Lessig

If you're online right now, it might be a good idea to read some of these posts...

Earlier, I wondered if a staffer would be ghost-writing the entries.

Now I'm wondering if the entries are auto-posted by a script.

Dr Dean:

Let me start by saying that I have tremendous respect for your efforts here, especially considering the fact that it is widely known that you are not the most tech savvy and you are embarking upon new territory in campaigns.

However, you have to realize that choosing to guest blog on Prof Lessig's blog places you in direct contact with those who are most knowledgeable about copyright and technology issues. I understand that you are very busy, and you certainly cannot expect to be an expert on everything, but so far your posts have contained incredibly generalized statements with unnecessarily elementary conclusions.

The above post illustrates my point painfully. You argue for media re-regulation but fail to draw a cause->effect relationship between deregulation and censorship (and also fail to say how you intend to 'regulate' censorship. Furthermore you suggest that we should repeal the unconstitutional provisions of the Patriot Act...I ask you: Is there anyone in the United States who would not agree with this statement? Certainly if a law is unconstitutional it should be repealed.

If you aren't familiar enough with the issues to have an opinion any more complex than that which has been posted (but instead want to know how this audience feels), then perhaps you should do a Request For Comment format instead of a Blog format.

Also Seth--I might note to you that the Governor posted an audioblog and they've taken pictures of him blogging. His posts all seem consistant with what he says in person. I don't see why it wouldn't be him posting. Maybe Prof. Lessig will affirm this when he comes back.

Also, Governor,

I agree with the others that some more details on your ideas would be nice. You've already stated well your positions on several other issues, and I think this community would like to hear what specifically you have to say with regards to legislation such as the DMCA and what you might do to reform copyright law...or if you haven't staked out your position yet, perhaps some partial thoughts you have about them.

It also would be good to hear if you're going to have a long conversation with Prof. Lessig about copyright and technology issues. A very large number of people agree with his words, and when you're formulating your policies, I'm sure a large number here would like him to speak to you about them.

Dr. Dean,

If you do happen to win the Democratic primaries, do you have anyone in mind as a running mate? Also, how would you take care of the situation in North Korea?

Dr. Dean,

I just want to say that, while I'm young and I've always considered myself a Democrat, you are the first politician who has been able to express and fight for what I've known is right. You have the guts to challenge Bush on the issues and I think you would crush him in a debate. You have my support!

Seth -- can I ask you something -- don't you think that if we were ghostwriting this stuff we would have come up with something better than that? I mean seriously if that post doesn't prove Howard Dean himself is posting -- I don't know what will cut through your doubts.

Now lets talk about the substance of this one -- maybe its only because I work for him -- but I think he was saying -- I just came off the road after six days -- thanks for the feedback -- but right now I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. I mean it was posted at 11:28 Eastern Time.

This isn't an excuse -- he is afterall the one who is running for President -- I am just putting this post in perspective.

And I can guarantee you one more thing -- I know him -- and he will read every comment, its just how he is.

Thanks
Joe Trippi

Let me add this:

The self-importance on display here is as disappointing to me as the Governor's posts are to many of you. You've been offered the opportunity to have your words seen, contemplated, by a possible future president. Perhaps a little humility, and an awareness of things greater than your topic of interest, is in order.

An RFC format? PLEASE! Manage your expectations and your hubris.

Ian

I think the gov. seems pretty focused on an important campaign, and I for one am glad that he is focusing most of his attention on that larger responsibility that he is making to his supporters. Guest hosting here is a chance for those who post here regularly to learn about Dean, and might introduce new people interested in Dean to the issues usually raised here with Lessig.

As a big supporter of Dean, I'd also be very interested in the running mate question....is there anything to be said Trippi?

- Emily

I don't want to intrude on this blog, but I have a suggestion that I think might make for a much more productive conversation with Dr. Dean. We all know that the man is campaigning like the energizer bunny, so his time is limited. I've been reading the posts, comments and questions and I'm finding it pretty overwhelming, and I'm not even the one who is supposed to be addressing this stuff. Why don't you folks who are regulars here try to organize things a little bit to make things a little easier for Dean to get specific. Rather than fire off a gazillion questions and waiting for him to choose one to answer, why don't you guys put your heads together and come up with one compelling question a day (even two or three part questions) and post it and let him address that one question. You could all submit some questions and vote on which ones to ask. Howard Dean was a great governor and is a very smart and sensible man. I think you'll really like what he has to say...but without some kind of organization and simplifying of this whole process I suspect things aren't going to go as well as they could. Okay...I'm going back to lurker mode now. I hope you will consider my suggestion and make the most of this opportunity.

Joe -- can you -- please stop -- using this -- annoying habit of hyphenating -- your every -- thought?

I'm sure that Governor Dean is posting, but so far his posts haven't amounted to much. If this is truly about communication, then Dr. Dean needs to understand that the people he's talking to on this forum WILL NOT be impressed with these vacuous comments. I would love to hear the Governor devote some time to a thoughtful dialogue.

Joe, seriously, I am one of the Governors biggest supporters, but please, don't waste this opportunity. Lessig's blog is a wonderful place to begin a conversation with this community, but it is going to require more effort.

Eillen--comments like that are out of place here. In fact, I get kind of pissed when there are dozens (or hundreds) of comments and I have to scroll through comments like yours to get to any meat. If you want to flame Seth, e-mail him, or better yet, post your diatribes on your own blog. I'm not elitist. I simply want to further discussion.

I am particularly interested in Dr. Dean's take on OpenSource. Many governments worldwide continue to express interest in Linux, OpenOffice, etc. Do you think our government should invest more money, time, coders to this broad initiative?

I would also like to know your personal opinion on the Creative Commons license. Also, do you think that downloading music to judge its worth constitutes fair use? Do you feel current copyright law (the extensions in particular) unduly restrict what many consider to be legitamately public works?

As a final note, I would like to invite readers to check out Nooron.org. The recent surge in blogpower enables peers to filter information into what I consider different "worldviews." The potential power of a system like nooron to share information and technique has me very excited. Perhaps a staffer could examine the more technical aspects of the site. However you, Dr. Dean, should definitely take 5 minutes out and read the whitepaper.

Thank you for your time. I wish you luck.

As others have said, I'm very impressed at the guts and care that Governor Dean has demonstrated by guest-posting here. This is much trickier than Clinton playing the Sax on Arsenio Hall, especially with the possibility of Republican-prompted trolling on the site.

I would ask Governor Dean's critics here to remember that every word written on this site will no doubt be hoovered up by Republican "oppo research", thus requiring the candidate (and Mr. Trippi) to be very careful about what they say. It may be bland compared to the sort of freewheeling discussion that bloggers and blog commentators are used to, but they don't have to worry about their comments showing up out of context in a campaign ad a year from now, either. The Republicans have demonstrated that they will bend words however necessary in order to maintain power; while that is the source of their current problems, it is something that we need to be aware of.

That said, I'm interested in the comments that were made by Gov. Dean about re-regulation. My question is this: Given that a limited number of conglomerates have already seized extraordinary power within the U.S. media, how would a Dean administration go about the business of proper re-regulation while avoiding the danger of merely cementing the current arrangement? Would he consider the reimplementation of a variation on the "Fairness Doctrine"?

I also have a different, related question. Gov. Dean has demonstrated knowledge of the pernicious effects of deregulation. He has not (to my knowledge), however, discussed the widespread growth of what has been colorfully described as "the mighty Wurlitzer": the arrangement of conservatively biased think tanks, pundits, news outlets, opinion journals and, yes, bloggers that provides key support to the Republican party and the conservative movement, as well as using its resources to influence mainstream media and the political elite in its favor. This phenomenon has been the subject of several books and articles: including Robert Borosage's The Mighty Wurlitzer, David Brock's Blinded by the Right, and Eric Alterman's What Liberal Media? It is also a staple discussion topic of many liberal bloggers (including myself) who believe that this phenomenon is key to understanding the success of the Republican party and George W. Bush. Indeed, even the popularly elected Al Gore acknowledged its effects not too long ago.

So, given that, my second question is this: Is Gov. Dean familiar with the phenomenon of the "mighty Wurlitzer", has he read the books and articles related to the phenomenon, and what ideas does he have on breaking the stranglehold on the media and government that this arrangement has given conservatives in general and the Republican party in particular? Are Dean's efforts to involve liberal/progressive bloggers in his campaign an indication of a belief that these bloggers are a means by which to blunt the power of the Republican spin machine? And if there is a Dean presidency, what steps will he take to discourage this attempt to gain control of the American political discourse?

Again, thanks for taking the time to read these comments and responding when you can. And thanks again to Prof. Lessig for allowing us access to the future candidate.

Govenor Dean,

I hope you win. As an undergraduate, every time I check a book out of my public university’s library I worry that a record of my borrowing selections will end up in the hands of federal agents – without any sort of court order. I worry that my friends and fellow students who are visiting the U.S. from foreign countries will one day disappear, secretly arrested and tried before a military tribunal or detained indefinitely in ‘deportation proceedings’ without access to counsel. The USA Patriot Act scares me, what portions of it would you seek to repeal? Or perhaps a better question- what parts would you keep?

Because of the deregulation of media the head of Cumulous Radio may have been able to banish the Dixie Chicks from a few dozen stations for a month- re-regulation is an important issue and I thank you for addressing it- but the Government of the United States of America has made me fearful of checking out too many dissenting library books, has made my foreign friends afraid of discussing American politics, and their families afraid to interact with any public officials. Tell the American people about the Anti-Bill of Rights Act they called the Patriot Act. Tell us what portions you would seek to repeal if we elect you President- and I sincerely hope we will.

Respectfully,
Matt

I said I wasn't going to post again...but I feel compelled to say something else. If Dean says he will read all the comments, he will read them. He also has a tendency of not answering a question unless he has enough information to do so. He has always been (at least politically here in Vermont) someone who takes the time to really understand a situation before forming an opinion on it. Give him a chance to digest the new information. Also, a lot of the questions being asked of him are just as generic as his answers posts have been. If you want a "meaty" answer then give him some references to research enough to give an answer he feels good about. He's not someone who is going to just tell you what you want to hear. He's going to give you his sincere and honest opinons...which is a real rarity when it comes to politics. This guy really listens to what people say, and he takes the thoughts and views of the people very seriously. Since he's reading every comment, he knows better what you all want from him...but as much as you ask questions you also need to provide enough information for him to form an opinion and discuss things in a way that everyone feels good about.

Now I have a question...when Gov. Dean isn't here, what are the main topics of discussion? I've noticed several posts about open source software and censorship. Are there a lot of scripters who work on open source projects posting here? If so...you guys are the best! I've been dabbling around a tiny bit with PHP and if it weren't for open source and the sharing of scripts online I wouldn't be able to learn a darn thing. It's great to have access to good programs and great talent for free, and I'm very thankful and appreciative for all the hard work and devotion put forth in making those scripts available to people like myself who are some what technologically challenged.

Expectations are high, process is new, details are missing, complaints are many, host is busy, support is broad, visitors are enlightened, locals are pissed, questions are pointed, answers are needed....

It's still all good.

This is a meta-comment. It's about the blog and not about Howard Dean himself.

So to be fair, the blog postings are vague. Blogs have a history of being more personal and 'gritty' than a website or a campaign commercial; they're first-person, not a venue for states-of-Union or press releases. What I gather is that some people wish Howard Dean would open up somewhat when he posts.

For instance, why is he running? When did he make that decision? (This is covered on his own website, but how about hearing it in his own words?) If media de-regulation is a problem, what particular warning sign clued him in? What did he wish he could do about it?

How has the campaign trail gone? I'm sure that's on his mind. How have people reacted to his message; the positive *and* the negative feelings?

Maybe that's not what the goal of this blog was, but it's certainly something people might expect when reading a presidential candidate's electronic diary.

Vermonter for Dean has a good point. What specific questions would people here like to hear the Doctor answer? Given his limited time, which questions are the most crucial? I'm wondering myself what the goal of this stint is, other than introducing people in this community to Dr. Dean.

There's policy stuff, like his stance on the DMCA or copyright extensions, which parts of the PATRIOT Act are unconstitutional (and which are not), how the FCC should re-regulate media ownership, and so forth. And there are more general questions about who he is, why he opposed the war in Iraq, and so on, questions he's already answered elsewhere. I'm not sure this blog is the most efficient way to address these things.

I think a better line of inquiry might be: how does he know Professor Lessig? Why did he agree to post here this week? What is his interest in intellectual property rights? What is it about him or his campaign that should appeal to "cyber libertarians"? What concerns and questions does he have? What does he hope to accomplish?

He talked about the overpowering influence of corporations recently, in places like his Great American Restoration speech. I'd like to hear more along those lines, especially in light of the enormous amounts of money pumped into political campaigns. What obstacles will People-Powered Howard face? Can he make it to the White House without being bought even a little, has he been surprised at anything he's learned along the way, and what efforts, if any, does he see the "special interests" making to stop him? We know about the DLC and the GOP trying to McGovern him - what's the view from inside as he breaks into the "country club"?

Can reasonable people please agree to spell USA-PATRIOT Act properly, in all-caps, to minimize any confusion about the misbegotten law and actual patriotism?

Thanks. And, yes, so far I do believe you have my vote, Governor.

An IPR question for Gov. Dean (and Larry too when he gets back from R&R), with a couple of paras of context before the question.

What rights does the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation have to "pequot.com"?

At the Berlin meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), there were three groups proposing to draft the intellectual property rights regime that the then-forming ICANN would opperate under. One of these three expressed a view on the subject -- private law theories of marks, even property, would not exhaust the repitoire of possible theories of rights to names. Indigenous polities -- "states", retained a claim as sovereigns to their own names.

At the time of the Berlin meeting of ICANN, pequot.com was the property of three or four cute yuppies working the e-financial side of the dot-com boom. They, or their successors-in-interest, still are today.

In bricks-and-morter space, the jurisdictional claims of the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Court have over a claim by the Estate of Tasunke Witko to the name "Crazy Horse" has been answered -- Ferolito, Vultaggio & Sons and Heileman Brewing do not market "The Original Crazy Horse Malt Liquor" on the Rosebud, so the Estate's claim to an Oglala Lakota name, cannot be tried in an Oglala Lakota courtroom.

A few years ago a German avant guard music group sampled recorded sound and marketed a recorded sound product, without the prior knowledge of, or the permission of, or a revenue sharing contract with, the authors of the audio recording they sampled. The authors of the original audio recording were Indians, and their work was not protected by an assignment of right from the authors to some distinct corporation or collection of individuals.

It is clear that the private law of ICANN, a California 501(c)(3), holds no jurisdictional promise to Indigenous polities. It is a dead end, not a means to access the International Law system for Tribal governments that must otherwise obtain access through National governments, if they are permitted access at all. Similarly, access to WIPO by parties other than UN member states, makes the protection of traditional music vastly more difficult than corporations enjoy under US and International copyright law.

Finally, and this is where the bones lie, there is patent law. In the genes of Indians, Indian cultivars, and indigenous medicinal plants, there is the indigenous intellectual property. This collective property right is defined in both WIPO, and Biodiversity Treaty frameworks, but is inaccessible to Tribal governments, with the exception of a reburial right to the bones of our direct ancestors.

How will you improve the protections available to Native American Intellectual Property?

Eric Brunner-Williams

fellow commentators - remember Dean's last post. It looks like Dean is posting here to ask us about what issues we feel are important, not to tell us what his positions are. It's clear from his previous post that he is looking for facts upon which to base is policy issues.

We are a resource for him. That means we need to take this rare opportunity to educate a candidate for President of the United States on the issues about IP, copyright vs patents, Eldred, DMCA, SBCEA, etc.

Asking questions of Gov. Dean at this point is counter productive. I know exactly where Seth is coming from because shared his complaint until Dean's prevous post - when I realized that the purpose of this guest blog was 180 degrees from my earlier assumption.

Here on Lessig blog is a vocal and articulate community on IP issues. Let's use our knowledge and give Dean the facts he needs.

Asking him what his Veep choice will be or why he enters politics is as much as wasted oipportunity for ourselves. Here we can help shape a possible President's views on IP and we're asking him the Friday Five?

We clearly aren't going to get a detailed policy statement from Dean about IP this week. But if we play our cards right, we might get one before the primary. For once we have the power, which is what the Dean campaign has always been about.

Who is responsible for the god-awful color on this photo? Unless Howard Dean is actually an Oompa-Loompa this photo is seriously messed up. Do you want help proofreading and vetting content for this site? I'd love to help, and I hate to see visual travesties like this Dean pic. Pics like this make the Lessig site look like Andy Warhol for Dummies. If this pic is intended as some sort of visual commentary on Dean, It belongs on an art blog, not Lessig's. And if this pic is strictly for Lessig's blog, than, well, have you no eyes fools?

Dr Dean,

Please get yourself booked on the Daily Show, it's the only credible news source on television, and it's mostly fake news. Ok, that's a sad story in itself but it's the right demographic for your campaign.

Aziz:

A-men to that.

I will tell you of a odd situation that my friend is in. My friend is a commercial dj and according to the DMCA he cannot circumvent the copy protection, also legally, being in a commercial business he cannot make back up copies of his music. (So he can leave the originals home in a safe place)

Now even though he has insurance covering his equipment, music, etc. A violent fight broke out at his last gig, and some of his cd's (which are now out of print) were destroyed. Had it been legal for him to make back-ups he would still have the music.

Now he has to submit a claim to his insurance company, wait for the claim check (lose work in the mean time) and home he can find copies of the out of print music somewhere.

This is just one of the reasons why the DMCA is bad. Can anyone explain to me under the DMCA are you buying a physical product CD/DVD or a license to listen/view the contents on a CD/DVD. Because if it is a license, which I think the RIAA/MPAA said it was, then he should have been able to legally time or space or media shift his collection of music legally.

I also being a DJ do this with my records. Record to CD. How ever this is for my own use for I no longer am in business as such.

I would like to hear any comments on this, and topics about why are government is stand behind corperations and special intrest groups who have comitted anti-trust against its consumers, lied to congress, and are not even business based in our country.

Governor, you have mentioned media consolidation and the PATRIOT act: so far, so good. But will you, if elected,

1) propose the repeal of the Copyright Term Extension Act, either unilaterally or as part of a build-down process in which we and our European trading partners would together gradually reduce the duration of copyright over time,

2) propose the repeal or modification of the "device" and "circumvention" provisions of the DMCA 17 U.S.C. 1201 (a) (1) and 1201 (a) (2),

3) propose the repeal of or modification of 17 U.S.C. 1101 (a) (1), and the introduction of an explicit time limit on the prohibitions of 17 U.S.C. 1101 (a) (2) and (a) (3) (to make them conformable with the spirit of the constitutional requirement of "limited times") ?

Firstly, I completely agree with Stephen - the Daily Show (hosted by Jon Stewart on Comedy Central) would be a great place to book some time. Last night Gary Hart was on and had a great dialogue re: the bipartisan report on terrorism issued by himself, Newt Gingrich et. al. warning of an imminent terrorist threat 2 years before Sept. 11, 2001. Stewart also asked him about the presidential race, and Hart joked about his run oh so many years ago, as well as Sen. Clinton's potential candidacy. Stewart followed up with what appeared to be a 'tell me about Howard Dean' question, although he didnt mention you specifically. Anyways, I think its a great idea - Jon Stewart is a very smart, very funny guy - and he doesnt usually grill into people 'just for kicks' like some other talk show hosts...

Next, I've mentioned the Eldred Act, which stems from the recent Supreme Court decison in Eldred v. Ashcroft. Returning fairness to copyright laws is something the lessig community feels very strongly about, and we believe supporting the Eldred Act is a great first step.

Something else that is very important to us, which I haven't seen mentioned yet, is FCC Spectrum Licensing. Traditionally the FCC has licensed parts of the 'spectrum', or radio frequencies, to TV/radio/cell phone/gov't agencies for use. This system is predicated on the idea that radio waves are a scarce resource, like the rainforests or oil reserves. With recent technological advances, this is not necessarily the case. Prof. Lessig writes extensively about this in his book The Future of Ideas. The FCC is not ignoring this idea - in fact, the FCC specifically named certain radio frequencies as 'unlicensed', or free for use by anyone, i.e. completely unregulated. These frequencies are small, but they are driving an industrial revolution of sorts, enabling things like wireless phones and wireless internet access from laptops. I urge you to learn more about the ideas behind open spectrum and support Michael Powell and the FCC in any future decisions which open up more spectrum for public use. Prof. Lessig has a list of online resources.

Comments for others:

Seth, I found an interesting post regarding the Dean campaign here. The poster shares your cynism for the politic of the Dean campaign, but gets it (as Lessig would say) regarding why the campaign is different. No president or candidate with any chance will ever have time to engage in the way you want them to. What Dean is saying is with this campaign - he wants us to engage each other. I have yet to hear anything about what I know is your issue #1 - anti-censorship. Tell people about it. Tell Dean about it. You have a unique perspective and I really think people should know about it.

Brian Perry: or you can just go back to Negativity-World and when the campaign is over, you can google Howard Dean.

Ok -- people have said that we are supposed to posit one or two GOOD questions for Gov. Dean to answer, so here's mine:

Given that Disney has made their living from a rape of the public domain, yet paid for legislation like the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act specifically to avoid having to give back TO the public domain, will you, as president, propose legislation to return copyright terms to a properly short, and not-retroactively-(or otherwise)-extensible, duration?

-and-

Given the chilling effects of the DMCA, and its effect of making copy protection destroy our fair use rights, will you sponsor and sign legislation similar to that already proposed by Rep. Boucher?

RE: DMCA

Does anyone have an opinion they would like to share with Candidate Dean about implementation of DMCA as pertains to the upcoming DRM-OS from Microsoft, code named Palladium?

This operating system, as I read it, appears to be extremely invasive, and installation of the OS is agreeing to allow MS unfettered access to your computer at any time of their choosing.

Good starting points for research & commentary are:
http://www.anti-dmca.org/
http://www.anti-dmca.org/DRM-OS.html
http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20020627.html

Governor Dean is a lot like Tyler Durden.

Avdi...like I mentioned in my last post...Gov. Dean is listening to what people are saying here...and it WILL affect how he thinks about the subjects being mentioned. As Aziz pointed out...Dr. Dean is here to learn, get input from people about these issues and be certain he knows what people think. It's not just about publicity or getting his name out...although I'm sure that's an added bonus. Dean is a man who genuinely wants to know what you think and cares about your opinion. Take this opportunity to tell him about what your concerns are and what you would like to see done. Try to look at this as if you were going up in front of congress to testify for something you believe in. Tell him what your concerns are and explain what you think needs to be changed and why. I do think he's here to listen. It could be that he's in the process of forming his position on these kinds of issues and he wants to know how the people feel.

If this was just some publicity stunt. why would Dean do it here? Realistically, there are many other places where he could do that and reach a heck of a lot more people.

The bottom line is that for probably the first time in your life...YOU have the opportunity to tell the future president of the US what matters to you and why...and he's actually listening! He's giving you the power to have influence and input. You should take it. And yes, I"m that confident he's going to win.

Me, you seem to be upset that Disney used the public domain to create new works, but isnt that exactly what you want more of? Your use of the term 'rape' doesn't seem warranted because, in fact, we all adore Disney for their creativity and use of the public domain; what we want is a larger public domain so that more people can do what Disney did. What we don't want is Disney using the money they made from utilizing the public domain to shut it down for the rest of us.

The Eric Eldred Act

Dana,

Thanks for that Blankenhorn post, it was informative.

I think there's interesting tactics in the Dean campaign, well worth note. But they're adaptations, not revolutions. For example, "You have the power", that's very reminiscent of Jesse Jackson's phrase "I AM somebody".

It's critical to keep in mind the distinction between real participation, and the illusion of participation. Of course no presidential candidate will have the time to engage us - that's exactly my point.

I'm quite put-off by organizations that attempt to create such an illusion. I know it's not real. My few trips behind the smoke and mirrors, leave me unable to immerse myself in any of that emotional magic.

The reason I haven't gone into much discussion of anti-censorship issues is, as I always tell people, civil-liberties are by definition anti-majoritarian. That is, nobody tries to censor or suppress the popular or inoffensive, censorship is directed at the troubling and unpopular (note I don't claim this as an original thought). So almost no politician will have a strong, thoughtful position against censorship (or at least admit to one in public). So why bother?

In fact, I wish I could write a book on the topic of the political problems in Internet civil-liberties. In 1995 when I started out campaigning against censorware, NONE of the big organizations would help me, because they were trying to pull off a political deal on the topic. And this week, in the wake of the CIPA (library censorware law) Supreme Court decision, there is, drumroll, ... a faction which is maneuvering for a politics/business deal on it. Politics just isn't pretty,

Blog posts just aren't going to make a difference. Especially at a campaign level.

what a mess.

Posted by Lucian:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/14/1026185141232.html
This is ridiculous, I hope its not true.
....
Project TIPS is a joke. Like all Bush Homeland Security inititiatives. They have a Toll Free line, that actually connects you to the TV show, "America's Most Wanted." I'm not kidding - they send you to a Faux TV show. It's the draconian measures that aren't written about that concern me. The reading of email, the wire-tapping, the secret incarcerations, the (a little OT, but related, imho,) rigging of touch screen ballot boxes, etc..
This gang operates on the assumption that it's silly to waste your time on a bunch of small lies, when a few BIG ones will do the trick (Market efficiency in lie theory?)

The Democrats have been little better when it comes to alot of these issues though. Clinton brought us through the same basic policy on Iraq, despite the same basic intel. More Americans were prosecuted for marijuana under Clinton than at anytime before or since. More protections were granted to big media and big pharmaceuticals during his terms than at any other time as well.

I hope Dean will be frank about some of that stuff, as he has been about more recent Democrat screw-ups that are more politically advantageous. He seems like a good guy - I think he'll address it.

Off to the race-track, us unemployed bums have to fit the stereo-type. I might stop off and get some government cheese on the way home, too.

All for today,