See Penelope Houston Perform Tonight At ‘Howard Dean For President’ Party At The San Francisco Hyatt

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If you’re in the SF Bay Area, you should come to the party TONIGHT (Monday, June 23rd) from 6:30-9:00 pm at the SF Hyatt on Embarcadero.
Penelope Houston will be performing around 8pm.
The party is in the Grand Ballroom. There’s an Open Bar.
(It might make a nice pit stop after a hard day at the office…)
There will be a marching band there around 6:30 pm when the doors open.
Directions: The hotel is at Embarcadero Bart, on the northernmost end of Market at Main St. Bart’s easier, but there’s lots of overpriced parking if you cross Market (with the Hyatt on your right) and hit one of the lots.
Penelope Houston, formerly of The Avengers will be performing at 8:00pm. (Yes, the punk rock group that opened for the Sex Pistols in San Francisco in 1978, although she’s got a mellower sound now, she has promised to “rock” 🙂
Here’s a cool interview with Penelope that explains more about who they are and what happened to them.

Scooped By Time Magazine On My Own Howard Dean Endorsement

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So I’ve been waiting until I had my movies from last Thursday ready before I officially announced my endorsement for Howard Dean as our next President of the United States, but now Time Magazine has announced it for me, so this is as good of a time as any 🙂
I actually didn’t consider myself a part of Dean’s constituency yet when I met Joe Klein on the ferry boat. (Although perhaps Joe could already tell at that point when I talked to him that my decision had been made, and I was won over.)
I actually decided during some point on the ferry ride back, after I had heard Dean speak and learned more about the various grassroots movements that supported him for a diverse range of reasons while interviewing the crowd after the rally. (Video of that going up today too.)
Just to clarify: This category isn’t going to be me trying to tell you how to vote. It’s just a place where I can explain in more detail about why I like Dean and why I’m voting for him in this week’s MoveOn Primary. (Please Register for the Primary now, if you haven’t already.)
It also hope that it will become a place where you can go to learn more about Howard Dean, as I learn more about him.
Here’s the article by Joe Klein for Time Magazine:
Why Dean Isn’t Going Away

In any case, Dean has unlocked a fairly new and vibrant Democratic constituency that transcends his left-wing peacenik stereotype. It is young, middle class, white and wired. Standing on the aft deck of the ferry from San Francisco to Marin County, the Governor was approached by a stream of computer geeks: a woman named Lisa Rein, who has a weblog; a man named Eric Predoehli, who has a website; as well as several people from among the 35,000–astonishing if true

Bill Moyers NOW: Jeb Bush, St. Joe and the Florida Panhandle

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Bill Moyers NOW is one of the finest news programs on American television today. I realize that’s not saying much these days, but it’s still true. I feel that it is such an incredible program that consistently covers some of the most important public policy issues going on today, that I’ve decided to make it a priority to bring some of these stories to you.
First stop, Florida, where Jeb Bush has been misusing his influence as governor to assist the St. Joe company in using American tax dollars to fund the overzealous development and premature demise of the Florida panhandle.
St. Joe Company is the largest landowner in Florida. Over the last few years, St. Joe has been making the transition from a lumber company to a major land developer. According to the Bill Moyers segment, St. Joe is undertaking so many projects at one time, there aren’t enough State and Federal agency staff in existence to properly oversee the projects. Florida’s solution thus far has been to proceed with the development without the proper oversight. This approach, of course, has many obvious disadvantages.
It’s a bad enough situation that this company is developing the Florida Panhandle’s wilderness at such an alarming rate, and with no supervision, but one would hope, at the very least, that the company is paying for such development on its own. Guess again. Thanks to Jeb Bush, state and federal money is being earmarked to fund a new airport, roads and other private developments that will benefit no one but the St. Joe corporation.
Jeb not only wants to allow St. Joe to continue developing Florida with the same minimal oversight. He’s taking things a step further by allocating Federal and State funds for St. Joe’s private developments. He’s used political pressure on his end to push through the restricting of public beaches, state highways and wilderness areas in order to help St. Joe prepare for the vast numbers of inhabitants it plans to import into the area.
One of most shocking changes was the redistricting of over 27 miles of what used to be public state beaches — traded in for two — count ’em two (2) — access points to the beach in between the private beaches. The golf courses and resorts being built won’t serve any of the residents already living in the area because they will probably be too inexpensive for the average resident to make use of.
Author Carl Hiaasen (Striptease, Tourist Season, Basket Case) has taken on the St. Joe company in a fight to protect the wilderness and the public’s access to it. One of main changes that St. Joe has been making is changing the name of the area from “The Florida Panhandle” to “The Great Florida Northwest.” Hiaasen has written an editorial addressing this issue.
Here is a complete version of the story in “Small” format, and partial clip of the last two thirds or so in Hi-res.
St. Joe and the Florida Panhandle – Part 1 of 3 (Small – 11 MB)
St. Joe and the Florida Panhandle – Part 2 of 3 (Small – 16 MB)
St. Joe and the Florida Panhandle – Part 3 of 3 (Small – 11 MB)
St. Joe and the Florida Panhandle – Partial (Hi-res – 242 MB)

Disorderly Conduct Charges Dropped Against Oregonian Videographer

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Last March, I wrote about Wes Brain’s situation where he was arrested two days after the March 5, 2003 student protests for disorderly conduct that allegedly took place during the event.
Just heard that the charges were dropped!

The City of Ashland has dismissed all charges against union activist Wes Brain who had been arrested on March 7 for his participation in the Books Not Bombs rally of March 5, 2003 in Ashland, Oregon. Brain had been a videographer documenting the event and his video tape shows some very questionable tactics employed by the Ashland Police. The story was first reported by the Rogue Independent Media Center A public broadcast on cable television will be premiered in July. This is a must see video which clearly shows an out of control police department that just plain didn’t know what the hell they were doing back on that fifth day of March of 2003.
After waiting over 3 months, this announcement to dismiss seems way, way overdue. Although the arraignment took place in less than two working days, the time frame after that was slower than a siesta and the whole slowdown questions the speedy trial process as guaranteed in our 4th amendment. Also questioned is the guarantee against an undue arrest. There are many questions left lingering in this dismissed trial, so many that the City of Ashland now needs to step forward with some answers.
Who is the anonymous pregnant woman who went to the police with a complaint? Her action and the (unreported) complaint by her husband made to Mayor Alan DeBoar were key to an arrest in the first place. How can this be? How can hearsay lead to an arrest? Who is this woman and her complaining husband? They need to step forward. Brain has some video footage they need to see!
Why did the City of Ashland make an arrest on a Friday afternoon two days after the event? Mr. Brain was embarrassingly handcuffed at work at Southern Oregon University, placed in an Ashland police car and then taken and booked into the Jackson County Jail in Medford. Some say a Friday afternoon arrest is designed to keep one in the slammer over the weekend. Why was bail set at $10,000? Brain is a long time resident, employed at Southern Oregon University for over 11 years, and is buying his Ashland home. The arrest at work and the extraordinary bail are absurd and require an explanation.

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Fallen Patriot Fund Helps Families Of Shrub War Casualties

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On March 31, 2003, I wrote about Patrick O’Day and the tragedy of his needless death. (His tank plunged off a bridge above the Euphrates River near Nasiriyah, Iraq.)
I just found out that his family has been awarded $13,200 ($1,100 a month for a year) through Mark Cuban’s Fallen Patriot Fund.
The fund seems like a good way for your dollar to go a long way. If I understand correctly (and I am confirming this with Cuban as we speak), donations will not only be matched by Mark Cuban himself (up to $1,000,000), but Bank of America will also match donations from $25 up to $5,000.
(Wow, never thought I’d have a reason to link to them 🙂

O

Q and A With Felten and Lessig At Law And Tech of DRM 2003 Panel

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Here’s the Q and A session that followed the presentations I posted earlier from Felten and Lessig.
It’s full of the usual jewels of wisdom and insight that tend to show up when these two are around. Plus, food for thought from Hal Albeson and Hewlett-Packard’s John Erickson.
Q and A With Felten, Lessig, Albeson and Erickson – Part 1 of 2 (Small – 16 MB)
Q and A With Felten, Lessig, Albeson and Erickson Part 2 of 2 (Small – 12 MB)
Here’s a transcript.