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#tmobile The T-Mobile G2 looks like one very appealing Android device. It is specifically designed for the speedy HSPA+ network, will have Google Voice integration, a fast Snapdragon processor, Android 2.2, and a rather slick body. More »

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• Mets102 explains the Jewish calendar and offers a blessing for us all with Some Words on Erev Rosh Hashanah, while ramara offers Love: A Midrash for Rosh Hashanah. (Got a Grip and pico)
• The New York Times fails to deliver goods in Florida foreclosure article and skymutt explains why the article was flawed. (ItsJessMe)
• GlowNZ wants us to Meet Roi and Aurelio so that we can see the human cost of denying the LGBT community the most basic of rights. (Got a Grip)
• Ojibwa continues a series on the history of Native Americans in Indians 101: Christianity Comes to the Flathead Indians. (dopper0189)
• popecrunch brings us a disturbing story out of the Dove World Outreach Center and its seedy connections to a furniture store in Of the Devil? The Beam in Terry Jones' Eye. (rexymeteorite)
• dolfin66 finds that a week alone in the wilderness with a friend of a different political persuasion provides enlightenment on The Way Things Should Be. (Got a Grip)
• ShermanDeBrosse wonders why traditional media covers Political Irrationality: Republicans Flirt with Nullification, Secession, and Sedition as though it were normal and acceptable conduct. (dopper0189)
• We're not the only ones with pending elections: SLKRR provides a handy cheat-sheet in Brazilian Election Guide - The Southeast. (pico)

jotter has High Impact Diaries: September 7, 2010.

sardonyx has Top Comments: Topicless Edition.

Please suggest your own, and use as an open thread.

#homemod And that state is, appropriately, applewood. Carved with some intricate MacBook detailing, it's the perfect Apple-related kitchen accessory for you fanboys (and girls) out there. It's a bit pricey though, starting at about $55. [designspray via Design Milk via Geekosystem] More »

This here website thingy is looking totally whack in Internet Explorer. No idea what's going on or what to do about it yet. Looking into it. Boo. PS: Why are you using Explorer?Subscribe to Joe.My.God.

#firstlook Check out Captain America and his sweet, sweet Nazi-slaying motorcycle. A new crop of gloriously patriotic pictures have emerged from Captain America: The First Avenger set showing Steve Rogers, his enemies, and a lot of sexy-time period whips. More »

Yeah, I know...I made a big deal Monday night about how I'd be out until Thursday because of a little trip to the surgeon. But, heck, how was I to know that every campaign in America would get polled on Tuesday and Wednesday?!

So, bandaged and bruised, I came back a day early. And, from the looks of the data, I came back in time to see Democrats getting off of the mat a little bit.

A day of polls with more than a little silver lining amid the clouds of suck. That's worth coming back a day early from medical leave...

THE U.S. SENATE

CA-Sen: CNN/Time poll puts Boxer up four in key Golden State battle
CNN and Time Magazine, through their polling partners at Opinion Research, are back for the 2010 cycle, as it relates to individual contests. They open up their polling with three big states (California, Florida, and Kentucky). In the Golden State, incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer leads Carly Fiorina by four points (48-44). Recent polls had shown Fiorina inching into the lead.

FL-Sen: CNN/Time says tossup; teabaggers hound 3rd party candidate
The CNN/Time pollsters also hit the Sunshine State, and they see a pretty pure toss-up between Republican nominee Marco Rubio and GOPer-turned-Indie candidate Charlie Crist. Rubio has the narrow edge, with 36% of the vote. Charlie Crist is right on his heels (34%), while CNN/Time puts Democrat Kendrick Meek at one of his best points of the year, earning 24% of the vote.

The closeness of the race might be the impetus for a new crusade by the local teabaggers. The baggers, who have long been in love with Rubio, are trying to push Libertarian candidate Alex Snitker out of the race. Snitker, for the moment, is holding his ground, saying that true constitutional conservatives would be supporting him, rather than Rubio.

KY-Sen: Pair of new polls confirm closeness of Senate battle
Rand Paul might not be running away with it, after all. A pair of new polls out today indicate that Democrat Jack Conway is within the margin of error against Paul. An Anzalone Liszt poll showed a three-point race, with Rand Paul up three points (48-45) over Conway. Some might easily dismiss it as a Democratic pollster, but then CNN/Time followed up today with a poll showing a dead-even race. The CNN/Time poll had Conway and Paul all knotted up at 46% of the vote. Rasmussen, as you'll see below, begs to differ (no doubt shocking political observers everywhere in the process).

WA-Sen: Democratic poll gives Murray a five-point edge
In another of a wave of Democratic internal polls this week (which is quite a reversal from the cycle-to-date), a new poll from FM3 (Franklin Maslin Maul and Metz, but it's easier to say FM3) shows incumbent Patty Murray up five points on Republican Dino Rossi in the closely watched Senate race in Washington. The poll had Murray up 50-45 over Rossi. The poll was conducted on behalf of the DSCC, the campaign wing of Senate Democrats.

THE U.S. HOUSE

FL-24: GOP pollster claims double digit deficit for Kosmas
If a new Public Opinion Strategies poll out of central Florida is to be believed, freshman Democrat Suzanne Kosmas goes into the heat of the general election cycle down by a dozen points to Republican nominee Sandy Adams. The poll by POS puts Adams up 49-37 over Kosmas, who defeated Tom Feeney rather easily in 2008. The poll claims that both President Obama (38/58) and Speaker Pelosi (30/64) have horrid numbers in the district, which could explain Kosmas' apparent dilemma.

IL-10: New Anzalone Liszt poll gives Dems good shot at a pickup
Illinois' 10th district has, throughout this cycle, always felt like that one GOP-held seat that seemed destined to flip to the Democrats. A new Anzalone-Liszt poll on behalf of Democratic nominee Dan Seals seems to confirm that supposition. The poll has Seals leading Republican nominee Bob Dold by thirteen points (49-36). The poll is an internal poll, but even right-wing pollsters We Ask America have given Seals the lead in this swing district thus far.

IL-17: GOP pollster says Hare trails in nominally Democratic district
Speaking of the right-wing polling crew at We Ask America, they have elected to poll the usually Democratic 17th district. Their results are similar to other GOP internals in the district, which seem to insist that this district is, indeed, competitive in this cycle. W.A.A. gives Republican Bobby Schilling a narrow lead (41-38) over Democratic incumbent Phil Hare. Green Party candidate Roger Davis takes 4% of the vote.

KS-04: Internal poll says Dem upset possible, with or without Hartman
It is probably high time for everyone to put this race on the radar screens, despite being an open seat in a district with a considerable GOP tilt. An acrimonious GOP primary, plus a stronger-than-average Democratic nominee, seems to have put this Wichita-based district in play. A slightly dusty internal poll from Democrat Raj Goyle's campaign (courtesy of Gerstein-Agne Strategic Communications) from mid-August gave Republican Mike Pompeo a mere three-point edge (50-47). What's more, the withdrawal of Libertarian candidate David Moffett, for health reasons may well throw the race into total upheaval. One of the candidates that Pompeo defeated for the GOP nomination, wealthy businessman Wink Hartman, will announce in the next couple of days whether or not he will seek the nod of the Libertarian Party to run on their line. Hartman and the Libertarians met together yesterday to discuss such a bid.

MS-01: Dem internal poll puts Childers ahead in tough district
This internal poll might be one of the more pleasant surprises of the week, as it shows a Democratic lead in a district that a lot of pundits probably would have left for dead a month ago. The poll, from Anzalone Liszt, gives Democrat Travis Childers a narrow edge over Republican Alan Nunnelee (46-41). Childers won a special election in June of 2008 in a district that went heavily for both George W. Bush and John McCain.

NY-25: Palin endorsement lauded...by the Democrat in the race
We've already seen this during the cycle up in New Hampshire (where Democrat Paul Hodes had great fun with Kelly Ayotte), but another Democrat is hyping a Republican candidate's endorsement by Sarah Palin. Freshman Democrat Dan Maffei has cut an ad where he points out that Republican Ann Marie Buerkle has been endorsed by Sarah Palin. In a district that was won by Gore, Kerry, and Obama, Buerkle's connectivity with Palin is not likely to be much of an advantage in the general election.

NC-08: Even Republicans concede Kissell up front in key race
Kind of a curious release here--the campaign for Republican nominee Harold Johnson has released an internal poll by Public Opinion Strategies. The curious thing about this GOP internal poll is that it shows the Republican candidate trailing his Democratic rival. The POS poll puts Kissell at 39%, with Johnson trailing at 34%. One of the quintet of DCCC polls released yesterday showed Kissell up double digits on Johnson (48-36).

PA-04: Dem internal claims massive lead for Altmire
One district that apparently the Democrats don't have to worry about defending is the swing 4th district in Western Pennsylvania. At least, that's the case if a new internal poll on behalf of second-term Rep. Jason Altmire is to be believed. The Anzalone Liszt poll shows Altmire with a two-to-one edge over Republican Keith Rothfus (51-24). Rothfus scored what was generally considered to be an upset win over NRCC fave Mary Beth Buchanan in May's GOP primary.

WA-08: SUSA claims double-digit lead for Reichert
SurveyUSA continues its brutal outlook for Dems, putting a potential pickup well into the GOP column in a new poll out of suburban Seattle. Perpetually vulnerable Republican Dave Reichert has a thirteen-point lead over Microsoft executive Suzan DelBene, according to SUSA (54-41). Reichert scored narrow wins over Darcy Burner in both 2006 and 2008, and has never won the district by more than six points.

WV-01: Even GOP internal concedes Dem lead in key open seat
Perhaps in response to an internal poll by Democrat Mike Oliverio (one which showed him up 16 points), the campaign for Republican David McKinley rushed out their own internal poll. While the poll shows Oliverio out in front, the margin is quite a bit smaller. The poll, by Public Opinion Strategies, puts Oliverio up five points (41-36) on McKinley.

THE GUBERNATORIAL RACES

CA-Gov: Whitman up by two, according to CNN/Time poll
Despite outspending her rival by literally a hundred million dollars, Meg Whitman can still manage no better than a coin flip with Democratic nominee Jerry Brown. The CNN/Time poll shows Whitman sitting on 48% of the vote, with Brown just behind her at 46% of the vote. Whitman's television presence has been constant in the state for seven months, while Brown just took to the air for the first time this week.

CO-Gov: GOP suit tries to knock Tancredo off of the ballot
A lawsuit, filed by two Republicans (not affiliated with the state party, however), is seeking to prevent Tom Tancredo from appearing on the ballot as a member of the American Constitution Party. Their case is built on the fact that Tancredo was a registered Republican until July, which they argue violates Colorado state law. Republicans have issues of their own, as their nominee, Dan Maes, was outraised 8-to-1 by Democrat John Hickenlooper in August, and is facing further fines for campaign finance reporting failures. Tancredo also outraised the GOP nominee.

FL-Gov: Sink up seven over Scott, according to CNN/Time poll
CNN/Time also took a look at the competitive gubernatorial race in Florida, and finds that Democrat Alex Sink is sitting on a seven-point advantage over Republican Rick Scott. Sink leads Scott 49-42, according to the poll, among the first polls conducted after the withdrawal of Independent candidate Bud Chiles from the race.

ME-Gov: PPP poll confirms rising red tide in normally blue Maine
This might be the suckiest poll of the day, and it comes as a bit of a surprise. For months, only Rasmussen has polled the Maine Governor's race, and they (true to form) have been bullish on the Republican in the race, Paul LePage. Today, PPP heads down East, and they find numbers that are even worse for the Democrats than anything Rasmussen has ever offered. PPP gives LePage a double-digit lead (43-29) over Democrat Libby Mitchell. Independent Elliot Cutler, who seems to be drawing more from Mitchell than from LePage, was holding down 11% of the vote.

MA-Gov: Patrick leading, but only modestly, over Baker
A new KRC/Communications Research poll in Massachusetts, conducted for the Statehouse News Service, gives Deval Patrick a lead of six points over Republican Charlie Baker in his bid for re-election. Patrick is at 34% of the vote, with Baker at 28% and Democrat-turned-Independent Tim Cahill showing some renewed strength at 18% of the vote (his support had dropped steadily throughout the year). Patrick is still being saved, however, by split opposition, as his approval numbers are fairly woeful (only 33% of voters think he is doing an "excellent" or "above average" job).

MI-Gov: Snyder dominant, according to Mitchell Communications poll
With the caveat that this pollster has been abnormally bullish on Republican candidates quite often, the new numbers from Mitchell Communications in the state of Michigan are just flat out ugly. The new poll gives Republican Rick Snyder a two-to-one edge over Democrat Virg Bernero (53-26). The Republican leads women by eighteen points, and Independents by an almost unreal 41 points.

TX-Gov: Third poll confirms toss-up in the Lone Star State
In addition to the pair of polls cited by Markos earlier today, we have a third poll providing confirmation that Democrat Bill White is very much within striking distance of Republican incumbent Rick Perry. The poll, conducted by John Zogby for a private client, shows Perry up by just three points over White (44-41). The poll apparently was a traditional one, not one of the largely lampooned "Interactive" polls Zogby did in previous cycles.

WI-Gov: Doyle clears warchest, with bulk of cash aiding Barrett
Let this set the example for recalcitrant House Dems with locks on their warchests: Wisconsin's Democratic Governor, Jim Doyle, is emptying out much of his remaining warchest to try to aid state Democrats this Fall. The retiring state executive is donating $1 million to the Greater Wisconsin Committee, a Democratic outfit primarily interested in the open-seat gubernatorial race between Democrat Tom Barrett and a Republican to be named later (Sept. 14). The committee has already run ads dinging both of the Republicans who could eventually challenge Barrett: Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and former Congressman Mark Neumann.

THE RAS-A-POLL-OOZA

While the polling picture for Democrats pepped up quite a bit elsewhere, the House of Ras held steady, and true to form. Kentucky will probably attract the most eyeballs (as they match SUSA with a fifteen-point spread), but the numbers from Arizona in the wake of Jan Brewer's debate meltdown are perhaps even harder to believe. If she is really up 22 after that debacle, I have lost faith in an entire state, I'm sorry to say...

AZ-Gov: Gov. Jan Brewer (R) 60%, Terry Goddard (D) 38%
CA-Gov: Meg Whitman (R) 48%, Jerry Brown (D) 45%
CA-Sen: Carly Fiorina (R) 48%, Barbara Boxer (D) 47%
DE-Sen: Mike Castle (R) 48%, Chris Coons (D) 37%
DE-Sen: Chris Coons (D) 47%, Christine O'Donnell (R) 36%
KY-Sen: Rand Paul (R) 54%, Jack Conway (D) 39%

#lacie I don't know what this cute little creature is up to, but the hard drives he's fondling are some of the world's smallest USB 3.0 drives: The LaCie Rikiki and the Minimus. More »

Write the diary!

While Steve Singiser's outstanding roundup highlights news of many races in this election cycle, it is you - the Daily Kos community - who can be on the ground to provide the insight and information to help our candidates at every level. The Election Diary Rescue is back, and now we need you to write those diaries!

(Tonight's compilation and more after the jump............)

This Rescue Diary covers the period from 6 PM, Tuesday, 9/7 to 6:00 PM EDT, Wednesday, 9/8

Today's Menu Includes :
30 Diaries Overall

- 7 On House races

- With 7 covering individual Districts in 7 states

- 12 On Senate races

- Representing 8 different states

- 6 On Various election races and ballot issues

- Encompassing Governor, Secretary of State, Local, and more

- 5 General election-related diaries

And be sure to follow the Election Diary Rescue on Twitter

The California Supreme Court has refused to force the state government to defend Proposition 8.

The state officials' decision not to argue in support of Proposition 8 has raised questions about whether anyone is legally qualified to defend it in court. The Pacific Justice Institute filed suit last week, arguing that the California Constitution requires Brown to defend the state's laws. A state appeals court dismissed the suit without a hearing, and the state's high court denied review Wednesday without comment. It will now be up to a federal appeals court, and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court, to decide whether Prop. 8's sponsors have legal standing - the right to represent the state's interests in defending one of its laws. Attorney Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, said the court order was disappointing. "People on the left and right should both be mourning the fact that the attorney general and the governor are reneging on their oaths of office," Dacus said, arguing that the officials have a sworn duty to defend all state laws.

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For the second consecutive night (click here for yesterday's Snapshot), Democrats have improved their position in the Senate Snapshot.

In the Snapshot that includes all polls, the most likely outcome remains Democrats at 51 seats. However, the chance of a GOP takeover in the Senate has dropped to 8.8% (from 10.4%). Also, the odds of Democrats winning 52 or more seats (38.5%) is now far more likely than the odds of Democrats winning 50 or fewer seats (30.3%). Yesterday, the likelihood of those two outcomes was roughly equal.

In the Snapshot that does not include Rasmussen polling, Democrats have gained one seat to reach 52. Winning 56 or more seats--which would be a remarkable result in the current political environment--has even reappeared as a possibility. Even if it is only a 1 in 200 chance, it is still possible.

While two days may not constitute a genuine trend, given how poorly the last year has gone, I will take it. Hopefully, there will be many more days of improving poll numbers on the way.

Senate Snapshot, September 8th
(With Rasmussen)

(Without Rasmussen)

Notes
--This is a snapshot, not a forecast. All of the odds presented here are based on if the election were held today. It is not a prediction of future trends.

--If a campaign isn't listed here, then it is not currently as close as any of the campaigns listed here (at least it isn't as close in the snapshot that includes Rasmussen polling, which is the "official" snapshot).

--A * indicates that the candidate has a primary challenger, but is the favorite to win the nomination.

--All polls used in the averages are taken from Pollster.com.

--A complete description of the methodology behind this snapshot, along with all the research and a FAQ, can be found here.

#storage If your game console accessories and games are creating piles of clutter in your room, then it might be time to grab something like the Level Up storage towers. They look neat and there's one for each major console. More »

Some news out of the California state courts today on Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the Prop 8 case. Metroweekly's Poliglot section has a great summary here. This is part of the Prop 8 proponents' continuing saga of trying to force Governor Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Brown to defend Prop 8 at the Ninth Circuit.

They went to California state court to force the state to act, but the lower court summarily rejected that long-shot attempt. The Prop 8 proponents appealed, asking a higher California court to force the Governor's hand. Today, Schwarzenegger and Brown filed papers stating in no uncertain terms that they have the discretion to determine when and what to appeal and that any appeal in the Prop 8 case would be "frivolous". A few hours later, the California Supreme Court agreed with Schwarzenegger and Brown, as reported here.

This was the longest of long shots. Had the California Supreme Court come to any other conclusion, it would have raised any number of separation of powers issues.

As of now, since the Prop 8 proponents' organization is still the only party appealing Perry to the Ninth Circuit, the standing issue is still front and center.

On the heels of President Obama's fiery Labor Day speech, here's a couple of stories worth noting.

First, HuffPost's Sam Stein published an interview with David Axelrod on White House political strategy through the elections. In the article, Axelrod goes on full blast, firing away at GOP extremism, saying that they'd be worse than Bush.

"I saw that [Alaska GOP Senate candidate] Joe Miller said that he would abolish Social Security if he had the chance and he is not alone," said chief adviser David Axelrod. "This is akin to what [Nevada GOP Senate candidate] Sharron Angle has said in Nevada and also a number of these other Republicans. So, this could go one step beyond the policies of the Bush administration to something more extreme than we have seen."

According to Axelrod, one of the central communications challenges faced by Democrats and the administration over the final weeks of the campaign is to make sure that the link between Bush and the GOP is seared into voters' minds.

"Perhaps this is where we have been failing to communicate," said Axelrod. "[A] large number of people [don't] believe that a Republican Congress would go back to the policies of George W. Bush, even though their own leaders have said as much in public. Pete Sessions said we want to go back to the same exact agenda that was there before this president took office. So our job in the next eight weeks is to make sure that people understand that, that they understand the stakes."

In his Labor Day speech, President Obama made that argument as forcefully as anybody has yet so far this campaign. As Axelrod says, it's essential to keep up the intensity in making that argument to make sure persuadable voters understand that this election is a choice between Democrats trying to fix the mess of the Bush years and Republicans who would go back to the same policies that ruined the economy the last time they were behind the wheel.

The second story worth noting is a new David Plouffe video posted by Organizing for America. In the video, Plouffe outlines OFA's grassroots organizing strategy for the campaign's stretch run. His key point comes around the three minute mark of the video, which was e-mailed to OFA's full list:

You're only out there talking to people that we think are either a prime persuasion target -- that we can convince them to vote and they are undecided -- or Democrats right now who are saying they are not likely to vote. And that's what we really need to focus on. And our data is really clear on this: What is the most likely reason someone who says they are not likely to vote decides to vote? It's because one of you talks to them.

When you combine the administration's new policy initiatives (including President Obama's continued opposition to Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy) with Axelrod's messaging and Plouffe's organizing strategy, you're starting to see the Democratic campaign fire on all cylinders for the first time this cycle. (Unlike Republicans, they've actually had to govern.)

There's no question that most recent snapshots of the race shows Democrats are in trouble. But don't forget, at this point in 2008, John McCain was leading Barack Obama. That was obviously a different situation and the underlying trends favored Obama, but the point is that snapshots change. And while it would be a remarkable comeback, we're seeing a strategy that just might work.

#brain CRASH! A deafening roar and the cinema screen explodes with light. The scene is certainly startling, but is this movie stirring up the right emotional reactions deep down? Rather than ask your opinion, it's now possible to cut out the middleman and go straight to your brain for the verdict. More »

#iphoneapps Apple's iMovie iPhone app has received an update in honor of iOS 4.1 being released. It's now compatible with the new iPod Touch, allows you to split video clips, and more: More »

#futurehistory A lot of twentieth century history and culture is preserved on film. But in fifty years, this history could be lost. And it's all because of pernicious microbes that eat away at film, according to a new study. More »

And, of course, the Wall Street Journal is more than happy to publish their screed:

Health insurers say they plan to raise premiums for some Americans as a direct result of the health overhaul in coming weeks, complicating Democrats' efforts to trumpet their signature achievement before the midterm elections.

Aetna Inc., some BlueCross BlueShield plans and other smaller carriers have asked for premium increases of between 1% and 9% to pay for extra benefits required under the law, according to filings with state regulators.

These and other insurers say Congress's landmark refashioning of U.S. health coverage, which passed in March after a brutal fight, is causing them to pass on more costs to consumers than Democrats predicted.

Right. Because they certainly wouldn't have been jacking up premiums if insurance reform had never happened. Because the last thing insurance companies do is exploit their captive market to maximize profits. The White House responds:

We knew this would happen, which is why the President called on insurance companies not to use the Affordable Care Act as an excuse to implement unreasonable premium increases. In fact, when one insurance company in the State of Washington was called out for telling its beneficiaries that rate increases were due to the Affordable Care Act, that company agreed to issue a new letter clarifying the reasons for the increase.

The premium increases discussed today – many of which were planned before the Affordable Care Act was even signed into law– demonstrate that reform came at a critical time.  In fact, consumers have faced unreasonable double digit premium increases for more than a decade, including employer-sponsored plans where premiums have more than doubled since 2000. 

The most recent round of premium increase announcements are at odds with a number of health care cost related projections. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that medical inflation is currently projected to be 3.2 percent this year.  Similarly, The Kaiser Family Foundationconcluded that family premiums were rising only 3 percent for this year.  Finally, we estimate that any potential premium impact from the new consumer protections and increased quality provisions under the Affordable Care Act will be minimal – no more than 1-2 percent -- which will be further offset by other out of pocket savings implemented in the law.

I don't think there's a soul who paid any attention to this process who didn't know this would happen, which is one of the reasons the seat the insurers had at the negotiation table was problematic to so many. That the insurers were operating in good faith was more than many could swallow, and now that suspicion is justified. They were going to raise premiums regardless, because that's what they do. This way they get to raise premiums and get to blame it the law they tried so hard to kill.

So I wonder how Reid is doing on securing that promised public option vote?

#apple Everyone tends to get excited whenever Apple wins a patent, but this latest one has folks scratching their heads because it's rather slim on details. What we do know is that Apple managed to improve on a composite laminate. More »