It's time to do my weekly duty by Marqui, the internet software developers who are paying me good money to mention and link to them on this blog. I'm happy to do so, particularly this week, when they've given us so much food for thought.

First and foremost, they've been hired by the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. This is an outifit that's preparing some big doings for Honest Abe's 200th birthday, in 2009. They're recommending the minting of an Abraham Lincoln bicentennial penny; the issuance of a Lincoln postage stamp; the convening of a joint meeting or joint session of Congress; creation of a major celebration at the Lincoln Memorial; and the acquisition and preservation of artifacts associated with Lincoln.

Their site's got some interesting stuff on it, particularly the text of Lincoln's big speeches. You can't miss with content like this:

Of strange, discordant, and even hostile elements, we gathered from the four winds, and formed and fought the battle through, under the constant hot fire of a disciplined, proud, and pampered enemy. Did we brave all them to falter now? -- now, when that same enemy is wavering, dissevered, and belligerent? The result is not doubtful. We shall not fail -- if we stand firm, we shall not fail. Wise counsels may accelerate, or mistakes delay it, but, sooner or later, the victory is sure to come.

Pencilling the Lincoln 200th onto our calendars reminds us that we're just now getting to the Lewis & Clark bicentennial, which kicks off in the here and now of '05. So when L&C were making their way up the Missouri, a little baby named Abe Lincoln was just a twinkle in his dad's eye. Somehow I had held those two eras a bit closer together in my own mind. Now I'm beginning to see the proper sequencing -- only 30 years from the Declaration of Independence to Lewis & Clark, but then another 55 to the heyday of Lincoln. Now that 30 years doesn't seem that long a time to me -- even 55 isn't the eternity it once seemed -- I see how young this country really is.

In another story fed to us by Marqui this week, they highlight another client, WVON in Chicago, a talk radio station devoted to African-America. Looks like a great spot on the dial, and their site is very smooth. They say they're saving some dough by having a couple of in-house people use Marqui, rather than hiring an outside web developer and standing in line to get that developer's attention whenever something needed to be done. Sounds good to me.

I don't understand hardly any of the in's and out's of "communications management suites," but I am beginning to see that Marqui has some really cool clients, for whatever that's worth.

Finally, there was this piece in the Online Jourmalism Review about the ethics (or ethical defects) of blogging for pay. At a time when the White House press corps is infiltrated with impostors and the federal government is producing phony newscasts, it's a real concern. Fortunately, Marqui comes out smelling like a rose, because all its paid bloggers are proudly disclosing that they're being paid to shill for the company.

Transparency, baby!