Anderson@Large

Countdown to Election Day 2012

The 2012 presidential election will be held 47 weeks from today.

While the Republican presidential wannabes continue to duke it out, concerned citizens, civil rights and advocacy groups are fighting to make sure that every voter has equal access to the ballot. With the wave of new voting requirements since 2008, the Brennan Center for Justice estimates that more than five million registered voters may be disenfranchised.

And the new restrictions keep coming. Yesterday the Pennsylvania Senate State Government Committee passed the “Pennsylvania Voter Identification Protection Act” to protect against, um, “voter impersonation.”

In a recent op-ed, state Sen. Daylin Leach told the real story of voter impersonation:

A study conducted by President George W. Bush's Justice Department found that, out of more than 300 million votes cast from 2002 to 2007, there were only 86 cases of voter fraud nationwide and that most of them involved immigrants who misunderstood their eligibility. In Pennsylvania, since 2004, there have been more than 20 million votes cast and four convictions for fraud, all of which involved people registering when not eligible. None of these cases involved someone pretending to be someone she was not.

Fraudulently impersonating a voter is already a felony. Risking years in prison to gain an undeserved vote seems like a low-gain, high-risk crime, which is probably why it never happens. In addition, a voter already has to show proof of who he is the first time he votes in a new precinct. Thus, under current law, Pennsylvania has significant and apparently effective protections in place to ensure the integrity of the voting process.

So Pennsylvania may soon be added to the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law “Map of Shame.”

We know what the problem is. With the election 329 days away, we can be part of the solution.

One of the lessons of the Tea Party and Occupy movements is that citizens don't need permission to advocate for their own interests. If you are concerned about the impact of photo ID requirements on voter turnout, pull up a chair and get involved with the citizen-powered Cost of Freedom Project.

The Presence of Absence

Where the Philly Occupiers at?

Capitol Offenses

Next week, thousands of displaced Occupiers from across the country are expected to converge in DC to “take back the Capitol.”

Meanwhile, the National Park Service reportedly is ready to take back Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square from Occupy DC (there are two separate camps).

The Washington Post reported:

In D.C., Occupy protesters have interpreted a new notice from the National Park Service as proof that their encampment’s days, too, are numbered, but they say they aren’t going anywhere.

The memo, released Nov. 23, states that U.S. Park Police officers will be increasing patrol activities at McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza “due to increasing problems of public urination and defecation, illegal drug and alcohol use, and assaults.” The memo also reminds protesters that camping is prohibited in both parks.

Last month, I visited McPherson Square, aka “Camp David.”

It's hard to believe that mess is just two blocks from the the White House. You get a sense of the doom and gloom as soon as you exit the McPherson Square Metro stop, which the homeless have occupied for years.

Truth be told, McPherson Square has long been a gathering place for the homeless. When I lived in DC, I avoided both the Metro stop and the park after dark.

If you're interested, the Park Service memo is available here.

Occupy Philly Evicted

Occupy Philly says “you cannot evict an idea.”

That’s true, but you can evict people who refuse to accept the First Amendment allows “time, place and manner” restrictions. So overnight, Occupiers were given a clear message: You ain’t gotta go home but you gotta get the hell out of here.

What remained of their squalid encampment was cleared out.

As the leaders of the, um, leaderless movement consider Occupy 2.0, they should keep in mind that optics and tactics matter. MIC CHECK: Optics and tactics matter.

Occupy Philly Eviction Watch

Occupy Philadelphia is hanging on by a few dozen protesters.

With the number of “comrades” steadily dwindling, Occupiers have created a Google Doc to sign up people who “can commit to holding down the fort”:

Shifts are split into 4-hour blocks (but you can commit to a shorter time, if needed), with special colored boxes for members of working groups to sign up (e.g., we need at least one medic and rapid response person at all times). Everyone is welcome to write their name in any open space during a time they can come. If all the spaces in a given slot are full, you can still show up, but please consider filling out a less popular shift whenever you are able!

We hope this tool can prevent burnout from people staying awake for days or working 17-hour shifts. Please use it, share it, and even edit it to make it a better tool if you feel so inspired. Also, as this is a public document, there’s no reason to use your real name if you don’t want to.

The Occupy Wall Street movement/moment is livestreamed. It's now running out of steam.

Occupy Philly Defies Order to Leave

On Friday, Mayor Michael Nutter ordered Occupy Philadelphia to “remove their possessions and themselves” from Dilworth Plaza by 5 pm:

And so now, I am announcing that as of 5 pm today everyone now encamped on Dilworth Plaza has 48-hours to remove their possessions and themselves from the project site, which will be fenced for the construction project and public’s safety starting some time next week.

Let me repeat: this announcement serves as we promised earlier a 48-hour notice to those on Dilworth Plaza to vacate the location completely and immediately.

While most have left, about 75 tents are still there.

At last night's General Assembly, Occupiers celebrated their defiance.

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld famously observed that “democracy is messy.” True that, but it's way past time for this mess to go.

Let’s Tumblr

I wrote my first blog post on Jan. 20, 2005. One thousand seven hundred and five posts later, I still enjoy blogging.

In the era of Web 2.0, I also curate news and information on microplatforms, including Facebook and Twitter.

In a recent post, Mathew Ingram, a senior writer with GigaOM, asked what happens when journalism is everywhere:

One of the real threats to traditional journalism that come out of this phenomenon (if there are any) is that the ability to report and publish and broadcast the news in real time from events such as the Zuccotti Park protests can turn anyone into what journalists have traditionally been: namely, a trusted filter for the news. Mitchell describes how one college student created a summary of the event that got tens of thousands of views in a matter of hours and was embedded by the Washington Post. Does that make him a journalist? Of course it does — in exactly the same way that Pakistani programmer Sohaib Athar became a journalist by live-tweeting the raid on Osama bin Laden, something NPR digital editor Andy Carvin described as a “random act of journalism.”

There’s an app for mobile journalism -- Tumblr. I signed up for Tumblr back in 2009 but I did not publish my first post until yesterday.

Let’s get ready to Tumblr.