Helping out via the Intertubes.

This morning I donated $5 to a guy running for Kansas state representative, Sean Tevis, because he's a funny guy.

When you get right down to it, people come up with far lamer excuses for voting for politicians. I think there's something to be said for humor in politics - especially from someone who gets Internet memes, cultural references, and the absurdity of it all. Tevis's comic was pure fun, and in it he asks for a few thousand people to donate $8 to his campaign to beat some Intelligent-Design-spouting yahoo. Hey, sign me up.

Why donate to some guy I don't even know out in Kansas?

I donated for the same reason I'd give some mixed-race Hawaiian I've never met $5 to run for president: he speaks my language. And he could use the help.

All politics may be local, but Tevis strikes me as a guy I could have a beer with. Or sit down and talk Macs with. He seems like a guy who represents - finally! - a break from guys who think the Internet is actually a series of tubes.

Tevis won't be the last. Every week, I plan to give $5 to some politician, either local or otherwise, who Speaks My Language. There's a state senator here in Michigan who wants to take on Tim Walberg, our state rep in Congress. He's a good guy, a hard worker, and he's pretty smart. So he gets $5.

And on it will go, for the rest of the political season. And if I can't find someone worthy one week, well, some cash-strapped charity or organization will get it. Groups are hurting out there, after all, and while $5 does seem like a lot, (a) I can afford $5 a week, (b) it can buy some stamps for a mailing, (c) it beats the hell out of getting nothing at all.

What's nice about the Intertubes is I can send my money where it's needed most instantly. I gave Tevis his $5 via PayPal, which made it really convenient.

This will also force me to do some research and get to know the issues this year. Before I give anyone their $5, they'll have to reach me. And to reach me, I need to do some reading first.

So $5 a week. No big deal, right? Well for guys like Tevis, a few thousand $5 donations can make the difference between kicking the old-school bums out and suffering from more cranky men who Don't Give A Shit.