Twelve things to think about as you hold your nose to vote...

Okay, so I've been staying away from politics lately. I've been busy. With the Dem's convention going on, I felt it time I weighed in and, now, Nader's provided something to weigh in on... in...

First, let's keep one thing in mind: Kerry is a better choice than Bush. Like him or not, Kerry's less likely to do that damage Bush has already done and will continue to do. Let's not call this a choice between the lesser of two evils. Let's call it what it is: DAMAGE CONTROL.

That said, though, Nader brings up some good points you probably won't hear either of them address:

• You won't hear a call for a national crackdown on the corporate crime, fraud, and abuse that, in just the last four years, have robbed trillions of dollars from workers, investors, pension holders, taxpayers and consumers.
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  Neither convention will demand that workers receive a living wage instead of a minimum wage.
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  John Kerry claims that he will call for a review of all existing trade agreements, but he will not call for a withdrawal from the WTO and NAFTA.
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  Kerry may suggest that President Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy be rolled back, but he will steer clear of any suggestion that our income tax system be substantially revamped. Workers
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  There will be no call for a single payer health system.
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  There is no reason to believe that the Democrats will stand up to the commercial interests profiting from our current energy situation.
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  Democrats will not demand a reduction in the military budget that devours half the federal government's operating expenditures at a time when there is no Soviet Union or other major state enemy in the world.
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  You won't hear a clarion call for electoral reform.
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  You will hear John Kerry speak about his "tough-on-crime" background as a federal prosecutor, but you will hear no calls for reform of the criminal justice system. Our nation now holds one out of four of the world's prisoners, half of them nonviolent. While they attempt to counter Republican charges that they favor criminals over victims, Democrats will say nothing about a failed war on drugs that costs nearly $50 billion annually.
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  Democrats will ignore the Israeli peace movement whose members have developed accords for a two state solution with their Palestinian and American counterparts.
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  The Democrats will not call for the United States to begin a military and corporate withdrawal from Iraq.
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  Democrats will not stand up to business interests that have backed changes that close the courtroom to wrongfully injured and cheated individuals, but not to corporations.