Work(ing Title)

John Edwards is using Twitter. While he could prove to be a lackluster participant in the community by only barely using his new text-messaging voice, you’ve got to appreciate whoever on his team told him sitting down at the cool kids table in the Web 2.0 cafeteria was a great idea.

As a primer for those of you who might not know what Twitter is or how to use it, here are three simple steps for becoming both geekier and more politically involved:

1-Sign up for a Twitter account, being sure to provide it with your mobile phone number.

2-Add John Edwards as a friend by clicking the link on the right side of his page. You will now recieve his updates as text messages.

3-Write a direct message to me (by starting it with “D osakasteve”) telling me how much you love your new geek shoes.

[Via Tim O'Reilly]

Don’t worry, that post title is only German for, “The Electoral College The.”

David S. Bennahum, whom I’ve never heard of, has posted some highlights from a talk of his on the need for, “abolishing the electoral college.” Scary data I say. ACHTUNG!

Richard Clarke’s Op-Ed column is, in my progressive opinion, a brilliant critique of the 9/11 commission.

It is simultaneously exciting and disheartening to read such a radical set of ideas from someone of Clarke’s background. He has a vision of success that illustrates some harsh realities, insofar as the neccessity of spies and commandos has returned to our world.

The unfortunate reality is that the current administration has shown no patience for people with ideas like these and no hesitation at removing them from any position of affect.

Today I listened to Melba Pattillo Beals speak at Foothill. Ms. Beals was one of the nine black students who integrated Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. She has since become a Congressional Medal Winner and an accomplished author and journalist.

Her story is amazingly vivid and it rolls across the audience like a wave. She speaks as if it had happened yesterday.

The first attempt to integrate school ended with a 15 year old Melba and her mother escaping a lynch mob by car. The second day ended with a police escort as opposed to sacrificing one of the nine to the mob in order to extricate the remaining eight. Finally, with the help of the Screaming Eagles, Melba got through her first year of high school.

It is utterly frightening to realize that we still live within one generation of such a painful turning point in American history.