CNC recently launched the "Ask Your Lawmaker" widget, and I am very enthusiastic about this mash-up of new era geekiness with a fine old American tradition. The basic equation is: Populism + Professional Journalism + Web 2.0 = Ask Your Lawmaker In other words, everyone in the United States should have a role in holding our elected officials accountable, and professional journalists should make use of interactive web-based tools to enlist all of us in this enterprise. Fortunately, CNC's founder and bureau chief, Melinda Wittstock, has the experience, the credentials, and the vision to make an outpost of any computer that has internet access...   more »