Just one quick local note. If you live in Utah, you need to vote for Pete Ashdown. He’s running against Orrin Hatch, who has been in office for 36 years. That’s a long time. If you’re even on the fence about this, remember that Orrin Hatch is a space alien. Weekly World News broke the story back in the late Eighties. I can’t believe the guy is still in office after that PR fiasco. Once the Weekly World News is against a candidate, they usually don’t have a chance. It’s only further proof that Orrin Hatch is a space alien.

On a more serious note, we need a senator in office that understands this big Internets thing. Senators that think the Internet is a series of tubes that can get clogged are charming, but they shouldn’t be able to create law. I can’t vote against Senator Stevens in Alaska, but I CAN vote for a candidate that truly understands the Internet.

Pete Ashdown was the founder of Utah’s first local ISP, X-Mission. Not only did X-Mission survive the Dot Bomb, it has flourished here. Pete donates Internet access to the Salt Lake County libraries through X-Mission. For that alone, he gets my vote.

If you are living in Utah, please vote for Pete Ashdown. It doesn’t matter that he’s running against Orrin Hatch. Maybe you’ve voted for Orrin before. That’s okay. I’m sure he was grateful for that vote and thanked you personally. This time, give your vote to someone new who actually understands how the new world works.