All hell’s breaking loose…

in the news. Economic meltdowns, Blagojevich going psycho in Illinois, torture revelations coming thick and fast, Bush sneaking new regulations in under the wire, and more. And I read that after Obama takes office in January, former Bush officials and confidantes are preparing to let loose with a mudslide of revelations that will bury us all. Are we ready to handle this? Aside from everything else on our plates, how are we going to try to keep up with some of this info? Contributors, users, just plain folks, your thoughts are very welcome.

I’m sticking this to the front page to keep it going.

Thoughts on the Elevate Festival

Elevate Festival logo

A few thoughts on the just-concluded Elevate Festival, in Graz, Austria. Remember, all of my observations about the History Commons are from my perspective as a contributor, NOT as any statement of official site policy. No one’s made any decisions about anything yet, and the decisions are not mine to make. We do them as a group.

Welcome to the discussion!

Okay, you’re here, now what? The basic information is in the About This Page article–it’s to your right. Take a quick look and come back.

Now, the next step is to get the discussion going. We want to know what you think about what you’re reading on the Commons. Fire up a post and let us hear your thoughts. We’ll respond as quickly as we can. Better yet, you guys will get some lively discussions going without us. You’re very welcome to do so.

You’ll notice that there aren’t any separate threads for the different groups on the site: the 9/11 Timeline, the Iraq Occupation project, the investigation into the torture of detainees, the Neoliberalism and Globalization group, etc. That’s because we’re in the middle of revamping the taxonomy of the site and the titles may change. Instead of putting ourselves through the hassle of making a bunch of categories and then having to change them, we’re opening up the blog with one big free-for-all discussion. We’ll differentiate when the new taxonomy is in place. Sorry for the initial lack of focus, but it won’t be for long.

Again, welcome aboard, and let us know what you think. Be respectful of one another, but don’t be shy. We’ll be tossing in some conversation starters periodically as well as some more factual content, so check back regularly to see what’s being talked about.