Carl Malamud‘s recent work at finding a way to ensure that video of all open proceedings at the Capitol is freely available is a fantastic example of active citizenship. He’s just given Speaker Pelosi a report on his efforts, which I quite recommend as reading to anyone with even a passing interest in the mechanics of making public proceedings available to the public. For the rest of you, though, it can be summed up as this:

Based on 25 years of experience in the field of computer networking and a 2-year investigation of this specific issue, I have absolutely no doubt that it is technically and financially feasible for the U.S. Congress to provide a permanent broadcast-quality video record of proceedings and hearings for download on the Internet. Technically speaking, this is a “no-brainer.” This is simply a matter of will.

Make sure your Representatives put their will behind this effort.