I've been checking out this Howard Dean guy that's running for the democratic nomination and, on the surface, he seems like the something different I'd be willing to vote for. While I like his outspokenness and grassroots approach, I am disturbed by the fact that he's supported by the NRA and he is in favor of the death penalty.

MoveOn.org is running their own primary to determine if and whom they will support for the Democratic nod. They've got a great resource for checking out all nine of the candidates and, after reading through some of it, I'm leaning towards Dennis Kucinich myself.

Kucinich's pretty left field and probably doesn't have a shot but, to be honest, after playing it safe with Al Gore (I preferred Bill Bradley), I think it's time for the Democrats to make a stand and really differentiate themselves from the Republicans. And not in that self-righteous Ralph Nader way, either.

Kucinich seems to stand for all the right things; isn't afraid to speak out unequivocally, no matter how touchy the subject; his voting record is pretty consistent; and, he's got a working class background that suggests his positions on the important issues come from actual values, not polls. If only the media would take his candidacy a bit more seriously, he might have a shot. Of course, the grassroots thing is working for Dean and I suspect he's due for a stumble in the next couple of weeks that could set Kucinich up as the true alternative to the status quo.

This all bears watching. Are you registered?

In other news, I've been desperately trying to find a place that sells Fair Trade coffee and it's been a frustrating experience. D'Agostino's supposedly sells Green Mountain (my current preference) but the Union Square store didn't have anything but the usual stuff. Went to Whole Foods this weekend, sure they would have a good selection but all they had was two types of Dean's Beans which would have been fine if not for being the flavored kinds, Hazelnut and French Vanilla. Yuck! The woman working the section asked if she could help me and when I told her what I was looking for, she was like, "Really? And that's all you'll buy?" Apparently Organic still means commercial!

Anyway, I decided to join Green Mountain's Coffee Club and just received my first shipment! Smells amazing. I got two of Newman's Own Nell's Breakfast Blend, one Peruvian Select and one Espresso Blend. Yum!