If you visit here regularly you've probably noted I've been unusually silent on the presidential elections, especially considering that I began this blog as a protest against America's invasion of Afghanistan and wrote extensively, even on another political blog, during the last Presidential election. I haven't changed my politics since then, though I was undecided whether I wanted Hilary or Barack to win the Democratic nomination. After Obama won the nomination I donated a hundred dollars to his campaign.
Overall, though, I've been less than happy with the Democrats since they gained their congressional majority. So much so, that I've not given money to the DNC again, and doubt I will ever do so again. I really consider myself an independent, not a Democrat, and have decided that it only makes sense to give money to particular candidates whose ideas I endorse, not to a party as such.
I know that I'll vote for Obama and Biden in this election, so I've spared myself the agony of listening to all the political news, though I still enjoy listening to The Daily Show. I no longer watch news shows. I do continue to read rather broadly on the web, though NOT political blogs. I belong to a number of organizations like the ACLU or conservation groups that send me email updates when an important bill is coming up, and I try to personalize any messages that I send to my representatiives.
The main reason I've not mentioned politics, though, is that I assume that nearly everyone who visits here regularly and is an American citizen is already going to vote for Obama. Certainly my liberal bias is obvious, as is the political views of nearly everyone I link to, though that's a general impression, not one I've tried to verify.
About the only political recommendation I would make is that readers subscribe to both factcheck.org/ and Politifact.com to set straight all the crazy rumors and false statements that both parties seem unable to avoid in their ads, even though it's a little depressing how both candidates seem to feel it is necessary to lie, or at least distort the truth in order to run a winning campain.
After I read an article sent by a friend that suggested that conservative thinkers have dominated recent political discussion, I have been reading Moyers On Democracy and will comment on politics in general in the next few days.
The thought of Palin somehow becoming President absolutely terrifies me, but I doubt that any country would be willing to take all of us that would want to emigrate, kjm.
Not sure what was happening with my computer. I was wondering why you hadn't posted in awhile. I've checked your blog every day since "A Sonoma County Park," and today found 9 new entries. I thought you and Leslie were still traveling all this time!
Yes indeed. I'll be voting for Obama and Biden.
I suspect that it was my web page and not your computer that was the source of your problem since I had the same report from another reader, am. I was using a plug-in to cache certain pages, but apparently there was a problem with it and I've deactivated it.
I'm also going to update to the latest version of WordPress shortly, so hopefully those two things will solve the problem.
Loren, yours is the only non-political blog I read regularly. I'm not saying some things don't need to be said, that's why people blog. The facts are out there if people really want to know; the problem is that too many Americans rely on the press and television without verification. Sometimes I feel that our national incuriousity about the laws and policies affecting our lives every day will spell the end of our little experiment in democracy.
Your blog is an oasis of beautiful pictures and thoughtful words; I come here for hope and I usually find it. Thank you for that.
My real problems with blogs is that too often they sound like a version of Fox Network, too much opinion with too little evidence to back it up.
That and the inane comments they draw, both for and against. I've gotten so that I can't even stand to read the local papers blog because the comments are so offensive, and they're tame compared to political blog comments.
As a UK citisen, Loren, it is refreshing to read the thoughts of an ordinary US citisen. The coverage of your election in our papersmakes it sound so awful – it is so good to read a sensible view. Thanks for that.