Politics

I’ve recently heard some conversation trying to sully or tarnish the idea of openness by associating it with socialism. (Of course, if there’s anything you don’t like in the US today the standard response is to label it “socialist,” despite the fact that many labelers can neither define nor spell the term properly.) However, from my perspective some of the most important forms of openness are simply about obeying one of the standard laws of capitalism: if I pay for a good or service, I am entitled to the good or service. Could the market (or society) survive if we didn’t obey this rule? ...

Once every 5 or 10 years you hear an idea that’s so good that you understand immediately that you should support it in any way you can, even to the point of personal sacrifice of time, money, and effort. I read one of these ideas on Slashdot today: With the unfortunate passing of Congressman Tom Lantos, parts of Silicon Valley and San Francisco will be holding a special election in June to send a replacement to Congress. Given the area, it would be great to have someone who is both tech- and policy-aware fill the seat — and it looks like that just might happen. Lawrence Lessig has apparently bought ‘change-congress.com.’ A ‘Draft Lessig’ group is forming on Facebook, featuring some of Lessig’s old co-workers at Harvard and Jimmy Wales, among others. No word from Lessig himself yet, but he’s been increasingly vocal about politics of late. If it happens, it would be a huge step forward for the representation of technology in Washington." ...