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.