Politics:
Tomorrow is Virginia's first Presidential Primary election in quite a while. I am not sure how skewed the results will be because Virginia is a very Republican state, and because the Democratic Primary is open to all registered voters, but it is an oppotunity to send a message to the system. I fully expect John Edwards to win in Virginia by a narrow margin over John Kerry, but I think I am going to take this moment to vote even more left of center in hopes that someone listens. I am sure that only Kerry, Edwards, and Clark can beat Bush in November, but I want all three to adopt more of Sharpton, Kucinich, and Dean's stands. To take the needs of the people of this country to heart before they go up against the corporate regime. I do not think I will seriously shift the results of the VA Primary, but I hope enough people plug for the more liberal choices that the Democratic party realizes that the time for "centrist" concessions (which usually mean corporate friendly policies like Clinton/Gore had) is over. A "Democrat" needs to represent the people.

Politics:
Regime change within the United States is probably the most important undertaking we'll have in the coming year (2004). The national news media is inadequately covering the race for the office of President, but they are not mentioning the equally important need to replace our corrupt, inept, and right-wing congress (both houses) with progressive, open-minded, fresh representatives of the people. Therefore I am resolving to work very hard in my own districts to get some change happening.

The last few years have held little or no choice in the U.S. Congressional district where I live, Virginia's 10th. Congressman Frank Wolf has been effectively unopposed for a long time, and he is not only a member of the GOP, but he is also unresponsive to his constituents (which I am sadly now one of). Letters to his office go unanswered, appeals to his humanitarianism are ignored. Mr Wolf represents corporate greed and fundamentalist "Christian" more than he represents the people of Virginia. It is time for a change. Today, on my umpteenth search for someone, ANYONE, to run against him, I discovered that Sam Kubba (http://www.kubbaforcongress.com/, is running against our incumbent. I do not know much about Sam Kubba yet, but I intend to listen, find out more and let folks know about him.

If you live in Virginia's 10th district, find out more about Sam (or let me know if there are other choices), and vote. If you do not, find out if your so-called representative has really been representing you the laast few years. Ask him/her what they have done for the people living around you lately. No matter where you live, figure out which of your U.S. Senators is up for re-election (Project Vote-Smart will have the information), and see if they have been representing you, or perhaps a large corporation or rich person who does not need representation. If they have been fairly representing you, kudos. You are one of the luck few. Most of these so-called representatives need to be replaced though - with fresh minds, fresh ideas, and at least an attempt at honestly representing their voters back home. Get involved, if we do not - more and more of our money and land and rights will vanish.

A democracy is only as good as the education and critical thinking skills of it's voters. Certain powers want ours to be a nation of illiterate TV addicts who are easy to manipulate and easy to lull into complacency. It is time to invest in our future, and really teach people to think for themselves.