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Meta
Author Archives: Lessig
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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
7 Comments
BarackBook fact check
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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
Posted in ChangeCongress
10 Comments