My political wish list

Tis the season for making wish lists. I'm no longer a child who sits on Santa's lap with a list of toys that I want, but that does not mean I cannot make lists. As the year and decade comes to a close, this is what I would like to see in the next year and decade.

1) For all Americans regardless of their political affiliation to realize that the right to vote should not be taken for granted. Our founding fathers would be rolling over in their graves if they realized how low voter turnout can be, especially in off-year elections. Many Americans voted for the first time in 2008 and were very excited about voting for President Obama. My wish is that they will continue to vote in every election and vote for the candidates down the ticket too.
2) That any two unrelated consenting adults who would like to get married be able to get married in the eyes of the state.
3) That Senator Frank Lautenberg stays healthy for the remainder of his term, or at least until Christie leaves office.
4)That Jon Corzine will use his deep pockets to really do some good for New Jersey. He has the power to become an Al Gore type figure who is more influential outside politics than within politics. New Jersey is full of lots of great progressive organizations that could really take off with financial backing.
5) The health care bill passed the Senate today. My wish is that the final version is more like the House bill, and that it will strengthen in time (including a public option which anyone could buy into).
6) That all our soldiers return home from Iraq and Afghanistan safely so that they can spend the holidays with their families, where they belong.
7) That every vote is counted fairly and accurately
8) That the Democrats in Washington and Trenton locate their spines and learn how to use it. Take a lesson from Alan Grayson.
9) That progressives finally get an equal voice in the media, and that progressive talk radio is available to all who would like to listen to it.
10) That Sarah Palin crawls back under the rock where she came from.
11) That we finally end the tax breaks for companies who outsource their jobs to China, India, and the rest of the world, and that any American who wants a job can have a good job at a wage that will be enough to live on.
12) That the word "liberal" is no longer a dirty word in American politics, and that more people would speak up and say that they're proud to be liberal.
13) That we as a nation start to focus on Main Street instead of Wall Street.
14) That we never fight another war for oil.
15) That we pass some strong laws that limit the influence of corporate lobbyists in Washington. We can't have laws written by lobbyists anymore.
16) That our food movement goes from industrial food back to locally produced food.
17) That President Obama fires his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and replaces him with someone who will actually listen to progressives instead of just Republicans and corporations.
18) That legislators be subject to conflict of interest laws the same way several other occupations are.
19) That progressives in New Jersey are get organized and build a strong enough base to take back Trenton in 2013, and possibly knock a Republican from NJ out of Washington this fall.
20) That all the readers of my blog, and all my fellow progressives throughout the country have a very happy holidays, and safe and healthy 2010.