HELLO AGAIN; BACK ON THE JOB OF OPINION GIVING!!

I am glad to be back at this "blogging business" after the long Christmas break, which, by the way, was a good one. But how about the election? It's gone a long time, and still has a long way to go! I'm worried that we, the people, are getting crowded out of making the decidsions, however. I think the media is doing it for us. They are makeing comments, writing stories, making implecations that say too much about what they think is going on. How many of you have heard how things are going: who's ahead, who can't win in S.C., who said things that brought up the race or gender issue -- all interpretations of what THEY think.. All of this long before the vote in any State. There must be hundreds of news writers, all of whom need to write a story with a viewpoint that we hear and read. Most of these individuals are subtly (and maybe not so subtly) pushing a candidate. I want our president to be selected by US, the people.

And there are the polls. Many, many of them, and their published results push people into changing their votes. What about outlawing the polls? But it is too late for election reforms like government financing, limiting time of electioneering, etc. At this point in the procedures, all you and I and others can do is to be aware that we are reading and hearing material that is prejudiced. We each need to think and listen carefully about the issues that are important to us, and really question what is said about them, and try to check the facts. We want this election outcome to be the best person for a very hard job of bringing our troops home, of re-making our image in the world, of working on problems of global warming, and bringing balance of opportunities and rewards to all of our people, and of managing our economy.

There, I have said a lot that I want to say. More another day. Have a great 2008, Marian