Well, the very first Yearlykos convention in Las Vegas has come and gone. According to all accounts, the four day gathering was a remarkable success and kudos are due to Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, the young 34 year old entrepreneur and blogger who founded DailyKos, the most popular political internet website in the U.S. The convention drew more than one thousand activists, comprising a well rounded representation of liberal interests, such as those of African-Americans, Latin-Americans, Asian-Americans, Native-Americans, mothers, students, feminists, advocates of science, advocates of internet political blogging. And of course, prominent Democrat politicians also attended.

As I live in Las Vegas, I had planned to attend the convention and was excited about it, for this was an opportunity to meet many well known people who had concerns similar to mine. But when I saw the schedule of topics to be discussed, I balked, thought about it for a few moments, and decided I would not attend.

Panel discussion topics were varied: Reforming the Electoral Process, Championing Science, Ethics, Corruption and Movement Politics, Changing Education-Changing America, Healthcare, and CIA Leak Investigation. Workshop topics included: Using the Blogosphere, Abortion, and Engaging Right Wing Talk Radio and Coming Out on Top. Roundtables included: Reforming the Electoral Process, Immigration, Environment, Current Events, Religion, and Framing Workforce Issues in the 2006 Election. And this is just a partial list of events discussed during, what must have been, an exciting four day gathering.

Why didn't I attend this event? Because I believed the main thrust of the convention would be to determine ways to strengthen and assist the Democrat Party for the coming election, which I believe a waste of time, for other than a few men and women of moral character and dignity, most members of the party are cowards and opportunists who build their own small empires of influence and sell their votes to the highest bidder.

Another reason I didn't attend is because I've been thinking about the perpetual problems faced by American workers and possible solutions to these problems for more than thirty years. I know the American political system was originally designed to keep decision-making processes of government away from common Americans, which it has done successfully for more than 200 years. It is my belief, therefore, that anything less than a complete overhaul of the political system is a waste of time. I know it would be foolish trying merely to "patch" a system designed to favor our wealthy enemies, when with one fell swoop we can throw them out of political power by revising the system and placing ourselves in a position where ordinary citizens would determine the use of their tax money.

With one fell swoop we could place ourselves in a position to eliminate all of the problems faced by common Americans, which exist only because wealthy Americans want them to exist: problems such as lack of adequate healthcare services, unfair wages and inflation, poverty, overcrowded cities and increasing crime, deteriorating environmental conditions and global warming, corporate abuse, inferior education systems, and unnecessary wars.

Expending limited funds and effort discussing problems such as discussed at the convention-although important-is comparable to concentrating upon the consequences of the core problems rather than upon eliminating the problems. It's like focusing all our resources upon minor battles rather than upon a full scale war to overthrow the advancing enemy. Such a war becomes reality only by attacking the current "representative" democratic political system and replacing it with a "participatory" political system that truly gives American commoners the opportunity to build a fairer and better society.

This is my belief. A belief that is stronger today than years ago when I first fully understood our nation's core problems. For today, we are a country not as rich in natural resources as we were a mere twenty years ago. Not as cohesive or united. Not as moral or ethical, or as idealistic. We face immediate problems of global warming, overpopulation, deteriorating environments, and a world that no longer respects us. A world that is rapidly becoming armed, violent, and dangerous.

But worst of all, it is our wealthiest citizens who have created these conditions-by arbitrarily invading and looting smaller nations thus creating universal animosity; by investing in the growth of other countries rather than their own, thus deliberately weakening the nation's industrial and social strength. And sadly, these enemies who attack us insidiously from the inside, slowly and arrogantly remove our civil rights, one at a time.

Fellow Americans, time is running out for the United States of America. The land of the free and the brave of our forefathers is slowly disappearing from the face of the Earth as our enemies transform it into an aggressive, military nation. Unfortunately, I'm afraid too many Americans neither understand this truth, nor want to hear it.

The bottom line why I didn't attend the Yearlykos convention is, because I'm getting tired of fighting a losing battle for so many years. I'm getting tired of trying to convince people like those who did attend the convention that winning one or more of their minor battles will not change the major problems confronting them, for I have never been capable of persuading, or winning an argument, with people who refuse to think. <