It feels a little strange writing about a panel I’ll be sitting on—along with Kari Chisholm of Blue Oregon & Mandate Media, Anna Galland of MoveOn.org, David Goldstein of horsesass.org and KIRO-FM Seattle, and Rick Ray of Onward Oregon and the Archimedes Movement—so I’ll quote from something Scott sent out a few days ago. I think he sums it up pretty damn nicely!

Sorry for the annoyingly spammy nature of this—if I could bake you all a vegan pie and bring it around your place and deliver this message to you in person, I would. Alas, I’m only one individual, with powers no more super than any other individual. For now…

Chances are, you’ve heard of this new and exciting development called “the internet.” And, chances are, you’re also more politically aware/active than the average American, and that makes you very special. So where and how do those two things, politics and technology, meet? Is that intersection an annoying distraction, or is it the shape of campaigning to come? (Hint: Probably the latter.) And how can candidates make use of the wonders of the internet without looking like total buffoons?

Come join us at Acme (1305 SE 8th) this Tuesday, May 15, at 7pm for “Digital Politics: How technology is transforming the political playing field,” a forum that will rip these questions to shreds, then crumple them up in a ball, light that ball on fire, and then create a new set of even more fascinating questions from the ashes. By that, I mean it’s going to be totally rad.

Oh, and by “us,” I mean the Oregon Bus Project and Loaded Orygun (loadedorygun.blogspot.com), who are presenting it, with a little help from your friends at the Portland Mercury. And here’s the best part—it’s being moderated by renowned journalist/blogger/political strategist David Sirota. Hooo Ha!

Added bonus: Tuesday is Election Night, which means that I’ll have my eyes and Blogtown peeled on results as the evening progresses, and afterwards we’re turning Acme into a little election night part-ay. (Meaning, we’ll be sticking around while a DJ probably sets up, getting blitzed and talking about what ballot measures crashed, which won, and what that means for the next 18 months of city electioneering.)

Bonus: Scott will be writing our election night story from Acme while I’m yammering away on the forum. Buy him a beer or two, and see what ends up in the paper the next day!