Fixing the problems in America requires new thinking and new methods of action, new processes and new organization. People resent the elected offical as master, but until recently have simply grumbled. Many are beginning to find their voice as they join the web. Day by day the processes of reporting, vetting, investigating, refuting or simply commenting expand in scope and detail (quite a trick, that) and ease of availability. It is a tool of fantastic organizational capability. And now it fits in the palm of your hand. And it is changing the national language.

As I scroll through diary after diary I am amazed at the number of truly knowledgeable and well-spoken diarists and commenters. What's even more amazing is to find them on frequently on opposite sides of an argument. But locating these diaries--and even more, the comments--is incredibly hit-or-miss. (Tagging helps!)

This would be a huge research project, but I wonder if all these gems could be gathered together and published in a political handbook. (Actually, it would likely expand to cover much more than just politics, but we'll leave it at that for now.)

There is a poem written by a German citizen about his people and his government. He watched the rise of the Nazis to power, and bemoaned the political apathy that allowed it, that allowed the eventual extermination of 6 million human beings.

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

My daughter is almost 24. She's a medic posted in the Iraq "triangle of death." She served 8 months before getting her 2-week leave in early May. Now she has returned for another 7 months (deployment has been increased from 12 to 15 months).

This is a tale of the evolution of a book. A new kind of book. Its genesis involved no typewriters, no paper, no agents, no publishing houses. Instead, computers, e-mail, teleconferencing, the internet, a blog site, and a community of volunteers embracing a concept made it real. This is the story of how Kosmos: You Are Here came to be, well, here.