Imagine a White House Web site where the home page isn’t just a static collection of transcripts and press releases, but a window into the roiling intellectual foment of the West Wing. Imagine a White House Web site where staffers maintain blogs in which they write about who they are and what they are working on; where some meetings are streamed in live video; where the president’s daily calendar is posted online; where major policy proposals have public collaborative workspaces, or wikis; where progress towards campaign promises is tracked on a daily basis; and where anyone can sign up for customized updates by e-mail, text message, RSS feed, Twitter, or the social network of their choice.

And that’s just for starters. Because the Internet doesn’t look kindly on information that just flows one way. To live up to their promises, the president and his staff are going to have to do more than just talk – they’re going to have to listen, and respond. So imagine a Web site where the president regularly answers questions sent in by citizens; where ordinary people can vote up or down items they want brought to the president’s attention; and where Americans from across the political spectrum engage in honest debate.

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This is the Bush-Cheney legacy – to be continued under McCain-Palin. McCain was once a torture victim, but since 2006 has supported the torture of prisoners by the CIA. In fact, prisoners across the world who have been tortured by the CIA in the last two years can, in the terror of their cells, know that John McCain made it possible, by caving into the war criminals in the White House in 2006.

How can the country that pioneered the Geneva Conventions now be a nation more supportive of torture than any other developed nation on earth? Of course, it matters that we have had a president and vice-president actively endorsing and campaigning for the use of torture, and torturing prisoners routinely in jails where there is no escape and no due process. But the key segment of the pro-torture enthusiasts are evangelical Christians. Yes: evangelical Christians are now the greatest supporters of doing to prisoners what was once done to Christ.

~Andrew Sullivan

5 Steps to declutter your home
I swear I’m going to do this… soon. No, really.

Two great tips for stopping junk mail from coming into your mail box

People don’t change when they see the light. They change when they feel the heat. – The Culture of Debt

I wrote a story! I wrote a story! And it’s true, too.

I can’t believe I am voluntarily eating organic celery as a snack — and loving it. Think I’ll go get another stalk. Yum!

Scored 5-6 DOZEN 1-qt canning jars — yay, freecycle! Now, where do i put them all?

Getting a little nervous about the economy–YOUR economy? I know what you mean. Things are looking a bit dicey out there. But never fear! Rhonda at down—to—earth is writing a great series on budgeting. Just in time!

After two-and-a-half involuntarily carless months, I have rejoined the motoring public. And discovered gas has jumped $.50 while I was gone. Sigh.