To all of you out there that are entitled to vote, make sure you take advantage of this wonderful opportunity we have as US Citizens.  

Without going into political discussions about who to vote for or how to vote, please take a moment and examine the rights we have and how they are being abused and marginalized every day.  

When our government sends representatives to the World Health Organization and votes against measures that would help fight AIDS and overpopulation in third world countries, simply because the measure called for education about condoms and women's rights regarding their sexuality (including banning forced female genital mutilation), something is wrong.  So much more wrong when only three other countries vote with the US (Iran and Syria were two of these countries).

The Patriot act is going to make it even easier for big government to dig deeper into our personal lives.  It's not just about seeing what library books you checked out.  The government can see where you shop (keytags, credit cards), how much you spend and what you watch and view on TV or the internet by simply making a request to a judge.  Supposedly it's under the auspices of fighting terror... but at what price to us?  What if a provider had relatives in the middle east and was regularly wiring money to feed her family?  Sherrif Joe could use the broad language in the Patriot Act to cause terror upon not only the provider, but perhaps everyone she's seen.

I'm all for a safe country, but we have to be a smart country to0.  Take the opportunity to Vote, find out the issues and consider not only the short term, but long term what it means to you, your family and generations to come.