Hey folks. Nancy Pelosi will be taking questions at Netroots Nation Saturday. Oddly, nobody had submitted a question yet about Net Neutrality, so I just did. Would be kinda embarrassing if we forgot to ask her about this at a netroots convention. Can you vote here and give it a thumbs up?
Here's the question:
The Bush FCC slated Net Neutrality for elimination. Barack Obama pledged in an MTV/MySpace presidential forum to make the re-instatement of Net Neutrality a priority for his first year in office. Will you make that same commitment and pledge to pass Net Neutrality legislation through the House in 2009?
Here's Obama asking a similar question, submitted by a MoveOn member, on MTV:
Tonight, I attended a live taping of the Daily Show. Before the show, Jon Stewart answered questions. Among a bunch of trivial stuff, I got to ask a more serious one: "Are you at all bummed that Viacom is not letting people share videos of you on YouTube?"
His reaction (approximately): "The YouTube thing? You know, people were only putting up 3 or 4 minute bits, but Viacom said take them down. I never understood what the big deal was. And now they have some new video service anyway - Hulu?" ("Hulu," a confident colleague of mine asserted from the audience.)
Good for Jon Stewart - not towing the corporate line! Techies can be proud. Answers to more trivial questions below...
The Huffington Post lovvves to break hot, game-changing, exclusive stories that dominate the news cycle for days. Things like Clinton's "liberal base" comments and Obama's "bitter" comment and the John Hagee smoking gun comments that got John McCain to reject his right-wing hate-monger supporter this week (a story broken by ace Huff Post reporter Sam Stein, referenced below).
But, can the Huffington Post take the heat when it's turned on them? I have obtained an exclusive photo that the Huffington Post does not want you to see. It reveals that ace reporter Sam Stein is, in fact, a liberal Bike-o-crat elitist...
It’s no secret that MoveOn.org members have been very supportive of Barack Obama’s candidacy – endorsing him with a 70% vote, raising lots of small dollar donations for him, sending hundreds of thousands of personal endorsement emails to friends and family before key primaries and caucuses, and making over 1,000 30-second ads on his behalf (one of which will soon air on national TV). We’re excited about his candidacy, and we think he’ll make a great president. But Obama did himself, the Democratic Party, and the progressive movement a disservice this weekend.
It was a mistake for Obama to go on FOX’s Sunday show and treat the experience as if it was a real news interview. Democratic politicians need to understand that FOX is a Republican mouthpiece masquerading as a news outlet. When dealing with FOX, you either burn them or they will burn you.
Hi - this is Adam with MoveOn. Thanks to those who read and contributed to Sunday morning's liveblogging on OpenLeft of ABC's This Week - where George Stephanopoulos interviewed John McCain, and then a ridiculous roundtable discussion ensued.
Below are 3 top outrages from the show - from YouTube. If you want to hold ABC accountable, please sign MoveOn's petition to ABC here. Over a quarter million have signed so far, and the final number will be in an ad this week...so if you've already signed, tell a friend.
Hi - it's Adam Green with MoveOn. Just a reminder that at 10am EST, I'll be liveblogging ABC's This Week over on OpenLeft.com. George Stephanopoulos will be interviewing John McCain, just days after the ABC debate disaster. I wanted to invite everyone to join the discussion as we compare and contrast.
A few links to get the thinking started: Click here to see the transcript of Wednesday's debate, click here for a cool video/transcript, and click here if you haven't yet signed MoveOn's petition to ABC (over a quarter million have!).
Hey folks - this is Adam Green with MoveOn. I wanted to let you know that the good folks at OpenLeft.com have opened up their front page this Sunday morning from 10am to 11am EST for me to liveblog ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
I wanted to invite you to join me there for active discussion, and to suggest in the comments below any thoughts you have on things to look for. Be they big issues or small nuances...or questions you think should be asked to McCain...I'm all ears.
As many of you probably know, MoveOn launched a petition this week to ABC and other networks in reaction to this week's travesty of a debate on ABC. If you haven't seen it yet, it says:
"Debate moderators abuse the public trust every time they ask trivial questions about gaffes and 'gotchas' that only political insiders care about. Enough with the distractions--ABC and other networks must focus on issues that affect people's daily lives."
There was a ton of energy behind this media critique. (More below.)
This Thursday afternoon, Internet advocates across the country will be watching what happens at Stanford University. All 5 commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission will hold a rare public hearing on the future of the Internet.
For Net Neutrality enthusiasts everywhere, here's an analogy for Net Neutrality I hadn't heard before -- a restaurant service comparison. What do you think?
Apologies in advance to the folks at Living Liberally, who really should have dibs on this. But as a vegetarian, this caught my eye. Check out this Chevy commercial...
When corporate America puts this enviro-veggie ad on TV, is that yet another sign that we're living in a progressive America? Hmmm....
Tonight, Conan O'Brien won the Emmy for best writing on a variety show -- beating out Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. To me, a late night network show beating out the Comedy Central shows is like Spaceballs beating out the latest Star Wars in the special effects category. What do you think? Who's best? Poll below...comment on why you made your choice. (Like this poll? Recommend it.)
Check out this new video from MoveOn, and take the poll...
(If you like this video, please recommend this diary so others can see it too.)
Strong watchdog journalism is when reporters ask tough questions, dig to the bottom of stories, and report the truth to the public. Lapdog journalism is, well, just see the media coverage in advance of the Iraq war.
If any members of the media are watching this, what do you think of Couric's reporting from Iraq?
On July 17, I sat in the U.S. Senate Gallery – watching as Senators stayed up all night and debated whether we should bring our troops home from Iraq.
Idaho Senator Larry Craig sat all alone. As other Senators debated this life-or-death issue of war, Craig looked down and doodled on a small piece of paper the size of a coffee coaster. He did this for at least a half hour, probably more – meticulously drawing some four-sided object and switching pens from time to time.
It seems to me that a Senator from Idaho should have been engaged by the debate – using every waking minute to think about John Borbonus, Carrie French, Kelly Morris, Richard Carl, Luke Wullenwaber, and others among the Idaho residents who have died in Iraq. But Craig doodled away, oblivious to the realities of this war.
Craig then voted against ending the war. Adding insult to injury, Craig voted earlier against a Democratic plan to give troops one year at home for every year in Iraq.
As Craig comes up for re-election in 2008, I’m curious – is someone who doodles against the troops the best person to represent Idaho in the U.S. Senate?
If you were booking panelists for a fair and balanced Sunday show discussion of the nation’s political news, would your panel look like this?
George Will, movement conservative. Victoria Clarke, Republican staffer for Bush 41, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld. Fareed Zakaria, a neoconservative reporter described in The Nation as a "junior Kissinger." And ABC reporter Jake Tapper.
While many Americans would expect such a rigged lineup from a Republican mouthpiece like Fox, today it was served up to us by This Week with George Stephanopoulos (who you can send your feedback to at the link below).
As could be predicted, viewers got an alternative view of reality.
Tonight, I saw the DC premiere of Michael Moore's new movie, Sicko. At the event, I also saw and had a conversation with Fox's Mort Kondracke -- who confirmed himself to be a mindless hack.
First, the movie...Sicko was amazing. I don't often tell people to go see movies, but go see this movie -- and bring a couple of your nonpolitical or Independent friends too.
When I saw Al Gore's movie, I went in thinking "Yeah, I support the environment" and left passionately considering myself an environmentalist. When I saw Sicko, I went in thinking "Yeah, we need to improve health care in this country" and left thinking "Holy cow - we need a health care revolution."
Political quiz: I'm thinking of a presidential candidate who A) voted this week to give George W. Bush a blank check in Iraq, B) characterized voting against that blank check as under-cutting our troops, and C) called Fox cable station "an unparalleled forum" which presidential candidates should debate in front of. What party does that candidate represent?
Here is a letter MoveOn.org Political Action wrote to Nevada MoveOn members today: http://pol.moveon.org/...
Last week, Democratic leader Harry Reid dismissed the Iraq supplemental bill as "weak tea." He said Democrats demanded a strong bill, not a blank check for endless war in Iraq. But last night, Reid joined nearly all Senate Republicans and over half of Senate Democrats in sending that blank check to President Bush.
This is the most shameful moment on Iraq since the vote to authorize war in 2002. Despite the American people's overwhelming mandate in November's election, and despite President Bush's 28% approval rating[3], Democrats capitulated.
Recently, MoveOn did a petition to stop President Bush's proposed budget cut for PBS & NPR - getting a super-high response of over 600,000 signatures. The right-wing American Family Assocation decided this was the perfect time to engage MoveOn. Living up to their hard-won reputation for strategic brilliance (and staying true to their pro-family name), the AFA came out against Big Bird. Yeah, they started a campaign favoring cuts to PBS and NPR .
In a message to their members, they linked to this URL http://www.afa.net/... in which they exposed an "actual email sent to MoveOn members." Being untechnically sound, they let MoveOn stay in control of the embedded image. Click here to see the graphic AFA members now see. AFA members can now sign MoveOn's petition at www.MoveOn.org/afa
