MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA. The 2008 Republican National Convention. Without any setup beyond "Why do you support your candidate?" (including variations such as "What about your candidate moves you to support them?" and "What appeals to you about your candidate?"), I interviewed three different people or groups of people to attempt to explore what it is about Barack Obama, John McCain and Ron Paul that inspires support.

Former US Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) opened his speech on the legacy of his friend John McCain with the following statement :

We are going to nominate the next President and Vice President of the United States of America.

We do so while taking a different view of our country than that of the other party.

Listening to them you'd think that we were in the middle of a great depression; that we are down, disrespected and incapable of prevailing against challenges facing us.

We know that we have challenges ... always have, always will.

But we also know that we live in the freest, strongest, most generous and prosperous nation in the history of the world and we are thankful.

I was completely taken aback by that part of the speech. It seems to suggest neither the United States nor the global markets have not been affected at all by the implosion of the sub-prime mortgage industry and the subsequent credit crisis that is affect international markets. It also seems to say there that it is "disrespectful" an henceforth anti-patriotic to even suggest the United States is losing it's political and economic stature in the world.

There was no better moment that illustrates the disconnect among the GOP faithful and the reality of what's happening around them. Take for example what the "Obama Bin Biden" t-shirt vendor told me yesterday.

There is no shame in wanting to make an extra buck or two but our friend here was kind of embarrassed about the message he was selling. "Am just trying to make a living", he said. And it was the same line I was given by 3 other buttons and t-shirt vendors in the area.

While waiting for the rain to subside another gentleman had told me that work was hard to come by and that he really didn't care about either republicans or democrats. "I just sell the t-shirts, I don't care about the message. I'll sell to democrats what they want to hear and I'll sell to republicans the same way. It's called marketing."

Both gentlemen were disappointed at the lack of crowds for this convention. One of them said that he always seemed to sell out of stock at Obama rallies. Not so much at the McCain ones. All seemed to agree these are tough economic times and that Republicans seemed to be out of touch with that reality more so than Democrats.

When I asked him who'd he vote he couldn't seem to decide on either. And that seems to be a theme among a lot of St. Paulites I've spoken to. They can't vote for the black guy (one gentleman truly believes Obama is a crypto-muslim). Yet they don't care at all for John McCain.

If these conversations are any indication of the obstacles both nominees will need to overcome to get to the White House, I feel it will be a close race.

This month we have the opportunity to turn up the volume on ovarian cancer -- otherwise known as "The Whisper" or "The Silent Killer." As you may sense from those nicknames, ovarian cancer is a dodgy lil' beeyotch! Her symptoms are vague and most often missed -- or misdiagnosed -- as anything from endometriosis to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS is the most common misdiagnosis) or dismissed as plain ol' gas or constipation. After all, no one wants to jump from thinking they are just bloated or have a bad stomachache to thinking it might be cancer! And there is currently no screening test, general or specific, for ovarian cancer. You read that correctly: none -- yet.

I was diagnosed at 28 years old with a rare form of ovarian cancer (I was initially misdiagnosed with IBS before heading in the gynecological direction). After exploratory surgery and a week later the full abdominal "unzip", it was determined that it was Stage 3C ovarian cancer. Late-stage ovarian cancer at 28. Being the overachiever I am, I had not just any cancer or even a more common, treatable/survivable one; I had a cancer whose successful treatment statistics are about the same as guessing right in a shell game (at least it feels that way). Plus, with a rare form of it, I had to cut those stats in half! After surgery, a panel of doctors basically voted on whether or not chemo would even be effective for me. Because of my young age and the fact that I hadn't had children yet, by majority rule, we went more aggressive and I began a six-month prescription of chemotherapy -- which was interrupted by recurrence and another surgery, false remission for a year, and a final surgery in January 2003. This year marks my five year cancer-free milestone!

While there have been many developments and advances in the ovarian cancer chemo cocktail (a cocktail not nearly as fun as a mojito or margarita!), including anti-nausea and anti-allergenics, the most vital and imperative research we must implement is early detection for ovarian cancer. We can't cure this disease being blind while she isn't speaking up to be heard on time.

Early detection is the most powerful treatment for any cancer and it is imperative that we generate awareness and funding for this kind of research for ovarian cancer. As is stands today, more than half of ovarian cancer cases are discovered late-stage. And though the number of diagnoses is less than other more heavily-researched and publicized forms of gynecological cancers, due to late-stage diagnosis, it has the number-one highest fatality rate among gynecological cancers. In addition, with successful treatment, the five-year survival rate is around 35 percent in any stage of the disease (and that gets lower with each recurrence).

Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer, said, "Having cancer gave me membership in an elite club I'd rather not belong to." Strangely and unexpectedly, the word "elite" is accurate for me. I feel very special for having had -- and survived -- ovarian cancer, and my life has been transformed in the most beautiful and exquisite ways that I could never have imagined. The journey inspired me to create Bald Is Beautiful, through which I have dedicated my life to bringing information, inspiration, comfort, hope, encouragement, and empowerment to others on the cancer journey.

Still, while I survived and was able to find positivity and deep healing in the process, I would be happier if we could prevent others from having to face this disease without the benefit of early detection and more refined & successful treatments.

Thank you for letting me share and for reading! And remember: always smile from the inside out!

Some Extra Bytes:
• Tune in to STAND UP 2 CANCER (live telecast on Friday, Sept 5 on NBC, ABC, CBS)
• Check out CANARY FOUNDATION (dedicated to funding research for early detection, special focus on ovarian cancer)
• Visit GILDA'S CLUB for my favorite cancer support organization in the world!! Support for patients (men, women, children with any form of cancer) and their friends/families/caregivers.

To read more about Sharon's story, please click here.

I have been trying to post to the blog in the last 24 hours and I keep getting sidetracked. Blogging while on the road is one of the hardest things in the world. Especially if, like me, you have to deal with every technology meltdown imaginable.

When I first started this odyssey a week ago, I was happy to have had in hand a "smartphone" that allowed me to stream video live. It was so freeing to be able to use a phone to give people an on the ground look of what I was witnessing and experiencing right there, right at the moment. But the camera broke and, worse, I have no idea how it happened. I left it charging overnight and the next morning it was just not working. Totally random act of technological non-compliance.

Relying on one piece of equipment can be devastating and I had prepared with an extra camera and audio recording equipment. What I was not prepared with was another mobile to not only phone but the internet. It's why last week I had so much trouble blogging. I had to run around Denver looking for T-Mobile that would outfit me with another phone instantly. It's how I ended up with the baby in the photo to the right.

Bloggers are some of the most gadgetfied people in the world. To report from wherever and whenever, we need to have instant access to the internet. In places like Philadelphia, it's awesome to be a blogger because there's municipal wireless access to the internet everywhere. And it's for free too! But in places like Denver and St. Paul, the burden of internet access either falls on the shoulders of coffee shops or on the bloggers themselves with a nifty piece of equipment like a "smartphone" and an extra fee for unlimited internet access in their monthly phone bill. In other words, "gonzo" on-the-ground blogging is not democratic at all. It can be costly, especially in rural and inner city areas where there is no internet access at all.

I say this because as a digital rights activist, I am very much aware of the privilege I have as someone who has so much access to technology and who even gets paid for blogging. At home not only do I have access to more than four computers, but I also have broadband internet access as well as mobile. And in times like my media and tech meltdown, I have the resources to get another camera or piece of equipment.

The so called "citizen journalist" from the "revolutionary" blogosphere just doesn't exist. Citizen journalism as in on-the-ground reporting and blogging is just not democratic and easy for the masses. We're just not there yet.

It's the reason why it struck me as a huge negative the lack of free internet access in Denver. I can understand the logic of Republicans with their "leave the market decide" mantra. Democrats, on the other hand, have been all about bringing "change" to the country by making it more democratic.

Well, Obama not the DNC failed miserably by not making the internet not only more accessible to little alternative media outlets like my culturekitchen media blogs. They failed to make media more democratic and accessible "to the people" by not providing wireless internet access during their own "big party" and convention.