Politics
Entries related to things political.
NCSL: Wireless Broadband: Answering the Call
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 13:24Around 100 people are attending a luncheon. The focus is on the advantages of broadband, areas with broadband see housing values increase and improved healthcare delivery. Concerns are presented about tax issues, consistency of policy from state to state and private sector access. The speakers thank people who helped make the luncheon possible, AT&T, Cisco, Comcast, Dell, Ebay, Time Warner, Verizon and others.
The keynote speaker is Steve Largent, former NFL Football player, Republican Congressman from Oklahoma, and now head of CTIA, the Wireless Association. The board of directors of CTIA includes people from Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and so on.
During the keynote, Steve shows a video, “Wireless There’s Magic in The Air.” It traces the history of wireless in the United States, leading up to a futuristic view set in 2015.
He points out a survey by MyWireless.org. Like their website, he doesn’t mention that MyWireless.org is an offshoot of CTIA. (See this article from Common Cause about MyWireless.org).
He focuses on tax policy and regulatory policy. He encourages legislators to ask regulators if their policies “will reduce or increase the costs of companies providing wireless services.” It seems like the question is not if it will reduce or increase costs to companies, but will it increase or reduce costs and options for individuals.
One person asks what State Legislatures should do where there are rural districts that national carriers aren’t building out in. “I can tell you that we’re coming,” he answers. The 700 mhz auction will help greatly. “It is just a matter of time.”
There are subsequent questions about identity theft and the number of lives saved by e911 services, number portability, safe driving and issues about placing of cell towers,.
It is interesting that in the crowd, I am the only person with a laptop, even though there is WiFi available throughout the conference. The industry association is out in force. I speak with a representative from T-Mobile at the end of the keynote. Yet there is very little representation from those fighting for more open telecommunication policies.
NCSL, Initial Impressions
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 12:03This morning, before heading over to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) annual conference, I read some emails, including some with State Legislators that aren’t attending. Over the next week or two, I’ll be leading sessions at various places about blogging.
One of the great half truths of blogging is that anyone can do it. On one level, this is true. Just got to Blogger, Wordpress, or many other free sites, and set up your blog. You don’t even need a computer or internet connection of your own. There are many places where you can get online for free, such as public libraries, government centers, or even convention halls.
However, there is more to blogging than just having access to a free website. You have to have something to say and have people that will read it. You can get a lot to say by visiting meetings like the NCSL annual meeting or YearlyKos. Yet these are expensive. Even if you can get press credentials and attend for free, you still have costs like travel expenses. I just couldn’t swing the expense of going to YearlyKos this year. NCSL is a bit more affordable. I took Amtrak up from Stamford which is fairly economical. I’m staying at a friend’s house in Boston, so the expenses remain small, but still signficiant.
I think of all the people that have important things to say, but can’t afford to get to important gatherings like this or YearlyKos.
At NCSL, the staff is incredibly friendly. Many people have greeted me and asked if I need help. Perhaps some of it comes from working in a profession that needs to keep constituents happy. Perhaps some of it is that my hair is a little shaggy and the ‘Blogger’ embroidered on my shirt identifies me as not your typical legislative staffer.
There are many people who are here with their families. Kids are going out for walks on the Freedom Trail. The book store has great children’s books about getting involved in Government. Many people are greeting old friends with big hugs. Is NCSL a homecoming week for State Legislators, a great time to see old friends and visit interesting cities, paid for, in part, I imagine by state taxes?
Staying with the ‘follow the money’ meme, a large exhibition hall is in the process of getting set up. Computers flank the side of the entrance hall advertising SGAC.ORG, Connecting the business community with NCSL and State Legislators for more than 30 years. I wonder where DFA, and other groups connection State Legislators with grassroots constituents for a few years now. I know that the Progressive States Network will be here on Tuesday, but I have to miss there session.
So, it is now time to check in and plan my afternoon.
What are we teaching our children?
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 08/03/2007 - 20:14As United States citizens, we hold dear the right to vote and the promise of free and open elections. If we do not hold ourselves to these standards, and the standards of freedom of information, the U.S. Constitution and the Connecticut Constitution, what are we teaching our children?
Last night during his keynote speech at YearlyKos, Gov. Dean spoke about the importance of reaching out to the youth. As people get into the habit of voting, they stay in the habit. This afternoon, I listened to a panel about problems with voting suppression. So, when I found the above quote, it caught my attention.
However, the quote wasn’t from an article about voting machines or requirements for photo ids. It was from a Freedom of Information (FOI) complaint filed in Burlington, CT.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Avery Doninger. She was class secretary at Lewis S. Mills High School, but was not allowed to run for reelection because she had referred to the school superintendent as a “douchbag” in a blog post. Her mother is now suing the school.
The Cool Justice Report quotes a student at the school as saying,
"On the day of elections everyone (I mean everyone) wrote in the girls name next to 'Secretary' and circled it. At the end of the day when they had to tell us who won they said that the elections were so close that they were going to give kids who weren't there a chance to vote the next day. The girl who won only had like 7 votes because everyone voted for the girl who wasn't running."
Based on this, he is trying to get a copy of the ballots and there is a lot of legal wrangling back and forth. This was the context for the quote above.
Well, Andy is asking the right question. What are we teaching our children? Perhaps the folks at Lewis S. Mills High School are teaching the right message, after all, in a convoluted manner. They are teaching our children the importance of constant vigilance in defending things that keeps our country strong, like freedom of speech and free and open elections.
I wish all of the students luck in this most important lesson.
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Zachary Cohn
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 07/31/2007 - 09:27“I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.” How often have you heard that phrase? How often has it come close to home? I try not to have any enemies, they just aren’t a useful thing to have. But over the years, there have been people that I’ve clashed with in stressful work situations, and they are perhaps the closest I’ve got towards enemies.
One person I had frequent clashes with was Brian Cohn. We both worked at S.A.C. Capital years ago. I haven’t spoken with him since I left over six years ago. A lot has gone on since then. I was going through my divorce while I was at S.A.C. I’ve remarried, and Fiona was born. Brian and his wife Karen had a boy named Zachary. Zachary was about half a year older than Fiona.
While we were listening to music at Falcon Ridge, a horrible pool accident happened at the Cohn’s house and Zachary drowned. The Stamford Advocate is reporting that the investigation includes drainage apparatus.
When I read about the pool drain, my thoughts went to John Edwards’ famous 1997 case against Sta-Rite. Sta-Rite has made pool products since the 1960 and according to an article in the Washington Monthly a dozen children had already suffered similar injuries from Sta-Rite drains before the trial.
Last month, there was another pool drain accident where the drainage system sucked out most of a six year olds small intestine. TwinCities.COM is reporting that the parents are contemplating legal action “against Sta-Rite Industries, which manufactured the pool's drainage system.”
I don’t know if the drainage system at the Cohn’s was made by Sta-Rite, but it does seem as if issues with pool drainage systems still haven’t been adequately addressed.
Brian is now President of S.A.C. Reports say that S.A.C. currently has $14 billion under management. S.A.C., like other hedge funds, has been making the news in political circles as Brian and others have made major contributions to Chris Dodd’s Presidential campaign. Brian, along with others at S.A.C. also contributed significantly to Dan Malloy’s Gubernatorial campaign.
Riches, political influence, all of that becomes pretty meaningless when faced with a horrible accident like the loss of Zachary. Brian and I aren’t likely to cross paths any time soon. If we do, I don’t know if any of the old conflicts will cloud our interactions. But I do know, that my heart goes out to him, Karen, and their whole family during their time of horrible grief. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.
Robocalls already!?!
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 07/30/2007 - 20:08The phone rang. Fiona rushed to it saying, “I’ve got it”. She picked up the phone. We asked who it was and she handed the phone to me.
“I said hi,” Fiona said. “I said, who is it. And it said stuff about the mom and the children. It was so weird. It’s like an advertisement. I think it was an advertisement.”
That is how Fiona described the phone call we just received. She handed the phone to me and I heard a woman’s voice saying something to the effect of “Press 1 on your telephone to hear what I will do as your President.”
“What possible good could doing Robocalls to Connecticut do?” Kim asked. “It’s July!”
Is anyone else receiving robocalls from Hillary?
(Cross posted at MyLeftNutmeg.)
