A fine example of the power of blogging activism from America today. A bi-partisan bill to create a searchable on-line database of all government contracts, grants, insurance, loans, financial assistance etc. was put on ’secret hold’ by an anonymous Senator, much to the annoyance of bloggers from both left and right.
A campaign run through the Porkbusters site set about getting people across America to contact their Senator to ask them if they were responsible, and they have successfully outed Senator Ted Stevens (Rep - Alaska) as the guilty party.
This is the same Ted Stevens who infamously (and hilariously) described the internet as a ‘series of tubes‘ in a Senate debate on net neutrality. He’s also well known for campaigning for the Gravina Island Bridge - a $223m infrastructure project in Alaska to reach an island with a population of 50. Dubbed the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ it has been widely condemned as pork-barrel politics, including by fellow Republican (and likely Presidential candidate) John McCain.
Hmmm…a central transparency database for government contracts…now wouldn’t that be a good idea over here…
redtamarin[at]gmail.com
Loading ...
Leave a Reply