Two weeks ago I started something without even realizing it. I posted my second ever recommended diary on Daily Kos called "The Articles They Don't Want You to See." The success led me to even start it as a new blog, as well as a regular Daily Kos article.

The response was good enough that it is clear I should try and make this a weekly thing. The idea is to highlight articles/infromation/videos , new or old, that are important, under-reported and/or forgotten. And to provide YOU to post articles that YOU think need more attention. This week I will review last week's articles, YOUR suggestions from last week, and present a new set of articles that I think deserve more attention. And if you think I forgot anything, please post in the comments! New articles come first, last week's articles are at the end.

Last week I started something without even realizing it. I posted my second ever recommended diary on Daily Kos called "The Articles They Don't Want You to See." The success led me to even start it as a new blog, as well as a regular Daily Kos article.

The response was good enough that it is clear I should try and make this a weekly thing. The idea is to highlight articles/infromation/videos , new or old, that are important, under-reported and/or forgotten. And to provide YOU to post articles that YOU think need more attention. Last week I focued on Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain as well as a Republican Congressman named Vito Fossella (also called Bagdhad Vito or Bush's Lap Dog) in NYC and his challenger, Steve Harrison. This week I will review last week's articles, YOUR suggestions from last week, and present a new set of articles that I think deserve more attention. And if you think I forgot anything, please post in the comments! New articles come first, last week's articles are at the end.

Caveat: this excellent post was written by MBNYC. I'm posting it with his permission.

There have been a number of diaries posted here recently about a special election (and a related fundraiser/blograiser) scheduled to take place in New York's Seventh Senatorial District on February 6th. The contenders are Craig Johnson, the Democrat, and Maureen O'Connell, a Republican. A Democratic win in this election is considered predictive of whether the state Senate will flip to the Democrats for the first time, essentially, since 1932. The state Senate, which Theodore Roosevelt quipped was 'constitutionally Republican', is colloquially known here as 'the place where good legislation goes to die'.

More after the jump....

From The Albany Project

I would imagine, the easy speculation as to why Craig is getting my support, time, effort and some money, is that he is a Democrat running for the State Senate, something I just did myself. But that would be selling Craig (and me) a bit short.

First of all, I have met Craig and find him to be engaging, energetic and passionate about his job (serving the people of his county legislative district), and, quite frankly, I think he would make a good State Senator for the people in the 7th District. But, what sold me is the fact that he is passionate about reforming the absolute mess in Albany.

In preparation for the TAP Book Club with Seymour Lachman, I am reading "Three Men In A Room." I'm hoping that everyone does the same and joins us for the discussion at The Albany Project on January 29th, but, by doing so, you'll understand why Craig Johnson is getting my full support.