The election is almost upon us and the electronic voting machines are having troubles all over the place.  How did we ever get to this place, that a privatized electronic voting machine industry controls our votes.  When I think of and remember all the people who have died to get the vote, and now this mockery of the most basic of our rights, I am filled with rage and grief.  And then I ask myself, what is the next right thing that I need to do, the next right step that I need to take.  And I act.  That helps me a lot to keep the despair away and to keep faith that good does win, even though sometimes not in my time frame.  I read somewhere - if anyone has information on this, please contact us -  that the women suffragists took the symbol of the giraffe for their movement, because they stuck their necks out.  Since then, I have giraffes all over my house, to remind me to stick my neck out.  SP