A Society of Authorship: Blissfully Leaping he Divide

Are we taking back control? Did we ever have it to begin with? The latter is a question for another day; let’s stick with the first for now. A bipartisan group of former –well, mostly former- politicians are producing ripples across the surface ofstatus quo’s idyllic setting.

Their immodest goal: To end divisive partisan polarization, create bipartisanship and bring the country together after the 2008 election.

Leading the charge are David Boren, Oklahoma University president and a former U.S. senator, along with former Democratic Sens. Sam Nunn of Georgia, Charles Robb of Virginia and Gary Hart of Colorado, also a former presidential candidate.

Republican sponsors include former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, former Sens. Bill Brock of Tennessee and John Danforth of Missouri, and Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.

And yes, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be there, but he's not running for president.


Other formers expected to participate include Bill Cohen, former secretary of defense, and former U.S. Sens. Alan Dixon of Illinois and Bob Graham of Florida. Also, Jim Leach, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa, and Edward Perkins, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
(kathleen parker, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/4/2008)

Political activism has taken a similar form in Tallahassee, Fl. The Village Square , where a local group is attempting to soften the deafening roar emanating from the of the talking heads who dominate the airwaves, is offering the shocking alternative of respectful discourse.



Meanwhile back in wet NorCal, the City, Earthlink, and Google were unable to establish a wi-fi network to serve the citizenry. Enter a small company with an audacious vision. Meraki is stepping into the void to test its low-cost, community-powered system in this little techcentric village we call home. Since March, Free the Net has been employing a mesh system supported by solar-powered, wireless repeaters installed on rooftops in select neighborhoods throughout the city.

As of this article, up to 15,000 antennae are planned for encompassing the remainder of the city. The resulting non-linear web has great potential. Meraki’s mesh draws a comparison to Google’s use of multiple digital platforms to create expanding, self-modifying, clouds of infobots.

These three examples, covering the national political culture, local discourse, and digital access, serve as prime examples of the ongoing collaborative revolution and its ability to fundamentally change how and for whom our societies function. The web is rapidly transforming in an attempt to attain a semblance of human parallel cognitive structure; both information retrieval clouds and wireless mesh technologies are simple, early adaptations of an evolving cognitive digital matrix.

Each peace(sic) of information accessed empowers us all. Every query for controlled information undermines an oblivious, but deeply entrenched power structure. On the headstone we shall write

And while the they remained blissfully unaware...

their network was compromised.


Can I get an Amen from my brothers and sisters?

Truth Out