liberal tax and spend agenda.
             
You and I have a common bond - that we share the conservative principles of Senator Barry Goldwater and President Ronald Reagan that include smaller government, lower taxes, and more personal freedoms while maintaining a strong national defense.
             
Your donation before midnight tonight, will be a vote for these principles. It will also be a vote against the Democrat Party’s attempt to defeat me this November.
             
Thank you for your commitment to the conservative principles we support.  Shirley and I truly appreciate your help and dedication to our efforts.
             
Sincerely,
             
John Shadegg

A message can be sent in this race and every other race in the country. The Q2 fundraising numbers will determine which candidates get party support, union support, 527 support, and media attention. This is it, guys. The next fundraising numbers don't get reported until mid-October, too late to impact most allocation of resources. If we want any of our Orange to Blue candidates to get that extra boost, today is the day to give. If you want any of your other favorite candidates to look good this quarter, now is that time to give to them.

I said no more nagging on that last open thread, but I lied. There will be a few more reminders this evening that this is important to every candidate busting their ass to make this country a better country. We need them not just to replace shitty Republicans currently stinking up the joint on the Hill, but also to build a stable of good, solid progressives.

Fighting back

John Cole:

I don’t care much for Wes Clark, and I am not going to bother trying to explain why, because every time I do it just pisses off those people who like Wes Clark more, but he is getting boned right now by the media. I am watching MSNBC right now and Andrea Mitchell is crapping all over him, and the Obama campaign denounced his remark (for a campaign that promised to fight back, they sure are turning into a bunch of wimps. Pretty pathetic.), but all the guy did was respond to a question from Bob Schieffer:

SCHIEFFER: Can I just interrupt you? I have to say, Barack Obama hasn’t had any of these experiences either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down.

CLARK: I don’t think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president.

It looks like Obama is gun-shy after sticking by Jeremiah Wright. Now, he can't move quickly enough to denounce his own allies. So he's cross at Wes Clark, and he's mighty cross at MoveOn as well! Who else will he be cross with as he kicks off "Operation Piss Off the People Supporting and Bankrolling His Campaign In Order To Prove He Hates the Dirty Fucking Hippies". Now that the primary is over, he can turn his back on the people that brought him.

I was going to max out to him today, given I haven't given Obama a dime yet (focusing on congressional candidates). But I changed my mind. He wants to send the message that he doesn't need us, all the power to him. Message received. I'll spend that $2,300 somewhere else.

When Republicans lost Congress in 2006, Rush Limbaugh bleated that he was happy, that he no longer needed to "carry water" for the GOP. Me, I'll never carry water for our team. I'll reward good behavior, and trash bad behavior.

If you want sycophancy, this isn't your place.

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