Besides making a point about the state of healthcare in the US today, my friends and I created the video above as a form of “digital storytelling”, using new tools to share an age-old content delivery system. Do you think facts and figures have worked better?

I’ve been hearing a lot more about storytelling these days. For example, in a recent NPR segment about storytelling at the Edinburgh festival, an audience member said in her Scottish burr, “We’ve been so clever about computers and pushed entertainment as far as we can, we’re going back to the original art form”.

This might help explain the increased buzz around great user-generated events like the Moth StorySlam and Mortified and radio shows like This American Life and now the Moth Radio Hour. There is something old-fashioned, comforting and even primal about storytelling.

While this supposedly new-found interest in storytelling coincides with increased interest in digital social media, I don't see it necessarily as a denunciation of technology.
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Tom Perriello was one of the candidates I most wanted to win...but who was definitely a long shot. I figured it was a case of someone I HAD to support because he was so good, but I'd probably lose.

Why did I like him so much? His diplomatic experience was superb and I figure we need some of that right about now. You can read about the context of his diplomatic experience with regards to Sierra Leone in my book review of a book about the Sierra Leone civil war.

Well, with the recount all done, it is now official: Tom Perriello won the Congressional race for the VA-5 district. He won by about 750 votes. Yet ANOTHER example of how EVERY SINGLE VOTE COUNTS, and why YOU should be active in your local politics. You matter!

Here is Tom's comments on officially winning:
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Here are some Congressional races I want to focus on:

NJ-07 Congressional Race:

Democracy for America endorsed Assemblywoman Linda Stender for Conrgess in the NJ-7 district. Stender is standing up against Big Oil and standing up for working Americans. You can learn more about Linda here. You can volunteer for Linda here.

Here is Linda Stedner's latest ad:

NJ-05 Congressional Race:
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Much of my coverage of Alaskan politics has been a somewhat amazed catalog of the deep, deep corruption in Alaska's Republican Party. The VECO scandal which brought down several Republican State Reps and threatens the entire Republican Party of Alaska, Representative Don Young, with a list of probably corruption about as long as I have seen, and Senator Ted Stevens, who I have declared possibly the most corrupt politician alive.

And Republican corruption has given Democrats a real chance at sweeping Alaska this year, with both Ted Stevens and Don Young lagging in the polls and Obama and McCain close to even (depending on the poll looked at). Nationwide Republican corruption led to voters rejecting the Republican Party in favor of what they hoped would be change from the Democratic Party. Yep...the idea of change didn't start with Obama, it started with the voters in 2006.
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Virginia continues to be a key state in setting the political tone in America. I have believed since 2004 that Virginia is a state that can be slowly turned blue. The elections of 2005 and 2006 support my belief. This year the trend continues as we may well easily win the VA Senate race, and Barack Obama is consistently tied with McCain in this once safe-red state. But the House races also interest me, both because of our chances of winning a few, but also because the Dem candidates seem to be a particularly good bunch. I think we have a shot at winning VA-11, VA-10 and VA-2, and, with a little more effort, maybe even VA-5. And in each case the Democratic Candidate offers experience that America definitely needs after 8 years of Bush mismanagement. Let me give you a rundown of these four candidates. For all of them you can help by donating through my Virginia Act Blue Site or by volunteering through their websites.
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I want to re-emphasize something I wrote before: my enthusiastic endorsement of Diane Benson for Congress in the August 26th primary and on to the general election. This is a repeat of a diary I wrote back in March. My support for Diane Benson has only grown since then.

I met Diane Benson, Congressional Candidate in Alaska, about a month ago and was very impressed. But I only got to hear her speak as a candidate tonight. Again I was impressed. Diane is a genuine American who has worked hard all her life to get an education and to better the life of her son. Often she and her son have worked hard for our country and for their community. She has the confidence of someone who worked their way through school driving trucks while raising her son. She has the confidence of a woman who worked in the male dominated workers camp on the Alaskan pipeline. She has the confidence of someone who has had to work for everything, being given nothing easily. The contrast with the spoiled brat who inhabits the White House is about as striking as you can get.
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