But, further, this is a book about how the very ideas that make up the Progressive Movement are what has created America. Lux said last night the very IDEA of Democracy was a progressive idea, because it was so new and modern and completely the opposite of the Monarchy structure societies across the world were use to being ruled under.

I love non-fiction books but I generally stay away from history books because academia to me felt like a punishment. Lux began his talk yesterday saying that he wasn't an academic, he "suffered through college" even, but he had bee working in politics for over 30 years and he knows our policies and our politics and loved reading history books through a lens of our modern context to see how those policies impacted our language and our campaigns of today. This wasn't one of those dry history books - and while I'm about two chapters shy of its conclusion its the kind of book that is engaging and informative.

While I'm happy to shill for the book, the most meaningful was the conversation that took place among those asking questions following his talk. The first was about blogs - how can blogs like this one perhaps help impact politics.

Lux said they were an essential piece in holding elected officials accountable, generating greater transparency, and further hammering issues that traditional media ignores or gives up on. Many times, he said, media will report a story and that's the end of it. Blogs by contrast can continue talking about a topic long after the papers have moved on which means they can focus on the tiny details and ensure the public doesn't forget about what is going on.

Similarly, blogs can be an ally in the progressive movement to help promote candidates, elected officials who are working for their people, and issues that may seem trivial but are meaningful once they are uncovered.

The next question was about technology and how specifically we can influence our elected officials to utilize new technologies and social media to do outreach to people in the state who don't receive their information from traditional sources like the 5 o'clock news on WIBW and the like. This is an ever increasing population of people. After all elected officials sadly aren't the MOST known for being in touch with what is going on. They know how their district would want them to vote - but that's not the end of their job...

Lux said that elected officials, candidates, and organizations must be online if they want to succeed in the new world of campaigns and government.

This was a huge impact on Sen. Marci Francisco of Lawrence who came in late because her legislative duties kept her in Topeka longer than expected. As an elected official in perhaps one of the most tech savvy place in the state, its a little weird, Sen. Francisco doesn't have a facebook page. She doesn't do Twitter. Last night she said among a small group of us that she should probably get one.

I want us to be the first to welcome her. Facebook will be wonderful for connecting KU youth directly to government and letting them learn more about what is happening at a state level without the filter of the news media. Plus they would have a direct line into her office when they are in need of services. As soon as Sen Francisco joins we are happy to let you know so you can ask to be her friend. We are so excited to have her join the many other elected officials on Facebook and Twitter from Kansas.

The rest are below including the House Democratic Caucus which gets updated about once a week.
Rep. Jim Ward, Rep. Julie Menghini, Rep. Raj Goyle, Rep. Delia Garcia, Rep. Barbara Ballard, Rep. Tony Brown, Rep. Sidney Carlin (won't approve my friend request), Rep. Marti Crow, Rep. Gail Finney, Rep. Doug Gatewood, Rep. Sean Gatewood, Rep. Annie Kuether, Rep. Ann Mah, Rep. Tom Sawyer, Rep. Mike Slattery, Rep. Dale Swenson, Rep. Milak Talia, Rep. Annie Tietze has a group page, and Rep. Ed Trimmer.

Senate: Sen. Tom Holland, Sen. Anthony Hensley, Sen. Laura Kelly, Sen. Janis Lee, Sen. Kelly Kultala, Sen. Chris Steineger

If there are folks that for one reason or another you're not showing up in searches let us know and send us a link to your page. But you should change your settings to be searchable - unless you don't want to be accessible of course. If you are friends with any of these folks I would ask that you send them a special thank you for their transparency and accessibility.

Not on Facebook:
House: Minority Leader Paul Davis, Rep. Lisa Benlon, Rep. Nile Dillmore, Rep. Bill Feuerborn, Rep. Dolores Furtado, Rep. Geraldine Flaharty, Rep. Bob Grant, Rep. Broderick Henderson, Rep. Harold Lane, Rep. Don Navinsky, Rep. Cindy Neighbor, Rep. Shirley Palmer, Rep. Mike Peterson, Rep. Eber Phelps, Rep. Gene Rardin, Rep. Louis Ruiz, Rep. Josh Svaty, Rep. Vincent Wetta, Rep. Jerry Williams.

Senate: The Senate Democratic Caucus, Sen. Marci Francisco (pending), Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, Sen. David Haley.

Even fewer people are on Twitter, but thats mostly because Twitter just became a thing in the past election where Facebook was a thing by 2006. What is interesting however, is a recent blog done by Kevin Bondelli that lists out all of the young democrats across the country that are on twitter. By far the largest concentration is of Kansas Young Democrats. So why is it that the Kansas Democratic Party and its elected officials are so out of the loop? There are lots of tweets going on about the Kansas Legislature, however. To stay abreast of them watch here daily.

To hear about how state legislators are using Twitter you can hear the story the Oklahoma State Legislature who believes in transparency and accessibility - both parties even! Good job Oklahoma! They must have an awesome tech evangelist down there!

This blog was crossposed from KansasJackass.com