"Living off the grid" is an intriguing subject. Its actually living like people did before Thomas Alva Edison and his invention of the generator of electricity. Circa 1850 or so. These people lived and so could we, even better, with the knowledge of 2010.

What's really needed is the end to the amnesia. Suppose a registry for each and every elected representative is set up and maintained as a reference for each election day. For example, every vote is recorded, every relevant speech is posted, their everyday life is reported in a summary form, etc. The internet can be the storage of their character. It has to be set up in a balanced manner with checks to ensure its truthfulness.