Back to the short bus kid. Clearly if he can get on TV and respond to comments from audience members and callers he can dialog with anyone he pleases. There is no law that says he can not listen to anyone who would like to talk to him. As for pursuing specific agendas, yes he is there to represent the will of the people in his district, but for those so gifted as to be able to look at this narrow example and apply it to the plarger olitical landscape (beyond you apparently) then the comment on our 'leaders' not being open to discourse with the public at large is certainly accurate.
It is telling of the age in which we live that the speaker of the house of Representatives, chief of those who vote the will of the people, does not allow comments on his blog.
If he truly had a respect for the idea sharing that the Internet enables, his blog would be open to comments. If he truly pursued the responsibilties of his office as a servant of the people he would set aside political concerns, appoint a small group of moderators to filter spam, endure a completely UNCENSORED dialog as his schedule permits and actually listen to the voices of the nation.
Tax dollars have been spent on far more ludicrous ventures than a group of spam-removal-only forum moderators. Such an expense would be a sign that the government of the US pays more than lip service to the idea that the Internet is beneficial in important, non-economic ways.
This blog in particular is pure political maneuver. With Exxon alone posting billions of dollars in profit this last Quater, at least one reason for high energy prices is blatantly obvious - yet this guy will do nothing about it.
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Back to the short bus kid. Clearly if he can get on TV and respond to comments from audience members and callers he can dialog with anyone he pleases. There is no law that says he can not listen to anyone who would like to talk to him. As for pursuing specific agendas, yes he is there to represent the will of the people in his district, but for those so gifted as to be able to look at this narrow example and apply it to the plarger olitical landscape (beyond you apparently) then the comment on our 'leaders' not being open to discourse with the public at large is certainly accurate.
If he truly had a respect for the idea sharing that the Internet enables, his blog would be open to comments. If he truly pursued the responsibilties of his office as a servant of the people he would set aside political concerns, appoint a small group of moderators to filter spam, endure a completely UNCENSORED dialog as his schedule permits and actually listen to the voices of the nation.
Tax dollars have been spent on far more ludicrous ventures than a group of spam-removal-only forum moderators. Such an expense would be a sign that the government of the US pays more than lip service to the idea that the Internet is beneficial in important, non-economic ways.
This blog in particular is pure political maneuver. With Exxon alone posting billions of dollars in profit this last Quater, at least one reason for high energy prices is blatantly obvious - yet this guy will do nothing about it.