Why didn't they tell me sooner?

If any of you wonder what it's like for me to be a journalist, here's a great column by Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten.
Not only is it insightful, it's very funny.

In response to my last post, a couple people made a point of stressing the importance of voting and being involved in the political and election process.
I submit to you that it takes more than voting and involvement. Voting, in itself, is a rather simple act, but it can't stand alone.
People who want to vote and play a role in shaping our leadership must act before and after they visit the polls.
Each person needs to make a zealous effort to educate himself or herself and independently arrive at a decision on who or what to support in each election based on his or her own values, morals and beliefs.
We cannot simply accept the talking points and platforms wholesale of either party or a special interest and expect government to be responsive to our needs and wants as a society.
We need to educate ourselves and others, which is hard work, but too many people are going to the polls and making decisions that will impact our future without enough knowledge to do so effectively.
Ignorant people are deciding my future, and that's perhaps the most disappointing part of the political culture.
Only slightly less disappointing is the fact that elected leaders, such as Pres. George W. Bush, V.P. Dick Cheney and many others, are counting on the ignorance of the masses to elect them to positions of power, from which they impose their will on the rest of us.
After we arm ourselves with knowledge and go to the polls to cast educated votes, we then have more work to do. We have to hold elected officials at all levels accountable for their actions. I'm not suggesting an armed revolt. Instead, I am encouraging us all to write to our representatives and let them know what we think. If we don't tell them, they won't know.
Here are some links to find your appropriate representatives at the various levels of government:
Michigan House of Representatives
Michigan Senate
Michigan Governor
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Senate
President of the United States
For city officials or other states, a simple Google search should get you the right information.