I was amazed and proud as I took my place in line to vote early in Texas. Privilege is not a word I think of when I think of the state of Texas, but this year and this time it was, and is, a privilege to reside in a state where one can vote two weeks prior to November 4^th including weekends.

Prior to the 2000 election I believed my vote counted and would be counted. Who knew there were as many ways to marginalize and bastardize the voting process, as there are states? Standardized voting should be the rule and not the exception. A process that protects the right to vote,  and encourages all eligible individuals to vote, must be established. The most important election in the past forty years is already rife with early voting woes. What in the hell have the election boards and officials been doing for the pass four year besides purchasing voting machines? Since early voting has begun there have been reports of voting machine irregularities, voter suppression, people standing in line to vote for up to five hours especially in Ohio, Florida and Virginia. Is it a co-incidence that these same battleground states plagued by voting problems in the 2000 and 2004 elections now exhibit the same problems this 2008 election? There are still no regulations in place or provisions made to insure that handicap or disabled persons and/or veterans be accommodated so they don’t have to stand in long lines. Why not? Shouldn’t voting be voter friendly? The expectation that the voting process run smoothly shouldn’t be something that I as a voter (or any voter for that matter) should be concerned about. Observing the process in action up to this date in fact is cause for concern. On October 26^th the NAACP initiated a lawsuit against the state of Virginia for not adequately preparing for massive voter turnout. Thank goodness they are being proactive instead of reacting to the same old political tricks that would hamper the voting process.

The tricks to change election results have become a business all to itself. Have you heard of the Man in the Middle? Basically it involves diverting election returns data through a separate computer located in a different place. It is supposedly something computer criminals or hackers do regularly within the banking business. The Man in the Middle is reported to be effective (and hard if not impossible) to detect as a way to change election results. In the past week I watched an evening news show that had a man who manufacturers voting machines demonstrate how to hack into one in less then eight minutes. I voted early but will my vote count? The fight to insure no voter is disenfranchised is a fight that must be won this time around. I believe my concern cannot be emphasized enough. Listen to or read the transcript of the October 22, 2008 cable news show Democracy Now. Amy Goodman interviews Mark Crispin Miller author of Loser Take All: Election Fraud and the Subversion of Democracy, 2000-2008. The conversation is chilling and reminds us that being a participant in the democratic process is a responsibility, and in these times imperative. Reports of voting machines that are switching votes and shortages of working voting machines in Democratic precincts, and misleading information about voting is only the tip of the iceberg as I question the outcome of this election. I voted early but will my vote count? I am but one of many voters concerned about the process. For the first time in Texas, poll watchers have been trained and are voluntarily policing the voting process. Apparently the lessons of the 2000 and 2004 election irregularities, missing ballots and disenfranchised voters was enough for many of us to realize the process must be policed by us the voter. Technology and time has changed the way we vote but it must not change why we vote. We vote for change so that the country we live in gives an equal playing field for all that seek the American dream. I voted early, and even if I am suspicious that it might be hijacked, it is not enough to squelch my dream of change. Vote early if you can, but by all means vote! Because YOU are the change you seek.

And in closing, with all the intensity of this election I sometimes forget to laugh. I hope this clip makes you laugh as much as I did.

The situation facing this country since I last posted has reached critical mass. Who knew that outside of record job loss, escalating food, energy and living costs, that the bottom would fall out of American financial infrastructure? I have watched our 401K dwindle in the past six months unable to stop the slide. The choice to take it out and be penalized, or leave it and watch it continue to disappear is no choice at all. It makes me furious and all the more determined to insure that I do everything I can to help Barack Obama become the next president. I am furious that our legislators, journalist and presidential candidates sold us out by saving the same idiots that pulled the rug out from the people of this country.  I disagree with the choice to bail out the financial institutions that created this mess, but as usual, my voice, and yours, was  not heard. It appears that we can foot the bill but not have a stake in determining how it is to be paid and to whom it is to be paid. How much worse could it have been if we had let the market right itself? We shall never know because that decision was made for us. Why aren’t people being held accountable, prosecuted and sent to jail? They are criminals and what they have done has created a situation that imprisons us all. I read a commentary by Michael Moore that not only makes sense but if considered could go a long way in righting this perilous mess. I urge you to send a copy to your congressperson and demand that his principles be considered. Whoopi Goldberg moderator of The View also has constructive ideas that could help stop this meltdown. Specifically she suggests that all mortgages be given twenty-five percent forgiveness across the board and let people losing their homes start from scratch. It is not perfect but it too goes a long way in helping the people most hurt by this crisis instead of the fat cats that created it. In the past three weeks I have observed that the leaders we elected to advocate for us, instead advocate for the people that have fleeced us. My ears sting with the rhetoric echoed by media, pundits and elected officials pleading that we stay still. Don’t panic and do anything drastic like take your money out of the bank. It could only make matters worse. I for one don’t believe it and don’t trust anything reported by the media concerning this crisis. 700 billion dollars hasn’t solved the problem, and if you believe that it ever would have – think again. I am asking that you contact your congressperson and demand there be no more of our money be used to save an economy spiraling down into freefall. Let it bottom out.  Their only interest from this day forward should be the interest of the electorate.  If another dollar is to be spent, let it be for our children, veterans, homeless, aged and the disenfranchised. I don’t know how this is going to end, but I do know that everyday one of my fellow citizens is losing their savings, home and or their ability to care for their families. Unemployment is at a record high and peoples salaries falter under the rising cost of living.  Who’s bailing them out? Is it a sign of the times or the end of times?  Either might be true, but that does not mean in the meantime we shouldn’t be doing something to live out this time in dignity and peace. It is our choice and it is up to us, one by one, to join our votes and voices November 4^th, 2008.  Do not be distracted by name-calling, lies and pit bulls with lipstick. What has transpired in this country over the past eight years up to this moment has changed America forever. It will never be the same but I believe that from the ashes it can be better. That is the hope that keeps me optimistic. A change is coming and his name is Barack Obama.  Stand with him and let us take our country back for all of us.