Though the crimes and abuses of the GW Bush era seem almost quaint in comparison to the trumpist agenda, the Bush actions spawned a new kind of protest movement, the first mature, networked resistance, which tried (unsuccessfully) to haul the Democratic Party away from finance-oriented neoliberalism and into a labor-oriented, diverse, racially aware left wing opposition party.
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Doubtless you've laughed at the ideological war between
the Judean People's Front and the People's Front of Judea. I laughed along with you: having grown up in politics, I know firsthand about the enmities that fester between groups that should be allies -- groups whose differences can only be parsed after months of study, but who are seemingly more at odds with one another than their obvious political opponents on the "other side" of the debate.
Netroots movements -- grassroots programmers who pitch in on political campaigns -- have been significant factors in US electoral campaigns since the Howard Dean era, and indeed, some of the key players from that era are still deeply involved in campaign tech, but the netroots that's pulling for the Sanders campaign is a significant advance on the netroots of years gone by.
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The Second Circuit Court of Appeals just dropped a bombshell, ruling against the Authors Guild in its bid to force Google to stop scanning books and making them searchable.
Tiffiniy Cheng writes, "No governor deserves your attention unless they're awesome, right? What if the awesomest possible candidate was running against big power right now? Zephyr Teachout is that badass."
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One year ago today
Stormtrooper on a unicycle: Something something a little short something something.
Five years ago today
Groundbreaking Kansas rep netroots candidate takes another run at election with a new XKCD-style toon: Sean Tevis is the "candidate from the Internet" who caused an enormous stir when he financed a run at Kansas State Rep by soliciting micro-donations from people around the Internet who were inspired by an XKCD-style comic about his vision for the state.
Ten years ago today
Profile of Iraqi torture woman: Her name is Lynndie England, she's 21, and she comes from a "backwoods world" West Virginia.
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There were two things I learned watching the Netroots Nation panel on Science Policy in Unexpected Places.
First, more science communication is happening, in more ways. Scientists are taking initiative to talk to the public and to journalists, helping to make sense of the flood of information so that people come away educated, instead of overwhelmed. And advocates are finding fun ways to bring basic science—the stuff that isn't fresh news, but sure does help when you need to actually understand the news—to people who have traditionally been overlooked by science education programs. Sports fans, for instance. That's the good stuff.
The bad stuff: Turns out, it's frustratingly easy for science to become as polarized as politics, with a mentality that divides the world into the Smart People (who already know everything) and the Idiots (who won't ever know anything). Read the rest
Sean Tevis -- the "candidate from the Internet" who caused an enormous stir when he financed a run at Kansas State Rep by soliciting micro-donations from people around the Internet who were inspired by an XKCD-style comic about his vision for the state -- is taking another run at the Kansas House and has the comic to prove it.
I really like Tevis's approach, his platform, and his ideals. I can't give to his campaign -- I'm a dirty foreigner and I don't even live in the USA (though the IRS is happy to tax the hell out me!) -- but you can!
Running for Office: Option 4
(Thanks, Danjite!)
Previously:
Progressive geek looking for 3,000 people to help him win Kansas election against dinosauric anti-science/pro-surveillance dude
Kansas Representative introduces anti-netroots campaign finance reform bill
Homophobic politician sends self-published comic book to voters ...
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