Things are shaping up for an interesting week.

Let's start out with a couple of developments that occurred over the weekend.

1. The king of Saudi Arabia has informed his subjects to leave Lebanon as soon as possible. Last week, the U.S.S. Cole began patrolling in the waters off the coast of Lebanon. Tensions and attacks between Gaza and Israel increased over the weekend with Israeli incursions into Gaza and renewed rocket attacks into Israel.

2. Hugo Chavez has positioned military units on the border with Columbia as a demonstration against the killing of a group of FARC leaders. Venezuela and Ecuador--where the killing took place--have both recalled ambassadors from Columbia in protest. Chavez has said that the action may cause war in Latin America.

Now, onto this upcoming week.

1. Primaries occur for some states on Tuesday, including the largest in Texas and Ohio. Rumor has it that here in Texas, people are voting in the Democratic primaries 3 times more than they are voting in the Republican primaries. I know of at least 3 Republicans--neo-cons-- who figure that McCain has already wrapped up Texas, so they are voting in the democratic primary for Hillary Clinton, in order to defeat Obama. I certainly don't consider this a good use of logic; but it is my feeling that Ron Paul will stand to gain from this trend as long as his base is motivated and ready, willing, and able to participate in the primary caucuses. It is through the grassroots that we will start to usurp the GOP and kick the neo-cons and Christian wrong to the curb.

Remember, if you are voting and participating in the precinct conventions this Tuesday, keep a low profile, clean up, be polite, be respectful, but be firm. If you are familiar with the convention rules, and something seems fishy, object and speak up. Do not allow yourself to be railroaded because of the rules of the mechanism. Instead, know the rules and use them for your advantage.

2. Financial meltdown continues. Although the smirking chimp, HRH George Bush, and the slimy Ben Bernanke have said that we are not headed towards recession (since we are already in one), watch for the banking system, bond insurers, stock markets, and dollar to continue to take more hits throughout the week. Watch for further increases in commodity prices. As I write this, gold is over $980/oz in Asia, and the Nikkei is down over 545 points.

3. Remember that we are fighting for a better future. Let us also remember that we are a big camp with differing ideas, talents, and points of view. Remember this in the tenor of your posts. Never forget that people are born into a state of ignorance, they only become stupid after they are educated. It is the most monumental responsibility for those of us who are more educated in Libertarian philosophy, economics and politics to try to help the neophytes to Dr. Paul's message understand what it is we are fighting both for and against. We must patiently undo years of brainwashing that they have learned through the MSM and the schools. In fact, it is up to us to undo their educations, and build them up again as free thinking individuals. I know that it gets frustrating having to explain points over and over to different groups of people; I also know that the trolls and the half-informed add to this frustration, don't get off message trying to debate them, ignore them instead. Sometimes I feel like the blue caterpillar sitting on the mushroom at the bottom of the rabbit hole; but instead of having to answer the questions of one little girl, I am responding to the questions of a thousand different people. Good thing I've got my hookah ;)

4. Be prepared, keep your eyes open, and have faith. There is a lot of info that is out there that is beyond terrifying. Don't let it get you down. Let us all remember to smile and help each other get through this day by day. Things are going to come to a head very soon. So don't panic, don't call for violence at the outrages we are confronted with every day, but most importantly, don't give up the fight. When all is said and done, we will win, and this Republic that we love will be a better place for it.