This morning, as I opened up the Washington Post, expecting a dose of national news, my eyes did a double take of a photo caption. Indiana’s National Guard, a group of 3,400 Hoosiers, will deploy to Iraq for a ten month tour early next year.Jesus, I thought to myself. I probably know some of those guys. And just like that, as the memory of corn fields and Friday night football games came back to me, the war hit home. And it hurt.When I read the article I started to imagine how the lives of the people who depend on them; spouses, children, employers, would change with their departure. Jobs would be empty but spots will be held with optimism that the solder will return. Stars will be hung on widows. Dread will overcome when an officer of the Army walks up a driveway under a weathered basketball hoop to share bad news. The normalcy of life in Indiana will take a painstaking pause.I wonder, too, if the absence of the soldiers will persuade people to think differently about this war. How will the families respond? Will the economy take a hit? Will local politicians have an even tougher time selling the war?I’m just trying to find the micro in the macro, and in that pursuit, posing this question. When will this war start waking Americans up to the toll it’s costing?

Hey everyone. I finally finished my video for MTV’s Choose or Lose Street Team competition. I was asked to upload the video to THINK, which is MTV’s fairly new social network. Like facebook or MySpace, it allows young, “social activists” to share articles, videos and blogs, each adding to a conversation on a social or political issue. Whether your issue is the environment, discrimination, or gun control, you’ll find a niche of like-minded people from different backgrounds who also care. I think that’s something we can all appreciate.

Thanks to all the contributors to this film, particularly Penn Camera for the rental, Kevin Kiger and Ilir Zherka of DC Vote, Malika Holmes, Taria Nelson and the many other insightful locals I spoke to.

At the end of the day, it’s simple: when 600,000 people take part in the rituals of a democratic society, but are denied a vote in Congress, something is wrong. In September, the Senate fell a few votes short of enacting legislation that would give the District one vote in the House of Representatives. With a broken school system, the hightest rate of HIV/AIDS, and a city of citizens looking for answers, residents want to know why the brutal reality of Taxation Without Representation still lives in the nation’s capital?Use your voice and speak up for them because without a voting member of Congress, they can’t do it themselves.

Click here and you’ll be walked through how to reach your Congressman. If you want to take it straight to the Man, or President Bush as we call him, here’s the number to the White House Comment Line. Go ahead, give ‘em hell. Tell them “I support the D.C. House Voting Rights Act of 2007.”

Hey Everyone. Check out this short video where I discuss how I am writing, filming and editing a video about the DC Voting Rights Act for MTV. It will be available Monday, 10/22. I can’t guarantee perfection but what the hell, no one can. Hope you enjoy.

Overview of India Video, Website Development, and Sending my Love to Indiana.

3 October 2007