Rep. Walden Combines Twitter With Morse Code

When Republicans take power in the House of Representatives next month, Oregon Representative Greg Walden will wield a gavel as the new chairman of the House subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

Walden made the announcement using a mix of technologies both old and new.

Walden W7EQI, an amateur HAM radio operator tapped out this message in Morse Code and broadcast it as a series of dots dashes on his Twitter account.

It reads “WILL CHAIR COMM AND TECH SUB” followed by the amateur radio short hand for best regards as well as his radio call sign. The tweet came in just shy of Twitter’s 140 character limit.

Using a communications method that’s been around more than 150 years alongside one that’s been around for just four, is somewhat appropriate for the new chairman.

The subcommittee has jurisdiction over technologies both old and new including Internet, broadcast, radio, wire and satellite.

The subcommittee is likely to make important decisions on hot-button issues such as net neutrality and data privacy.

Walden and his wife owned and operated a group of local radio stations in Hood River and the Dalles for more than two decades before selling them off some years back.