Helpful: Google Bomb the Elections

It's worth a shot.

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup

--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

Interesting: Benson

Who knew sleeping was such hard work?

Interesting: A nightmare

No more Bell's in Chicago?

Helpful: Eight more things I learned

1) The ladies love Jeremy Piven.
2) Replacing a bike seat is expensive.
3) Replacing the numbers from a lost cell phone is impossible.
4) Guess what? No matter how powerful you are, your e-mail and IM's will NEVER be private.
5) Everything wrong with America can apparently be traced back to Bill Clinton's penis, which shall forever be referred to on this page as "The Clenis."
6) Trader Joe's is the best grocery store ever.
7) The HP 12-C calculator can figure out just about anything.
8) Want to hear something loud? Sit inside an 'L' car when it's hailing outside.

Helpful: Ten things I learned this week

1) Taxicabs have little magnets in their seats that attract and steal cell phones.
2) I can still understand 60% of the Spanish I hear.
3) The crucial question when writing standards of detainee treatment is: What would Jack Bauer do?
4) Running an actual website is hard, but great.
5) The rule of thumb Debt Coverage Ratio is 1.25.
6) Powerpoint animation is teh shnattt.
7) People who smoke weed while playing softball should not be surprised when they start playing poorly.
8) Today was a bad day for the CTA.
9) Entourage is an awesome show--I'll be meeting Jeremy Piven next week.
10) Riding your bike home in the rain after your seat gets stolen is a sad, effective workout.

You Faithful Tube Democrats dot com

Interesting and Helpful: Faithful Democrats

FaithfulDemocrats.com is up and running!

Interesting: Bookeaters and The Long Winters

We went to a fundraiser concert for 826CHI on Thursday at Park West. Saw some amazing things:

1. Ira Glass of This American Life worked his magic, producing a brilliant audio piece right in front of our eyes and ears. Ira had an iPod in a big white DJ dock which he somehow used to mix interview clips, music, and his own voice. Sublime.

2. John Roderick of The Long Winters played a great acoustic set just 30 seconds after jumping out of a cab from O'Hare. The website has five free MP3 tracks; I highly recommend them all.

3. Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie played a nice mellow set on guitar and piano. He even played Cindy's favorite song from their new album.

Helpful: Framing the health insurance debate

Here's a tip: Lose the phrase "cover the uninsured."

Helpful and Scary: Katrina flood graphic

From nola.com

Interesting: One cartoon says it all

Helpful: Win by not fighting?

This post by Kevin Drum today is exactly what I have been thinking about lately. Does massive military retaliation actually achieve the goals we want it to?

Panic! on the Disco Ball

Panic! on the Disco Ball
Originally uploaded by kuzmatt9.

Indigo Steve at Lollapalooza.

Offensive does not equal offense

Just to clarify: delusional, unobjective support for the Iraq War is not the same thing as being "tough on the war on terror." Hear that, Joe Lieberman?

Helpful: Google Send to Phone for Firefox

No surprise that I love this new Firefox extension. It has:
1. Google
2. Firefox
3. Cell phone texting
4. Usefulness

What more could I want?

Interesting: Secret Radio Project!

My hometown NPR station, Chicago Public Radio, has a secret. Me likey.

IL-10: Is Mark Kirk a Republican?

Look at his website, and you tell me. Wonder what he's ashamed of.

I+H: Happ arrives

After years of anticipation, I can finally read Mike Happ's political writing at my leisure, thanks to his new blog. And you can too.

Interesting: The costs of war

$2 Trillion?

Helpful: Weather Underground

When I look for weather online I want two things: 1) a current radar map, and 2) a 5-day forecast. I've found a site that gives me that without having to click through a million links. Weather Underground does it. And for $10/year, it's ad-free. Animated Doppler!

Interesting: Latest from Fair Illinois

Just got this word from my friends at Fair Illinois, the campaign I helped run this summer. Good progress!

Interesting: Being Evangelical but not Republican

A fascinating story in the NY Times. I'm helping out a friend who is working on this exact issue. Be on the lookout...

Interesting: Bush is clueless

Where to begin?

Helpful: Back to the gym

After this long of a layoff, it's good to have a plan...

Helpful: Plastic Bag Empanadas

Justin from Too Many Chefs has a great trick for making the puffed pastries perfectly.