September 30, 2008
Bailout Bill Gets Tangled Up In Grassroots
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The unexpected failure of the $700 billion dollar Wall Street bailout bill has given the public (and perhaps a few Senators who hadn’t had time to read it the first go around) more time to create online grassroots initiatives aimed at bringing citizen oversight to important legislation through the Net.
FreedomWorks has created an anti-bailout petition that has reached over 30,000 signatures and will no doubt gain more momentum now that the bailout bill has failed. The extended time will allow citizens to continue sending emails to members of Congress and to gather more signatures for online petitions regarding the bailout bill.
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Bill of 2008 was first posted online prior to floor consideration on Sunday, September 28th by Speaker Pelosi and by the House Financial Services Committee. Due to the enormous amount of public interest in the bill and a dramatic increase of email traffic, three to four times the normal rate, the House websites were slowed to a stand still; PublicMarkUp.org had to save the day by posting the entire bill online for the public to review and also allows users to comment on the entire bill or scrutinize specific clauses.
In a continuing effort to promote legislative transparency and public commentary, the Sunlight Foundation created a petition to require that all legislation be posted for at least 72 hours before a vote, giving lawmakers and the public time to review it; due to the failure of the bill and complete chaos surrounding the House 's websites, we think they’re on to something.
Will 72 hours online be delaying the inevitable passed bill or will citizen oversight change the direction of future legislation?
As Ellen Miller, executive director and co-founder of the Sunlight Foundation, said, “This isn’t a bill to rename a few courthouses; this bill is Congress’s biggest intervention in the economy in decades. This important legislation deserves more time for public scrutiny.”
Both presidential candidates have not been silent on their views regarding the economic crisis. Both parties released new economic ads that reached the Web this morning.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
September 26, 2008
Online And Eager, Voters Ready To Watch First U.S.Presidential Debate
Voters from around the world will be glued to their computers tonight as they watch the first presidential debate, live streaming on the Net, between Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama.
As we wrote earlier this week, MySpace has teamed up with the Commission on Presidential Debates to live stream the first presidential debate taking place tonight at 9:00 o'clock Eastern Standard time. Bloggers from around the Net are already weighing in on the debate outcomes.
C–Span is going to have a Debate Hub filled with online tools including live coverage of the entire debate available to upload as an embeddable video. An editing feature for the debate video is available as well. There are also blog and Twitter aggregators compiling the most interesting coverage on the debate. Coming soon will be a time-line allowing viewers to watch the debate by question to question and a word tree, a means of analyzing the language used by the candidates during the debates which also allows you to search the debates word by word.
Another wonderful addition that sprouted up just in time for tonight's debate is Twitter's new election page that helps to filter all election tweets into one place for quick and easy information gathering.
Debate parties are forming in hordes and it is easier than every to find out where an Obama or McCain watch party will be via each candidates’ websites.
Thinking about hosting a debate watch party for the next debate scheduled, which will be on October 2nd - Vice-Presidential Debate at Washington University (St. Louis, MO)? Checkout the League of Women Voters website. The LWV has been working hard to prepare voters for the upcoming debates, offering great online resources including a Debate Party Hosting Kit.
So will future Presidential debates see even more tech influence? Maybe sooner than you think…This morning, a group of online big dogs petitioned for Obama and McCain to revolutionize the way debate questions are to be chosen, suggesting a ‘Town Hall’ style Internet selection process and also requesting that the remaining debates be open to the public domain.
Just to get you even more excited for the debate tonight...here is a YouTube-style stroll down memory lane - a compilation from the past 50 years of presidential debate moments that helped shape elections and America's future:
Posted by Buzz Webster at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
September 24, 2008
Economic Emails...Obama's Online Petition and McCain's Suspended Campaign
Panic over Wall Street's $700 billion dollar bailout has prompted both presidential candidates to reach out on the Web. Obama has created an Web-fueled petition for responsible economic planning and McCain has suspended his presidential campaign.
Obama's community organizing roots show in his campaign's efforts to build an online petition for Congress and our President to support a "Responsible Economic Recovery Plan" through the MyBO website. The petition is based on the following three principles:
- No Golden Parachutes -- Taxpayer dollars should not be used to reward the irresponsible Wall Street executives who helmed this disaster.
- Main Street, Not Just Wall Street -- Any bailout plan must include a payback strategy for taxpayers who are footing the bill and aid to innocent homeowners who are facing foreclosure.
- Bipartisan Oversight -- The staggering amount of taxpayer money involved demands a bipartisan board to ensure accountability and oversight.
McCain's campaign sent word via email to his supporters ( also found on his website here) that he will be suspending his campaign indefinitely and has requested that Friday's first presidential debate, set to be live streaming on the Web, be delayed.
Both McCain and Obama have agreed that actions must be taken in order to address the economic crisis and both candidates have their full economic plans on their websites. Obama disagrees with the need to cancel the debate.
At least one person sees humor in the $700 billion dollar bailout...a satirical email has been floating around the Web and through the inboxes of officials in Washington mocking the bailout plan and helping to lighten the heavy feeling of doom that has come over Washington.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
September 19, 2008
Presidential Debates To Be Livestreamed On The Web
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) has partnered with the social networking site MySpace.com to create MyDebates.org, the first-ever site to live stream debate video on the Web.
MyDebates.org will offer its users access to multiple interactive applications including quizzes that provide a comparison to the users' views and the candidates' poisitions and a tracking system to show the candidates' stances on issues throught the campaign. Along with the live streaming video and quizzes, there will be polls shown during the debate that users can respond to and will be able to see the results afterwards.
One of the most unique interactive app.'s is the ability to submit questions online that will be pooled and possibly selected for the second presidential debate on October 7th.
CPD, a nonpartisan organization, will host three presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate, the first of which will be on September 26.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
September 15, 2008
Online Political Ads Have Facts and Fabrications Muddled on the Net
Online political ads have created murky waters on the Web surrounding the US presidential election, with cries of distortion and smear tactics coming from both parties.
When Karl Rove faults the GOP for running a sleazy ad campaign, it is apparent that US politics are getting ugly.
The ability to discern truths from rumors regarding Republican vice-presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin has been no small feat on the Web. The Politico reports on the viral emails that have plagued Palin’s candidacy since day one.
MoveOn.org has also had their hands in online political ad tactics, anonymously buying ad space on Facebook in order to link news sites that have McCain in an unflattering light. MoveOn.org has been buying ads on Facebook since September 5th and have purchased over 12 ads so far.
This week, however, it has been McCain’s extreme stretches of truth regarding Sen. Barack Obama’s record and position that have blurred the line between attacks and outright slander.
Recently, McCain tried to discredit swirling Internet rumors surrounding Palin by creating online ad titled, “FactCheck” that banked on the credibility of FactCheck.org to condemn the false rumors surrounding the Alaskan Governor. However, the online ad completely backfired after FactCheck.org, a non-partisan website that does not compare the honesty of one candidate over another, came out with a report titled, "McCain-Palin Distorts Our Findings." In the report, Factcheck.org states, "With its latest ad, released Sept. 10, the McCain-Palin campaign has altered our message in a fashion we consider less than honest."
The New York Times reports that Factcheck.org has “cried foul on Mr. McCain more than twice as often since the start of the political conventions as it has on Mr. Obama”.
The Obama campaign has taken a step online to counteract the rumor mills by creating a "Count the Lies" page on its McCainPedia wiki, run by the DNC’s Research, Communications and Internet teams, where it will tally the reports debunking McCain’s false claims against Obama. To date, more than 50 fact checks exposing John McCain's “lies and distortions” have been published on the page by “independent, non-partisan factcheckers.”
On Friday, Obama rebutted McCain’s smear tactics to a crowd in Dover, New Hampshire, by saying, "If you don't stop lying about me, I'm going to have to start telling the truth about you.”
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the Internet, shares his worries about the use of the Internet in spreading disinformation. Coupled with the grey area that politicians thrive in and the power of the Internet to spread both facts and fiction, it is up to you to choose credible sources for information or fact-check what is being said on the Net by both candidates.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 06:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
September 12, 2008
American actor Matt Damon Has Little 'Good Will' Feelings For Sarah
Damon's interview was put on YouTube two days ago and has already hit over 2 million views between two versions of the interview. Damon criticizes Palin, John McCain's choice in Palin as his running mate to be "absurd" and "terrifying".
Gov. Palin's first televised interview with Charlie Gibson has hit the Net and received a good amount of critiques from the blogosphere. But Palin's interview on ABC is no where near as popular on YouTube as a video of American actor Matt Damon's harsh words regarding Palin.
Tuning in to YouTube to see the latest videos praising or condemning Alaskan Governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has become a spectator sport for the politically minded, and we're sure it won't be slowing down anytime soon.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
September 08, 2008
Palin's Speech Creates One-Day Fundraising Record For Obama
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Since Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin gave her acceptance speech last week, a surge of online donations to Barack Obama's presidential campaign has brought in $10 million dollars over the Internet in less than 24 hours from more than 130,000 supporters.
``Sarah Palin's attacks have rallied our supporters in ways we never expected...and we fully expect John McCain's attacks tonight to help us make our grassroots organization even stronger.'' said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.
The influx of online donations came after an e-mail sent out by Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, right after Palin's speech.
``You know that despite what John McCain and his attack squad say, every day people have the power to build something extraordinary when we come together,'' he wrote.
The $10 million keeps Obama in pace with McCain, who also raised $10 million after adding Palin to his ticket. The RNC received a cool $1 million from Palin's rousing speech as well.
Posted by Buzz Webster at 05:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
September 04, 2008
Gov. Sarah Palin…Online Conservatives’ New Sweetheart
Sarah Palin accepted the nomination as the first female GOP vice presidential candidate during the Republican National Conventionat, delivering a strong speech and sending the blogosphere into a euphoric state of twitter frenzies and non-stop blogging.
Conservatives and liberals alike are now relentlessly trying to satisfy their curiosity online with the relatively unknown Governor from Alaska.
Liberal powerhouse DailyKos offers details on Palin's background and policies dug up on the Net saying, “Here's a recap of what we learned about the person John McCain thinks should be a 72-year-old heartbeat away from the presidency.”
Bloggers over at the redstate are having a field day with Palin’s nomination and have been doing a phenomenal job of covering the RNC.
The media has been scrutinized for its portrayal of Palin. A commenter on The Christian Science Monitor wrote, “What is disturbing is the attacks on the media. We count on the media to ask the questions we can’t ask but we want to know about. The Republican tactics against the media are McCarthyism.”
Palin said she had a “little news flash for those reporters and commentators”. She is not seeking the media's good opinions or approval, but as the Politico reports, the media is still swooning over her speech from last night.
Wired reports, “Even members of Palin's own party were trashing John McCain's choice of a running mate just hours before Palin's speech: Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan and Republican strategist Mike Murphy were accidentally recorded on MSNBC Wednesday calling McCain's choice "cynical," and "political bullshit." The video, which immediately hit YouTube, has been viewed 779,000 times:
Palin-mania has hit the social networking sites as well, from groups such as “I’d Totally Do Sarah Palin” to “Sarah Palin is Hot – But I’m Still Voting For Barack Obama" turning up on Facebook. One of the most popular groups is “I have more Foreign Policy Experience than Sarah Palin” which has over 15,000 members. There are 5,360 YouTube videos already surfacing of Sarah Palin, who is taking up the first eight spots on, Digg’s top Election ’08 news stories.
Palin’s Speech:
Posted by Buzz Webster at 01:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
