Quick update on OpenMass.org…
Life has been made difficult because no bill histories have been made available online – this is how openmass finds out about new bills, hearings etc. We have made some changes and have most bills that have been filed assigned to the appropriate rep/senator. We are still a week or two from having all of the reps/senator pages updated and getting the bill linking working correctly.
After openmass is up and running smoothly again I plan to start working on linking the platform (of the Dem party first) to OpenMass, news, lobbyists, organizations etc.. in an effort to turn it into an action document. Hopefully we can have a first version in time for the convention.
It’s always fun to browse the new bills submitted. I came across one that was filed by Kathi-Anne Reinstein by request (which means a constituent asked her to file it) It calls for the following:
The governor shall annually issue a proclamation setting apart February 2 as Ayn Rand Day in recognition of her contributions to the literature of America and her philosophy of man as a heroic being and recommending that said day be observed in an appropriate manner by the people.
I’m probably in the minority here because I actually liked the Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, but Ayn Rand day? I don’t think so. You want to start talking about Don Delillo and then I might listen…
Not so much of her politics, but the reading is interesting stuff (if a bit overly preachy at times). Whether or not you agree with the extremes to which she and her followers take objectivism, there’s certainly some worthwhile food for thought in the books.
That’d be cool.
Maybe add some location info to tell you the nearest polling location, local reps, bills that may effect the the city/town you are in etc…
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p>That being said, not sure if I will have the time. In addition to all of these projects I have a burgeoning startup to run….
She was a horrible writer who created stick figure characters. Occasionally, the stick figures made speeches. Whittaker Chambers wrote a review of Atlas Shrugged in the December 28, 1957 edition of National Review. You can read it here. I commend it to you.
As I said, I’m in the minority…
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p>I don’t need to read the review, I read the book and formed my own opinion – Whittaker Chambers isn’t going to change that – although I thought The Fountainhead was a better book.
I tend to flip through the 10-page speeches, but the action is entertaining. While I disagree with her idea of utopia, so do I disagree with those of Marx or Mill. The sweet spot is somewhere in the middle, methinks.
I’m voting for Tomie DePaola day.
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As a collection of (somewhat) tech-savvy bloggers, you all should be outraged and horrified at the technological shoddiness of the Legislature’s online system.
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p>If you remember, the bill filing deadline was extended twice because of the Legislature’s inability to operate a functional bill-filing program.
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p>Why does the state of Mississippi have a better legislative tracking program than supposedly high-tech Massachusetts?
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p>You mean the state can’t give a couple MIT nerds a 30-pack of Pabst and have them build a better program over a weekend?
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p>I’m not one to be overly cynical, but all of these problems and delays, to me, means either 1) the Legislature’s IT department is incompetant, or 2) the online system sucks on purpose as a way to deter/frustrate the public from poking their noses in on what’s going on.
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p>Either way, its unacceptable.
The purpose of my post was not to criticize legislatures IT department. They have to deal with a lot of issues that openmass doesn’t. I also imagine that they don’t have the funding they would like to build out a better system – especially given the current economic situation.
It’s pathetic that the bill histories aren’t online. It may, however, have more to do with a lack of enthusiasm on the part of the legislature for sunlight than the IT department, to your point. It is easier to hide things in the dark.
OpenMass is doing a very sloppy job. For example, my representative is Pamela Richardson, of Framingham. Yet, she is not even listed as a legislator, either under “Pamela” or “Richardson”. Moreover, why would any sane person list the names of legislators by first name? It just makes no sense. But it does say much about OpenMass.
Thank you Mel for helping make OpenMass.org better! We are still working to get everyone’s profile up to date – Pam Richardson is now listed.
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p>Please keep up the good work and eye for detail. Your help is much appreciated!
Calling a free and vital service provided through volunteer work “sloppy” could have elicited a less cheerful reply.
The last generation of deregulation leading to the ugly excesses of capitalism is nothing compared to what she would consider “utopia”. Ronald Reagan was a Communist by comparison. FWIW, I’ve read “Anthem” – required reading sophomore year of high school.
in Dystopian Literature as an example of a terrible novel, right up there with Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland.
On ideological grounds, or literary ones?
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p>For me, the ultimate PoS dystopian novel is Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, one of the world’s most overrated writers.
the political equivalents of the Celestine Prophecy. Badly written tripe.
she had a great quote about people who read her books being assholes for a month afterwards. Some people have extended that effect over entire lifetimes.