Lawrence Lessig calls for “Open Debates”:
The presidential debates are for the benefit of the public. Therefore, the right to speak about the debates ought to be “owned” by the public, not controlled by the media.
“Town hall” Internet questions should be chosen by the people, not solely by the media.
and expands on these principles in his [...]
Democracy Now! has the scoop: (link added)
In healthcare news, a new study says job-based health insurance premiums have doubled in the last decade. The Kaiser Family Foundation says the increase far out-paces the accompanying rise in inflation over the same period.
Read the full report (PDF, local copy of PDF, HTML)
Keep that in mind when you [...]
Bruce Byfield is writing good sense about free software, and he asks a good question: do we have the will to pursue our freedom or will we settle for something less than full control of our computers? We should want freedom not just because it gives us all sorts of practical advantages but because [...]
According to OpenSecrets.org, AIG was happy to fund Democrats and Republicans:
Of all the companies making headlines this week, AIG has been the most nonpartisan in its contributions, splitting evenly the $9.7 million it has contributed over time. Sen. Chris Dodd, chair of the Senate banking committee, has racked up the most from AIG, with a [...]
“Nader Rips Mae and Mac,” declared the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal on June 16, 2000. “Ralph Nader, warning of a potential taxpayer bailout similar to the savings and loan crisis, urged lawmakers to cut government benefits to mortgage-market giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – which he called ‘poster children for corporate welfare.’”
This year Nader, who [...]
Ralph Nader remembers a champion of social justice and former running-mate Peter Miguel Camejo. Camejo died this past Saturday, as his gubernatorial website put it, “due to the aggressiveness of his cancer and the strength of the drugs used to combat his disease”.
I remember seeing Peter Camejo on TV in 2003 debate to become [...]
John Buckman at Magnatune.com has updated the Magnatune home page to include the 100 most recently released albums at Magnatune. This should make it easier to find their latest music if you visit their homepage.
How does Magnatune treat you right? They offer their catalog:
at a sliding scale (US$5-18 as I write this) where [...]
Putting to rest any belief about the market being “free”, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced another taxpayer-sponsored bailout of an American corporation yesterday. Reminiscent of the recent Bear Stearns bailout, the beneficiaries are also private corporations: Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Together, Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee just under half of [...]
Chris Blizzard celebrates Lawrence Lessig’s recent pro-Obama remarks noting how “positiv[ity]” and “Not talking about differences or what the other guy is doing” are the characteristics that make Lessig’s closing so good. Lessig’s remarks seem to be available exclusively in Flash format. I don’t have a Flash player because I find Flash to [...]
Want to help the environment and yourself at the same time? Eat less meat.
People should have one meat-free day a week if they want to make a personal and effective sacrifice that would help tackle climate change, the world’s leading authority on global warming has told The Observer.
Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United [...]
GNU Software Freedom Law Center FSF blogs Electronic Frontier Foundation Nina Paley