the american vote

the past few weeks have not been good as far as the planet earth is concerned and the news emerging of our impact on the climate, human population, the natural environment and ecosystems in general.

some of the lowlights:

darfur: 200,000 people killed and 2 million displaced while the world continues to stand on the sidelines watching it happen…where is the most powerful nation on earth when the most helpless needs it the most?

of more than 500,000 weapons turned over to the iraqi ministries of defense and Interior since the american invasion — including rocket-propelled grenade launchers, assault rifles, machine guns and sniper rifles — the serial numbers of only 12,128 were properly recorded. some 370,000 of these weapons, some of which are undoubtedly being used to kill american troops, were paid for by united States taxpayers, under the orwellian-titled iraq relief and reconstruction fund.

iraq…even if the violence stopped today, does anyone think that this catastrophe of foreign policy is simply going away? all those thousands of dead and injured civilians’ families will not be forgetting or forgiving. strange how we see all the dead Iraqis and not a single fallen soldier…

if fishing around the world continues at its present pace, more and more species will vanish, marine ecosystems will unravel and there will be “global collapse” of all species currently fished, possibly as soon as midcentury, fisheries experts and ecologists are predicting.

stark warning of climate change. united states continued refusal to sign kyoto treaty, despite being the world’s biggest polluter…

despite all the media attention in the news about school shootings, I have yet to see one candidate advocating tighter legislation on gun control. amazing.

on november 7^th, americans will either vote or not in the country’s mid-term elections. the public has been subjected to relentless tv advertising by both parties that do little but attack their opponent. public office? higher calling? am i missing something?

november 7^th, america will find out exactly what its citizens’ priorities are. they will either vote to (incredibly) keep with the same, or desire a change. we, along with the rest of the world, will see exactly what it means to be an american…