Knitting is really good for thinking. I'm finishing my coffee, elsewhere I had to admit that I needed to walk away from the caffeine, and knitting - what chores need to be done, what I'll do tomorrow, how I need to get away from this drama and get myself ready for work.

And, I realize that this is bigger than my feelings for my nephew. This is even bigger than the racism, class-ism, and discrimination against the disabled/different. This is how the government is spending my money.

I've been pretty lucky. This family got it together enough to help others. I was able to stay home and actually raise my kids to be nice, if wierd, people who aren't afraid to speak out at a Clean Air Meeting with the EPA and Potlatch, "It's great that the air will be cleaner, but what are you going to do about the people that are already sick?". Or, speaking out against yet another liquor store near the reservation.

This is our government when no one cares enough to stand up for a low-IQ woman. This is how one black/Indian child is being treated by Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch - told how much he deserves to be there and isn't leaving, then "Child is depressed and unmotivated."

Each of us touches the government in some way, and each of us can tell a story or relate some facts. Minnesota tries and has a good complaint system, but still have improvements to make. I'm not letting anyone off the hook, I want to know what needs to be fixed and how it can be done better. By contrast, North Dakota looks like a Nazi camp, but eventually (hopefully) I'll finally find someone who was helped by this billion dollar con game. I've seen a few in MN. Is it actually worth all of this money to put uneducated, drugged out kids right back on the street without help?

Forget Iraq and Obama/McCain a moment and look at our daily lives instead of just the newcast and Jon Stewart - is this what it means to be an American?