In March 2006, Pew found a big shift in public opinion around gay marriage, and today, the NYT notes a continuation of this trend:

The debate over same-sex marriage was a black-or-white proposition two years ago when voters in 11 states barred gay couples from marrying.

But this year shades of gray are everywhere, as eight more states consider similar ballot measures. Some of the proposed bans are struggling in the polls, and the issue of same-sex marriage itself has largely failed to rouse conservative voters.

In some cases, other issues, like the war in Iraq and ethics in Washington, have seized voters’ attention. But the biggest change, people on both sides of the issue say, is that supporters of same-sex marriage this year are likely to be as mobilized as the opponents.

The article goes into more of the "shades of gray," but the most encouraging factor is the increase in "gay men and lesbians [that] continue to come out in ever greater numbers, especially in some of the states that will be voting on the marriage issue next month."

The increase turnout on these issues will eventually get the attention of poll-wary Democrats. Perhaps it's too optimistic to think this is a "winning" issue on which to run in 2008, but the trends continue to point in the right direction.

James Baker, looking to get his nephew George out of a jam, considering implementing what Dems have been calling for all along:

The “Redeploy and Contain” option calls for the phased withdrawal of American soldiers from Iraq, though the working groups have yet to say when and where those troops will go.

Realistically the only option we have.

The fun thing will be seeing GOPs stumbling to explain how this was their plan all along...

Survey SAYS!

Lieberman ahead of Lamont by 13 points in new Survey USA poll

11 October

2006 Joe Lieberman (I) 53%

Ned Lamont (D) 40%

Alan Schlesinger (R) 4%

Other/undecided 2%

Here's a link--it's such a bright and pretty picture!

Remember--Joe Lieberman is on Line Five ;-)

JOE 5IVE, not Lamont jive.

Damn, I shoulda blogged this last night, when I thought of it...anyway...the real winner in the Google-YouTube deal is Sequoia, the venture capital company that funded YouTube:

Sequoia, which is among the most successful venture firms in Silicon Valley, invested a total of $11.5 million in YouTube from November 2005 to April 2006. It may be walking away with more than 43 times that amount. Its stake in YouTube has been estimated at roughly 30 percent, which would give it a value of $495 million.

Not a bad take for less than a year's work.

Back in March, Sen. Feingold introduced a resolution to censure President Bush, for illegal wiretapping. Dana Milbank called it the "sound of silence," noting how many Dems ran away from the motion.

Public support for that resolution? 45% (ABC News/WaPo, Apr. 2006)

Public support for removing Hastert from office? 46% (NYT, today)

If only Democrats approached Constitutional issues with the vigor they apparently apply to sex scandals...

Newsweek covers (in every edition but the U.S.) the toll climate change is taking throughout the animal kingdom. Apparently species like the Monteverde harlequin frog, which has now vanished from the Earth, just don't understand that this is all a natural "cycle":

A global temperature rise of a mere 0.6 degrees Celsius over the last century has sent shock waves through the animal kingdom. From the desiccating rain forests of Australia to the thawing Arctic, the warmer weather is expelling animals from age-old homelands, scrambling mating and nesting habits, and putting competitors on a prickly collision course. As habitable spaces get smaller, competition for food grows fierce. Meanwhile, insects and pests, which flourish in the heat, abound. So may the diseases they carry, like dengue fever, avian pox or cholera. Scholars are asking whether the loss of individual species could have a knock-on effect all through the food chain.

Lucky for us, though, Senator James Inhofe is on the case.

Apparently James Baker, after the Nov elections, is going to come out with a plan to get his nephew George W. out of Iraq.

My guess: we'll get a timetable. Phased withdrawal. Renouncing permanent bases. It'll look very much like this.

And which Dems voted against that one again?