We are not naïve. At Sunlight, when we learned that Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was convening a task force to address the issue of earmarks, we knew the odds of progress were slim. McConnell is an appropriator, a champion of earmarks and an ardent foe of almost every conceivable good government reform. He also has a keen political ear. So by forming a task force on earmark reform, he could arguably demonstrate action without actually moving. As "The Hill" reports here, Senator McConnell not only continues placing obstacles to moderate reform, but he is resisting a push for earmark transparency coming from within his own party.
How did McConnell undertake the issue without putting his caucus at risk of actually having to change its ways on earmarks? He appointed a working group with members on such opposite ends of the earmark spectrum odds were against success. Then he told them to come up with a unanimous recommendation. When they did that, McConnell moved the goal line again, saying he would attempt to work with the Democratic Leader to consider creating a Senate Rule the encompassed the suggestions. Even the most casual political observer wouldn't be surprised to find that those "negotiations" came to nothing.
Continue readingBig PhRMA, Disclose Thyself
The Hill reports on what appears to be a “man bites dog” story, a reversal by the pharmaceutical and medical... View Article
Continue readingDay by Day
OpenSecrets.org has one of the most granular looks at fundraising by the Democratic candidates that you can get. Keep an eye on their new blog. Terrific stuff there.
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Wither the FEC?
Maybe we'll have a functioning Federal Election Commission, after all.
Continue readingCompete for Project Grants at Mobilize.org
Mobilize.org is a non-partisan organization dedicated to educating, empowering and energizing the Millennial Generation -- young people ages 15 to 29. Millennials are by far the most Internet-savvy and networked generation, at least until the next one comes along. I certainly share Mobilize.org's view that this generation will use the new technologies and the social networks to get more engaged in politics -- just as have they use technology in every other aspect of their lives.
Yesterday they announced the Democracy 2.0 Entrepreneur Grant Summit - Money in Politics, which they are hosting in Denver on July 18-21. Sunlight is supporting the competition to support projects working to promote clean elections practices. Every proposal must make creative use of new technologies and the Internet to advance their goals. The winners of this community based contest will receive $3,000 to $5,000 grants to pursue the goals of their proposals. Click here to find out how to apply.
Continue readingHands on Budgeting
As we head into the general election period, American Public Media, the public radio entity best known for producing A Prairie Home Companion and Marketplace, has launched an instructive and fun online game titled Budget Hero. The game allows you to set the U.S. budget by cutting or raising taxes, and increasing or decreasing spending. You want universal healthcare? Add it to the budget. Increased funding for Social Security? Go for it. Bring the troops home from Iraq? Just do it. Obviously, all such decisions will impact your budget. In this sense, it is similar to the 1993 computer game Shadow President. But with Budget Hero, every major decision, such as to repeal the Bush tax cut and raise taxes on the rich are accompanied with a list of pros and cons and potential impacts.
The folks at American Public Media worked with the Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accounting Office to get the data correct. When you finish, the game allows you to compare your "budget" to other gamers. A serious and detailed review of Budget Hero can be accessed here. This is a fun tool that can teach you alot.
Continue readingPeer to Patent
I've been fascinated by the Peer to Patent program in operation over at USTPO (and not just because my son-in-law works there). Beth Noveck highlights a very interesting video today that explains why this is a cutting edge project. We think it's a terrific model for collaborative government.
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Hyper-Hyper-Classification
The Bush Administration's lust for secrecy is well documented. And as davidk at TPM Muckraker wrote recently, Bush and Company is "the most secretive administration in history."
But even so this latest gambit by the Administration is over the line. The Washington Post's Walter Pincus reports on how earlier this month the Bush White House issued a memorandum outlining new Executive Branch rules on the handling of sensitive but not classified information. They coined the term "Controlled Unclassified Information" (How's that for bureaucratic doublespeak?) for information so sensitive that its disclosure would create "risk of substantial harm." They replaced the term "Sensitive but Unclassified."
Continue readingPublius Project@Berkman
In conjunction with the Berkman@10 Conference (where I just returned from spending a fascinating two days), the Berkman Team has launched their Publius Project. (The name is borrowed the writers of the Federalist Papers. ) The goal is for it to be a platform for lively discussions on the governance and rulemaking of the Internet, and they have solicited a number of thoughtful Internet gurus to submit short yet provocative essays on the subject.
They have posted op-ed style essays by Pierre de Vries, Esther Dyson, Dan Gillmor, Reed Hundt, David Johnson, J.P. Rangaswami, Doc Searls, Wendy Seltzer, Clay Shirky, David Weinberger, Kevin Werbach, and Jonathan Zittrain so far. They asked me to submit a piece as well, and I am so honored to join this discussion with such a collection of Net luminaries. You can access my submission here.
Continue readingShadow Government
Last week, The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) released The Shadow Government, another of their eye-popping reports that they are so known for. The report is the result of an investigation of federal advisory committees, the secret, multi-layered and unaccountable bureaucracy that influences much of the federal government with precious little oversight and largely no record of their activities. There are over 900 committees, boards, commissions, councils and panels that advise the various agencies of the Executive Branch and the White House, meant to offer government expert opinions on various topics.
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