Today my focus is not on art but on what is happening in this world we live in.

This building stands in the Roman Empire. An empire that once ruled the world, an empire where Nero fiddled as Rome burned. An empire that was probably considered invincible. Not unlike the empire we call America.

If you step back a little further there is a bigger empire and that is the world and what is crumbling is the environment. It is hard to get your mind around all this.

I sort this all out in my pea brain as the following three issues:

• Global Warning
• Are we still living in a democracy?
• The Iraq War

Global Warming This is the biggest threat we face. If we have no world or our existence becomes a daily fight to survive, the politics and the war will be secondary issues.

I am one of those "old" people and I probably won't have that much interaction with global warming. If I am lucky, maybe I have 20 - 25 years left, but you never know. I don't have the greatest kidneys in the world. But I don't live near the water and I have land that I could farm if I had to grow my own food. My house can be heated using wood if necessary.

It boggles the mind that governments including our own are not willing to do what it would take to stop global warming. Al Gore should continue as our voice and continue the fight against Global Warming. It is much more important than being president.

Are we still living in a democracy? I find it hard to say yes to that question. I didn't really understand what it meant to be free until they started to take my freedoms away. I am so enraged by the bullshit they call security at the airport that I really have to force myself to fly. This is an exercise in controlling us. We are so stupid to put up with this. This provides no security and if you think so you are a fool. It makes money for which ever one of the Cheney's or Bush's friends has the contract.

I didn't appreciate what it meant to vote until they started stealing the elections. I work as an election official and the whole thing is run by a bunch of political hacks. They do what the republican machine wants them to do.

During the last election where people waiting on-line for more than 2 hours, I encouraged all the voters to complain to the board of elections. The chief election officer tried to stop me from saying something, I just ignored him. I'll continue to be an election official in the hopes that I can be a set of eyes and ears into what is really going on.

People laugh when I tell them that I moved to Virginia to make it into a blue state. But it is happening and there is a good chance it will become a battleground state. Warner, who is our republican senator, will probably not run. So it should get very interesting around here. In other words they could be stealing votes here as I watch.

The Iraq War I read something in the New York Times today that gives me a little bit of hope. It said that With New Clout, Antiwar Groups Push Democrats and the fact that their was even a story was a miracle.

People are dying while we talk, maneuver, posture and do all sorts of things other than stop this damn war.

The war and whether or not we still live in a democracy are intertwined. If the majority of the people say stop the war, how in hell can the damn republicans vote for the war. I can only conclude that they are animals, sub-humans who only care about power and money. It is also why Global Warming means nothing to them.

The shit has not really hit the fan yet, as it relates to impacting peoples' daily lives. There are millions of people like me who can see the future (it is really not that hard to see it), both here and around the world. We are desperately trying to tell you to GET INVOLVED while there is still a chance (however slim) that we can turn things around.

Here's a list of things you can do:

• Give of yourself which means give your time. This is the most valuable asset there is. You can do this by yourself or you can join a group. You will have a much greater impact if you join a group, there are lots of them.
• Give money so that the time other people spend has a wider reach and carries more weight.
• Communicate by signing petitions, writing letters, calling your elected officials, sending emails, attending rallies, hosting events, and talking with everyone you know about how important this all is.
• Do what I'm doing -- put up some writing on the Internet. Fifty years ago, the only way you could vent your feelings was to put up a yard sign or put a bumper sticker on your car. But you can reach a lot more people, with just a minimal effort, when you post your feelings on the Internet.

I say all this as a mother, grandmother and human being. I am not a lunatic (some people might disagree), I am a person who cares and I am trying to reach anyone who is willing to listen. When you can see a problem, the first step in solving it is acceptance.

If reading this has touched you at all Please, please, please GET INVOLVED AND TAKE ACTION NOW/ Take a first step and you will see it is not so hard.