Warning! The following may contain political opinions (sort of) (Originally published on September 19, 2008)

I will not go into parties, or platforms, or personalities. I wave a liberal flag but will not proselytize. I am always ready to debate a topic, but won't start the discussion. It can be a fine line sometimes, but you'll see me sitting across from someone who is losing his or her temper as I just smirk and respond to their points and counter-points.

There is one stand I will take openly though. As time goes on, I get more adamant about it. Simply put: vote. I don't want to hear about rigging of elections, or the Electoral College, or any other defeatist rhetoric. It is simply that defeatist.

First of all, the Electoral College was set up by our Constitution. It is not going anywhere anytime soon. Waiting until the system is revised to vote is a sure fire to make certain it never is. If you want it changed, make it an issue with Congress. There have been over 700 bills presented in Congress to change it. They have never had the votes.

Second of all, the Electoral College does not just appoint whoever they choose. Political parties win or lose states and you can guess that one party isn't going to just let the other carry the state. There is no federal law requiring electors to vote a certain way. But, 24 states have laws dictating that they must vote with their party and for everyone else it is political suicide. I am not saying it has never happened. However, in our 200+ year history over 99% of electors have voted as dictated by popular vote. There have been 156 "faithless electors" who have voted for a candidate other than their party's nomination. There names are listed here: www.fairvote.org/e_college...hless.htm. That's right. There names will be listed throughout history as party of a special breed of people that ignored the opinions of the citizens of their state.

Too many people fought too hard to secure votes for all citizens of the United States over the age of 18. I will not disgrace their legacy through apathy. I will not accept any argument that does. If you wish to let other people run your life, that's fine. That is your choice. You have every right to make it. But not that is the choice you are making. You are not standing up for anything. You are lying down. You are saying that you wish for people like myself to have a major influence over your life.

There is also the vague idea thrown around that it doesn't matter. That all politicians are the same. If you really believe that a decision made today can't influence the next, then you have given up. If you really think that the elections or John F. Kennedy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, and George W. Bush did not have an effect on history and your life specifically, than you are delusional. I apologize if that seems strong, but that is the correct term for one who believes something that can not possibly be true.

Would Hubert Humphrey had had an enemies list? Would he have had a group of people break into the Watergate Hotel to spy on the Democrats?

Would Richard Nixon have misspoke in Berlin and yet brought hope to millions, would he have been assassinated, would he have given us a dream, could he have inspired a generation?

Would Herbert Hoover have enacted Social Security, would he have found a way to provide aid to the British until a fateful day in December changed the world, would he have commissioned the building of our infrastructure, would he have helped set the groundwork for what would become the United Nations?

Finally, do you honestly believe that Al Gore would have brought about the invasion of Iraq?

So, before you say "all politicians are the same" know what that statement encompasses.

Before you say "your vote doesn't count" know what you are giving up.

You can change the world. Believe in yourself. Don't give up your voice. Stand up. Vote.

And so it ends... (Originally published on November 6, 2008)

Tuesday saw a lot of transition for me. There are no endings or beginnings, only change. Some people fear change. I usually embrace it. On Tuesday, I embraced it whole heartedly. I would point to the actual events I,m speaking of rather than abstracts, but the truth is usually in the idea. I personally passed a milestone and our country did. The hope I never let go of has voice. The power that we have remains untapped. We always could change the world. We can make this planet whatever we want. Now, it's time to choose. The barriers have been lifted. The only thing stopping us now is ourselves.

Today is Thursday. The celebrating is over. It is time to get to work.

I've been on this train before... (Originally published on May 6, 2009)

On Monday, I attempted to resign. I don't know if any of you have had a resignation not accepted. This is the second time for me. I've spent the last few days meeting with supervisors. Analyzing the reasons I'm leaving.

The end result still hasn't played out.

You may ask yourself why anyone would leave a job now. The answer is simple: I stopped caring. It might sound silly, but I've never worked for money. Not for long at least. I work to create, to invent, to make some mark on the world. As a result, I'm a strange employee. I work like the devil. I throw everything I can at a body of work and attempt to make something I'm proud of. I do this at a cost. I am necessary to my employer, not the other way around. I also won't tolerate shoddy work in either myself or others. I will probably be the manager everyone hates one day.

At the end of last year I realized a great many things, only a couple were work related. I worked miracle after miracle to produce some amazing products. It took most of what I had. At the same time, I threw blood and sweat at another product. A product that was subpar and in the end of December, I put out what I consider a piece of junk. I visited with my family immediately after. By Christmas I knew I couldn't stay. The miracle worker had made history. There was no reward. And, I had produced something I wasn't proud of because it was "necessary".

It's now 5 months later. I continue to be asked to put out crap just to meet a date and I have done so. I don't care about the work I am doing. For me, that means I simply stop doing it.

Now comes the odd part, trying to explain all this to a bunch of people who don't want to hear it. When the miracle worker starts to walk away, everyone panics.

But now, the train ride is over I'm off to work.