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Politics, open government, and safe streets. And the constant incursion of cycling.

Category: Politics Page 36 of 73

Friday Notes: Remember These Edition

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On October 17, 2008

In Policy, Politics, Travel

So I’ve fallen off with the Friday notes the past couple of weeks, which means the inventory of things left unnoted is a bit of a mess.  Thus the scattershot approach today:

I’m not really a fan of either journalist involved, but this Matt Taibbi-Byron York conversation about the origin of the financial crisis amused me greatly:

M.T.: No. That is what you call a figure of speech. I’m saying that you’re talking about individual homeowners defaulting. But these massive companies aren’t going under because of individual homeowner defaults. They’re going under because of the myriad derivatives trades that go on in connection with each piece of debt, whether it be a homeowner loan or a corporate bond. I’m still waiting to hear what your idea is of how these trades work. I’m guessing you’ve never even heard of them.

I mean really. You honestly think a company like AIG tanks because a bunch of minorities couldn’t pay off their mortgages?

B.Y.: When you refer to “Phil Gramm’s Commodities Future Modernization Act,” are you referring to S.3283, co-sponsored by Gramm, along with Senators Tom Harkin and Tim Johnson?

M.T.: In point of fact I’m talking about the 262-page amendment Gramm tacked on to that bill that deregulated the trade of credit default swaps.

Tick tick tick. Hilarious sitting here while you frantically search the Internet to learn about the cause of the financial crisis — in the middle of a live chat interview.

~

I went through the Houlton, Maine border crossing to get to Canada last week.  This is how the process went, as I pulled up in my car next to the booth:

Canada: Hi, folks.  What’s the length and purpose of your trip to Canada?

Me: Just a bit of fun.  Camping and cycling up around Cape Breton.  For a week or so.

Canada: Do you know where you’re going?

Me: I hope so!

Canada:  Okay, have a good trip.

Me: Thanks! [begins to release the break]

Canada: Oh, wait – you don’t have any weapons or firearms, do you?

Me:  Nope!  Bye!  [and I drive away]

And this?  This is what folks heading into the US at that same crossing have to deal with on the American side:

Keene Valley resident Jerilea Zempel was detained at the U.S. border this summer because she had a drawing of a sport-utility vehicle in her sketchbook.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers told Zempel they suspected her of copyright infringement.

She was released after more than an hour in custody at the Houlton, Maine, port of entry from New Brunswick, Canada.

Her release came only after she persuaded border guards she was an artist doing a project that involved a crocheted SUV as a statement against America’s dependence on oil and love for big vehicles.

You have to click through to see the “industrial spy” level drawing.

~

It’s not its.

~

This dKos post reminds us of something we need to be aware of when considering traditional media characterizations of the state of the presidential race:

Every state in which McCain has a lead, even if it’s just 2.2%, is a “leaning Republican”. Every state in which Obama has the lead, even if it’s over 10 percent, is a “battleground”.

[ . . . ]

They are invested in the horserace for ratings purposes, and they are certainly fearful of being accused of pro-Obama bias. So instead of providing an accurate picture for their readers, they misinform them.

I mean, Washington Post really thinks New Jersey is a battleground state? Really?

Yup.

~

Who didn’t get that “I bet this is a crock of shit” feeling when McCain trotted out the Joe the Plumber claims at the debate?  And if you didn’t get it at that moment, I sure hope it came when he was interviewed the next morning.  In any event, yes, it’s pretty much as fraudulent as you thought it was.

Semi-related: a well-written response to all the idiots who hopped on the “spread the wealth” line around and yelled “socialism!”

DOJ Investigation of ACORN = GOP Running Out of Tricks

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On October 16, 2008

In Law, Politics

Josh Marshall reminds us:

DC Republicans have been aggressively lobbying the DOJ to open an investigation into ACORN in advance of the election. And leaking word of such an investigation (possibly starting the investigation at all) most likely violates DOJ guidelines about DOJ/FBI actions which can end up interfering with or manipulating an election.

But, remember, this is right out of the book of the Bush Justice Department’s efforts to assist in GOP voter suppression efforts in the 2004 and 2006 elections (part and parcel of the US Attorney firing story). This is the same scam US Attorney firing player Bradley Schlozman got in trouble for pulling with ACORN just before the 2006 election. And before he got canned, Gonzales helped revise and soften the departmental prohibition on DOJ announcements, thus making it easier to play these kinds of games.

Kind of early to be scraping the bottom of the barrel, no?

The Debates Ought to Be Free

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On October 15, 2008

In Distribution, Policy, Politics

On the heels of the BS attempts at private control of public discourse, the Open Debate Coalition is calling for a number of reforms to the US presidential debate process:

(1) Make raw footage of the debates part of the public domain, so that journalists, bloggers, and citizens can access it without concerns about a major network slamming them with a copyright suit. (2) Allow citizens to vote for questions in advance using the internet, so that town halls aren’t conducted at the whim of a moderator. And (3) reform or replace the Commission on Presidential Debates, a group which declines to make information on its funders public and has not released the debate rules to which both presidential campaigns have reportedly agreed.

I’m completely onboard with the first and third points.  I like the idea behind the second, but wonder whether it would be too difficult to actually implement.  The reasons behind my support for the first point are obvious, I hope – our political discourse should never be subject to the property claims or private control of anyone.  As to the third, did you know about this?

This is not a commission that holds itself to iron-clad ethics rules. Anheuser-Busch has sponsored the presidential debates in every cycle since 1996 — as a result, its hometown, St. Louis, has hosted at least one debate in all but one of the last five presidential elections. Reports the Center for Public Integrity, “For its $550,000 contribution in 2000, the beer company was permitted to distribute pamphlets against taxes on beer at the event.”

I’m not really opposed to Anheuser Busch passing out its flyers – but what are the chances, you think, that any other flyers were permitted?

Free the presidential debates.  More info here.

Got a Problem With Your Cell Coverage? Verizon and AT&T Will Give You a New Cell Tower

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On October 15, 2008

In Politics, Society, Tech

Well, they will if your name is Cindy & John McCain, anyway:

Early in 2007, just as her husband launched his presidential bid, Cindy McCain decided to resolve an old problem — the lack of cellular telephone coverage on her remote 15-acre ranch near Sedona, nestled deep in a tree-lined canyon called Hidden Valley.

By the time Sen. John McCain’s presidential bid was in full swing this summer, the ranch had wireless coverage from the two cellular companies most often used by campaign staff — Verizon Wireless and AT&T.

Verizon delivered a portable tower know as a “cell site on wheels” — free of charge — to Cindy McCain’s property in June in response to an online request from Cindy McCain’s staff early last year.

Have you ever tried to get a problem resolved via the Verizon or AT&T websites?  I’m sure you had the exact same experience, didn’t you?  No?  Well, it would help if you chaired the Senate committee overseeing the agency which regulates them, I suppose:

Ethics lawyers said Cindy McCain’s dealings with the wireless companies stand out because Sen. John McCain is a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees the Federal Communications Commission and the telecommunications industry. He has been a leading advocate for industry-backed legislation, fighting regulations and taxes on telecommunications services.

Now, I don’t think there’s anything ethically wrong here, but if McCain was at all interested in putting substance behind his rhetoric, he wouldn’t have accepted this.  It does, however, give a brief glimpse into just how easy life is for people like the McCains.  I suspect it gets incorporated into their general worldview, which shapes their approach to legislation.  I mean, if they can just pick up the phone and have Verizon provide better service, why can’t the rest of us?  No need for the FCC!

A Virginia Blog With *Real* Traffic

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On October 15, 2008

In Distribution, Politics, Virginia

It always makes me laugh when people refer to an “influential” blog in Virginia.  People, please.  The traffic numbers are pretty small all around, and mostly it’s something of a circle . . erm, mutual admiration society.  That isn’t to say there isn’t a lot of smart and worthwhile writing going on, but the term “influential” – even in the loosest sense – just doesn’t apply.

With that introduction, I now direct you to the most influential blogger in Virginia.

Ah, Canada

By

On October 15, 2008

In Politics

So, as noted here, the Canadian general election results in a somewhat strengthened – but still minority – government by the Conservatives (blue, in the CBC map below).   They’re led by Stephen Harper, who seems to have taken more than one page from the Bush playbook (gov’t is inherently bad, science doesn’t matter, etc.).   The Liberals (red) lost a number of seats, which – if they’re as toothless as they appear to be (again, draw the parallels) – doesn’t strike me as an entirely bad thing.  The New Democratic Party (orange), which is somewhat to the left of the Liberals, didn’t get nearly as far as it had hoped but still picked up seats.  And Bloc Québécois (light blue) did what Bloc Québécois does, taking most of Quebec.  Finally, the biggest story that the Green Party was able to generate was the loss of its leader Elizabeth May in a race to unseat the Conservatice Defence Minister.  This results in an electoral map that looks like this:

So what does that all mean?  Canada gets pretty much the same government it had before it went through all the trouble of an election.  Spending much time on the road in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick last week, there was ample time to listen to talk and news radio.  It gave an interesting (if brief) view into daily politics there, where I learned that their conservatives are just as whiny as ours – forever going on about the liberal media to the exclusion of almost everything else (except the occasional anti-tax slogan).  The Liberals appear to share one of the worst traits of US Dems – an apparently inherent inability to stand up to conservatives.  And the NDP actually reminded me of the UK’s Lib Dems – except with some actual electoral success.   In any event, good luck to Canada.

Another McCain Change of Convenience: Fair Use and Political Discourse

By

On October 15, 2008

In Distribution, Law, Policy, Politics, Society

John McCain, who has never previously missed a chance to play up the importance of the DMCA’s restrictions on public usage, has suffered a bit at the hands of the DMCA.  His ads on YouTube have been the subject of takedown notices from CBS, NBC, and even CBN (the Christian Broadcasting Network).  He’s now complaining about this to YouTube, writing a letter (PDF) that includes:

[O]verreaching copyright claims have resulted in the removal of non-infringing campaign videos from YouTube, thus silencing political speech. Numerous times during the course of the campaign, our advertisements or web videos have been the subject of DMCA takedown notices regarding uses that are clearly privileged under the fair use doctrine. The uses at issue have been the inclusion of fewer than ten seconds of footage from news broadcasts in campaign ads or videos, as a basis for commentary on the issues presented in the news reports, or on the reports themselves. These are paradigmatic examples of fair use…

Finally, something the McCain campaign and I agree on, 100%.  But oh, wait, there’s more:

[W]e believe that it would consume few resources–and provide enormous benefit–for YouTube to commit to a full legal review of all takedown notices on videos posted from accounts controlled by (at least) political candidates and campaigns.

Ah, that’s more like it – McCain first, country second (perhaps McCain’s only reliable principle?).  Fred von Lohmann, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, points out:

The obvious problem with this solution? It assumes that YouTube should prioritize the campaigns’ fair use rights, rather than those of the rest of us. That seems precisely backwards, since the most exciting new possibilities on YouTube are for amateur political expression by the voters themselves. After all, the campaigns have no trouble getting the same ads out on television and radio, options not available to most YouTubers.

This isn’t posturing – think about the most effective political videos you’ve seen.  Were any of them produced by a campaign?  I’ll bet they weren’t.  One of the most important political projects to be undertaken in the coming years will be not only to put a halt to – but roll back – IP laws that reach beyond commerce to control political discourse and culture.  Think we can count on McCain’s help when the time comes?

It’s Election Day, BTW

By

On October 14, 2008

In Politics

Canada is going to the polls for what, it’s eleventeenth time in a few years?  Canadian FlagWhat’s interesting is that it will probably give the Conservatives exactly what it was they used as a reason to call an election in the first place – a minority government.  I have no idea how how much stock to put in the speculation about a coalition between the remaining parties (who would represent a sizeable majority of the population), but it certainly would be an interesting thing to watch.

Update: You won’t find much in the way of result until 10pm EDT.  Why?  From the Globe & Mail:

To our readers: Federal election law prohibits the publication of any results of today’s federal election before 10 p.m. ET.

To prevent our readers from inadvertently breaking that law by posting references to something they may have seen elsewhere, globeandmail.com will be closing comments on all articles on our website from 7 p.m. ET when the first polls close in Newfoundland until 10 p.m. ET.

We will turn comments back on at 10 p.m. ET on all articles.

Interesting, no?

VA SBE Screws the First Amendment: No Political Shirts/Buttons When Voting

By

On October 14, 2008

In Politics, Virginia

Today, the State Board of Elections voted to:

ban clothing and hats as well as buttons and other paraphernalia that directly advocate the election or defeat of a specific candidate or issue.

Ah, Virginia.  Are you really the place that produced Thomas Jefferson?

Update: Got this in the mail just now.  No, it is not a joke.

We are seeking old shirts to donate to the Voter Registrar for use on Election Day.  Many enthusiastic voters are not aware of the “law” against wearing political messages into the polling area.   In the past, many of these voters have been told to leave until they can change their clothes.    But there is an alternative!  The Registrar has agreed to accept our donations of extra shirts to give to voters to “cover up” while they vote.    So we need 51 shirts!   Please look in your closest and see if you can donate a few shirts for this effort!  In particular, we’re looking for:

– Large or extra-large
-  Short sleeve
– Button down  AND
– Clean (but old and worn is fine)

If you have such shirts you can permanently donate to this effort, please e-mail me at XXXXXXXX and I will work with you to arrange drop-off at a suitable location.

I am simultaneously impressed (by the quick reaction and flexiblity) and horrified (that it is even necessary).

(It occurs to me that a donation of 51 burkhas may be appropriate.)

Help Fight Bigotry: Support the No on Prop 8 Campaign

By

On October 14, 2008

In Personal, Politics, Society

As you may know, California’s constitutional right to marriage is under attack by the usual suspects in the form of a ballot initiative (called Proposition 8).   Vote No on Prop 8You may – like I did, until recently – think that it was a stunt that faced little chance of success.   That, unfortunately, isn’t true.  Big money has come from religious organizations (Mormon church, Knights of Columbus, etc.) and the latest polls have opinion standing 47-42 in favor of banning marriage equality in California.

California ballot initiatives are largely advertising campaign contests, which require an enormous amount of money in those media markets.  The money gap between both sides is substantial (perhaps because so many of us took Prop 8’s defeat for granted).  According to a recent email from MassEquality, “the anti-gay right has raised $25.4 million – that’s 10 million dollars more than our side.”  This has never been – and will not be – a place where I regularly promote donations.  But I’m hoping you’ll consider supporting the Vote No On Prop 8 efforts with a contribution of as little as $5 or with your time phone banking (you can do that from your own home – no need to be in California).  You can learn more about the campaign here.

So many campaigns that we already pour our time and money into can often feel as if they won’t make a much of a difference.  But this is important.  It’s an essential step to preserving one of the biggest steps forward in the pursuit of a more just and decent society.   Please help.

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