My Opinion Matters?? Tips on how to fill a Bucket

I would very much like to think my opinion matters. However, I do not think it wise to take this too much to heart, to think that it is me, myself, and I whose voice matters.....I am a drop in the bucket, literally.

Now that I am in Pennsylvania, I signed up to get email alerts on Bob Casey's campaign for Senate. Yesterday, I received an email from Casey's campaign manager to let me know that in "just 18 seconds" I "can make a huge difference in beating Rick Santorum."
Pretty exciting, right. It is.

Apparently, Senator Barbara Boxer has a Political Action Committee for a Change. All I had to do was click on a link and I was sent to an online poll where I could vote for the Democrat I think Boxer's PAC should do some fundraising for next.

Luckily, Casey was tied for first place....all those little droplets that hit the bucket before me were making a differnce. This is where just a few droplets more could really help. I voted and promptly emailed the message I received to a few family members (I do not have many friends in PA, mainly family...I guess I could have sent the message to people who do not live in PA, but that would feel like cheating to me).

I did not use the system in place on Boxer's PAC for a Change to send the emails that would alert my family (and any potential friends) because I did not want them to be unwillingly added to any potential list. I was also careful to uncheck the box that was of course checked by default, this checked box would have made sure I was put on Boxer's PAC for a Change email list and who knows what else.

While I may be interested (and I am), I have been made aware of it and can now return to the website to examine it at my pleasure. I imagine that if I realize there is a lot going on that I am missing because I am not getting the notices or alerts, then I can sign up and write all my family (and friends) and tell them about all the interesting, do good for the world things we are missing.

I neglected to mention in my email to my family that there was a deadline for the vote, that is something that I should remember for next time. What I am most pleased with is that I let told them about a simple way to make their opinion, as well as my own opinion, matter without putting their emails into a database. I would hate for people to ignore or opportunities to get involved simply because they find the alerts too bothersome.

And there is such a thing as too bothersome in a campaign, like the door flyers that reappear everyday like a restaurant menu...or the recorded phone messages, which are indeed worse than the people doing the opinion calls.

So, if the people I contacted voted, along with a few hundred others (likely) we may have filled that bucket and helped Casey raise more money, which is indeed very important considering Santorum has apparently already raised $20 million!

As of 6pm July 20th, Bob Casey has 20% of the votes. The polling continues until 11:59 July 21st.T You can make a difference, give the online poll a try!

Patriotic?

It's the fourth of July, but I am not feeling very patriotic.

It's raining in Pennsylvania, for one thing. There will be fireworks somewhere nearby, but I do not feel like going.

I am sure that wherever people have gathered today they are waving flags and have ribbons with patriotic slogans on their cars...they may have a waterproof patriotic wristband like the girl in the photo.

I have heard the booms and blasts of neighbors setting off what are very likely illegal fireworks, the characteristic fall of pretty colors-a person can't buy that in a store, can they? I don't even feel like standing outside to watch this illegal display, despite my adoration for piracy.
Maybe it's the rain...

and maybe I am wondering where the money has gone....there are trillions missing from the treasury, many departments are alledgedly adjusting their budgets not balancing them, which you can learn more about at whereisthemoney.org.

or maybe somewhere in the back of my mind I am still wondering about those many unanswered questions about what our government knew about WMD, or a variety of other scandals. You can learn more about this by going to the hotseat.

It does seem to be encouraging to see people are going to jail for Enron, but there are so many more people who were involved who will never be brought to justice. But we still have articles like this one written about our president,Bush to abuse power more than any president in history, which is a tad depressing.

And yet, what is there to be done?

There are some people who hold on and keep reminding us of the score...of what needs to be answered and who needs to be brought to justice....these resources help people like me to write my letters to my representatives to remind them of what I think needs to happen. The trouble of course is that these resources are so hidden. The last two I listed were found while stumbling through the internet via StumbleUpon, which is a terrific compendium of websites with reviews and tags to help make for more theme-focused stumbling.

But the news should not be so buried.
So I will post some of these sites here....and hopefully more people will find them and be inspired to talk to people about what they know, how they feel, and maybe they (YOU) will also act by writing your representives or writing a letter to the editor.

We have to speak... we have to remember...we have to keep score!
This is our patriotism, and someday we may be able to make a bang louder than the illegal fireworks my neighbors set off.