Now though, as the world witnesses this momentous change in command, we’re shifting our focus. Our final issue, and perhaps the most important one, is you.

So tell us - what does this Inauguration mean to you? Share your photos, videos, and thoughts on this Inauguration on the Change In Command Homepage

I’ve seen that everyone has a unique perspective on issues holding the strongest relevance for their own lives. This isn’t all that surprising, but if you ask someone to talk about what they know inside and out, something central to their life experience, then you usually get a level of insight much more nuanced and thoughtful than the surface level dribble we consume on a daily basis from the mainstream media. This was one of the primary goals for the project and I hope we’ve fulfilled it in some small way. To everyone who took the time to respond, we can’t thank you enough.

On a more personal note, the project has also been a kind of reality check for me.

I like broad strokes. I can be somewhat impulsive (to a fault). I’m a night-time optimist, and in the morning, well, I like to sleep in. I guess those are a few of the reasons I’m so drawn to Obama; because I buy into the idea that one man (or woman) can stand in front of the country and paint these bright, bold (and certainly broad) strokes, and turn the ship around. For me he serves as a conduit into the finer points of political policy. He makes me want to understand more about middle-class tax policy, our educational shortcomings, or healthcare reform. In other words, for the first time in my adult life, I want to know how they make the sausages.

So, why the aforementioned reality check? Because my line of thinking doesn’t work for everyone. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak, and President Obama faces a monumental pile of ‘stuff-too-complicated-for-any-one-person-to-understand’. A fair number of the responses on Change In Command have shown us that there’s a lot of work to be done, not only in terms of clear leadership and action from the top down, but for a meaningful shift in the political mindset from the bottom up. Most people just don’t want to be bothered with politics. I experienced this firsthand when I knocked on doors in Philadelphia before the election, and my co-workers and I have seen it again while working to rally responses for this website. For my generation in particular (I’m 27), I’m still surprised by an overwhelming sense of apathy. Granted, Obama’s candidacy inspired more energy amongst young people than any political figure in recent history, but will that translate into any lasting impact? Will we finally start to take responsibility for what happens in our world; in this country, in cities small and large, and even in our own neighborhoods? I’m not so sure.

And then I watched our new President speak today, and I thought, maybe, just maybe … and I’m in.

Nathan Heleine is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer for Crush + Lovely, a creative studio fostering ideas, content, design and technology for the modern web.

He recently had the crazy idea to cover 44 issues in 44 days on this website, and therefore owes all of his co-workers a drink or two (or three). When he’s not at home in Brooklyn, he’s probably either making things for the internet at Crush + Lovely’s Soho or San Francisco studios, or visiting random cities to ask Fifty People, One Question

Nathan also serves as Web & Marketing Director for Sustainable Party and likes to make music with strange instruments.

Adam Feldman is president of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle, and reviews theater and cabaret for Time Out New York.

There is also hope that this new administration will usher in increased support for the arts. One simple step President Obama could take is to appoint a Secretary of the Arts. This position would foster a greater focus on national support for the arts, culminating in large public artworks, airports designed by the artists, and increased funding for non-profit art organizations.

As I travel to other countries, from the airport to the city, I often come across humongous sculptures by renowned artists of that country. It is a good sign of prosperity when the culture of art is promoted in any country. When interesting installations are a part of the cityscape it suggests that a society is wealthy in their heart and nurtures the beauty of culture.

Born in Hiroshima, Japan, 1972, Hiroshi Sunairi lives and works in New York where he teaches at NYU’s Department of Art and Art Professions. His most recent installation work entitled “White Elephant” was shown in the Japan Society of New York in 2007. “White Elephant” is a deconstructed life-size ceramic elephant, a 9.11 memorial not only for Americans but also for Iraqis and the people of Afghanistan. The installation “A Night of Elephants” was shown at Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan in 2005 (Sunairi’s hometown). For this installation, Sunairi collaborated with the city of Hiroshima to gather pruned trees that survived the atomic bombing, all of which he inserted into a metal framework in the shape of an elephant lying down. Departing from the Western saying that “Elephants Never Forget,” this work debuted on the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Sunairi has exhibited with Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York, and LA Galerie Lothar Albrecht, Frankfurt, and Galleri Wang, Oslo.

So what does Obama mean for jobs for women? Well, if you want to look at it from a negative perspective, Obama’s win over Hillary in the primaries, and Obama/Biden’s win over McCain/Palin for the presidency, means that neither of the two highest offices in the country — both President and Vice President of the United States — were positions filled by women (yet)[1].

From a more positive perspective, there is much to look forward to, if Obama’s plan is successful. And I say this as a non-Democrat (and a non-Republican). Obama’s Economic Plan says it will financially benefit working women in America by a “Making Work Pay” tax cut, an increase in minimum wage, an expansion in earned income tax credit, extended child care tax breaks, and help for women without employer retirement accounts or health insurance.[2] That sounds pretty good to me. If he is indeed successful, this looks like it certainly could mean more and more successful women.

What this does not mean, however, is that everything will change right away. Things take time, and while any positive movement from on high by the government may happen to improve women’s issues, there is still a mindset change that needs to happen throughout the country. I foresee the fight for pay equity to take some time.

I am interested to see what pans out after this inauguration. Obama promises hope — and that’s wonderful. Let’s all hope and look forward for a positive change in all of us (not just our President) — that is the true change I want to see.

[1] Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin (regardless of which of the two you supported, if any) both being present in 2008’s elections were exciting views into the future of what could someday become a reality — women in the highest positions of going to American government.
[2] Where Barack Stands: Women for Obama Issues

Jina Bolton is a visual interaction designer and artist working in Silicon Valley and residing in San Francisco. She likes making pretty websites, and then she likes writing and speaking about it. Jina is a co-author of The Art & Science of CSS; she has also written articles for publications including A List Apart, .net Magazine, Vitamin (of which she is an advisor), and SitePoint. Jina has been featured in CSS Professional Style and Web Designing magazine, and has spoken at interactive and web design conferences around the world on topics including web interface design, CSS, and social networking.

Jina has consulted for various agencies and organizations, including the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative Redesign Project and Mass.gov. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Computer Arts and Graphic Design from Memphis College of Art, and is an active member of AIGA (San Francisco chapter) and CSS Eleven. Jina is currently attending graduate school at Academy of Art University toward a Master of Fine Arts in Computer Arts New Media. She enjoys traveling, is learning Italian, and digs sushi and robots.

I trust that President-Elect Obama is a man of his word, and I believe that he will work to ensure equal rights for gays. I do feel, however, that he has a lot more to learn about the specific issues surrounding our community, and it is our duty to educate him. With the mess he has inherited, there is obviously no way he can be all things for all people, so we need to take a page from his book and realize that we are the ones who must bring about change. The only way we can help him truly understand us is if we, as a unified people, gay and straight alike, get active in the discussion: call our representatives, find out where they stand on the issues, tell them our stories, GET INVOLVED.

The gay community cannot stay stuck in the same cynical space into which the Bush Administration has forced us. We are not an ignored, neglected people unless we let ourselves be. Now, we have a leader who is standing before us, saying…

I see you.

I can’t wait.

Children – our greatest resource and hope for the future, yet we continue to not hear their voice as it calls for our help. We were all children at one time, so how do we forget the difficulty in us being heard? This administration has challenged all of us to rethink our priorities and needs as we move forward, and it is my sincere hope that this challenge will ensure the increased attention to the well-being of our children, especially those who are victims of child abuse. These children are victims of a form of domestic terrorism that is terribly insidious – they are not sure if they will be harmed as they return home from school, they live their lives on hyper-alert looking for potential dangers, they have difficulty believing in others, they question the motives of everyone around them, and this list goes on.

With the renewed attention to our domestic challenges, this administration has a tremendous opportunity to invest in our children, and that investment begins in their protection.

Chris Newlin, MS LPC, is the Executive Director of the National Children’s Advocacy Center where he is responsible for providing leadership and management of the NCAC and participating in national leadership activities regarding the protection of children. He currently serves on the National Children’s Alliance/Regional Children’s Advocacy Center Management Team, National Children’s Alliance Development Committee, and is Vice-President of the Alabama Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers where he also chairs the ANCAC Legislative Committee. Chris graduated from Hendrix College, the University of Central Arkansas, and the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program.

We, as a nation, are counting the days until the inauguration of Barack Obama.

If we are expecting an advocate for arts and culture, the Obamas’ choice of Michael S. Smith as the White House decorator is a promising first step. Mr. Smith is widely regarded as one of the best interior designers in the country, and most experts in the field would agree that he is a true artist. It is also likely that, with a highly-trained eye for design, fine antiques and art, his influence will extend beyond the realm of décor.

Although there is a high level of artistry and sophistication in Mr. Smith’s interiors, the first impression is likely to be one of warmth and comfort. Combined with an ability to deftly incorporate multi-cultural elements into his spaces, along with a seamless mix of high and low, Mr. Smith’s strengths should be a perfect fit for the Obama family. And, just right for this country at this time. After all, we are a melting pot.

Michelle Obama has expressed an interest in 20th century American artists. How wonderful it would be to see stimulating art displayed in the White House, from the likes of Franz Kline, Ellsworth Kelly, Jackson Pollock or even Thomas Hart Benton. This is one more indication that we will have a president and first family who will promote a higher level of thinking, open mindedness and a more lively and inquisitive intellectual discourse.

I think we have every reason to expect appreciation and support of the arts and design to expand throughout society, now that our next president has already taken the lead at home. This bodes well for this country and the world.

Think of the classic Sperry Top Sider’s worn by JFK on his sailboat. Think simple Oleg Cassini shifts adored by Jackie. The Obama’s are classic and graceful people and their presence will herald in a new American ideal that will be widely copied.

I am hoping that Obama will also be keen on keeping fashion made in the USA and helping make that more affordable. We already know Michele has her eye on some of America’s hottest young designers and I hope she will continue supporting our great talents.

Finally, I am really hoping an ancient African Obama family tribal print may be discovered and be widely used in the world of fashion. Can you imagine a chic Michael Kors trench in vibrant orange, green and gold patterns careening down the runway? Now that would be swell!

Cator Sparks is a freelance writer based in Harlem, New York.

His work can be read in T Magazine of the New York Times, Elle Decor, Style.com and Out magazine amongst others. Please visit http://catorsparks.com and check out Cator’s blog to read up on his many dandiacle and debaucherous outings.

Unfortunately, progress won’t be that easy. Exceedingly complex, intractable and pressing challenges – from terrorism, nuclear proliferation and a resurgent Russia, to ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - await the incoming President. That partial list doesn’t include the economic crisis that threatens to hurtle the world economy into a deep slump, or the dire consequences that could result from unchecked global warming.

How’s that for a welcome wagon?

While his ascension alone will not alter that reality, the inaugural ceremony will have a symbolic impact that could create practical opportunities. When Obama takes the oath of office America will gain back some of the influence and credibility that were squandered over the last eight years.

It is no secret that America’s image has been greatly tarnished by the actions of the Bush administration including the invasion of Iraq on false pretenses, the official sanctioning of torture (and the logical result at Abu Ghraib), the abrogation of habeas corpus and the rule of law at Guantanamo and elsewhere, negligence in terms of addressing global warming and inattention to the abuses perpetrated by our once enviable financial institutions.

Cynicism about America has become so rampant that during the election many around the world doubted that America could or would overcome its racist past, and recent proclivities, to elect an African American with a Muslim sounding name. They thought the election was fixed, and that America was unredeemable.

By proving the doubters wrong, and by becoming the first African American President in US history, Obama’s inauguration will signify to the world that America is back from its Bush-era hiatus, and is intent on retaking its rightful leadership role in the world. In a word, Obama will restore hope - a belief in international audiences that America will be America again.

However, the goodwill generated by Obama’s inauguration will be short lived and entirely contingent on the follow through. The redemptive narrative that Obama represents will only go so far in terms of winning supporters absent real changes in the way America conducts itself in the world – from renouncing torture, restoring the rule of law, repairing alliances, prioritizing diplomatic solutions over military ones, righting the economic ship and unwinding our military engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, to laying out an aggressive, yet realistic, plan to combat global warming.

It is difficult to overstate the enormity of the challenges that Obama will face but at least for a brief time, his inauguration will ensure that America has the winds of the world filling its sails again. Let’s hope he can capitalize on the renewed standing of America and steer a better course.

Eric Martin is the editor of two foreign policy focused websites, The Progressive Realist and American Footprints.  Eric is also a contributor on Obsidian Wings.   In addition, Eric is an attorney living and working in Manhattan.  His practice focuses on Internet and Technology law.

So to use two buzz words from the presidential campaign I HOPE for CHANGE in our food policies, our understanding and perhaps most of all, our appreciation and attention to food. Yes, food, not just agriculture and commodity but that which we eat. I expect to see more care and concern for how our food is grown, raised and manufactured, and what Americans eat. What’s my idea of an improved food policy? Good food, food for everyone, health, happiness and great conversation over meals. Eat well, Mr. President, and help our country and world to do the same.

Amy Sherman is a San Francisco based food writer, cookbook author, restaurant reviewer and an avid blogger.  She is the author of New Flavors for Appetizers, and a guest contributor at Bay Area Bites - http://blogs.kqed.org and Epicurious - http://www.epicurious.com/

The designs of products and systems, however, present even more urgent challenges. How, for example, will financial derivative structures or the healthcare system be redesigned? How will the world’s energy and natural resources problems be solved? How can we design regulations that harness the power of the free market while protecting the well-being of the broadest possible global constituency? What about our school systems?

The principles of design can transcend graphic communications, user interface, industrial design and architecture. Good design is also the design of the good: clear, efficient, accessible; usable, sustainable, elegant; inventive; beautiful. Across all disciplines, design has the power to make the world more intelligible–easier to navigate, more inviting and engaging, more relevant and more meaningful.

Might we be inaugurating an era of better design? Many of us believe it possible. Many of us believe that design principles are at the core of hope and real change: a better designed world for every American; a better designed America for the world.

Sol Sender is the former president and creative director of Sender LLC - designers of the Obama’08 logo.

After eight years of “gut decisions,” it’s clear that it doesn’t work, or at least not if you rely ONLY on your gut. Obama rose to power out of study and logic, but he didn’t do it to be altruistic: He did it because he had to, because he had no way to win otherwise. Perhaps, as in baseball, all will follow his lead, and we’ll have a culture of intelligence rather than mock machismo. If it can work in baseball, can’t it work in politics?

Will Leitch is a contributing editor at New York Magazine and founder of Deadspin. He is the author of three books, including God Save The Fan, out in paperback this month.

Alex Zalben is a freelance writer living in New York City. He is a member of the sketch comedy group Elephant Larry, a host of the weekly talk show Comic Book Club, and writes for Nerve.com and AMCTV.com.

I wonder what the guys are writing on the walls over there now.

But now, out of the military and sitting down on a bar stool in San Francisco I don’t know what I feel. Actually I do know how I feel, I feel… drunk. In fact I could barely stand. So before exiting the bar I ordered another special, lit up a smoke and stumbled home as people on the street cheered and cars celebratorally honked.

When I got home, I unlocked the door and passed out on the sofa with all my clothes still on and when I woke up the next morning I had a hangover.

Colby Buzzell is the author of the book My War Killing Time in Iraq. In 2004, Buzzell was profiled in Esquire magazine’s “Best and Brightest” issue and has since contributed frequently. In 2007, Buzzell received the 2007 Lulu Blooker Prize. He currently lives San Francisco, California and recently attended his first and last AA meeting.

However, there may be room for other changes within NASA. For example, there are indications Obama’s transition team is examining replacing the Ares 1, a new rocket under development to launch the Orion manned spacecraft, with versions of versions of existing rockets used to launch government and commercial satellites. There are also proposals to extend the life of the Space Shuttle beyond 2010 to address the five-year gap in human spaceflight between the Shuttle’s retirement and Constellation’s introduction. At the same time, there’s a broad expectation that the Obama Administration will seek to reverse cuts in NASA’s aeronautics and Earth sciences programs made in recent years.

In many cases these proposed changes come at a cost, while NASA today is struggling to carry out all its missions with its current budget. Will the Obama Administration seek to increase NASA’s budget to cover these initiatives, or take money from other parts of the agency? How the new president answers those questions will greatly determine whether the Vision for Space Exploration can become reality.

Jeff Foust is the editor and publisher of The Space Review - http://www.thespacereview.com - a weekly online journal of space issues, and blogs about space policy and related topics at Space Politics - http://www.spacepolitics.com

He works as a senior analyst at Futron Corporation, an aerospace and telecommunications consulting company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.

Our new president can show his solidarity and lead by example by green-lighting the planting of an organic farm at the White House. (They’ve got eighteen acres to choose from.) His chef will be happy to cook with the freshest and tastiest ingredients available, and his much-admired daughters will be among the healthiest kids in America. Imagine how many DC-dwellers would wake up to the possibilities of growing their own food in the concrete jungle. Many Americans will alter their diets and think more about their food origins. If they don’t want to get dirty themselves, perhaps they’ll at least seek out and support local farmers. The excess bounty from an organic farm at The White House can be shared with organizations working to reduce hunger int the local DC community. And imagine how many mission-driven organizations in America and around the world would be inspired to take a more active role in reducing hunger in their local communities if the White House provided some dirt-in-the-fingernails inspiration!

Daniel Bowman Simon is founder of TheWhoFarm (aka The White House Organic Farm Project,) a non-partisan, petition-based initiative to respectfully request that our 44th President oversee the planting of an organic farm on the grounds of The White House, our nation’s First Home, at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC.

On a policy level, I expect the Obama administration to help those at the lower end of the economic ladder by creating jobs, helping make college affordable and cutting taxes for working families.

However, that is only part of the equation. The real bottom-up work will be done by ordinary people taking responsibility in our communities, in our states, and in the nation. We are only going to eradicate poverty when there is broad citizen empowerment in poor communities so that they can push through their doubts to gain the skills and confidence needed to create a different future.

President-elect Obama has said that his mission is “giving voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless.” If he can make good on that promise by inspiring and facilitating community empowerment, we actually have a chance to end poverty as we know it.

Kristina Scott is the executive director of the Alabama Poverty Project.

Before joining APP in August 2008, Kristina served as the Managing Attorney for External Affairs at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, where she handled policy matters including gang prevention, children’s health and elder protection.

Kristina’s career in public service started during the 2000 presidential race, when she worked on the Gore campaign in Iowa, Illinois and California and served as the Communications Director for the California Democratic Party. In 2001, she helped Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo become the first Latino elected to citywide office in Los Angeles in 125 years.

Kristina earned her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Florida and her juris doctor with distinction from Emory University. She is a member of the California, Georgia and New York Bars.

Come January 20th, the United States will have its first President that will communicate with his people directly through the Internet (via Youtube!) and engage and encourage them to be directly involved in the process of government — all with the help of technology. In fact, his dedication to technology will send ripples through every other area of policy change as there will be no system left untouched if there’s a way for technology to improve upon it.

Obama has also made it clear in his campaign that it’s not just about leveraging technology, but also about stimulating it as much as possible: he sees technology as the foundation behind all the answers we’ll need to recover our economy, to reverse the climate crisis, to fix the health care system and — of special interest to me — to bring high-speed Internet access to every home in America.

It’s hard to imagine the technology sector, both here and around the world, to do anything but grow significantly in the coming years. Barack Obama has already surrounded himself by a highly tech-savvy staff and it’s undeniable that this is a President (-Elect) who truly understands not just the power of, but also both the importance and value of Technology. And that’s something we should all be excited about.

Based on past history, Barack will appoint federal judges that share his political views. They then have to be approved by the Senate, which happen to be controlled by the Democrats. Sounds like a win/win, except this time around seems like Barack’s going to have a lot more friends!

There are states that flipped, that have had long strong holds for Republicans in congress. Republicans have opted for “Change” instead of continuing down a destructive path.

Either way, we will still spend more tax dollars on social programs, probation and other rehabilitative forms to cure the criminals of the states. We all have a task at hand to clean up the past 8 years!

I never knew Bush could mess up a game of tic-tac-toe.

Rasheed Young is the co-founder and President of Run Athletics. His partners include Hip Hop visionary Russell Simmons and his brother Joseph Rev Run Simmons, former member Run DMC and from MTV’s Run’s House, which is currently in its sixth season.

Rasheed also serves as the Simmons consigliare and vice president of the Pastry program designed by Run’s daughters, Vanessa and Angela Simmons. The Pastry line has been an overwhelming success in the female, juniors and young adults markets. To date, Pastry has grossed over $40 million in a years time. http://pastrykicks.com

On the one hand, candidate Obama repeatedly proclaimed that he considered the Second Amendment to be an individual right. On the other hand, he claimed that the Washington, D.C. handgun ban (which the Supreme Court declared to be unconstitutional last June, in District of Columbia v. Heller) was a reasonable, common-sense restriction on that right.

As a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2004, Obama proposed a national ban on carrying concealed handguns. Such a ban would take away a right that millions of law-abiding Americans currently exercise — to carry a handgun for lawful protection, after passing a background check and a safety class. In the U.S. Senate and the Illinois Senate, Obama compiled a near-perfect record in voting for bans on a wide variety of guns, for lawsuits against gun manufacturers and gun stores, and for a host of other restrictions on gun owners. He even proposed outlawing all gun stores within five miles of a school or park — which would eliminate gun stores from almost all of the inhabited portions of the United States.

Thus, the Second Amendment right which Obama claims to support appears to be one of vanishingly small proportions.

Second Amendment supporters are also concerned about his choices to put Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Rahm Emmanuel, and Eric Holder into key positions in his administration—for every one of them has a solid record as an advocate of highly restrictive gun control.

At best, Second Amendment supporters can hope that the Obama administration will concentrate on other issues. At worst, the Obama administration may push for repressive and extreme gun controls with the same vigor as did the Clinton administration, but with considerably more political skill.

David Kopel is Research Director at the Independence Institute, a think tank in Golden, Colorado. He is co-author of the law school textbook Gun Control and Gun Rights (NYU Press). He was one of the three lawyers who sat at the counsel table to assist Alan Gura’s presentation of the oral argument in the Supreme Court case District of Columbia v. Heller.

More so than ever, politics are at the forefront for young professionals, stay-at-home moms, work-at-home dads and retired seniors - who came together to passionately volunteer their time and energy to make Obama’s win possible. Barack Obama’s influence on our culture has empowered the individual, the community and the nation to have equal voices in the political process, and serve as primary change-makers on issues that affect them. Obama gave the voice of the people back to the people.

It will also be refreshing to have a first lady in the White House whose style will be remembered by what she had to say, rather than what she had to wear.

As the co-founder of Disaboom, an online resource for people with disabilities, and someone who has lived and worked with a wheelchair for the past twenty years due to a spinal cord injury (SCI), I believe it’s imperative that we remove obstacles and provide opportunities for everyone, regardless of disability, to actively participate in – and contribute to – our society. Yes, it’s the right thing to do, but it’s also the economically smart thing to do.

The Obama campaign’s Plan to Empower Americans with Disabilities - http://www.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities/ - committed to three goals: 1) provide educational opportunities to Americans with disabilities; 2) end workplace discrimination and promote equal opportunity; and 3) support independent, community-based living for Americans with disabilities.

In addition to these three important goals, we hope to see these changes:

Healthcare Accessibility and Affordability

Two separate issues, because currently even if people with disabilities are able to afford healthcare, often doctors’ offices (and diagnostic equipment) are accessible only to able-bodied patients.

Resolving Disabled Veterans’ Issues

These include ongoing access to quality medical care; financial assistance for retrofitting existing homes to accommodate newly disabled vets; vocational rehabilitation and employment support, which includes training; financial support for education, training, and small business start-ups; and accelerating the process for granting “100% disabled” status.

Wheelchair-Accessible Public Transportation

Millions of individuals with disabilities are prevented from working, socializing, or enjoying other everyday activities due to a lack of accessible transportation.  A 2002 study from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation found that six million people with disabilities still have difficulty obtaining the transportation they need.  We cannot contribute if we cannot participate. 

While an undergraduate in Biomedical Science at Texas A&M University, Dr. House had a skiing accident which resulted in a broken neck and complete spinal cord injury. At twenty, he lost the use of his legs and hand dexterity.



Instead of letting the incident end his dreams of a medical career, Dr. House (now a C7 quadriplegic) became the first student in a wheelchair to graduate from the University of Washington School of Medicine. In addition to training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. House also specialized in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation. He is Board Certified in both Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Spinal Cord Injury Medicine.



In addition to being the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Disaboom, Dr. House is also the Medical Director of the Center for Neuro & Trauma Rehabilitation at Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, CO.

We are also encouraged by the priority Obama has placed on encouraging energy efficiency, he recognizes that there are huge opportunities to reduce the amount of energy we use currently without having to sacrifice our way of life.

As more organizations and individuals realize the importance of developing clean energy resources and continue buying renewable energy to reduce the carbon impact of their energy use, it’s our belief that any future cap and trade system on carbon will reduce the number of allowances available to polluters, thereby giving these voluntary purchases credit under the system. Renewable energy is the key to our healthier (and low-carbon) future, and we are heartened that president elect Obama understands this so well.

Prior to joining CRS in January 2008, Arthur was an independent business, energy and environmental writer for more than 25 years, winning many national and regional awards for his energy reporting. He was senior reporter for E&E Publishing’s Greenwire.com and editor of the Land Letter. He also frequently wrote for Public Utilities Fortnightly, the California Energy Circuit newsletter and he was Editorial Director for EnergyCentral.com.

He is the author of several books, including: ‘Soul of the Grid: A Cultural Biography of the California Independent System Operator’ and ‘The Guilty Environmentalist.’ He also has contributed a chapter on California’s contributions to energy innovation to Peter Asmus’ orthcoming book ‘California Energy’ set for publication by the University of California Press during 2008.

The new Obama administration has articulated a three-pronged strategy for rural America aimed at family farmers, rural economic development, and rural quality of life. This strategy appears to signal a shift from “what is good for commodity agriculture is good for rural America” to a realization that agriculture - and by extension America - can only thrive with the support of a healthy and well-rounded rural economy. If related policy and investment priorities can overcome long-standing underinvestment in rural infrastructure and human capital, then this can represent a real and important transformation in the way work with rural communities and regions gets done.  

Such changes would not reflect some notion of injustice but would respond to seriously addressing the education, health care, and infrastructure capacity that will enable rural Americans to contribute to national prosperity. In the essential areas of food systems, renewable energy, environmental services, and the stewardship of natural resources, rural citizens will fulfill critical roles if this investment and capacity-building help is in place.

Brian Dabson is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Policy Research Institute and Research Professor at the Harry S. Truman School of Public Affairs, University of Missouri, Columbia.

He has over 30 years of experience in public, private, and nonprofit sectors on both sides of the Atlantic dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for low-income people and distressed communities. Recognized nationally and internationally for his work on entrepreneurship development, particularly in a rural context, he has given many keynote presentations and consultations across the United States, Europe, and India. He is also a frequent speaker and writer on rural policy and the implications of global forces on rural America.

Back in 2007 and early 2008, political pundits gave Barack Obama little if any chance of being elected to the highest office in the land. Up until a few months before the primaries began, it seemed as if he was in third place behind other well known candidates. No one could have guessed that with the help of some insightful and innovative internet experts, new media outlets such as YouTube, political podcasts and bloggers, Barack Obama would put together and execute the most successful, well funded, well connected presidential campaign ever seen in America. After Obama was announced as President Elect Barack Obama, no one will doubt the power of social media, social networking and the effectiveness of the Internet again. Campaign managers and PR firms are now taking a much needed second look at social networks and how to use such methods as crowdsourcing and sites like twitter to raise money, increase awareness and improve the sense of community around a cause or person.

What does this inauguration mean for social media? Well, it has several meanings in relation to social media. For one, it shows that even the most effective, well planned, highly organized campaigns can do more to use the tools of social media to their advantage and to improve an already great campaign. It shows that using those same social media tools can provide a significant advantage to the candidate and improve awareness of the individual, community or cause. It also shows just how popular social media tools are in relation to effective communication with the public and how important these tools are in allowing people across the country and across the world in developing relationships and connections to the cause or individual that they never would have believed possible before.

The drawback to this new found political success of social media platforms is that now, we will start to see the Monday quarterbacks and copy cats that feel like they can take a little bit of social media knowledge and transform it into a successful and immediately popular Twitter or YouTube clone. They will record a few videos, blog a few entries, tweet a few news tweets and wait for the audience to magically appear. What they will also fail to realize is that their efforts will not be successful and the biggest reason why will be their lack of true knowledge of what the social media landscape really wants, uses effectively and needs out of a new platform or application.

But our hope is that we will begin to see more politicians start to use these social media tools for greater transparency in government and the political process as a whole from now on. It is my hope that for us, more transparency will also lead to more accountability on the part of the government and politicians alike. We must demand this transparency from now on.

On a national level, some are questioning whether President Elect Barack Obama will continue his efforts or be allowed to continue the level of transparency that he demanded during the process that successfully got him elected in the first place. But as we have been able to see thus far with his innovative use of YouTube as his platform for presenting his weekly address to Americans, Obama is at least trying to continue his mantra of change on all levels.

The America of 2008/2009 is not the same America of four years ago and because of its incorporation of social media platforms into the fabric of the most American of processes - elections, we now have the opportunity to express our opinion about any topic online with the potential of thousands of other online users or main stream media listening to you tell your story, for a possible impact on the decisions being made in government.

Overall the Inauguration and social media will bring America together. We’ll see live interviews, photos, blog posts and more during the Inauguration. America will begin another chapter in history and it won’t be just told from the White House but it will be created as a country working together online and offline, having conversations on how to make America better for us now and in years to come.

While Americans sided with issues and party lines, those of us outside the US borders felt the world begging for change. We hoped and some of us prayed.

And then it happened. We watched the first African American President of the United States emerge, one hand waving to the crowd, the other holding the hand of his young daughter. We couldn’t turn away from the historical scene.

As a mother, I held my daughter and breathed in hope. While crowds around the world cheered, I quietly watched a family – an ordinary family who had faced challenges and injustices – triumph together and show the world that revolutionary change is possible.

Family life is bigger than an administration. It is shaped over generations and varies from country to country, city to city, and house to house.

But Barack Obama represents perseverance, determination and hope. He is a symbol of realizing the impossible.

Regardless of political opinions, we can look at his humble beginnings and see the sacrifices and commitment of family. He triumphed and changed the world because of family members coming together to raise a child.

Right now, families all over the world are dealing with the consequences of war and economic crisis. There are no quick and painless solutions to the challenges the new administration meets.

But there is hope. And we can bring that hope into our homes. We can teach our children that the world is changing. What was unimaginable just a few decades ago has happened.

The generation we are raising right now can also revolutionize the world.

They can break down barriers, they can endure and conquer. They can rise from humble stations and become great leaders. They can become better people.

It is our job as their parents to give them the education, the courage, the belief and the hope to do so. It is our job to take the inspiration of Barack Obama and instil it in our families.

But the man at the center of it all remains, on matters of faith, an enigma.

Some commentators have noted that Barack Obama is, in many ways, a blank slate – people project onto him their own ambitions, aspirations and expectations, and take away from that what they want. That may be true of his faith, as well. He doesn’t wear his religion on his sleeve, a fact that discomfits some conservatives. And he’s chosen for his inaugural a pro-life preacher who opposes gay marriage, a fact that worries and angers some liberals.

And there is this: Obama doesn’t appear to have the red-hot faith of Evangelicals; his religious convictions, like his overall affect, are cool to the touch. Will that be a comfort to an America entering a troubled age? It remains to be seen.

People tend to turn (or return) to faith during difficult moments – and our difficulties are just beginning. Obama has shown a gift for sensing the mood of the times – it’s part of what got him elected. That gift, and more, will be needed by millions of Americans who will seek solace, support and hope from their God, however they see Him.

Deacon Greg Kandra is the Emmy-winning News Director for NET, the cable channel of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. A 26-year veteran of CBS News, he is also the creator of the popular blog “The Deacon’s Bench” - http://deacbench.blogspot.com

His spiritual writing has appeared in AMERICA, U.S. CATHOLIC and CATHOLIC DIGEST

The education challenge is not a sideshow nor is that debate academic. School reform is arguably the most important social policy problem the nation faces. Not too much more than half of the nation’s minority students graduate from high school and staggering gaps in achievement divide students by race and income. These are not small differences of degree. In today’s economy they are the difference between a life of choices and self-determination and a very difficult and constrained life.

President Obama has two tools to help make progress on this issue. First, he has the power of the podium. He can engage the country in solving this problem by helping Americans understand the scale of the problem as well as the promise of the solutions. Second, he has the power of the purse. Federal dollars cannot go it alone, especially just now, but federal dollars invested wisely can help catalyze the sorts of educational changes that America needs - more support for low-performing schools, better approaches to human capital in education, new public schools in under-served communities, expanded access to pre-kindergarten education for low-income youngsters, and a more robust research and innovation agenda. The President should be careful not to overreach given the sprawling nature and diversity of America’s fifty states and 14,000 public school districts. But given the stakes he cannot afford to under-reach either.

Andrew J. Rotherham is co-founder and co-director of Education Sector, a national education policy think tank. He writes the blog Eduwonk.com and is a member of the Virginia Board of Education.

It’s time that our president began working with, rather than against, the environmentalists of this country. And although Obama didn’t lead with the environment in his campaigning, he seriously gets it. He doesn’t think CFLs will save the world; he understands that the type of environmental change he’s responsible for enacting will have to come in the form of something much larger. He recognizes that effectively addressing climate change will mean meeting the challenge “collectively.”

The man knows how to move a large number of people. I hope he can inspire a new generation of environmental activists the way he inspired a whole new demographic of people to vote. Environmentalism has always been a grassroots culture – and we’re getting the king of grassroots organizing as our president. There are definitely reasons to be optimistic.

And there was some Yesbutting about Barack Obama not so very long ago. White mother, Indonesia, Ivy credentials – the authenticity thing again: is he “really” black? And if he isn’t, then white people liking him doesn’t mean a thing about America getting past race (i.e. racism).

But we got past that. Obama’s wife is quite authentically black right down to dark skin. No one would question the black bona fides of Obama’s notorious ex-pastor Jeremiah Wright. And it turned out that the man can bust a move – the black-inflected oratory he can slide into is, I truly believe, 50% of why he got elected. Not just black people but white people – at least the Stuff White People Like sort – eat it up just like they love hiphop.

And so here we are with a black man – and a “real” one – who will be not a cabinet member, not the head of some boring corporation, not mayor of some ailing big city, not a talk show host, but the leader of the free world.

No more “Is America ready?” No more obsessing over unenlightened whites in diners saying they won’t vote for a black man. Of course racism still exists. But is America’s main problem still “the color line” as W.E.B. DuBois had it? Upon examining that question, we must now keep front and center that America’s president is black.

As of that awesome Tuesday night in November, I knew my future children would grow up in an America definitively different from the one I have known. As they grow up they will be perplexed that anyone’s response, seeing Obama elected, would be “Yes, but.” When the president of the United States of America is a black person, the proper response is just Yes.

Since 9/11, two competing camps have been jockeying for supremacy within the military establishment. Put (over) simply, one group wants lots of stealth fighters and hulking destroyers, to deter a potential cataclysmic showdown with Russia or China tomorrow. The other is looking for more troops and more spy drones, to fight the cancerous little wars of stability and occupation, like the ones we’re in today. At stake is more than just hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of gear and salaries. The winner of this intra-Pentagon struggle decides how America trains its troops, cooperates with allies, and positions itself in the world.

Since he took over the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made it clear that he thinks that America is going to be fighting guerrilla wars for decades to come. But he hasn’t done much to change the Rumsfeld-era budgets, which invested heavily in the fights against a Moscow or a Beijing. Instead, most of those decisions were “punted” to the next administration.

Well, now that administration is here. Gates is part of it. Which means we may see the end of this Pentagon civil war soon. “Now he is going to be the recipient of those punts, and he won’t be calling a fair catch,” said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell. “He is prepared to deal with them head-on.”

Noah Shachtman is the editor of Wired.com’s Danger Room blog. He also writes about technology, national security, politics and geek culture for The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and others. Since 1998, he’s been reporting for Wired.com and Wired magazine on a variety of subjects: defusing roadside explosives with a Baghdad bomb squad, sneaking into the Los Alamos nuclear lab, chasing down suspects on Chicago’s West Side, investigating a triple homicide in Tacoma, Washington, and undergoing experiments by Pentagon-funded scientists at Stanford. In the past, Schachtman has written articles for Esquire, Popular Science, the New York Post and The New York Times Magazine. He’s been interviewed by the Associated Press, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS radio, NPR and BBC radio, among many others. Before turning to journalism, Schachtman worked as a professional bass player, book editor and campaign staffer on Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign. He lives in New York City and Venice Beach, California, with his wife, Elizabeth.

Brian Bethea, M.D., was recently featured on ABC News ‘Hopkins’, a seven-part documentary series on Johns Hopkins Medical Center.

Since 1980, Professor Cohen has taught courses at the Law Center in his two principal areas of expertise: tax and international human rights. He served as corporate secretary of the Southern Africa Enterprise Development Fund, established by the U.S. government to encourage private sector development in Southern Africa. He also is on the Academic Advisory Board of the International Human Rights Law Group. He was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights from 1978-80 and has been a consultant to the Department of State. Currently, he serves on the Academic Advisory Joint Committee on Taxation, on the U.S. Congress. His writings include a casebook on federal income taxation and various articles on tax and corporate law and on national security and foreign policy. He has also been a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Stanford, and Rutgers.

Arizona has been called the Selma of immigration rights, in large part because our local Sheriff has made a name for himself by conducting so-called “crime suppression sweeps” in areas where Latinos work and live, making traffic stops so that he can interrogate them about their immigration status - a practice that we have alleged in a federal lawsuit amounts to racial profiling. He has also conducted armed workplace raids under the guise of investigating the business owners, arrested crime victims and immigrants held by coyotes, and detained them in a county jail system whose conditions were so bad a judge recently declared them unconstitutional. But the Sheriff (along with 62 other law enforcement agencies) has an MOU with the enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland Security. These MOUs were part of a flawed Bush Administration effort to deputize the same police officers that patrol our neighborhoods and schools to act as immigration agents. That means that a new Administration, one that is willing to take an honest look at how Homeland Security’s enforcement programs are working, could make a vast difference in cities and towns across the country who have been torn apart by the immigration debate.

Obama has tapped our Governor, Janet Napolitano, to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Though it will be a loss to the state (she has held the line on some of the most vicious legislative proposals), I am hopeful that she will bring a fundamentally different approach to one of the most pressing issues of this generation. The new Administration will have plenty to do, from reviewing the harmful impact of raids and local enforcement efforts to instituting detention standards, to restoring our faith in the legal system that determines whether a refugee will be deported to a country that tortures or a worker will be separated from her family. But so long as we continue to chip away at the constitutional rights of this vulnerable group, all of our rights are in jeopardy. We must get started on Day 1.

Youth is change - it is Hope… in youth the changes Obama sets in motion will eventually grow into solutions, rebuild our country and hopefully begin the healing of our world.

This new administration brings with it an opportunity to bridge a gap that has been widening since the departure of President Clinton from the White House. Not since those days, which seem so long ago, did we as a people collectively understand the true power of the youth as a catalyst for great change. Now we will see a great shift from the inactive to the hyper involved - not a fad or trend but a movement unlike anything before it.

Our new President faces many challenges, but will be coming into office with literally a nation of support waiting to follow his lead. This support is rooted in the youth that are so very eager to once again have a trustworthy leader that they feel a connection with. I personally hope that the Obama brand will not simply usher in new energy and optimism but have the wisdom, passion and innovative mindfulness to understand how to use it to change both our country and the world.

David Gensler, MBA, is a Strategist and Designer living and working in Brooklyn, NY. Over his career he has focused primarily on youth culture, design culture and emerging trends. His work has influenced the realms of fashion, entertainment and media and consistently bridges the gap between high theory and bottom line pragmatism.

The Future of Music Coalition - http://futureofmusic.org - issued this statement recently:

“We hope the Obama administration will rethink how policy relates to the arts, moving beyond a politics driven by broadcast, telecommunications and entertainment conglomerates in favor of a more holistic approach that prioritizes the sustainability of local creative communities and artists.”

The FMC has some reason to hope. For example, the new administration is supposedly going to name a “copyright czar”. But many music industry folks suspect that The FMC’s wishes, including fair compensation for musicians, an end to payola, and more, may not come true anytime soon. While I believe a sea change is possible over the next four to eight years with Obama at the helm, there are way too many things that will take priority over music industry reform, especially considering the gravity and proportion of its problems. The music industry’s ailments are about as long-coming and pervasive as those faced by the auto industry. And with a growing “economic crisis” and two wars affecting every area of commerce and culture, music industry reform — and the arts in general for that matter — will be the first to go. That’s how it always happens, of course. But maybe, just maybe, “change has come.” Call me a skeptic, but probably not that much change.

As stronger environmental regulations are enacted, we need green jobs on the ground to retrofit our nation and provide economic revitalization. “The green wave shall lift all boats” is the phrase made popular by national activist Van Jones.

I hope the age of information will evolve into an age of fabrication - a world where simple, green methods for manufacturing products and services through local living economies are within everyone’s reach.

I believe sustainability can be propelled by businesses concerns, as well as ‘do-gooder’ concerns for our natural resources and communities. This change in command should dramatically increase support - funding, subsidies, incentives and regulations - so that businesses do the right thing. Our people and planet need it.

The days of secret task forces and backroom deals with polluters are over. In his own words, President-elect Obama said: ‘The future of our planet is at stake.’ Conservationists have waited years for this opportunity and are strongly committed to helping the new administration and Congress to live up to this great promise.

Working in Public Health has broadened my sense of what the term really means. It’s more than just vaccinations, exercise, and nutrition. In fact, public health is comprised of many factors, called the social determinants of health. These are the social and economic conditions people live in which impact and greatly influence the status of their overall health. Economic inequality, while largely ignored, is recognized among public health experts as a root cause of poor health in America (and globally).

Having lived and worked in New Orleans the past few years and having witnessed the challenges this city has faced since Katrina, I’ve seen this inequality manifest itself in some of the worst possible ways. While we can certainly hope that the new administration will have a better response to these problems, we also have an individual responsibility to address public health issues in our own communities - by working across the divides of race, class, and political differences to improve the quality of life for all Americans.

But this inauguration is different — because the world is very different than it was when George W. Bush came to office. Other key global stakeholders today doubt America’s ability to achieve its objectives. America has shown key military limits in Iraq; injected toxic financial products into the global financial system; and undermined its moral standing in the eyes of many global citizens with still fresh memories of secret prisons, water-boarding, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo standing as the antithesis of US leadership in promoting human rights. The mystique of America’s superpower status has been shattered — and allies have responded by counting less on US support and foes moving their agendas. There is no stable global equilibrium as President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office on the 20th of January 2009.

America has got to get back into the game, has to fix the problems that are causing its power to hemorrhage, and has to reintroduce itself to the world — while being careful to listen to and respect the views of other leading nations who are dismayed that, in the words of Anatol Lieven, the “US kicked down the very hill of which it had become king at the end of the Cold War.”

Barack Obama’s administration needs to shut Guantanamo, engage seriously in climate change efforts, apologize to the world for the economic calamity that it helped trigger and work to build a healthier global financial order that doesn’t depend on an American middle class that underproduces and overconsumes. Obama needs about three or four substantial “Nixon goes to China” successes, all of them tough to achieve.

America has to re-engineer its relationship with China, has to get US-Russian relations off a collision course, needs to revitalize its connections with Europe, has to deploy a multi-pronged strategy of grand bargain deal-making in the Middle East and South Asia — simultaneously dealing with Afghanistan/Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Israel/Palestine, and ultimately Iran. And it needs to finally end the anachronistic but still raging Cold War with Cuba. America needs to get back into a leadership role on WMD non-proliferation, the International Criminal Court, and demonstrate by word and deed a domestic commitment to human rights within its own borders — so as to relight the beacon on the proverbial hill.

This inauguration is potentially the most important punctuation point in America’s historical narrative in more than seven decades because the challenges at home and abroad are so great. Crises often define great leaders — and Barack Obama has an unparalleled opportunity to negotiate a new global social contract with the world hopefully restoring order and prosperity and gaining back some of the world’s confidence in the American Republic.

Steve Clemons is director of the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation, a centrist think tank in Washington, DC. Clemons also publishes the popular political blog, The Washington Note.

Unfortunately the majority of people in Europe lost confidence in the leadership and the direction of America under the Bush Administration. There was an almost complete lack of respect and excitement around the US. The majority of people believed that America really didn’t care about anyone else.

That’s why I’m so completely excited about Barack Obama being elected. There is a tangible level of excitement here in Europe. I believe people now believe that American can again lead the world towards prosperity, peace and environmental health.

To be frank, I’ve never been so excited about politics in my life - it’s very emotional.