"When you listen, you can learn a lot." See this S.L. Trib story about the student leaders who invited Michael Moore to speak at their campus, and when faced with community opposition, did not back down. Salt Lake Tribune - Utah The last line of that article is simple, but profound. It sums up my frustrations about the entire electoral process. There is no listening, there is no attempt to understand the other side. It's frightening and sad.

Do we even try to act shocked and surprised anymore? Bush and Co. are sitting on a CIA report that appears to be an indictment against their handling of "the war on terror." Salon.com | Bush suppresses damning CIA report on 9/11

I think I may tune out the horse race coverage of the election to maintain my sanity. I've become irritable and stressed about a possible Bush re-election. My vote in Utah does not count, so I have to rely upon the good uninformed people of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Colorado to make that decision for me. I'm not trying to stoke the fires of apathy, just sanity. Jon Stewart was right on his Crossfire appearance -- shows and "news stories" that promote nothing but "partisan hackery" do nothing to help the public discourse. Journalists should be holding politicians of all political persuasion accountable.

Anyhoo, I'm going to make a concerted effort to check the latest political coverage only 3 times a day. Let's see if that works.

The New York Times > Opinion > Campaign 2004: The Big Issues: The Poll Tax, Updated

Back to politics. Why isn't more being done to illustrate the great lengths gone to suppress votes from minority citizens? Threats of prosecution for exercising the franchise go beyond the pale.