If there's one thing we've learned over the past year, it's that there is little accountability and even less conscience in Washington. After all, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act has taken away much of our freedom and is poised to attack even more. It's the reason we were sued and the reason many more will be punished for such crimes as curiosity, technical expertise, and the belief that we somehow have the right to experiment with technology, specifically technology that we supposedly own. The DMCA has changed everything and we have yet to see a single elected official denounce it. And still, many of us will go to the polls next Tuesday and dutifully put these people back in office. Who knows what priceless gems of legislation they'll concoct in the years ahead?

We believe there are alternatives and there has never been a better time to start exploring them. It's become clear from the Gore/Bush rhetoric, as well as from their previous records, that legislation like the DMCA won't be opposed in their administrations. And by continuing to support more bad ideas like the WTO, Gore/Bush will help to ensure the spread of such evils as the DMCA, encryption restriction, increased surveillance, more prisons, corporate dominance, and the demonization of hackers - all in the name of "free trade."

For these reasons, we feel that continuing to support the current two-party system will do more harm than good. While it may indeed be possible to find differences between the two major candidates, on the issues that concern us most we feel equally doomed by each of them. And we don't believe any Supreme Court justices that Gore/Bush will appoint are going to reverse this ominous tide.

The question then is raised as to which of the remaining candidates stands any chance of truly "getting it." For this we appeal to our readers to lend a hand and help us research this so we can point to those who won't continue the trend we've been witnessing ever since we printed our first issue.

While it's quite likely that the candidate(s) we choose will have little chance of winning, that is no reason to discount their positions nor to cast our ballot for someone who will simply make things a little less worse.

Below are some web sites for alternative candidates. Please email us your choice along with your reasons to elect@2600.com. U.S. citizenship and minimum age are NOT required here. We will publish a summary in a few days. And if you really believe in either Gore or Bush, we expect some convincing arguments.

Harry Browne - (Libertarian Party) - www.harrybrowne2000.org

Pat Buchanan (Reform Party) - www.gopatgo2000.org

John Hagelin (Natural Law Party) - www.hagelin.org

David McReynolds (Socialist Party) - www.votesocialist.org

Ralph Nader (Green Party) - www.votenader.org

Howard Phillips (Constitution Party) - www.constitutionparty.com