Frequent Voter

It is extremely taxing to blog via modem, I’ll keep saying that all week until I’m safely back in Amsterdam with my DSL. I don’t do as much websurfing/research, and I have this nagging feeling that this connection will “hang-up” on me. But enough of my petty complaints, on to bigger ones.

I made it over the Philadelphia for an evening of fun and reminiscing. There’s something interesting happenning in that city, that I can only talk about as an outsider with lots of insider friends: It has been said that Philly has one of the fastest shrinking population of any city in the United States. Anyone with the financial means, has moved to the suburbs or just far away. As a result the only people who would be left are the poor, more often than not plagued by health problems, not to mention drugs, alcoholism, and the social and financial problems that are related.

At the same time,therefore, there is a need for social services; counseling, social workers, pyschologists, etc. Keeping that in mind, In my own life I’ve noticed a significant number of friends and friends-of-friends that have moved to Philly to do such work. These people are young professionals, recently graduated, and eager to create a community of their own. This could mean great things for the city, which just on my few visits, I get the feeling it is happenning to some extent- which is exciting to watch!

There’s lots of talk about the upcoming elections with my family and friends circle. Besides the understandable fear of 4 more years, there is also a great amount of fear about the direction of this country regardless of who wins. And that, I feel, is also a warranted concern. One close family friend recommends we vote as often as possible. that’s right, many people I know – who may realize it – can vote in two counties. This includes myself, I’m registered to vote in two former addresses, and I have voted in both. Illustrating once again what a joke this so-called democracy is.(I know it’s a felony and I’d like to see them prove it.) That’s not even to mention the faults of the new electronic voting system invented by a company that has said it wants Bush to win. A further investigation of multiple voting will follow in the coming blog entries.

Today’s Music: Jon Brion – Here We Go