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Meta
the wrong in earmarks
SusanG at the DailyKos has a callout for John Cole’s post about earmarks. As Cole put’s it:
The total national debt, as I write this, is $9,679,000,000,000.00 (nine and a half trillion).
The Budget for 2008 is close to $3,000,000,000,000.00 (three trillion).
Our budget deficit for this year is going to range in between $400-500,000,000,000.00 (four hundred to five hundred billion, give or take a few billion).
The total value of earmarks in 2008 will be approximately $18,000,000,000.00 (eighteen billion).
In other words, when McCain talks about earmarks, he is talking about 3% of our annual budget deficit, .6% of our annual budget, and a number too small to even report when discussing our national debt. Or, put another way, he is talking about two months in Iraq, something he wants to keep going indefinitely.
Not only are they lying about Palin’s involvements with earmarks, they are just not being serious about the horrible economic problems we face. These are not serious people.
I think this is missing the point. True, earmarks are small potatoes. But the problem with earmarks is that they’ve become an engine of corruption. The explosion after the Republicans took over under Newt was because they were a newly deployed source of influence, designed (too often) to induce or repay a gift (or what others call, a campaign contribution).
Liberals should be as upset with this as conservatives (though for different reasons no doubt). And we should especially (imho) resist the “if McCain believes it it must be wrong” trope. McCain is right to criticize earmarks. Whether he (or Palin) can do it credibly is a separate matter.
Posted in ChangeCongress
7 Comments
help design REMIX, the site?

My next (and the last) copyright/culture book, Remix, will be coming out this fall, and I’m miles behind in preparing a site. If you’re able to volunteer to help with the DESIGN, I’d be grateful.
Update: Thanks for all the offers. I think I’m set on this.
Posted in Uncategorized
7 Comments
BarackBook fact check
A tongue-in-cheek reply to my addition to GOP.com’s BarackBook.
Posted in bad code
17 Comments
Picasa Web Albums goes CC

Very cool news this morning: the latest version of Picasa Web Albums now, like Flickr, supports Creative Commons licenses.
Posted in creative commons
7 Comments
Happy Birthday to GNU

British humorist Stephen Fry has produced a video to mark the 25th Anniversary of RMS’s launch of the GNU operating system. Watch and celebrate here.
This is an extraordinary milestone to mark. I’ll keep a list of celebratory videos here (email me with any links). Congratulations to Richard on the success of this movement launched as an idea 25 years ago (September 27 is the date), and more importantly, thank you to Richard for this movement launched as an idea 25 years ago.
Posted in good code
4 Comments
CIS needs a Constitutional Law/IP fellow
On your way to legal academics? Need some time to write, as you do some good? The Stanford CIS (fresh off of a string of incredible victories) needs a new fellow with a particular fondness for the First Amendment and IP. Specs in the extended entry below.
Stanford Law School Announces Center for Internet and Society and
Stanford Constitutional Law Center Joint FellowshipThe Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society (CIS) and The
Stanford Constitutional Law Center (CLC) announce a new joint
fellowship for the study of the intersection of copyright and
constitutional law. We are looking for an inaugural fellow to work
with faculty and staff from both Centers on range of research and
litigation projects addressing the relationship between the
Constitution’s Copyright Clause, the First Amendment and the Fair Use
Doctrine.The primary responsibility for the fellow will be to work on current
CIS Fair Use Project litigation. In addition, the Fellow will also
be an active part of the CIS and CLC communities, attending lectures
and symposia, assisting with Center activities and working with
students on related projects. The Fellowship will provide significant
opportunity for the pursuit of individual research and scholarship in
preparation to enter the academic teaching market. The fellowship
position is offered for one year with the opportunity for renewal.About the Centers
The CIS is a leading center for the study of the relationship between
the public interest, law and technology. Deploying scholarship,
symposia, advocacy, or litigation as necessary, we focus on areas
where new technologies and old laws intersect and ask whether changes
in either are appropriate. CIS was founded by Professor of Law
Lawrence Lessig and is headed by Executive Director Lauren Gelman.The Fair Use Project (FUP) is a new CIS initiative launched in 2006
and lead by Executive Director Anthony Falzone. The FUP’s mission
is to clarify, define and expand the bounds of fair use primarily
through litigation. The FUP also develops and promotes fair use
education and counsels creators, such as documentary filmmakers on
appropriate uses of copyrighted works.The Stanford Constitutional Law Center, founded in September 2006 by
former dean Kathleen M. Sullivan and Derek Shaffer ’00, grows out of
the long and distinguished tradition of constitutional law
scholarship at Stanford Law School. The Center seeks to carry on that
tradition in a variety of ways-academic conferences, public lectures,
policy research projects, and pro bono litigation-aimed at gathering
consensus and advancing constitutional norms both domestically and
internationally. Stanford law students, particularly those enrolled
in a Constitutional Law Workshop, are intimately involved in all of
the Center’s activities.Applicant Requirements:
2-5 years of post-law school civil litigation experience with
substantial experience in constitutional law (preferred) and
intellectual property (required) matters;Excellent writing and analytic skills;
Demonstrated ability to direct litigation of impact cases; and
Demonstrated ability to work in a self-directed and entrepreneurial
environment.The position is for 12 months, with the possibility of renewal for a
second twelve months. The start date is September 2008, although this
may be flexible depending on the right candidates availability.
Salary will be approximately $40,000 per year, with benefits.Preferred submission deadline is September 8, 2008, however
applications will be accepted until the position is filled.Applicants MUST apply online via the Stanford Jobs website
Search “Job number 31382”
Applications may also be submitted by email to the following address:
Gelman [at] stanford.edu.For more information about the CIS and the FUP, please visit here.
For more information about the Stanford Constitutional Law Center,
please visit our website.
Posted in Stanford CIS
1 Comment
Hey Dems: Yes You Can (from the please-get-consistent-department)
Obama has famously (and rightfully) refused money from lobbyists and PACs. After he became the presumptive nominee, the DNC did the same. But both the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee still accept money from lobbyists and PACs.
As this issue of reform is (sadly) increasingly invisible in this campaign, we at Change Congress are launching a campaign to get the Dems to be consistent about this.
Ideally, the DSCC and DCCC should follow Obama’s lead, and swear off lobbyists & PAC money. Or at the very least, both should promise to do so if the Republicans do.
We’ve started a petition. Please help spread it.
Posted in ChangeCongress
10 Comments
