U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., led seven other Senators in sending a letter today to Ryozo Kato, Japan’s ambassador to the U.S., urging Japan to reconsider a hunt in which Japanese whalers are expected to hunt about 1,000 whales, including some vulnerable and endangered species.

“(W)e join the growing chorus of world leaders and environmental experts in asking Japan to reconsider its decision to conduct this hunt, or, at a minimum, significantly scale back its scope. We also ask that Japan immediately cease the killing of both humpback and fin whales, and only employ non-lethal techniques for studying these populations. By pursuing these actions, Japan can continue to make significant scientific contributions, while conserving and protecting these important species.”

Read the whole letter, after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont, is hobnobbing with constituents once again at three town-hall meetings this Saturday, Dec. 1 in Fremont, San Leandro and Alameda.

Ask the 18-term lawmaker whatever you like, but likely topics include the Congressional response to the Cosco Busan oil spill in the San Francisco Bay; funding for the war in Iraq; President Bush’s new push for peace in the Middle East; and the legislative calendar for the rest of the year. The meetings are:

In my inbox first thing this morning from the Republican National Committee, a hit piece targeting Hillary Clinton entitled “HILLARY’S SAN FRANCISCO TREAT — Hillary’s National Co-Chair Signs Legislation Giving Benefits To Illegal Immigrants.”

As Hillary Travels To California, Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor And Sen. Clinton’s National Co-Chair, Signs Plan To Issue IDs To Illegal Immigrants:

“San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Signed Legislation Wednesday Requiring The City To Issue Identification Cards To Illegal Immigrants And Other Residents Who Can’t Or Won’t Apply For Driver’s Licenses.” (”San Fran OKs ID Card for Immigrants,” The Associated Press, 11/29/07)

Mayor Newsom’s Spokesman, Nathan Ballard: “The Mayor Strongly Believes That This Identification Card Should Be Extended To All San Franciscans, Regardless Of Their Immigration Status …” (Wyatt Buchanan, “Supervisor Ammiano Drafting Legislation For ID Card For Illegals,” San Francisco Chronicle, 9/7/07)

Newsom: “I Don’t Think It’s That Big Of A Deal …” (”San Fran OKs ID Card for Immigrants,” The Associated Press, 11/29/07)

Newsom Is Hillary’s National Co-Chair. “The Clinton Campaign announced the endorsement of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom … Mayor Newsom … join[s] the campaign as a National Co-Chair.” (Hillary Clinton For President, “San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Endorses Hillary Clinton: Newsom Named A National Co-Chair Of Clinton Campaign,” Press Release, 8/10/07)

Hillary Will Be In California Today. (”Hillary Rodham Clinton,” The Washington Post’s “Campaign Tracker,” www.washingtonpost.com, Accessed 11/29/07)

Read the RNC release in its entirety here.

Keep in mind that some people have tried to claim that Democrat Newsom’s decision to issue marriage certificates to same sex couples in February 2004 cost Democrat John Kerry the November 2004 presidential election, scaring off “heartland voters” with his “San Francisco values.” Seems the GOP is going for a repeat…

No, not really. But wouldn’t it be something?

That’s what the folks at Cellufun must’ve thought as they rolled out “The Mobile Ring,” a downloadable cell-phone game in which you can choose a candidate to face off against another candidate in the boxing ring, and slug it out for the title.

From their site:

You can choose to play as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, or a slew of other contenders. Aside from being an exercise in catharsis, there is a populist strain in the Mobile Ring game. You can help your favorite long shot candidates by uploading your high scores to us, and we’ll adjust those candidates’ performances in the game.

The initial release of the Mobile Ring game will give each candidate a rating based on their current real-life poll position. Our frequently released updates will take into account not only the real-life poll numbers, but actual in-game performance by YOU, our players, and which candidates got more wins/losses in the field.

Also, don’t forget to cast your vote now! In the poll to the right, you can vote on other characters for us to include in future releases; either dark-horse candidates, cable television pundits or perhaps currently elected white house officials (ahem).

The Mobile Ring release marks not only the first political boxing game available for free on your mobile phone, but the first mobile action game whose character’s strength changes based upon real world events. So get playing!

I predict this game will be overrun by Ron Paul fans within a few weeks…

From 2000, a brief appearance by our governor in the video for a Bon Jovi song of which I’ve never heard, a strange homage to the backlot brawl of “Blazing Saddles“…

He sits on the motorcycle. He takes his glasses off. He puts his glasses back on. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s ACTING.

If nothing else, this will help the next time you’re playing “The Six Degrees of Arnold:” you can now add Claudia Schiffer, Matt LeBlanc, Emilio Estevez and Jon Bon Jovi to the “first degree” list. No, don’t thank me — it’s what I do.

Previous SVOTWs: November 20, November 13, November 6, October 30, October 23, October 16, October 9, October 2, September 25, September 18, September 11, September 4, August 28, August 21, August 7, July 31, July 24, July 17, July 10, July 3, June 26, June 19, June 12, June 5, May 29, May 22, May 15, May 8, May 1, April 24, April 17, April 10, April 3, March 27, March 20, March 13, March 6, February 27, February 20, February 13, February 6, January 30.

Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, wants his 11th District constituents to remember the troops this holiday season.

He’ll be collecting holiday cards for soldiers recovering from battle at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.; for sailors and Marines at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.; and for National Guard and Reserve soldiers stationed at Parks Reserve Forces Training Area right here in Dublin.

“The holiday season can be a difficult time of year for those who serve our country in uniform, particularly those who have returned from battle injured,” he said in a news release. “Some are separated from family, friends, and the traditions that have brought comfort and joy throughout the years and all of them are faced with a life forever changed by their service to our nation. Thoughtful words of encouragement and support from the great people of the 11th district can do a lot to boost the morale of our brave men and women.”

So McNerney wants his constituents to make or buy holiday cards, inscribe them with messages of thanks to service members, and then send or bring the card — unaddressed and with an unsealed envelope — to one of his district offices, in Stockton or Pleasanton, by December 9. His staff will address and seal the envelopes, and he’ll deliver them.

McNerney’s Stockton office is at 2222 Grand Canal Blvd., Suite 7, Stockton, CA 95207; his Pleasanton office is at 5776 Stoneridge Mall Road, Suite 175, Pleasanton, CA 94588.

Trent Lott is calling it quits.

Oprah Winfrey will stump in Iowa and New Hampshire for Barack Obama.

Maria Shriver’s mom — Gov. Schwarzenegger’s mother-in-law — is ailing.

Chuck Norris. ‘Nuff said.

Hey kids, can’t figure out what to get mom and dad for the holidays this year? How about their very own political think tank!

No, it’s not a joke — the Berkeley-based, nonpartisan Bay Area Center of Voting Research (BACVR) has broken new think-tank ground by putting itself up for sale on eBay. The auction of BACVR, which made headlines back in ‘05 by ranking America’s most liberal and conservative cities, began last week and will continue through 9 a.m. Dec. 3.

Co-founder Phil Reiff said BACVR “democratized the staid world of political research by creating the first Internet-based think tank. Using the eBay auction process to select the next leadership for BACVR is a perfect extension of our innovative approach.”

Reiff and co-founder Jason Alderman said they set the opening bid for BACVR intentionally low at $5,000 — chump change for instant punditry! — “in order to attract a wide array of potential new owners and to send a clear message to bidders that running a think tank can be done by anyone, not just Ivy-League professors and Washington, D.C. insiders.”

The BACVR founders say their work has been cited by academic researchers as well as by media outlets worldwide including the New York Times, USA Today, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Times, the Baltimore Sun, the Miami Herald, the Detroit News, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Indianapolis Star, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Arizona Republic — and the Oakland Tribune, by gosh! — among others. And foreign diplomats from Israel and China have sought out BACVR researchers to better understand the evolving American political process, they claim. Now this pedigree can be yours!

The winning bidder gets all of BACVR’s intellectual assets including the Web site, past research, and well-known name; as an Internet-based organization, it has no physical property or employees to pay.

But wait… order now and get a FREE set of Ginsu knives! (No, not really.)

Berkeley reporter Kristin Bender just brought this to my attention… We’d reported here, back in August, how the Berkeley College Republicans were hoping to host a GOP presidential candidates’ debate on campus in December. Oh, well…

No Republican debate at UC Berkeley
By Office of Public Affairs | 14 November 2007

BERKELEY – Fox News Network officials have informed UC Berkeley that changes to the U.S. Presidential primary and caucus schedule have forced the network to abandon plans for a possible Republican candidates’ debate on campus this semester.

The television network, working with the Berkeley College Republicans, a campus student group, had hoped to hold the debate here and to broadcast it live to a national audience. However, recent changes to the campaign schedule - with more contests occurring earlier than originally planned - conflicted with plans to hold a mid-December debate in Berkeley.

Campus officials began discussions early this semester with Fox and the student group on how the logistics of broadcasting such an event would be handled. John Cummins, UC Berkeley associate chancellor, said the discussion process with Fox went very smoothly and was so encouraging that both sides hope to work together on an event in the future.

This post’s headline aside — for it would’ve been fun to see the Republican contenders gather in Berkeley, of all places, wouldn’t it? — my holiday today has been superb, and I hope yours has been as well. Happy Thanksgiving!

Heh, heh. Made you look.

CNN reports that in a Rose Garden ceremony today, President Bush pardoned two turkeys named “May” and “Scooter Libby” — uh, I mean, “May” and “Flower.”

Betcha the turkey has a job-approval rating higher than 33 percent. Moments like this make you wonder… will some future president hold a Rose Garden ceremony someday to pardon this president?