This would an amazing feat if he can pull it off. Lessig has the earnestness, credibility and slideshow skills to compete. Whether he runs or not, the Change Congress pledge is a hugely important and powerful idea. Taking money out of politics is no small task. He has my support.

Preeminent law professor and Internet’s best friend Lawrence Lessig released this brilliant video on why he’s choosing Obama over Hillary. It’s done in Lessig’s unique powerpoint presentation style and reinforces why I love this man’s brain. Very much worth the 20 minutes.

I’ve been working with some pals on creating a couple videos for Obama prior to Super Duper Tuesday. This particular get-out-the vote animation was done by long time co-conspirator Ryan Junell. The man knows his After Effects! Another one coming soon. Also available on YouTube.

Chicken John, who is running for Mayor of San Francisco on an art and innovation platform, officially got himself on the ballot last Friday. On the way to turn in his paperwork and after scoping out his future office, Chicken ran into the current mayor himself, Gavin Newsom. Jeremy shot some video which I helped Chicken edit down into this nice piece.

Click To Play

If I still lived in Virginia, I would so vote for this guy, Brad Blanton. He wrote a book called Radical Honesty that a lot of people say good things about. I am really suprised to see someone from my old home state that isn’t a tobacco farmer, lobbyist, corporate whore, televangelist or some other occuptation that puts them far right of reality. There is hope for Virgina yet. Check out Blanton’s ‘uncampaign’ video.

Comet deli
Originally uploaded by ekai.

Ah Washington, DC. I like that there’s no billboards or highrises and instead plenty of old school brick architecture. I don’t miss the smokey inside of bars, which may happily change soon as DC comes online with local anti-smoking regs. It was nice to meet new blogger friends. Shoutouts to Tony, Jamy, Shannon, Reya, Danielle and Rob, Michael, Celeste for dragging me to the Science Club.

I was dismayed to hear that the Comet deli & liquor store in Adams Morgan is closing its doors after being a neighborhood institution since the 1930’s. I used to go there for lunch at least a couple times a week when I worked at the Washington City Paper back in the mid-90’s. I remember ol’ white haired Sid, the proprietor of the place, ringing me up on the ancient massive analog cash register while imparting his unique acerbic whit. He passed away in March of this year and his widow Bernice just can’t carry the torch anymore.

The closing of Comet is bringing to light the larger issue of gentrification of the eclectic Adams Morgan neighborhood. It’s one of the most diverse, unique and independent neighborhoods in all of Washington, DC. The place is chock full of restaurants and boutiques run by refugees and ex-patriots of nations far from our shores. It really is the only place to go for Ethiopian food. As the bleak horizon filled with chain stores and neighborhood homogenization becomes ever closer, I’m reminded of the successful legislation that we’ve passed here in San Francisco to give neighborhoods the right to decide whether they want chain stores taking up space amongst them. I’m not sure how the local political winds would favor such a thing in DC, but I hope that some clueful neighborhood activists will take a page from San Francisco and try something similar. I’m sure most businesses and residents in Adams Morgan would support such a thing, if only the DC City Council can show the political will. I’d hate to see Adams Morgan go the way of Georgetown.

Everyone’s heard of Netflix, they’ve got over 3 million subscribers. You are probably one of them. Did you know that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings donated 3/4 of a MILLION DOLLARS to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s very “special election” campaign? $730,000 to be exact, mostly going to Proposition 77, the redistricting “reform” measure that gives the power of redistricting to a group of old crusty white men. On the face, Prop 77 has good intentions, but is a crappily crafted piece of legislation that is part of Arnie’s power grab agenda. Reed says, “Win or lose this cycle, I’ll continue to invest both philanthropically and politically, I don’t feel any donor fatigue, because improving California” is “a multi-decade effort, not a one-shot fix.” If by “improve” he means “owned by big business and conservative interests” then brace yourself California! It’s a bit curious as Hastings has traditionally given to Democrats, though a only a drop in the bucket comapred to the amounts he’s doling out to Arnie this year.

There is an alternative. GreenCine, pronounced GREEN-SEEN. It’s just like Netflix but without the evil. GreenCine, based in San Francisco, is owned by a couple of independent cinema nuts. Their focus is more on independent films, documentaries and anime while still harboring the full array of Hollywood blockbusters. They have a thriving online commununity and make daily recommendations. They don’t donate a million dollars to a bad washed up actor turned bad washed up politician. They DO donate a portion of their profits to local non-profit film arts organizations. GreenCine likes to support organizations that make better films.

On this election day, how are your dollars voting?

[thanks to George for the source photo]

Vote against Arnold’s agenda

Originally uploaded by Steve Rhodes.

Don’t forget, the polls close at 8pm.

I just got an automated ’survey’ call from an outfit identifying themselves as FEC Research. It was a computerized voice response call asking leading questions regarding Propositions 73 and 75 here in California. This guy from Santa Barbara got the exact same call. As did this fellow San Franciscan. One more. Push polls are not really polls at all but are the product of someone paying to try and convince me how evil or great a candidate or ballot initiative is. The language they use to describe the ballot question is biased and leading. Under the guise of a poll, I am asked my opinion when really it’s about influencing my understanding of ballot question to sway my vote.

The number on my caller ID is 571-522-1180 which points to an outfit in Northern Virginia called ccAdvertising. According to a little investigative work done by DailyKos, they are hired by mostly right wing campaigns to spread their deception. Surprise! Suprise!

With all the frustrating and regressive things happening at the national level, there are some reasons to be hopeful that the public may once again weild power. IRV or Instant Runoff Voting is looking very likely in Takoma Park, Maryland this election cycle. If this intiative passes, Takoma Park will be the 4th city in the US to adopt this major election reform. We had IRV in effect here in San Francisco as of last year for the local Supervisors race. What this means is no more spoiler charges, no Ralph Nader to kick around anymore. It means that you can vote your conscience for someone that probably won’t win AND vote for the lesser of two evils. Since you rank 3 choices, your vote will automatically apply to all the candidates you pick. This also has the effect of encouraging more people to run for office. It allows a voter to truly express their intent and vote for whom they really want to win.

There is still that nasty issue of whomever raises the most cash, wins problem. That is being address here in San Francisco with campaign spending limits and something called Voter Owned Elections. In a nutshell, Voter Owned Elections is public financing for a given race. Public financing removes the corruptive process of raising private funds to pay for a campaign. Historically, whichever candidate can court enough private special interests, wins. Public financing levels the playing field for all viable candidates. We already have it here for the Board of Supervisors races, now it’s time to bring it the Mayor’s race as well. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi just introduced a resolution to the Board to do just that. If you live in San Francisco, contact your Supervisor and let them know you want this.

On the California tip, we’ve got this lame ass special election happening this Tuesday. Thanks Arnie! It shouldn’t be happening and most likely no one will turn out for it, which is a bad thing. Conservatives usually cash in during low turnout elections. Speak Out California!’s recommendations pretty much sums up my views on the California props. Just remember to ‘nix the first six’.