What to ask President Obama?
Published March 17, 2009 @ 10:34AM PT
Ask the President is launching this Thursday. Details aren't public yet, but from the Twitter discussions so far, it seems like the basic idea is to provide a followon to Change.gov's short-lived Open for Questions series [1, 2]: a way for people to submit potential questions and vote on what they think the best ones are.
Hmm.
This is the kind of stuff that Get FISA Right has done well in the past, for example finishing #5 in change.org's Ideas for Change in America. As well as resuming our dialog with President Obama, If we can get somebody to ask a FISA-related question at a White House press conference it'll also be a great chance for publicity. FISA and the PATRIOT Act are starting to be in the news a little, and this is a different angle for reporters to cover; we got so much attention last summer that plenty of media folks know who we are. The story practically writes itself: "Following on their previous success on MyBO, the social network-savvy activists at Get FISA RIght have done it again ..."
So even though we don't know a lot about the format yet, let's start thinking now about what kind of question we'd like to ask. Maybe something like:
What are President Obama's plans to get FISA right?
In then-Senator Obama's note on FISA last summer, he stated his opposition to telecom immunity, and talked of his intent to have the new attorney general review all domestic surveillance programs and "to make further recommendations on any steps needed to preserve civil liberties and to prevent executive branch abuse in the future." Since you taking office, though, the Obama DOJ has followed the Bush Administration line on immunity and in the in the Al-Haramain case. When and how does President Obama intend to follow up on his campaign promises on FISA?
Thoughts on this? Other suggestions? We'll revise on the wiki; you can leave comments here or there, whichever you prefer.
Once the site's live on Thursday, we can work out how to promote our idea effectively -- expect another blog post. For now, if you're already on Twitter, please follow @GetFISARight. If you're not on Twitter and Digg, please consider signing up!
Also, if you haven't already read it, please check out Jim Burrows What does it mean to 'get FISA right'? and weigh in with your opinions on what you think should be done.
jon
PS: disclaimer: I'm also helping Ari promote Ask The President in general; my Launching “Ask The President” on Twitter (DRAFT) on Liminal States has more.
Comments
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Author
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Jon Pincus
- Bellevue, WA
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Jon is a strategist, writer, and activist living in the Seattle area, currently working on Tales from the Net (a book on social networks co-authored with Deborah Pierce and his brother Greg). As well as being an organizer for Get FISA Right, he's vice-chair for online visibility for the 2009 ACM Computers, Freedom, and Privacy conference. He blogs about these and other topics at Liminal States and elsewhere.
Here is my question:
Patrick Henry said: "The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them." How can you square this statement with the position your Administration has taken in the Al-Haramain Case, which is the exact same position that the Bush Administration had taken before you?
This question, to me, gets to the absurdity of the basic argument that in order to defend our liberty, we must trample our liberty. We need to be clearer about where the line is drawn between national security and personal liberty, who gets to make the judgement call as to when that line is crossed, and what happens to those who cross it, as a way to deter future violations.
Craig
Posted by Craig Nazor on 03/17/2009 @ 10:00PM PT
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Thanks for the feedback, Craig. Your question does a nice job of getting to the inherent contradiction of that argument. As a question for a press conference, though, it's important to focus on forward-looking plans. If it's just about "how can you square this", then its easy to respond with something mealy-mouthed about 'security means a lot of things, and includes security against foreign attacks so blah blah blah balance blah blah tradeoff blah blah blah'.
The Patrick Henry quote's excellent but I'm not sure it makes sense in this context...
Posted by Jon Pincus on 03/18/2009 @ 07:44AM PT
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Hi
I had your address in the Chamber of Commerce béninoise.Le Benin is a country in West Africa. I would be in a business relationship with you and that you will come to Cotonou (Benin) for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of a bailiff justice.Le trip you will also want to visit our locaux.Je have a few details about your business, your phone numbers are expected.
Good reception and hope to read you very soon
Raymond TOHOZIN
COTONOU (BENIN) Email:rtohozin1@yahoo.fr:00229 97199653
Posted by TOHOZIN Raymond on 08/25/2009 @ 10:49AM PT
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