How To Get Elected Officials To Actually Hear Our Worries About Censorship: Speak Up!
from the speak-up dept
I already mentioned Rep. Lofgren's talk at the Section 230 Symposium from the High Tech Law Institute at the University of Santa Clara on Friday, but wanted to do a separate post on another point that Lofgren raised. EFF's Cindy Cohn asked Lofgren a simple question towards the end of Lofgren's talk, questioning what we in Silicon Valley could actually do so that folks in Washington DC actually understand these issues.Lofgren, at first, seemed unsure that anything could be done, noting that those with lots of money and hired lobbyists in DC still get heard much more than the ordinary citizen, but after talking for a bit, she did make a point clear, and it was: we need to speak up. She pointed out that in this day, a congressional rep hearing from 200 constituents (she suggests physical letters) is something that gets attention, and gets Representatives to pay attention right away.
I know that many around here are cynical about the political process -- and I'd include myself in that description. We've seen way too many ridiculously bad laws passed by Congress to protect this or that special interest. Our government too often seems to take direction (if not dictation) directly from corporate interests. However, Lofgren does have a point: people really do need to speak up when they hear of serious problems such as domain seizures, copyright expansion and other problems.
The domain seizures, in particular seem to have received very little attention in the press. I spoke to a reporter at the event who said that his editor just didn't think it was a topic anyone cared about. That's scary. We're talking about wholesale censorship by the US government -- almost certainly in violation of basic free speech and due process rules. And it's all being done by a group within the US government who's supposed to be "protecting our borders." It seems reasonable to question why this group is involved in straight up censorship of websites. But it's not going to happen if people don't speak up.
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Filed Under: government, participation, politics, zoe lofgren
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Being able to then do anything actionable with the data would be secondary, but equally amazing.
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Regardless of which side of the issue you support, if you are going to write your Congressman, emotionally charged statements do not help; more likely, they often hinder.
So...even when hear does = listen, sometimes the argument is not exactly a swaying one.
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Second, among the great comments ignored, the more there are, the greater the odds a staff member will hit upon one on a given day. If they weather is just right.
Third, if they eventually hit upon one and they save old emails, they might be intrigued and search back to see other things you have said, or they might search to see what everyone who has given an opinion on the topic (search phrases) thinks.
In light of this, we should try to sway the wider population and encourage them to send in comments. [thanks Mike]
And if anyone is looking for a business, consider gathering good comments (eg, CC-by-sa) and sell a product on your website where people can pick the letters they like, the style, and other trimmings, plus add their own words and signature, then pay. You then print that out using your fancy publishing or adding whatever else belongs there (eg, a stuffed bear or box of candy), and ship it to the destination (eg, the Representative the buyer picked).
This business enables someone to focus on this issue and develop expertise and brand, making it easier for others to spend some money to make a point. Maybe a particular theme per style of letter.
Of course, lobbyists could be doing this as well, but.. The advantage is that people still can customize. The idea itself will spread. And most people cannot afford lobbyists so get 0 representation there. By lowering the bar, you now have some representation that catches attention. We want the good ideas recycled and made known and want money to be forced to chase after citizens' hearts and minds rather than to give plane trips to elected officials.
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Some help for those who don't know where to look
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/letterscongress.htm
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Re: Some help for those who don't know where to look
Go for it. It really helps.
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Writing Letters to the Supreme Court
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free speech?
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Re: free speech?
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Re: free speech?
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Re: free speech?
What makes you think that free speech has been the cause of hate groups? Sure, it's the reason they're allowed to have websites, but then it's the reason we're allowed to tell everyone why what they say on those websites is wrong.
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TED Talk: Political change with pen and paper
http://www.ted.com/talks/omar_ahmad_political_change_with_pen_and_paper.html
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Re: TED Talk: Political change with pen and paper
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Thanks for the great idea.
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Make sure you get your voice heard correctly...
One other item of note... if you are not a registered voter, be not surprised if your voice/e-mail/letter gets "circular filed".
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Yes, write letters!
If us little people DIDN'T make a stink a few years ago, no one except readers of blogs like this one would have even HEARD of "Net Neutrality," let alone have it covered by Presidents and Congress and major news outlets.
Ditto the Low Power FM movement that grew out of pirate radio in the 1990s that the FCC finally had to admit existed and changed the rules to allow for LPFM stations across the country. That took lots of letters from all kinds of people. (Did it end up perfectly? No, but it's a lot better than it was)
I'm not saying that corporate lobbyists don't have an inherent advantage, I'm saying that we have some juice IF we choose to use it.
Cynicism is safe and often much funnier and entertaining than actually doing something constructive- I know from personal experience!
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