What I love about Capitol hill is that it’s not just a neighborhood, it’s a community.
We know what to do after days like today. In fact I think I can remember buying something at Frager’s not so long after a day like this
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Anyone want to start the T-shirt Campaign? Get in touch. 
Jack Jacobson clearly cares:
He cares about efficiency,
He cares about accurate record keeping,
He cares about each individual constituent,
He cares about thoughtful use of citizen’s time,
He cares about effective use of resources
AND he cares A LOT about conserving paper.
We’ve lived here for three years and today we got 5 of these in our mailbox.
#NotSomeoneIdPutInALeadershipPosition
#FailedMarketingCampaign
#IsElection2012OverYet
Someone asked me if I could explain this and whether it is general knowledge. It is to me… but I AM a hardcore nerd, so here is the skinny… There are a number of ways to do it and this is my favorite Step by Step:
First go to the YouTube video you want to download in a browser. Make sure you’re on a normal YouTube page and not a channel page… Something with a URL like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mopFR9WEhXo
(Note: It’s ok if there is extra junk after that. The key is that it has this “v=Numbers and Letters” in there somewhere)
This morning I received an email that I admit stirred me a little. The subject; “Frustrated.” The body: an eloquent ask for the American people to demand congress find a way to take bi-partisan action; a simple e-petition, but sent by the president to the American people. I don’t mind admitting that my skin tingled a bit with the possibility of a new culture of American civic engagement, of accountability delivered by the tools of our age.
What’s exciting is that Barrack has returned to the American people, to ask for our action. That he is done it in a way that recognizes the last 30 years of progress, in fact the last 5 or 10.
…both you and I can pressure them to do the right thing. We can send the message that the American people are playing by the rules and meeting their responsibilities — and it’s time for our leaders in Congress to meet theirs.
And we must hold them accountable if they don’t.
So I’m asking you to stand with me in calling on Congress to step up and take action on jobs:
What is so depressing is that Mr. Obama seems to believe, he only needs to call for our participation when he wants to be elected.
Halfway through the email I could feel it, like a sour copper taste in my mouth. This wasn’t about involving the American people in the act of governance. Most upsetting, perhaps it never was.
Indeed, I clicked download images and there it was….
And when I linked out to the petition. Confirmation. Within 2 clicks I was being asked for money for a re-election campaign.
Mr. President I want you to ask for my vote, but NOT just every 4 years.
Here is a short list for your inspiration:
Iceland Crowd Sources a Constitution
Radical Transparency -A new Approach to Management
Here is an old one:
When I pitched this story about IPV6 to The Stream I was very pleased they were interested. I was more than a little shocked when the next day the team decided to send me out to the studio to play ‘Senior Internet Corespondent.’
I think it went pretty well for a first TV appearance, thanks largely to the talents of Derrick and Ahmed who managed to guide us through a pretty esoteric topic. Too bad I didn’t have time for a haircut or shave… and next time I’m going to bringing bullet points. See everything I wish I’d said in my article after the jump.
Continue reading
HATES THE FCC! God forbid NBC broadcast a curse or the wrong part of the human body. But if they want to become the media production arm of the corporation doing the most to ensure that individuals have lesser rights than corps in the infrastructure of next century. Oh please go right ahead. Oh yeah and even in the short term people will probably lose their jobs over this… but the CEOs should do ok.
Just for the record, despite my strong feelings about transparency and openness… I am not happy about Wikileaks. Assange’s acts discourage open governance, and they can cause trouble (potentially life threatening trouble) for people who are trying to work within the system to make the world a better place.
And what for? So we can read the obvious and uninspired “burn books” of diplomats.
Save your whistle for something that needs blowing.
This recent Washington Post story is heart breaking, partly because of the personal and innovative way it was written.
It is the story of a young woman, Shana Greatman Swers, giving birth and then later dying of complications. Told entirely through editing and annotated facebook posts.
Read the whole article here.
Are you!?
Unless you live under a rock, you know that the Gulf of Mexico is filling up with oil after a rig exploded. It’s particularly bad news if the oil makes it to the fragile ecosystems on the coast.
But did you know this…
An alternative to those yellow plastic floaty things used to contain oil… is HUMAN HAIR, and you can actually donate your hair for the race to line and protect the gulf coast!
I haven’t found a national listing of places to donate… or a place in DC yet. So far the best link I’ve found for additional info is here . If you’ve heard more please leave word in the comments! I will shave my head… for this!
The US Court of Appeals has decided that the F.C.C. does not have the power to regulate the internet. According to this ruling the companies that provide your internet can control how you use it, and the F.C.C. can’t stop them.
This is particularly disturbing when it comes to large corporations like the potential Comcast/NBC corp. who could choose to throttle down the speed of competitors content, slowing your streaming ABC shows, your NPR podcasts, your I-Tunes downloads etc.
Learn how to take action after the jump.
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