Really know the candidates

So much of what we see about the contenders for the presidential nomination is in 10 second video cliips or sound bites ... or taken out of context by a competitor, it's hard to know what the candidate's are really all about with out doing some research.

Vote-smart.org makes the process a lot easier. It's a non-partisan website that gives you not only the actual voting record of candidates (and other politicians), but also explains the basic gist of the bill being voted on - and if you've ever seen the legalese in which bills are written, you already know that you pretty much need an interpreter to weed through the double and triple negatives and the add-ons and exceptions.

Hope this helps - primaries will be here befoer you know it!

Dan Fogelberg at peace

I was so sad to see the news that Dan Fogelberg lost his 3 1/2 year battle with prostate cancer yesterday. His music and lyrics were so powerful and so many people connected with him and his songs in a very personal way.

I remember being on a long driving trip once, having been on the road all night, and as the sun was coming up, I put on one of my favorite Fogelberg songs, To The Morning. It wasn't a big hit like a lot of his other songs, but it was perfect for the moment.

It's times like this when I really appreciate technology. Not only do we have Dan's music recorded forever, but You Tube has a number of videos, including concert footage. It wouldn't be the holidays without Dan's Same Auld Lang Syne, and who can listen to Leader of the Band without thinking of their own Dad? And hundreds of people have posted their parting thoughts in memory.

There's a complete discography, lyrics, and a message from his family on the official Dan Fogelberg website.