How do we restore common sense to government?
We restore the influence of common citizens

CivicEvolution is a free, non-partisan online public service for grassroots deliberation and collaboration.

We provide the tools and resources groups need to create and manage deliberative projects with clear objectives and actionable outcomes.

Our on-demand tools empower groups and keep them focused on their goals.

I spoke with Brian Sullivan at the opening Gnomedex party Thursday night about CivicEvolution, which is in development. He envisions a website with powerful tools to help grassroots organizers come together, decide what they want to do, then do it.

The highly configurable software walks participants through the entire process. First, meeting each other, then proposing a project, getting feedback, voting on it, forming teams, and taking action. The software for each phase is specifically geared to that phase, and he’s given all of this serious thought.

As one who is involved in organizing, it’s clear to me that CivicEvolution could be a seriously powerful and useful tool. He’s looking for beta testers, people to spread the word, and funding. Check it out.

No Comments »

John Shay of Head Zup with their new t-shirt! Head Zup makes short video comic strips that you can download for free and send via your cell phone.

You can grab the animations directly with your cell phone or download it to your PC, email it to the cell, then send it. A cutting edge idea, and one with many possibilities.

No Comments »

Last night at the Gnomedex opening party, I discovered -

Josh Bancroft. Intel tech evangelist and geek blogger.

Second Life search engine
You can not search for items in Second Life. You can here.

PodcasterNews
“PodcasterNews is short podcasts up to 5 minutes in length produced by our network of content producers. Listen on the site using MyCast or add your custom RSS feed to your favorite podcatcher.”

Programmable Web
“Because the world’s your programmable oyster.” APIs and API mashups.

No Comments »

To rescue one soldier -

Israel cripples Hamas with arrest of ministers

Israeli airstrike destroys interior ministry in Gaza

Official: Gaza near humanitarian crisis

Hundreds of thousands of civilians in the Gaza Strip are on the brink of a humanitarian crisis after Israel bombed the area’s only power plant.

The bombing Tuesday night cut 40 percent of power to the Gaza Strip and threatens to leave many of its 1.4 million civilians without water, Jan Egeland said.

As I write this, Google News lists 5,239 stories on the Gaza invasion, way more than normal for a big story. The whole world is watching this one.

That Israel used the kidnapping of one soldier as a pretext to try to destroy Hamas is a given. That the unintended consequences and repercussions from this will be staggering is also a given.

1 Comment »

From The Independent (UK)

Blair laid bare: the article that may get you arrested

Hat tip: John Couzin at Radical Glascow

No Comments »

From Slate

“I wouldn’t want to be a senator or congressman. I’m able to influence politics much more effectively doing what I do. Now I can shape the national political debate. The only way I could exert more influence would be if I were president.”

You just can’t make this kind of stuff up, folks…

3 Comments »

Americans represent 5% of the world’s population but drive almost a third of its cars, which in turn account for nearly half the carbon dioxide pumped out of exhaust pipes into the atmosphere each year, according to a report.

No Comments »

Court curbs Bush power, fans Guantanamo debate

By declaring the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals illegal, the U.S. Supreme Court put fresh curbs on President George W. Bush’s powers in the war on terrorism and gave ammunition to those demanding the prison be closed.

Rumors that Cheney said “this shows the Supreme Court loves the terrorists and hates freedom” are as yet unconfirmed.

No Comments »

This blog will be getting seriously geeky for the next few days as I blog about Gnomedex, a conference about blogging, web 2.0, cutting edge web stuff, and what we can do with it. The opening party is tonight here in Seattle.

No Comments »

Tanks by the hundreds, bridges blown up, Dozens of lawmakers arrested, (Lefti says “‘Arrested’? On what charge? ‘Resisting while Palestinian’”?), assassinations of others threatened. 1.3 million people now have little or no electricity and water. All, Israel says, to rescue one soldier.

This bloodthirsty over-reaction by Israel throws gasoline on the fire. Maybe that’s what they want. The reaction from MSM and has mostly been crickets.
Blowback is “the unintended consequences of actions.” The blowback from this could be monumental.

How many innocent civilians are already dead, and how many more will die?

Madness, complete madness.

No Comments »

From Martini Republic

In other words: fair or no, Jerome [Armstrong] is damaged goods. The sooner Kos owns up to that, the more quickly he stops hemorrhaging readers. And despite his bravado, his readers— mostly former Deaniacs —are just now beginning to lose the site’s built-in, obsessive-pandering stickiness and check out other options.

4 Comments »

Howard Dean: ‘We’re about to enter the ’60s again’

America is about to revisit one of the most turbulent decades in its history, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told a religious conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. “We’re about to enter the ’60s again,” Dean said.

I agree, the coming period looks to be turbulent indeed. The pendulum moved way to the right, now it’s coming back. Which is just what happened in the 60’s too. Good.

No Comments »

Grace Hopper was a giant of the early days of computing. She invented the compiler, had the outlandish idea that computers could be used for business, and this led to the creation of COBOL, the first programming language for business purposes. She also discovered the first computer bug…

From CounterSpy News

Another of her claims to fame was the discover of the first computer “bug”, and this was literally true when she came upon a moth trapped within the relay points of the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator while it was being tested at Harvard University, 9 September 1945. Her team successfully “debugged” the computer and a new term was born.

And here, preserved for posterity, is the very first computer bug.

1 Comment »

Israeli occupation forces launch brutal assault on Palestinians in Gaza
Food, water, electricity cut off to more than 1 million people
Israel threatens regional war, sending war planes over Syria

Stop the attacks! Cut off U.S. aid to Israel!
Thursday, June 29, 4-6 pm
Israeli Consulate: 6380 Wilshire Blvd

Sponsored by A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition-LA, including member groups Free Palestine Alliance and Palestinian American Women’s Association, and the National Council of Arab Americans-LA.

1 Comment »

That’s what Sue called it when I came back from Gnomedex last year, she said I looked so happy it must have been Geek Christmas. And she was right.

I’ll be there again tomorrow, Thursday to Saturday, in Seattle. Gnomedex is about blogging, podcasting, web 2.0, ajax, rss, and how we can all use it to do amazing stuff.

Sen. John Edwards will be the keynote speaker, he was an early adopter of blogging and podcasting, and promises to talk tech, not politics.

Senator Edwards will quickly turn his time over to the Gnomedex audience, fielding questions and fostering discussion over how technology could and should play a role in our world.

The speaker list is impressive, and the format is different from other conferences.

This year, there will be no speakers at Gnomedex. There will be no panels, either. We realize this is a radical departure from the norm, but there’s a method to our madness. We’ve begun to invite a select group of people to be discussion leaders - individuals who will stand on stage, present an idea or two, answer questions, and then generally lead the audience’s discussion and participation.

I’ll be blogging Gnomedex as it happens from the floor (as will all of us.)

As part of contacts I’ve already made through Gnomedex, I’m in the beta for Yahoo Publisher, their ad-serving program, hence ads are now appearing in the left column. It’ll probably take it a few days for it to feed context-sensitive ads, and even that gets tricky. Just because Polizeros mentions George Bush doesn’t mean ads for Dubya t-shirts will be hitting the target audience. So, we’ll see if the ads end up being relevant and useful, I’ll give it a week or so.

Projects I’m working on, and plan to make contacts at Gnomdex about, include live video streaming, video podcasting, rss news feeds on websites, and maybe a mini-portal site or two on specific topics.

No Comments »

So

Israel kept up the pressure on Palestinian militants to release a captive Israeli soldier Wednesday, sending its warplanes to bomb a Hamas training camp after knocking out electricity and water supplies for most of the 1.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip.

Those 1.3 million residents didn’t kidnap the Israeli soldier. So why is the infrastructure of their city being destroyed?

No Comments »

As amply documented by the liberal Buckeye State Blog, who concludes with

To date kos has failed to directly address the central issues. Does Armstrong barter his services with clients to include the editorial influence of kos, if so is kos party to this ? Instead he has diverted attention from this question by attacking those asking these questions.

kos at the end of the day I think has poor judgement and is naive - Hackett flip flop, the DLC attack that never came, Warner and Yearlykos- all leave many wondering. While Armstrong and kos have a symbiotic relationship, and some business ties (in the past, and with their recent book) I don’t believe there is any transfer of money for editorial influence - I think Jerome simply gets some of that for free, that at least is my impression.

I personally don’t care how this story turns out, the netroots in the Ohio Senate race are now poisoned beyond recovery thanks to these bozo’s - I just hope I don’t have to witness them screw up any more races in the state I live.

Indeed, as blogged here before, Kos et al are indeed naive. Their claimed goal is to take over the Democratic Party yet they have no real life organization or cadre to do it with. An amorphous ‘netroots’ blob that exists only in cyberspace sure doesn’t count as an organization either. Worse, they appear startled and unprepared when The Powers That Be attack back - they were expecting to just waltz in and assume control? Clueless, you ask me.

The Ohio mess is instructive. They pissed off people who presumably should have been on their side. Dumb. And arrogant. A seasoned organizer with actual competence doesn’t barge into an area telling everyone what to do, alienating those who should be allies. A real organizer goes in, and then LISTENS to what people want. That’s how you build an organization, community power, and political power.

Now they’re compounding their errors by refusing to explain and instead getting angry and paranoid. Again, someone seasoned in the world of politics wouldn’t be shooting themselves in the foot quite so often - especially when they claim to be the new breed who will clean up the town. If you profess to follow a higher standard, then you need to live up to it. Else folks will think you’re just another gasbag politico.
[tags]kosola[/tags]

No Comments »

Bush ignores laws he inks, vexing Congress

Bush trashes the Constitution, ignores laws that he himself has signed, and Congress only finds this “vexing?”

Earth to Congress. Here’s a few more words. “Illegal”, “criminal”, “impeachable offense.” Could you occasionally tear yourselves away from fundraisers to, y’know, stop the president from breaking the law? Hope you don’t find this too “vexing” a task.

No Comments »

Water privatization, large corporations are finding, is a money-losing proposition. One of the biggest companies in the business is backing out. Good. May this signal an end to greedheads grabbing the water, jacking up prices, and lowering the quality. Because, more often then not, that’s what precisely happens when water is privatized.

To RWE AG, Germany’s biggest electric company, the water business a few years ago seemed to promise a gusher of profits. Governments in the U.S. and around the globe were eager to privatize their water systems.

Today, RWE is in the midst of dismantling an international water empire that cost more than $10 billion to assemble and spanned more than 40 countries at its height.

Water turns out to be less like electricity than RWE hoped. It’s heavy and hard to transport, making it difficult for a big company to build economies of scale. Regulation is never predictable. In the U.S., RWE found itself fighting in town referendums and state legislatures across the country, winning many battles but losing the war.

People want their water public, not controlled by distant entities concerned only with the bottom line.

The seminal battle against water privatization, the one that inspired activists everywhere, was in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The populace, seemingly against all odds, took back control of their water after privatization had quadrupled prices and dropped the quality.

3 Comments »

It’s a sofa, it’s a table, it’s a casket!

Why buy a casket for just one day?
At CasketFurniture.com, our products can last you a lifetime, and still be the perfect vehicle to carry you to the great beyond. Whether it’s a couch, shelf, or end table…

This is not, repeat, not satire.

No Comments »

KCRW-FM’s Chris Douridas was arrested in January near a Santa Monica bar on suspicion of drugging and trying to kidnap a teen.

However, after a five month investigation, Douridas, who hosts a popular trend-setting radio show in L.A., was charged with felony cocaine possession.

“Based on a thorough investigation, we felt that the only charge that could be proved beyond a reasonable doubt was possession of cocaine,” said Eva Jabber, a deputy Los Angeles County district attorney with the sex crimes division.

He was arrested in Florida for drugs in 1999, something that could have a serious impact on the case, depending on whether or not that counts as a first strike under California’s draconian Three Strikes Law. Anyone know?

Update: It does NOT count as a strike, and depending on Florida case, Douridas would probably be eligible for diversion or a drug treatment program. Which is what should happen to someone with a presumed drug problem caught possessing a small amount.

No Comments »

A majority of Americans say Congress should pass a resolution that outlines a plan for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday. Half of those surveyed would like all U.S. forces out within 12 months.

A Democratic leadership that was not comatose would greet this as welcome news, taking it as a mandate to stop the war, a move which no doubt would revitalize the party, bring in new people, and win them big victories in November.

But, of course, the Democrats are comatose.

The percentage of Americans who say the president has “a clear plan for handling the situation in Iraq” has dropped to 31%, a new low. That’s still higher than the 25% who say congressional Democrats have a clear plan for Iraq.

That is … pathetic. So is the whole charade of voting when the choices are so dismal. People want a choice. The Democrats aren’t giving them one. Neither is netroots. Kos et al say they want to take over the Democratic Party but their vision differs little from what exists now. Netroots is tepid centrism pretending to be liberal but is actually mostly libertarian. This is change? That their leaders want to install themselves as the new kingmakers is a given. Again, how is this different?

Real change is more than window dressing. It takes time. Thinking that one election will produce a massive change is folly, especially when both parties mostly move in lockstep (except for a few social issues.) That’s why change isn’t happening, and why a reshuffling of the leadership won’t help. Neither party wants it.

If Congressional Dems really wanted to end the war, they’d mobilize to stop funding it. Every thing else is just posturing. The imperialist policies of the US have been in effect for decades; invading countries, overthrowing governments that displease them, torturing dissidents. No, the tortures didn’t begin with Bush, nor will any of this stop if the Dems take the House in November. The arrogance of Congress and the White House on Iraq is appalling. As Lefti on the News recently pointed out, none of them even bothered to ask the Iraqis what they want.

Most Congressional Democrats, along with Republicans, were totally opposed to the Civil Rights movement when it began. But after enough people got in the streets and demonstrated, many of those very same members of Congress voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The change didn’t come through voting, it came through people in the streets who forced often racist Congressmembers to do their bidding.

No Comments »

From the august Columbia Journalism Review

The current issue of Newsweek features a provocative takedown of Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, also known as Kos, the titan of the blogging left who has come under heavy fire lately from his fellow bloggers for “Kosola” and from the MSM (see Brooks, David, New York Times) for hubris and greed.

The Newsweek piece, by Jonathan Darman, features such lines as “It seems as though the rock-thrower is growing up”; “Moulitsas is also learning another downside of membership in the elite: the bigger the liberal sniper gets, the more incoming fire he faces”; and “The pressure on Moulitsas — to be consistent, to be pragmatic, to win — will only grow as the fall elections approach. Already, the strain of the spotlight is beginning to show in his growing belligerence and paranoia.”

Bring on the bloggers.
…
Some bloggers, such as Blue Crab Boulevard, considered the wider implications of the Kos coverage. Asking whether the “Koz Kidz” are ready for the spotlight, the blogger writes, “So the more they react, the harder the media scrutinizes. The more rage they respond with, the more coverage they will get. Not positive coverage, either. This will not get prettier or easier for Kos. The real danger here is that if the media drags him down, they will be trying really hard to bring down all bloggers at the same time.”

“The knives are out,” Blue Crab concludes. “Ready for prime time?”

No Comments »

Tony Blair keeps trying to out-do Bush in governmental monitoring of citizens. He may have succeeded this time. From BlairWatch.

The Government now wants to track all 12 million children in England and Wales in a new database due to become operational in two years and expected to cost £224 million. The idea of this scheme is the surveillance of all children from birth and will include information on whether or not they eat the required five portions of fruit and vegetables each day.

I thought that must be satire. It’s not. The British government really does want to know if children are eating their veggies, as well asking personal, subjective questions about the mental health of the parents, and much more.

With the Government’s less than brilliant record with computer systems, I wonder how long it will be before this latest intrusive project goes expensively pear-shaped.

Ah, someone will certainly be getting rich off this doomed Orwellian project, now won’t they?

No Comments »

From the wondrous, Every Morning I Wake Up on the Wrong Side of Capitalism, in a post about the more lunatic of the right wing conspiracy theories.

I found somewhere on the Internet a document which gave exhaustive detail about the legal arrangements by which aliens had taken ownership of the Earth (I can’t re-google it, must be the CIA). There’s something extra wierd about phrasing ones discussion of alien influence in this legalistic way. If aliens have taken over Earth, surely the question of whether they have done so legally or not is not really of utmost importance.

Read the whole thing.

No Comments »