Craig Newmark's Blog

"Pentagon Pundit Scandal Broke the Law"

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:01:01 EDT

Hey, you probably read about how the White House paid retired generals to deceive people.

Funny story... turns out that it sure looks illegal.

The Pentagon military analyst program unveiled in last week's exposé by David Barstow in the New York Times was not just unethical but illegal. It violates, for starters, specific restrictions that Congress has been placing in its annual appropriation bills every year since 1951. According to those restrictions, "No part of any appropriation contained in this or any other Act shall be used for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States not heretofore authorized by the Congress."

"Rebooting democracy" via the Personal Democracy Forum

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:08:55 EDT

Hey, the folks at the Personal Democracy Forum, an annual conference on how technology is changing politics that I attend, just started Rebooting America and the idea is to get lots of people's ideas on how to reinvent democracy using the net. Here's the deal:

When the Framers met in Philadelphia in 1787, they bravely conjured a new form of self-government. But they couldn't have imagined a mass society with instantaneous, many-to-many communications or many of the other innovations of modernity. So, replacing that quill pen with a mouse, imagine that you have to power to redesign American democracy for the Internet Age. What would you do?

Essays should be no longer than 1500 words and posted here no later than May 1. Readers can vote them up or down. Check out the details here.

Barack Obama speaks recently in San Francisco area

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:06:10 EDT

Hey, Barack spoke recently at a coupla fundraisers where he was extremely well received.

Drue Kataoka, from ValleyZen, was there, and got an okay to record some of his talk. Check it out here.

"McCain Is AWOL On New GI Bill"

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:39:34 EDT

Well, looks like McCain supports the troops by not supporting them; more here:

In November 2007, Sens. Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel penned an op-ed in the New York Times advocating a reformed G.I. Bill that would provide Iraq war veterans with greater educational opportunities.

The idea was at once ambitious and benign. Adjust the current landmark law -- which requires members of the armed services to pay $1,200 in order to participate -- to better account for spikes in tuition and living expenses. Not only would there be a greater incentive for those considering enlistment, but the American economy would be bolstered by an influx of educated veterans.

"We must put together the right formula that will demonstrate our respect for those who have stepped forward to serve in these difficult times," wrote Webb and Hagel. "First-class service to country deserves first-class appreciation."

...

"John McCain needs to be on this bill," Webb said in a statement to The Huffington Post. "I have said to him several times that this is not a political issue -- this is about providing a fair, deserved benefit to our troops. Based on his own military history and how strongly he speaks about the positive contributions of the people who have served, I hope that he will get on board and support this new GI bill."

...

The real hang-up for McCain may be the fact that the Bush administration has resisted the legislation. White House officials say that giving soldiers such an strong incentive to leave the armed forces would result in low retention rates. Soldiers sign up and -- after two years -- leave the army in droves to get their free education.

Eloquence from the White House

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 13:14:51 EDT

(From Time magazine "Perspectives")

"So?"

From Dick Cheney, when told that most Americans don't believe the Iraq War was worth it

"the American people have input every four years, and that's the way our system is set up."

From Dana Perino, when asked if the Bush White House cares about input from Americans

Election shocker: people view long Obama speeches online

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:04:30 EDT

Well, looking at the numbers, people are turning to substantive speech in long form online.

Jon Stewart captured the gist; people are shocked that Obama's treating us like adults.

Micah Sifry and Andrew Rasiej capture the issues in an article in Politico:

So far, Obama's videos have been viewed more than 33 million times on YouTube--and that's not counting partial views, since YouTube only reports a full viewing as a "view." His campaign has uploaded more than 800 video clips, and adds several more a day.

If you just look at his ten most viewed videos, here are some astonishing facts:
The average number of views for these top ten is currently more than 1.1 million (nearly double the average from a month ago!)

The average length of these ten videos is 13.3 minutes.

There have been nearly 3.9 million views of the longest of Obama's most popular videos, his "A More Perfect Union" speech on race in America.

In an age of sound bites, that's pretty impressive; in particular, his speech on race is maybe genuinely historic.

The Times is talking about the youth aspect in this regards.

Big things, they're happening.

Colbert: vote in Pennsylvania via DonorsChoose.org

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:13:58 EDT

Hey, last October on the Colbert show I voted for his presidential run via DonorsChoose.org, which allows you to send money right to teachers and classrooms who need it.

Stephen just challenged us all to vote for our candidate of choice by contributing more, check out what I just did via the Colbert contribution link for Obama...

... and please help out by voting in this manner, I'd really appreciate it!

The "Change Congress Project" with Larry Lessig, Sunlight Foundation, and Omidyar Network

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:29:48 EDT

... or, as Sunlight Foundation puts it: Mr. Lessig Comes to Washington

Hey, with this election year, and tools for Congressional accountability and transparency coming online, we got something big coming up. I really feel this is big history in the making.

Lawrence Lessig, Stanford University law professor and world-renowned expert in intellectual property, is announcing that he's going to invest a significant amount of his time and energy confronting the pervasive and corruptive influence of money in our democracy. You may have heard of the recent Draft Lessig movement that almost convinced him to run for Congress. He ultimately decided not to make the run, but he's not retreating from the fight.

Today, at a lecture here in Washington, sponsored by Sunlight and Omidyar Network, he's launching the ChangeCongress project where he'll focus his academic interests on the issue of the systemic corruption of American democracy. Lessig will outline his hopes for ChangeCongress and how it will help citizens reclaim their democracy from the culture of corruption.

Lessig will give his lecture at 1:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) today at the National Press Club. We are very proud that Lessig recently joined Sunlight's advisory board, where he's helping us stay on the vanguard of using technology to promote a transparent and open government.

These guys are the real deal, I'm just a pretty face.

Check that link for the webcast and more.

Pentagon: "Exhaustive review finds no link between Saddam and al Qaida"

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:15:15 EDT

Here's some genuine "speaking truth to power":

An exhaustive review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents that were captured after the 2003 U.S. invasion has found no evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime had any operational links with Osama bin Laden's al Qaida terrorist network.

The Pentagon-sponsored study, scheduled for release later this week, did confirm that Saddam's regime provided some support to other terrorist groups, particularly in the Middle East, U.S. officials told McClatchy. However, his security services were directed primarily against Iraqi exiles, Shiite Muslims, Kurds and others he considered enemies of his regime.

The new study of the Iraqi regime's archives found no documents indicating a "direct operational link" between Hussein's Iraq and al Qaida before the invasion, according to a U.S. official familiar with the report.

Barack Obama: a leader, not a boss

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:17:59 EST

Days ago, I figured out why I'm drawn to Barack, heart and mind.

Pretty much all of us work for a boss, sometimes one who's a pretty good manager, but we do what they want since they're the boss.

A good boss or manager can get a job done, but can't motivate more than a relative handful of people at a time, and that doesn't get big jobs done.

Recently, I've developed the unfortunate habit of reading history, seeing that now and then there've been people who moved entire nations. They're usually competent managers, but have some elusive additional ability that makes then what we call leaders.

That includes JFK, Lincoln, Elizabeth I, Victoria, Gandhi, Churchill, and a short list of others that you know.

We need to restore American values to the White House, and to enlist all Americans in that effort; we want to be the good guys again. That takes a leader, and that means Barack Obama.

"Chasing Ghosts"; fighting in Iraq after "Mission Accomplished"

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:37:02 EST

Hey, I'll never be fighting in a shooting way, and people are right, you can't really get it if you never did it.

However, I just got around to reading Chasing Ghosts by Paul Rieckhoff. This is real thing, fighting in the ugliest of situations, dealing not only with the enemy but bad officers and an Administration which doesn't want to support the troops. I really recommend the book, it's the closest any of us will get to the reality of war.

Back home, Paul's the guy behind the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the deal is they need our help to give them a break. They're still getting screwed by the Administration.

YouBama; meBama

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:27:17 EST

Hey, I just got video blogged, saying briefly that leadership, hard as it is to articulate, is what Barack's about.

You can find it on YouBama, a really good viral effort by Christopher Pedregal.

(Hey, I want to be voted as popular as George Clooney; that would be the same as voting for George Costanza, preserving the number of Georges.)

Also available on YouTube here.

New study documents "935 false statements" by Bush et al. to justify war

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 02:48:48 EST

Hey, two groups known for outstanding credibility and journalism have just made major news with a <a href=http://www.publicintegrity.org/WarCard/>report on the deception that led to the Iraq war.</a>.

You've probably read this already. All I'm adding is that I know some of the people behind this, and they have my complete confidence, fwiw, and have superb records for honesty.

<blockquote>President George W. Bush and seven of his administration's top officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, made at least 935 false statements in the two years following September 11, 2001, about the national security threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Nearly five years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, an exhaustive examination of the record shows that the statements were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses.

On at least 532 separate occasions (in speeches, briefings, interviews, testimony, and the like), Bush and these three key officials, along with Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, and White House press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan, stated unequivocally that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (or was trying to produce or obtain them), links to Al Qaeda, or both. This concerted effort was the underpinning of the Bush administration's case for war.

It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass destruction or have meaningful ties to Al Qaeda. This was the conclusion of numerous bipartisan government investigations, including those by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (2004 and 2006), the 9/11 Commission, and the multinational Iraq Survey Group, whose "Duelfer Report" established that Saddam Hussein had terminated Iraq's nuclear program in 1991 and made little effort to restart it.</blockquote>

Exposing Congressional aides who become lobbyists

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:50:22 EST

(Hey, Barack inspires me to follow through with what I believe.)

Hey, the wacky kids at Sunlight Foundation have a new program, checking out aides to former Senators and Representatives who wind up as professional lobbyists. This is the "revolving door" thing, of concern since some staffers, working for shadowy politicians, might do more damage as lobbyists.

Well, Sunlight now has a program tracking 'em, called Where are They Now?, asking everyone to verify if the former aides are now entrenched as lobbyists. That doesn't necessarily make 'em bad; everyone has the possibility of redemption.

Anyway, seems like a good thing to contribute, so I tracked down and verified that the chiefs of staff for two of the more suspicious politicians -- Santorum and Delay. (check for "cnewmark" in both.)

Turns out one's at a telecomm, one's at a pharmaceutical. That's not necessarily bad, but does smell funny.

We always want to give people a break... but check it out.

Disclaimer: since they do such good stuff, I've joined the board of Sunlight.

Real support for war veterans

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 15:15:48 EST

Help support the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America get real stuff done for veterans.

On New Year's Day, here's more of what you can do:

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation's first and largest nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is taking part in Operation New Year's Eve, an exciting holiday campaign that lets Americans send text messages in support of U.S. troops to a sign in Times Square. All messages will be collected by ³Operation New Year's Eve and broadcast on a digital LED screen at the top of 4 Times Square, the tallest building in New York's Times Square.

"It's critical that amidst all the celebration, we stop to think about the men and women who are away from their families and in harm's way," said Paul Rieckhoff, IAVA Executive Director.

Hey, I figure this is much better than the lip service veterans get from the current administration.

Why Barack? People smarter than me say why

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 01:09:06 EST

I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, so it's good to have my choice reaffirmed:

Nathan Gardels:

The main issue in American foreign policy now is repairing America's image in the world. There would be no greater asset in that task than a leader like Obama, who by his very multicultural hybrid biography, renews the fundamental promise of America to the world as a society where every individual is considered worthy enough to get a chance in life.

Michael Medavoy:

We need a leader who will follow his conscience at the helm of a nation of citizens who are not afraid to vote theirs. There are those in this world who will hate us no matter what we do, but following the compass of our consciences, we will have behind us the moral and legal justifications for our actions -- actions that for the first time in too long we can support together as a nation. America can once again lead the way to hope and human dignity for all.

Madeleine Albright

I've learned from her to keep talking with people even if they think they're your enemy. Barack was smart and brave to commit to this in a recent debate.

(My personal opinion is that Hillary would be a good president, but her criticism in this matter was, at best, disingenuous.)

CLARIFICATION: Secretary Albright made this point at a couple of meetings, plus in her most recent book, The Mighty and the Almighty, which I recommend.

Getting serious about government customer service via the Net

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 17:35:26 EST

Hey, Barack's reminded us that the Net could be an effective means of making local government more responsive.

New York and San Francisco have both started to do that with 311 systems. They allow you, via phone or the Net to do big stuff that was more difficult to do before.

For example, you can get a pothole filled, or find out how to get a license.

This is happening also in Britain, where open source methods might be resulting in better approaches:

FixMyStreet.com is a site that anyone in Britain can use to report a problem of the graffitti, pot hole or dumped trash variety, and get it reported immediately to their local government, no matter where they are. It is built by the usability-obsessed open source hackers at mySociety.org in the UK, and conceals a democratic heart beneath a simple exterior. Problems reported become public (instead of vanishing into a black hole), can be commented on, syndicated, queried etc. Users also get surveyed about the status of their problem, and are helped to engage directly with their local politicians if they aren't successful getting things fixed first time.

Check out more at MySociety.org

Sunlight Foundation gets Obama-Coburn watchdog database done by OMB Watch

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 01:24:52 EST

Hey, looks like a major watchdog database, USASpending.gov was launched today, inspired by Senators Obama and Coburn, done by OMBWatch and funded by Sunlight Foundation.

The story is told by the Washington Post here but the inside story is told by Micah Sifry who's involved with Sunlight:

Sunlight funded OMB Watch to build FedSpending.org (the first searchable database of all govt contracts and grants), for $325K.

They built it. Then the Obama-Coburn bill was passed (with help from a cross-partisan coalition of bloggers, who smoked out the Senator who had put a secret hold on the bill) mandating that the OMB build its own official database, for $15 million.

OMB Watch offered to help OMB get the job done...even though the watchdog group and the government agency are usually major adversaries.

As the attached story in the Washington Post explains, after some hesitation, OMB's director decided to work with OMB Watch, and they licensed the software from OMBWatch for $600K. The new site, USASpending.gov, launched today, two weeks ahead of schedule.

Disclosure: I'm involved with Sunlight, but can take no credit for anything.

Barack makes me support the troops

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:22:47 EST

Maybe I should say "inspires", but anyway, I just talked to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. They do a lot of heavy lifting for a lot of troops who are being abused by politicians in high office. For example, some wounded vets aren't getting their full enlistment bonuses:

Some of our injured troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are facing a ridiculous and unnecessary obstacle. Because they have been discharged early, they are not receiving their full enlistment bonuses. Some are even be asked to return payments they have already received.

A new bill that would ensure this does not continue is gaining momentum in Congress, and lawmakers need to hear from civilians who support it. We can help our nations' veterans on this critical issue.

Please take a minute to send a message to your representatives, and tell them you support this bill. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America has made it easy - just visit the IAVA petition

If you really want to support the troops, this is a good way to start.

Barack Obama Wins at nationalcaucus.com

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 12:34:47 EST

National Caucus just held the first ever national caucus, and has announced results here:

On December 7, 2007 in cities and small towns across the country, Democrat, Republican and "Open" Caucus groups formed independently online and Caucused face-to-face on National Caucus Day. The first-ever national Presidential Caucus is now history and the results are in.

Barack Obama wins over Democrat voters generating 40% of Democrat Caucus voter preferences. Obama was followed by a three-way tie for second, with John Edwards, Bill Richardson and "Undecided" each generating 20% of Democratic Caucus preferences.

Why I'm for Barack

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:01:25 EST

There are lots of good Democratic candidates, but when you run most of their proposals through the sausage factory, not much differentiation.

Barack offers something different in a big way, though, in a way where I'm quoted by Jose Antonio Vargas in the Washington Post:

"I figure we really need a guy who knows right from wrong," Newmark told The Trail, "and who can remind the world that we're the good guys."

I'm not an American "exceptionalist"; I'm a customer service rep, and have spoken with thousands of people in the US and overseas. Everyone wants Americans to be the good guys again. We need someone who can credibly remind and lead us back into good guy-ness, in terms of of our actions and how we're perceived everywhere.

Leadership means that you need to be able to bring out the best in people.

Barack's the guy to do that.

Barack Obama: a call to service for America

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:25:14 EST

Craig Newmark is the founder and owner of Craigslist.org

Hey, we really need to renew our shared spirit of working together in the USA, and Barack's serious about it.

Our country needs someone to remind us of what our values are, and then we can remind the whole world that the America they believe in is still around.

(I'm flattered that he mentioned craigslist, but that's not consequential; what matters is the renewal of our values.)

Cross posted on Huffington Post

The telecom amnesty bill; another reason for Barack

Craig from San Francisco, CA — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:02:25 EST

(or, a nerd who should know better tries messaging.)

You probably know how a coupla telecoms have been caught putting themselves above the law by spying on people; if not, check out the good work being done by the Electronic Frontier Foundation here. (Also, please join up, okay?)

Looks like the telecom execs don't want to "go away for a while", so they're hoping to get immunity from prosecution. It recently occured to me that the bill cited by that article is like when a library tells people they can return overdue books without penalties.

That is, seems most honest to refer to the bill as offering "telecom amnesty."

This is also another reason for supporting Barack; he gets this, which isn't true of all the candidates.

For that matter, remember that Reagan fought a much more dangerous enemy than al Qaeda without resorting to breaking the law like this. You might question other aspects of his presidency, but he really did fight the Communists without warrantless wiretapping. Perhaps we could do as well.

(This all occurred to me at a Dick Durbin fundraiser last night; special thanks to Dick for humoring me.)