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Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia, and former head of the KGB, rules as de facto czar of enormous empire that spans 11 time zones. A confirmed and dedicated Communist, Putin has decided that Russia should publicly honor another fellow socialist on his 50th birthday. From "The Voice of Russia" English language website we read: Russia's Post Office has issued a collection of stamps and envelopes to mark the 50th jubilee of the US President Barack Obama. The US leader is celebrating his birthday on the 4th of August. In one of his recent interviews Mr. Obama said that fifty...

It's symbolic, but Democrats have scored a victory [of sorts] over nine House Republicans who signed on to the so-called "Birther" bill -- getting them on the record in support of a resolution that explicitly states that President Obama was born in Hawaii. None of the nine -- Reps. Marsha Blackburn [R-Tenn.], Dan Burton [R-Ind.], John Campbell [R-Calif.] John Carter [R-Tex.], John Culberson [R-Tex.], Robert Goodlatte [R-Va.], Kenny Marchant [R-Tex.], Randy Neugebauer [R-Tex.] and Rep. Ted Poe [R-Tex.] -- objected to the unanimous approval of a resolution honoring the 50th anniversary of Hawaii's Statehood last night. The key clause, cleverly...

Here Are The Results of SurveyUSA Election Poll #10639 Geography Surveyed: CA 50th CD Data Collected: 11/01/2006 - 11/03/2006 Release Date: 11/04/2006 11:25 AM ET Sponsor: KGTV-TV San Diego Never Mind; Busby Fades at the Finish & Bilbray Holds CA50 for Republicans: Polling exclusively for KGTV-TV San Diego, SurveyUSA wrote on 9/13/06 that CA50 was "safe" for the GOP. Republican Brian Bilbray at that time had a 14 point lead, and appeared to be out of reach. Then, on 10/16/06, in the middle of the media coverage of Mark Foley, Democrat Francine Busby closed to within 2 points in SurveyUSA...

Without offering evidence that could be independently verified, Democratic congressional candidate Francine Busby and her top campaign aide alleged yesterday that Republican Rep. Brian Bilbray is the target of a criminal fraud investigation. Rumors of a county grand jury investigation of Bilbray's residency status have circulated in recent weeks, with Busby campaign operatives seeking to generate interest among several news outlets, none of which confirmed an investigation. At a news conference yesterday, with the Nov. 7 election less than four weeks away, Busby campaign manager Ray Drew said he had been contacted by several anonymous callers who said they are...

Just over three months ago, the special election to fill the vacancy left by congressman-turned-inmate Randy “Duke” Cunningham was a political rock concert. It was national news, big money poured in from both parties and Washington pundits touted it as a barometer of the national mood. That was then. 50TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT BY THE NUMBERSVoter registration: 44 percent: Republican 30 percent: Democratic 22 percent: Decline to state Republican Brian Bilbray won that June contest, defeating Democrat Francine Busby by slightly more than 4.5 percentage points. A comfortable margin, but not commanding, considering the Republican Party spent $5 million on Bilbray's...

There is an old joke that goes something like this. Q. How do you know a politician is lying? A. His lips are moving. Obviously this catches the public's disgust with politicians that say one thing and do another. This is one of the reasons citizen's groups want things in writing. They send questionnaires out hoping to put these politicians in ink on various topics. They believe that at least having something writing will keep politicians honest. In March of this year former Congressman Brian Bilbray was running for the 50th Congressional Seat after Duke Cunningham resigned in disgrace. Bilbray...

Late Wednesday afternoon, a "Manual Hand Count Request under the Election Recount Provision" was filed at the San Diego County Registrar of Voters office by CA-50 voter Barbara Gail Jacobson. The request is for a full manual hand count of all paper ballots and paper trails in the recent June 6th Busby/Bilbray special U.S. House election in which programmed, election-ready Diebold voting machines were sent home with poll workers for days prior to the election in apparent violation of new laws and provisions by both state and federal authorities. As California state election code requires that a candidate be named...

WASHINGTON – Oh, for a honeymoon that had lasted two weeks. Brian Bilbray got no such break. Sworn in to Congress just seven days before, the newly elected lawmaker on Tuesday found himself going head to head with budget-cutting conservatives who questioned his support for congressional “earmarks” and his vote for a congressional pay raise. The conflict – played out for San Diegans last week on local radio – demonstrated that Bilbray may have to walk a political tightrope as he faces a November election for a full two-year seat. “I find it interesting that conservatives are already critiquing Bilbray...

When is a loss really a win? It's a common practice, trying to spin a political defeat into a victory. But in the case of the race to fill Randy "Duke" Cunningham's seat in the House of Representatives, the silver lining might not be that hard to find. snip NOW PAC organizers worked on the Busby campaign, reaching out to voters across the county. The NOW PAC put Hays in San Diego prior to the April 11 Special Election, and sent her and another organizer Monely Soltani there again in late May to work on the run-off vote, held concurrently...

The newest member of the House of Representatives said today that illegal immigration was the sole issue that brought him victory in last week's special election in California. Republican Brian P. Bilbray took his oath of office for his seat in California's 50th District, one of the closest congressional districts to the border. He fills the seat left vacant by former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a felon serving jail time for accepting bribes on behalf of defense contractors. "We did not enjoy the situation or appreciate the problem that created the vacancy, but let me say quite clearly, what is...

WASHINGTON -- A week after his special-election victory — and six months after his predecessor pleaded guilty to bribery — San Diego Republican Brian Bilbray was sworn in to the House Tuesday to replace ex-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. After House Speaker Dennis Hastert administered the oath, Bilbray, 55, gave a floor speech sounding the theme he believes boosted him to victory — illegal immigration, not congressional corruption. "We did not enjoy the situation or appreciate the problem that created the vacancy," Bilbray said. "But let me say quite clearly — what is obvious in the last few months is the...

After a Republican victory in the hotly contested House runoff election, political analysts are pointing to a single sentence in a campaign ad as a key factor in the final days of the race. Democrat Francine Busby, accused during the campaign of taking a soft line on illegal immigration, was told by a man at a largely Hispanic rally that he wanted to help her campaign but didn't have voting papers. The man spoke in Spanish through an interpreter. Busby responded in English: "Everybody can help. You can all help. You don't need papers for voting, you don't need to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus, welcomed Representative-Elect Brian Bilbray (R-CA) to the IRC as its 98th member. Bilbray won a special election yesterday in California’s 50th district, spanning San Diego’s northern suburbs. “Brian has long been a strong advocate of secure borders and tough enforcement of immigration laws. As a former Member and a spokesperson for a non-profit reform group, Brian has worked with me on immigration and I know he’ll be a tremendous asset to my party as we try to block the Senate’s amnesty pact,” said Tancredo. Bilbray ran...

Republican Brian Bilbray believes he rode a wave of anti-illegal-immigration sentiment to defeat Democrat Francine Busby and replace imprisoned former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham in the 50th Congressional District. “The biggest scandal facing the U.S. isn't Cunningham,” Bilbray said yesterday, “but the 11 to 12 million illegal aliens in our country. That's what people feel impacts their lives.” Cunningham resigned in November after pleading guilty to tax evasion and conspiracy related to taking $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. Bilbray's win Tuesday reverberated in Washington yesterday and spurred political analysts across the nation to consider its implications for November's...

Stop measuring for drapes, Nancy. If Democrats can’t win a special election for a seat left open by the guilty plea of a senior Republican congressman for bribery in a political environment that can politely be described as more sour than milk left on the counter for a week, how can they expect to win back control of the House of Representatives, handing the speakership to Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)? Democrats are claiming the fact that the Republican Party had to spend $5 million to assure victory for former Rep. Brian Bilbray in California’s GOP-friendly 50th congressional district is a sign...

The results from California's 50th district are now in - and Republican Brian Bilbray has defeated Democrat Francine Busby in the contest to complete the tenure of Duke Cunningham. This was Busby's third try at seizing the seat. She is now 0-for-3. The two will face off again in November, but it seems highly likely that the GOP will hold the seat.Pundits and partisans across the land have examined the returns to divine some kind of meaning from them. What did the voters tell us? Many answers have been offered - not all of them valid. Many people have seen...

California Republican Brian Bilbray, who on Tuesday defeated a Democrat whom he had trailed in polls for weeks to win an open House seat, credited his comeback to his tough stance on immigration, which mirrors the stern House bill that would reject any sort of amnesty for illegal aliens.

In politics, it's easy to mistake a mere reprieve for something more substantive. So Tuesday's election results in California shouldn't give Republicans, or Golden State taxpayers, the idea that they're out of the woods this election year. The GOP won what it's hoping is a bellwether House race in San Diego County to fill a seat that opened when former Congressman Duke Cunningham was caught taking bribes. Republican Brian Bilbray defeated Democrat Francine Busby, 49% to 45%. But it's not a good GOP omen that the National Republican Congressional Committee had to spend $5 million on the contest and that...

Any trends in these election results? A good day for scions -- Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey, George Wallace Jr. in Alabama, Chet Culver in Iowa... A mixed day for celebrity candidates -- Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore defeated for governor; Rob Reiner's pre-school initiative in California stomped like a narc at a biker rally....but Jerry Brown rises from the ashes of Oakland to win the Democratic party's nomination for California Attorney General. But what about the so-called bellwether??? No big great news for Democrats in California's special election to replace convicted criminal Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-CA....

SAN DIEGO -- U.S. Rep.-elect Brian Bilbray's reward for a hard-fought victory is a House seat for seven months — and another campaign against the same Democrat he vanquished in a special election to fill the seat vacated by disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. While the candidates, and probably the issues, will be the same in November, there will be one major difference: Bilbray will be running as an incumbent. And that makes it even more of an uphill battle for school board member Francine Busby. Whether the race for a two-year term is as close as this week's...

'Culture of Corruption' Failed Democrats in House Race by Robert Novak Posted Jun 07, 2006 For all the hype and the money spent on the race between former Rep. Brian Bilbray (R) and Francine Busby (D), Busby, in her loss to Bilbray, failed to exceed significantly the percentage won here by John Kerry in 2004. This is significant, because although she will have another shot at Bilbray in November, the turnout should have favored her yesterday, since Republicans had no other races to drive their turnout and Democrats had a gubernatorial primary. The outcome proves that even with corrupt former...

The Democrats lost in San Diego last night in a special election many thought they would win. After all, the race was to fill a seat left vacant by a Republican congressman who had to resign when he pled guilty of corruption. President Bush’s approval rating in a California Field Poll this week is around 28% percent (the lowest in that poll’s history since just before President Nixon resigned in 1974). And in the first round of voting, the Democrat, Francine Busby got 44% of the vote and the Republican Brian Bilbray, a former congressman, led a big field of...

The Nation Magazine is trying to soft sell the election in California's 50th District of Republican Brian Bilbray who is now replacing disgraced Republican, Randy "Duke" Cunningham. And they aren’t the only one’s trying to blow off the importance to the Democratic Party’s immediate future at the polls that this election might portend. "Busby lost to Republican Brian Bilbray in a special election last night by 49 to 45 percent, in (a) heavily Republican district(s)." (For Nation Op EdClick here) But this claim of a "heavily Republican district" is not really the correct, up-to-date analysis of the district's voting trends....

A former Republican congressman Brian Bilbray has won a U.S. House of Representatives race in California on Tuesday by narrowly beating Democrat Francine Busby in a conservative district north of San Diego. The two were contending to replace Randy Cunningham, a former Republican congressman who was imprisoned for taking bribes. Alabama, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota also held primaries on Tuesday to select candidates for November, when all 435 seats in the House, 33 Senate seats and 36 governorships will be up for grabs. The news comes as the "first good dose" for the President...

Republicans claimed victory in the California special election early Wednesday morning as former Rep. Brian Bilbray led Democrat Francine Busby by four points with 96 percent of precincts reporting. The 50th District race Tuesday was a runoff pitting the top two finishers from an April election to replace disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R) and was billed as a bellwether for the upcoming general election in November, where Democrats hope they have the wind at their backs and a chance to retake Congress. But that wind wasn’t enough Tuesday in solidly-Republican San Diego, where Bilbray secured nearly 50 percent...

LOS ANGELES—In a last-minute move to help Republican chances in the too-close-to call special U.S. House election in California’s 50th District (San Diego) on June 6, both President Bush and Rep. Darrell Issa (R.-Calif.) weighed in strongly this weekend for GOP nominee Brian Bilbray. In a recorded telephone message to Republican households in the district that became vacant when Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R.-Calif.) quit in disgrace earlier this year, the President called on voters to vote for Bilbray, who represented a neighboring district from 1994-2000, and describes the moderate GOPer as an ally in the war on terror. The...

CARLSBAD, Calif. - Republicans seized on Democrat Francine Busby's comments that sounded like encouragement for illegal immigrants to help her campaign as the GOP sought an edge in the final hours of a surprisingly close House race. Immigration looms large in the runoff election Tuesday in the San Diego-area district some 30 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Busby's remarks, and her subsequent explanation that she misspoke, has drawn much of the attention in the race's last days. Speaking to a largely Hispanic audience last Thursday, Busby faced a Spanish-speaking questioner who said he wanted to help her campaign but lacked...

Can you call tomorrow to help score the first 2006 victory? We've identified thousands of Busby supporters—but we need to make sure they vote. Can you sign up to make a few reminder calls on Tuesday? Sign me up! Dear MoveOn member, Tomorrow is Election Day in California's 50th Congressional District, where progressive Francine Busby is looking for the last few hundred votes to win. The national Republican Party has spent over $4 million desperately trying to beat her. They've even tried to drive a wedge between Busby and us by mentioning your work in one of their ads.1 We're...

Carlsbad, Calif. -- Republicans seized on Democrat Francine Busby's comments that sounded like encouragement for illegal aliens to help her campaign as the GOP sought an edge in the final hours of a surprisingly close House race. Immigration looms large in the runoff election Tuesday in the San Diego-area district some 30 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Busby's remarks, and her subsequent explanation that she misspoke, has drawn much of the attention in the race's last days. Speaking to a largely Hispanic audience last Thursday, Busby faced a Spanish-speaking questioner who said he wanted to help her campaign but lacked...

By-election defeat could signal disaster for Bush By Tim Reid The Republicans are alarmed after polls show that voters may turn against them in one of their strongholds A US by-election tomorrow to replace a jailed Congressman in a traditionally safe Republican seat is too close to call, an alarming sign for President Bush and his party ahead of November’s mid-term elections.

Roger Hedgecock, talk show host on KOGO AM600 in San Diego, is playing a recording made covertly at a meeting last night. The meeting was an event held by the Francine Busby campaign. Busby is the Democrat candidate for California's 50th Congressional District, vacated by disgraced crook Republican Randy "Duke" Cunningham. The meeting was with an audience of Hispanic attendees and only Spanish-language media was invited. Busby addressed them through an interpreter. On the tape, a man is heard saying that he didn't "have papers" and asking how he could help. Busby replies, in part, "You can all help. You...

Bilbray Hopes To Make Splash On Election Day California’s Primary Election is just days away. Also on Tuesday’s ballot, one race will be decided -- it is the 50th District short-term special election. According to a 10News/Survey USA Poll, the race is neck and neck. Republican Brian Bilbray has with 47 percent of the vote, while Democrat Francine Busby has 45 percent of the vote. Voter turnout will be key in the winner of the seat once held by Randy “Duke” Cunningham. With less than a week to go until the election to replace Cunningham, the countdown is on. In...

A nice contrast today. It concerns the company McCain keeps. Brian Bilbray is in a dogfight of a Congressional race in a traditionally Republican district represented by Duke Cunningham until his resignation. He needs all the help he can get. He also happens to disagree with the Senate immigration bill passed last week. John McCain had been scheduled in town to raise critical last minute funds for Bilbray's campaign. Until today, when McCain suddenly cancelled, apparently in retaliation for Bilbray's opposition to McCain's work on immigration reform. What does it say for the Senator can't step into a Republican district...

Sorry for not posting an article. I can't find any updated information. I am very curious to see how this plays out. Between Haidtha and this elections, the RATS will have a field day!!!!

With five days to go before the too-close-to-call special U.S. House election in California's 50th District (San Diego), Republicans were rocked last week with a hard-hitting denunciation of their nominee, Brian Bilbray from a fellow Republican. "I proudly swore an oath to defend and protect the Constitution of California and the United States," Steve Baldwin, a former state assemblyman from San Diego and longtime conservative activist, wrote in an e-mail to fellow GOP activists in the 50th District, "That's why I'm appalled and deeply saddened to learn that Brian Bilbray is making a mockery of his oath to his fellow...

WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain canceled a fundraiser for Republican Brian Bilbray in California's special election after the candidate publicly criticized the Senate immigration bill. McCain, R-Ariz., the top proponent of comprehensive immigration reform, didn't appear at the Wednesday breakfast fundraiser. Bilbray is in a June 6 run-off election with Democrat Francine Busby to replace the vacant seat of embattled former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison for accepting bribes. Bilbray has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on TV commercials attacking Busby for her support of the immigration bill that...

SAN DIEGO -- Arizona Sen. John McCain on Tuesday canceled an appearance for a Republican congressional candidate who has attacked his opponent for supporting McCain's immigration bill. McCain, R-Ariz., was scheduled to speak Wednesday at a breakfast fundraiser for Brian Bilbray, who is locked in a close runoff race with Democrat Francine Busby for the San Diego-area seat left vacant by disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. The event was expected to raise at least $65,000. The winner of the June 6 special election will fill the remaining seven months left in Cunningham's term. In an e-mail sent to the...

By: North County Times - Editorial Our view: In close race for 50th District seat, former congressman just better than Busby The race between Francine Busby and Brian Bilbray in the 50th Congressional District presents voters with an unusually good pair of choices. Both are much closer to the center of the nation's political spectrum than its fringes, and both are very strong candidates on their own merits. Running a strong reform campaign in a district shamed by Randy "Duke" Cunningham, Democrat Busby offers voters a genuinely fresh face with solid credentials. Bilbray's strengths are his pragmatism, command of the...

GOP Fears in a Bellwether Race Staffers from the National Republican Congressional Committee are quietly telling GOP House members to prepare for a possible loss in the June 6 special election to fill the seat of Randy "Duke" Cunningham, now in prison for taking bribes. The Southern California district is heavily Republican, but some GOP insiders believe that Democrat Francine Busby will defeat former GOP Rep. Brian Bilbray and go on to win a full term in November. More alarming some worry that a Bilbray defeat could signal the GOP's loss of control of the House. The NRCC has already...

"Busby had raised $2.25 million as of May 17, including $755,139 in the most recent fundraising period. She ended the reporting period with about $185,000 in cash on-hand to take her through the June 6 election. "Bilbray had raised just over $1 million in his bid for the San Diego area seat, including $630,055 in the most recent period. He ended up with just over $100,000 on-hand." [Snip] "In the most recent reporting period, though, [anti-war liberal Marcy] Winograd and [Rep. Jane] Harman were more evenly matched: Winograd raised $67,000 and Harman $101,000. Their race is being watched by some...

"As the race to replace the imprisoned Randy 'Duke' Cunningham moves closer to the June 6 election day, the stakes, intensity and consequences begin to surface in magnitudes never seen before in the bid for California's 50th Congressional District." [Snip] "Make no mistake, the key issue in the 50th District race is illegal immigration. On this issue, Mr. Bilbray has been active for many years. If there is one person this side of Lou Dobbs who has been way out in front of the rest of society on illegal immigration as an issue, it is Brian Bilbray. In 1997 (he...

SAN DIEGO -- It is now more than just mudslinging in the race for the 50th Congressional District. Wednesday, the Democratic Party called for an investigation into allegations of perjury and voter fraud against Republican candidate Brian Bilbray. Democrats said the proof is in property records from three homes and Bilbray’s declaration of candidacy. These are serious allegations against a man who has run a campaign saying San Diego is and always will be his home. The ad states San Diego is the home where Republican congressional candidate Bilbray said he lives. “I live in Carlsbad, taking care of my...

Republican businessman Eric Roach announced he would be "standing down" in the 50th District Congressional race and stop campaigning for the seat to try to ensure a Republican victory. “Maintaining the Republican majority in Congress is a vital goal this year, and a loss here in the 50th Congressional district to a liberal Democrat like Francine Busby would send the wrong signal across our great nation,” he announced in a statement read to reporters in a conference call. Roach did not speak in the call; instead Stan Devereux, his communications director, read his statement and answered questions. In the statement,...

A parade of prominent national Republicans traipsing to San Diego County to raise money for Republican congressional candidate Brian Bilbray begins today with a visit by House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Bilbray is locked in a tight runoff campaign race with Democrat Francine Busby to fill the remainder of Republican Randy “Duke” Cunningham's term. Cunningham resigned and was sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion charges related to accepting bribes. Hastert, of Illinois, will be the featured attraction this morning at a Bilbray fundraising reception at the La Jolla Marriott. Vice President Dick Cheney will highlight...

Federal lobbyist and former Congressman Brian Bilbray, the Republican, is LOSING to liberal school teacher Francine Busby, the Democrat in a “safe� GOP seat as conservatives nationally, and in this coastal San Diego County district are fed up with ‘big government’ Republicanism. I just got off of the phone with Bill Hauf. The overwhelming majority of FR readers will be unfamiliar with who that is – Hauf is one of the conservative candidates who ran in the large field to replace ‘Duke’ Cunningham in Congress. Hauf, who ran a principled campaign on the issues, didn’t fare as well as he...

SAN DIEGO - The baroque process of picking a replacement for jailed Republican Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham has made California's 50th Congressional District inscrutable. It will be deciphered by the evening of June 6. On April 11, the district voted on 18 candidates - 14 of them Republicans. If one had received more than 50 percent, he or she would have Cunningham's seat, at least until this November's election. Democrat Francine Busby, 55, a women's studies lecturer who in 2004 won 36 percent running against Cunningham, finished first, but with only 43.7 percent, about what Bill Clinton, Al Gore and...

Friends, I wanted to write to you and thank you in the aftermath of the Special Election for the 50th Congressional District. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to claim victory in this past Tuesday’s Special Election. The good news is that we managed to keep the anti-war liberal Democrat, Francine Busby, below 50% - and therefore kept her from winning this seat outright. Spending over a million dollars in the final few weeks, the liberal, anti-war extremists were dealt a stunning blow. There will now be a runoff election in June between the top two finishers....

Within hours of her first-place finish in the conservative 50th Congressional District's special election Tuesday, Democrat Francine Busby got an early-morning call from Sen. Dianne Feinstein. "She wanted to know what she could do to help," said Busby, who now faces a June 6 runoff, most likely against former California Rep. Brian Bilbray, who most recently worked as a lobbyist in Washington. Although Bilbray led fellow Republican Eric Roach by about 900 votes with all precincts reporting from election day, San Diego County election officials still have to count about 10,000 late, absentee and provisional ballots. Updated results aren't expected...

California Democrat Francine Busby's first-place showing in Round 1 of Tuesday's special congressional race may give her party a jolt of optimism in its quest to retake the House in November. But come the June 6 runoff, analysts say, reality will set in: The seat she seeks to occupy, the one vacated by the now-imprisoned Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R), represents a strong Republican district and the odds are steep against her in a two-person race against a Republican. The GOP has a 15-point registration advantage in the San Diego district. In at least the past 40 years, the Democrats have...

NORTH COUNTY ---- Even before Brian Bilbray appeared to clinch a narrow victory Tuesday over 13 other Republican rivals to run against Democrat Francine Busby in eight short weeks to replace disgraced former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, supporters called on the field to "unite" behind Bilbray's candidacy. But a day later, it appeared that unity could be slow in coming. Eric Roach, Bilbray's nearest Republican rival, said Wednesday through campaign managers that he might ask for a recount of votes cast in the sprawling 50th District ---- a move that would delay Republican solidarity in the weeks of campaigning left...