Michael J Fox, who is fighting a very public battle against Parkinson’s disease, has endorsed Jerry McNerney for Congress over his Republican opponent, Richard Pombo.  Jerry strongly supports stem cell research, unlike Pombo, who voted against the Castle stem cell research bill (Google cache of a PDF here)  Just one more reason to vote for Jerry!

In the extended, you will find the full press release.

Today Michael J. Fox strongly endorsed Democratic Congressional candidate Jerry McNerney. As a vocal proponent of medical research, Fox is supporting candidates who support all forms of stem cell research in races where their opponents simply do not.

“America is about hope, about promise, about always moving forward, and we deserve leaders who are willing to deliver that hope to their constituents,” Fox stated.

“The idea of restricting one of the most promising areas of research is shortsighted. We have no way of knowing where the next break will emerge,” Fox continued.

Stem cell research has the potential to improve the lives of millions of people living with diseases and disorders including cancer, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and even Parkinson’s disease.

Fox is committed to electing to Congress individuals like Jerry McNerney who will support expanding the current policy on stem cell research. McNerney’s opponent, Rep. Richard Pombo, voted to uphold President George W. Bush’s veto of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act in July 2006 and had previously voted against the legislation.

“I enthusiastically support and endorse Jerry McNerney for Congress. By supporting stem cell research, Jerry McNerney puts America on a path that speaks to who we are as a nation,” Fox concluded.

The Stockton Record took a very unscientific poll during the week.  While the information should be taken with a grain of salt the size of Nebraska, the results were great for us:

Rep. Richard Pombo’s political life rests on the number of Republican voters who cast ballots for him Tuesday.

Democrats are not likely to vote for the seven-term incumbent – and voters who decline to state a political preference are supporting Democrat Jerry McNerney by a margin of more than 2-to-1, according to a Record survey of such voters taken last week. (Stockton Record 11.05.06)

So, let’s make the calls and walk the precincts to seal the deal.

Get Out The Vote Rally with Treasurer Phil Angelides and Democratic leaders

TIME: 9:15 am
San Fernando Valley CDP Victory 2006 Headquarters
6741 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys, CA 91405

* * *
Get Out The Vote and Yes on 87 Rally with Senator Barbara Boxer and Leonardo DiCaprio

TIME: 5:00 pm
West Los Angeles CDP Victory 2006 Headquarters
3314 Overland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90034

* * *
Get Out The Vote Rally with Treasurer Phil Angelides, Democratic and Latino community leaders

TIME: 7:15 pm
Quiet Canyon Restaurant
901 N. Via San Clemente, Montebello, CA 90640

A few weeks ago I wrote about a poll that showed that Oregonians would really like to be rid of their Prop 90-type measure, Measure 37.  Last week, the No on 90 folks released a series of videos of people in Oregon who are now dealing with the ramifications.  These videos detail stories of people who are trying to fight developers, and losing due to the effects of Measure 37.

Here’s the link to the first, where you will find links to the other 4 videos.

Here’s the first:

The McNerney campaign has patched together a video with footage from Bill Clinton’s visit here.  I am really quite impressed that over a thousand people stayed to wait until 10:30 at night.  They are trying to raise some last minute funds so consider that as well.  Go Jerry!

Well, suprise, suprise, out come more revelations about just how corrupt John Doolittle is.  This time, two lobbying groups, supported by the Malaysian government and a South Korean conglomerate, shelled out almost $30K for a trip for Doolittle and his twelve-year old daughter.  You know, she had to get massages and hang out at the beach in order for John to truly understand the Malay culture.

Early last year, two little-known nonprofit groups paid for Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif.) and his 12-year-old daughter to travel to South Korea and Malaysia. Their last stop was the Berjaya Beach & Spa Resort on the Malaysian island of Langkawi, where they bunked at an oceanfront chalet staffed with a personal butler, got massages and rode water scooters on Burau Bay.

Doolittle’s junket, which cost $29,400, was among the most expensive privately sponsored trips by members of Congress in recent years. The two groups that split the bills were not ordinary nonprofits. They were fronts for vigorous lobbying campaigns bankrolled by foreign entities and were operated by a Washington lobbying firm, Alexander Strategy Group, according to public records and people who worked with the firm. (WaPo 11/03/06)

Oh well, you know, it’s no big deal.  It’s just a way for Congressman to get to know foreign cultures so they can really vote knowledgably. It’s way more important than, say, actually legislating, or spending more than 114 days in session. Yep, 114 days, that’s all they work they have to do.  That’s not even 25 weeks/year.

But, back to the cultural aspect.  It seems that this trip wasn’t a properly registered “cultural interchange program”:

Federal law prohibits members of Congress from knowingly accepting overseas travel from foreign governments except as part of a cultural interchange program approved by the State Department. The travel in this case was not part of such a program, government officials said. House rules ban members from taking trips paid for by lobbyists or foreign agents. Nonprofits and their officers are prohibited under federal tax law from using a charitable organization for private commercial gain.

Is there anybody this man won’t take money from?  The greed that this man has shown, all the while playing off of fear of his base is disgusting.  He has his hand out at every moment, and conveniently takes a nice 15% for his family by hiring his wife to do his “fund raising.”  Just who is behind all this, well, it’s a familiar name: Abramoff

Once a major lobbying firm, Alexander Strategy Group closed down early this year. Its owner, Edwin A. Buckham, former chief of staff to now-departed House majority leader Tom DeLay, is under investigation in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, according to lawyers and witnesses with knowledge of the probe.

Time for a new Congressman, CA-04.

UPDATE: Art Torres has released a statement about these mailers: “The oil companies are trying to win this campaign with deceptive mailers.  The California Democratic Party has one official position and that is Yes on 87.”

Last week I received a slate mailer with a postmark in Riverside.  It had a big picture of DiFi on the cover, and I was a bit suspicious. I’m thinking to myself, hmm, this is suspicious. Riverside, DiFi…hmmm.

Well, anyway, my suscpicions were confirmed when I opened the slate mailer to read a No on 87 endorsement.  I think to myself, hmmm, I don’t think DiFi would endorse No on 87, so I look it up.  Turns out, DiFi supports Prop 87.  Now, unfortunately, I failed to scan this slate mailer in before it got swept into our recycle bin.  But, before I tossed it, I did notice a few things. 

DiFi did not have an asterick by her name to indicate that she paid to be on the mailer. Prop 87 did. So did Prop 86, Prop 89, etc.  So it turns out that all these “No” Campaigns had paid to be on this mailer, probably because DiFi was on it. In effect, the mailer was using DiFi’s image to slyly suggest that she did not support Prop 87, when in fact she does.

This my friends, is deceptive.  Check out silence’s diary about the No on Prop 87 campaign’s use of these mailers.  Some of the mailers they are appearing in: “Democratic Voters Choice”, “Continuing The Republican Revolution”, “Committee To Protect The Political Rights Of Minorities Candidate Pac”, “Republican Voters Checklist”.  You see, they spent lots, and lots of money to .  You can check out the No on 87 campaign spending here.  Oh, by the way, notice the $750,000 to the California Republican Party.  I guess they had too much money after all the Chevron cash dump.  So, might as well give it to the GOP, huh?  I guess the No on 87 campaign is just another fundraising arm of Team Arnold.

“Democratic Voters Choice” my butt.  These slate mailers are misleading and deceptive.  The deceptive practices of some, but certainly not all, of these mailers must be reined in.