Keeping hope alive.

I've seen some interesting stuff come across my email and show up on the web in the days since Republican Scott Brown won the special election to fill the late Senator Ted Kennedy's Massachusetts US Senate seat.

The oddly titled Losing Hope campaign is actually all about concrete actions that activists can take to work for peace, healthcare reform, financial reform and sustainable energy policy. It includes a letter to President Obama calling on him to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan and to fulfill the spirit of his campaign promises. On the losinghope.com website, there is a link to this commentary by Medea Benjamin of Code Pink.

Then there is this post by blogger Jerry Critter, linking to an incisive commentary on healthcare reform by Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka argues in a YouTube video that the Massachusetts special election is a wake-up call for the Democratic Party -- and unions -- to do more to promote the interests of ordinary working people by creating jobs and affordable healthcare.

Meanwhile, Rethink Afghanistan has a petition calling on President Obama to present a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan in his State of the Union address.

I expect that there's more activity out there, but I'm too tired to look for more of it tonight.