I am voting for John Kerry this November. I love this land, and I know that we need to make drastic changes in Washington if we are to protect our land and our communities. I am committed to the transformation of American democracy so that it is reflective of the diversity of this country. I believe in a multi party system and a multi-racial democracy. I support wholeheartedly Ralph Nader's right to run and be on the ballot in all states, because in a true democracy, all candidates should be on the ballot and be included in the debates (We had to litigate to get on the ballot in a number of states previously and were not included in the debates).

I'm committed to more than two opinions that can be represented, and to increasing the numbers of people of color, women and Native people elected to office, because we are intimately related to this country, and because that is what America looks like. This transformation in Washington must happen because this is the richest and most powerful country in the world, and the course of America under the Bush/Cheney administration is the most destructive in recent history. On November 2, I'm voting my conscience, and voting for John Kerry.

I continue to work for long term changes in America's democracy: people's votes should count, diverse individuals should run for office and be on the ballot and in the debates, and the poor as well as the rich should participate in politics.

We need to make drastic changes, because after all, in the spectrum of world influence, the President of the United States is a lot like the President of the World. We're the largest military power in the world, we distribute more weapons to everyone in the world than any other country, we create more pollution than any other country, we drive more trade deficits than any other country in the world, we consume more than any other country in the world, we have more people in prison per capita than any other industrialized country, more homeless, more children in poverty than any other rich country in the world, and when America sneezes, a good portion of the world gets a cold, or, a war.

For the past two elections, I've run for the office of Vice President. Sometimes you run for Vice President and sometimes you work on putting up wind towers. In 2004, I decided to put up wind towers, try to curb global climate change by bringing some of the Native wind (which represents about half of present US installed electrical consumption) to the market.

I believe we can combust ourselves to oblivion, or we can move to alternative energy, and in the largest energy market in the world, your power supplier (particularly if you're a junkie like America) impacts your democracy. I was proud of John Kerry when he called the $87 billion in Iraq money a Halliburton Slush Fund. It is, and we need to recognize that. We must commit to challenging corporate domination of democracy.

John Kerry provides promise for Native America and for America. His energy policy proposals involve vision- like alternative energy, health care, and finding all those children who have been "left behind" by the Bush administration. Heck, Kerry can even say "sovereignty," which is a far cry from Bush's virtual inability to pronounce the word.

Kerry needs to get back to his ideal. In office I hope he will find himself and remember us. I've spoken with his staff and received some answers. He is more interested in solving than litigating the Indian Trust case. He wants to move federal policies to support native communities, whether native farmers, businesspeople or tribal governments. We are on his radar. He may find himself yet.

Having the courage to stand up for military clean up before military build up would be a good start. After all, the weapons of mass destruction we couldn't find in Iraq are sitting next to the Skull Valley Goshute reservation in Utah, festering in the sun- 40% of America's chemical weapons are there.

He should find the courage to say that a right to life also may extend to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi women and children affected by our weapons. Kerry needs to make the rich pay their share, and end corporate welfare- I have heard some inklings of that. And Kerry, while a diamond in the rough on issues like genetic modification, tribal budgets, and building a more inclusive democracy, he has potential, which is more than we can say for his opponent. He'll get my vote.