Not again

I just saw on CNN that Nader might be considering another run for President. I have supported him in the past and agree with him on many things but not this time. We need to ensure Democrats win the White House back and can't afford to have the vote split in anyway. So not this time Nader, really please sit this one out!

Snow Day

Today was a snow day for most of Northern VA and the DC area. The only thing missing was snow. Some areas may have gotten a couple of inches but here in Leesburg we got no snow and only a little layer of ice. The ice was probably a good reason to call a two hour delay but to give the kids a whole day and to close county governments- come on!

The prediction of snow if enough to close schools in this area. Now of course if I were a kid I wouldn't mind. Snow days were always so much fun. But the best part was the snow! We lived right near a golf course that had a couple of great hills, so on snow days we would get all bundled up and walk down and spend the afternoon sledding. Good times....

And then in college there were definitely a few times we went sledding on lunch trays. We did get a real snowfall here a couple of weeks ago like 5 or 6 inches but I haven't figured out the cool places to go sledding yet.

I am hoping spring will come soon, I have had enough of the cold weather and gray skies. I want warm weather and sunny skies. My roommate and I are going to have a little garden in our backyard so I'm excited to get that started. I think we will just go simple tomatoes, green beans and a couple of other things. But it will be fun if it ever gets warm....

To Vote Or Not To Vote

Its funny to me that some of the smart people I know don't take the opportunity to vote in every election. Not to sound like my grandfather or my parents, but voting is a privilege we are lucky enough to have in this country. Even here in America people died for the right to chose who represented them. And still not every country in the world has this privilege. There are still people in the world that would fight and die to have a voice in their government and people here take total advantage of the opportunity. Not voting is such an "American" (in the bad sense of the word) thing to do.

Now I am not saying our system is perfect, its clearly not. But people don't realize the impact they have by voting. So many elections are close where really every vote does count. Several county elections in VA were separated by only a handful (5 or 10) votes. And as we saw even presidential elections can come down to a small number of votes. So by choosing to come out to vote, you really can influence an election.

Many people say they don't like the candidates they have to choose from, they are all the same- so it doesn't make a difference who gets elected. People vote for the lesser of two evils. The point is though if people continue not to have a say, than nothing will ever change. I think its somewhat of a vicious cycle. Its very difficult to break.

Occasionally though, there is candidate running for office that you can really believe in, that has separated themselves from everyone else by their vision, their commitment to wanting to make the world a better place and their ability to unite. It is rare, I have only met a few candidates that actually do these things and don't just talk about them. But when you find one, its exciting and invigorating.

I support Barack Obama for President. I think he has the vision to change to the image of this country (which we desperately need), the ability to bring different sides of issues together and the rare ability to get people excited about politics (which is invaluable). He is a true leader and someone who could rejuvenate this country.

I am extremely excited about tomorrow, I only wish VA was voting tomorrow, but unfortunately I have another week. I hope that those of you who are in the Super Tuesday states take the time to vote tomorrow and impact who you want to see as the next president of our country. It will be an exciting day!