Anyone thinking of swiping an Obama/Biden '08 sign from a front lawn in Portland might want to consider this: The world may be watching.

A Portland woman known as "Poverty Kids' Teacher" has created an Internet sensation with a webcam that's streaming video around the clock of the political signs in her yard.No, it's not another artsy viral campaign in support of the Democratic ticket. It's one woman's response to thieves taking her political signs when she wasn't looking this month.

After the second $8-a-pop Obama/Biden '08 sign disappeared, the woman, who has kept her identity and address a secret, made a handmade placard with the candidates' names. She then asked her 16-year-old son to set up a webcam inside the house to monitor the yard.

According to the Huffington Post, her son, who goes by "SignKid" on the popular Ustream.tv site, went one step further: He streamed the view of the sign to the universe -- or at least every battleground state and any country with an Internet connection.

Portland partisans tired of getting their yard signs swiped can rejoice. People seem to care. At one point, Obama Sign CCTV1 was the 6th most viewed stream on Ustream.tv.

Some viewers have reported watching the lawn-cam for hours at a time. So far, squirrels and cars have made plenty of appearances, but the signs are still standing.

Yes, indeed, it's the silly season.

-- Joseph Rose; josephrose@news.oregonian.com