Orient Lodge

"There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" This famous quote of Robert Kennedy paraphrasing George Bernard Shaw sets the tone for this mornings sessions at Computers, Freedom and Privacy.

The plenary panel will be discussing "an inter-networked communication infrastructure that could facilitate the creation of a modern surveillance society". It sounds like a fascinating panel, and looking at things, I am sure people are bound to ask the question, Why? There are plenty of explanations, which I hope will get explored.

A parallel track is Activism and Education Using Social Networks. It looks like a small turnout of people, many of whom I already know and are already very active online. Yet this is the dreaming of things that never were and asking why not.

After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, volunteers self organized a project on the Internet to help people find missing loved ones. Hurricane Katrina disproportionately affected poor people and African-Americans. This afternoon at Computers, Freedom and Privacy there was a workshop on deceptive campaign practices. Many ideas were presented and it struck me that perhaps a project similar to PeopleFinder, let’s call in VoteProtector, should be created.

The groundwork was laid by discussing ways that people have presented deceptive information in an effort to suppress votes, particularly of the poor, minorities, and increasingly, of the youth. Tova Wang of Common Cause and Lillie Coney of the Electronic Privacy Information Center led a discussion including Jenigh J. Garrett of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, John Aristotle Phillips, co-founder of Aristotle, Jon Pincus of Tales from the Net, and Ruchi Bhorwmik who works as legislative counsel to Senator Barack Obama.

Many stories were told about spreading false information in efforts to discourage voters from voting or telling them to vote at wrong locations or on wrong days.

A lively discussion followed about different ways of addressing this. One part of the solution is to get more people aware of 1 866 Our Vote, a phone number, and a website that can be used to get people to report voting irregularities and seek help. The problem is getting more people to know about this, to know about their voting rights and to work together to fight deceptive practices.

It struck me that a project like PeopleFinder focusing on these issues could be a powerful way to do this. People could create tools to mashup reports of voting suppression efforts. These efforts could quickly be brought to the attention of the press in the area of the attempted voting suppression. Voting rights, on a state by state basis could be explained. What are the rules about registering to vote? What sort of identification do you need do you need to bring with you to the polls? What are your options for early voting, absentee voting, and provisional ballots?

What are the rules about voting if you’ve been convicted of a felony? I believe some states allow felons to vote. Others do not. Many have rules about felons being able to vote after they have served their time, and perhaps done a few other tasks to get their voting rights back.

Techniques to make encourage voting and discourage voting suppression could be discussed, such as the great idea of getting a group of people to go to the polls together. If you go as part of a group, you are less likely to be turned away, and you are more likely to stand up for your rights if challenged.

This could then be promoted across all the social networks, not only Facebook, which serves a demographic which is perhaps less likely to run into voter suppression activities, but also MySpace, Hi5, and many other sites that have a tendency of getting overlooked.

So, anyone want to pick up the Project VoteProtector ball and run with it?

Recently, I added EntreCard to the mix of tools that I use with my blog. It has driven a nice mix of new traffic to my site and has brought me to several other very interesting sites. Yesterday, they announced some nice changes to their site as well as introduced a few that I didn’t see in the announcement that I like even better. So, it is probably a good time for me to talk a little bit about what EntreCard is, and why I like it.

Tomorrow marks the opening of Computers, Freedom, and Privacy 2008. This is an annual conference that has been held since 1991. This year, it will be in New Haven, CT, which makes it very convenient for me to attend.

As with most conferences, I like to read the program ahead of time to try and decide which sessions I’ll try to attend. Often it is hard to choose with many panels happening at the same time. Frequently, I make last minute choices as I wish from one hour long panel to the next. I may run into this later in the week, but the first decisions seem pretty straight forward to me.

Tuesday starts off with a choice between Scott Spetka leading a workshop entitled “Maintaining Privacy While Accessing On-line Information”, and Mike Godwin leading a workshop entitled “Constitutional Law in Cyberspace”. Through my coverage of the Avery Doninger case, I’ve been steeped in constitutional law around freedom of speech issues, at least as it applies to students in public high schools in the United States. Mike Godwin is general counsel of the Wikimedia Foundation. The workshop should cover a much great array of topics than just the freedom of speech issues I’ve been following. Fortunately, it is three hours long. Even that amount of time will probably only allow the surface to be scratched.

The afternoon provides a choice between Robert Ellis Smith’s presentation, “A Short History of Privacy” and panel organized by Lillie Coney, Associate Director with the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and moderated by Tova Wang, Vice President of Research at Common Cause about entitled, “e-Deceptive Campaign Practices: Elections 2.0”. Both presentations sound very interesting. Yet by the sounds of it Robert Ellis Smith’s presentation will be based substantially on his book “Ben Franklin’s Web Site”. It sounds like a great book, and I’ll put it on my reading list. However, I think I’ll attend the campaign practices session. I should probably say hello to Tova, since my wife now works for Common Cause. Also, the panel has a bunch of interesting folks. It should be fun.

Wednesday morning start off with “Presidential Technology Policy: Priorities for the Next Executive”. It will be co-moderated by Ari Schwartz, Vice President, Center for Democracy and Technology and Susan Crawford, Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School. The panel will include Douglas Holtz-Eakin who is Senior Domestic Policy Advisor for the McCain '08 Campaign and Daniel Weitzner who is a member of the Technology Media and Telecommunications policy committee advising the Obama '08 Campaign. I hope the discussion will be lively and fear that the two hours allotted for it may not be enough.

Wednesday afternoon starts the more traditional conference fair with concurrent ninety minute long sessions. I’ll probably start picking which of those sessions to attend sometime around lunch on Wednesday.

So, I hope I have the stamina to attend and write coherently about what looks like a fun conference.

This evening, Democrats across the State of Connecticut will gather at conventions to select their nominees for State Senate. Some of these conventions will be small quiet affairs where old friends gather to nominate their current State Senators for another term.

Many of my online Obama supporters have been asking this question over the past few days, and I am sure are bound to be thinking this again today. Does Obama have a problem with poorer, less educated, white rural voters? What should be done?

Well, yesterday, I drove from Connecticut down to Virginia to pick up one of my daughters from college. I stopped in Martinsburg WV and spent a few hours canvassing for Obama. Martinsburg is in Berkeley County, part of the Washington DC exurbs. Obama did better in Berkeley County than just about any other county, with the exception of neighboring Jefferson County. Yet my experiences did not match those of the pundits.

I didn't see a poorer less educated rural white America. I saw a wild and wonder state that is part of the United States of America. To borrow the words from a famous speech,

Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes.

Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America.

The pundits, the pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too:

We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States.

We coach Little League in the Blue States and yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the Red States.

There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq.

(For those who don't recognize it, this is an excerpt from Sen. Obama's speech in 2004 to the Democratic National Convention.)

So, why did Clinton do so well in West Virginia? Let me offer a few thoughts. First, and I know that some of my online Obama supporting friends are going to jump down my throat on this, Sen. Clinton is not a bad person. I believe that she does care deeply about this country. I would gladly vote for her over any of the Republicans. More importantly, what is wrong with West Virginia is related to what is the matter with Kansas.

Thomas Frank explores What's the matter with Kansas in a book with that title. The key idea is that voters have been distracted by the wedge issues, abortion and gay marriage, by conservatives who are opposed to the key message of progressive Democrats, because they know that this key message is something they cannot stand against. What is this key message? Well, let's return to Sen. Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention speech.

It is that fundamental belief, it is that fundamental belief, I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper that makes this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one American family.

What is wrong with West Virginia? What is the matter with Kansas? It is that we have lost this fundamental belief. Yet it is here that I diverge from the pundits and the bloggers. The problem isn't with the good people of West Virginia or the good people of Kansas. The problem is that the pundits, and the bloggers, have gotten caught up in the horserace and have forgotten to talk about our fundamental beliefs.

Yet as I walked around parts of Martinsburg, I found people that hold fast to this fundamental belief that we are our brother's keeper, that we aren't a Red America and a Blue America, we are a United States of America.

So, let me be bold, and perhaps offensive for a moment. The problem is not the good people of West Virginia or Kansas, the problem is every blogger that is pontificating online about West Virginia without having gone door to door to talk with people about being our brother's keeper, without having gone door to door to help us be one America.

And this is bigger than just the Presidential Election. Yes, I know that this is supposed to be the most important presidential election in a generation, but unless all of us work together to help perfect the vision of a more perfect union, of 'E pluribus unum. Out of many, one', then it may not matter who gets elected president.

Knocking on doors in West Virginia was very different than knocking on doors in New Hampshire. It was a beautiful warm sunny day. People here had not been contacted by campaigns and they were grateful that someone cared enough to come to their door and talk about our nation and who should lead it. I believe that the people I visited will be more involved in helping set our nation back on the right path.

So, I end this with a challenge. On May 20th, there will be a primary in Kentucky. Use this as an opportunity to get in touch with people there about our fundamental beliefs about being our brother's keeper. Help people across this great nation of ours become more involved in repairing the moral fabric of our country.

What's wrong with West Virginia is that we are not talking enough to all Americans.

In a few moments, I will hit the road on my way to Staunton, VA to pick up my middle daughter from college. It is about an eight hour drive.

On the way, I'll pass through Martinsburg, WV where I plan on stopping and doing a little get out the vote in today's West Virginia Primary.

So, I'll mostly be offline, although I hope to put up a few posts on Twitter, BrightKite, Utterz and/or Flickr and I hope to get at least limited access this evening.

Saturday was the Democratic State Convention in New Britain. I had family events to attend to and couldn’t attend. However, Christine Stuart has this report up on CT NewsJunkie.

Tonight will be the Democratic Congressional Seat conventions. I haven’t heard details about the conventions in the first and third congressional districts. It is clear who the nominees will be and the conventions are likely to be about as exciting as the State Convention was.

Over in the Fifth Congressional District, Chris Murphy’s convention is supposed to start this evening at 6:30 PM at Crosby High School, 300 Pierpont Road, Waterbury. In the Second Congressional District, Joe Courtney’s nominating convention will take place at UCONN Storrs Campus Rome Commons Ballroom, starting at 7 PM.

While I’ve received more emails about Courtney’s convention than I have of any of the other incumbents, the most buzz right now is about the Fourth Congressional District Convention, where Jim Himes is expected to receive the nomination. It is taking place at the Cesar Batalla School, 606 Howard Ave, in Bridgeport, also starting at 7 PM.

The Himes campaign also has an interesting idea, become a Virtual Delegate. You can donate and make a nominating speech. The event is also up on Facebook and there is an after party.

Since I’m driving to Virginia tomorrow, I’ll probably miss these conventions. However, there are plenty of other great conventions coming up. Later, I’ll post information about some of the State Senate Conventions that will happen next week.

I sit down to try and get through some of the emails that have piled up I see a twitter message pop up from Andy Carvin. “Chinese media now saying up to 5,000 people killed in today's quake.” A few moments, he added “NPR's Melissa Block is in Chengdu, which was hit by the earthquake, along with a team from All Things Considered.”

I flip to Google News for more details. I read about tornados in Oklahoma killing 22, continued problems with the relief efforts in Myanmar where thousands have died from a cyclone. I read about wildfires raging in Florida and a volcano spewing ash in Chile.

Some of my conservative preacher friends might use this as a chance to talk about God’s retribution for whichever is their favorite sin du jour. If anything, it makes me think of two issues. We are called to be stewards of God’s creation, and I wonder if too many of us have forgotten that in lust for profit and power.

More importantly, we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves, something we need to do more of as we all work together when confronted by cyclones, volcanoes, earthquakes and fires.

On the radio, Steve Earle’s “Christmas in Washington” comes on. “So, come back Woody Guthrie, come back to us now… Come back Emma Goldman, rise up old Joe Hill”. Goldman’s famous line, “If I can't dance, I don't want to be in your revolution" comes to my mind, mixed together with the music of Steve Earle, Woody Guthrie and Joe Hill.

Yes, there are tribulations that people face on this rainy Monday morning in Connecticut. Some are man made, some are natural, but they all offer opportunities to gather together, to love our neighbors, to dance and to sing.

“So, come back Woody Guthrie…”

Former U.S. Senator, Former Presidential Candidate and Author Gary Hart addressed a group of lawyers, legislators, candidates and activists this afternoon at the offices of Shipman and Goodwin in downtown Hartford this afternoon. Prior to Sen. Hart’s presentation, people gathered, shared sandwiches and discussions about the legislative session that has just ended. Folks more often seen wearing T-Shirts supporting one candidate or another put on their suits to join the discussion.

The event was sponsored by The Connecticut Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society and the Council for a Livable World.

Sen. Hart started off by acknowledging that the priorities for a new administration would be a long and complex agenda, and he chose to focus on two key themes, security and the restoration of constitutional government in our county. The next president should start off his or her administration with a televised speech to the nation about the importance of our constitution and the checks and balances it is supposed to afford us. The next president should talk about why an independent judiciary is so important and about the dangers of the unitary executive theory that has been espoused by members of the current administration.