Back in January 2006 I had as my goals:

1.) defeating the Bush/Gingrich/McCain agenda nationally

2.) defeating the Pataki, Bruno and Silver Albany constipation

3.) defeating the local Brooklyn Vito Lopez machine.

Still working on #3 through several channels. And it remains to be seen whether indictments or ill health or Brooklyn fatigue with corruption bring down Vito Lopez. For my part I prefer indictments to ill health. But Charles Hynes, the Brooklyn DA, has pushed that aside and has focused on other, also worthy efforts. So we wait to see who will replace Lopez in time.

Goal #1 began to happen in 2006 with a massive take over of the House and an evening up of the Senate. And we have a damned good shot at continuing this in 2008 with MORE House seats, a REAL takeover of the Senate and a White House win by Obama.

State Senator Nick Spano goes away on vacation for 6 days refusing to concede to Andrea Stewart-Cousins 2% margin win.

Stewart-Cousins said she understood Spano's unwillingness to concede, saying, "We all want all the eligible votes to be counted. That's what we were fighting for last time. I won't fight him on this. Two years ago he didn't want to count the eligible votes, but I'm not going to do what he did."

She said, however, that if the vote held up, "I would hope he would end it sooner rather than later."

At the Westchester County Board of Elections, co-commissioner Reggie Lafayette said workers would try to get through the unofficial count, based on reports from each polling place, on Wednesday. Then, probably next week, the machines would be recanvassed, which means making sure that the numbers on the machines match the numbers on the reports from the polling places. Election workers would be accompanied by Democratic and Republican representatives for the check.

After the recanvass, the paper ballots would be counted, again with party workers watching.

The republicans are ready to block this election with their lawyer already alleging there are 6,000 votes to be disputed.