Techdirt Podcast Episode 107: Changing Government Starts With You

from the where-else? dept

Tue, Jan 31st 2017 1:30pm — Leigh Beadon

For obvious reasons, politics and government are on just about everyone's mind at the moment, prompting a vast range of reactions and opinions. A lot of people who share a desire for change are divided not only by what form they think that change should take, but by what methods they think should be employed to achieve it. Former Senate staffer and long-time Techdirt friend Jennifer Hoelzer recently wrote a column entitled Your Government Won't Change... Unless You Do and this week she joins us on the podcast to delve further into this idea and what it means for optimists, cynics, pragmatists and everyone else.

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Filed Under: government, jennifer hoelzer, podcast, politics

12 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2017 @ 2:38pm

Where are we going to find a diaper big enough?
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Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2017 @ 3:51pm

"Changing Government Starts With You"

Is that another way of stating that every nation gets the government it deserves? Naw... must be more victim blaming!
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- Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2017 @ 9:15pm
  
  Re:
  > Is that another way of stating that every nation gets the government it deserves?
  
  No.
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K`Tetch (profile), 31 Jan 2017 @ 3:54pm

#VotePirate
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brooklynHeights, 31 Jan 2017 @ 4:19pm

Unfortunately, this is a low quality podcast -- 41 minutes of dull conversation by people with nothing of substance to say.

Apparently the main point is that people should become more knowledgeable about political issues & government... and take a more active role.
Gee, never heard that before-- what a new and brilliant insight (not).

Of course, the speakers represent the Democrat Progressive viewpoint toward government -- so the presentation is totally fair and unbiased (not).
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- Mike Masnick (profile), 31 Jan 2017 @ 5:08pm
  
  Re:
  Of course, the speakers represent the Democrat Progressive viewpoint toward government
  
  Ah, I see you didn't listen at all, but think you did and then think you're clever. It's kind of undermining the exact point of the very podcast, which talks about people like you who act like they know it all, when they really don't.
  
  Awesome.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2017 @ 10:04pm
    
    Re: Re:
    I have to comment I don't hear where in the podcast a political leaning was mentioned. Sure Hoelzer is part of the democratic party, but where does Masnick fits on this over-simplified spectrum? The allegations have been all over the place.
    
    So maybe brooklynHeights did listen to the whole thing, but inferred something that wasn't there. He certainly got the basic point that was discussed (not that that's much of an accomplishment given it's stated in the blurb).
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Lawrence D’Oliveiro, 31 Jan 2017 @ 7:15pm

In Other News ...
... the ACLU gets $24 million in donations over the weekend--6 times its previous annual average--thanks to Trump’s immigration ban.
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Anonymous Coward, 31 Jan 2017 @ 7:21pm

Time to open polidirt.
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- Mike Masnick (profile), 31 Jan 2017 @ 10:41pm
  
  Re:
  Time to open polidirt.
  
  New here?
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Eli, 1 Feb 2017 @ 8:03am

There were so many oversimplifications here. The problem isn't people in government meeting with Wall Street, its when they favor Wall Street 100% of the time, refuse to prosecute them for extreme negligence and bail them out while leaving working people struggling with debt.

Also a complete lack of discussion on how the media fails to inform. Journalists have a responsibility to not spend more time talking about celebrity divorces than substantive issues.
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- Anonymous Coward, 1 Feb 2017 @ 11:17am
  
  Response to: Eli on Feb 1st, 2017 @ 8:03am
  They did suggest that we citizens need to be the ones to reward journalists who inform (which I do), which could possibly count as discussing that topic.
  
  Otherwise +1.
  
  P.S. Politicians please don't be ashamed about changing your mind, the negative impact comes (at least for me) when you insist you didn't change it.
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