Left In Lowell

I just got word as to what is happening with Blue Mass Group, if you have been trying to get that website all day. Apparently, SoapBlox, which BMG uses for hosting and running their site, has been seriously hacked. It looks very, very bad.

This follows the hacking and death of Journalspace, another popular blog site, which very recently went under due to the severity of its data loss. I suspect the two are not unrelated.

I’ve already offered what help I can to David, but it’s hard to know how quickly BMG might be back up, if it can get back up at all with its archives intact. Best wishes, guys.

It looks like Lowell’s Hamilton Canal (a state-designated Growth District) is on the 180-Day shovel-ready project list for Massachusetts; specifically, $25M for “supplement state investment in proposed street and bridge improvements” according to this list (page four, linked to from this comment on Blue Mass by Eric Bourassa of MASSPIRG). Hat tip to Mr. Lynne for finding it.

This is a good sign for Lowell (if it comes through) and hopefully puts Hamilton on the right track despite the downturn, and creating some local jobs besides.

Sadness in the midst of all the fervor of campaigning. Thank you, Madelyn Dunham, for the extraordinary grandson you helped raise. He will make a great president.

This is just incredible.

Thank goodness we have a better Democrat as our nominee, Sonya Chang-Diaz.

There’s really not much more to say on this. Welcome to the bandwagon…

(Via BMG.)

Update: I just love this part:

Weld said he’s never endorsed a Democrat for president before, but in the last six weeks or so, it became “close to a no-brainer.”

Ouch!

What affect this specific endorsement has is questionable, especially as the biggest impact would be in MA and we’re a safe state, but it adds to the general narrative that a lot of moderate, and even some conservative, Republicans are endorsing Obama over McCain. According to Weld, “It’s not often you get a guy with his combination of qualities, chief among which I would say is the deep sense of calm he displays, and I think that’s a product of his equally deep intelligence.” It appears he believes that Obama definitely has the temperament and judgment to be President.

Given that he backed play-to-the-far-right-base Mittster “Hair” Romney in the primary…oh, nevermind. Let’s just enjoy the day!

Another poll has come out regarding the up-and-coming ballot initiatives voters face on November 4th.

First, the decent news for those who are sick of throwing nonviolent offenders into jail for up to several years for a small amount of pot, which is arguably just about as harmful (in the general population) as smoking, which is legal. The yes-on-two vote is 51% to 32% opposed, with 16% undecided. Seems like with the way things are going, it’ll pass.

Second, the OK news for the dogs: 44% in this poll support banning racing, and 43% are opposed, with 13% up for grabs. The poll consisted of 400 people, called between Monday and Wednesday, with a 4.9% margin of error (pretty large if you ask me) so things are up in the air on Question 3 (which I encourage people to vote Yes on - you would too if you knew a greyhound adopted from the tracks which was seriously screwed up in the head).

The best news, however, comes on the income tax repeal question - Question 1. Fully 59% oppose the measure. 26% support it. That’s some really low support numbers. Shows that people are more educated this time around (as opposed to 2002). People are becoming less afraid to say, “hey, if we want services, we need to pay for them.” Progressives have made their message clear and people are listening. Doesn’t hurt that our side had $3.5M to spend on ads and grassroots campaigning this time either (taking no chances, as the boston.com article says). But that doesn’t explain the extreme margin between those pro and against.

But if you want Question #3 to pass (and if you are not a cold hearted cruel person, you should, you really should), you have got to talk to your friends and neighbors and tell them to vote with the dogs, Yes on Three!

(As to Question Two, vote your conscience. But remember this: we spend a lot of money incarcerating people for small amounts of marijuana possession. But if we pass Q3, we turn a money sink into a money gain, as people who are caught pay a fine to the state. It seems like a no brainer to me, at least fiscally.)

Due to the inclement weather (inclement? there’s a flood watch!), Hazardous Waste Day has been postponed to Saturday October 25, 2008, 9:00am to 1pm. Here’s the official announcement and more information (like, reminders on what is and is not acceptable.)

Ron Suskind is known for being a heavy-hitting journalist. It’s he who was told by a Bush administration official that he was part of “what we call the reality-based community” and “while you’re studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors…and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.” Which is, of course, why the words “reality-based community” is proudly displayed on progressive blog sites the internet over (including this blog).

Suskind has a new book, and it’s a bombshell:

Author Ron Suskind appeared on the Today show and said that Bush ordered the CIA to forge a letter after the invasion linking Saddam Husein and al-Qaeda, in an effort to justify the invasion after the fact. His new book is “The Way of the World.”

President Bush committed an impeachable offense by ordering the CIA to to manufacture a false pretense for the Iraq war in the form of a backdated, handwritten document linking Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, an explosive new book claims.

Suskind’s sources are named and from the intelligence community who claim to have actually seen the letter and witnessed key discussions.

ThinkProgress; Today; Crooks and Liars has some excerpts and details.

The Lowell Sun website is broken. At least from my end. Talk about breaking news. A 404 error if you try to access their site? Ouchie. That’s pretty broken, all right. (Did someone forget to pay the domain name or something?)

Too bad, I really wanted to read the Column as recommended by Dick Howe. It sounds like a hoot. According to Dick, “But do save a paper version of this Column. When the paper’s obituary is being written in a few years, the July 27, 2008 edition will be an important artifact that will explain much about the Sun’s demise.”

Edit: OK, it’s back up! Time to go mock the editorial…

It is with sadness that I read today of Senator Kennedy’s diagnosis. We send our best to him and his family, and hope for successful treatment, though this is not good news.

(Article found via BMG.)