Howard Dean to Guest Blog for Lawrence Lessig

Ethanol writes "Starting Monday, Professor Lawrence Lessig (whom we all remember from Eldred v. Ashcroft) is going on vacation, and his weblog will be guest-hosted by Democratic presidential candidate Governor Howard Dean. Could this be a sign that a serious contender for President (tied for first for the nomination in the latest polls) has his head screwed on right about copyright law?"

Comments

Well he has my vote

[javiercero]

I have seen a few of his appearances, and I must admit I am quite impressed with this guy. Then again maybe is that after 2.5 yrs of Mr. Bush my expectations for POTUS have been dramatically lowered.

Re:Well he has my vote

[Anonymous Coward]

You've got to be kidding. Have you done some background work on Dean? I live in VT, and the guy is as slippery as an Arkansas governor. If you look at his history on the issues he supports he's actually proposed and pushed the EXACT OPPOSITE over the last five years. He is, in fact, a centrist dem and not a far left evangelist.

I may not think Bush is the best option, but the better of two evils Dean is not. Basically Dean has repackaged himself to appeal to the far left which, because of the centrist nature of modern politics, has been disenfranchised by the dem party.

You could say hes trying to pull a reverse bush; solidifying his base with the democratic hearland and then moving out to centrists on specific issues... he'll probably make the push sometime six months or so before the election.

HOWEVER, there's a fundamental problem with that plan; the left isn't nearly as cohesive or well organized as the right, and he's depending on a skittish bunch.

He'll lose, but he'll guarantee no other democrats win either.

-rt

Re:Well he has my vote

[uradu]

> guy is as slippery as an Arkansas governor

At least the main things involving slipping with Clinton were women's panties. With our Chimp In Chief they involve things like wool and eyes. It's amazing how "outraged" some people managed to get over Bill's sex life, yet here the reasons for the Iraq war are being systematically deconstructed, and no-one seems to give a damn. Welcome to the Twilight Zone.

Re:Well he has my vote

[Anonymous Coward]

look fucknozzle - that argument is false. bush's tax cuts shifted the burden from those who have the ability to pay, to those who do not.

he's made the system damn near regressive.

Re:Well he has my vote

[canajin56]

But lying about a blowjob is SO MUCH WORSE! That is worth impeaching over, not silly "falsified" reports. Besides, that's not even a LIE, didn't you hear him? All these CIA reports sent to the White House about how all this Iraq stuff was false, they like, totally got lost in the mail or something. Until just now.

Re:Well he has my vote

[Micah]

I'll probably get modded Troll for this, but oh well... I *am* serious...

> He is on track for dismantling Social Security and Medicare.

We can only hope. I'm convined that Social Security is the biggest scam in the history of mankind.

Think about it. What other scam has screwed hundreds of millions of people out of 15% of their life's income only to give them a piddly amount back if/when the retire?

If people would invest that in anything decent over the course of their lives, they'd be quite rich on retirement.

Re:Well he has my vote

[RALE007]

"...So I guess we should cover up all of those mass graves, put all those children back in prison, get Chemical Ali back into the lab, get those torture racks greased, throw all of those 'Big Brother Saddam' pictures back up in Baghdad, and leave a fruit basket with a letter of apology. You're right...we are indeed in the Twilight Zone."

That's called creating a straw man. It's a fallacy of logic, to summarize it is taking someones words, then giving them new meaning. Usually followed by an attack on the new meaning.

rant rant rant rant

That's just my summary of you beating the hell out of the strawman.

...You sound partisan, bitter, and illogical. You and your ilk have offered nothing but criticism.

Now you are attacking the person, and not their argument. Another fallacy of logic. Ontop of it, after your strawman, and a part of your personal attack, you complain about anyone with opposing views being illogical.

rant rant rant rant

Summary of the rest of your words.

Can someone mod the troll down?

Re:Well he has my vote

[Anonymous Coward]

All we are saying is if liberating the Iraqis is the main justification for removing Hussein (and it appears to be the current party line of the administration), why couldnt Bush just come out and say so from the beginning?

I am not sure about you, but I don't like it when the reason we do something keeps changing depending on political winds. I didnt like it when Clinton changed stories, why should I like it when Bush does?

This is not about Bush vs. Hussein! What sane person said Hussein is a great leader? There are plenty of petty tyrants and mass murderers out there, but we see fit to ignore or even aid them, depending on national security.

We just dont like liars, or at the very least, people who change their stories. I would be 110% behind this if Bush said from the beginning "While there is no link between Hussein and 9/11 we need to do this, because people are dying and we have the moral obligation to protect people from mass executions". Did Bush say that? no, he said "Hussein poses an IMMINENT threat to the US" he was the one who brought the sense of urgency of attacking, saying the UN inspectors were either too slow or not doing their jobs. Is it any wonder some people criticize the administration for not finding the WMD when they disparaged the UN inspectors so much for not doing so themselves? I find it funny that NOW the administration is saying "finding evidence for WMD programs WILL TAKE TIME". Isnt that what Hans Blix was saying all the time? But we had to push him aside and attack anyway?

How can you say for sure the world is a safer place for Americans? There was no link between Hussein and: 1) Al Qaida 2) Nuclear materials
3) (for now) WMD. So how is the US safer?

Pardon my cynicism, but I find it hard to believe that republicans (or rabid pro-Bush supporters), who think nothing of dismantling social welfare programs (I'm not saying this is good or bad) are all of a sudden so concerned about the welfare of another country's people. Heck most conservatives would support legislation to BLOCK these same Iraqis from immigrating to the US, so I find it laughable that they show so much concern for their well-being.

Re:Well he has my vote

[uradu]

> cover up all of those mass graves, put all those children back in prison

Blather, blather. I didn't hear "your ilk" complain about that before the glimmer of war sparked in Dubbya's eye, the opportunity to showcase our fine military machinery, the greatest army on earth, yada, yada. I saw no holy indignation when 800,000 Rwandans killed each other, no urge to send in 200,000 troops to stop the savage butchery. Nor did I hear you complain about the goings on in the Congo, or in Liberia. Sure, let's set up some committes and feasibility studies about whether we SHOULD send some troops in. Where are Rummies snap "three minute decision[s]--and the first two just to get coffee" now? And how much did the indignation lead to military intervention when my country was exterminating Jews by the millions? Remember what it took for the US to mobilize its military? Yeah, having its interests threatened directly.

If you want to do good--and Lord knows Saddam was one draconian bastard worthy getting rid of--do so blindely, impartially, and consistently. When the very people you're trying to help ask you to please stop helping quite so much, maybe it's time to re-evaluate your strategy.

> You and your ilk have offered nothing but criticism. No solutions.

Au contraire, my ilk and I have proffered our view of the Right Way for a long time, and it involved treating the root of the problem, not its symptoms. There are very simple and tractable causes for why the Arab world hates the West, but in particular the US. Remove those, and you're well on your way to mend things. But that would involve putting the Big Stick down and talking, something people with Big Sticks are loath to do. We're asking Isreal to refrain from retaliaton after suicide attacks in order to facilitate dialog and not endanger the peace process, yet how willing were we to do the same after the towers came down? Maybe a moment of introspection, of oh-my-God-how-come-they're-hating-us-so-much, instead of reaching for the guns and assuming with a mere shrug that they were simply jealous of "our way of life."

> United States had moral, legal, and political justification

Morality is a funny thing--it only means something when the majority agrees on its definiton. Otherwise I could define it as me coming over to your house and taking your car. The US forfeited its moral authority through inaction in many other similar cases.

> I'll never forget the images of those Iraqis beating that Saddam
> statue with the shoes off of their feet

Hmm, they seem to have forgotten them, because they're quite keen for us to go back home. Which brings up another interesting thing--the indignation amongst those American Righteous in favor of "the war" at the Iraqi's thanklessness for their own liberation. That begs the question, what exactly was the motivation behind this "liberation"--to earn thanks and admiration, or to merely help in an altruistic fashion?

Re:Well he has my vote

[gamgee5273]

Dude, you don't get it, do you? Get off the sanctimonious, jingoistic bandwagon and look around you! Saddam Hussein is a madman - no one will deny that. But he is a madman we kept in power. A madman that Rumsfeld and Cheney have worked with in the past during the Ford, Reagan and senior Bush administrations. A madman we supported in his war with Iran, where we were also repsonsible for supporting the Shah's oppressive regime.

This country, for decades, fed the power structure that kept Hussein right where he was. This most recent war was not about removing Hussein - it was about revenge and oil. G. W. Bush doesn't care about the people of Iraq, nor have any of his predecessors.

We are constantly helping oppresive leaders: Pinochet, Noriega, Papa Doc, the apartheid system in South Africa. We continue to hand trade concessions and the like to the Chinese - who are, arguably, guilty of more than Hussein could ever be. And don't forget that we also readily supported the Taliban and Al-qaeda against the Soviets in Afghanistan.

It's a shame you haven't opened your eyes to see that we did this to ourselves...and we knew what these people were like before. And, watch who you call a lemming, because you sound a great deal like a Dittohead.

Oh, and Chemical Ali was never in a lab - he ordered the gassing, he isn't/wasn't a scientist. Don't try to insult and one-up people when you can't properly form your statement with facts...it makes you sound like the village idiot.

Re:Well he has my vote

[_xeno_]

The fact is, the United States had moral, legal, and political justification for removing Saddam Hussein.

Yeah. Wouldn't it have been so cool if the administration had actually - oh, I don't know - used them to justify going to war? But no. We didn't go in because Iraq had violated the UN resolution. We didn't go in to "liberate" the Iraqi people. We went in because Saddam had a dangerous stockpile of weapons of mass destruction and had recently purchased nuclear material to build a nuclear capability.

Whoops. No weapons of mass destruction. Oh, and it turns out he didn't purchase nuclear material. Our bad.

But, you claim, we helped the Iraqi people! Yeah, but when are we going to help people in Cuba, North Korea, China, Africa, Palistine...

There's plenty of evil in this world, and we can't be the policemen to the world. Did we help improve the situation in Iraq? Probably. (There's still plenty of time for us to mess things up. I hope we've learned past lessons and will remain there long enough to allow Iraq to become a stable representative government.)

Unfortunately, in reality, the ends do not justify the means. Likewise, a poor means does not injustify a good outcome. It is possible to believe that Iraq is better off without Saddam while also believing that the actions taken to remove him were poorly chosen. One does not contradict the other.

Re:Well he has my vote

[Ragica]

The great strength of the Republican party is that they fully realise just how sheltered (some may say stupid) and gulable and eager to be lead the American people are. The Democrats only have a slight inkling of this fact.

The thing the Democrats have going for them is a certain amount of optimism, pig-headedly believing that "ordinary americans" will magically become less short sighted and understand the complex ramifications of their choices; whereas the Republics are just utterly cynical in their every action (though they paint it with a righteous face).

Me, i'm sadly disgustingly cyncial myself, and yet admire most the optimistic point of view. Where does that leave me?

Some will think this is a troll, and it can't help but be in a way. It is an over simplification, and it is dangerous using terms like "ordinary americans". But I think in this case the thoughtful americans have noticed these patterns also (just witness the retarded parrot cliches of the lies which were the basis of american support for the Iraq "war" still here on Slashdot): it's just that it seems even the Democrat optimism is failing and they just have no idea what to do.

BTW, i am a Canadian... so flame away on my socialist ass!

Re:Well he has my vote

[Ragica]

Oops, i forgot my final point, which is how my previous post relates back to the topic at hand: Howard Dean's blogging campaign. It seems to me that Dean is by far doing the best of any candidate to use grass roots technology to energize the optimistic heart of "Democratic" support. That's all.

Re:Well he has my vote

[cje]

So I guess we should cover up all of those mass graves, put all those children back in prison, get Chemical Ali back into the lab, get those torture racks greased, throw all of those 'Big Brother Saddam' pictures back up in Baghdad, and leave a fruit basket with a letter of apology. You're right...we are indeed in the Twilight Zone.

You would have a point if the Iraq war had been justified in terms of "We need to remove Saddam because he's mean to his people." It wasn't. The entire war was predicated on the supposed threat that Iraq posed to the United States, and its status as a "terrorist state" with massive stockpiles of "ultimate weapons" (President Bush's words.) Tony Blair even told the British parliament that Iraq had the capability to launch an attack on the UK in as little as 45 minutes. It's been months now since the fall of Baghdad, and the only thing we have to show for this war is a piece of a nuclear centrifuge that some guy buried in his backyard before the first Gulf War. That may justify the war in your eyes, but the families of the hundreds of American servicemen (and women) killed in this conflict might have some different thoughts.

I'm glad that Hussein is gone. Dead or alive, let's hope he rots in peace. But all of this "Well, Iraq wasn't much of a threat to us, but look at the mass graves! Look at the torture devices!" is Monday morning quarterbacking. It's great that the Pentagon has media-savvy people that are able to invent scary-sounding nicknames (i.e., "Mrs. Anthrax") for the people that it kills or captures, but at the end of the day I would have had a lot more respect for the administration if they had just been honest about things. Hussein was a brutal dictator, but the world is full of brutal dictators, and the last time I checked, the United States wasn't drawing up plans to invade Burma or Zimbabwe.

You sound partisan, bitter, and illogical.

Whereas you are obviously objective, clear-headed, and perfectly logical. :-)

Everybody is sensible, so long as they say things that you agree with.

You have built your platform on the hopes that the United States will fail in its endeavours. That is disgusting.

I can't speak for the original poster, but do you want to know what's really disgusting? I have six friends who are in harm's way in Iraq right now. What's disgusting is people like you who implicitly suggest that I want to see harm come to them to prove a political point. I have no desire to see the United States will "fail" in any of its endeavours. That doesn't change the fact that there are endeavours that I would have preferred us to avoid in the first place. See, if it were up to me, these guys would be sitting in my living room and drinking beer with me instead of being stationed in a country populated by people that hate them even more than they hated the dictator that they just got rid of.

The world is a safer place for both Americans and Iraqis today than it was a few months ago, and it cost fewer lives than anyone estimated.

You've got to be kidding me. At my workplace, some co-workers and I were scheduled to attend a May conference in South America, and the trip was cancelled out of war-related concerns for our safety. It has never been more dangerous to be an American traveling abroad, and the Iraq war only made this worse. The primary contributing factor in the 9/11 attacks was fundamentalist Muslim hatred of the United States, and if you have evidence that the Iraq war helped to mitigate this, then I confess that I would be curious to see it. I want to be clear about this: I do not subscribe to the theory that the United States deserved the 9/11 attacks because of our foreign policy; it was a heinous and cowardly attack that no nation on this planet deserves. But our foreign policy in the past year or so has done much to fan the flames of the same hatred. And for who? For what? Saddam Hussein? This is a third-rate dictat

Re:Well he has my vote

[RALE007]

...Well, first things first. At first you have to establish that it really was an unjustified and illegal war before you can accuse him of murder. But since that seems to have been the case, it would be very ironic indeed if some leading member(s) of his administration would have to answer to the International Criminal Court which they so opposed...

I'm not trying to troll here, but it would be very ironic considering the US has rejected identifying the permanent tribunal.

The tribunal can charge Americans all they like, but the US will not identify any charges, findings, convictions, or sentencing of the tribunal that they do not wish to identify.

To put it bluntly, if some leading member(s) of GWB's administration were charged by the ICC (International Criminal Court), said member(s) of the administration would tell the ICC to bugger off. Charges by the ICC? Possible but unlikely. Anyone from the GWB administration answering to the ICC, cold day in the seventh ring.

Re:Well he has my vote

[captainktainer]

To correct:

1) It could well be about the oil *if* the administration doesn't care about the financial solvency of the government, or considers it secondary to the financial wellbeing of the corporations that directly and indirectly are responsible for the administration's current power. Given the fact that the president has authorized contracts with a value of well over $7 billion to Halliburton, for example, without consideration of some rather inviting competing bids is something that indicates that this may be the case. If one considers the economic policy of this administration as a whole, including what should have been a scandalous "stimulus" package to Enron execs and tax initiatives that should speak for themselves, one begins to see a sense of financial priorities that does not have the United States and its citizens at the top of the list.

2) I think what the poster intended to say- or *should* have intended to say, had he or she been thinking more clearly- is that the sex life of any person should remain private and free from scrutiny unless it brings harm to parties involved. Clinton's indiscretions do not meet that test (as repugnant as I find his behavior).

One more thing: The cost of investigating Clinton's sexual activities and the entrapment that ensued was $40 million with some Congresspeople complaining that Starr was underfunded. Those exact same Congresspeople have attempted to eviscerate an investigation into the causes of the most heinous attack on American soil since the Civil War (Pearl Harbor was nothing to 9/11, in my opinion- may be the New Yorker in me talking). Clinton: $40 million. 9/11: $5 million, and it was a truly epic battle to get even that much. The same people were involved in supporting the Clinton investigation and denying support to the 9/11 investigation- and Bush and the members of his administration supported both.

That's hypocrisy.

Re:Well he has my vote

[slux]

I don't know much about the social security system in place in the US (except that I've heard it is pretty limited), but in european countries social security also usually includes things such as health care (if you get sick most of the treatment costs are covered by the government) and a guaranteed minimal income from the government if you happen to lose your job.

We don't have many people living in the streets, those that do wouldn't be forced to if they didn't have other problems (drugs, alcohol). People shouldn't have problems with getting medical treatment because they mostly don't need to pay for it.

Without the social security system your society will resemble a dog eat dog jungle. Sure, those that are able to work, are healthy and are not unlucky will be getting larger paychecks, but there will be more poverty and suffering. I don't think anyone deserves to live in the street, endure an illness any more than anyone actually deserves to earn a billion dollars a second. Taking care of those that are weak and cannot manage by themselves instead of taking advantage of them is really one of the key defining things of being a human.

Re:Well he has my vote

[Usagi_yo]

He is somewhat educated and I'd guess he is in the "bright average" category in terms of intelligence, but he is wilfully ignorant and often holds simplistic views.

MBA Harvard is somewhat educated eh? As compared to what? An Oxford Dropout? There is a saying amoungst professional poker [gamblers] players. "If you want to be successfull in business, surround yourself with smart people. If you wan't to be successfull in poker, surround yourself with dumb people". So far, I'll play poker with anybody that truly believes GW is dumb cause my first assessment of you that you are conceited and an egotistical elitist. The kind that I would like to surround myself with at the poker table.

...but I don't think he has the intelligence of Clinton...

Yes, I remember how brilliant CNN declared Clinton's statement of: "It depends upon what the meaning of is is". All I could think of is where is Mark Twain or Dorothy Parker when you really need'em.

Now, I'm not posting and responding to try and convince you of anything. I'm posting and responding to remind you that yours is just opinion and is no more correct or certain then mine.

Think about this: I want a President that is diligently and faithfully administering this country rather then one worried about where he's going to get his next blow job and how he's going to keep it a secret.

Re:Well he has my vote

[LauraScudder]

The problem with social security in America is that it's going down the shitter because not enough money is going in compared to out - and people still don't get a whole heck of a lot to live off of. We're hitting the real stress point for the system with the baby boomer generation, and bankruptcy of social security in the future is a real possibility

The result is that everyone my age (20s) is resigned to the fact that we will most likely get no social security later unless the system gets reformed now. It's quite depressing to see that money taken out of your paycheck knowing that you won't see any of it later.

I have the distinct feeling that now that people about my age are getting paychecks, we're going to start to see a real push for ss reform. Unfortunately we have to push back against the baby boomers, who just want their money now.

I'm quite impressed by social security in Europe, by the way (I'm in Germany right now), though there's still some kinks I've heard about like high taxes and lack of incentive for real solvency in the health insurance companies. I'd feel better about those problems than about the situation in America now.

Re:Well he has my vote

[Xabraxas]

you know, as i watched thoes people who danced in the streets, threw out candy and celebrated the deaths of innocent people after the september 11th attack, i sat and thought "oh man I hope each and every one of thoes scum bags die a slow painful death."

mr. bush, to a decent enough extent, has rose to the occasion.

for that i thank him, and regret nothing

I hope you know that Iraq had absolutley nothing to do with 9/11. So either you're just some dolt who wants to see someone else suffer because it makes you feel better or you're a racist. I hope you know that 7000 innocent Iraqi's died in the war. Now there is probably some equivalent Iraqi dolt over there just like you, hoping for more destruction and will in turn kill Americans. Now bacause of people like you, the violence will never end.

Re:Well he has my vote

[Golias]

Does this mean it will become trendy among New England yuppie suburbanites to have a personal site that was "hand crafted by local Amish webmasters?" :)

Odd behaviour

[aeinome]

Why would anyone let someone else keep their daily journal for them? And giving it away to a politician - that just begs for deep, dark secrets to be revealed.

Re:Odd behaviour

[BWJones]

Why would anyone let someone else keep their daily journal for them?

Hmmmm, perhaps Lessig trusts him? Or perhaps this is an effort at getting exposure to a portion of the voting public they find valuable to their cause? Given that Lessig has recognition in this crowd (this did get posted on /. afterall), and /. is recognized in the press quite a bit and is often used for background research by a number of folks in the press etc...etc...etc... Really, think about it. Who reads Lessig's blogs? Typically they are educated, reasonably well connected to technology, are aware of current legal issues as well as political ones and finally, this is a rather inexpensive manner to get out the message Deans is trying to extend to the voting public.

Given the position the Democratic party is in right now with reasonable candidates, Dean has got my attention. While Dean is not an academic per se, he did go to Yale and then received his MD from Albert Einsten College of Medicine, so one would surmise he can think to some degree, unfortunately missing in certain administrations. Additionally, this guy actually worked for a living as does his wife as physicians so there is a certain intimate knowledge of how screwed up our health care system has become, particularly under HMO's.

All in all, I would say this strategy (if indeed this is strategy) has worked so far. They got my attention, and judging from the almost 400 posts as I write this, they got a few others attention as well.

There's a thing

[Apreche]

Check out http://www.selectsmart.com/president/

it tells you which president to vote for based on your stance on the issues. I tested it out and it's very accurate. It gave me a reccomendation for green party 100% and Dean 96%. Since I really want Bush out and 3rd parties don't win, guess who I'm voting for? I'll probably read a few of his entries on Lessig's blog, and unless he's really unkosher this seals the deal.

Re:There's a thing

[neema]

Maybe the best bet would be to judge where your state is going. If it's clear that a candidate like Dean is going to win in your state (Dean or Kerry seem like they're going to win in California and New York, for example), then go ahead and vote for the green party. But if you're in Alabama, vote smart.

Re:There's a thing

[cphanson]

Well, i'm pretty sure this site must have a political agenda leaning to the left. I mean c'mon... under Bush's bio, this is what's listed for his foreign policy:
"Foreign Affairs: Has asked for a received Congressional backing to attack Iraq. " Compared to a 15 line paragraph about John Kerry's foreign policy.bio Where is Bush's position on Afghanistan, Israel, Iran, North Korea, etc etc? The guy is the freaking president, and all we get is "Has asked for a received Congressional backing to attack Iraq."?? Someone is very selective about what they choose to hear on the news, and that someone is the webmaster of this joke of a website.

I would also question the way certain questions are posed... there's a lot of rhetorical bull$hit going on here. Don't even try to convince me this is some kind of nonpartisan "let me help you decide who to vote for" public service. Propaganda Propaganda Propaganda!!

Broken promises don't upset me. I just think, why did they believe me? - Jack Handey

Re:There's a thing

[Daetrin]

Why not vote for someone who's views on issues are close to those of your own and not who has a better chance of winning the election?

Because if you actually care about the issues as you claim, you should really do your best to support those issues. The 3% or whatever of the vote the Green party got in 2000 has done far more to hurt the enviroment than it has to help it.

If you care about the enviroment, and Nader is 100% good for the enviroment, Gore is 50% good for the enviroment, and Bush is 0% good for the enviroment, you should only vote for Nader if you think he has a greater than 50% chance of winning in order to maximize the benefit to the issue you care about. Well, to be technical, you should only vote for Nader if the probability of his winning is twice the probability of Gore winning or more.

I hate Bush for many reasons, and the things he's done and is trying to do for the enviroment is one of them. However there is a small evil and vindictive side to me that can't help thinking "take _that_ Green party!" every time he pulls some new enviroment destroying stunt.

If the Green party wants to transform the state of presidential elections in the US to a greater than two party system, they need to accept that unless a splinter party splits off the Republican side that is equal in size to their own, there is a fair chance that they will be condeming the US to the enviromental policies of the Republicans for however many election cycles it takes until the mainstream realizes that their party is viable. It's apparent that that number is greater than one, and for all we know it may not be less than infinity. Is it worth getting a Green president if there is no enviroment left to protect by the time it happens?

If Nader were smart, he would have tryed to hack a Parlimentary System approach to the problem by making a deal with Gore a few weeks before the election, that if Gore would agree to support certain Green positions (in writing of course) then Nader would tell all his party members to vote for Gore in the election, but to tell the exit pollers that they voted for Nader.

Thus they would have insured that the elected president had at least some intrest in the enviroment, a well publisized promise that he would support some of their issues, and still be able to point to the exit polls as a sign of their strength as a voting block.

Re:There's a thing

[Catbeller]

Independents = Liberals who won't use the L-word.

Smiley face.

Re:There's a thing

[Jeremi]

If that's an accurate quote, he's probably the only Democrat I'd ever vote for.

Oh, I don't know, I always thought that whole separation-of-powers, checks-and-balances thing was a pretty good idea. Keeps us from turning into Iran too quickly.

Re:There's a thing

[Jeremi]

If you care about the enviroment, and Nader is 100% good for the enviroment, Gore is 50% good for the enviroment, and Bush is 0% good for the enviroment, you should only vote for Nader if you think he has a greater than 50% chance of winning in order to maximize the benefit to the issue you care about.

The fact that American voters are forced to engage in this kind of strategic thinking (instead of being able to just vote for the candidate they think would do the best job) shows how badly broken our plurality electoral system is. A truly representative system would allow voters to speak their mind honestly, and respond by electing the most appropriate candidate. It wouldn't force them to play silly games.

Re:There's a thing

[1010011010]

If that's an accurate quote, he's probably the only Democrat I'd ever vote for.

Yeah, why have a mere elected President, when you can have a King?

So we have to choose?

[GigsVT]

Either sane copyright laws, with a socialist welfare state, or bad copyright laws, and imperialist invasion of countries?

Why do people continue to vote for republicans and democrats anyway?

Re:So we have to choose?

[plalonde2]

Because when they vote for third parties some moron wins?

Karma is overrated.

Re:So we have to choose?

[Rude Turnip]

I'll take option 1 if it means we'll get universal health care and quality education in the US. That's the only reason I'd be willing to pay higher taxes.

Re:So we have to choose?

[cowmix]

"Either sane
copyright laws, with a
socialist
welfare state, or bad
copyright laws, and imperialist invasion of countries?"

I beg you to spend a little time reading up on Howard Dean. His
policies are far from a "socialist welfare state".

Re:So we have to choose?

[EinarH]

Are you trolling? Whatever; I'll bite.

They way you mentions "a socialist welfare state" and puts it up against " imperialist invasion of countries" i get the feeling that you are not very happy about it...

But did you know that when UN classifies countries based and ranks them in their Human Development Index what you propably consider socialist welfare states(as a bad thing) these socialist welfare states top the list?

1.Norway, socialist welfare state
2.Iceland, socialist welfare state
3.Sweden, socialist welfare state
4.Australia,
5.the Netherlands, somewhat socialist welfare 6.state
7.Belgium, socialist welfare state
8.the United States,
9.Canada, somewhat socialist welfare state
10.Japan,
11.Switzerland, socialist welfare state
12.Denmark, socialist welfare state
13.Ireland,
14.the United Kingdom,
15.Finland, socialist welfare state
16.Luxembourg,
17.Austria,
18.France,
19.Germany,
20.Spain and
20.New Zealand

Those I have marked socialist welfare states is those states I consider to be closer to a typical socilist welfare state modell than the United States way of "welfare state". There are of course difrences between them and different "degrees of socialist welfare states".

So please: Don't compare "socialist welfare states " to a foregin policy of "imperialist invasion of countries"

Why do people continue to vote for republicans and democrats anyway?

Because your country addappted a political system that in reality only promotes a two party system.

Until...

[pixelgeek]

Could this be a sign that a serious contender for President...has his head screwed on right about copyright law?

Until some lobbyist backs up to his house with a truck full of campaign contributions

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here

[Farley Mullet]

I actually kinda like Dean, but saying that someone is a serious contender for the 2004 election because he's tied for the nomination at this point is kinda like saying your kid has a serious NBA future ahead of him because he's tied for tallest in grade 3.

Re:Let's not get ahead of ourselves here

[Hard_Code]

If he is "tied for the nomination" of one of the parties of a two party system, it stands to reason that he is at LEAST in a 25% probability percentile (given that there is a 50/50 chance of either a democrat or republican getting elected, and if the last election is any indicator, I think that figure is pretty reasonable). I think that qualifies as serious contender.

Re:Let's not get ahead of ourselves here

[radicalsubversiv]

Dean's position at this point could actually mean quite a lot, because the Democratic nomination will probably be determined before the first primary or caucus vote is cast. There hasn't been a true upset for the nomination since Jimmy Carter in 1976. The primary process is simply too front-loaded -- the season starts early, and then the primaries come all at once -- for a candidate to come from behind and build up momentum. What will determine the nomination is the "invisible primary": who raises the most money the quickest, closely related to who gets endorsements from important constituencies (most notably organized labor, but also enviro, civil rights, and women's groups). Right now, Howard Dean is tied in that race (thanks almost entirely to individual donations over the internet), with only about six months to go.

Whether any of them can beat Bush is an entirely separate question (to which I suspect the answer is no).

Better Questions

[webword]

Does this mean that Lawrence Lessig likes Howard Dean? If yes, why? What ideas? Are they friends? Does Lessig think Dean would be a good president? Does it mean that will see the "real" Howard Dean? What kind of traffic boost will Lessig's site get? Will people associate Lessig's ideas and writing with Dean's, and is that a good thing? What is Dean's real motivation behind this? As a geek, do you think this is a good idea? Will your grandmother care, and does it matter that she does not understand this blog stuff? What is your favorite color?

howard dean

[pohl]

I celebrated July 4 by getting off my ass and carrying placards in parades and handing out literature for Howard Dean in two small towns in Iowa. I had never done anything like that before. I had to get up at 5:30 in the morning to do it, and it was worth it.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't exactly caught Dean Fever yet, although we see eye-to-eye on many issues and I'm really impressed with the level of grassroots support that he has. It would be nice to have a president that isn't already owned before getting into office.

But, then, I'd settle for a president that can use the word "imminent" correctly. I think Dean rises to that challenge.

No F'ing way!

[HanzoSan]

Howard Dean has the balls to be pro P2P?? If he has the balls to make a move such as this, I will vote for him on principle.

It seems these other politicians are spineless, but if he has the guts to do this, he deserves to be President.

Dean is actually a moderate.

[HanzoSan]

Dean is a moderate who has the balls to speak his mind, but when he was a governer his actions were very moderate.

He almost reminds me of Clinton.

Re:Dean is actually a moderate.

[Jeremi]

Dean is a moderate who has the balls to speak his mind, but when he was a governer his actions were very moderate.

Great! Maybe that will help him get elected, and then we might just have someone with integrity in the White House.

He almost reminds me of Clinton.

How I miss the days when the worst thing you could say about the President was that he was getting sexual favors from the wrong person... :^/

(yes, I fully expect 25 people to come up with worse things about him now... oh well)

Re:Dean is actually a moderate.

[jmccay]

I know I will get take a karma hit for saying these things, but so be it. I am not affraid to speak my mind. Dean is NOT a moderate. He's way too liberal to get the vote of the all important independants. If I remember correctly, I think he's the one that introduced the civil union for homosexuals in Vermont. That's not something that a moderate would do, and it's not what independants want. All poles show that a majority of Americans support a traditional marriage as defined as being between a man and a woman.
The only Democract who stands a chance of beating Bush is Liberman, but unfortunately, he's not liberal enough to win the Democractic party's nomination. It's a shame that the qualities that would allow him to beat Bush are the same ones that won't get him elected.
I think the Democracts will take another hit in Congress again this time because they are not allowing judges to be appointed.
Oh, if Clinton had done his job (instead of getting bjs from Monica) and went after Osama bin Ladin when he started bombing our embacies, we wouldn't have had 911, and we probably would be seeing all this big brother legilation that we are seeing introduced now. Not to mention Bill Clinton LOST HIS COPY OF NUCLEAR CODES!!!! He never found them. That's not a little thing.

Re:Dean is actually a moderate.

[elmegil]

Lieberman, like Gore before him, is a conservative in Democrat's clothing. They talk all liberal about some things, but really aren't much liberal at all when it comes down to behavior.

Re:Dean is actually a moderate.

[EvanED]

As Jon Stewart has said a couple times, Joe Lieberman is for republicans who don't think Bush is Jewish enough.

Re:Dean is actually a moderate.

[csguy314]

Well there's the obvious invasion of Yugoslavia and installing a US friendly leader who dissolved the country into Serbia and Montenegro, and was then promptly assassinated.
But there's also the enforcing of murderous sanctions that were, up until the second Iraq invasion a few months ago, killing 5000 children each month (UN and WHO numbers). And the bombings in the illegally enforced no-fly zones which included the bombing and killing of dangerous and deadly sheep.
Of course there's also helping turkey massacre 30,000 kurds. Giving the draconian and terrorist government of Colombia billions in military aid. Increasing weapons sales to Indonesia and trying to cover for them, and delay the UN in acting to stop the massacre in East Timor.

'course I don't know if any of that stuff is as bad as getting a blowjob from Monica Lewinsky. Lewinsky is ugly!

The choice is simple.

[aeinome]

1) Socialism could be improved here. Higher taxes are a small loss compared to the gains in education, health benefits, and social security. Capitalism is beginning to corrupt.

2) Because they're the ones who put their name out the most. America isn't too smart, and the average citizen does not look at all possible candidates, only the main ones. IMO, we shouldn't have political parties, because people tend to vote on party lines without even thinking about the person they are elected beyond their party.

Just my 2.

Re:The choice is simple.

[smilingirl]

How can you possibly say there is almost no place for computers in school? Have you looked around the world today? That's like saying there is no place for books and paper in school. Granted, schools do not need to have the most expensive, top-of-the-line computers, and they don't need a computer for every single student, but computers are vital to learning how to function in the world today. Not all kids are lucky enough to have computers at home. A few of my close friends' from high school never had a computer at home, and some that did had one from like 1994. Kids need to be taught how to type in elementary school, they need to be provided with a place to type their papers, they need to learn programs, they need to learn programming languages, they need to have opportunities to get A+ certification and other such certifications. All of these things my old high school provided. And what's a school with no internet access? What's a school with no powerpoint presentations and Flash presentations and those biology book cd-rom videos?

Granted, better instruction is much more vital than better computers. Computers do not replace teachers. But they are something kids have to learn how to use if they are going to work in most of the jobs in the world today.

Re:The choice is simple.

[Joe Tie.]

I think even more important than how up-to-date the computers are, is how well the teachers themselves can use them. The single most effective use I've ever heard them put to was in a juvi center. It was pretty impressive seeing these kids with lackluster educations and a criminal background really geeking it up under the direction of some guys from MIT. They were actually getting problems, and using the computer to come up with methods to creativly solve them. That's far more thinking than went into the majority of my education in public schools!

I heard a pretty interesting show on public radio a while back detailing two schools, one rich and one poor, and how computers were used there. It really did seem that it was the teachers, far more than the hardware or the amount of hardware there, that made or broke any computer using class. They can be really amazing tools if the teacher knows enough to make them something other than books on a screen, or of little value if that's all they can do with them.

Dean was governor of my state...

[Zergwyn]

Overall, he didn't do that bad a job. In some ways Dean is actually an interesting mix of left and right. He is a former doctor, which partly explains a lot of his very strong positions with regards to health care. He certainly has come across as one of the strongest left standing democrats in many ads and articles, but he has an A grade from the NRA as he was not at all anti-gun ownership in Vermont. He is also reasonably fiscally conservative. Our state didn't go too overboard with spending, and we actually still have over 10 million dollars in our "rainy day fund," for what it's worth. My biggest quibble with his term was actually in regards to education, but a lot of that was the fault of the legislature and the courts (which ruled our old method was unconstitutional). Of the candidates, we could do a lot worse (come to think of it, we have been doing a lot worse) then Dean. Having met him, and lived with him as head of the state, I think he has some good ideas. I was actually kind of pro-war, but Bush has screwed us so badly on the domestic front in virtually every field, from economics to scientific research (VERY important to me) to basic civil rights, that I would vote for virtually anyone over him. I would recommend people look at his stands.

Re:Dean was governor of my state...

[BigDork1001]

I am usually very against guns. I hate them personally but growing up in the country with family members that hunt I have no problems with them in a general sense. What Dean says on gun control makes sense. Why should it be the same in small town Vermont as it is in inner city LA? Read it for youself...Dean for America

Re:Dean was governor of my state...

[EvanED]

>>So he screwed us economicaly how?

Well, I'm of the opinion that there's not *much* you can do as a pres. to affect the economy too much, but there are plenty of things he hasn't done. Wtih all the focus on the crackdown on Martha Stewart and such we forget that most of the people involved in, say, Enron, are still away scott free. Furthermore, Bush supported SEC chairman Pitt until Pitt resigned from country-wide pressure. Bush should have taken a much firmer stance on all of this.

>>So he screwed us in scientific research how?

Stem cells.

>>So he screwed us in basic civil rights how?

You read /. and can't think of a dozen examples off the top of your head?

Re:Dean was governor of my state...

[KiahZero]

One example for each:

- So he screwed us economicaly how?
He talked the economy into recession... we were doing OK, and he kept saying the god-damned R-word every time he opened his mouth. That doesn't help.

- So he screwed us in scientific research how?
Remember stem cell research? Nevermind any sort of therapeautic cloning research.

- So he screwed us in basic civil rights how?
*cough*USA PATRIOT act*cough*

Kucinich is an unelectable nutcase

[Doktor Servo]

If anyone in the Democratic field is an unelectable nutcase, it's Dennis Kucinich. He's pretty well bonkers. Dean seems pretty well-grounded. I like his issue positions and think he's a viable candidate. If he gets the nomination, he'll need a running mate with strong foreign policy skills; if Kerry places second, he's a good choice, or maybe Wesley Clark. Kerry's too cold, and Gephardt is too much a career politician. I'm going with Dean.

Re:Kucinich is an unelectable nutcase

[Soong]

No, he isn't. He's just progressive and speaks his mind and heart. He's offering a real difference to the boring business-as-usual old-boy networks in both parties. I for one favor someone who's going to go as strong and as long in the right direction as possible, given that Congress and The System will drag him down to making a merely moderate effect. Starting out with a moderate is saying "No, I don't really want things to change".

http://www.kucinich.us/

Re:Doesn't that suck?

[Jeremi]

... or you change the system so voters aren't forced to choose between "throwing their vote away" and "choosing the lesser of two evils".

Basically you want a system that allows the voter to express more than just a single choice. There are several systems that would suffice; I myself like instant runoff voting because the process is easy to understand, and it lets me express my preferences in an intuitive "first choice / second choice / third choice" format.

Topic..

[EinarH]

"Could this be a sign that a serious contender for President (tied for first for the nomination in the latest polls) has his head screwed on right about copyright law?"

From the comment-section on LL's blog:

Good heavens. Dare I interpret Governor Dean's guest blogging on Prof. Lessig's site as a sign that he supports copyright reform?
...
But, good lord, if he's actually in substantial agreement with Dr. Lessig on the issue, it's like a dream come true. ...posted by Evan

LL responds:

Good point, and I should have made this clear: Dean's guest blogging says nothing about Dean's views about the issues I've been pushing here. I've never discussed these issues with any member of the Dean campaign. And as we don't (yet) determine elections, I'm not even sure that Dean has worked these issues out himself.

So please don't read anything into this more than the obvious: This is yet another way in which the Dean campaign has understood something about the net. ... posted by Lessig

It's a win-win deal. LL gets someone to blog while on vactation, Dean reach out to a couple of thousand potentional voters. But interesting anyway. Looking forward to reading this blog.

Gonna get me some popcorn

[Anonymous Coward]

We non-USians can look forward to a great Democrats vs Republicans /. flamefest.

/. slow to comment on Howard Dean's web success..

[cowmix]

Shame on /.

Howard Dean has used the Internet, specifically blogs, better than any presidential candidate. Every day, you can read their official blog or countless other personal blogs that give up to the minute info on what doing on the campaign trail. I have never felt more involved, or informed in a presidential campaign until Dean's.

All this use of blogs and such as created a tremendous amount grassroots support. Unlike other candidates that have raked in 1000s of dollars from big interests, Dean's campaign raised more than any other Democratic candidate last quarter mostly via the web with the average donation being $66 dollars..

Anyway, I feel that no matter what Dean's positions are (btw.. I think they are great) /. should give a thumbs up to how he is doing biz..

Howard Dean, my ideal candidate

[Anonymous Coward]

In US, the service sector produces 80% of the GDP. The service sector is based on human labor and IT infrastructures which, all together, consume less than 2% of the total US energy consumption. This is the new economy: low energy consumption, low environmental impact, high productivity.

This scared Mr. Bush (who first made money when he won a oil contract from Bahrain when is father was playing the first gulf war), Mr. Cheney (who was CEO of Halliburton and still gets money from it), Mr. Rumsfeld (who was director of ABB when it sold 2 nuclear reactors to North Korea) and Ms. Rice (who was director of Chevron).

They are doing everything possible to protect their old industry (energy, oil, nuclear) at the expense of our industry (information technology), the future of the US economy and the US environment.

I believe Howard Dean may be on our side.

campaign finance reform

[phantomlord]

ok... so where are the people shouting about how Dean is getting the equivalent of a monetary donation that's not being given to other candidates? What is it that all the money that everyone on slashdot goes to fund? Media: ads, office staff, platform talks, getting their message out, etc. Lessig is more of less a political lobbiest of a special interest group, but many of the slashdotters believe the same thing he does, so it's ok in this case... we just need to shut up the ones we disagree with. If Rush Limbaugh were to run for office and stay on the air during campaign season, wouldn't all the CFR people whine that he has an unfair advantage? How about if he let a single candidate guest host his program for a whole week?

Re:He looks like a good guy

[Jeremi]

FWIW, the reason for that awkward phrasing is that the new campaign finance reform laws require candidates to state explicitely in the ads that they are the ones behind the ads. Expect to see more fun and creative ways of satisfying that requirement in the future, from all candidates.

Impressions of Dean from a Vermonter.

[Elf-friend]

Normaly this news would excite me, but the Howard Dean that is running for president is not the same man as he was as our governor. I just don't know what to make of him anymore. Initiatives he opposed in Vermont now have his support, and vice-versa. His tirade over the war (regardless of your position on the war) seemed over the top. I found him downright scary.

I've met our former governor three times (it's a small state, and my involvement in statewide 4-H events gave me the opportunity). He seemed very personable, but actions towards the end of his time here tended to disillusion me (and many Vermonters) about "Howard the Coward" as some called him (especially after he wouldn't sign the civil-unions law publicly, instead of behind closed doors). A man who easily won his first three elections, found the next two more chalenging (many think that, if the Republican candidate - the same woman both times - had been more likeable, he might have lost). It is possible he could not have won another (his hand-picked successor did not).

I just don't know what to think of this move, I fear it is more than likely a political ploy, something we have seen more than enough of in Vermont these last two terms. The Democrats are desperate for the voters that went Green last time, because they know they need them. In Vermont, though, Dean was always very business friendly, too much so for me to trust him on this now. Which is the real Howard Dean? That is the question.

PRIORITIES!

[Baric]

I believe that every Democratic candidate except Dean voted in favor of the Patriot Act. Dean didn't get a vote, but he was outspoken against it from the very beginning. Every other candidate was willing to vote for that egregious act because it was politically expedient at the time. That is not the kind of decision-making I want from the next President of the United States. Love him or hate him, Dean is the Democratic candidate best qualified to LEAD this country and not FOLLOW the whims of popularity. I will NEVER cast a vote for anyone who voted for that Act. Ever.

Re:PRIORITIES!

[radicalsubversiv]

Couldn't agree with you more on that PATRIOT Act. However, in the interests of accuracy:

Sen. John Kerry: Voted for
Sen. John Edwards: Voted for
Sen. Joe Lieberman: Voted for
Sen. Bob Graham: Voted for
Rep. Dick Gephardt: Voted for
Rep. Dennis Kucinich: Voted AGAINST, and has strongly criticized
ex-Gov. Howard Dean: never been in Congress, but has expressed concern/opposition
ex-Sen. Mosely-Braun: wasn't in Congress at the time, opposes
Al Sharpton: never been in Congress, opposes

No, you want John Ashcroft for President

[Baric]

You know, the guy who whines about States rights when sodomy laws are ruled unconstitutional, but then ignores those same states rights when a state votes to legalize medicinal marijuana.

In other words, someone who will make up the laws as he goes along, exercise his power to enforce them, and then 'disappear' anyone who he personally considers to be a threat to his personal sense of order.

FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS!

Re:Dean is a good choice

[Elf-friend]

Okay, I know, don't feed the trolls, but it's too hard to resist:

We need a strong president who will stand up to the nutcases and ban and confiscate all individually held guns and imprison those who don't turn them in

Not to defend Dean (see my other post on the subject). But Dean has always been anti-gun control. Actually, Vermont has the most Libertarian gun laws in the country (according to the NRA). To wit, as a Vermonter, I have a legal right to carry a concealed weapon without a permit as long as I do so without intending to commit a crime (I think that's how the law puts it). We don't even have a law barring convicted felons from owning/possing firearms (they can't, though, because of the federal law).

Re:Bush was a moron on MTP in 1999

[Anonymous Coward]

I think any respect for Russert I had was blown away by how he treated Dean. Russert seemed to be visibly angry for some reason at Dean's evasiveness at some questions.

What a shocker, someone on MTP being evasive!! I've seen Wolfowitz, Cheney, Rice, all be evasive, not answering the exact question Russert raises, and he just shrugs and goes on.

Talk about objectivity. I stopped watching MTP after Dean's appearance.

It's simple....

[FooGoo]

Dean wants to be the internet candidate. He can't afford to compete in other media so he is pulling this pseudo grassroots crap. It's too early for all this election crap.

not so well actually

[Trepidity]

Many European countries have unsustainable systems (even more unsustainable than the US's Social Security system). They've realized this, and so are cutting back and reforming them, particularly the pension systems. This has led, if you've been following the news, to widespread general strikes in several countries, notably Greece and France.

The truth about Howard Dean

[vnv]

Just who is Howard Dean?

"I don't mind being characterized as 'liberal' -- I just don't happen to think it's true." -- Howard Dean, in Salon.

If he is not a liberal, just who is he?

To find out, we have to move past his political machine. Like Bush, Dean is very adept at associating himself with issues and causes that are important for his campaign. Thus for Dean we see his association with Lessig and an apparent concern for "the commons". Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Let's take a look at how Dean compares to Kucinich, a long time liberal Democrat.

Howard Dean, a subset of the comparison points:

Health care plan

Complex 4-prong plan, extending multiple state and federal programs piecemeal, combined with tax credits and incentives, all of which Dean claims is more likely to become law, but still won't cover everyone

Death penalty

Favors for "extreme" crimes like terrorism or the killing of a police officer, although critical of Bush administration's "careless" approach to executions

Roe v. Wade

Pro-life until recently; now the only candidate pledging to make Roe v. Wade a "litmus test" for appointing federal judges. Pro-choice, but refuses to make Roe v. Wade a litmus test for federal judges

Kyoto treaty

Says we must "take another look," but has "concerns" about some provisions

Patriot Act

Would repeal "parts," but also wants to expand intelligence agencies; praises Russ Feingold as only Senator who opposed the act, ignoring Kucinich's vocal House opposition, falsely implying no other candidate opposed the Patriot Act

NAFTA/WTO

Notes problems with "free" trade, suggesting the need for inclusion of human rights, environmental, and labor standards in trade agreements -- but still pro-NAFTA

"Star Wars" ballistic missile system

Would cut only 1/8 of the funding, transferring it to international threat-reduction programs

Pentagon waste

Disagrees with any proposed Pentagon cutbacks, and advocates aggressive expansion of intelligence, police, and special forces

Medical marijuana

Firmly opposed, although promises to abide by a proposed FDA evaluation

War on drugs

Has accepted National Governors Association position: more federal funding for all aspects of the drug war; however, also speaks of drug use as a medical problem, and has called the War on Drugs a failure; website and recent speeches simply do not clarify what policies he would pursue, as far as I can tell

We see that Dean is very much like a "lite" version of Bush. There is very little in Howard Dean that is liberal.

Bush would be delighted to run against Dean who is simply a watered down version of Bush. And Dean comes from Vermont, bringing only 3 electoral votes. Easy campaign, easy victory.

What Bush doesn't want to do is run against a real Democrat who actually represents the tough issues that this country is facing. Or have to deal with a candidate whose home state carries 21 electoral votes.

Howard Dean may look snazzy on paper and in the media, but in reality, he is merely the lite version of Bush and would do little or nothing to actually make America better for Americans. We'd have the same screwed up medical system, giant defense budgets, pollution, and corporatist America that we have with Bush. Voting for Kucinich or for the Greens is change. Dean is status quo, more of the same Bush Doctrine.

Re:Doesn't that suck?

[EvanED]

There's another option, the approval vote. I think it's what the IEEE uses, so maybe that'll give it some credibility around here. Basically you can vote for as many people as you want. No one person can have more than one vote, but if there are three people you wouldn't mind haveing in office, you can vote for all of them.

It combines the easiness of current voting with the power of ranking systems (either the instant runoff or the Borda) without binding you to order somehow rank everyone who is on the ballot. (Which is an interesting problem in itself... it probably implies computers which means $$$ and even less trust with the current systems than I have in the chad-based systems.)

(See the intereting Discover article at http://www.discover.com/nov_00/featbestman.html for more information about voting systems.)

No one says hes far left but the far right news

[HanzoSan]

If you look at Fox News, or any of the other conservative news stations, they will say hes far left because they'd rather you vote for him than for Kerry or Gephart, the real far left.

Dean is actually a moderate, but thats what I want because I'm an independent, not a liberal.

Republicans for Dean!

[Nameis]

The political truth is that Dean has the same chance of being elected as Microsoft going open source.

That being said, like a lot of fringe candidates, Dean actually has a few good ideas - like copyright reform and his general clues with technology - that stand out from his normal wackyness. With luck, other candidates from *both* parties will take notice of Dean's relative success and adopt accordingly.

Re:Dean is a good choice

[Funksaw]

To paraphrase Dean: "Talk about gun control in Vermont and you talk about taking people's hunting rifles away - talk about gun control in LA and you're talking about taking uzis out of the hands of gangbangers. Gun control needs to be decided at the local level."

Re:Doesn't that suck?

[dspeyer]

Voting reforms can help but they won't solve everything. Every voting system is abusable at a mathematical level. Take the following example:

33% of voters prefer candidate A, tolerate candidate B and detest candadate C

35% of voters prefer candidate B, tolerate candidate C and detest candadate A

32% of voters prefer candidate C, tolerate candidate A and detest candadate B

Common sense says B should win

In our modern current system, B would win unless 3% worth of C voters decided that it was hopeless and they should vote A, in which case A would win

Under instant runoff voting, C would be eliminated and A would win with 65%, unless 1.5% worth of B voted C so that A would be eliminated, in which case B would win with 66.5%. Now that's even more freaky.

I think game theorists have actually proven that nothing works right regarding elections. Some improvements can be made (and I suspect IRV's flaws are less likely to become of practical importance than our current system's) but the real changes we need are an independant media and an informed public.

Dennis Kucinich

[-tji]

Dennis Kucinich seems to be one of the more clueful candidates.. From his www site:

As President, I will repeal the Patriot Act to regain for all Americans the sacred right of privacy in our homes, our libraries, our schools.

He got a "66%" rating from the ACLU.

I couldn't find any ratings from the EFF on the various candidates, so I'm not sure where he stands on Tech Liberties.

The Dems don't want him or the green vote

[gad_zuki!]

>. The Democrats are desperate for the voters that went Green last time, because they know they need them.

The dems don't want him, they want their boy Gephart or *shudder* Lieberman. The DLC publically flogged Dean supporters by calling them "the activist elite" and tried to compare them to politcally impotent ultra-lefties. Dean supports responded back here.

The green vote simply isn't important. I'm sure that more than half of those votes are permanent third-party protest votes and regardless of what the Dems want you to think it was a bad ballot and a piss-poor Gore campaign that got Bush into office.

Regardless, everyone who isn't in the GOP wants an electable Democrat. I can't see why Dean wouldn't fit the bill, especially with Iraq turing out to be a quite the quagmire for Bush.

Sorry, but there's no ploy. Dean is fighting influencial (read: very wealthy and very connected) members of his own party right now and in interesting ways (appeal to the populace, net-based action, etc) just to get heard.

I just lowered my opinion of Lesig.

[cmacb]

The last few times I've checked Lesig's blog he has his head compleatly up Deans behind.

Is there a track record of how he might vote on something like the DMCA?

If you saw Dean's appearance on Meet the Press you can't possibly be too comfortable with him as President. If he aspires to the job he has a LOT of homework to do.

My guess is that Lesig is among the hard core liberals (surprise!) and all members of that group would gladly vote for Adolph Hitler next time around if it mean revenge for 2000.

Blind rage over what they feel was a stolen election will drive them to do totally irrational things until 2004.

I think it is irresponsible to turn over your blog to anyone else, particularly someone who has tremendous internet resources of their own. This is pure partisanship and has nothing that I can see to do with Open Source, DMCA, RIAA or any other issues for which Lesig is notable.

Check the history.

[Population]

The people pushing this war were the same people selling Saddam those weapons.

We didn't care about him killing his people when we were the ones selling him weapons. But now you think that it matters?

And where do you get off claiming that Bush is demonized more than Saddam? No one is saying Saddam is better than Bush (well, no one outside of Iraq).

The problem is that the CIA had already CHECKED the "information" MONTHS before Bush used it. The CIA even told the British that the info wasn't good. But Bush needed something scary to push this war so he used information that was known to be bogus.

As for this being another "Vietname" or "quagmire", check the body count since Bush claimed the war was "over".

No, we did not have any "moral, legal and political justification for removing Saddam Hussein".

We couldn't even get the UN to vote to support our invasion.

As for those Iraqis being "free" now, wait until the first "elections" are held. Wait until they elect a radical Islamic priest.

You'll never forget the image of those Iraqis and Saddam's statue. That's because our government doesn't want you to forget it. It was shot with a narrow lens so you couldn't see the US tanks and troops surrounding that "crowd" of Iraqis. It was all a publicity stunt.

And you fell for it.

http://www.counterpunch.org/statue.html

And you're the one talking about closed eyes?

Re:Check the history.

[stephenry]

>> The people pushing this war were the same >>people selling Saddam those weapons.

Incorrect. People who don't know the situation say this because thats all they know, but this is what happened: The Americans gave satellite inteligence to Iraqi, to support their war against Iran. Iran, which at the time was arguably a worst regime than Iraq was supported and funded by the Soviet Union.. In essence it was a Cold War by proxy. After the Gulf War, Sanctions were imposed on Iraq; out of the West it was France and Russia that continued trading with them, and had the most to lose from a war. Russia in particular had numerous billions worth of Oil contracts with Iraq. May i remind you, these were set up in the ninties, opposed to the US's, with where in the early 80's.

>>We didn't care about him killing his people when >>we were the ones selling him weapons. But now >>you think that it matters?

Simply because mistakes of the past had taken place, does not mean that we may not correct them TODAY. At the time, support (albeit limited) was to fight a greater enemy -Communism. Many people forget today forget the Cold War, but we won it, and although hard choices had to be made, we're better for it.

>>And where do you get off claiming that Bush is >>demonized more than Saddam? No one is saying >>Saddam is better than Bush (well, no one outside >>of Iraq).

Don't care

>>The problem is that the CIA had already CHECKED >>the "information" MONTHS before Bush used it. >>The CIA even told the British that the info >>wasn't good. But Bush needed something scary to >>push this war so he used information that was >>known to be bogus.

Lets be honest here, the chances of find WMD in Iraq were always slim. Especially considering Saddam had about 8 months of time to get rid of them, while the US and Britain were arguing endlessly in the UN. What is clear though is that he did in the past possess them, use them on a civialian population, and was actively seeking more. Whats more, the recent advances in the Israel/Palastine peace process would not have taken place in the presence of the Old Iraq.

>>As for this being another "Vietname" or >>"quagmire", check the body count since Bush >>claimed the war was "over".

Though the recent body count has been disturbing, I would hardly by any stretch of the imagination call it a quagmire.

>>No, we did not have any "moral, legal and >>political justification for removing Saddam >>Hussein".

Actually we did... The allied victory in the first Gulf war stipulated a number of conditions for cease fire. These were, among many, that Saddam destroy his WMD program and accept and comply with its obligations to the UN. As of 1991 these had been broken, along with 11 mandatory resolutions -none of these had been met. Action was not only legal, but necessary if the UN's command was to mean anything.

>>We couldn't even get the UN to vote to support >>our invasion.

The lack of a UN vote was not in part to the opposed countries "care" for their fellow man -France the week earlier had hosted Mugabe of Zimbabwe, in contravention of an EU travel ban- but because of there own interests. The two vocal dissentors, France and Russia, had significant multi billion dollar Oil contracts with Iraq, both of which they would have lost without Saddam in power.

>>As for those Iraqis being "free" now, wait until >>the first "elections" are held. Wait until they >>elect a radical Islamic priest.

Elections = free democracy
Islam theocracy = not free democracy

Go figure

>>You'll never forget the image of those Iraqis >>and Saddam's statue. That's because our >>government doesn't want you to forget it. It was >>shot with a narrow lens so you couldn't see the >>US tanks and troops surrounding that "crowd" of >>Iraqis.

The Dean Difference

[joltinjoe]

1. He opposed the Patriot Act from the start and speaks out against it now. 2. He opposes the FCC and Michael Powell's plan to relax restrictions on media ownership. 3. He is radically changing our politics by basing his campaign on campaign contributions coming from tens of thousands of people giving $10, $25 and $100. Which means if he pulls it off and wins the White House -- the people will actually own the damn place for the first time in decades. I'll take my chances on P2P with a guy and a campaign who at least knows enough to try to guest blog for Lessig. http://www.deanforamerica.com http://blogforamerica.com

A bit more complex than that.

[Population]

I'm glad you brought up those other nations with the mass killings happening right now.

In Iraq, Saddam had UN inspectors and the world watching him.

The graves we're finding are old.

Meanwhile, in other countries, thousands of people are being killed and we're doing nothing about it.

So, why are we so concerned about thousands of people who were killed in Iraq in years gone by?

Why are we so unconcerned about thousands being slaughtered right now?

Re:A bit more complex than that.

[whatch durrin]

I'm a Bush supporter, but I agree with the opinion that we should be doing something about the atrocities in Africa.

Actually, we should have done something a long time ago. Both parties are to blame for the inaction that resulted in thousands (millions?) dying in Africa, many civilian.

In fact, all countries of the world should have taken action long ago.

Dean on healthcare

[gad_zuki!]

>Americans fear and loath Managed health care and the right to see their own doctor.

Much of the democratic base is part of that 40 million of uninsured Americans. Yeah, managed is a scary word yet what does the M in HMO stand for? Maintence/Management its the same thing. What plan does your company offer you? What plans do most companies offer? Highly managed plans.

Public healthcare, especially in a wealthy country like the US, is very doable. Its not just Europe's way or the US's way. From what I understand Dean's plan is more about expanding medicare to include children and poor people up till age 25 and helping small business insure its employees. Not exactly Denmark.

> Canadians prefer our system to their's in critical care

That's a pretty general statement. I'm sure they would be scared shitless if faced with the real possibility of not having insurance for years. Not to mention they have money in their pocket to spend on American specialists because they aren't paying through the nose on every doctor's visit or saddled with debt after some accident. The number 1 cause of bankrupcy is medical bills. Its also fiscally responsible to insure as many people as possible. Either way you're paying for it. Might as well get something in return.

wrong

[phr2]

Remember Eldred vs. Ashcroft? Which branch of government do you think Ashcroft worked for at the time? Hint, he was Attorney General, which is an executive post, not legislative. And in that role he (represented by the Solicitor General, the guy who actually argues for the government in the Supreme Court) went all out defending the Mickey Mouse Protection Act. They were probably required to put up some kind of defense, but it could have been a token one (as sometimes happens when they realize the government position is actually wrong) and Eldred might have won.

And what about those judges who actually decided the case (making "case law")? They're not legislators either! They're the judicial branch, and how do they get on the bench? Right, they are appointed by (ta-da) the president! The president's court appointments will have far-reaching effects not only on copyright but on every other branch of law. And Clinton, for all the good stuff he did (and there was quite a lot), was basically a tool of Hollywood as far as copyright was concerned. Bush doesn't appear to be any better.

It is exceedingly in our interest to get a president who has his act together about copyright and other legislative issues. They have a tremendous amount of influence in every area.

That's nice.

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks for warning me.

A politican's blog

[HarveyBirdman]

Wow. I can hardly contain myself. My nipples just got hard, I can tell ya.

Mmmmmyep.

Got go read what that politican has to say, yesiree.

Mmm hmmm.

Yup. I'm sure it'll be different, and, um, oh, I dunno...

(sigh)

I wonder if my Tivo picked up "Dead Like Me" tonight?

Re:The working class pays most of the taxes.

[CrowScape]

Well, it's quite simple, really. When the tax level on the upper class gets too high, the upper class simply move all their accounts overseas. Granted, it's a bit more complicated, but through loopholes and legal manuevers, it happens. It's one of the reasons why the government takes in more money from the wealthy when they cut their taxes. There's simply less incentive to dodge the IRS.

Re:Actually Universal healthcare is doable

[javiercero]

I assume that the American system is doing great nowadays too, eh?

Dean and the internet

[tlhp514]

While I certainly had my initial reservations about Dean (he is, after all, something of a moderate on gun control, fiscal policy, and health care while I tend to be further to the left) I decided to support fully and even started a forum which is now fairly active.

For those who have not been following the election carefully so far, Dean first distinguished himself by opposing the war in Iraq. This position is looking rather good now that the Yellowcake scandal is brewing in the media. Yesterday he made the particulaly astute move of calling for those responsible for inserting the false claim into the Presidents State of the Union to resign. He is also backing up his claims with some excellent research on his website:

Then and now quotes
A timeline
A chart contrasting claims with evidence (pdf)

For a long time I have been impressed with Dean's use of the internet which includes the much publicized meetup (slashdot story). Dean now has by far the largest meetup with over 60,000 signed up: Dean Meetup

Dean's fundraising over the internet has also been exceptional - he raised over 800,000 in one day at the end of the last quarter. In addition the campaign manager, Joe Trippi, frequents the blogs - he will surely read this so be aware that any advice will be noted - and seems to have a keen vision and sense for how the internet can help the campaign.

Even if you don't agree with Dean's policies, it is probably worth watching just to see how political campaigns of the future might change with the internet.

Re:Yeah thats why most Americans voted for Bush.

[chickenmilkbomb]

True. And look where California is now. 30 billion in the hole. Billion!!! California is a perfect example of liberal ideology come to fruition. Take money from people that work hard all of their lives and give it to scum who sit on their asses, do nothing with their lives but makes babies, and and feel that they have some inate "right" to government services. The reason that conservative media is so popular is that the liberal agenda sickens most working americans. Personally, I make a very good salary and end up paying close to half of my income in taxes ( once you factor in the outrageous california state income tax). I went to public school and I am intimately familiar with the people I am supporting with those taxes. Living in Cali for the last few years has turned me into a conservative. By the way, I have a new wellfare plan for America. Go to school, work hard and get a job. If you can't find a job, break rocks into smaller rocks at a government job center and take min wage. If you don't want to do that, get a job or kiss my ass.

endorsement of copyright reform

[gnurb]

Could this be a sign that a serious contender for President (tied for first for the nomination in the latest polls) has his head screwed on right about copyright law?"

Not really.

From Lessig's blog: Good point, and I should have made this clear: Dean's guest blogging says nothing about Dean's views about the issues I've been pushing here. I've never discussed these issues with any member of the Dean campaign.

Upset cause I submitted this story 6 hours earlier, but happy cause Howard Dean's effective use of the internet to generate buzz (and $$$) excites me.

Re:vote for Bush, support Howard Dean for nominati

[gnurb]

>>Dean a centrist? Ha!

The NRA gives him a A rating, he's for the death penalty, in favor of the 'drug war', and wants a balanced budget.

He calls himself a social liberal and fiscal conservative.

And Nader has said (paraphrasing) that he liked Dean's speeches, but not his past performance in Vermont.

Nader won't run if Kucinich gets the democratic nomination, but most likely will if Dean (or anyone else) does.

This coming from a liberal, I love Dean's use of the internet, and the fact that he has more than a snowball's chance in hell of winning, but I like Kucinich's stance on issues better.

Social Security

[ClarkEvans]

xI'm convined that Social Security is the biggest scam in the history of mankind. Think about it. What other scam has screwed hundreds of millions of people out of 15% of their life's income only to give them a piddly amount back if/when the retire?

Social Security is above all a "saftey net" so that children without both parents and those who are no longer productive (elderly) can be housed, clothed, and fed. It is really _not_ a retirement plan. It is a mechanism to prevent widespread poverty.

Social Security is a generational transfer, that is, you pay for the generation of your parents and grandparents (and disadvantaged children) for the society they have built. It has *nothing* to do with retirement, the money isn't locked in a box and isn't invested and isn't saved (although it is often used in the general fund as regular tax money...)

Social Security is an extra tax (15%) paid by the working class (after 80K you don't owe any more social security) so that the very wealthy don't have to shoulder the burden of those who are not yet (children w/o parent) or are no longer (elderly) productive members of society. In times where the take-in is very high and the pay-out is very low (the last 10 years), it is a *huge* boon to the very wealthy since the money collected goes directly into the treasury; with it in the calculation the average tax rate of your middle-income american is *far higher* than those in the million dollar brackets...

If one were to be fair about use of Social Security money, extra money should be used exclusively for the education of the children who later on will have to support you... ie, if you arn't spending it on those in retirement, it should be spent making sure that the next generation is educated enough to compete in the global marketplace so that they (collectivly) can provide the security net for you and your generation. Use of this money for the military and other general spending is a severe abuse of the whole idea.

So. I half agree with you. Social security is a scam to increase the effective tax rate of the middle and lower class with respect to the upper class. And that politicians talk about it as a "retirement account" is absolutely nonsense.

However, it has its purpose. And without social security really awful things would be common in our society... children w/o parents starving and those who have built our roads, infrastructure, and other societial assets being left in the streets to die... ick.

1. Social Security is meant as a humane way to handle those in society who are not yet productive (children /w missing parents) and who have past their productive stage (the eldery).

2. Social Security is a saftey net since

1. Social Security is nothing more than an extra 15% tax on those who make 80K or less Social Security is _not_ a retirement plan, money is not saved nor are you necessarly gaurenteed to get that money at any point; it is extra tax... tax that the wealthy don't pay.

The first thing to note is that Social Security is _not_ a retirement plan. The current generation pays for the previous generation.

Re:Dean wants PHP coders to volunteer for him :)

[kantor]

"He'll probably get thousands of great resumes, from people who would love to volunteer for free; comparing him to say Bush, who would contract that out for big $$$."

No he won't - stop livingi in your little liberal world. There are many , many people who vastly prefer Bush ( almost 50 % last time around).

Re:WE WON THE WAR

[aussersterne]

Are you so sure you won the war?

I think many liberals in the US are simply not convinced that the war has been won. A battle, yes. Saddam is indeed out of power. But the war?

Is America better-regarded on the Arab street for having toppled the regime? (I have a feeling many Americans would be surprised by the answer.)

Is Iraq better off today than when Saddam was in power? Today, mind you, without electricity, water, fuel or a police force that can guarantee the safety of daughters and sisters?

Is America's military better off today, being stuck in a very sticky situation as they seem to be, while every day the Arab media cries "occupier" in shrill tones across the middle east, further cementing the viewpoint that sees America and Israel as conjoined twins?

Assuming that Bush was right about everything so far -- that Iraq had so-called weapons of mass destruction, that Saddam and his sons are dead, that the WMDs have gone to Syria or Iran and that Al Qaeda was linked to the Iraqi government (and I have my doubts about all of this), is America's population safer today now that none have been found? (Bush-ian conclusions: Hmmm, no weapons found yet... obviously they are in Syria and Iran... but Saddam and his sons are dead... so who is holding these WMDs in Syria or Iran? Well, Iraq was linked to Al Qaeda...)

It's obvious that the US has a lot of military might and has beaten up the Iraqi government and infrastructure. But does this really translate into a justifiable claim of "we won the war" on the part of Americans?

Which war?

The much-touted war on terrorism? Certainly not.

The PR war against international hatred of America? Not bloody likely.

The war against Iraq? Oh that's right, America was there to "liberate" Iraq (well, once the WMDs disappeared), not to wage war on it.

I suppose America won the war against Saddam Hussein and a few of his spoiled sons. Congratulations.

Dean not looking good so far

[Anenga]

I think everyone who likes Dean should read this article. While I think he is the most vocal and stands out the most from the current democratic canidates (and of course earned a LOT more money), I think he is too mysterious and won't give his real opinions on a lot of issues. For example (from the article):

• He was asked if he'd vote for the Medicare bill with a prescription drug benefit that is likely to pass Congress soon? Dean wouldn't say. Why?
  
• Is he still for a balanced budget amendment? He said only that he's "tempted" to be for it.
  
• Should a gay marriage in Canada be recognized in the United States? He refused to give a responsive answer.
  
• Would he name the Democratic candidates who he said need a "backbone transplant"? No, he wouldn't.

While I'm not crazy about everything Bush has done so far, I support him a lot more than any of these other democratic canidates. I think the appeal of the democratic party is fading out in a lot of Americans, they're now more interested in national security rather than domestic issues. If the economy is "good" & WMD/Saddam etc. is found by 2004, Bush will win in a land slide.

Another problem for the democratic party is that nobody knows any of the canidates. I've asked a few people I know (who are democrats) who'd they vote for, and everyone responds with "Is Hillary running?" or "Probably Gore".

Howard Dean needs to be more open about what he supports and what he doesn't, he's too worried about what people think of him. (Like on the Gay Marriage issue) If he isn't honest in these interviews, how can Americans trust him?

Re:Dean not looking good so far

[dpete4552]

Bush isn't even honest in his State of the Union Address, and Americans don't seem to be having a hard time trusting him...

Re:The White House didn't pay the paper boy?

[Temporal]

...they didn't find any evidence of WMD's.

They haven't found Saddam Hussein yet either, but no one says he didn't exist.

Re:The White House didn't pay the paper boy?

[Xabraxas]

They haven't found Saddam Hussein yet either, but no one says he didn't exist.

Except...we have seen Saddam before. Actually the man (Donald Rumsfeld) who you qoute (without giving proper credit) has met Saddam in person. So we know he exists. The problem is that weapons inspectors did not see any WMD in person. In fact when we went to war all we had for evidence were satelite photos of weapons labs that later turned out to be stations for blowing up hot air balloons. Ties between Bin Laden and Hussein have been unfounded. Documents about Iraq attempting to obtain uranium from Africa have been proven to be falisified.

I checked the history, and it says otherwise.

[marlowe]

here's who supported Saddam, and how much

Note that the nations who most supported him are the very ones that opposed the war.

More in the same vein

Re:The White House didn't pay the paper boy?

[Temporal]

Yeah, that quote was from Rumsfeld. I figured he wouldn't mind. :P

My point is, the fact that we haven't found anything yet, and that the weapons inspectors found nothing, doesn't mean anything. Obviously these things were so well hidden that we should not expect to be finding them.

Case in point -- A couple weeks ago, an Iraqi scientist turned over a bunch of nuke parts and documents to the US army. These were all left over from Iraq's nuclear weapons program. He said Saddam had ordered him to keep them hidden until some later point, at which they would presumably be used to re-start the program. He had these things hidden in an oil drum, buried in his back yard under a rose bush.

How would we ever find that? We can't go around digging up every square inch of the country looking for weapons! And, no, we can't just expect these people to come forward -- the guy who did had to leave the country and take his whole family with him because he feared Saddam's henchmen would come get them otherwise (after he told).

Why would Saddam kick out the weapon inspectors several years ago if there were no WMD's? Why did he consistently try to hinder their efforts as much as he could? Why did Iraqi scientists refuse to be interviewed unless an Iraqi government rep was present (to insure that they didn't spill the beans)? I think they had WMD's, but I don't think we'll ever find them. (Obviously we already have proof that they were planning on making nukes, which should be good enough anyway...)

Regardless, this is all irrelevant. Most of the Iraqi people were happy to see Saddam removed. The WMD thing was just an excuse, because if Bush had gone into the UN and said "We have to liberate Iraq from tyranny", he would have just looked like an arrogant ass, even though that's exactly what we did.

Not that I like Bush. Obviously he fucked up the whole "diplomacy" thing.

Re:The White House didn't pay the paper boy?

[Temporal]

So, if they had them, but weren't prepared to use them, that would be ok? Obviously that statement by Blair was wrong, but that's beside the point.

Why? Why the Hell Not?

[Joe Trippi]

As Governor Dean's campaign manager I thought I could answer a few questions and make a comment or two as well. We have absolutely forbidden any staff from posting or writing anything for Howard Dean and then post it under his name. In other words everything the Governor blogs and everything he blogs for Lessig will be written and posted by the Governor himself. One of the reasons we thought Lessig would be a good place to guest blog is that it helps to build this trust that it is really the Governor doing the guest blogging -- and that the community will trust that Lessig would not have allowed it if it wasn't so. Any thoughts as to how to answer the issue of trusted identity would be appreciated. It is something we have been really trying to figure out -- as I have pointed out -- how do you know this is really me? And we are not trying to kid anybody -- particularly anyone here -- we know we ain't perfect -- and that we don't get it all -- but we are trying to get it -- trying to reach out to everyone using every tool we can -- because as someone who you will probably regard as a political hack -- who has worked on 6 Presidential campaigns -- I can tell you what you already know -- ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY -- The only way to put power back in people's hands is for the people to buy their government back. A million to two million Americans contributing $100 each or whatever they can -- will be a force that will not only win the Presidency -- but will also strike enough fear into everyone else in Washington -- that we can change our country's politics. The biggest challenge is to cut through people's cynicism -- nothing will change if we can not get beyond that and get people to participate in their self-government again -- and believe that together we have the power to protect our rights, and our civil liberties, and reclaim our government. That is what this campaign has been trying to prove -- that is why we are doing what we are doing eveyday to build a community that will carry that cause. That is why Howard Dean will guest blog for Lawrence Lessig -- to reach out -- in an authentic voice -- and see what happens. Why? Why the hell not? Joe Trippi campaign manager Dean for America please excuse the double post.

Re:Why? Why the hell not?

[Joe Trippi]

Thanks for the welcome -- and I will try to post on other issues -- my problem is not having the time -- its tough enough just keeping up with everything as it is! Personally I have spent the better part of the last three to four years working on a lot of issues discussed here and with a lot of the technology. I advised Progeny Linux Systems -- the Debian flavor, it gave me alot of insight as to what open source politics would be like and how the same principles could be applied. Really a lot of the same forces are at work if you think about it. Entrenched and flawed system, closed to everyone except the few that aim to keep control etc vs open dialogue, open collaboration, and a better solution emerging from the common actions of many. The country was not founded on the principle of self interest -- it was founded on the principle of the common good. And its fascinating to me how on every front its the commons we need to build again. Joe Trippi campaign manager Dean for America

Bush lite?

[Heisenbug]

I haven't seen anything 'lite' about Dean. Whenever I actually look into his stance on an issue, I find that he's thought it through very carefully, and that he seems to be taking a principled stand -- while being open to discussion. He doesn't go for the simple answer -- he goes for one that makes sense to him, whether or not it looks good. It helps that I agree with many of his stances, once I understand them -- but it helps even more that I respect the way he thinks and speaks. That's one way that he comes in way beyond Bush in my book.

But the important thing is that his views usually make more sense once you look into them. For example, he's often labeled as 'pro-gun' -- because he thinks that Vermont, with roughly 3 murders a year, should have a different set of gun laws than New York. That's not entirely crazy, is it?

I've looked into a few other issues that you name:

"Pro-choice, but refuses to make Roe v. Wade a litmus test for federal judges."

I read that interview. Basically, he was saying that he would assess judges based on a wide array of issues, of which abortion was just one. Are you saying Dean is like Bush because he refuses to take a simplistic stance? Come on ...

"Kyoto treaty
Says we must "take another look," but has "concerns" about some provisions."

Specifically, that the treaty might go too easy on third-world pollution. Is that too soft on the environment for you?

"Patriot Act
Would repeal "parts," but also wants to expand intelligence agencies; praises Russ Feingold as only Senator who opposed the act, ignoring Kucinich's vocal House opposition, falsely implying no other candidate opposed the Patriot Act"

It is unfortunate that the House Democrats are so underplayed in general -- but now are you saying Dean is like Bush because he's going to apply standards of constitutionality to the Patriot act?

"Medical marijuana
Firmly opposed, although promises to abide by a proposed FDA evaluation."

So he's going to overcome his own prejudices, and apply the same standards of medicine to marijuana that are applied to other drugs. Shocked, shocked am I.

"Bush would be delighted to run against Dean who is simply a watered down version of Bush."

I simply don't buy that. Gore was watered down, the middle-of-the-road boring candidate. That seems to be what the Democratic Party wants again -- and I agree with you that such a candidate wouldn't stand a chance against Bush.

But Dean comes across as honest, intelligent, daring, and willing to take principled stands. He's neither boring nor, as you suggest, conservative. Although I think you've nailed the problem the democratic party faces, Dean is the solution and not the problem.

That's not true.

[sheldon]

The dems don't want him, they want their boy Gephart or *shudder* Lieberman. The DLC publically flogged Dean supporters by calling them "the activist elite" and tried to compare them to politcally impotent ultra-lefties.

The DLC, and the ndol.org website you linked to is part of the New Democrats. That is the centrist Democratic coalition that was brought together by President Clinton. Neither group is "The Democrats", they are part of the Dems, but not the whole. The Democratic party is not really a organized well-oiled machine like the GOP, it is a coalition of a variety of interests of which the DLC and the New Dems play a signifigant role.

Regardless, everyone who isn't in the GOP wants an electable Democrat. I can't see why Dean wouldn't fit the bill, especially with Iraq turing out to be a quite the quagmire for Bush.

Wishing and hoping that Iraq turns into a bad situation isn't going to win you a Presidential election. You have to think and speak positively. Attacking might win you a congressional seat, but not the Presidency.

I'm a Democrat, but I'm not a Dean supporter. I don't like him, and I don't trust him. The campaign I see him trying to run is one of being opportunist, like the parent poster stated. His performance on Meet the Press was abysmal, and he simply cannot win a Presidential election.

And it is absolutely critical for the future of this nation that GW Bush is out of office come 2005. Never in my lifetime have I seen a President who has done more to harm this nation. Nixon and Reagan are looking like they should have their likenesses put on Mount Rushmore by comparison.

Sorry, but there's no ploy. Dean is fighting influencial (read: very wealthy and very connected) members of his own party right now and in interesting ways (appeal to the populace, net-based action, etc) just to get heard.

I think this is insulting, because Dean is also fighting people in his party who are intelligent and understand the issues and the politics. To win in 2004, you have to address national security concerns, and Dean is not doing that. But keep in mind that you can address this issue in a strong manner and still address domestic liberties and economic issues. The public as a whole is solidly behind the Democrats ideas regarding liberties and economics, and the key is to advocate those positions strongly, not cave into the GOP criticism and play to their game plan.

Protesting Iraq at this point and time is a non-starter, it won't win additional votes. Why? Because the votes Dean is going for are part of the Democratic base, and they're already committed. The votes which are critical are the swing-vote, the middle ground, the ones who could be swayed to vote GOP if the Dems don't show that they have better ideas.

If you feel the left-wing or the Greens are being ignored, they aren't. It's just that they are only part of the party, according to the ndol.org they represent 33% of the Democratic party, which itself only represents 33% of the nation. A third of a third, but you need a good solid half to win a Presidential election. That means some 35-40% of the nation in addition to the left-wing and greens has to be swayed by your arguments and I don't see Dean being able to do this.

Listen, Iraq is over, it happened and there is no turning back. At this point what it is critical for the Dems to do is take over the issue. Show not how they opposed the war, and their proof is that it's an utter disaster... but state that things are in bad shape, and it is clear that this Administration is bungling the job so we need new leadership to take over and carry forward with our nations promises to rebuild Iraq.

I've already made up my mind on who I want to see running, and he isn't in the field right now. Based on my understanding of the situation, I think he'll announce in about two months and come in looking like the adult to these children which will help us sweep the elections.

The on

Re:The White House didn't pay the paper boy?

[nut]

So if I take that to it's illogical conclusion, we should attack every country that hasn't conclusively proved that it doesn't have WMD's? The premise of going to war was that there was *solid evidence* that Iraq *did have* WMD's.
This solid evidence has now disappeared in a puff of pixie dust and Donald Rumsfeld is saying, "We may never find WMD's" now.

I was always under the impression that going to war was a solution only to be used under the most compelling and immediate of causes.

Charity and love prevails...

[Rahga]

"Taking care of those that are weak and cannot manage by themselves instead of taking advantage of them is really one of the key defining things of being a human."

Exactly. A government is not human. Individual people should be in the business of charity and love, not governments.

Re:Charity and love prevails...

[slux]

My opinion is that the fact that large-scale charity exists in any society is an indication that the government isn't doing it's job properly.

The government is created by humans and hopefully (in most modern societies) for the people in it. It is not a inhuman structure serving some higher purpose than the people itself.

It is supposed to guarantee the safety and well-being of it's citizens and all the critical infrastructure. It can be argued what various things these include and different countries in the world have different systems.

Re:The working class pays most of the taxes.

[HanzoSan]

Warren Buffet says the tax cuts allow him to live tax free.

Voodoo Economics

Re:Riiight

[jmorris42]

Well this thread is fast scrolling into oblivion, but what the heck you posted a rational reply and it deserves a response even if thee, me and three other users end up reading it. ;)

> Since when did the waste stand for capitalism?

Since the very idea of capitalism was invented and added to the Western tradition by Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations.

> Its the truth, just like people are too stupid for a true democracy.

There is a subtle error there. Democracy is the stupid idea, and America's Founding Fathers were smart enough to give us a Republic instead. While I wouldn't trust Joe/Jane random neighbor to directly vote on most issues, I do trust them to elect representatives. In fact I MUST trust them as a article of faith, because the alternative is too horrible to consider. If "The People" are not fit to rule then some smaller subset must be selected, and WHO selects?

It is a matter of time and specialization more than intelligence. I am a computer geek with an interest in politics. I know nothing of auto repair, but manage to pick a mechanic. All Jo Bob is being expected to do is select from a list a candidate one that approximates their values. In spite of a dedicated century long effort to undermine our fair Republic by the left, a corrupt press and education system and other handicaps too numerous to list they have managed to keep the numbers of enemy congresscritters small enough they haven't voted our Republic out and created a Worker's Paradise. And it looks like the trend lines are actually getting better. We could actually be the first Republic in recorded history to descend as far into chaos and empire as we have and recover. (Not ready to bet serious quantities of FRNs yet, but hope springs eternal.)

> Not only that but people are also too stupid to know when to retire.

Free people are free to retire whenever the hell they want. Mandatory retirement laws are an abomination.

> IF people are really so responsible, Gore should be president because
> he won the popular vote, drugs should be legal, and guess what, the
> representative government should be destroyed in favor of having the
> people decide all the laws.

See my comment above on direct democracy. If we must have a government, and I'm of the opinion we unfortunatly do, nobody has come up with anything better than a Republic. And by the established rules of our Republic the Electoral College is the law, and one I agree with because it succeeds in balancing the interests of the small population heavy states with the large resource heavy ones.

As for legalizing drugs I'm all for it but I suspect you would be disappointed were it put to a national referendum. Of course my support for abolishing the drug laws is conditional on abolishing the Welfare State. Do all the dope you want but don't send armed tax collectors to take my wealth to pay for your rehab/welfare/etc when you fuck up your life with crack.

> You want class warfare? If education is not free, thats what will
> happen, either classwarfare, or most people in this country will move
> to canada.

YOu won't find class warfare on my side. That is a specialty of the left. As for free state sponsored/mandated education being desirable, all I will say is LOOK AT THE RESULTS. If you can look at the horrors that the government is demanding parents submit their children to and not be dismayed, I pity you for being an uncaring bastard. And remember, children tended to get educated BEFORE the government started meddling. Your problem is you see issues in terms of the government, as in if the government doesn't not only provide education, but drag teh kids in by force then children just wouldn't get educated.

As for welfare clients moving to Canada, don't let the door hit ya on the way out. But don't expect Canada to actually ALLOW any significant numbers of deadbeats migrate. Harsh? Perhaps, but remember that most Ameri