"When did you say you mailed in your voter registration form?"

"About two months ago," I said, ear pressed to the phone.

"That's not what I like to hear," she sighed.

And the viral element sure seems to be working...

A few months ago, I was standing in the shower,  I realized that everything I want to do with my life- change the course and the conversation about international human development both at home and abroad, ensure the continuation of life on earth - will be influenced by who wins this presidential election.

The U.S. Supreme Court decided on Monday of this week that an Indiana law requiring people who wanted to vote to show a photo ID was constitutional.  I believe this requirement will definitely have a negative impact on the participation of voters who have a disability and the elderly who may find it particularly difficult to get around to a courthouse or other government agency in order to satisfy the stringent new ID requirements.  Also immigrants may feel intimidated by the requirement and may decide not to participate in elections because the photo ID centers may not be accessible to them and they may not have the money to pay for transportation to the center.

My Super Tuesday in California started this morning at 4:15am with the usual shower and phytonutrient-filled multivitamins. But, this was no ordinary Tuesday. Yes, it is Fat Tuesday aka Mardi Gras (which justifies my trip with a fellow poll worker to Coldstone), but it is also Super Tuesday. Oh, the joys of running a precinct as the rest of the nation watches you, the Golden State, anticipating your decisions.

The winds have been blowing in this direction for the last several election cycles, but Iowa's caucus was the gust that brought it to campaigns' doorsteps: young people matter.

Following the Republicans' block of Senate's no-confidence vote on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales yesterday (53-38, 7 short of the 60 needed), President W. offered this; "They can have their votes of no confidence, but it's not going to make the determination about who serves in my government."

Feeling lazy today? Not sure you want to vote? Remember why it's important with this You Tube Video on Freedom; then find out where you are supposed to vote today by going to My Polling Place.Com.

Make sure to raise your voice with your vote. And make sure your vote counts. There are, no big surprise here, already voting machine problems around the country, especially, guess where, Ohio. Read more about the "havoc" voting machines are already causing at Salon.com

The get-together took place at a bar named the Lounge 21 located near the U.S. Capital and was organized by Generation United, the youth outreach arm of Senator Joe Biden's political action committee, Unite Our States. Purple martinis, representing healing the divide between the blue and red states, were served.  Perhaps trying to a little too hard to fit in with a younger crowd, Biden tells those around him, "Folks, I don't want to live in the White House.  I will - don't get me wrong. But I'm not big on the trappings of the office. I would rather go home to Delaware and make love with my wife when the kids are gone from the house."

I'm certainly not going to base my decision on the future president on kitchy, symbolic drinks or the candidates willingness to announce his desire to clandestinely have sex with his wife, but I am heartened by the fact that candidates are making an effort to court the youth vote.  There's a part of me that would rather such political solicitations take place in a more serious environment without the influence of alcohol, I'm also all too aware of the "I'd vote for that guy because he's someone I could drink a beer with" effect. So while I'll make allowances for events in bars, I'm hoping candidates have enough sense to recognize that this strategy alone will not win over young voters.