This is a very brief diary to inform those of you who may have known her that Lori Bonatakis, aka lolorb, has passed away.  The BlueMassGroup community is mourning her loss today at this diary:

http://www.bluemassgroup.com/...

Please follow me over the fold for an excerpt from the BMG diary by my friend Kate Donaghue...

Kossacks, I need some help with a fundraising pledge I made late last year.  I'm working with a group called Secure Our Senate Majority to back several Senate challengers for Republican seats - and one of them, Mark Begich, has an excellent shot at unseating Ted "Toobz" Stevens in Alaska.

Please join me over the fold to find out how you can meet Mark tomorrow night...

I had the honor of represnting my town as a delegate to the Democratic Party's state convention yesterday at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, MA.  My local Drinking Liberally chapter had secured a table for the event to popularize DL, so I managed to wrangle a pass for my 15 year old daughter - she volunteered to staff the table while we were off doing delegate stuff.  I also brought my camera - please join me over the fold for a full report, with photos...

As many of you know, I've been bundling donations for political candidates and advocating for green energy programs for a long time.  As part of the Energize America team and the Stranded Wind Initiative, I've been bringing proposals to the politicians I meet due to my fundraising activities, and looking at various grant programs for green energy programs.  One such grant program participates is my local green power option for electricity - there's a partnership between New England Green Start and the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust.  Please join me over the fold for the rest of the story...

Everyone here is well aware that John McCain has flipped and flopped all over the ideologicial spectrum in his quest to become president - but folks that are less aware of politics may have no idea.  So the question comes down to just how we should communicate this to the masses in this sound-byte, bumper-sticker style of politics we find ourselves in today.

Luckily, technology has an answer.  Printed t-shirt stores are springing up all over the web, and moderately creative types like myself can merge images and text in such a way as to really get a message across.  Ladies and gentlemen. I give you the "Know Your Candidate" t-shirt line:

My Zazzle Store - Know Your Candidate

Follow me below the fold for some strategizing...

Sorry about the short diary, but there's an email circulating that offers a link to a campaign video of Hillary Clinton, but clicking the link will download malware that tries to turn your computer into a spam-spewing machine.  Details from WaPo:

I've always been able to turn out a parody tune, but I've rarely put it to use other than the annual follies-style performance we put on at work for the yearly holiday party.  But something about Hillary's recent escapades awoke the muse in me - please follow me below the fold for the new lyrics to "Californication", I don't think you'll be disappointed...

Shock and awe began five years ago tomorrow - what are you doing to mark the day?  We're going to be holding a New Priorities Vigil here in Milford, MA, in front of the Burger King on Rt 109, near the intersection with 495.  Here's a link to the MoveOn.org registration page if you're interested:

http://pol.moveon.org/...

Let's use this as an open thread to announce any peace vigils you're organizing and/or attending in your area.

Currently, the island state of Hawaii gets more than 90% of its electricity by running large diesel generators - this leads to a very high cost for electricity, over $.20 per kWh.  Aside from being blessed for the natural beauty it's famous for, Hawaii is also blessed by an abundance of alternative energy options:

Wind
Solar (with lots of solar hot water already)
Geothermal
Ocean (Wave Power, Ocean Thermal Energy, Ocean Current)
Biomass

These features make Hawaii the ideal test bed for Freedom From Oil - join me over the fold for a peak at the positive developments there...

I'm involved with a group called Secure Our Senate Majority - we're based in Massachusetts, and we've all pledged to raise money for eight great Democrats running for the Senate across the country.  It's quite a list:

Tom Udall - New Mexico
Tom Allen - Maine
Mary Landrieu - Louisianna
Jeff Merkley - Oregon
Jeanne Shaheen - New Hampshire
Mark Udall - Colorado
Mark Warner - Virginia

We're sitting out the primary in Minnesota, but we do have an ActBlue account to be given to the eventual winner there.  

Thursday night was our fundraiser for Tom Udall, and I have to tell you that I couldn't have been more impressed.  I arrived late, and Tom was introduced to the crowd within moments of my walking in the door.  Very nearly the first words out of his mouth were music to my ears:  "Energy Security is National Security..."

If you're a political junkie like me, you'll be wanting to watch MSNBC on primary night, and what better way to do that than with other politcal junkies at a comfortable night spot?  Our local Drinking Liberally chapter normally meets the second and fourth Wednesday every month at

Fat Boy Bill's
31 Central St
Milford, MA  01757
http://www.fatboybills.com

But this month we're also meeting on primary day - join me over the fold for some more details...

I held a house party at the end of December that resulted in this diary on Drunken Blogging, so I'm fairly certain that some people are wondering when I'll be doing that again.  Well, your wait is over, I attended the kickoff meeting for the Obama campaign here in Massachusetts tonight and I volunteered to hold a Phone Bank party this Saturday!  

Obama supporters in central MA, please follow me over the fold for details - everyone else, please take note:  this is NOT a candidate diary!!  I don't care what he said, or she said, or whatever.  I've decided who I'm supporting, and I'm not going to argue about it online - I'm devoting my energies to organizing my region of the state to get out the vote for the man.  If you want to support your candidate, that's what I'd recommend you do - sitting here arguing with other bloggers is doing a disservice to both your candidate and this fine web site.

OK everyone, I'm willing to throw my home open for a holiday meet-n-greet on Saturday, 12/29 - who's up for it?  I live in central Massachusetts, about 12 miles south of Worcester.  We'll kick it off at noon and go as late as people want to go - I have plenty of space, I can fit up to 40 people comfortably, and we can squeeze more than that if need be.  So far I have quite the crew planning to attend:

Kestrel9000
Mem from somerville
Rugbymom
Troutfishing
Sharoney
GreyHawk
Sardonyx

This diary is a reprint from yesterday - I really want to get this message out, and spur some conversations about power choices during this holiday season.  Last night, my family gathered at my sister's place in Connecticut, and I handed out canvas grocery bags, each with a bottle of wine and a copy of the flyer.  We ended up having some good discussions about the nature of the problems facing us today, and several people said they'd be looking at green power options for their home as a result of my efforts.  It's that easy folks - please try it for yourselves!  The rest of this diary is a reprint from prior days...

All I want for Christmas is a safe, habitable world for generations to come - the gift that truly keeps on giving - is that too much to ask?  If there was a simple and effective way to take action, today, that will help to ensure that, would you do so?

Please join me over the fold to take action, and please recommend this diary - with any luck, we can spawn a million conversations about green power, and accomplish something great for our world...

This diary is a reprint from yesterday - I really want to get this message out, and spur some conversations about power choices during this holiday season.

All I want for Christmas is a safe, habitable world for generations to come - the gift that truly keeps on giving - is that too much to ask?  If there was a simple and effective way to take action, today, that will help to ensure that, would you do so?

Please join me over the fold to take action, and please recommend this diary - with any luck, we can spawn a million conversations about green power, and accomplish something great for our world...

All I want for Christmas is a safe, habitable world for generations to come - the gift that truly keeps on giving - is that too much to ask?  If there was a simple and effective way to take action, today, that will help to ensure that, would you do so?

Please join me over the fold to take action, and please recommend this diary - with any luck, we can spawn a million conversations about green power, and accomplish something great for our world...

OK everyone, I'm willing to throw my home open for a holiday meet-n-greet on Saturday, 12/29 - who's up for it?  I live in central Massachusetts, just south of Worcester.  We'll kick it off at noon and go as late as people want to go - I have plenty of space, I can fit up to 40 people comfortably, and we can squeeze more than that if need be.

I'd ask that everyone plan to bring something.  I used to work in the hospitality industry, so I know how to throw a party - I'll provide a couple of cold-cut trays, rolls and condiments, and if you're interested in attending, please let me know in the comments what items you'd prefer to bring.  Join me over the fold to discuss the details...

Chuck Schumer is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he has not yet issued a public statement on the question of retroactive immunity for the telecom industry.  As such, he's a target of the Citizen Whip Count being organized by the Dodd campaign.  I had an opportunity to meet him this evening at a reception at a private home in Boston - he's in town for Harvard's parents weekend, his daughter is entering the freshman class there.  I spent a good deal of time shmoozing with fellow Democrats from around the state, and I even got to eat that most delectable of all treats, the cocktail weenie!  (They were pretty good, but they didn't cloud my judgement the way they seem to do when consumed by politicians and pundits inside the beltway - but I digress...)

Senator Schumer was a little rushed - he had arrived late, and didn't have a lot of time, but I did make sure to introduce myself and ask him about retroactive immunity - please join me over the fold for the details of our conversation...