politcal party like its 1999!

After years of being content with not really knowing what is going on in Washington, in Salem, and in Portland I've decided that I want to know more about political issues. I see commercials for different measures from each side of the arguement and politicians giving sales pitches but as we all know you can't trust what you see on television. I'm going to devote some of my free time to researching various issues in my community. I've been an american citizen all my life enjoying the freedoms that other people made happen and I know so little about how my country and community got to where it is. I don't want to spend all my time sifting through campaign garbage but if I can find reliable information I'll be a valuable citizen and voter. It seems like a lot of people have given up on the democratic system and are relying on corporations to make decisions for the country. I won't stand for it any longer. I'm choosing to be a part of the solution... In some capacity.