Just the Facts...oh, and a sense of responsibility!

Have I mentioned lately how much I adore FactCheck.org? Insert the collective groan of all of my friends who reply "everyday!"

After two presidential debates and a VP debate, I find myself ever more frustrated with "undecided" voters. Undecided or uninformed? There is a difference. I am, however, thrilled with the plethora of non-partisan websites available to help the average voter sift through the rhetoric and get down to some of the nitty-gritty. Click here, here, or here for some examples. Every individual is entitled to his views and values, it's one of the freedoms that makes our nation special, I only request that we educate ourselves on how things really work and what the whole story is before we determine that the party/ candidate we support is truly furthering our priorities.

That said, I am going to take advantage of this opportunity to jump up onto my well-worn soapbox for just a brief moment. I am unbelievably frustrated by the average American's sense of responsibility when it comes to our political processes. We are a democracy...in many ways! We vote with our ballots, with our wallets, and with our feet. We scream about diminished wages in our communities, but then shop at our new Wal-mart. We elect the politician that claims to be able to provide us with amenities without increasing our taxes and then call him a "dirty politician" when he fails to deliver the amenity without increasing taxes. When we require impossible promises in order to elect a candidate, impossible promises are what we will get. Remember that each candidate knows that he cannot effect any change if he does not achieve election into office, so he must prioritize winning the election first. We complain about the media, but which newspapers do you buy? Which programs do you watch? We want drama and we're willing to pay for it, so drama is what we get. Bill O'Reilly...really? Is that news? How does that man have his own show? Some population of individuals watches him...that's how!! We buy into campaign ads depicting this or that candidate as having voted down this or that bill, but fail to remember that oftentimes unrelated amendments are attached to those bills and are often the reason that the candidate voted one way or another on the bill. I could go on and on...

There is a huge amount of information available out there to help clarify the issues. Know where you stand, understand the process, and VOTE accordingly!!