If you are visiting our campaign website for the first time because of today's column by The New York Times' Bob Herbert, welcome!

First, before you go any further--we believe we can rock the political establishment. Sure, Herbert quoted me saying this race is an uphill effort--but we have always believed that if we shift the race from my opponent's celebrity to a debate on the issues, we will surprise the pundits, political insiders and Democratic machine.

This race has already attracted hundreds of volunteers. On the issues, the majority of Democratic primary voters stand with us, not with the incumbent.

We need your help. If you want there to be a debate about the war, if you want to have a voice speaking for the 2,400 American men and women who have been killed in this immoral war, if you want pro-war Democrats to be held accountable for the death and destruction in Iraq, consider making a generous contribution to our campaign right now, right here.

Herbert is right when he writes that my opponent "...in terms of overall policy, she seems to be right there with Bush, Cheney, Condi et al. She does not regret her vote to authorize the invasion, and still believes the war can be won."

Is there any better reason to cast a vote against the incumbent?

The question for New York voters is simple: should we allow the celebrity status of my opponent to erase the reality of thousands of unnecccesary deaths, the life-altering wounds inflicted on American and Iraqis and the hundreds of billions of wasted dollars?

If your answer is "no," join our campaign today.

A New York Times article today says that Senator Clinton accepted over $150,000 in campaign contributions from executives at International Profit Associates (I.P.A.), a consulting company owned by disbarred New York lawyer James R. Burgess.

Not only does Burgess have a criminal record for attempted larceny and patronizing a 16-year-old prostitute, the company itself has a sordid reputation. Sexual harassment charges are being pressed by the EEOC against I.P.A. on behalf of 113 female employees of the company. I.P.A. has also received 470 complaints from the Better Business Bureau and is being investigated by the Illinois attorney general for deceptive marketing tactics.

An impressive new group has formed to back Jonathan's Senate bid: Women for Tasini. Check it out.

There's a new phrase going around the blogosphere to describe what veteran CIA analyst Ray McGovern did to Donald Rumsfeld at a public forum yesterday. He "Colberted" him. McGovern stood up during a Q&A; session after Rumsfeld's speech and asked him why he had claimed to know the location of WMD in Iraq prior to the war.

"You said you knew where they were," McGovern said.

McGovern then read from statements the Defense secretary had made that weapons were located near Tikrit, Iraq, and Baghdad, which led Rumsfeld to briefly stammer. - link

Oh yeah, he Colberted him! He Colberted him good.

So where is your Senator? While most Congressional Democrats are calling for Rumsfeld's resignation, Senator Clinton will not. According to The Hill, Clinton and Tom Vilsack "stand out among the bevy of 2008 Democratic hopefuls for refraining from calling for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation in recent weeks."

The NY Times contained an article today that featured quotations from various politicians questioning the effectiveness of the May 1 rallies in changing votes in Congress on immigration legislation. While the rallies and marches across the country may not have changed votes immediately, the increased visibility makes it difficult for Congressional leaders to ignore the question of immigration reform.

For context, it is interesting to think back to the history of May 1, celebrated internationally as labor day. Although it is no longer recongized here as labor day, May 1 was initiated in this country when immigrant workers, organizing for the 8-hour workday, called for a general strike in 1886. We continue to benefit from the efforts of these earlier generations of immigrant workers who fought for and established many of the labor rights and working standards we enjoy today. Without comprehensive immigration reform that legalizes the status of immigrant workers in our country, defending the corrosion of these standards is more challenging. While the actions of May 1 may not have won votes immediately, they added momentum for reformed immigration policies.