If you need a pick me up, I happen to think this is quite catchy!

Watch this!

In case you haven't heard, Google has released an awesome program in conjuction with Project CARE.

Google will be giving lifetime, free phone numbers with voicemail boxes to any homeless person who needs one. This is an ingenious program as it will allow homeless indviduals to have a stable, readily accesible phone number to put on job applications, receive medical information to, and be able to communicate with family and loved ones with.

Barack Obama has raised over 7 million in the last 24 hours from a groundswelling of support on the internet. Indvidual donors set a goal off decimating Hillary Clinton's "self" donation of 5 million to her own campaign and beat it by 2 million USD.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/CGGrH

Happy New Year! Around New Years I often reflect on the year that has passed an inevitability feel thankful for the many good and bad things in my life that equate to experience and growth. This New Years was no different, albeit I feel thankful on a more "macro" level about an issue that is broader then myself.

I am currently conducting some anthropological research in China relating to the internet, culture, youth and the interplay of the three. In doing my research and discussing the strange nature of American political thought (i.e. what the heck a progressive, conservative, etc. is) I have come to a sense of thankfulness for one unique aspect of the American political structure. While progressives often feel very negatively about the systemic social, economic, and political problems that harm our communities, nation, and the world I think it is important to have thanks for the ability to freely associate into political groups without having to go through official, bureaucratic, or totalitarian channels. It truly is a unique system that doesn't exist in many places and it makes one feel thankfulness for the ability to freely associate and belong to an organization - something I realized in making friends and conducting interviews here in the PRC.

I know I am preaching to the choir here, but in this New Year it is important to remember the good as one works to alleviate or counter the bad. Happy New Year to everyone!

Yesterday YP4's time at Yearly Kos 2007 wrapped up. It was an AMAZING experience getting to hang out with the YP4 Staff, Senior Fellows, Steering Committee Members, and others.

All I can really say is that the future of YP4 is very strong. The YP4 Staff has great ideas and strategies to increase the outreach, diversity, support, and programs for all of us fortunate enough to be fellows at Young People For. Be excited about the future of the program - I know I am!

Not only was the YP4 meeting great but we had some great times at Yearly Kos.

The Young People For Staff and Steering Committee Fellows are meeting at the Yearly Kos 2007 and I have the good fortune of being able to be a part of it!

An interesting observation that I have seen is the demographics of the Kos convention, which could be interpreted/translated to perhaps represent the demographics of political and social issue bloggers in general.

Read on for more.

The first ever Hindu prayer in the U.S. senate was interrupted by 3 "protesters" shouting prayers and making a ruckus. They were removed by an officer and charged. I think the term protester is too nice for morons like this.

Full video here.

Also don't forget to go to savetheinternet.com to voice your support for Net Neutrality. Only 3 days are left till the FCC decides the fate of the internet!

The internet is about to change. In 5 days the FCC will rule on the issue of "Net Neutrality" which has been at the forefront of digital politics for the last year. What is Net Neutrality? "Put simply, Net Neutrality means no discrimination. Net Neutrality prevents Internet providers from speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, ownership or destination."

The big telecos want to be able to end Net Neutrality and charge consumers different prices for different "tiers" of internet speed and avaliablity. Wan't to get to Google? Pay a fee. Wan't to get to Google faster? Pay more.

This is not only harmful to the structure of the internet (a large network of smaller disconnected networks where data runs from Point A to Point B unhindered) but is harmful because it will furthur limit access to broadband for citizens who can't afford it.

Recently America was placed behind Estonia in terms of broadband distribution, speed, and price. We have some of the slowest, most expensive broadband internet of the industralized nations.

What can be done? Please go to savetheinternet.org and tell the FCC "your story" about why you feel the net should be a free and open domain where citizens can exchange any information without being subject to corporate oversight.

In case you haven't heard... the American equivalent to the wicked witch in Oz is dead. America has lost one of its greatest hatemongers.

Only one question remains to be answered. What is the good Rev. Fred Phelps (of godhatesfags.com WARNING: Offensive Content) going to do. Does he protest the funeral of a self proclaimed hater of feminists, secularists, abortionists, and homosexuals to point out that God killed such a man because of the homosexuals. Or does he not protest the homosexual hater because he fought to hate homosexuals.

This moral twilight zone is enough to make a robots head explode.