Looks like "super lawyer" Mike Ciresi got tired of spending his personal fortune, and has decided to drop out of the race. This leaves Al Franken and Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer as the lone DFL (Democratic Farmer Labor) candidates.

From the StarTrib

Attorney Mike Ciresi said this afternoon that he is dropping out of the race for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in Minnesota.

Ciresi, who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2000, said in a statement that "continuing the endorsement race would only lead to an unnecessary floor fight. It is time to step aside."

Cheney has vowed to protect his power base, and he's chosen South Dakota as a place to make his final stand.

Details after the jump...

According to The New York Times, Crist said that his time would be better spent in other parts of the state.

The Johns Hopkins report out this week was a body blow for me - and I've been against this goddamn war since the beginning.

My father was among the first reservists called to active duty in October 2001. He was 52 years old, and had never been on active duty.  His unit was sent to a vast stretch of desert in Qatar, with the only notable landmark being the longest runway strip in the Middle East.

When they landed in 110 degree heat, the only building standing was a simple warehouse. Their job? Create a U.S. military base that would serve as cent-comm for a much larger military operation. You might know this place as Al Udeid Air Base.

When my father was able to send me his first e-mail he wrote, "I don't think this is just about Afghanistan anymore. I think we're headed for Iraq."

So you might say that I have some history with this war.

These students - strongly against the war in Iraq - asked for and received permission in Dec. to set-up a counter-recruitment table in response to an on-campus military recruitment table being staffed at their school.

On Dec. 8, more than 230 of their Bloomington Kennedy classmates signed the group's petition demanding that military recruiters not be allowed on campus.

Today's issue after the fold>>

But for now, there is pain and darkness. It was especially hard to drive around St. Paul last night and see the thousands of Kerry lawn signs and bumper stickers. But it reminded me that I am among friends.

So here's a high point:

Details below the fold

Full article here

The headlines out of Iraq could not be more dire.

The Iraqis warn the UN that 380 tons of explosives have disappeared, and Allawi comes out and blames the U.S. for the insurgent attack on 50 newly-trained soldiers. There's also news tonight that 1 in 10 likely voters has already voted. That means more than 10 million people have already voted - an amazing number! And CW says that this should benefit Kerry.

Bush's strong suit suddenly looks like a bluff, and optimism is flowing freely here at dKos.

So why can't I sleep at night?

For the last couple weeks I have been wondering if we Kossacks have been playing right into Rove's ever-wicked hands.

Every day I see at least a half dozen threads with titles that begin "Oct. Surprise!" Our Political Bullshit Radars (PBRs) have been rightly set on "extra Sensitive."

Analogy after the break...

There have been a number of threads that reference unique volunteer opps and individual GOTV efforts. In a show of solidarity, I would like to see a thread of what all Kossacks will do between now and election day to bring home sweet victory for Kerry/Edwards.

We are the grassroots. We are the ones that will make a difference. What do you promise to do so that when your head hits the pillow on Nov. 2 you can feel confident that you did your part to bring about regime change?

Let's hear it! (My effort below)

Full article and poll results

In his most direct attack to-date, today Kerry effectively ties the financial cost of war to Bush's neglect of domestic issues. This is a brilliant strategy. Not only does it make clear that BC04 has made substantial errors judgment before and during the Iraq occupation, but it also makes clear that in an attempt to "take on terror," BC04 has forgotten about the very people they were supposedly trying to protect ... Americans. And now 1000 more are dead.

There will be hell to pay when Americans finally wake up and discover that programs they care about - programs that they rely on - are no longer funded because of BC04's miscalculations.

By parents are single issue, pro-life voters. By all other measures they are progressives. They value education, do almost a disturbing amount of volunteer work in their town, and my dad worked for a union almost his entire life.

More than 5,000 are participating by forming a single line and holding pink slips of paper that read "The next pink slip might be yours." The line stretches for almost three miles, from Wall Street to the Garden.

I think this is a very effective way to call attention to a critical issue in this campaign. No violence, no cone-throwing, no fires.

Full article

The applications were not requested by the voters.

What the hell is going on?

Full article

The middle-age volunteer at the DFL booth smiled at me knowingly and said, "Well, you know all about the big wedding?" Admittedly, I had no idea what she was talking about. The volunteer went on to say that Patty has been very busy helping plan her daughter's wedding and that she really didn't have time to be out campaigning in August. But now, she will really get out there!

Seems that Hudson got himself into a little trouble when he was teaching at Fordham (89-95). Apparently, there was a sexual misconduct accusation against him by a female student. He later resigned from Fordham.

The National Catholic Reporter was recently looking into the misconduct, and Hudson decided to bail.

"'At the time, I dealt with this in an upright manner, and the matter was satisfactorily resolved long ago,' he wrote, without specifying the accusations. Mr. Hudson, 54, said he had been happily married to his current wife for 17 years. Called for comment, he declined."

Full article