Little Hawk, I can't agree with the comment you frequently make that it makes no difference whether Americans vote for Democrats or Republicans.

Granted, it doesn't make a great deal of difference as far as the functioning of the Corporatocracy is concerned (John Perkins has outlined a number of approaches to take to that). But you will note that since the Congress changed hands in the recent election, a number of things have happened that definitely would not have happened had it remained under Republican control. Criticism of the Iraq debacle has increased markedly and Bush and the Pentagon can no longer count on a blank check to finance their misbegotten adventures. Nor is Congress just going to sit and nod when Bush wants to cut more taxes on the rich. And the increase in the minimum wage has been passed. And some heavy-duty investigations have been launched into a number of things, such as election reform, campaign financing, and ethics violations. And they're talking seriously about national health again, or at least what to do about rising health costs and the fact that over 43 million Americans don't have health insurance because they simply can't afford it. And things like the CEO who received severance pay of $153 million as the company he worked for fired him for poor performance (he lost $billions for the company) are getting a long, hard look by some Democratic congresspersons who are particularly concerned about the huge disparity between rich and poor. Nancy Pelosi promised that several bills, progressive in nature, would be passed within the first 100 hours of the new congressional session—and she made good on her promise. And there is much more on the agenda.

This doesn't put a big crimp in the Corporatocracy, but it means that it doesn't have it quite as easy as it did before Congress changed hands. And it means one helleva lot to all those folks on minimum wage. And—it sends a message to the Republicans that they can be voted out of office if all they do is just sit and nod when Bush has another brain(?)storm.

Saying that it makes no difference is a) not completely true, and b) is just plain counterproductive. Think about it.

Don Firth

P. S Here is what my Congressional Representative has been up to lately:   CLICKY 1    And this is what he was in the news for this morning:   CLICKY 2.   I'd say he was making a difference. And my two Senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, as well.