Personal Democracy Forum 2008
Session: Open Data, Open Government
Note by David GalielDavid_Galiel:
Lessig talking about the cycle of 4, of input every fourth year. One night every four years to make a difference, to "save us".
Framers were obsessed with the idea of "independence", the independence of 1785, when the original notion of the American republic seemed to have failed. Their notion was of "non dependence", of electing representatives who would not be dependent on external corruptions.
Points out past corruption was even worse. Daniel Webster. Bribery wasn't even a crime until 1853. a quarter of voters literally sold their vote to the highest bidder. However, even though the individual instances of corruption were more outrageous in the past, the problem, on a national scale, are much worse - because government is much more pervasive, the corruption much more institutional, and the stakes are higher.
Public respect for Congress is even lower than respect for Bush.
There are some hard problems, ones resisted by the right and or the left, ones that threaten the funding basis of entrenched political interests (e.g., deregulation of telecoms). But there are also "easy" questions, where the public interest is clear enough that it transcends left-right political ideology and becomes a simple matter of current policy clearly contrary to the common good. Example, copyright laws, dietary recommendations, global warming.
Change won't happen until we can believe again, that requires that money be removed from the process.
We also need more than "once every four years", more than "hope". We need continuous engagement.
He and Trippi focusing on changing congress. reforming Money, representation, integrity.
1) No $$ from lobbyists/PACSs
2)reform earmarks
3)support public finance of public elections,
4)support total transparency
Focused on a sustainable effort - getting candidate pledged, having citizens "tag" and identify candidates who support the principles, and then fund them.
There is a flaw at the core of the People's House. It is a sort of dependency. We won't change that dependency through this patter of "Thursdays", once every four years, not if we want to end politician's dependency on money. It is an addiction, like alcoholism. It requires an intervention.
Framers were obsessed with the idea of "independence", the independence of 1785, when the original notion of the American republic seemed to have failed. Their notion was of "non dependence", of electing representatives who would not be dependent on external corruptions.
Points out past corruption was even worse. Daniel Webster. Bribery wasn't even a crime until 1853. a quarter of voters literally sold their vote to the highest bidder. However, even though the individual instances of corruption were more outrageous in the past, the problem, on a national scale, are much worse - because government is much more pervasive, the corruption much more institutional, and the stakes are higher.
Public respect for Congress is even lower than respect for Bush.
There are some hard problems, ones resisted by the right and or the left, ones that threaten the funding basis of entrenched political interests (e.g., deregulation of telecoms). But there are also "easy" questions, where the public interest is clear enough that it transcends left-right political ideology and becomes a simple matter of current policy clearly contrary to the common good. Example, copyright laws, dietary recommendations, global warming.
Change won't happen until we can believe again, that requires that money be removed from the process.
We also need more than "once every four years", more than "hope". We need continuous engagement.
He and Trippi focusing on changing congress. reforming Money, representation, integrity.
1) No $$ from lobbyists/PACSs
2)reform earmarks
3)support public finance of public elections,
4)support total transparency
Focused on a sustainable effort - getting candidate pledged, having citizens "tag" and identify candidates who support the principles, and then fund them.
There is a flaw at the core of the People's House. It is a sort of dependency. We won't change that dependency through this patter of "Thursdays", once every four years, not if we want to end politician's dependency on money. It is an addiction, like alcoholism. It requires an intervention.
