Quick Hits: MLK Jr. Day, Service Organizing, Organizing for America, and More

I'm about to get in the car to head down to Baltimore. I'm staying with my aunt and taking the metro into DC tomorrow for the inauguration and then again at night for the official youth ball. I plan on taking tons of pictures at both events. I'll try to upload them and blog about the experience during the afternoon when I have some down time. For those at home, the youth ball will be broadcast on MTV at 10pm Eastern. In the meantime, here's some interesting reads and updates on things we've blogged about previously:

• The biggest news is that OFA 2.0 officially launched as Organizing for America - a reimagination of the Obama political operation inside the DNC. I share Micah Sifry's take on it thus far. Here's the announcement from the President Elect himself:

• Speaking of organizing for America, today's is the national day of service planned by the Obama campaign. Follow along or find an opportunity in your area at the USA Service website. Also do check out Peter Levine's blog post about today's volunteer activities.
• Future Majority got a shout-out in the latest youth/constituent newsletter from Speaker Pelosi's office. You can sign up for those emails here.
• Campus Progress lists 6 things the incoming Obama administration must do to make headway on the issues that matter to young voters.
• Rock the Vote polled its membership to determine the direction of the organization in 2009. Preliminary results are here, and they tend to favor policy work aimed at solving the economic crisis.
• Eric Greenberg has a nice piece at the Huffington Post explaining the importance of young voters in the 2008 campaign.
• The New York Times has a nice photo essay of Obama's 50 closest advisors. There are three Millennials in the group. Check it out.
• On the other side of the aisle, the Houston Chronicle interviews Young Republican Chairman Jessica Colon and asks her how the Republicans can recapture the youth vote.
• Finally, in light of tomorrow's events, I think we can all recognize and celebrate this as an especially significant time to celebrate Martin Luther King Day: