This week's roundup is made possible thanks to the major efforts of boadicea. Residing in one of those "W" states, I'm turning the tyranny of the alphabet on its head this week. Here's the 50 State Blog Network Roundup--this week running from Wisconsin to Alabama!
Washington Washblog is taking on the question of media ownership in a pragmatic way by encouraging readers to support local community radio station, KSER. They share some fairly compelling reasons to do so.
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WV-02 is one of only seven a Top Priority Challenger Race identified by the DCCC across the nation (received via email):
Update: I received a slight clarification from an inside source at the DCCC. WV-02 is one of many (more than seven) Top Priority Challenger Races. The list below was related to a meetings in Washington this week. There are more than seven races receiving similar levels of support from the DCCC. (Thank you for that clarification.).
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is committed to not only securing the Democratic Majority, but strengthening it as well. The viability and demographics of a number of our challenger campaigns have placed them in a position to win next November.
Investing early in these challenger races is critical to securing-and strengthening-a lasting majority. Republicans are ready to do anything they can to keep these seats and regain control of the House.
September 30th is an important financial filing deadline for all of our candidates. It is the bar many will use to measure the strength of their campaigns. Please support the following before September 30 as we continue to lead America in a New Direction:
John Adler (NJ-03)
Darcy Burner (WA-08)
Christine Jennings (FL-13)
Dan Maffei (NY-25)
Eric Massa (NY-29)
Gary Trauner (WY-AL)
John Unger (WV-02)
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito may be a nice enough person, but her representation is anything but. Just today we learned how she voted against flood relief for West Virginians. Even Shelley Moore Capito acknowledges her Rubber-Stamp Republican Reputation is toxic--she's trying to rebrand herself as "an independent voice". If she doesn't believe in herself, why should we?
Thankfully, we have a much better alternative in 2008. Democratic State Sen. John Unger. There are 3 days left before the important end of quarter fund-raising reporting deadline. Make your voice heard. Contribute today.
The first Beatle to die tragically young once said, "life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." Life is also what happens when we're not blogging. In the better late than never category, life has finally gotten out of the way to allow this week's 50 State Blog Roundup to emerge.
If your favorite 50 State Blog member is missing from this week's roundup, I promise no slight is intended. It just means no one had a chance to nominate a post for the week.
You can help make sure that doesn't happen again in the future. You can submit a nomination for any blog listed at the BlogPAC state blog roll via the nifty automated nomination system prepared by Ralph Bordie. Give it a try next week.
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After months of managing the weekly 50 State Blog Roundup process via email, I've ready to give it a try here on OpenLeft.
Volunteers Wanted
There are two major roles involved with preparing the 50 State Blog Roundup each week. The first, which can be handled by multiple different people each week, is visiting a bunch of state blogs and identifying worthy posts to nominate. The second, which can be handled by a different person each week on a rotating basis, is (a) filling out the Roundup after other nominations are in and (b) disseminating that week's roundup.
If you are willing to volunteer for either role, please post your how and when you can help. I'll start update this post with the who/what/when.
Announcing an F.A.Q.
I've taken a first stab at a 50 State Blog Network F.A.Q.. Let me know (in the comments or via email - wvablue [at] gmail.com ) if you've got suggested edits or any additions.
Do you live in a safely Democratic Congressional district? Are you eager to add to the Democratic Congressional majority? Want to tie down incumbent Republican resources in a top Democratic House pick-up opportunity?
Adopt our district!
It doesn't matter if you've ever stepped foot in the district before or not, we welcome you here in West Virginia's Second Congressional District.
There's lots of great stories from the 50 State Blog Network this week. Please take your time this weekend, pour yourself a cup of coffee (tea, or soda) and savor the reading. You'll be glad you did.
This week's Roundup is brought to you by Clem Guttata of West Virginia Blue.
Featured Items
* As Marshall said when he promoted this item, "Excellent work...this is journalism!" Crandall Canyon, The King of the Mountain, The Fox in the Coop. Additional notes: The same item was cross-posted at As Ohio Goes. There's a reason Crandall has been a big contributor to Republican politicians.
* The Albany Project and Daily Gotham were all over the story of (now) resigned GOP operative Roger Stone. If you don't know the story, do yourself a favor and visit the two blogs that helped bring him down this week. (There's too many posts to pick just to link to.)
Welcome to this week's roundup, brought to you by Clem G. of West Virginia Blue. So much for August a slow news month... there's plenty to dig into here.
Of Special Note * Congratulations to The Albany Project. As Phillip Anderson puts it,
I'd have to say the highlight of our week was the Governor stopping by to congratulate us on a great convention in Chicago and inform our readers that he will soon be starting a regular liveblogging gig at The Albany Project.
* MyLeftNutmeg recaps the many stories of the one year anniversary of Ned Lamont's primary victory. Lamont's victory, showing Democrats the power of embracing the Democratic Party, led directly to our 2008 general election gains.
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I know we often make fun of lawyers in this country ("What do you call a smiling, sober, courteous person at a bar association convention? The caterer."). On the other hand, there's a lot to be said for the value of training in law for political leadership. The Clintons (Bill, Yale; Hillary, Yale), Barack Obama (Harvard), John Edwards (UNC), and Harry Reid (George Washington U.) all have law degrees.
Then we have our Republican mis-leadership. There's George Bush with an Master's in Business Administration. That's the same degree that Duke Cunningham and Jeff Skilling have. There's Rep. Shelley Moore Capito with a Master's in Career Counseling. That's the same degree as... well, actually, no one comes to mind. Bush and Capito share a mis-understanding of the law, too. Whereas Bush missed the week in high school civics class about constitutional checks and balances, after six years in Congress Rep. Capito still hasn't figured out the basic mechanics of when a law is needed.
Case in point: Rep. Capito is crowing about her success in using an obscure legislative maneuver to outlaw something that is already illegal!
Have you ever taken a bite out of a rotten apple? Sure, most of the time you can tell it's rotten even before you take that bite... it's a little too soft, it's funny-shaped, or it may have a visible bruise. But every now and then, you're just so hungry you get a little distracted and you take a big bite anyway.
After that first awful tasting bite most people have the good sense to start inspecting the apple really well--after spitting out some apple, of course. Or, just maybe they were so hungry (or so afraid of looking foolish in front of friends) they managed to swallow the first bite anyway.
At this point anyone with a lick of sense, anyone with the judgement of even the most stubborn barn mule, would look really carefully before taking a second bite. Most of us just wouldn't do it. Especially if we had to pay--and pay dearly--for more of that rotten apple!
Why do Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (WV-02) and Pres. George Bush stubbornly insist that we keep paying $12 billion dollars a month for yet more bites from the rotten apple of failed administration Iraq policies?
The latest reports from Iraq show, no matter how glowingly the administration describes this apple, it is rotten to the core. Our Iraq policy has failed. It was doomed from the beginning. The escalation of the occupation has provided no substantive progress towards any political benchmarks. The continued presence in Iraq by over 100,000 soldiers and who knows how many contractors is making matters worse, not better.
We need a Representative for WV-02 who can tell the difference between an edible apple and a rotten one. It's well past time to put Bush and Capito out to pasture.
This diary was written by Clem G. specifically for West Virginia Blue, yet it surely applies to more than a few Republican Reps. and Sens.
Uppity Wisconsin discusses the disquieting implications of the US Attorney scandal on all prosecutions. 
WV Blue has Senator Rockefeller's statement, and a 
