This Reuters article about Healthcare.gov has been getting some attention today. Alas, it's not very good, focusing on client-side optimizations that are probably unrelated to the site's early woes. Healthcare.gov's problems are almost certainly occurring at a deeper level of the system, making it very difficult, if not impossible, for an outsider to gauge their seriousness.
To explain, let's do one of those analogy things. Say that Kathleen is planning a birthday party for herself.
The Shutdown Seen Through Politwoops
As the government shutdown continues to consume the daily life of Congress, members sharing their thoughts on Twitter seem eager to frame events through the lens of the shutdown.
Continue readingReasons to Not Release Data, Part 5: Staffing Concerns
Earlier this month, we shared a crowdsourced collection of the top concerns data advocates have heard when they’ve raised an open data project with government officials at the federal, state, and local level, and we asked for you to share how you’ve responded. Dozens of you contributed to the project, sharing your thoughts on social media, our public Google doc, and even on the Open Data Stack Exchange, where 8 threads were opened to dive deeper into specific subjects.
Drawing from your input, our own experience, and existing materials from our peers at the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership and some data warriors from the UK, we’ve compiled a number of answers -- discussion points, if you will -- to help unpack and respond to some of the most commonly cited open data concerns. This mash-up of expertise is a work in progress, but we bet you’ll find it a useful conversation starter (or continuer) for your own data advocacy efforts.
Click here to see other posts in this series.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing challenges and responses from our #WhyOpenData list that correspond to different themes. Today’s theme is Staffing Concerns.
Continue readingOpenGov Voices: How VT Diggers is tackling state campaign finance
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the guest blogger and those providing comments are theirs alone and do not reflect the opinions of the Sunlight Foundation or any employee thereof. Sunlight Foundation is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information within the 
guest blog.
In 2010, I began reporting on campaign contributions in Vermont. That year, we had an open seat in the governor’s office and there were five candidates in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. I was shocked to discover that the only information available from the Vermont Secretary of State’s office came in the form of unsearchable PDF scans of spreadsheet forms. The secretary requires that candidates use a form available in Excel on the state website. Candidates fill out the form and submit it in paper format to the secretary. It is then scanned and posted on the website.
In spite of the fact that there was no easy way to search the information, I began scouring the web for information about people, advocacy groups and businesses. I soon discovered that many businesses, political action committees and unions had direct financial connections to the candidates. I wrote a series of investigative stories about contributions from out of state, from businesses and wealthy individuals to candidates of the two major parties in statewide races.
We revealed that paving and signage companies donated thousands of dollars to a candidate for lieutenant governor who had served as chair of Senate Transportation and who owned a road construction and engineering firm. We also tracked a donor who contributed four times to Peter Shumlin, using four different LLCs. The Associated Press picked up our story about David Blittersdorf’s contributions and the more than $4 million in state tax subsidies that he garnered for his company’s solar projects.
As a result of these stories, news organizations and others pressured the secretary of state to develop a searchable campaign finance database in 2011. Though the secretary has said he is willing to take on the project, he has been unable to obtain funding. This fall, the secretary put out an RFP for the project, which would be completed in 2015 (at the earliest).
Continue readingDemocrats pull a page from last shutdown playbook
A Democratic super PAC is pulling a page from the 1995 playbook in hopes of turning the government shutdown into political gains.
Continue readingGlobal Open Data Initiative moving forward
The Global Open Data Initiative is a coalition of civil society organisations working together in the area of open government data and open government.
Our basic goal is that citizens will have full and open access to the government data that is needed in order to build effective government and governance.
The Global Open Data Initiative will serve as a guiding voice internationally on open data issues. Civil society groups who focus on open data have often been isolated to single national contexts, despite the similar challenges and opportunities repeating themselves in countries across the globe. The Global Open Data Initiative aims to help share valuable resources, guidance and judgment, and to clarify the potential for government open data across the world.
Who’s going to blink? Influence profiles of eight who could end the shutdown
If the government shutdown is going to be resolved, it's going to take compromise by some key players who so far haven't shown much willingness to bend. So who might influence these influentials? Sunlight decided to examine some of the monied interests behind key figures in the debate.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, in many cases the special interests are closely aligned with their beneficiaries' positions in the standoff, which largely revolves around the health care debate.
Here's a closer look:
Barack Obama
The president is the most prodigious fundraising weapon in the Democrats' arsenal. His campaign's success in ...
Today in #OpenGov 10/4/2013
National News
- The government shut down is terrible for transparency and journalism, with massive amounts of government data unavailable. (National Journal)
- A member of the House of Representatives wants lobbyists to shut down too. David Cicilline (D-RI) is circulating a letter urging Speaker John Boehner to restrict access to the Capitol to registered lobbyists as long as the government is shut down. (POLITICO)
- Two tech industry associations sent a letter to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight board urging the body to examine transparency and oversight measures related to surveillance programs. Unfortunately, the government shutdown has forced the PCLOB to cancel an upcoming hearing and limit operations. (The Hill)
- Sean McCutcheon, the lead plaintiff in a high profile campaign finance case before the Supreme Court, exceeded existing campaign contribution limits in 2012 while donating to the Alabama Republican Party. The case in front of the Supreme Court centers around limits to the total amount individuals can donate to Federal candidates, parties, and PACs. (Public Integrity)
- The Peruvian Congress recently passed a new, harsh, computer crime law with no public input and minimal debate. (Tech Dirt)
- The European Court of Justice is expected to issue a final ruling on an important legislative transparency case this month. The case, brought by Access Info, centers around the release of information about legislative negotiations in the Council of the EU with member state names redacted. (Access-Info)
- Asia has vast gulfs between its digital have's and have nots, creating interesting problems as the region moves towards more open data. The continent has more internet users than any other region in the world, but getting reliable, usable data from all 49 countries will prove challenging. (Open Knowledge Blog)
- Local open data is taking hold with our neighbors to the North. The Canadian municipality of York approved a "comprehensive Open Data programme" after a year long pilot program was deemed successful. (Future Gov)
Limited progress on lobbying transparency in France
Starting this week, a bit more light will be shed on the influence-peddlers who lobby the French National Assembly.
Continue readingReasons to Not Release Data, Part 4: Cost
Earlier this month, we shared a crowdsourced collection of the top concerns data advocates have heard when they’ve raised an open data project with government officials at the federal, state, and local level, and we asked for you to share how you’ve responded. Dozens of you contributed to the project, sharing your thoughts on social media, our public Google doc, and even on the Open Data Stack Exchange, where 8 threads were opened to dive deeper into specific subjects.
Drawing from your input, our own experience, and existing materials from our peers at the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership and some data warriors from the UK, we’ve compiled a number of answers -- discussion points, if you will -- to help unpack and respond to some of the most commonly cited open data concerns. This mash-up of expertise is a work in progress, but we bet you’ll find it a useful conversation starter (or continuer) for your own data advocacy efforts.
Click here to see other posts in this series.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing challenges and responses from our #WhyOpenData list that correspond to different themes. Today’s theme is Cost.
Continue reading
59063
