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MyPolicy Technology Discussion HQ
This blog is devoted to fostering an open, meaningful discussion of technology and innovation
policy issues and your ideas. It is provided to help you collaborate with others across the nation to define and refine the best ideas for the future of technology policy.
This discussion represents YOUR views and is not an expression of the positions of Barack Obama or the campaign. Your ideas will help shape the debate and the campaign's vision.
 On Tuesday, Barack proposed a new competitiveness agenda centered around education and energy, innovation and infrastructure, fair trade and reform. Today, on LinkedIn.com he is asking for your input. What ideas do you have to keep America competitive in the years ahead? Submit your ideas here or in the comments section below. 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. 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.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. ... 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. These guys are the real deal, I'm just a pretty face. Check that link for the webcast and more.
The Yale article intrigued Princeton graduate student Arvind Murugan, who wrote about the article on a few listservs which were, in turn, read by Philadelphia area residents who started collaborating through emails and impromptu meetings to launch a grassroots movement dubbed Obama Works. ObamaWorks is a means to create visible public service projects and inspire collective action. On March 1, Philly residents will hold a "Philly Sweep" and it is expected that other neighborhood clean-ups will take place around NYU and Yale, too. As one of the authors wrote me, "I couldn't be more thrilled to let you know that, with the help of people I've never even met, words are getting turned into action." Manners-Weber goes on to say in his email about my earlier blog posting: "In your post, you wrote of "people collaborating to improve their own social conditions." Well it looks like folks are starting to do just that - within 24 hours, 100 people signed up to participate in the "Obama Philly Sweep," where volunteers will be cleaning up the streets around the Graduate Hospital area." Here is their press release:
Justin Kosslyn, a junior in Ezra Stiles College at Yale University and David Manners-Weber a sophomore in Yale's Calhoun College take the message to heart. In an article the Yale Daily News, Kosslyn and Manners-Weber imagine that, instead of simply getting out the vote, young people follow Obama's exhortation to make change happen in the world.
They have the right idea. Unlike the Republican leaders who after 9/11 called for us to shop as a sign of patriotism, these Yale students, inspired by Obama's leadership, talk of becoming engaged and involved. They do not ask what Washington will do for them nor do they contentedly envision their role as passively voting every fourth year. These are the young people who want to make change happen for themselves in their own communities. Working together, people have the ability to do what they cannot do alone and the projects they envision imagine people collaborating to improve their own social conditions. Obama's message, strongly echoed in the Tech Plan's new vision for government, puts inspired students like Kosslyn and Manners-Weber at the center of the solution. 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. With so many issues directly affecting young voters, it is exciting to see the overwhelming support our campaign is receiving from this new generation of voters. As Barack has said many times before, "our nation is at war; our planet is in peril," and it truly is time for the next generation to carry the torch. Please view this online video of how the young voters are not just voting for Barack Obama, but organizing for him.
New Ringtones!  Visit Obama Mobile to check out our new ringtones! Make sure all your friends know who you are supporting in the days ahead. There are even versions of Barack chants of "Fired up, Ready to Go!" My personal favorite the one where Barack says, "It's time we all answer the call!" Text Ringtone 11 to 62262 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.
A recent California rally photo posted to BlackPlanet.com/Barack_Obama But, we have a lot more work to do in the days ahead -- this is only the beginning. What an exhilarating victory for the Obama Team in Iowa last night! Could this mean that we are a step closer to finally electing a President that understands the importance of embracing a communications policy that not only promotes competition and innovation, but also recognizes the impact of a communications policy on civic engagement and progressive social policy? I think so. While I was quite confident that Sen. Obama would create an innovative and forward thinking communications and technology plan, the actual details of the plan surpassed my expectations. Here are my top three reasons why:
Read More » I am hoping for a win tonight, but I think the complexion of the campaign will change dramatically in the coming weeks. <>Yesterday, for the first time in five years, manufacturing data showed a contraction and the forecast for the future was for a contracting manufacturing sector. A number of forecasters noted the slowing growth at the end of last summer, but it had little impact on the stock market and consumer spending. In addition, oil prices spiked over $100, meaning that costs for energy will very likely continue to increase over the coming months.<>If the figures we had yesterday for US manufacturing get reinforced by other trends, the US economy is going to go into a tailspin in the next 6 to 9 months and the key issues in the campaign are likely to shift even more from international to domestic, with a big emphasis on what to do about an economic decline. <>So far, the discussion during the campaign has shied away from considering such an econommic turn of events. But if there is such a large and rapid shift in the fate of the US economy, this will affect the election. Obama's emphasis on vision and leadership will be even more important. <> The issue will be what content he uses to spell out a vision to bring about change and economic vitality. <> <>1. What helps people keep jobs rather than lose them, particularly during a swift downturn if it happens? How might technology initiatives help these efforts? 2. What keeps the financial system, including smaller banks and state funds where localities have deposited funds, from going out of business or reducing their loans to consumers, localities, and firms? 3. What new institutions, like the ones we had in the savings and loan crisis, such as the Resolution Trust, might be needed to keep the financial system, consumers, and industry financed and functioning? 4. What new mechanisms for recovery and job creation would have the greatest impact and limit the costs to the government? 5. If the crisis begins to recycle from overseas back to the US, because industrial activity and consumption slow in important parts of Europe and Asia, what policies would
<>In sum, there would need to be a Recovery Agenda that could be implemented shortly after "Day 1."
<> <>I'd appreciate any comments on these thoughts. Bob Cohen Economic Strategy Institute (for identification only)
Here's more praise for USASpending.gov, the new source of information on government spending that was created by the Obama-Coburn bill: http://www.bluejersey.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=6413 (See more about USASpending.gov in Craig's Dec. 14, 2007 post.) This new database, stemming from legislation that Barack pushed through Congress, is a concrete example of what his devotion to transparency in government can achieve. As Barack's technology plan makes clear, an Obama presidency will give us much more of the same -- thus creating a new relationship between Americans and our government. As I leave for New Hampshire with three of my children to help get out the vote, it is exciting to know that this election can bring the change our country desperately needs. Bill Lake Princeton Computer Science Professor, Ed Felten, Director of Princeton's Center for InfoTech Policy and renowned blogger on Internet freedoms has an extended posting and commentary (http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1241) on "Obama's Digital Policy." The blog states: "A quick glance at the sites of other candidates suggests that Obama is an outlier -- none of the other major players has gone into anywhere near the level of detail that he has in their official campaign output."
"My favorite part of the document, by far, is the section on government transparency." Read More » Working in a campaign is a lot like swimming in the ocean: it looks fun on the surface but underneath you are paddling as fast as they can to stay afloat and despite your best efforts you never know where the currents will take you. This is the first of what I hope to be a handful of posts about my month-long hiatus from Google to work for Barack Obama’s campaign in Chicago. Read More »Hi! My name is Gigi Sohn, and I run an organization in Washington DC called Public Knowledge, which working to defend your rights in the emerging digital culture. Our biggest issues include preserving an open and universally accessible Internet and ensuring that copyright and patent laws do not inhibit creativity, innovation, competition and free speech. So Public Knowledge does a lot of work at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Copyright Office, the Patent and Trademark Office and in Congress.
In November, I was honored to be asked to evaluate Barack Obama’s technology and innovation plan, and I gave it very high marks. This should come as no surprise, since Senator Obama’s plan explicitly embraces the principle of network neutrality to preserve an open Internet; calls for increased broadband deployment; and recognizes the need for a balanced copyright and patent system that “promote[s] civic discourse, innovation and investment.” Today I want to discuss a different and equally important part of the Obama Technology and Innovation plan: that which seeks to use technological means to make government more transparent and accountable and to give citizens the tools to participate in government processes. Among other things, the plan would: • Make government data available online in universally accessible formats to allow citizens to make use of the data to comment, derive value and take action in their own communities; • Establish pilot programs to open up government decision-making and involve the public in the work of agencies; • Requiring Executive Branch appointees and administrative agencies to conduct their business in public and to employ technological tools to allow citizens to participate and be heard in these meetings; • Provide a website, search engine and other web tools that enable citizens to track the influence of money in the political process; • Create the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer to ensure that the government has the right technological infrastructure and that it makes its records open and accessible. Nothing points out the dire need for these kind of steps than the way that the FCC functions today, particularly as issues like net neutrality, broadband competition and media ownership have captured the attention of the general public. Despite the increasing importance and awareness of how government regulates (and in the case of this administration, refuses to regulate) our media and telecommunications systems, the FCC remains an agency dominated by opaque processes, corporate lobbyists and perhaps one of the most user-unfriendly websites in all of government (especially ironic for the agency that is expert on communications). It is for these and other reasons that both House Energy and Commerce Chair John Dingell (D-MI) and Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) have called for inquiries into the FCC’s procedures. Lack of Transparency: Despite the good intentions of the Government in Sunshine Act, its requirement that a formal meeting be held if more than two Commissioners meet places power in unappointed staffers. The staffers negotiate with each other and the votes are tallied before the Commission’s monthly meeting takes place. Thus, the formal meetings are staged events where the outcome is predetermined and the Commissioners come armed with pre-prepared statements. The public has no voice in these meetings. The FCC’s processes also place inordinate power in the Chairman’s office. The Chairman decides when to send a proposed final decision to the other Commissioners and in the recent controversial decision on media ownership, the decision was circulated just two weeks before the meeting date. These last minute efforts have been exacerbated over the past several months by FCC meetings that have started long past their published starting times. Indeed, three FCC meetings this year have started 9 or more hours late, and the November meeting started 12 hours late - at 10 PM! Needless to say, few members of the public were watching the webcast or sitting in the FCC’s meeting room at that time of day. In addition, what FCC rules there are to ensure that the public understands the inner workings of the Commission are largely ignored by industry advocates. The so-called “ex parte” rules require advocates to submit a letter that provides a detailed description of their meetings with FCC Commissioners and staff. Many industry advocates submit the most barebones ex parte letters that reveal almost nothing about their meetings. Public Input is Largely Ignored: In 2003, and again this year, public sentiment was overwhelmingly against increased consolidation in the mass media. In public hearings across the nation and in thousands of comments to the FCC, ordinary Americans made clear that the homogenization and delocalization of local media was bad for them, their communities and the country. In these cases, and in other proceedings with significant input from the public, the FCC took little note of, and ruled against the public will. The Revolving Door: With broadcasters, cablecasters, telephone, wireless and technology companies all doing business with the FCC, the future job enticements for an FCC staffer or Commissioner are lucrative indeed. A staffer or Commissioner may not want to step on two many industry toes so as to ensure a future position with industry. This is not crooked – it is simply human. But the one-year prohibition on an FCC staffer coming back to advocate at the agency provides little disincentive to engage in this kind of behavior. The Obama plan to open up government data processes through technology will not solve all of these problems, but it will force the FCC and other executive and administrative agencies to be more transparent and responsive to the public that they serve. Even more important, it will start a conversation long ignored, about how technology can lift the veil of secrecy from government and make our government more responsive to the citizenry it is tasked to serve. “We must balance privacy and security.” This now commonplace sentiment is greeted with chagrin by those who feel using the word “balance” implies one goal must be sacrificed for the other. The truth is we need to work equally hard and with the same level of commitment and vigilance to ensure that both our privacy rights and nation’s security are protected. It is abundantly clear there are groups seeking to do us harm. Many feel that government law enforcement should be provided sufficient latitude to gather and mine as much information as is necessary to identify and target those individuals, even if that means relinquishing our rights to privacy in our conversations, whereabouts, transactions and associations. Although law enforcement and intelligence groups do need requisite tools to perform their difficult jobs, this must be done in a manner that does not weaken our privacy and civil liberties. Just like that favorite children’s book series that includes “If You Give a Moose a Muffin” and “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie” the persistent animal is never satisfied with just a muffin or a cookie, since they always wind up “needing” more than their first initial, simple request. In government parlance this is referred to as “scope creep” or the expanded scope of a mission beyond its original purpose. And we have seen this with the abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which recognizes the exigencies of certain situations and provides for an emergency warrantless wiretap provided a request for a search warrant is made within 24 hours (now 72). Recent events have demonstrated that the latitude provided in FISA may be unilaterally expanded even though a 24 hour grace period was provided. Read More »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. Most people’s initial reaction to the topic of technology policy can be described by the following policy debate scene in the movie Old School:
[Jeremy Piven] What is your position on the role of government in supporting innovation in the field of biotechnology? [Will Ferrell] Recent research has shown the empirical evidence for globalization of corporate innovation is very limited. And as a corollary, the market for technologies is shrinking. As a world leader, it is important for America to provide systematic research grants for our scientists. I believe there will always be a need for us to have a well-articulated innovation policy with emphasis on human resource development. Thank you.... [Will Ferrell] What happened? I blacked out.
Even the mighty persona of Will Ferrell does not change the reaction. Confusing. Jargon-filled. Applicable to only technologists. This is putting me to sleep. In contrast, Barack Obama’s Technology and Innovation plan stands out for its simplicity and clarity of vision and purpose. All Americans, not just technologists, can appreciate the benefits of Obama’s comprehensive plan. Technology has become an essential fabric of our lives and is no longer an isolated discipline that is pursued by technologists only. The Internet has become an essential utility that enables us to connect with family and friends as well as learn about almost any topic imaginable. Journalism, economics, and even art have been impacted and benefit from the power of technology. Obama’s plan charts a clear vision of applying the power of technology to real problems such as health care and education. His vision of a national CTO shows his willingness to break down silos and increase the impact technology can have in all areas of government. The plan also shows a careful respect of the free market that has driven technology innovation balanced with the right level of government incentives and support. Many of my friends in the technology and investment industry have commented to me that this is the first time they feel a candidate “gets it” with regard to technology. For us in the technology field, it is important to have a candidate that can have an intelligent viewpoint about technology issues and what do about them. It is easy for many of us to forget that the Internet was started through a government (DARPA) grant. Or in the 1960s, John F. Kennedy charted a vision for the space program that established our leadership role in all fields of science and technology. Imagine how much more we can do with a well thought out policy plan for technology that reminds us of the possibilities and not the impossibilities. And, by the way, does not put us to sleep, no offense to Will Ferrell. Happy Holidays from Seattle, -Kartik Raghavan
Content on blogs in My.BarackObama represents the opinions of community members and in no way should be interpreted as endorsed or approved by the campaign.
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