Crashing the parties 2004: Channel 2 in Boston will present a documentary, "Crashing the Parties 2004," at 8 p.m., before tonight's debate. Here is a bit about it from this morning's Boston Phoenix: ["Meet the spoilers"]. It looks like an interesting documentary.

Goodbye to NCR: Tomorrow night will be the last broadcast of WMBR's "No Censorship Radio" on MIT Radio. The show will air from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on 88.1 FM. The show has been on the air for 12 years and was easily one of the best alternative media/political/music programs in Boston. As an infrequent guest, it will be sad to see them go but sometimes, it is good to step away from something you have been doing for a long time. One of the hosts, Linda P., will have a new show on Sundays called "What's Left" along with a slate of new talk shows on Sunday. I am sure it will be a quality show. Thanks to everyone at NCR for giving Boston listeners something different to listen to on their radio dials.

Catching up on other stuff: Here are some links and news items that are collecting dust in my favorites file:

I've seen author Peter Lance twice on C-Span and he seems like a pretty amazing guy. Earlier this year, I purchased "1000 Years for Revenge," but haven't had a chance to do more than skim it. Well, now he has a new book - "Cover Up: What the government is still hiding about the War on Terror." The book describes extensive material left out of the 9-11 Commission report [which I am currently reading] including links between al Quaida and the TWA 800 explosion and the Oklahoma City bombing. He also talks about how the federal government hid these connections from the commission and the public. Lance has a long history as an investigative journalist so this isn't a Jim Keith conspiracy book [although his were fun to read, too]. Check out Peter's site here: ["Peter Lance"].

On the Nader front, here are some recent headlines:
First, publisher Greg Bates [of Common Courage Press] has a good piece on Counterpunch here: ["How to Win Enemies and Influence People: Nader's Victories: a Mid-Campaign Assessment"]. Bates is also the author of "Ralph's Revolt," a lean and quick read about his 2004 effort.
Next, a New Hampshire man was arrested after admitting to falsely signing his brother's and mother's signature on Nader petitions: ["Man says he falsely signed Nader petition"]. This isn't such a big deal since everyone in the signature gathering business knows that husbands sign for wives; wives sign for husbands, etc., although, it is illegal. Surprisingly, this arrest didn't make national play - probably because Nader isn't to blame! In the end, the Democrat's lawsuit against Nader's petition drive here was thrown out. Nader is the only independent on the ballot in New Hampshire, along with Bush and Kerry. So, don't be surprised if Nader receives more protest votes from disgruntled Republicans, Libertarians, McCainiacs, and other conservatives just like he did in 2000.
Speaking of that, here is a great site from a Republican Nader-backer - who would've voted for Bush in 2000: [I Voted for Nader and I Would've Voted for Bush].
Also, The Unity Campaign has finally updated its "Nader Impact" map which now shows Kerry losing with or without Nader on the ballot: [Nader 04 Impact Map]. On the map, Nader "costs" Kerry 17 Electoral College votes but Bush still wins by 42 EC votes. Of course, not surprisingly, they strategically ignored poll after poll after poll throughout the summer showing no Nader impact at all. And now, with Kerry getting hammered in state after state, what difference does it make? Just like Gore, Kerry is costing himself his own campaign. If I have the time, I will try to do an update soon about polling data. It is critical because at this point in 2000, just before the first debate in Boston, Gore was 74 EC votes ahead of Bush. Nader was around 4 percent nationally or on the verge of scoring millions in public funds for the Greens. However, Gore then huffed and puffed through the debates, blew his lead, had to go our and steal/scare votes from Nader, and still lost the presidency when the Supreme Court selected Bush.
What will happen tonight? We will soon know. But the key to everything is to understand where the race is at this very moment. Everything in history will be about the moment before the first debate.