(cross-posted at Daily Kos) Did you know that the U.N. is currently negotiating the critically important "Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities," which would be the first human rights convention of the 21st century? Unfortunately, the U.S. is blocking its passage because of Article 25, which guarantees the "protection of the sexual and reproductive health of persons with disabilities." There'll be time to rail against the Bush Administration's twisted "culture of life" later, but right now is the time to act.

This is very urgent: negotiations need to be completed today, but if the U.S. doesn't agree to this, it could completely derail the convention. The call just came out from the International Disability Caucus, which you can find in the extended entry. Please take a few minutes to make some phone calls and put pressure on the Bush Administration and other politicians, as time is running out.

When you get through, leave a comment below if you get any kind of response.

(Cross-posted at Daily Kos, Calitics, SethInCA)

The short version: I'm going to go interview Cynthia Rodriguez Matthews, the Democratic candidate for Congress who's challenging David Dreier in CA-26. I'd like to encourage her to become involved with the netroots, and as a start I want to reach out to her with your questions. Please post any questions you'd like me to ask her in the comments section.

The long version: Two weeks ago, Cynthia Rodriguez Matthews pulled a major upset and won the Democratic nomination for Congress in the 26th District of California. Her primary opponent and the assumed favorite of the race was Russ Warner, who had made a decent show of fundraising and received the endorsement of Gen. Wesley Clark. But Matthews, who was also the nominee in 2004, pulled an upset and won.

[cross-posted at SethInCA, Daily Kos, and Calitics]

A week ago, I wrote a diary here asking for suggestions for starting a new blog to cover the race in CA-26. Two nights ago, I watched and reloaded, slightly disbelieving the preliminary results in the Democratic primary in CA-26, David Dreier (R-Closet)'s district. Russ Warner, endorsed by Gen. Wesley Clark, ran on a moderate platform of "protecting the middle class, promoting small business, and supporting our troops, honoring our veterans." Clark came to the district, raised money for Warner, and even recorded a robocall for him. Warner was supposed to be the best chance in awhile to defeat Dreier, a tough prospect considering Dreier's power as Rules Committee chairman and the Republican registration advantage in the district (46% R to 35% D).

Meanwhile, Cynthia Rodriguez Matthews, who came out of the closet during the 2004 election and challenged Dreier to do the same ran again. Matthews gave Dreier the closest margin of any reelected congressman in California in 2004 (<font face="Verdana"><span style="font-family: Verdana">54-42)</span></font>, thanks in no small part to the anti-Dreier activism of two radio hosts surrounding immigration. Yet Matthews had raised only $516 as of mid-May and $5,361 as of June 1. Her website is a nightmare. Watching the election from afar, I pretty much wrote her off.

So what were the results on election day?

Bumped because David Dreier is the Chairman of the corruptly powerful Rules Committee, and because single candidate blogs rock. Matt

[cross-posted at calitics and Daily Kos]

Hello MyDD! I'm spending this summer in Claremont, CA and I thought, what better way to spend some of my time then to start a blog to cover the local congressional race. CA-26 is home to Rep. David Dreier, 13-term incumbent. His opponent looks to be Russ Warner, recently endorsed  by Wesley Clark; the primary isn't until next week, but no one else seems to be doing much fund-raising. I couldn't find much blog coverage of the race, and Warner's website, though nice, doesn't have a blog. I've been very impressed by other blogs covering specific races, like the various Ned Lamont blogs. So I took the plunge:

Seth in CA (for the summer)

And now I'm looking for tips on getting this blog going. Specifically, does anyone have tips for:

• Connecting up with other Warner supporters
  
• Exposing Dreier's various shenanigans
  
• Letting other California blogs know I exist
  
• Any other useful roles I can play?
  

Thanks.