IsRandPaulStillTalking?
No.
But ICYMI
Politico rounds up the tweets from politicians and pundits supportive of Sen. Paul’s filibuster, and Patrick Ruffini charts them minute-by-minute. Also, The New Republic’s Alec MacGillis says the Senator “has a point.” All kinds of people, from Jon Stewart to the CATO Institute, agree. To be determined, will this White House petition take off?
Holder on Swartz
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, responding to questions from Sen. John Cornyn, expresses his sympathy to Aaron Swartz’s family and friends, but defends the handling of his case, calling it “a good use of prosecutorial discretion.”
Rush, Meet #TCOT
According to Rush Limbaugh, “Twitter is thought to be made of just average Americans tweeting their thoughts” creating “an impression of where the country is.” And yesterday afternoon, on his nationally syndicated radio program, he seized on the new Pew Research Center study of Twitter users to breathlessly report that it in fact has been “corrupted” by “young political activists” and Democrats–and that Republicans are being “intimidated” by the false media narrative propelled by Twitter users. To wit:
Reaction on Twitter is much more negative than what public polls find out. Take the reception to Obama’s reelection, as an example. The Pew people said that polling found 52% of the public was happy and 45% unhappy with Obama’s reelection. On Twitter, nearly 88% were happy. So the universe that is Twitter has been corrupted, so to speak. It is an outfit that has been taken over by young political activists who are there to create an impression of public opinion that doesn’t really exist. The short version of this would be to say that the Democrats’ astroturf army has taken over Twitter. They’ve taken over Facebook. They’ve taken over the social media and they’re doing this to create the illusion that the vast majority of the country is them. That the vast majority of the country agrees with them, and it’s not the case.
Hello, Rush? Republicans and conservatives have been saying for years that they actually dominate Twitter. When did the talking points change?
What the Chuck?
That said, Sen. Chuck Grassley says he’s given up his folksy tweets for the safer terrain of policy comments because some people aren’t nice on the Internet.
Messina Explains
Pushing back against criticism that Organizing for Action (OfA) is selling access to the President to mega-donors, its national chairman Jim Messina (Obama’s former campaign manager), pens an oped for CNN.com insisting that “you can’t change Washington from the inside.”
Since Organizing for Action was established six weeks ago, volunteers have held more than 100 events in more than 80 congressional districts demanding a yes vote on the president’s plan to curb gun violence. Whether it’s participating in a social media campaign or hosting a press conference, 964,000 Americans have already mobilized through Organizing for Action — and we’ve ensured they have the tools they need to get the attention they deserve.
He also says that every donor giving $250 or more will be disclosed “with the exact amount they give on a quarterly basis,” adding “We have now decided not to accept contributions from corporations, federal lobbyists or foreign donors.”
Hollaback, eCitizens Win Knight Prototype Grants
The Knight Foundation’s Prototype Fund announced its first round of grants. Among the eight winners: Hollaback, which is building a mobile app for reporting street harassment directly to city authorities, and eCitizens, which is building a pilot online service in San Diego to give citizens the ability to get alerts when local government is working on issues they care about. The Prototype Fund, a new Knight program, makes investments of up to $50,000 in early stage projects that allow rapid development of new ideas.
The Open Access “Moral Imperative”
The Chronicle of Higher Education “Tech Therapy” podcast talks with David Parry, assistant professor of emerging media and communications at U-Texas, Dallas, about the politics of open access.
Morozov on Beppe de Grillo
Asked by la Repubblica to comment on the rapid rise of Italy’s Five Star Movement and its charismatic “non-leader” comedian and blogger Beppe de Grillo, Evgeny Morozov says “I’d caution against reading too much into the role that the Internet culture has played in all of this.” He also offers qualified praise for “Liquid Feedback” and voices worries about the rise of big data and micro-targetting in the U.S.
Berlusconi Sentenced Over Wiretaps
An Italian court has sentenced Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian premier who is now on a political comeback, to one year in jail for illegally publishing wiretapped conversations. An appeal is assumed.
Actipedia Launches
Actipedia, an “open-access user-generated database of creative activism,” launches. Brought to you by the Yes Men’s Yes Lab and the Center for Artistic Activism.
Troll No More
The Bottom Half of the Internet is a new Tumblr highlighting one quality comment a day from UK newspaper sites. In case you thought all reader comments were shite.