The conference is off to a great start. I’ve heard speakers and issue activists Danny Glover and Bill Moyers. Personally, I’ve been battling with what, exactly, my role should be in this fight. I’ve been battling with it for weeks. I now believe that by the end of the conference, I’ll have my game plan.

So far, I know I’ll continue to be vocal to my local political representatives (Not that it’s been a particularly productive pasttime so far). However, I must continue to try. My interests are broad — but interrelated.

• I think that the Internet is required for economic development in rural areas. That requires access.
• I think that our current defunct educational system could be better served by relying more on online resources to educate our children. (I have children that ride a rural bus for over an hour and a half each day to get, what I consider to be, less-than-adequate education). If it were possible to do online courses that were state approved in KY as they are approved in other states, my children would be studying online at home.
• I think independent workers and small businesses can compete more effectively with online tools and that the removal of geographic boundaries is advantageous to the businesses and our economy overall.
• I think NOT being required to commute and pollute our environment in order to do your job is a good thing. The Internet permits me to do just that and I want others to be able to do the same.

I think all these things are important. And although I find media reform a sticky and difficult to fully recognize, much less fully understand, I do know that these issues are what impact my own issues.

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