Star Spangled Dashboard (and Election 2004 Resources)

I had my digital camera handy on a Saturday morning drive. I wanted to be ready to snap some fall foliage. Well, I didn't really capture much in the way of trees and leaves, but I did get some nifty pics of the flag hanging from my rear view mirror (click either image for larger version):

I just thought it looked so cool as it danced and turned in the Autumn breeze that rushed through my open windows. I had to capture and share it. [NOTE: I originally wrote, "...as it flapped, flipped, and turned...," but I didn't want to open the door that leads to uninformed candidate bashing].

There's a national holiday coming up ... it's called Election Day. In two weeks and a day. There's still time for you to do what you can to educate yourself about the issues, determine your position on them -- each and every one that you can -- and then, and only then, think about selecting your candidates.

If you don't take your vote seriously, how can you expect the candidates to do so?

You know the saying, "If you didn't vote, you have no right to complain," right? Well, guess what: If you cast an uninformed vote, you still have no right to complain.

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Here are some RESOURCES [updated 10/18/2004 4:48pm]:

• Project Vote Smart: http://www.vote-smart.org/
• Annenberg Political Fact Check: http://www.factcheck.org/
• WatchBlog: http://www.watchblog.com/
• On the Issues: http://www.issues2000.org/default.htm
• eJournal Elections Guide: http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/1004/ijde/ijde1004.htm
• United States Elections (Electoral Process; etc.): http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/election04/
• Experts on Elections (audio clips and transcripts): http://usinfo.state.gov/dhr/democracy/elections/audio.html
• Other Political Resources - United States: http://www.politicalresources.net/usa1.htm
• Punk Voter (for the 18-24 yr old crowd): http://www.punkvoter.com/
• Vote Loud (collection of non-partisan resources): http://www.voteloud.org/
• John Kerry: www.johnkerry.com
• George W. Bush: www.georgewbush.com

This is in no way an exhaustive list, of course. Nor do I necessarily present the absolute best sites. I just can't do that because I just don't know what "the best" sites are in this regard. I can only pass along what I have found so far. Oh, and I do hope I didn't list too many sites run by partisan groups. Believe me: I really was aiming for broad views here ... instead of trying to burden you with yet another opinion from someone you don't know. There is a lot of material on the sites listed here. I have not (yet) read it all. So I urge you to exercise vigilance and carefully evaluate everything you read (or listen to). If you get lazy and/or careless, then you will be sucked into someone's hype and you will close off your mind. And that, my friends, contributes to the decline and demise of not only our political process, but our country as well.

(Whoops! I snuck a little commentary in here after all!).