I just listened to Joe Trippi speak at Etech. Everyone was ecstatic, enthused, wanting more, wanting to see how to extend it further. I was disappointed, reminded of why i feel disenchanted with politics. In campaigns, the measurement of success is how much money is raised, how many people are behind the person, etc. Quantitative bits.

Well, i want qualitative.

What does it mean to have a candidate who can distribute their voices down the Internet channel as well as the TV channel? Everyone gets all excited because the Dean campaign had an interactive communication scheme online. What does that mean? How many people’s opinions were changed this way? Somehow, i get the impression that the digital interactive environment allowed those with the same views to talk to others with the same views. This is *great* for support groups, but dreadful for changing the system.

I remember a conversation i had with Manuel Castells. He was worried that the Internet only segmented people more, letting them self-segregate into gated communities based on similarity. I really took this to heart; i think he’s dead-on. All too often, the Internet lets us find like-minded people and solidify our intolerance to other views. ::sigh::

So, back to Trippi… Great.. the Dean campaign found volunteers online, raised money online. They figured out how to take traditional campaign metrics and utilize the Internet to maximize those. The mass media/Internet certainly motivated the party to pay attention… something new! But did it really change much? The marginalized populations in this country still feel marginalized. The way we run campaigns in this country are so focused on money and power that i think that we lose track of the point.

Of course, the talk was certainly focused on Internet campaigning, not digital democracy. And as a friend of mine pointed out, things like this are evolutionary, not revolutionary. So maybe this is just the first step. But dear me was it painful to hear the defensive justification about how money is spent.

Cheesebikini just posted the link to Reclaim the Streets, a giant street party intended to make people think on February 14, 2003.

Avoid the questionable Diebold machines. Register as an absentee voter so that you can have a receipt of your vote. In many states, this takes quite a while so DO IT NOW. [I’ll still love you even if you vote for someone i don’t like, but i’ll be very angry with you for not voting.]

If you’re in California, here’s the form. It takes all of 30 seconds to fill out.

Say whatever you want about Leonardo. But global warming movie is a really beautiful and compelling little reminder to the masses in a non-aggressive way. WATCH IT.

In “The Frame Around Arnold,” Lakoff (re)suggests that people vote their identity:

In ‘Moral Politics,’ I suggested that voters vote their identity they vote on the basis of who they are, what values they have, and who and what they admire. A certain number of voters identify themselves with their self-interest and vote accordingly. But that is the exception rather than the rule. There are other forms of personal identification with one’s ethnicity, with one’s values, with cultural stereotypes, and with culture heroes. The most powerful forms of identification so far as elections are concerned are with values and corresponding cultural stereotypes.

I don’t think that i agree. I think that they *use* their identity to vote, but they don’t vote their identity. For example, i used my identity to vote *against* a candidate in the recall and SF mayoral elections, not particularly *for* any candidate. In fact, i don’t identify with any of the candidates i’ve ever seen… i choose the lesser of evils. Most candidates represent a very small percentage of people. Certainly, some of the represent what people would like to one day be (and if your ideal is to be the Terminator, goddess help you). In the States, they vote Protestant Ethic style. But seriously, who in California really represents the Mexican community? Who represents the disenfranchised migrant workers (oh, wait, they can’t vote…)? And who on earth does Ahr-nold really represent? I’m sorry… but i don’t buy that he represents the strict father morality to most people.

That said, i really appreciate a lot of Lakoff’s arguments, particularly his deconstruction of the framing of the election.

Tomorrow is voting day in California. It will be a circus; it already has been a circus. And i’m so sensitive to election issues. I’m an adament believer that you can’t bitch unless you vote. And i’m a strong believer that you have to be a responsible voter. This means that, more often than note, you have to cast an anti-vote instead of a pro-vote. I’ve never found an electable candidate that represents me, but i’m not going to vote the closest approximation when an election is so tight and when my poor choice could help elect a clown. While i will never be a religious missionary, i’m certainly an evangelist when it comes to my political views.

Thus, to proselytize for a moment:
– No on the recall
– No on 54
– Anti-Schwarzenegger vote = Bustamante

The Computing Culture Group at the Media Lab never ceases to make me smiles. To celebrate the 4th of July, they’ve unleashed the Government Information Awareness program:

To empower citizens by providing a single, comprehensive, easy to use repository of information on individuals, organizations, and corporations related to the government of the United States of America.

To allow citizens to submit intelligence about government related issues, while maintaining their anonymity. To allow members of the government a chance to participate in the process.

Happy Independence Day! Let freedom reign!

Normally, i love American Airlines. In fact, they’ve been my primary airline for two years now. Of course, a message in my mailbox makes me reconsider that:

My niece and two of her friends saw the Vagina Monalogues this year at Berkeley California and became empowered, bought Pussy Power T-Shirts with the name, date and location of the play on the back of them.

Just a couple of weeks ago these three and a friend were on an American airlines trip to Hawaii. Three of the four young women were wearing their T-shirts from the play. The stewardesses would not serve them because of the T-shirts. NO water, drinks, food, meals, head-sets for the movie, nothing. The girls tried to explain but the women stewardesses would not listen. Their friend who had not seen the play and didn’t have a T-shirt was served. Other women in the area gave them some drinks, rented head-sets for them etc.

I was outraged at this. Is their anyone whom they can contact to help them with this? Also on the return trip from Hawaii, the exact same crew served them everything as they were wearing their new Hawaii shirts and garb.

Sincerely,
Margaret Garcia

The young women are more then willing to talk to someone about this. Their travel agent is upset and has contacted American Airlines but to no avail yet.

It’s frustrating that in a big corporate world, i couldn’t even fathom who they should contact to express their outrage and frustration.

I’m terrified by the current state of political affairs. What worries me more than the obvious game happening in Washington is what is coming down the line at the lower levels. Thus, i’m ecstatic to help those who are trying to make changes that are focused on the long term goals.

A few months back, two of the smartest people i know started a non-profit to address the emerging risk of losing the legal issues surrounding a women’s right to choose. They realize that the federal judicial system is run by a lot of anti-choice, anti-women judges and that up-and-coming lawyers are not trained to actively challenge the laws that are being generated. [They realize this in part because one of them completed her law degree without ever being able to address women’s issues in law.] Thus, they created Law Students for Choice to educate and motivate smart future lawyers to conscientiously learn how to challenge the legal system in this arena.

I love that my friends are starting to build their own non-profit start-ups and use their post-collegiate political energy to generate a coherent national agenda. This gives me hope.

This is Your Story – The Progressive Story of America. Pass It On.