For the past few years, I've been bothered by the strong influence that corporations and their lobbyists have had in our political system. It seems that these corporations are able to spend large amounts of money to insure that only their voices are heard in the halls of government. While many Tea Party members are worried about an encroaching big government, I share with many progressives a different worry about the growing power of corporations over our politics and personal choices. So last Summer I decided to attend a rally to limit corporate lobbying and sponsorship of politicians in Washington D.C. and to advocate the public financing of elections in front of San Jose's City Hall. Along with this blog are photos I took of the event.

Many people have been exasperated by the Obama administration's appeal of a recent court case that repeals DADT and I understand that frustration. During the 2008 campaign and in his State of the Union earlier this year, Obama promised to repeal the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy that has been in effect since the Clinton Administration in the 1990s. Many worthy soldiers have been dismissed from the military because of this unjust policy and many gay rights activists rightly see this military policy as discriminatory practice. Many of my gay friends have been disillusioned at Obama's slowness on this and other gay rights issues. I share their frustration, but I also like Obama, and wanted to learn more about what Obama's strategy is on repealing the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. So I did some research on the web and I asked around some knowledgeably people and this is what I found.

Lately I've been hearing a lot of people express disillusionment with voting, and I don't blame them. With all that we hear about gridlock in government, the bad economy and the extreme slow pace of change, it seems to a lot of people like voting doesn't make any difference. In spite of that, I do think voting matters. The Founding Fathers, the various women suffragists, civil rights workers, and the many activists risked their lives for our right to vote. I'm a Democrat, but I think Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Green Party members, everyone should go vote and express their opinions. I think if you're a true American, you'd want all American to vote, whether they agree with you or not.