Change Has Come to Washington, and It has Its Own Blog

Minutes after Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, a new blog was launched on the official home page of the White House!

Welcome to the new WhiteHouse.gov. I'm Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media for the White House and one of the people who will be contributing to the blog.

A short time ago, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and his new administration officially came to life. One of the first changes is the White House's new website, which will serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world.

Millions of Americans have powered President Obama's journey to the White House, many taking advantage of the internet to play a role in shaping our country's future. WhiteHouse.gov is just the beginning of the new administration's efforts to expand and deepen this online engagement.

Just like your new government, WhiteHouse.gov and the rest of the Administration's online programs will put citizens first. Our initial new media efforts will center around three priorities:

Communication -- Americans are eager for information about the state of the economy, national security and a host of other issues. This site will feature timely and in-depth content meant to keep everyone up-to-date and educated. Check out the briefing room, keep tabs on the blog (RSS feed) and take a moment to sign up for e-mail updates from the President and his administration so you can be sure to know about major announcements and decisions.

Transparency -- President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history, and WhiteHouse.gov will play a major role in delivering on that promise. The President's executive orders and proclamations will be published for everyone to review, and that’s just the beginning of our efforts to provide a window for all Americans into the business of the government. You can also learn about some of the senior leadership in the new administration and about the President’s policy priorities.

Participation -- President Obama started his career as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago, where he saw firsthand what people can do when they come together for a common cause. Citizen participation will be a priority for the Administration, and the internet will play an important role in that. One significant addition to WhiteHouse.gov reflects a campaign promise from the President: we will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it.

We'd also like to hear from you -- what sort of things would you find valuable from WhiteHouse.gov? If you have an idea, use this form to let us know. Like the transition website and the campaign's before that, this online community will continue to be a work in progress as we develop new features and content for you. So thanks in advance for your patience and for your feedback.

Later today, we’ll put up the video and the full text of President Obama’s Inaugural Address. There will also be slideshows of the Inaugural events, the Obamas’ move into the White House, and President Obama’s first days in office.

Do You Know the Way to San Jose? It's Through the Arts...

In an article. "Arts and City Success: Remembering Leonardo," Kim Walesh tells us that San Jose sees the arts and creativity as essential to its future.

"Our city, the “capital of Silicon Valley,” is known chiefly as America’s continuing birthplace of high technology ideas and products. But we also care passionately about the arts and their creative power for our people and future. Our goal is nothing less than a continuing, growing tide of “artist-engineers” in the tradition of Leonardo da Vinci. This is why San Jose–and my job title is “chief strategist”–has integrated its office of cultural affairs into its office of economic development."

Curious? Read the report from the San Jose Department of Economic Development: "The New Global Fusion - Art, Technology and Community Development."

Check out other articles from citiwire.net.

Where Are The New Leaders We Need?

Talk about the spectacle of failed leadership, I'm sure you've been following the circus surrounding our governor here and the brazenness of his corrupt practices and his defiance. In Chicago we see abundant evidence of gross corruption and incompetence of the state, county and city government on a daily basis. These people are clownishly venal and are literally bankrupting our local government,

The collapse of our financial system and the $50 billion rip-off by financier Bernie Madoff underscores the need to develop a new cadre of leaders who have a different set of values and a different mindset about public stewardship and the concept of "value." Clearly, the business leaders, lawyers and politicians who have run the economy - people who are supposed to know what is "valuable" have been either terribly wrong or have perpetrated a massive fraud on the public.

Artists and creative folk, I maintain, among their sets of values and mindsets, have a quality that would have poised a counter-weight to this point of view - namely, an appreciation of intrinsic worth. It seems that what was "valued" so highly and treasured by business, legal and regulators was a mirage - a soap bubble - it seems that what we were told was "valuable" - was, in fact, worthless. Artists, I maintain, create out of a sense of giftedness - they generate, and appreciate, things that seemingly have no worth - yet are extremely valuable. What, after all, is the "value" of the air we breathe, the smile of a young child, the gasp of surprise while watching a great ballet or the feeling of connectedness from listening to a song from another country? But we clearly need leaders who get the value of the intangible and appreciate the intrinsic worth of things and concepts that can't be placed on a balance sheet. Many have argued that a blind trust of the "market" has led the planet to the precipice of ruin.

Would it be fair of me to challenge business school deans and law school deans to defend the curriculum and the values they are instilling in our future business and government leaders? Allan Greenspan admitted he got it wrong. Oops. The University of Chicago is embroiled in some controversy because it wants to establish an institute in honor of Milton Friedman. This seems like a very appropriate time to debate what, exactly, do we mean by "value" and whose values are driving the major economic and political decisions of the country.

Failed political leaders plus a collapsed financial system. What a mess. It seems like the right time for new leaders to come forward and offer their ideas and talents for the public good.

Could YOU be one of them?