At 6:45 PM CDT, Al Gore will be addressing the Economic Club of Chicago at the downtown Hyatt Hotel following dinner.  From where I sit, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that's approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes from now.  

Many Chicago area business leaders will be in attendance at this event.  This is former Vice President Gore's first public event after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, for his contribution to universal awareness of Global Climate Change, on Friday, October 12, 2007.

I just checked on the Draft Gore web site, and the petition has now received 200,111 signatures!

This is impressive, given the fact that the push for signatures really only started a few days ago (although many of the die-hard Internet types signed it ages ago).  

I realize that this is a short diary, but I'm writing it for anyone out there who is new to the kos community or who is simply lurking, so for those of you who are interested in encouraging Al to enter the race, perhaps you may want to consider the "2 Pennies" campaign.

On my way home from work on Wednesday, I was scanning the AM radio channels, as I usually do, and found myself listening to Sean Hannity -- I do it so you don’t have to -- on WOOD 1300 in Grand Rapids.  The always-revolting Hannity moved to commercial break, during which a "Freedom’s Watch" ad was aired.  It was the one that features Iraq war veteran Andrew Robinson, who was on his second tour of duty when he was wounded by an IED in June of 2006. Andrew lost the use of his legs. In the ad, Andrew tells us why he believes "victory (in Iraq) is America's only choice."  The ad ends with a plea for the audience to call their representatives in congress and tell them to support freedom, and it directs them to dial 1 (877) 222-8001 to be put through to the office of their representative.  

Over the course of the weekend, I've heard and read a number of references alluding to the fact that Bush believes he will "take Michigan."  This talking point was repeated again this morning by E.D. Hill on FOX and Friends.  Given that Michigan has been hit hard by the downturn in the economy, Bush has been no friend to the Great Lakes, and many Michiganians expressed outrage at the war in Iraq, this statement doesn't make sense.  Unless, of course, you live in Bush world and you've got the evil Betsy DeVos as your state party chairman.  When you read the link below, it becomes clear how the Anti-Gay Marriage Ammendment that is on the ballot here is really a low ploy in partisan politics to try to swing the state in Bush's favor.

Hate Ammendment Contributors

I'm a student of communications and public relations.  

In addition to the fact that John Kerry is the right candidate at the right time, his consistent opinions on the Iraq war, jobs, and the economy offer insight into why Kerry wins the White House this year.  

The Catholic Church is sending out voter registration forms in its Church bulletins, and priests are offering parishoners dubious information (in my opinion) on how "good Catholics" should vote this year.  

This is my first diary post...hope I'll get it right.  Carolyn Kay, with Make Them Accountable, forwarded this on today, and it's a gem: