Thursday, August 10, 2006

the kid oakland challenge

Early yesterday evening, kid oakland posted a new diary on Daily Kos. Like most of his diaries, this one shot immediately to the “Recommended List.” For those of you who aren’t familiar with k/o’s work, I strongly suggest that you check out his kid oakland blog, in particular his oft-quoted essay We All Live In Richard Pombo’s District.


k/o started off last night’s diary, logically enough, at the beginning:
At some point early last fall I got an email from a Berkeley grad who wanted to invite me to a Drinking Liberally event here in Oakland.

I went. I drank. I was liberal. And, in the process, I met Matt.
Friendship ensued.
Matt and I… discussed the incredibly underused power of local blogs, we talked about how blogging might impact the 2006 Congressional races. Par for the course, eh? Well, then something really interesting happened...

Matt went and did something about it.

Matt just didn't found a blog. That would have been simple enough. People do that every .0005 seconds it seems.

Matt started a blog with the sole purpose of defeating Congressman Richard Pombo in California's 11th Congressional District. More than that, Matt got others involved, as well: folks like babaloo, VPO and Delta who volunteered to write and to attend events. The blog these activist bloggers collaborated on, SayNotoPombo, has become, in my mind, a model for the interaction between netroots and grassroots activism on the local scale.
Aw, shucks.

Anyway, go check out the diary — it’s a well-deserved salute to Matt and his vision in creating this blog, and it’s also a call to arms to progressive activists throughout the country to get busy and start covering their local races. The Lamont/Lieberman race presented a compelling display of the power that this medium holds to facilitate the exchange of information, ideas, and opinions and to ultimately help shape the events of the day. Let’s all make sure that we, as progressives, utilize that power to its utmost in this fall’s election. The more you, dear readers (yes, YOU), participate, the richer and more collaborative the experience becomes for all of us. Never forget — we have the power.

11 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I live in Iowa but Pombo's on my short list of Reps I'd like to get rid of.

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. My site doesn't get a lot of traffic but I'll do what I can.

2:26 PM, August 10, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wrong Again: Mr Kid Oakland. I was born in Oakland in 1936. I left and never went back to live only for I year when my dad died. I did return for occosional visits to the whole markets on 4th street on business. I'm back in Tracy. I have Run three times for congress against Pombo. I never did think that Morgan Hill, Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon, or Danville were really ever part of the 11th district. So please check your boundries to see what is part of the 11th congressional district. It does not belong to Pombo. Kid Oakland and Matt, you guys may still be drunk and liberal at the same time.
It will soon be Jerry Mc Nerneys 11th district.


Tommy Bananas

2:48 PM, August 10, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Contra Costa Times May 16, 2006:


"The third candidate, retired businessman Thomas Benigno, was largely incoherent and prompted frequent quizzical looks as the audience struggled to follow his often unintelligible answers."

5:37 PM, August 10, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have to question the sanity of someone who signs his name Tommy Bananas. Well that and his incoherent post.

5:56 PM, August 10, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tom, here is a list of the district cities from Jerry's website. You might want to update your when you run in 2008.

Clemens
Escalon (6,600)
Linden (1,100)
Lockeford (3,200)
Morada (3,750)
Farmington (270)
Lodi (60,500)
Manteca (56,900)
Mountain House (new)
Ripon (11,550)
Stockton (261,300)
Tracy (65,600)
Woodbridge
Santa Clara County
Morgan Hill (33,800)
Alameda County
Dublin (34,300)
Pleasanton (66,150)
Sunol (1,350)
Contra Costa County
Brentwood (31,500)
Blackhawk
Byron (950)
Danville (42,600)
Diablo (1,000)
Discovery Bay (9,000)
San Ramon (46,300)

6:00 PM, August 10, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The same butt holes are now on a new blog quest. The must be Republicans from the Central Committee. Buzz off. No I'm not running in 08, 10, 12. I will be out playing my drums some place. Maybe at your local park or Farmers Market. Or maybe at your daughters wedding. And for that list of new towns don't forget to add Connolly, Pombo, Ornellas, McNerney, and Mc Closkey, to the list.

Tommy Bananas

9:49 PM, August 10, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

From the looks of that post about my frequent quizzical looks, I was waiting for Pombo to answer the question. The unintelligible answers were from Pombo, I asked did you take the money or not? That is a simple question. This must be a post of some one who either writes for the Contra Costa Times or is a true friend of the Pombo gang.
Go out and help Pombo raise more money he will need it. Anonymous get off the site so I don't have to answer your stupid remarks. Tell Nancy, and all the others hello. You guys really did a job for Pombo.

Tom Benigno

10:05 PM, August 10, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tom, telll us the story again about growing up with the Pombo boys. You guys were good friend right? someone said that you said one of them beat you up. thats not true is it?

2:29 PM, August 11, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Who is Nancy?

3:45 PM, August 11, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The story is that the Westside
Irrigation District owned by some 250 property owners and farmers includimg the Pombo family. They hired a troubled unknown person to work for them, as a ditch tender. This person was the one who assulted and hospitalized me. Richards Pombo's uncle Ernie Pombo was president and one owner of the water district. The other information is in the court records.

Tom Benigno

4:26 PM, August 11, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is for Anonymous, The pombo boy's that I grew up with most are dead now except Richards Father Ralph. I'm going on 71 years old. You make it sound like I am about 25 years old. That insodent of me being attacked and hospitalized happen 23 years ago on August 9th 1983. The guy that put me in the hospital was almost 30 years younger than me then. That should clear things up for you. Since then I have had my forth pacemaker inplanted. Like the bunny ad I keep on going and going.

T Bananas

10:13 AM, August 13, 2006  

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