Our twenty-four hour news cycle is a mammoth beast that needs constant feeding. That’s why the cable networks and political pundits have turned what was once an innocuous fun little straw poll in Ames, IA into some “do or die” genuine test.

Michelle Bachmann won Saturday’s straw poll…good for her. But does it really mean anything?

It must to Tim Pawlenty, who has decided to leave the GOP race. However, historically only George W. Bush took winning in the straw poll and converted it to a win in the Iowa caucus, the nomination, and subsequent win of the White House. Otherwise, it’s been a horrible predictor of final outcomes.

There’s no doubt that Bachmann is running a good campaign. But if she’s thinks that what the Hawkeye elites had to say means much, she should heed the warning from one of the Three Little Pigs, who built his house made of straw…and we all know how that one turned out.

It about the power of vulnerability – we manifest humility by being vulnerable.

Vulnerability: liable to increased penalties but

Pain and suffering and discomfort and sacrifice is so countercultural.

Three fears that keep us from being vulnerable – Naked Service:

1. Fear of Losing the Business (of being rejected)
• Enter the danger
• Speak the kind truth – terminal niceness in churches
• You will not always get rewarded for it
2. Fear of Being Embarrassed
• We have to ask questions and make suggestions
• Trust comes from helping them even if makes you look dumb
• Celebrate our mistakes
3. Fear of Feeling Inferior
• When we take a lower position – we do the dirty work
• Genuine desire to serve you
• Honoring your clients work – be so interested in them

We are called to vulnerable because the one who called us was the most vulnerable and humble of them all.

Humility is not humiliation, or low self-esteem. It’s the noble choice to forgo your status and use your influence for the good of others before yourself. The ability to hold power for the good of others.

Five reasons for cultivating humility in your personal life and dealings:

1. Humility is common-sense
   • None of us is an expert on everything
   • Expertise in one area counts for little in another
2. Humility is beautiful
   • We are more attracted to the great and humble than the great who know it too
   • A humility revolution took place in the middle of the first century under the teachings of Jesus.
   • Western culture has been profoundly shaped by the cross of Christ…the cross changed everything.
3. Humility is generative
   • It generates new knowledge, and new abilities
   • Humble place is the place of learning
   • It’s flourishing
4. Humility is persuasive
   • Ethos – the character of the persuader
   • The most believable person in the world is the one who has your best interest at heart
5. Humility is inspiring
   • Leaders normally have four tools (ability, authority, character, persuasion)
   • Some of the most inspiring leaders in history had no authority, but character and persuasion
   • You don’t need the keys to the kingdom to impact the kingdom

Humility is not just another leadership technique, but the humble life is a life in touch with reality.

“This Guy…I don’t what to do with!”

Wherever you are, God has called you to be a steward over a vision, for the specific reason for changing something. Are you going to allow “This Guy” to stop your vision, robs your joy, and could have the power to stop an entire mission.

What does a person do when the truth comes to them? What is reality?

Feedback is not easy to hear sometimes. But sometimes the feedback is not so good either.

If you are a kind and responsible leader, you take feedback and adjust. And you think other people are like you, but they are not. You cannot deal with every person you lead the same; recognize who you are talking to.

Bible says there are three types of people (we actually have all of these in us):

Wise

• Light -> Adjusts themselves
• Truth -> Change
• When confronted you get smile, a thank you
• Strategies
  • Talk
  • Coach
  • Resource them
• Challenges
  • Make sure they are a match for what you need
  • Good feedback and coaching
  • Keep them challenged appropriately

Fools

• They may be the brightest, gifted
• Light -> adjust the light
• Truth -> change the truth
• Shoot the messenger
• When confronted they are not happy and get angry and triangulate
• They do not own it, generate hopelessness
• Strategies
  • Stop talking
  • Limit my exposure
  • What will we do if I do it and we don’t get results – consequences
  • Fools change when they live in the structure and reality
• Challenges
  • Limit exposure
  • Make consequences clear
  • Give a choice
  • Follow through

Evil

• Destruction is in their hearts
• Want to inflict pain
• Strategies
  • Lawyers
  • Guns
  • Money

The children of DC deserved better and the poor performance would not happen on her watch. Rhee loved her job.

The hardest job is to be an effective teacher. In three years her class went from 13% kids proficient in reading and math to 90%.

Biggest myth: weren’t enough teachers who want to teach in tough areas. Real problem: how the school district operated, meaning best candidates never got hired.

When DC schools were taken over by the mayor, Rhee was asked to take the chancellor job. She said no several times, but the mayor willing to sacrifice his whole career convinced her to take the job.

In DC almost everything was broken. Kids started off in Kindergarten ok, but the longer they stayed in the schools, the worse they got. Huge level of disfunction in this district.

Core focus: human capital. The way we can have most impact was to have a teacher in front of every class and a principal at every school.

Try to create a culture that thought about every child and family as our own.

Wanted teachers:

• who have snap – classroom awareness, magical performance
• Value-add – kids are growing, educators accountable for kids performance

Much rather deal with anger than apathy.

Do I need to do a revolution or an incremental strategy?

• Not an incremental girl…could make change fast enough.
• Never heard a parent in the district say, “you’re moving too fast”

The education agenda has been driven by special interest groups. There is no group advocating for kids, she started an organization called Students First, a movement of ordinary people bringing to bear influence.

This was a moving, emotional, and challenging session.

What if we were called to work that didn’t grow and succeed. Can we confront the suddenly addictive narcotic of growth and success.

Ethiopia

• Under communism the church was forced underground, pastors beaten and thrown into prison
• during the oppression the church grew five fold

Egypt

• Stephen’s Children – food and care for children of the garbage dumps of Cairo
• We don’t choose where to be born, but we do choose to be sinners or saint

Forgiveness is between you and God.

Among the poor the Creator is hidden, there is mystery.

Have a pure heart and get to know the Almighty.

Our secrets in silence:

Silent your body to listen to words

Silent your togne to listen to your thoughts

Silent your thought to listen to your heart beating

Silent your heart to listen to your spirit

Silent your spirit to listen to His spirit.

In silence you leave many to be with the One.

Jeremiah

As a young man, Jeremiah is called to speak to God’s people, warning them if they didn’t change, they would be taken over by another force.

The people did not respond, Jeremiah failed and the people are overrun.

Our world is broken and getting worse. The fixes will not be easy or short-term. God is looking for strong-shouldered leaders who will be available.

There’s something wrong in the community you live in, and you can take some of your leadership and take that tough calling.

Anything that is written in God’s Word is possible for you.

Audacious Faith: being in God to do the impossible.

2 Kings 3:9-20 – Elisha dripping with Awesome Sauce

We can position ourselves and get great training…but only God can make it rain. After we’ve done all we can do, we need God to intervene.

If all you have is a few good ideas doesn’t make you a visionary, it makes you a day dreamer.

Ask God to give you the faith to get started.

If you want to see the land filled with water…dig some ditch. By being here we are preparing for God to work.

Audacity has a lot of ambiguity to it. We get frustrated because we compare our behind-the-scenes to somebody’s highlight reel.

If you will dig the ditches, God will send the rain.

Don’t just dig a little ditch, but make this valley full of ditches.

Seth Godin is a favorite speaker of mine…this years Summit presentation was one of his best.

Someone here today will change everything.

The notion that we can promote from a position of power…the TV-industrial complex:

Buy TV->Get more distribution->Sell More Products

Ends up with average products for average people – mass is built into our system.

Revolution is occurring destroying the perfect, enabling the impossible. Industrial age is over, replaced by tribes who surround ideas or common bond.

People still want to be in sync, we want to do what “our people” are doing.

Tribes need leaders who will connect, commit, build a culture and be clear about where we’re going.

Is it your opportunity?

What’s changed in the last five years is the laptop…the means of production. Everybody has their hands on the world.

Is this the end of job? The rise of the artist. In the post-industrial age we have the change to do things differently. But there is no map.

Quit bowling…if you’re playing by the rules…don’t expect people are going to talk about you or stop and visit. Pick yourself…if you want to write, write…if you want to sing, sing!

If failure is not an option, then neither is success.

Give gifts not favors. Too many people are holding on to something while it rots.

Go Make something happen. Make art, give gifts, do work that matters, lead.

We need you to lead us.

Global Christian – unprecedented catalytic events are bringing the globe together.

Has the technology and events spurred us to engaging the globe, or do we retreat?

Our mission: we become witnesses of the Gospel and take the Good News across cultural thresholds…be the leaders to break through the “sound barriers”:

1. Jerusalem – comfort zone, speak truth to power and confront those people in our own family. Take on the policies and traditions that are uninclusive.
2. Judea – differences in political parties, denominations, generations
3. Samaria – we avoid like the plague, it takes a spirit-filled leader to go to Samaria…they need to move them beyond their natural affinities

From the beginning the church was intended to be a global movement.

Are you ready to break through your sound barrier?

1. Pray for a divine mandate – what’s breaking your heart, God?
2. Name your catalytic events
3. Mobilize People to Go!

Where is your Samaria…that’s where Jesus is calling us to go!

So far the mayor of Newark, Cory Booker has received the greatest response…amazing speaker.

Lessons I’ve learned from my parents; a story about standing up for something.

You will always face outrageous adversaries; before you can stand tall you must realize that you were born out of radical love and action. A grand conspiracy of love.

What will you do? There are forces that will try to crush you and worse lull and seduce you into mediocrity.

We are the result of people who did not see the world they way others saw it; they had extraordinary vision and the courage of doing something about it. Your attitude about the world speaks to your character.

The world you see outside of you is a reflection inside of you. If you see despair and destruction that’s what’s in your heart and you’ll be worthless, but if you see hope and love then you can do something.

If it is to be…it’s up to me.

Show me first of how you choose to live…about your values, ideals, thought put into action. Infuse truth in that moment.

In every moment you can let life be, or infuse life with truth.

Let us know, stand up. Let us stand and tell our truth.

Erie has our own fashionista blogger, and her name is KC.

The blog, “…and then i found $5 (and accidentally bought shoes)” features a mix of photos and commentary on the latest developments in fashion, along with tips for the common Joe or Jane to look their best.

Last week was a good week for fashion watchers like KC, as the Golden Globes offered a venue for the glitterati. In her post, “Golden Globe Fashion Trend: Sparkle,” she illuminates the common threads (pun intended):

This year was all about the sparkle. Some of the best dressed ladies glittered in the photographers’ flashes even while the rain was pouring down.

Who was the best dressed?

My number one pick was Olivia Wilde in this Gucci dress. The plunging deep v was oh-so-flattering and the gun metal color was on trend. Her jewels are from Tiffany and her clutch is Judith Leiber. On the runway she revealed, her dress was going to be auctioned off to benefit Haiti relief. Right on, Olivia.

Thanks KC, for helping us say yes to the dress.

This week we enter the mind of a technology early-adopter. I mean, anybody that designated a user name in the mid-1980′s was definitely a pioneer on the information super-highway.

Erik J. Barzeski is a web consultant, software programmer, pretty-good photographer and golfer, and long-time blogger. Erik has that unique mix of technology and creativity, along with a natural curiosity about lots of different things with an opinion to boot. It shows in his “weblog” NSLog();. The blog is Erik’s take on diverse topics from politics to media, with most focused on area’s he encounters in his profession.

Last week, however, he sounded off on the new cell phone ban for drivers in the City of Erie. In his post “Cell Phone Bans While Driving,” Erik describes his history of let’s say, “active” driving:

The question I have is this: why are cell phones a target? Frankly, I’m probably less distracted talking on a cell phone than I am the times I’ve eaten, played with a GPS, fiddled with the radio, tried to get a rock out of my shoe, drank a can or bottle of Coke, looked in the back seat to make sure I hadn’t forgotten my {camera, hockey skates, golf club, groceries, etc.}, and so on. I’ve seen people reading maps and even newspapers and books while driving, yet these people are free to continue doing so without any worries whatsoever.

Is the cell phone industry behind these bills? Nobody’s going to drop their cell phones or even their calling plans because they can’t talk in the car, but cell phone companies and accessory makers can sell a whole bunch of $100+ Bluetooth headsets.

It’s easy to see why readers of NSLog(); enjoy Erik’s well-roundedness.

Scott Bremner is the granddaddy of all Erie bloggers. Scott has been consistently writing an internet-only column for GoErie.com since 1998, having won awards over the years. This, of course, is in addition to his day job of news anchor for WSEE-TV.

He was a blogger before the word was created.

Scott’s writing in his blog, formally known as Under The Hat, allows us a window into his psyche that the sound-bite formula of television never will. There’s a lot of wit and wisdom in those pixels.

His understanding of the community’s current mood was dead on in his post from right before Christmas titled Adios 2009! Here’s a portion:

How much “cash” did you really get for your “clunker?”

We lost dollars in our savings accounts, friends in our workplaces and companies in our communities.

We lost John Kanzius to cancer, Michael Jackson to drugs and Brittany Murphy to “natural causes.”

We lost national anchor Walter Cronkite to the ravages of time and I lost my WSEE co-anchor Jacqueline Policastro to the bright lights of Indianapolis.

Now that’s a crappy year.

The pro’s insight and candor ensures that Scott Bremner’s blog remains an ErieBlogs must-read.

There are many local photographers who also maintain a blog featuring their work. It’s a smart idea to build a fan base of potential customers. One of the most prolific and a fellow who truly enjoys the art and mechanics of digital photography is John Huegel.

His blog features samples of his many subjects, including his really cute dog, Emma. In his post last week “Sniff,” Huegel shows off the capabilities of his new ultrawide lens, and the results are joyful:

Image from John Huegel Photography: Sniff

Not only does Mr. Huegel’s blog give us an appreciation for his talent as a photographic artist, but we also can enjoy the slices of life that he is seeing through his lens.

For over three years now, a young dock boss and Penn State student has kept Port of Erie watchers informed and connected to the comings and goings of our busy port.

Jeff Thoreson’s Erie Shipping News features straight forward facts and schedules of arriving and departing shipping vessels, along with photographs. From his post on the water’s edge, he provides insight and proactively answers questions on the activities at the port.

A good example is his post from last Friday, HARBOUR CLOUD Arrives in Erie:

HARBOUR CLOUD arrived in Erie today at 0725 on one of the Fall’s coldest days thus far. The vessel, which had spent the previous four days anchored off of Port Weller for tank cleaning and awaiting pilotage, turned in Presque Isle Bay and docked at the Mountfort Terminal to load biodiesel. This is the tenth load of biodiesel from Hero BX (formerly known as Lake Erie Biofuels) to be shipped out of the port since 2007; one load went out in 2007, seven went out in 2008, and two have gone out in 2009.

Erie Shipping News succinctly yet completely communicates the information about a narrow yet very important slice of the economic infrastructure of our community. I can’t think of a better mission for a blog.

This week I want to spotlight a community news blog that has a lot of potential. I was drawn to Your Boro early in its creation as Edinboro is the town where I’m employed and the area has much to write about, so I wanted to read the author’s take.

The blog has a young, recent graduate vibe to it, complete with strong community knowledge and the given sarcasm. I think the author, who is unidentified, has  potential to be an excellent writer, but often falls into profanity when trying to make his/her point. To me, that’s just a poor excuse to not bring out the thesaurus.

None the less, Your Boro is often up-to-the-minute topical, including the recent coverage of the tragic fatal automobile crash on Draketown Road, killing three Edinboro students. Last week, in a post entitled “Friends of Sheldon Harmon planning to sell bracelets,” the author poignantly shared the initiative of a friend of one of the victim’s:

For the past week, it’s been hard for Jesse Stormer to stay positive.

“I’ve been trying to find that silver lining, and I’ve struggled to find one, so I decided to make one.”

Soon, Stormer and others will be selling bracelets in memory of their friend Sheldon Harmon, who was killed the Nov. 11 crash on Draketown Rd.

The bracelets will read “WWSD“, as in “What Would Sheldon Do?“.

All proceeds from the bracelet sales will go towards new animation equipment placed in memory of Harmon.  EUP’s Animation Club is backing the fundraiser.

Blogs like Your Boro are “the future is now” of journalism; hyper-local and relevant. We want to encourage its growth in maturity and professionalism.

Ever since he plied the business beat at the Erie Times-News, Peter Panepento has been asking the difficult questions of Erie’s leaders, proposing preferred futures for Erie’s economy, and spotlighting best practice in business growth. Even though he is a Rochester boy living in the metro D.C. area, his love and passion for Erie and our region’s health remains unquestioned.

One conversation that bubbles up frequently on his blog Outside Erie centers around the false argument that many in our town hold that we need to decide to be either a manufacturing city or a tourist town. Panepento gets the concept that in a global economy, you need multiple engines of economic growth for the health of a region.

However, in his recent post, “Want to Reverse the Cycle? Focus on Making Something“, Peter warns that our local and state governments have made major bets on the tourism side of the see-saw, while the more difficult manufacturing base seems to be neglected:

As we watch both the Erie and U.S. jobless rates rise to previously unfathomable levels, the important question becomes what will it take to put people back to work.

In Erie, the answer lies in our roots. We have to recreate the area as a center of industry — as a place that makes something.

Too often in recent years, energy and resources have gone to building service-based institutions. Millions have been spent to build convention centers, visitors centers, and casinos.

But what has been done to develop the resources and facilities needed to attract and incubate actual industry?

You need to read the rest of the post and the subsequent comments (including a particularly cogent one by yours truly) to get your creative juices flowing and just maybe experience that contagious emotion that I often get from reading Peter’s posts: hope.

Joel is the editor of the Erie media blog Press and Tower.

Our acknowledgment of quality sports fan journalism continues this week with a shout for Blog Talk Bayhawk. Matt Hubert is a self-confessed basketball fanatic, and although he is a die-hard Lakers fan, he often gives props to those former Bayhawks who end up furthering their careers in the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors organizations.

Hubert is a heavy Twitter user and is about to get a podcast off the ground. Meanwhile, we are enjoying his writing, including this Twitter-inspired preview of the NBA season last week entitled My Twitter-Friendly NBA Preview. Here are excerpts from his two posts:

With the NBA season set to tip off tomorrow and plenty of media outlets already offering comprehensive preview articles, I thought I’d keep my thoughts brief, essentially a 140-character tweet for each team as well as a few thoughts on the playoffs and major awards. Today, I’ll cover the East. Tomorrow I’ll delve into the West and the rest of the preview.

Eastern Conference

1. @cavs: Shaq/Kobe = 3 titles/8 years. Shaq/Wade = 1 title/3.5 years. Shaq/LeBron? Spotlight is on this season, possibly LeBron’s last as a Cav.
2. @Orlando_Magic: Vinsanity has never played with an all-star big man, let alone one as dominant as Dwight Howard. If Lewis/Nelson maintain form, watch out.

Western Conference

1. @LAKERS: Artest in place of Ariza will be the headline all year. Bynum’s development. Fish & Kobe mileage, Odom’s marriage, bench play key subplots.
2. @spurs: Duncan’s run at a 5th ring comes with help…Jefferson, McDyess, Blair, healthy Manu, don’t forget Parker. Loaded roster for a great coach.

Hey @BlogTalkBayHawk, looking forward to your insightful coverage of the #ErieBayhawks.

Joel is the editor of the Erie media blog Press and Tower.

Even though the region is equidistant from three NFL markets, it is easy to see that Erie is Steelers Country. The Black and Gold empirically outnumbers the Orange and Brown by three to one, and double that over the Red and Blue of the Bills.

A well-written, no-nonsense fan blog of the defending Super Bowl Champions is Steelers Gab. This is a place for the faithful to get the latest on injury reports, post-game anecdotes, without the extreme fan-dom. One of the features on game day is up-to-the-minute quarter recaps and analysis.

I enjoyed this piece by Matt Loede sharing his concerns after the Detroit game on Oct. 11th about the apparent wilting of the Steelers in the fourth quarter, titled Concerns Continue as Team Can’t Close Out Games.

Steelers leading WR Hines Ward said it all about how teams come out to play the Steelers, and about how the team was able to hang on vs the Lions.

“A win is a win. That’s what this business comes down to,” Ward said. “When teams are playing the Pittsburgh Steelers — we’re the defending champions — they’re going to give their best shot.”

Ward brings up a good point. Teams really do tend to turn it up a notch against the world champs, but I’m not sure how many fingernails I’ll have left if each week we have to sweat out wins like Sunday in Detroit.

Better have a Terrible Towel at the ready when you sit down to read this blog.

Joel is the editor of the Erie media blog Press and Tower.

One of my favorite personal journals on the net is the chronicle of a Southern newlywed couple who transplants to a frozen Rust Belt city and discovers its hidden charms. The husband works very hard toward getting a medical degree, while the wife navigates the city’s idiosyncrasies and shines a humorous light through the blog The Jennings Secede From the South.

Camille Jennings, her husband Adam, and Powers the wonder dog, have experienced major life changes since that fateful decision to move to Erie so Adam could attend LECOM. Camille has taken us from the couple’s embracing the regions beautiful experiences, the first snow fall and subsequent feet of accumulation, through the news of expecting and then arrival of their son, Henry.

Camille’s thousands of readers enjoy her sharp wit, interesting turn of phrase, huge heart, and love for God and family.

Did I say that she was witty? Maybe hysterical is a better word; take last week’s post for example: Balloon Feet.

Anyone ever tried tying the string attached to a balloon to a baby’s ankle? I read that idea in a book and it said it would be entertaining….for everyone.

Just one balloon, though. Not hundreds which might send your child into outer space.

Joel is the editor of the Erie media blog Press and Tower.

Sometimes, all it takes is a title to take you in.

That was my initial reaction to the blog “Dinner? But we had dinner last night!” I thought, what a cool blog name, then in reading it it was, what a cool blog. Mary Francine, the editor of “Dinner?” brings a very down-to-earth take on cooking for her Erie readers. She might write about leftovers, or a restaurant visit, or a new realization of the true essence of the meatball.

Last Sunday, Mary discovered why so many diehard fishermen don the waders and face down those icy waters teeming with steelhead trout:

Holy cow, this is what you all have been pulling from the waterways around here? Well, why didn’t you say so?!…
…I made a kind of mojo in which to marinate the fish. The zest of an orange and its juice as well, sambololek, fresh parsley, basil and oregano. I added a tiny pinch of salt, too, to round out the flavors. I didn’t have much time to marinate–maybe 15 minutes while I prepped the rest of the meal…
…I fried the fish in some more butter, allowing it to get a nice crust on the one side. I had removed the skin with a fillet knife. Fish skin really, really grosses me out. Fortunately it’s a snap to remove.
You make a small cut at the tail end, through the flesh but not the skin. This gives you a handle to hold on to. You place your knife facing away from you, just at the place where the skin meets the flesh and sort of pull the skin/push the knife/gently sweep the blade in arcs. It’s quite impressive but really simple to do.
The fish was wonderful, firmly textured, very flavorful and not at all fishy. I was a bit proud of the fresh tastes of the marinade, too, and the nice herbal pop.
Now we must befriend steelhead fishermen to hook us up with more.

Meanwhile, Mary Francis, keep hooking us up with your cooking ideas!

Kim Fabrizio is a high-capacity person. Currently the executive assistant to the President of Edinboro University, she has held high posts at WQLN and the Erie Times-News in years past.

Kim is a person that gets things done; and she does it while battling Multiple Sclerosis.

Soon after her diagnosis in 2007 she began blogging on her widely-read blog Sunshine and Moonlight. Her honesty and upbeat tone while sharing about living with MS attracted tens of thousands of readers. However, last month a major life-change precipitated a departure from Sunshine and Moonlight and Kim began a new, even more intimate context on the new blog My Sun Still Rises.

Kim in the new blog goes much deeper into the successes and struggles of a complicated life, as she shares in last week’s post, Patching Up Life’s Problems: No Quick Fixes:

Whether single, married or now somewhere in between, I’ve always been Miss, Mrs., or Ms. Fix-It.  It’s a part of my nature to want to fix whatever is broken.  Whether a good trait or an annoying one; it’s me.  So, when life spirals out of control, the need to fix rallies to the forefront.  This is true whether it’s my own life or someone else’s that’s taken a bizarre and unpredictable turn…

…I’ve also learned that not everything can be fixed in life.  It’s OK to leave some broken things by the side of the road.  Not everything needs to be held together with super glue or even duct tape.  Sometimes we have to patch problems up as best as possible (leaving a few screws and bolts sitting off by the side when we can’t figure out where in the new table they are supposed to go anyway).

Joel is the editor of the Erie media blog Press and Tower.

Christine Reed is not your typical Erie-survivor type person. You know, the way Erie people think it’s cool to complain about everything, act hard-to-impress, and commiserate over the number of inches of snowfall in the forecast. Nope, Christine chooses joy.

Her blog, Blisschick is full of encouragement, ideas, and tips that help the reader redirect their stress and negativity toward healthier living in all aspects. One quick review and you realize what a prolific and excellent writer Christine is.

But don’t think that she is unaffected by the hardships of life. Christine created quite a stir last week when she addressed body image and it’s impact on eating disorders. She tells her story with great transparency:

By the time I was in college, you can imagine how much I hated my body. Hated it.

In college, I had a pretty serious bout of exercise bulimia. I would eat and I would exercise. But then I got to the point where I wasn’t bothering so much with the eating part of that equation.

Every time I eat food, I think about the fact that I am eating food.

Every time I see myself naked, I think about how giant my thighs are or how pudgy my tummy.

When I am too thin, though, you can bet I am at the peak of a depression.

You need to read the entire post to understand how she overcomes those feelings.

Blisschick proves that blogs can be used for much more than venting a writer’s frustration, or picking apart a politician’s hypocrisy. They can help change lives.

First some introduction is in order: I’m Joel Natalie, an old school, old media guy who has been playing in the new media space since 1996, when I launched Erie’s first radio station website for WCTL. Since 2005 I’ve been a regular blogger on my Radio Free JoJo blog, and for Press and Tower, the blog about Erie media. It was in the context of my work on Press and Tower that Mike asked if I could provide a weekly spotlight of one of the ErieBlogs.

This will not be a popularity contest; indeed, there is a lot of strong blogging going on out there. I’ll just shine the light on blogs and posts that are particularly timely, well written, and interesting.

This week I want to point you to Dale Hannah’s blog over on GlobalErie.com entitled “What If?”. Dale has become one of the strongest of the very few political voices in the local blogosphere. He is doing the time-consuming leg work of the citizen journalist; attending the meetings and connecting with the first sources.

This week he covered the health care town hall meeting of Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA). He explains his disappointment in the post Townhall Meetings = Fail:

There was only time for about 10 questions, mostly because questions which could have been answered in one sentence took much longer while Mr Casey searched through the 800 page bill to read from a certain page, rather than giving a direct answer.

After attending town halls with both Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper and Senator Bob Casey, I can only conclude that rather than accurately informing the public on the content of the bill, the audiences were subjected to more brainwashing.  But then, such are the ways of the politicians, and nothing more than what I had expected.

You may not like Dale’s conservative politics, but you have to applaud his efforts to cover local issues that directly affect our lives and our region.