House Democratic Leader Pelosi and Congressman Waxman posted here today regarding H.R. 1606, the 'Online Freedom of Speech Act.' I assume it was actually their staff -- and that's why I am posting a diary with their names in it, to get the attention of that staff.
The diaries were deeply disheartening to me.
The blogosphere has been following this legislation closely for many months. Krempasky of redstate.org and AdamB of dKos have testified, I believe. AdamB was front-paged just yesterday -- and because we all kibbitz and criticize, the analysis that these unofficial spokespeople provide is influenced by us all.
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Pelosi and Waxman gave no indication that they were even aware of the analysis that has been going on here for months. No mention of AdamB or Krempasky, no acknowledgement of the concerns they have raised.
As I write this, neither Pelosi, Waxman, nor any staffer speaking for them has responded to comments in their diaries.
Waxman (presumably his staff) posted a duplicate diary, after the joint Pelosi-Waxman diary was already recommended -- and then told his audience to post any comments in the earlier diary. Congressman, staffers: that is just plain rude. You push other diaries off the page and contribute nothing new -- then refuse to participate in a discussion in your own diary.
The etiquette of participating here is really not that hard to master. A minimal effort, even on the part of Congresspeople, is appreciated.
Thank you for joining us, Leader Pelosi and Congressman Waxman. I hope you continue to participate, and I hope we all learn from the experience.