Libby Trial: The attorneys
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 02/26/2007 - 10:01As I sit and wait for a verdict, I wonder about the lawyers involved in the Libby Case.
Six years ago, my father-in-law, a retired U.S. Treasury agent, who had lost his first wife to cancer, remarried. His loving and lovely bride had worked with him as a Treasury agent for years and had comforted him as he mourned the loss of his first wife. The friendship blossomed into a romance and my wife, her brother and all of us rejoiced at their marriage. Today, Fiona, my youngest daughter can think of nothing she would love in the world more than us buying the house down the street from her papa and nana.
The Libby Trial: Week six
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sun, 02/25/2007 - 17:06When I first spoke with Robert Cox about blogging the Libby Trial on week six, I realized it was a lot like buying tickets to game six of the World Series. The whole thing could be over before I get there, or I might be going down for the most exciting time.
Well, week six starts tomorrow. The jury hasn’t reached a verdict, so I am going to hop on a train this evening and show up at the courthouse bright and early. Today, I’m struggling getting over a stomach bug and trying to make sure my logistics are all lined up. Where will I stay Monday night if they don’t reach a verdict on Monday? Do I have all the proper technology?
The Verdict: How do we handle dissent?
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 02/23/2007 - 10:13On July 6, 2003, Joseph Wilson wrote an Op-Ed for the New York Times criticizing the Bush Administration’s rush into the Iraq war. Eight days later, Robert Novak wrote a column revealing Wilson’s wife’s role within the CIA. We may never know exactly what happened within the office of the Vice President and discussions with members of the media, but one way of dealing with dissent is to attack the dissenter’s family. When attacks step over the line, the U.S. legal system gets involved, and we shall see if I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby will be found guilty of obstructing the efforts of the U.S. legal system to get to the bottom of this.
Regionalized Social Media
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 02/22/2007 - 12:39Over the past several months, I’ve been involved with various regional efforts in the progressive political blogosphere. I keep posting on my own blog, as well as various national blogs, but I also participate in Connecticut’s progressive political blog of record, MyLeftNutmeg. From time to time I visit neighboring regional progressive political blogs of record like BlueMassGroup, Below Boston, Blue Hampshire, Green Mountain Daily all in New England, and blogs like Culture Kitchen in New York, and Blue Jersey in New Jersey.
Yet social media is much more than just progressive political blogs. In New England, the New England News Forum is convening a conference on how changing media is changing civic involvement. It will include journalists, bloggers, educators, people interested in economic development and social issues.
I will be co-leading a session, “From DC courts to NH campaigns: Has blogging gone mainstream media?” I hope that many of my friends from New England regional blogs attend, and participate in discussions of how the broader spectrum of social media interacts in New England for the benefit of us all.
(cross posted at a bunch of the blogs listed above)
Be the change you want to see on the web
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Wed, 02/21/2007 - 10:33Recently, everyone has been talking about Sen. Obama’s online social networking software. Obama has some great people working for him and people tell me his software is very good. As an Edwards supporter, I haven’t taken the time to look closely at Obama’s system.
However, I like the Edwards social networking tool, OneCorps. It may not be as sophisticated, but it has the important focus, of getting people to get out and take action, to (paraphrasing from Gandhi), be the change you want to see on the web.
This weekend will be the next day of action for the Edwards campaign. Edwards supporters around the country will gather to take action to help our country. The focus, this month, is on health care. In Connecticut, Edwards supporters are gathering to give blood. In Florida, Edwards supporters are joining in a neighborhood cleanup day.
Beyond this, the other day, I got an email from Sen. Edwards on Change.org. Change.org is the hot new social networking tool that “aims to transform social activism by serving as the central platform that connects likeminded people”. It is just getting off the ground and I was impressed that Sen. Edwards has a page up there. There is a small group of Edwards supporters there and a small group of Obama supporters there.
As a final note, I do not want to get into an argument over which presidential candidate has the best tools or is doing the most to encourage their supporters to take action now. If the Obama team uses their social network to empower and encourage their supporters to get out and take action that surpasses the actions that the Edwards team is doing, then that is great. We should be competing to see which group of supporters can do the most to bring about the change we want to see in the country, not in 2009 but starting right now.
If the Richardson, Dodd, Clinton, or other teams come in and raise the stakes, even better. We need to show that Democratic working together caring for our neighbors can restore the empathy which has always been part of what makes America great.
(Cross-posted on DailyKos)
