the Mark Pike“ This is one of those rare cases where the laissez-faire approach is incorrect. Policies to encourage the adoption of these technologies are justified, even within free-market orthodoxy. ”
Obama’s Billions Could Render Furnaces Obsolete: Kevin Hassett - Bloomberg.com
You must be on the right track when even a policy analyst from the American Enterprise Institute, a fairly conservative think tank that maintains a strict free-market mindset, encourages government intervention in order to stimulate a green building movement.
“ I’ve been in government for 45 years and this is the first meeting I’ve ever been to where we’ve discussed tweets and widgets,” said board member William Eich. Widgets are applications that can be embedded on Web sites and PC desktops, displaying news from a campaign or a blog. ”
States weigh campaign rules for the Internet age
I would love to have been at this meeting.
“A conversation about the Internet’s role in the coverage of the Iranian elections.”
Great discussion hosted by Charlie Rose (so professional) featuring friend and former co-worker Nico Pitney (blogger extraordinaire), Facebook friend and Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly (kelly2010.com), and one of my nerd-crushes Jonathan Zittrain (intellectual giant).
“ The people making the policy,” he said, “don’t understand the technicalities. ”
E-Mail Surveillance Renews Concerns in Congress - NYTimes.com
Mr. Holt added that few lawmakers could challenge the agency’s statements because so few understood the technical complexities of its surveillance operations.
This needs to change.
Virginia Unity Rally.
Williamsburg, VA.
I’m pretty sure they mentioned the Arlington Rap video. If that doesn’t convince you to vote Democrat in Virginia, we really can’t do much else.
Great video on the intersection between federal government and web outreach. Disappointed that they don’t address the legal implications of ‘poking’ Rahm Emanuel on Facebook.
Featured on Josh Lyman’s Chalkboard: Pike
In the West Wing parallel universe, is it possible that I am a government official?
Obama for America: Going All In
I love you guys, but the antiquated practice of printing out reams of paper to demonstrate support pretty much lost its importance when DARPA invented that thing called the Internet. No offense, Dunder Mifflin.
Next time, just give us some statistics to demonstrate wide support and read selected excerpts from the well-written letters of approval and dissent, then post everything online in a searchable database. This would prove to the public that you’re reading what they’re writing a bit more than boxes packed full of copy-and-paste chain letters from email campaigns.
So much of the budget is allocated for infrastructure to enhance government efficiency. Tear down this wall of old forest irony!
Other than that, keep up the good work!
P.S. Hire Carl Malamud! Yes We Scan!
“They said… this day… would never come.”
It happened. Barack Obama is our President. I saw it happen with my own eyes. I watched the coming out party on TV, with so many others, when he instilled a sense of Hope from the Boston podium in 2004. I was there in DC, whispers all around about a change coming to town, a new man in the Senate chambers with an honest voice. I was there in Iowa; saw the people he brought into the political process. I was there in Virginia; saw the largest crowd ever assembled for a Democrat in town. I was there on election day; saw the turnout, the optimism, the understanding.
And, I was there when he took the oath. It was beautiful.
We could see the Presidential podium and people in the crowd, but they were in the distance, dwarfed by the magnitude of history. For a better view, we watched a television from the roof of a building just Northwest of the Capitol. It was somewhat surreal to watch the TV and hear the chants and cheers, somewhat ethereal to observe from above and yet feel completely within the moment.
Afterwards, Bush’s helicopter flew overhead. Just like that, he was gone.
While leaving the building we saw New York Gov. Patterson and I gave a head-nod and then said “hello”. In fact, for the entirety of the trip, I kept seeing celebrities and politicians all around town. For once, DC was actually a place where people wanted to be and be seen. On my first night in town, we saw Sen. John Kerry (who did not recognize me from that time we high-fived at a rally in Norfolk, VA in 2004), Marisa Tomei, Spike Lee, Matthew Modine, Star Jones, Tim Daly, and many others as we had coincidentally made dinner reservations at the same exact spot as the Creative Coalition’s pre-Inaugural party.
Throughout the celebration, everybody took to the streets. Large crowds and security checkpoints are an equalizing force. It was such a pleasure to strike up conversations with strangers and to bump into friends knowing that you were sharing a little slice of history. Vendors everywhere were hawking goods to commemorate the occasion, some tacky and some powerful.
After dancing in the streets for the parade, I took a quick nap to prepare for the Inaugural Balls. Ticket in hand, I headed to the Youth Ball only to be stuck in line for a long time. It was such a big ticket that everybody wanted to be there, but the fire marshall wouldn’t allow that to happen. Because of this, I missed Kanye West’s performance and the Obamas cameo. However, it was still fun to mingle with more celebs (Usher, Kanye, Fall Out Boy, Ashton and Demi, etc.). Next, I took a taxi with a friend to Google’s party and got acquainted with the dancefloor. Many more celebs were in the building rubbing elbows with Silicon Valleys brightest minds and DC’s new policy-makers. A collective sense of optimism all-around.
Another world is possible. We made it.
