http://www.actblue.com/page/patrick4novi ck

I ran for state Senate in Rhode Island in 2006, at the age of 22. It was an uphill battle against a 14 year incumbent, who was also the Republican Senate Minority Leader. He had run unapposed since I was 8 years old.

Four weeks, before the election, I received a $100 contribution in the mail -- from Steve Novick, a man who I had never heard of, let alone met.

Steve obviously has no vested interest in small town Rhode Island politics. He was 3,000 miles away in a state facing different issues. But he wanted to help fight the progressive fight.

Now that Steve is taking on Oregon's Bush-enabler Gordon Smith, I can only hope to help him protect the Democratic majority.

Novick has two things going for him in this race (among others):

1. He's brilliant. In 1981, Steve went to Harvard Law School at the age of 18. As the Eugene Register-Guard put it: "Harvard Law School doesn't make a habit of accepting junior high school dropouts, but in Steven Novick's case Harvard has made an exception."
   
2. He's a fighter. The kind we need in the Senate. He brought successful lawsuits against  polluters for violations of the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.  He also served as lead counsel in the notorious Love Canal case. On that case in  1995, Steve and his team negotiated a settlement in which Occidental Chemical repaid the taxpayers $129 million in cleanup costs and interest.

If you can, help me repay Steve for his commitment to progressive ideals. I've kicked in a donation, but cannot write a large check.

http://www.actblue.com/page/patrick4novi ck

(I am not affiliated with the Novick Campaign)

There seems to be a lot of blogospheric conversation about Edwards and his plan for National Service.

His full remarks on the topic at a Keene, NH town hall meeting can be found on video here: http://www.servenext.org/blognext.html

There's big news today from ServeNext in New Hampshire.  Presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic congressman from Ohio became the first candidate to sign ServeNext's Presidential Pledge to Expand National Service.

What do I do with this? It gets lots of traffic and is a common misspelling.