I’m a 35-year old divorced woman with two cats and two dogs. I reside in a modest house in Las Vegas, Nevada (one of the worst real estate markets in the nation) and also own a town home north of the city as a rental property.

I am a self-employed freelance writer and this past year faced the harsh yet necessary reality of providing my own health insurance. I work 50+ hour work weeks doing a job I love and go to the gym without fail 5 days a week.

The daughter of a woman who chose divorce rather than stay in an unfulfilling marriage, she raised my brother, sister and me from my first day of junior high school onward. My father is remarried to a woman who brings him joy and my siblings each pursue lives that bring them, what I hope, is happiness.

I am my own retirement plan.

There is a leak under my bathroom sink that I can’t afford to have repaired right now after a recent $1800 water pipe repair under my driveway.

I occasionally eat too much and frequently sleep too little.

I’m blessed with friends like no other and only hope they feel the same about me.

My story is not unique. Nor did I mention any of the above to be perceived as special. I’m like many people I know and probably more like many I’ve never met. But in this election year, I’ve been humbled in realizing that it’s not my story that counts. It’s yours.

I’ve been politically apathetic for many years now, having only voted in the last Presidential race for Kerry to avoid the chance of NOT canceling-out a vote for Bush in the State of California. I can remain silent no longer, and once again, I realize that it’s not my vote that counts, it’s yours.

As a woman, I’m appalled that the Republican Party feels that Governor Sarah Palin is any substitute for Hillary Rodham Clinton. I also mourn each disaffected Hillary fan who defects and casts a ballot for Palin’s ticket in November out of spite. Spite is no overtone to invoke in the running a successful business – and the business of our nation’s future is at hand.

This blog, while occasionally humorous and purely reactionary to the addition of Palin to the GOP ticket, has stirred in me THIS entry, which goes forth to tell my government all I ask in this election year. It is meant to be non-partisan and without political endorsement, but moreso thought-provoking for each and every eye that stumbles across this page. Perhaps you’ll find something in my voice that will inspire you to use yours.

Forward this to a friend, tweet it, stumble it, digg it, repost it. Click away from it. But as you do any of the above, all I ask is that you form an opinion.

As I can only hope that, like me, you can remain indifferent no longer.

All I ask is the following:

That my government never turns its back on the men and women who serve our country in the Armed Forces.

That my elected leaders choose cabinet members who are as skilled policymakers as their campaign speech writers are at choosing the right combination of words.

That my government allows me to raise my family without legislated religious influence, giving me the credit due for being an intelligent human being and my capability to choose what’s best for my loved ones within the limits of the law.

That my government spend more time addressing the climate crisis and need for energy reform than it does trying to get into my uterus. If my social life were as active as the moral majority’s anti Roe-v-Wade stance, you’d call me a whore.

That my government enacts policy that will support our public schools and charter schools, paying teachers a wage that allows them to exist above the poverty line.

That if my government is going to preach about the glass ceiling, that it respect the collective intelligence of our nation’s women in the process. To excel in society is not a right, but a privilege earned by grasping opportunity. Speak to our nation about opportunity, not glass ceilings. Speak to me about those who have earned their achieved rungs on the ladder, as opposed to those who have been perched for show like a beauty queen.

not glass ceilings. Speak to me about those who have their achieved rungs on the ladder, as opposed to those who have been perched for show like a beauty queen. Whatever your vision of family may be, that you understand that family begins at home. Spending more time with your family is never a burden, and perhaps we should lead by example. No two families are alike and nor can we say any family’s choice is truly right or wrong. But if you’re preaching a party line of family values, make sure that you’re not talking out of both sides of your red, white and blue mouth.

Is that politicians do not try to delude me in making me think it’s a Presidential Race. It is a team race. We are to vote for a team: President and Vice President. In this election year where we look to elect the first American of African descent or a 72 year-old man with a troubling medical history to our nation’s highest office, we must understand both sides of the coin . Do we trust, fully and honestly, that should we experience the unthinkable — the alternative is capable of leading our nation and working cohesively with Congress and the international leadership community?

We are to vote for a team: President and Vice President. In this election year where we look to elect the or a to our nation’s highest office, . Do we trust, fully and honestly, that should we experience the unthinkable — the alternative is capable of leading our nation and working cohesively with Congress and the international leadership community? That when I look at my friends, black, Islam, Hindi, white, gay, straight, transgender, Christian, Jewish, Hispanic, atheist, divorced, single, married, widowed, wealthy, middle-class, struggling, employed, unemployed, male or female, that I know each will be able to visit their loved ones in a hospital and join with them legally to make life decisions.

That while socialized medicine may not be the answer to better health opportunities, my government stop speaking and start acting on promoting affordable health care. I’m a 35 year-old woman who orders medication from Canada every 90 days because it saves me over $100/month. I am fortunate for Canada these days. America – make me fortunate for your health care reform.

That while there will always be hate, intolerance, prejudice and discrimination, that my government will not be the one to promote it through a legislative agenda, no matter how “morally motivated” it might be.

Now, I ask that you vote on November 4th. And if you’re having trouble with anything I’ve asked above, here are some resources to use for your own research:

The Issues: Barack Obama’s Voting History

The Issues: Joe Biden’s Voting History

The Issues: John McCain’s Voting History

The Issues: Sarah Palin’s Voting History

National Organization for Women

MoveOn.org

The Nation

and for those who know me and feel I’ve lost my sense of humor: The Onion.