Our democracy is most effective when we have an informed citizenry. This does not just pertain to federal elections, but elections at all levels. Often, the local elections are the most important. The judges that you elect to superior court might be nominated for Supreme Court a few years from now. The people you send to state legislature may be running for federal office in no time. Who you help get experience at the local level shapes what happens at the federal level in all sorts of direct and indirect ways. Furthermore, it affects your life directly.

Wading through information on local elections is undoubtedly a pain in the ass. Sure, you're about to be inundated with pamphlets telling you which way to vote and if your local newspaper is still functioning, they will inevitably list who they want you to vote for. But is this really what it means to be informed? I think not. Rather than waiting to be told what to do, I vote that each and every one of you hosts a party where you leverage the collective intelligence of those around you.

I finished reading rebooting america on the 4th of July - 44 essays by very thoughtful people. You can read it too on dead tree or electrons. Here are some of my favorite bits.

Watch a video of Jerry Michalski at the New Politics Institute talking about "small 'g' governance" and join us when we pick up the theme on Wednesday in a participatory interview with Jerry.

Day 2 of PdF took us from personal democracy through participatory democracy to hyperdemocracy powered by a series of smart white guys with great presentation skills. This is how I think it went down.