28 Days.

Less than a month to go until what some have claimed to be the most important American presidential election in our lifetimes. 28 days, to be exact.

The economy is in the toilet. People can't afford to drive to work-- but they've probably lost their jobs anyways. Many can't afford healthcare, or even a place to live. This is America, the land of dreams and prosperity, and we can't even take care of our own.

You would think that our politicians, especially those running for "leader of the free world," would understand which issues are important to us, which ones are worthy of their time to discuss.

But no. Instead, we get bickering about who voted which way and for what reasons, who doesn't regularly read a newspaper, who goes to what church, or who can't use a computer. Barack Obama articulated this problem in his book, The Audacity of Hope:

"No, what's troubling is the gap between the magnitude of our challenges and the smallness of our politics--the ease with which we are distracted by the petty and trivial, our chronic avoidance of tough decisions, our seeming inability to build a working consensus to tackle any big problem."

So, as you're deciding to vote, please: stop paying attention to what shade of lipstick is on the pig. Get to know what the candidates actually support, or what changes they will actually make. Please. Our country needs it.

(And for a much more articulate argument, see this post by James Fallows: http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/10/our_capacity_for_selfgovernmen.php)

And they say caffeine is bad for you...

I am a total believer in the afternoon coffee. Maybe I don't get enough sleep, or maybe I just like rattling off my Starbucks order. Either way, I'm usually just looking for a little pick-me-up to get me through the last few (or several) hours of the work day. This is expected to come from the caffeine, but today I got another little jolt along with my latte, courtesy of Starbucks's long-running "The Way I See It" campaign.

For all those who are still looking for jobs, or who are stuck in jobs that they hate, or who are still trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives, I give you Mr. Keith Olbermann, of (former) Sportscenter and MSNBC anchor desk fame. (Based on this background, I'm pretty sure he knows what he's talking about.) Hope you like it as much as I did.

"The world bursts at the seams with people ready to tell you you're not good enough. On occasion, some may be correct.
But do not do their work for them.
Seek any job; ask anyone out; pursue any goal. Don't take it personally when they say 'no' -- they may not be smart enough to say 'yes.' "