for you

For you, for all of us, I wish a new year of splendid things: love, laughter, joy and tears. Those are my top four wishes, heavy on the love and joy and laughter, of course, with just enough damp to add a piquancy to the others.

I am not happy about the state of the world and particularly of my country. 2007 was rife with disappointment in so many areas, foremost the new Democratic congress which never found its footing and was so inept, in so many ways, that I find myself suspicious of intent.

As of this very moment, there are 385 long and frightening days, 7 dangerous hours, 32 minutes and a variance of seconds left in the most destructive presidency in the history of this country. Since I've been sleeping better, I haven't been as openly enraged about politics, but in my heart there is a constant awareness of the urgency of this: we must have more Democrats in Congress come November and we must have a Democratic president. If we do not accomplish this one thing, the Supreme Court will turn against the vast majority of us and will become a tool for those who would use religion to control us.

Vote, vote Democrat, do not stay home, check your registration frequently, vote at the polls if at all possible, ensure your address is correct and that you're at the correct polling place. We face enormous challenges in fighting the corrupt thugs who would steal the last vestiges of democracy from us through caging and corruption. It will be an up hill battle to win this election and we must.

Resolutions will come and go and I'll make my own, mostly involving more time spent in silence, in the pursuit of spiritual connection. But the one resolution I will make and one I hope you will join me in and pass on is this: I will vote and I will urge others to and I will help register the unregistered and I will make noise about the corruption of the process. One thing, one act that can change the world and possibly save it: Vote.