OBAMA:
[http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=38629&ref=rellink]
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama laid out his plans to use technology to increase government transparency, promising online access to federal data and the opportunity for citizens to comment online on pending legislation.
Building upon previous promises to free government from undue political and financial influence, Obama's technology and innovation plan would aim to increase transparency through e-government initiatives.
"We will put government data online in universally accessible formats, [allowing citizens to] track federal grants, contracts, earmarks and lobbying contracts, participate in government forums, ask questions in real time, offer suggestions that will be reviewed before decisions are made, and comment on legislation before it is signed," Obama said during a speech at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. on Nov. 14.
The plan would expand on the 2006 Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act -- co-sponsored by Obama -- which mandates the creation of a user-friendly Web site to track federal spending data. Rule-making agencies would be required to deliberate issues via live feeds on the Internet that would allow citizens to respond to their efforts. Nonemergency legislation would be posted on the White House Web site, where people would be able to review and comment on it for five days before it was signed into law.
Cabinet officials would be required to hold periodic nationwide online town hall meetings to answer questions and discuss issues before their agencies, and such technologies as blogs, wikis and social networking tools would be used to enhance internal, cross-agency, and public communication and information sharing.
"Technology empowers people to come together to [drive] change," Obama said. "We have to do more than get our house in order; the opportunity in front of us is bigger than that. Seizing this opportunity is going to depend on more than what the government does and even more than what the technology sector does."
Obama's plan also includes the appointment of the first federal chief technology officer. The CTO would oversee e-government initiatives and be charged with ensuring that all agencies have a modern, secure infrastructure, use best-in-class technologies and share best practices. The CTO also would be responsible for implementing standards to ensure technological interoperability of key government functions.
[http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/060608-network_neutral/]
Obama supports Net Neutrality:
"It is because the Internet is a neutral platform that I can put out this podcast and transmit it over the Internet without having to go through any corporate media middleman. I can say what I want without censorship or without having to pay a special charge.
But the big telephone and cable companies want to change the Internet as we know it. They say that they want to create high speed lanes on the Internet and strike exclusive contractual agreements with Internet content providers for access to those high speed lanes.
Everyone who cannot pony up the cash will be relegated to the slow lanes."
MCCAIN:
[http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/12/mccain-online/]
In an interview with New York Times, John McCain confirmed that he doesn’t email, doesn’t read blogs, doesn’t go online, but does occasionally read Drudge. While he’s not a consumer of online information, McCain said he does “understand the impact of blogs on American politics today and political campaigns”:
Q: What websites if any do you look at regularly?
Mr. McCain: Brooke and Mark show me Drudge, obviously, everybody watches, for better or for worse, Drudge. Sometimes I look at Politico. Sometimes RealPolitics, sometimes.
(Mrs. McCain and Ms. Buchanan both interject: “Meagan’s blog!”)
Mr. McCain: Excuse me, Meagan’s blog. And we also look at the blogs from Michael and from you that may not be in the newspaper, that are just part of your blog.
Q: But do you go on line for yourself?
Mr. McCain: They go on for me. I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself. I don’t expect to be a great communicator, I don’t expect to set up my own blog, but I am becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the information that I need – including going to my daughter’s blog first, before anything else.
Q: Do you use a blackberry or email?
Mr. McCain: No
Mark Salter: He uses a BlackBerry, just ours.
Mr. McCain: I use the Blackberry, but I don’t e-mail, I’ve never felt the particular need to e-mail. I read e-mails all the time, but the communications that I have with my friends and staff are oral and done with my cell phone. I have the luxury of being in contact with them literally all the time. We now have a phone on the plane that is usable on the plane, so I just never really felt a need to do it. But I do – could I just say, really – I understand the impact of blogs on American politics today and political campaigns. I understand that. And I understand that something appears on one blog, can ricochet all around and get into the evening news, the front page of The New York Times. So, I do pay attention to the blogs. And I am not in any way unappreciative of the impact that they have on entire campaigns and world opinion.
[http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/6/3/224720.shtml]
McCain opposes Net Neutrality
"When you control the pipe you should be able to get profit from your investment,”
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The choice is between someone who seems to understand the new paradigm of the internet, the issues we face, and how we should be using technology in our government, OR someone who doesn’t use the internet, relies on others to know what it’s about, and falls back on conventional, standard responses when confronted with new issues involving the internet and business.
As someone involved in an internet technology based company, isn’t it better to have someone in the Oval Office who understands the issues that will likely affect our business? I think so.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
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