/dev/random

Aaron Swartz notes that the stimulus bill requires that each government agency report the money they give out with Atom or RSS.
For each of the near term reporting requirements (major communications, formula block grant allocations, weekly reports) agencies are required to provide a feed (preferred: Atom 1.0, acceptable: RSS) of the information so that content [...]

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The new whitehouse.gov web site embodies the openness and accessibility of Obama’s administration. There’s now an official white house blog, displayed prominently on the home page. The blog doesn’t allow comments, but that’s understandable, since it would be a huge target for comment spammers and would require constant monitoring.
In addition to the blog RSS feed, [...]

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Since I couldn’t make it to Washington D.C. for the inauguration, I went to a viewing party in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Unfortunately it didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. We were supposed to watch it on a large screen projection TV, but the projector didn’t arrive until after 11AM. When the projector finally [...]

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According to Federal Computer Week, at 12:01PM Tuesday when Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president, Obama’s change.gov site will become the new whitehouse.gov.
This is huge. Until now whitehouse.gov has been a one-way static site for dispensing information, announcements, and press releases with little or no interaction and no way to get involved. [...]

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This is my final election post for 2008. North Carolina was finally called, bringing Obama’s electoral votes to 364. He did a lot better than I predicted (only 331 electoral votes), which was a very pleasant surprise.
I really did want to move to Vancouver, but with the country finally headed in the right direction, [...]

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CNN has called the election for Obama! This is a historic moment for America. I’ve never felt this optimistic about our country before.

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I did two shifts of canvassing today. This morning I went out alone on a route that covered a fairly small area just off 26th street. Most of the people weren’t home. Out of about 40 I only contacted 4 people. A lot of them seem to have moved & some of the houses looked [...]

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Since everyone else is doing it, here’s my prediction for tomorrow from CNN’s electoral map calculator. This isn’t an especially optimistic prediction, since I’ve been looking at worst cases with my current gloomy attitude. Starting with the 2004 results, I added Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico, which seem likely to go to Obama. Even with [...]

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A really great video.
The Republicans’ politics of hate is toxic to this country. Saying that some parts of the country are un-patriotic and not “real” is not only hurtful, but comes dangerously close to inciting another civil war. When mentioning the name of an American city like San Francisco evokes boos from the crowd, something [...]

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Madelyn Dunham didn’t live to see her grandson (hopefully) become president.
Dunham passed away peacefully at her home shortly before midnight Sunday night (5 a.m. ET) following a battle with cancer, according to a campaign spokeswoman. She was 86 (the same age my mother was when she died).
“She was the cornerstone of our family, and a [...]

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Although everyone is optimistic that Obama will win the election easily, I just can’t share in the euphoria. I’m still very afraid that McCain could win or steal the election. Remember 4 years ago when everyone was certain Kerry would win? We all saw what happened then. Convince me it won’t happen again.
For the last [...]

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People in the Middle for Obama asks regular, moderate Americans, not extreme left or right wingers, why they’re voting for Obama.

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Today was the second time I went out canvassing for Obama. Two weeks ago I went out with another volunteer. Last weekend I didn’t feel too well, so I stayed in the office and made calls. Today I was out on my own. The office gives us a list of addresses of Democrats who are [...]

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We all need to keep Barack Obama’s grandmother in our thoughts & prayers. Madelyn Payne Dunham, who helped raise him, was released from the hospital late last week, but her health had deteriorated “to the point where her situation is very serious.” Barack Obama is canceling nearly all his campaign events Thursday and Friday to [...]

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Powell said exactly what needed to be said:
It troubled me. You know, we have two wars. We have economic problems. We have health problems. We have education problems. We have infrastructure problems. We have problems around the world with our allies. And so those are the problems the American people wanted to hear about, not [...]

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This weekend I’m volunteering at two Get Out The Vote events for Obama:

Sat. Oct. 11, 11:00 AM – GOTV STRATEGY SESSION (Organizing)

Sun. Oct 12, 12:00 PM – GOTV STRATEGY SESSION (Organizing)

Both events are at 2040 N Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors.

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McCain is starting to speak out against the vicious anti-Obama attacks. At a recent town hall event, McCain acknowledged the “energy” people have been showing at rallies, and how glad he is that people are excited. But, he says, “I respect Sen. Obama and his accomplishments.” People booed at the mention of his name. McCain, [...]

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The attacks and rhetoric we’re seeing from the McCain-Palin camp now goes far beyond run of the mill gutter politics to something far more dangerous. Campaign events for McCain & Palin look more like KKK rallies with shouts to “kill him“. They’re tapping into seething racism to fire up the base.
Andrew Sullivan points out [...]

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Vampire Weekend is playing a special show in New York City on Sunday, Oct. 12. All proceeds from the show will go to helping Obama win in swing states.

With Wall Street in economic turmoil, Music for Democracy has proposed an economic stimulus package for this Sunday’s fundraiser event in New York.
“We’re releasing 100 pairs of [...]

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Here’s a story that gives some good insight into Barack Obama’s personality. I couldn’t imagine John McCain doing anything like that.

Mary Menth Andersen was then 31 years old and had just married Norwegian Dag Andersen. She looked forward to start a new life in Åsgårdstrand i Vestfold with him. But first she had to get [...]

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