" I'd volunteer to help defeat Dodd but I don't live in his district or have enough money to be worthy or influential. Besides my involvement would most likely do him more good than harm, politically of course. "

" I dislike titles....it is possible that if we all volunteered more often we would see change.....some local entities would do great if they removed titles themselves....bloggers, they hide behind the keyboard but if you listen, you will hear great voices!!!! "

" Meh. While a good topic, this refrain is often posed at some point in a thread by those with less than stellar rhetorical skills. When frustrated, or debated into a corner, the typical next step is personal attack or the question you pose.

Would you not agree, for example, that blogging in of itself has re-shaped our election process?

I maintain that you don't have to be a chef to validly state the food isn't good. "

" Thank you, Dan. You have no idea how much your words mean to me. You hit the nail on the head.

I am running for Congress, because I have been complaining about national policy for years. When the right set of circumstances lined up to make running for Congress a realistic possibility, I had to pause and take stock.

This wasn't something I ever planned to do. It REALLY isn't a convenient time. I am starting a new law practice and I have three children in elementary school.

But then I thought about the men and women currently serving in our armed forces, and I knew their hardships and sacrifices were much greater than what I was contemplating.

Ultimately it came down to this. If I can do something about shaping our future, and I don't try, I have lost the moral authority to complain.

So I am running for Congress. I have the integrity, knowledge and real world experience to make a difference. But I guess most of all, I am committed to doing it.

Doug Pharr
Candidate for U.S. Congress, 1st District "

" The easiest and most effective measure people can do is become more active in their respective political party. Participation is the answer! "

" Rob c:
Offering an opinion on a blog works very well.

My challenge is this, when you or anyone feels passionate about an issue, don't JUST blog about it, but blog AND do something else to also take action.

The blog is one action, what is your second action? Maybe it is to find similar topics out there and blog on those as well. Maybe it is to tell friends and have them blog in also. Maybe it is to talk among friends about other actions you can take, like those who called the school district offices to say they didn't like the desks being dumped.

Maybe you are like Doug Pharr and you take the substantial jump to try and run for public office and see if you can personally affect change on a large scale.
"

" Doug:
I do not envy anyone who runs for public office, for two reasons.

1) you put your entire life out there for others to scrutinize.

2) you end up having to deal with people like me on a daily basis, being asked all sorts of questions on the issues of the day.

Good luck to you, the other Congressional, county supervisor and city-level candidates out there. "