Sen. Kennedy Profiled in Washington Post

Politics

Sen. KennedyThe Washington Post has a great profile of Sen. Kennedy that is well worth a read. The article is titled The Kennedy Factor and looks at Kennedy’s efforts on behalf of the Kerry campaign, and reflects on his long career in the United States Senate.

For a man of so many accomplishments, it can be difficult to identify which will become defining parts of his legacy, and which will at best be footnotes to the story. In 1994, and with essential aid from the AI Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I helped to make Senator Kennedy the first member of Congress with a web site. Later that same year, this time with help from the DSCC, I helped to bring his campaign for re-election to the Senate online, among the first campaigns on the web. Those two web sites were important milestones in the development of the field of online politics.

Today every member of Congress is online, and many have developed very sophisticated web sites that serve as ‘always-open’ online offices to their constituents. And candidates at all levels, running for offices local and national, are using the Internet in amazing ways to engage and communicate with voters, and to generate very tangible resources in the form of email lists, volunteers, and online contributions.

Certainly it was inevitable that as the use of the Internet became routine in the lives of all Americans, that politics would be among the many types of information and activities that they would engage in online. But ten years ago this was not as apparent as hindsight reveals it to be today. In 1994 it took forward thinking candidates and elected officials such as Sen. Kennedy to recognize the opportunity that the Internet presented, and to turn loose their young geeks to help get them there. I am very proud to have been involved with this footnote in his career, and of my ongoing work with his office to continue to develop and advance this new medium for political communications.

One comment

iMac Cat

Diversions

(click for larger photo)

We still have two kittens to give to a good home. They’re three months old and have curiosity enough to run out all of their coming nine lives. One is an orange male that we’ve affectionately been calling ‘Spaz’. And pictured here at the computer with Colleen is our grey female who we’ve been calling ‘Eyeore’.

As you can see, this kitten still has much to learn about being a cat. While easily distracted by Colleen’s game of Battleship, she’s completely ignoring the mouse!

Leave a comment

A Friend in the News

News, Politics, Technology
Media_httpgraphics7ny_cjiri

OK, maybe it’s not ALWAYS self-promotion here. The July 5th edition of the New York Times included a very interesting article titled “Knowing Their Politics by the Software They Use“. In the article, my friend and colleague David Brunton (shown in a dashing pose at right) and others discussed the appearance and background of the seeming preference for use of open source software by Democrats and progressive organizations, and of Republicans and the right for proprietary options. It’s well worth a read. Later, we’ll discuss the politics of Macs vs. PCs 🙂

One comment

Kerry-Edwards!

Politics

John Kerry made a great choice in selecting Senator John Edwards as his running mate. During my eight years working in the Senate, during which I had many opportunities to observe Senators at work, John Edwards made a very strong impression on me as being among the smartest and capable Senators that I observed. And he has proven his abilities as a candidate during the Democratic primaries, and in his ongoing efforts to get Kerry elected. This is a powerful ticket, and I’m very happy to do all I can to help the show Bush/Cheney the door in November.

Leave a comment

Montclair for Kerry!

Politics

see the photo album

Inspired by yesterday’s warm-up parade on the 3rd, Colleen was eager to participate in the annual Montclair Bike Parade held each year on the 4th. And rebel that she is, she didn’t bring a bike, and she didn’t settle for just streamers to decorate.Confronted with a GOP Elephant passing out candy to the children, Colleen only reluctantly agreed to pose for a picture with it. “Where’s the Donkey?”, she asked me. “We’re here for the Donkey”, I told her.

The parade was great, ending just as the first of many raindrops that landed during the day hit the ground.

One comment

4th on the 3rd

Politics

see the photo album

It was a great summer day to march in a 4th of July parade, except it was the 3rd of July. I thought some holidays were immovable. St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, Christmas… they fall on the same day regardless of when that day lands in the week. Same with the 4th, right? I suppose parades just work best on the nearest Saturday, fair enough.

We received a very warm welcome from the crowds along the parade route. Not necessarily a sure thing in our typically Republican region. But this election season I feel is different. I think that many thoughtful Republicans will find it hard to vote for Bush again (except maybe the ones on the Supreme Court who appointed him to begin with). What does a vote for Bush mean? Four more years of tax cuts for the rich? Exported jobs? Lies leading us to war? Weakend environmental and food safety protections?

It feels good to get involved. If you care enough to want a change, you have to care enough to get involved. And I will be doing all that I can to help elect John Kerry President in November, there is nothing more important I could be doing.

One comment

Pity Poor Chuck E.

Diversions
Media_httpcaseycomfam_bqrpi

I caught this headline on the AP news wire today, “Police: Mom Threatens Chuck E. Cheese“. Shocking I tell you, simply shocking!I speak from experience, you see, I’ve paid my dues in that Rat Suit. Several years ago I wrote about the experience in an article titled, “Lessons Learned in a Rat Suit“. From time to time I’ll get an email from a fellow alum of Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theatre. Sometimes it’s someone who worked there long ago as I did, sometimes it’s a current employee. Maybe I could have taught something to the young girl who was assualted while trying to entertain young children while dressed as a rat. But then again, I never had a parent throw pizza at me, so maybe it is I who still have more to learn.

One comment

Kerry House Party

Politics

see the photo album

Our Kerry House Party today was a great success. We had about 20 guests, most of whom we were meeting for the first time, and we enjoyed a backyard cookout with burgers, hot dogs, and the chance to dial into a conference call with more than 2000 other House Parties to hear Senator Kerry talk about how he’ll repair the damage of four years under President Bush.

Leave a comment

Fahrenheit 9/11 – I Dare You To See It

Movies, Politics

It’s probably no surprise to those who know me that I was eager to see Michael Moore’s film, Fahrenheit 9/11. My wife and I were among those in the full house of the first showing on opening day at our local theater. I expected to enjoy the movie, and I did. Anyone who’s seen one of Moore’s previous documentaries, regardless of whether you’re supportive or hostile to the points he makes, has to admit he’s a skillful filmmaker who is viciously funny.

What I was not prepared for was how viscerally moving the movie was. There are certainly plenty of laughs, just about all at President Bush’s expense. But there are also many parts that are difficult to watch, particularly the graphic scenes of wounded and dead Iraqis and Americans in Iraq, recovering soldiers in the U.S., and grieving families who wish their family member had only been wounded.

And for what? Weapons of mass destruction? An immenent threat to the United States? Any connection to Al-Queda or 9/11? A warm welcome from liberated Iraqis suffering under despotic rule? What? The justifications just don’t hold any water. George Bush, our court-appointed President, used the tradgedy of 9/11 to carry out his own agenda of an unjustified war against Iraq. It’s that simple. And they impeached Clinton for lying about sex.

So can a movie make a difference? My own feeling is that anyone who saw Fahrenheit 9/11 would be very hard pressed to challenge the facts it presents. We’ve seen them all before, strung out over the last three years, from the complicities of Bush’s ‘win’ in Florida, the obliviousness to terrorist threats pre- 9/11, and the trampling of civil liberties post. But when pulled together and viewed in a grander context, you are reminded, embarressed, and angered. Hopefully angered to action.

If the movie can make a convincing argument against the re-election of George Bush, the challenge lies in bringing the audience to the movie, and I can imagine three general types of individuals who might be in the audience; the choir, the undecided/uninvolved, and the Bush believers.

‘Preaching to the choir’, is a well known idiom meaning ‘Trying to make believers out of people who already believe’. It’s an expression of futility. In this instance, I’m in the choir, so is this movie wasted on me? No. Because the choir must be motivated. This choir needs to be reminded, be informed, and be angered to action.

How about the undecided/uninvolved? It’s frankly beyond me how any American who is paying attention can be undecided about the current state and direction of our national affairs. The uninvolved baffle me further, but to our great national shame, way too many voters in America just don’t bother to vote. Can these individuals be brought to the theater for Fahrenheit 9/11? At least they won’t necessarily be hostile to such a film in advance, and certainly could not fail to have been moved to some greater degree of attention following.

And the Bush believers, can they gain anything from Fahrenheit 9/11? I imagine that some will attend in order to learn its contents and attempt to debunk them. But I imagine pre-conceptions of this film as nothing but a Hollywood smear of President Bush is more than enough to keep the majority of Bush believers watching anything but this.

So dare them to view it. Challenge a Bush believer to watch this movie and continue to defend this President afterwards. Buy their ticket, and pay for a meal afterwards to talk about it. Offer a trade, and give two hours of your attention to watching whatever they want you to watch… even if you must spend it ‘Clockwork Orange’-style with your eyelids held open watching still continuing coverage of grass growing on Reagan’s grave.

Whichever audience you are in, you should see this movie. You owe it to yourself, and to our country, to look at the facts and reach your own conclusions. Failing that, we deserve whatever President the court appoints.

2 comments
1 … 60 61 62 63 64