prioritizes
animal detection systems that reduce the number˙of˙wildlife-vehicle collisions.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2020 State of the Union address to Congress
Deval Patrick on Technology
: Dec 24, 2019
Additional spending on cybersecurity and robotics
Patrick has long been a proponent of using government leverage to boost technology research and innovation, both domestically and internationally, and he promises additional spending on cybersecurity. Patrick's campaign website promises increased
investment in cybersecurity, expanded broadband internet, and emerging technology sectors such as robotics.
As governor, he expanded funding for technology research, especially biotech and information technologies.
Click for Deval Patrick on other issues.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary
Tom Steyer on Technology
: Dec 24, 2019
Supports net neutrality rules
Steyer criticizes Trump's removal of
Obama-era net neutrality rules, which he says "put the internet into the hands of powerful corporations."
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations on 2019 Democratic primary
Andrew Yang on Health Care
: Dec 19, 2019
Invest in "telehealth" allowing internet access to doctors
After backtracking slightly on his endorsement of Medicare for All, Yang released his own health care plan, titled "A New Way Forward." The measure commits to investing in "telehealth." "Telehealth is an
effective approach for doctors across the country to provide care for patients in rural and underserved areas over the internet without needing a specific redundant license to practice medicine in the patient's state," the plan reads.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: Alexandra Hutzler in Newsweek on 2019 Democratic primary
Andrew Yang on Technology
: Dec 19, 2019
Internet users should have property rights to their data
Yang's views on regulating the tech industry are also vastly different from those of his 2020 rivals. He is the only candidate who thinks that internet users should have property rights to their data, meaning that people
should be able to opt out of data collection from websites and have exclusive ownership over their personal information.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: Alexandra Hutzler in Newsweek on 2019 Democratic primary
Tom Steyer on Technology
: Nov 7, 2019
We need to hit reset button on how we think about technology
We don't want to let internet service providers dictate which website you can visit or be able to charge you different rates for different content. We certainly don't want to have technology companies destroy competitors and stifle choice, innovation,
and competition because of their size. We need to hit the reset button on how we think about technology and how we protect the rights of individual Americans. We should aggressively regulate these companies.
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: USA Today on 2019 Democratic primary
Joe Sestak on Education
: Jul 9, 2019
Universal pre-K; create "Training for a Lifetime"
Sestak wants to establish universal preschool, protect Common Core, increase broadband Internet connectivity (especially in rural areas), restructure student loans and provide grants for tuition at community colleges and public universities, establish a
national college credit transfer system, and create a "'Training for a Lifetime' program to increase opportunities for job training and continuing education."
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com on 2020 Democratic primary
Joe Sestak on Education
: Jul 9, 2019
Universal pre-K; tuition grants; increased job training
Sestak wants to establish universal preschool, protect Common Core, increase broadband Internet connectivity (especially in rural areas), restructure student loans and provide grants for tuition at community colleges and public universities, establish a
national college credit transfer system, and create a "'Training for a Lifetime' program to increase opportunities for job training and continuing education."
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com, 2019 interview series
Joe Sestak on Jobs
: Jul 9, 2019
$1 trillion for infrastructurel create infrastructure bank
Sestak wishes to invest $1 trillion in an infrastructure expansion over 10 years. He also wants to create a national infrastructure bank "for loans and credit partnerships; a Build American Bonds program; and an expansion of the New Markets
Tax Credit for underserved communities." He also wants to ensure that all Americans have access to broadband Internet and make sure that service providers do not grant faster Internet access to some clients at the cost of others.
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com, 2019 interview series
Joe Sestak on Technology
: Jul 9, 2019
Invest $1 trillion on infrastructure
Sestak wishes to invest $1 trillion in an infrastructure expansion over 10 years. He also wants to create a national infrastructure bank "for loans and credit partnerships; a Build American Bonds program; and an expansion of the
New Markets Tax Credit for underserved communities." He also wants to ensure that all Americans have access to broadband Internet.
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com on 2020 Democratic primary
Joe Sestak on Education
: Jun 23, 2019
Support Common Core and expand pre-K
As President, I will work every day to improve our educational and training system and ensure that every American can access the high-quality education and skills they deserve.Priorities:- Expand early childhood education to all 4-year-olds.
- Support state-led efforts like Common Core to create unified benchmarks for success.
- Increase broadband Internet connectivity across the country, especially in underserved rural and urban areas..
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website JoeSestak.com
Pete Buttigieg on Principles & Values
: Jun 11, 2019
The world needs America at our best
The world needs America. But not just any America. It has to be America at our best: the America that possessed the forward-looking vision to do things like confront Nazism and rebuild Europe and even invent the Internet inside a research arm of our
Defense Department. It has to be an America that knows how to make better the everyday life of its citizens and of people around the world, knowing how much one has to do with the other.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website, PeteForAmerica.com
Michael Bennet on Gun Control
: Jun 2, 2019
People support background checks, GOP Senate won't allow it
The House passed background checks to close the gun show loophole and the Internet loophole. 90% of the American people support it. But Mitch McConnell will not allow a vote in the Senate, and we will not have national background checks. After
Columbine, the people voted to close the gun show loophole and the Internet loophole. Every year about 2 or 3% of the people that try to buy a gun in Colorado are stopped. It's impossible to argue that our state is not safer as a result of this law.
Click for Michael Bennet on other issues.
Source: ABC This Week 2019 interview
Michael Bennet on Gun Control
: Jun 2, 2019
Colorado experience shows gun control can work
We should pass background checks. 90% of the American people support it. But we know what's going to happen: Mitch McConnell will not allow it to come to a vote in the Senate. After Columbine, the people of this western state voted to close the
gun show loophole and the Internet loophole. That was 20 years ago, and every single year about 2 or 3% of the people that try to buy a gun in Colorado are stopped. It's impossible to argue that our state is not safer as a result of this law.
Click for Michael Bennet on other issues.
Source: ABC This Week 2019 interview series
Howie Hawkins on Technology
: May 19, 2019
Public broadband; public ownership of online platforms
Establish a public broadband service as a not-for-profit public utility in order to provide universal access to a high-speed phone, TV, and internet service at lower costs and with net neutrality.Online platforms like Amazon, Facebook, Google, and
Uber tend toward monopoly because people gravitate to the platforms that have the most users and information. These monopolies are abusing data collection and privacy, censoring content, and eliminating competitors through predatory pricing and buyouts.
The remedy is a combination of antitrust action to divest tech conglomerates of multiple platforms and the
conversion of some platforms to public utilities that serve the public interest.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.
Source: 2020 Presidential Campaign website HowieHawkins.us
Seth Moulton on Technology
: May 2, 2019
Rebuild our economy by rebuilding our infrastructure
We need to equip Americans with the tools they need to thrive in the new economy--not the old. We can rebuild our economy by rebuilding our country. That starts with connecting every house in America to affordable, high-speed internet. And it
means not just repairing our roads, bridges, and water pipes but building next-generation transportation, like high-speed rail, because everyone should have access to good jobs in their region and a chance to make it home after work in time for dinner.
Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.
Source: 2020 Presidential Campaign website SethMoulton.com
Donald Trump on Principles & Values
: Apr 23, 2019
Mueller Report: Russia bought pro-Trump social media ads
The Internet Research Agency (IRA), based in St. Petersburg, Russia, received funding from Russian oligarchs with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, to carry out a social media campaign designed to provoke and amplify political and social discord
in the United States.To reach larger U.S. audiences, the IRA purchased advertisements from Facebook that promoted the IRA groups on the newsfeeds of U.S. audience members. According to Facebook, the IRA purchased over 3,500 advertisements, and the
expenditures totaled approximately $100,000.
IRA-purchased advertisements referencing candidate Trump largely supported his campaign. The first known IRA advertisement explicitly endorsing the Trump Campaign was purchased on April 19, 2016, for its
Instagram account "Tea Party News" asking US persons to upload photos with the hashtag "#KIDS4TRUMP." In subsequent months, the IRA purchased dozens of advertisements supporting the Trump Campaign, predominantly through the Facebook groups.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: The Mueller Report, Vol. i, pp. 4 & 24-5
Donald Trump on Principles & Values
: Apr 23, 2019
Russia made up voter fraud story & Trump campaign re-posted
The [Mueller] investigation identified two different forms of connections between the Russia-based Internet Research Agency (IRA) and members of the Trump Campaign. (The investigation identified no similar connections between the IRA and the Clinton
Campaign.) First, on multiple occasions, members and surrogates of the Trump Campaign promoted--typically by linking or retweeting--pro-Trump or anti-Clinton social media content published by the IRA. Additionally, in a few instances, IRA employees
represented themselves as U.S. persons to communicate with members of the Trump Campaign in an effort to seek assistance and coordination on IRA-organized political rallies inside the US.Posts from the IRA-controlled Twitter account @TEN_GOP were
cited or retweeted by multiple Trump Campaign officials, including Donald J. Trump Jr., Eric Trump, & Kellyanne Conway. These posts included allegations of voter fraud, as well as allegations that Secretary Clinton had mishandled classified information.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: The Mueller Report, Vol. i, pp. 33-4
Donald Trump on Principles & Values
: Apr 23, 2019
Campaign supplied Russians, without knowing it was Russia
Starting in June 2016, [the Russia-based Internet Research Agency] IRA contacted different persons affiliated with the Trump Campaign, while claiming to be US political activists working on behalf of a conservative grassroots organization. The IRA
requested signs and other materials to use at IRA-organized rallies, as well as requests to promote the rallies. While certain campaign volunteers agreed to provide the requested support (for example, agreeing to set aside a number of signs), the
investigation has not identified evidence that any Trump Campaign official understood the requests were coming from foreign nationals.In sum, the [Mueller] investigation established that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election through
the social media campaign carried out by the IRA. IRA employees violated US law through these operations, principally by undermining through deceptive acts the work of federal agencies charged with regulating foreign influence in U.S. elections.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: The Mueller Report, Vol. i, p. 35
Hillary Clinton on Principles & Values
: Apr 23, 2019
Mueller Report: Russia bought anti-Hillary social media ads
The Internet Research Agency (IRA), based in St. Petersburg, Russia, carried out a social media campaign designed to provoke and amplify political and social discord in the United States.IRA Facebook groups active during the 2016 campaign covered a
range of political issues and included purported conservative groups (with names such as "Being Patriotic," "Stop All Immigrants," "Secured Borders," and "Tea Party News").
Throughout 2016, IRA accounts published an increasing number of materials
supporting the Trump Campaign and opposing the Clinton Campaign. As early as March 2016, the IRA purchased advertisements that overtly opposed the Clinton Campaign. For example, on April 6, 2016, the IRA purchased advertisements for its account "Black
Matters," calling for a "flashmob" of U.S. persons to take a photo with #HillaryClintonForPrison2016 or #nohillary2016." IRA-purchased advertisements featuring Clinton were, with very few exceptions, negative.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: The Mueller Report, Vol. i, pp. 4 & 24-5
Bernie Sanders on Principles & Values
: Apr 23, 2019
Mueller Report: Russia bought pro-Bernie social media ads
The Internet Research Agency (IRA), based in St. Petersburg, Russia, carried out a social media campaign designed to provoke and amplify political and social discord in the US.The IRA's Twitter operations created individual U.S. personas, and also
operated a "hot network" of automated Twitter accounts, that enabled the IRA to amplify existing content on Twitter.
The IRA continuously posted original content to the accounts while also communicating with U.S. Twitter users directly (through public
tweeting or Twitter's private messaging). The IRA used many of these accounts to attempt to influence U.S. audiences on the election.
The IRA provoked reactions from users and the media. Multiple IRA-posted tweets gained popularity. U.S. media outlets
also quoted tweets from IRA-controlled accounts and attributed them to the reactions of real U.S. persons. Individualized accounts included @MissouriNewsUS (an account with 3,800 followers that posted pro-Sanders and anti-Clinton material).
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: The Mueller Report, Vol. i, pp. 4 & 26-7
Julian Castro on Welfare & Poverty
: Apr 22, 2019
ConnectHome: Support affordable housing
As HUD Secretary, one of Castro's main project included ConnectHome--an initiative that brought internet accessibility to those who lived in HUD-assisted housing in 28 communities.In 2016, HUD launched a fund that provided $173 million in grants to
create affordable housing. He also put in practice the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule, which required cities that receive federal money to examine potential biases in housing opportunities, per CNBC.
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Seth Moulton on Homeland Security
: Mar 31, 2019
Focus on cybersecurity to deal with real threats to US
National security is not just about preventing Russia from invading us with tanks into Western Europe. Russia is trying to hack our elections. China is attacking us through the Internet every single day and stealing our business ideas and
our military -- that's where a lot of American jobs are going. Rather than build this fifth century ridiculous border wall on the southern border, let's talk about a cyber wall that will stop Russia and China from interfering in our business.
Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.
Source: CNN State of the Union 2019 on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Julian Castro on Welfare & Poverty
: Mar 27, 2019
Government can help needy families get back on their feet
As the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, I worked to expand the promise of opportunity to Americans all over the nation. Together, my team and I made housing more accessible, lessened homelessness among our
nation's veterans and even offered internet access to families in public housing. We set out to help families get back on their feet and achieve more than they thought possible.
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.
Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website JulianForTheFuture.com
Jay Inslee on Technology
: Mar 10, 2019
Regulate internet to protect privacy & net neutrality
We have to do things that will protect Americans in this new Internet age, one of which is to protect our privacy. We passed one of, if not the best privacy bills in the United States, so that our privacy cannot be shopped and marketed and commoditized.
That's extremely important, given what's going on in the world. Second, we have to protect our net neutrality. And I'm proud to have signed the first law in the United States by statute that will protect our net neutrality.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: CNN 2019 "State of the Union" on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Elizabeth Warren on Corporations
: Mar 8, 2019
Breaking up big internet companies is doable and necessary
Small businesses would have a fair shot to sell their products on Amazon without the fear of Amazon pushing them out of business. Google couldn't smother competitors by demoting their products on Google Search. Facebook would face real pressure from
Instagram and WhatsApp to improve the user experience and protect our privacy. Tech entrepreneurs would have a fighting chance to compete against the tech giants.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: Blog posting on Medium.com by Elizabeth Warren
Bernie Sanders on Government Reform
: Nov 27, 2018
Mainstream media focuses on gossip, lies, & personality
As a result of the disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, billionaires are now able to spend hundreds of millions of dollars anonymously in ugly TV ads demonizing candidates who dare stand up to them. The internet and social media now
allow for the worldwide transmission of total lies, and the capability of targeting those lies to susceptible populations.
Further, recent studies show what the average American has long known. More and more mainstream media political coverage is
devoted to gossip and issues of personality, and less and less to the major problems facing our country and the world. During the last presidential campaign, for example, there was almost no discussion devoted to climate change, the greatest
environmental crisis facing our planet. There was hardly a mention that in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, 40 million Americans live in poverty, or that we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of nearly any major country.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Where We Go From Here, by Bernie Sanders, p.6
Beto O`Rourke on Technology
: Oct 9, 2018
Rolling back net neutrality hurts democracy
Q: Net Neutrality: Require internet providers to provide equal access to all?Ted Cruz (R): No. Net neutrality puts government in charge of pricing, products & services.
Beto O'Rourke (D): Yes. Rolling back net neutrality hurts democracy, the arts & innovation.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Texas Senate race
Steve Bullock on Technology
: Jan 24, 2018
Signed executive order requiring net neutrality
The Democratic governor signed an executive order requiring Internet-service providers that operate in the state to embrace net-neutrality principles in order to obtain lucrative state-government contracts. "This is a simple step states can take to
preserve and protect net neutrality," says the Montanan, who is the first governor to employ an executive order as a tool to renew net-neutrality standards. [OnTheIssues note: "Net neutrality" disallows different broadband rates for commercial users].
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: The Nation magazine on 2020 Democratic primary
Stacey Abrams on Energy & Oil
: Aug 17, 2017
Clean energy key to jobs & innovation
With the right policies, Georgia can lead the Southeast in advanced energy jobs. As Governor, Stacey will work with public and private partners to create new jobs in infrastructure, clean energy, biotech and agritech,
as well as expand broadband to connect our communities to the Internet. We can train our students in growing fields like energy engineering, sustainability science and build an energy innovation ecosystem across the state.
Click for Stacey Abrams on other issues.
Source: 2018 Georgia Governor website StaceyAbrams.com
Elizabeth Warren on Technology
: Apr 18, 2017
Public spending on research is investing in ideas
During the postwar period, research of every kind--medical, scientific, engineering, social science--was honored and supported. Government agencies and universities brought together teams of researchers who worked on hugely ambitious projects.We had
long invested in infrastructure, but now we were even bolder: America was investing in ideas. The results were transformative; basic research that eventually led to the Internet, GPS, and a map of the human genome.
For me, this is the basic American
contract. We all pay taxes, and in return we all benefit--sometimes immediately, sometimes down the road--and we also help build opportunity for the generations to come. I first tried to put this into words in 2011 when I was thinking about running for
the Senate: "There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own--nobody." My point was that everyone who succeeds gets some help from the investments we've all made. And we keep on making those investments so the next kid will get a chance, too.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: This Fight is Our Fight, by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, p.101
Donald Trump on Technology
: Apr 3, 2017
Repeal internet privacy rules: let companies sell ad info
President Trump signed a bill repealing internet privacy rules passed last year that would have given internet users greater control over what service providers can do with their data. The FCC regulations would have required broadband companies to get
permission from their customers in order to use their "sensitive" data--including browsing history, geolocation and financial and medical information--to create targeted advertisements.The bill uses a little-known tool called the
Congressional Review Act (CRA) that allows the president to overturn recently passed agency regulations. Before Trump took office, the CRA had only been successfully passed once, under Pres. Bush in 2001. Trump has signed 10 bills overturning
Obama-era regulations, including the internet privacy rule.
The bill caused an uproar when it passed the House and Senate last month, with critics accusing Republicans of selling their constituents' privacy.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: The Hill analysis of 2016-17 Trump Administration
Donald Trump on Technology
: Oct 9, 2016
Proportional response to eliminate cyberattacks
Q: What steps will you take to protect vulnerable infrastructure and institutions from cyber attack, while protecting personal privacy on electronic devices and the internet?TRUMP: The United States government should not spy on its own citizens.
That will not happen in a Trump administration. As for protecting the Internet, any attack on the Internet should be considered a provocative act that requires the utmost in protection and, at a minimum, a proportional response that identifies and
then eliminates threats to our Internet infrastructure.
CLINTON: I will make it clear that the United States will treat cyberattacks just like any other attack. We will be ready with serious political, economic and military responses and we will
invest in protecting our governmental networks and national infrastructure.
JILL STEIN: Negotiate international treaty banning cyberwarfare; create a new UN agency tasked with identifying the sources of cyber attacks.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: ScienceDebate.org: 20 questions for 2016 presidential race
Hillary Clinton on Technology
: Oct 9, 2016
Respond to cyberattacks economically & militarily
Q: What steps will you take to protect vulnerable infrastructure and institutions from cyber attack, while protecting personal privacy on electronic devices and the internet?CLINTON: As President, I will fight to ensure that the Internet remains a
space for free exchange, providing all people equal access to knowledge and ideas. While we must protect this exchange and the privacy of individuals, we must also invest in cybersecurity, which is not only essential to our national and economic
security, but will become increasingly important as devices across sectors are networked. As president I will make it clear that the United States will treat cyberattacks just like any other attack. We will be ready with serious political, economic
and military responses and we will invest in protecting our governmental networks and national infrastructure. I believe the United States should lead the world in setting the rules of cyberspace. If America doesn't, others will.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: ScienceDebate.org: 20 questions for 2016 presidential race
Donald Trump on Technology
: Sep 26, 2016
We invented Internet but ISIS is beating us at our own game
Q: How do we fight a cyber attack?A: We should be better than anybody else, and perhaps we're not. I don't think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC. She's saying "Russia, Russia, Russia," but I don't. Maybe it was. I mean, it could
be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK? We came up with the Internet, and Clinton and myself would agree very much, when you look at what
ISIS is doing with the Internet, they're beating us at our own game. So we have to get very, very tough on cyber and cyber warfare. It is a huge problem. The security aspect of cyber is very, very tough. And maybe it's hardly doable.
But I will say, we are not doing the job we should be doing. But that's true throughout our whole governmental society. We have so many things that we have to do better and certainly cyber is one of them.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: First 2016 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University
Hillary Clinton on War & Peace
: Sep 26, 2016
Take out current ISIS leaders like we took out bin Laden
We need to do much more with our tech companies to prevent ISIS and their operatives from being able to use the Internet to radicalize, even direct people in our country & Europe & elsewhere. We also have to intensify our air strikes against ISIS and
support our Arab & Kurdish partners to be able to actually take out ISIS in Raqqa. We're making progress. Our military is assisting in Iraq. We're hoping that within the year we'll be able to push ISIS out of Iraq and then really squeeze them in Syria.
They've had foreign fighters coming to volunteer for them, foreign money, foreign weapons, so we have to make this the top priority. I would also do everything possible to take out their leadership. I was involved in a number of efforts to take out Al
Qaida leadership when I was secretary of state, including, of course, taking out bin Laden. We need to go after Baghdadi, as well, make that one of our organizing principles. We've got to do everything we can to disrupt their propaganda efforts online.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: First 2016 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University
Amy Klobuchar on Foreign Policy
: Jun 12, 2016
Fight ISIS Internet recruiting, but don't indict Islam
Q: Your reaction to news of a mass shooting in the "Pulse" nightclub in Florida?KLOBUCHAR: Having been the local prosecutor during 9/11 when they caught Moussaoui, in our state [Minnesota], I know that you want to make sure that you have the
evidence clear before you make statements about a solution. But we know some of the things that have to happen here. The continual work to root out this evil at its roots at the enclave of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, to stop the flow of the international
money, to go after the recruiting that we've seen in the US over the Internet.
Q: In Minnesota, there have been numerous cases about people being recruited to part of the ISIS campaign?
KLOBUCHAR: Yes; dozens of indictments & recent jury verdicts.
And what we've found is that individual people are recruited over the Internet. No mom wants their kid recruited to go fight for ISIS. You don't want to indict an entire religion, you don't want to indict an entire community over a lone wolf.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: Fox News Sunday 2016: interviews for 2016 Veepstakes
Barack Obama on Technology
: Jan 20, 2016
Must continue to make technology accessible
And over the past seven years, we've protected an open Internet, and taken bold new steps to get more students and low-income Americans online.
We've launched next-generation manufacturing hubs, and online tools that give an entrepreneur everything he or she needs to start a business in a single day. But we can do so much more.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2016 State of the Union address to Congress
Barack Obama on Technology
: Jan 12, 2016
We protected an open internet & got more Americans online
How do we re-ignite that spirit of innovation to meet our biggest challenges? The spirit of discovery is in our DNA. America is Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers and George Washington Carver. America is Grace Hopper and Katherine Johnson and
Sally Ride. America is every immigrant and entrepreneur from Boston to Austin to Silicon Valley racing to shape a better future.That's who we are, and over the past seven years, we've nurtured that spirit.
We've protected an open Internet, and taken bold new steps to get more students and low-income Americans online.
We've launched next-generation manufacturing hubs and online tools that give an entrepreneur everything he or she needs to start a business in a single day. But we can do so much more.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2016 State of the Union address
Donald Trump on Technology
: Dec 15, 2015
Close our Internet up, to fight ISIS terrorist recruitment
Q: You recently suggested "closing that Internet up," as a way to stop ISIS from recruiting online. Some say that would put the US in line with China and North Korea.TRUMP: ISIS is recruiting through the Internet. ISIS is using the Internet better
than we are using the Internet, and it was our idea. I want to get our brilliant people from Silicon Valley and other places and figure out a way that ISIS cannot do what they're doing. You talk freedom of speech. I don't want them using our Internet to
take our young, impressionable youth. We should be using our most brilliant minds to figure a way that ISIS cannot use the Internet. And then we should be able to penetrate the Internet and find out exactly where ISIS is and everything about ISIS. And we
can do that if we use our good people.
Q: So, are you open to closing parts of the Internet?
TRUMP: I would certainly be open to closing areas where we are at war with somebody. I don't want to let people that want to kill us \use our Internet.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2015 CNN/Salem Republican two-tier debate
Donald Trump on Homeland Security
: Nov 22, 2015
New Jersey Muslims cheered on 9/11
Q: You raised some eyebrows yesterday with comments you made at your latest rally when you claimed that "thousands and thousands" of Muslims were cheering as the World Trade Center came down on 9/11.
The police say that didn't happen and those rumors have been on the Internet for some time. So did you misspeak yesterday?
TRUMP: It did happen. I saw it. It was on television. There were people that were cheering on the other side of New Jersey, where you have large Arab populations.
They were cheering as the World Trade Center came down. I know it might be not politically correct for you to talk about it, but there were people cheering as those buildings came down. It was well covered at the time.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: ABC This Week 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Donald Trump on Technology
: Sep 25, 2015
Net neutrality is top down power grab of the Internet
Donald Trump shoots from the hip when it comes to Net neutrality--and most subjects. In a tweet Trump thundered, "Obama's attack on the internet is another top down power grab. Net neutrality is the Fairness Doctrine. Will target the conservative media."
Given Trump's current war with Fox News, he may be reconsidering his defense of conservative media. But in any case, the defense is ill-placed: The Fairness Doctrine--an FCC policy from the late '40s that said broadcasters must present issues in an
honest, equitable, and balanced way--was eliminated in 1987. It has nothing to do with Net neutrality.
As one pundit noted, "How keeping the Internet accessible to everyone is somehow a power grab, or how it will somehow oppress conservatives,
is beyond us. The Fairness Doctrine required equal time for opposing views; Net neutrality allows any idiot to use the Internet however he so chooses, without having to pay extra fees in order for people to actually see it.."
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: InfoWorld, "Where the candidates stand on net neutrality"
Bernie Sanders on Technology
: Sep 5, 2015
Net Neutrality: no preferential treatment for corporations
Net neutrality means that all data on ISP networks should be treated on an equal basis. Permitting preferential treatment of web traffic would put newer internet companies at a disadvantage and threaten innovation. It is a fundamental free speech issue
that could give corporations even more control over our access to information. Bernie has co-sponsored several pieces of legislation to enforce net neutrality:- The Online Competition and Consumer Choice Act of 2015 would prevent Internet providers
from creating a "fast lane" for paying content providers and would enforce net neutrality over preferential treatment .
In 2007, Bernie introduced the Internet Freedom Preservation Act,
which would have required broadband service providers to adhere to neutrality provisions and other regulations.
In 2006, Bernie introduced the Network Neutrality Act, which also would have enforced net neutrality on broadband providers.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2016 grassroots campaign website FeelTheBern.org, "Issues"
Donald Trump on Jobs
: Aug 16, 2015
Don't raise minimum wage, but create more opportunities
Q: What is a fair living wage? TRUMP: I want to keep the minimum wage pretty much where it is right now. Because of the fact that we have a country that is now competing more than ever before because of airplanes, and transportation, and the internet.
If we raise it we're not going to be able to compete with the rest of the world. What I do want to do is bring in jobs so much so that people don't have to live on minimum wage. But we are going to have to compete with the rest of the world.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Meet the Press 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Arvin Vohra on Homeland Security
: Jan 20, 2015
Intelligently rethink overall military spending
Libertarian Party vice-chair Arvin Vohra calls Obama out on ignoring here the expensive and destructive Drug War, and his hypocrisy on Internet informational privacy while running, and defending, a universal surveillance state, and his refusal to
intelligently rethink overall military spending and postures while talking up a supposedly more intelligent form of constant foreign military intervention.
Click for Arvin Vohra on other issues.
Source: Reason Mag.: Libertarian response to 2015 State of the Union
Justin Amash on Homeland Security
: Nov 30, 2013
Led fight in House against domestic NSA surveillance
Amash had brought the House of Representatives to a standstill with a measure that would have prohibited the NSA from indiscriminately collecting Americans' phone and internet data. Leaders in both parties opposed his amendment.
In just a few days he'd cobbled together 205 votes split almost evenly between Republicans and Democrats--and might even have seen his measure pass had House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and the White House not applied last-minute pressure to stop it.
Click for Justin Amash on other issues.
Source: Mother Jones magazine on 2018 MI-3 House race
Bill de Blasio on Technology
: Oct 22, 2013
Create public Wi-Fi hot zones & citywide broadband
In today's economy, Internet access is not a luxury--it's an essential commodity that New Yorkers depend on to make a living. Broadband access in New York City is among the most expensive in the industrialized world, and only about half of
New York households had access to the highest-speed fiber broadband services as of December 2012.Bill de Blasio will ensure that affordable, high-speed fiber Internet reaches all New York City households within five years.
The Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) need to introduce new franchise agreements to wire more city infrastructure and create greater oversight and accountability in current
telecommunications agreements. Bill de Blasio will work with Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and local Chambers of Commerce to create public Wi-Fi hot zones around economic development hubs across the city
Click for Bill de Blasio on other issues.
Source: 2013 Mayoral campaign website, www.billdeblasio.com
Barack Obama on Technology
: Feb 12, 2013
Fix It First: urgent repairs like 70,000 bridges
America's energy sector is just one part of an aging infrastructure badly in need of repair. Ask any CEO where they'd rather locate and hire: a country with deteriorating roads and bridges, or one with high-speed rail and internet; high-tech schools
and self-healing power grids. Tonight, I propose a "Fix-It-First" program to put people to work as soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country.
And to make sure taxpayers don't shoulder the whole burden, I'm also proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital to upgrade what our businesses need most: modern ports to move our goods;
modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of our children. Let's prove that there is no better place to do business than the United States of America. And let's start right away.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2013 State of the Union Address
Barack Obama on Technology
: Sep 4, 2012
Free and open Internet is essential to modern economy
Q: The Internet plays a central role in both our economy and our society. What role, if any, should the federal government play in managing the Internet to ensure its robust social, scientific, and economic role?A: A free and open Internet is
essential component of American society and of the modern economy. I support legislation to protect intellectual property online, but any effort to combat online piracy must not reduce freedom of expression, increase cybersecurity risk,
or undermine the dynamic, innovative global Internet. I also believe it is essential that we take steps to strengthen our cybersecurity and ensure that we are guarding
against threats to our vital information systems and critical infrastructure, all while preserving Americans' privacy, data confidentiality, and civil liberties and recognizing the civilian nature of cyberspace.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: The Top American Science Questions, by sciencedebate.org
Hillary Clinton on Technology
: Jun 14, 2012
Condemned China's use of Internet to monitor dissidents
Hillary Clinton had already demonstrated that she was willing to confront China. In 2010, she delivered a speech on the increasingly important and contentious issue of Internet freedom around the world. She criticized various countries' barriers to the
free flow of information and their detention of bloggers. In particular, she condemned the use of the Internet to monitor and silence the activities of political and religious dissidents.She singled out Tunisia and Egypt, but the country to which
Clinton devoted the most attention in her speech was China. Later, Google publicly threatened to pull out of China because of cyberattacks on its email system and the targeting of Chinese dissidents and human rights activists. Clinton's response was
swift and pointed: She called on the Chinese government to investigate the attacks on Google. Countries that engage in such attacks "should face consequences and international condemnation," she said.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: The Obamians, by James Mann, p.245
Barack Obama on Technology
: Jun 14, 2012
Media change since Clinton: intravenous Internet news feed
How did the Obama administration differ from the Clinton administration? Clinton alumni were confronting a changed world, one that the younger Obamians took for granted but the Clinton alumni did not. "The change in the media environment is dramatic--
it's had a profound impact," said a National Security Council staffer. "In the Clinton administration, we basically stopped work every night at 6:30 to watch the national network news. I don't think many people do that anymore. And in the morning you
rushed to see what was above the fold of the NY Times & the Washington Post, which no one does anymore, either. Instead, we're on an intravenous feed of cable and the Internet and blogs."Such a change may at first seem inconsequential, but the staffer
argued that it has had a profound impact. "You have to resist the temptation to be totally reactive to everything you're hearing minute to minute." He said one of Obama's strengths was that he didn't get "distracted by the daily or hourly turbulence."
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: The Obamians, by James Mann, p.338-339
Hillary Clinton on Technology
: Jan 18, 2012
PIPA: When information is stifled, Internet is diminished
if SOPA/PIPA are passed, the U.S. government and copyright holders can sue any website associated with infringing intellectual property.
For you and me, this means if someone posts a YouTube song, a lyric, or a book quote, an image to our blog, WE could be sued or shut down.
Hillary Clinton captured the problem best in her response to SOPA/PIPA: "When ideas are blocked, information deleted, conversations stifled, and people constrained in their choices, the Internet is diminished for all of us,"
Clinton stated. "There isn't an economic Internet and a social Internet and a political Internet. There's just the Internet."
This week, SOPA was shelved (though many believe it's not gone for good).
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Obama Cabinet: Ali Brown, "Why Care About SOPA/PIPA?"
Joe Biden on Technology
: Nov 1, 2011
Internet is new public space; make it a force for democracy
Nearly 1/3 of humankind is online today, something we would have never thought possible 20 years ago: more than 2 billion people and counting. The Internet has become the public space of the 21st century, a sphere of activity for all kinds of activities,
open to all people of all backgrounds and all beliefs.More than 5 billion people will connect to the Internet in the next 20 years. And most of them will live in countries and regions that are now under-represented online.
The benefits they'll derive from it are going to depend in large degree on the choices all of us today make. The Internet itself is not inherently a force for democracy or oppression, for war or for peace. Like any public square or any platform
for commerce, the Internet is neutral. But what we do there isn't neutral. It's up to us to decide whether and how we will protect it against the dangers that can occur in cyberspace while maintaining the conditions that give rise to its many benefits.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: VP's Remarks to London Cyberspace Conference
Joe Biden on Technology
: Nov 1, 2011
No exclusive government control over Internet resources
No citizen of any country should be subject to a repressive global code when they send an email or post a comment to a news article. Now, there are some who have a different view, as you all know. They seek an international legal instrument that would
lead to exclusive government control over Internet resources, institutions and content and national barriers on the free flow of information online. But this, in our view, would lead to a fragmented Internet, one that does not connect people but divides
them; a stagnant cyberspace, not an innovative one, and ultimately a less secure cyberspace with less trust among nations.So the United States stands behind the current approach which harnesses the best of governments and private sector and civil
society to manage the technical evolution of the Internet in real time. This public-private collaboration has kept the Internet up and running all over the world.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: VP's Remarks to London Cyberspace Conference
Donald Trump on Gun Control
: Feb 10, 2011
I am against gun control
At the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump took issue with Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, the libertarian-thinking lawmaker who set some Internet fundraising records with his 2008 presidential bid. "Ron Paul cannot get elected, I'm sorry,"
Trump said, calling him "a good guy" who has "zero chance" of getting elected. The remark about Paul prompted some boos and screams from some in the audience, some of them Paul supporters out in force to help their candidate win
CPAC's presidential straw poll for the second year in a row.In his CPAC speech, Trump sounded many themes popular with Republican conservatives. "I am pro-life," he said. "I am against gun control."
And in one of his biggest applause lines,
Trump vowed to end the nation's health care law: "I will fight to end Obamacare and replace it with something that makes sense for people in business and not bankrupt the country." Trump also pledged not to raise taxes if elected.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: USA Today report on 2011 Conservative Political Action Conf.
Barack Obama on Technology
: Jan 26, 2011
High-speed rail for 80% of US; high-speed web for 98% of US
To attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information--from high-speed rail to high-speed Internet. Our infrastructure used to be the best, but our lead has slipped. The jobs created by
the transcontinental railroad & the Interstate Highway System didn't just come from laying down track or pavement. They came from businesses that opened near a town's new train station or the new off-ramp.We've begun rebuilding for the 21st century.
And tonight, I'm proposing that we redouble those efforts. We'll put more Americans to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges. Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail. Within the next five years, we'll make it
possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98% of all Americans. This isn't just about faster Internet or fewer dropped calls. It's about connecting every part of America to the digital age.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2011 State of the Union speech
Barack Obama on Technology
: May 18, 2010
Network clean energy transmission lines like highway network
Obama offered the climate change czarina billions more in the stimulus for construction of the so-called smart grid. Obama agreed with Al Gore that boosting clean energy wouldn't mean much without building a new network of modern national transmission
lines for electricity. The real goal, he thought, should be to make the grid akin to the Interstate Highway system in the 1950s or the Internet in the 1990s: a prime engine of growth for the economy. He liked to talk about thousands of miles of
transmission lines and 40 million "smart meters" across the country.But reality soon intruded. The NIMBY ("not in my backyard") problem afflicted the smart-grid debate. The regulatory hurdles to modernizing the grid were beyond belief; it turned
out that no fewer than 31 different state and local regulators had to sign off on modernization. Obama was appalled. "We went to the moon!" he said. "We can do better than this! Go back and talk to more people."
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: The Promise: Obama Year One, by Jonathan Alter, p. 89
Barack Obama on Principles & Values
: Apr 13, 2010
2008 HQ phone greeting: "What can you do for us?"
Politics in no longer a spectator sport. Those in the grandstands must leave their seats and come down on the playing field to help their side score. That is the key lesson of the Obama campaign. He didn't just have supporters.
He had campaign workers--millions of them.Every caller who dialed Obama's headquarters in 2008 was greeted with a question: "What can you do for us?"
The Internet has made each of us the center of our own political campaign.
We ARE the campaign. The days when the candidate and a small group of professionals ran things--and the rest of us chipped in money, showed up at rallies, and voted--are over. Now each of us must conduct our own campaign within our own circle of
acquaintances, until the circle spreads to include thousands of voters. Some of us will use the Internet to do so. Others need not feel disqualified by their technophobia. Just do it by old-fashioned word of mouth and snail mail!
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Take Back America, by Dick Morris, p.295
Barack Obama on Technology
: Aug 4, 2009
My.barackobama.com key to campaign, like Wall St to finance
At internal memo to Hillary Clinton: "The biggest threat from Obama is not what we see, but what we don't see--if he is building a significant new type of organization." But the Clinton campaign did not fully appreciate--and should have--how Obama was
building organizations of activists and new voters not just in Iowa but across the country, aided by skillful exploitation of the tools and technology of the Internet, the cell phone, and social networking.Just as critical was the shrewdness with
which the Obama team captured the grassroots energy that was building around his candidacy. One organizer told reporters that, to understand the Obama campaign, they had to go to my.barackobama.com. Without doing that, he said, covering the campaign was
like trying to understand finance without looking at Wall Street. The potential power of the volunteers was evident from the beginning of the campaign. "We had 1,000 grassroots volunteer groups created in the first 24 hours after he announced in 2007."
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: The Battle for America 2008, by Balz & Johnson, p.184
Barack Obama on Free Trade
: Jun 15, 2008
Impossible to turn back globalization; we’d be worse off
New challenges have emerged, from China and India, Eastern Europe and Brazil. Jobs and industries can move to any country with an internet connection and willing workers. Michigan’s children will grow up facing competition not just from California or
South Carolina, but also from Beijing and Bangalore.There are some who believe that we must try to turn back the clock on this new world; that the only chance to maintain our living standards is to build a fortress around America; to stop trading with
other countries, shut down immigration, and rely on old industries. I disagree. Not only is it impossible to turn back the tide of globalization, but efforts to do so can make us worse off.
Rather than fear the future, we must embrace it.
I have no doubt that America can compete--and succeed--in the 21st century. And I know as well that more than anything else, success will depend not on our government, but on the dynamism, determination, and innovation of the American people.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Speech in Flint, MI, in Change We Can Believe In, p.245-6
Barack Obama on Principles & Values
: Apr 1, 2008
June 2008: YouTube hit, "I Got a Crush on Obama"
Obama maintained his grip on the imagination of Internet users and younger voters throughout the summer and fall as the candidates criss-crossed the country to gain media attention, meet voters, and raise money. His youth, campaign themes, relative
centrism and opposition to the Iraq war were key selling points. In June, a YouTube video called "I Got a Crush on Obama" featuring a scantily dressed "Obama Girl" who crooned her affection for th4e senator and dismissed his rivals, became a hit.
Several million people watched it. On 2 July, the campaign announced Obama had raised $32 million in the second quarter, far above the previous record for the period and more than Clinton's $27 million and Edwards' $9 million. Obama had
154,000 contributors, more than double the 60,000 who donated to Clinton. In December, there was a wave of publicity when billionaire Oprah Winfrey, host of the most popular television talk show in the country, endorsed him.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Obama for Beginners, by Bob Neer, p. 50
Jesse Ventura on Technology
: Apr 1, 2008
1998 "Geek Squad" pioneered political use of Internet
November 3, 1998, Election Night. I'd kept rising in the polls. That last weekend, the media had begun calling it a three-way horse race for the governorship. I knew I'd need some luck, that everything was going to have to fall into place.
But I'd never doubted whether I could win. Otherwise, I would never have run in the first place.Except we had an extra advantage called the Internet. My "Geek Squad" transmitted video clips and digital photos of all our rallies onto my Jesse
Ventura website as soon as they happened, along with up-to-date information on where we were headed next. This was the first time any politician had really used the Internet; some of the pundits later compared it to JFK's use of television during his
presidential race in 1960.
I had people coming up & telling me they hadn't voted in 25 years, but they were turning out for me on Tuesday. I still see the face of this kid who approached me in the little town of Willmar. "Jesse," he said, "you are us."
Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.
Source: Don`t Start the Revolution, by Jesse Ventura, p. 18-19
Barack Obama on Technology
: Apr 1, 2008
Feb. 2008: Had 250,000 members on Facebook to Clinton's 3250
Behind the scenes, his staff used the Internet to build a nationwide volunteer organization, and fundraising juggernaut. The campaign website allowed individuals to stay informed about the national and local efforts; make telephone calls to voters throug
a central database and update records based on results; and start mini-campaigns, complete with fundraising systems, blogs and events, to organize people in their geographic area or with shared interests. Managers guided the torrent of activism harnessed
by the system first to one battleground, then another.The public responded. On Jan. 16, a University of North Dakota graduate started "One Million Strong for Barack," on the Facebook social networking site. The group attracted over
100,000 members in nine days: one of the fastest growth rates ever seen at Facebook. There were more than 250,000 members when Obama officially launched his campaign on Feb. 11. The biggest pro-Clinton group on the site at the time had just 3,251 members
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Obama for Beginners, by Bob Neer, p. 49
Barack Obama on Government Reform
: Feb 2, 2008
Shine light on federal contracts, earmarks, & proposed bills
THE PROBLEM- Secrecy Dominates Government Actions: The Bush administration has ignored public disclosure rules and has invoked a legal tool known as the ‘state secrets’ privilege more than any other previous administration.
OBAMA’S PLAN- Shine Light on Washington Lobbying: Create a centralized Internet database of lobbying reports, ethics records, and campaign finance filings.
- Create a Public “Contracts and Influence” Database: Disclose how much
federal contractors spend on lobbying, and what contracts they are getting.
- Sunlight Before Signing:As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to comment online for five days.
- Shine Light on Earmarks and Pork Barrel Spending: Obama’s Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act will shed light on all earmarks by disclosing the name of the legislator who asked for each earmark, along with a written justification.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Campaign booklet, “Blueprint for Change”, p. 3-5
Barack Obama on Technology
: Feb 2, 2008
Incentives for next-generation broadband in every community
- Deploy Next-Generation Broadband:Obama believes we can get broadband to every community in America through a combination of reform of the Universal Service Fund, better use of the nation’s wireless spectrum, promotion of next-generation
facilities, technologies and applications, and new tax and loan incentives.
- Protect the Openness of the Internet:Obama supports the basic principle that network providers should not be allowed to charge fees to privilege the content or
applications of some web sites and Internet applications over others. This principle will ensure that the new competitors, especially small or nonprofit speakers, have the same opportunity as big companies to innovate and reach large audiences.
-
Invest in Rural Areas:Obama will invest in rural small businesses and fight to expand high-speed Internet access. He will improve rural schools and attract more doctors to rural areas.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Campaign booklet, “Blueprint for Change”, p. 10-15
Barack Obama on Principles & Values
: Jan 15, 2008
Despite attack email, pledges Allegiance & uses Bible
Q: There is a lot of false information about you circulating on the Internet. One e-mail in particular alleges that you are trying to hide the fact that you are Muslim; that you took the oath of office on the Koran and not the Bible; that you will not
pledge allegiance to the flag. How does your campaign combat this kind of thing?A: First of all, let’s make clear what the facts are. I am a Christian. I have been sworn in with a Bible. I pledge allegiance and lead the Pledge of Allegiance sometimes
in the US Senate, when I’m presiding. But you know, in the Internet age, there are going to be lies that are spread all over the place. Fortunately the American people are smarter than folks give them credit for. My job is to tell the truth, to
be straight with the American people about my vision for where the country needs to go. If I’m doing that effectively, then I place my trust in the American people that they will sort out the lies from the truth and they will make a good decision.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate in Las Vegas
Hillary Clinton on Government Reform
: Jan 13, 2008
Transparent government includes federal agency blogs
I want to have a much more transparent government, and I think we now have the tools to make that happen. You know, I said the other night at an event in New Hampshire,
I want to have as much information about the way our government operates on the Internet so the people who pay for it, the taxpayers of America, can see that. I want to be sure that, you know, we actually have like agency blogs.
I want people in all the government agencies to be communicating with people, because for me, we’re now in an era--which didn’t exist before--where you can have instant access to information, and
I want to see my government be more transparent. I want to make sure that we limit, if we can’t eliminate all the no-bid contracts, the cronyism, I want to cut 500,000 government contractors.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Meet the Press: 2008 “Meet the Candidates” series
Barack Obama on Principles & Values
: Dec 17, 2007
Attends church with press, to dispel rumors that he’s Muslim
Democrat Barack Obama on Sunday confronted one of the persistent falsehoods circulating about him on the Internet. He went to church.His attendance at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Mason City, Iowa, with the news media in tow,
was as much an observation of faith as it was a rejoinder to baseless e-mailed rumors that he is a Muslim and poses a threat to the security of the US. Obama did not address the rumors, but described how he joined Trinity United Church of Christ in
Chicago two decades ago while working as a community organizer. “I realized that Scripture and the words of God fit into the values I was raised in,” he told the congregation.
Obama regularly attends church, but seldom with reporters watching. He is
known to invoke religious references in his speeches and has said he has a “personal relationship” with Jesus Christ. He often has said that religion has a place in public life and that faith and politics are not exclusively the domain of conservatives.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Associated Press on FoxNews.com
Barack Obama on Technology
: Oct 30, 2007
Organizes campaign events via MySpace.com and FaceBook.com
Obama’s campaign has generated far more interest on social networking sites than any other politician. Obama’s MySpace page reached 160,000 friends. An Obama Facebook page had over 200,000 supporters in 2 weeks. Joe Trippi, Howard Dean’s Internet campaig
manager, observed, “It took our campaign 6 months to get 139,000 people on an email list. It took one Facebook group barely a month to get to 200,000. That’s astronomical.”Obama drew thousands to a university rally organized online by students using
Facebook. Obama hadn’t even met the student organizers until he arrived at the event. By March 1, 2007, just a few weeks after Obama began his campaign, his website My.BarackObama.com attracted 3,306 grassroots volunteer groups, 4,416 personal fundraisin
pages, 6,706 blogs, and 38,799 people with individual profiles building networks to support Obama.
This new age of decentralized politics takes much of the power out of the hands of political consultants and into the grasp of individuals.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p. 14-15
Mike Bloomberg on Education
: May 2, 2007
Strengthened cell-phone ban in city schools
Bloomberg has enforced a strengthened cell-phone ban in city schools that had its roots dating to a 1988 school system ban on pagers. The ban is controversial among some parents, who are concerned with their ability to contact their children.
Bloomberg’s aides noted that students are distracted in class by cell phones and often use them inappropriately, in some instances sending and receiving text messages, taking photographs, surfing the Internet.
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.
Source: Wikipedia.org entry, “Michael_Bloomberg”
Hillary Clinton on Technology
: Dec 12, 2006
Innovations make better parent-child connections at distance
Today’s electronic village has certainly complicated the challenge of parenting. When It Takes a Village was published, the Internet was largely the province of scientists; no one owned an iPod; and cell phones weighed as much as bricks.
Innovations are now coming at an exponentially faster pace, and media saturates our kids’ lives as never before. Many of these changes are for the good: when I was in college, a phone call home was rare and a flight home, a once-a-year luxury.
Now I know parents who see and speak to their kids every day by computer and video hookups, and I think how much Bill would have loved that when he was campaigning. But knowing that one third of kids under six have
TVs in their rooms, that the fashion industry is marketing its latest styles to preteen girls, and that predators stalk our children through the World Wide Web makes me thankful to have raised Chelsea in a less media-saturated time.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2006 intro to It Takes A Village, by H. Clinton, p. xiii-xiv
Barack Obama on Government Reform
: Oct 17, 2006
Sponsored bill to disclose earmarks on Internet
Together with Oklahoma Sen. Jim Coburn, Obama co-sponsored S.2590, “a bill to require full disclosure of all entities and organizations receiving federal funds.” The bill requires creation of a website with a freely searchable database of entities
receiving Congressional earmarks. The bill was signed into law in Sept. 2006. Pro: This is logical, cost-efficient, and sensible.
A future president should be committed to transparency in government spending.
Con: he’s spoiling the fun
for everyone.
“One man’s pork is another man’s beef.” Without Congressional earmarks, where would we be? In a strange land where members of Congress could not rely on earmarked appropriations to do favors for friends and entrench themselves in
office.
Pro: This is patriotic.
Section 3 of S.2590 excludes classified information from the Act’s purview, so there is no danger that the Coburn-Obama Act will gore and sacred bulls.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Should Barack Obama Be President?, by Fred Zimmerman, p.37
Hillary Clinton on Jobs
: Oct 11, 2006
Passed 2 planks of 7-plank platform, “New Jobs for New York”
Hillary’s “New Jobs for New York” platform included 7 measures to create 200,000 jobs in NY:- Create “technology bonds” to fund interest-free loans to improve Internet access.
- A “Broadband Expansion Grant Initiative” to provide grants
& loan guarantees to fund networks in “under-served rural areas.”
- Fund research on broadband technology in rural areas.
- Tax credits for small businesses that created jobs in smaller communities.
- Federal funding for “entrepreneurs who have
good ideas but cannot afford lawyers and consultants to help them.“
- Funding for the Commerce Department’s Cooperative Extension Service to allow it to subsidize non-agricultural technologies.
- Create ”Regional Skills Alliances“ to provide training
to technology workers.
She got two of her plan’s seven measures signed into law. Despite promising to create 200,000 jobs, NY lost 35,800 jobs. Clinton blamed NY’s poor job performance on GOP economic policies.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, by Amanda Carpenter, p. 56-59
Hillary Clinton on Technology
: Oct 11, 2006
Balance Internet freedom of speech against defamation
In 1998, reporters questioned Clinton on how the White House viewed the Internet’s decentralizing effects, in the context of White House sex scandal stories on the web:Q: I wonder if you think this new Internet media is necessarily an entirely
good thing?A: Every time technology makes an advance, we are all going to have to rethink how we deal with this, because there are always competing values. As exciting as these new developments are, there are a number of serious issues without any kind
of editing function or gate-keeping function. What does it mean to have the right to defend your reputation, or to respond to what someone says? I’m a big pro-balance person.
Q: Sounds like you favor regulation.
A: I don’t know enough to know what to
be in favor of, because I think it’s one of those new issues we’ve got to address. We’ve got to see whether our existing laws protect people’s right of privacy & protect them against defamation. So I think we have to tread carefully.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, by Amanda Carpenter, p.110-112
Amy Klobuchar on Technology
: Jan 18, 2006
Supports the V-Chip & Internet filters
I will fight to give parents more tools and information so they can protect their children in this new high-tech, multimedia world. I’m deeply concerned about the culture of violence and sex in the media. I support the V-Chip, Internet filters and other
new technology that give parents control over what their children see on TV and do on the Internet. We must be vigilant about the new harms that may lurk for our children and stand up to industries that put profits ahead of protecting our kids.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, www.amyklobuchar.com, “Issues”
Deval Patrick on Technology
: Sep 15, 2005
Supports state-wide WiFi
We will support new technology to guarantee wireless Internet access from anywhere in the State, regardless of region.
That access will serve to enhance education and workforce training, and public health initiatives, including childhood immunization and disaster preparedness.
Click for Deval Patrick on other issues.
Source: Moving Massachusetts Forward, Patrick’s policy booklet, p. 5
Barack Obama on Education
: Oct 21, 2004
Sex education needed to help children discuss molestation
KEYES: [to Obama]: You voted that sex education should begin in kindergarten but it would be “age appropriate sex education.” But you opposed putting internet filters in schools. It makes me wonder what exactly you think is age appropriate. Do you believ
that in the 2nd grade we should be teaching from books like Heather Has Two Mommies.OBAMA: Actually, that wasn’t what I had in mind. We have an existing law that mandates sex education in the schools and we want to make sure that it’s medically
accurate and age appropriate. I have a 3 year old daughter and a six year old daughter and one of the things I talk about with my wife is the possibility of someone touching them inappropriately. And that’s why [sex education] is in the law. So they can
exercise some kind of protection against abuse. As for filters, I have voted for them. In the school setting, there was information schoolchildren could not access such as information about breast cancer, which is why there was a broad opposition.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Illinois Senate Debate #3: Barack Obama vs. Alan Keyes
Mike Bloomberg on Education
: Aug 27, 2001
No computers in early grade school
Look to our schools for more of technology's failed promises. Every parent wants his or her child to be computer literate. We all believe those without PCs in elementary school are doomed to a life of poverty and illiteracy, so we spend millions to
equip classrooms with computational abilities and Internet access. The results? For all purchases of computers in the classroom, our children don't read as well as before, have a worse sense of historical perspective, know less geography, and possess
fewer mathematical skills.Are we using technology as an excuse not to teach how to think and how to work with others? Is the money spent on hardware discouraging the best teachers and limiting the curriculum?
I vote to take the computers
out of the classroom in the early grades. We should focus on teaching the basic skills of reading, writing, arithmetic, logic, concentration, cooperation, personal dress, social interaction, and hard work.
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.
Source: Bloomberg by Bloomberg, by Mike Bloomberg, p.152-3
Jesse Ventura on Education
: Dec 10, 2000
Lifelong learning; college & training for work & life
Minnesota’s accessible, vast network of opportunities for continuing informal and formal higher education is the envy of the nation. In the year 2000, a vast majority of Minnesotans will have unlimited access to learning options via the Internet.
Employers struggling to find and retain qualified workers in a time of full employment value and invest in job training more than ever before. Changing demographics are provoking new demands for learning among people for whom
English is not a first language, for senior citizens, and for mid-career professionals seeking new challenges in work and life. The next questions relate to maintaining the infrastructure, making tough decisions to place programs
where they are actually needed to serve populations, and surfing the wave of change that technologies like CD-ROM, interactive videodisk, and the Internet provide.
Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.
Source: The Big Plan: Self-Sufficient People
Mike Gravel on Technology
: Nov 18, 2000
Put entire government-citizen interface online
The Internet portends fundamental changes on the order of those resulting from the Gutenberg Press that ushered in the Ages of Discovery and Enlightenment. The Internet, in my view, will usher in the Age of Democracy, the essence of which will be
republican governance--the majoritarian expression of the popular sovereignty of people. [Incumbents] assess what the Internet offers for the delivery of government information. Much greater benefits however lie in moving the processing of the
interface between citizens and government onto the Internet. My recent online driver’s license renewal with the Virginia DMV was unexpectedly convenient and efficient. With little attention or effort, filing of income taxes online is on the rise. Clearly
intra-governmental operations are increasingly going online. It makes sense that the entire government-citizen interface and interaction should begin to be vectored toward Internet facilitation, digital divide aside, which will shortly be marginalized.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: Press release, “The Internet and the Future”
Hillary Clinton on Technology
: Oct 8, 2000
Against charging for e-mail
The debate’s moderator asked Clinton and Lazio: “How you stand on federal bill 602p?” “I have no idea,” Clinton interjected. The moderator went on: “Under the bill that’s now before Congress, the U.S. Postal Service would be able to bill e-mail users
5 cents for each e-mail they send. They want this to help recoup losses of about $230 million a year because of the proliferation of e-mail. So I’m wondering if you would vote for this bill, and do you see the Internet as a source of revenue for the
government in the years to come?“ Clinton said she wouldn’t support such legislation, but - ever careful - said she was basing her answer on what the moderator had said. ”Well, based on your description, I wouldn’t vote for that bill,“ Clinton
said. ”It sounds burdensome and not justifiable to me.“
The only problem is that the proposed bill, ”602p,“ does not exist. The hoax has circulated widely over the Internet since April 1999, despite continuing attempts to knock it down.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: MS-NBC report on debate in Manhattan
Hillary Clinton on Technology
: Oct 8, 2000
Details of “Bill 602P” hoax
The debate’s moderator asked Clinton and Lazio: “How you stand on federal bill 602p?” The only problem is that the proposed bill, “602p,” does not exist. An advisory on the Postal Service’s Web site put it this way in May 1999: “A completely false rumor
concerning the US Postal Service is being circulated on Internet e-mail. A similar hoax occurred recently concerning Canada Post. The e-mail message claims that a ‘Congressman Schnell’ has introduced ‘Bill 602P’ to allow the federal government to impose
a 5-cent surcharge on each e-mail message delivered over the Internet. The money would be collected by Internet Service Providers and then turned over to the Postal Service. No such proposed legislation exists.“ The hoax has persisted despite warnings
on some House members’ Web sites and despite the fact that ‘602p’ is not a valid designation for a congressional bill, which normally bears the preface of ”H.R.“ in the House and ”S“ in the Senate. Nor is there any member of Congress named Schnell.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: MS-NBC report on debate in Manhattan
Jesse Ventura on Technology
: Sep 25, 2000
Competitive telecomm services to bridge Digital Divide
I want to make sure that you are not left on the wrong side of the “digital divide.” I consider myself an entrepreneur and I hope that the entire state will get the entrepreneurial spirit. But for many the opportunity to be successful will depend on a
level playing field for access to new technologies. Everyone in Minnesota and in this country should have equal access to high speed Internet service. Everyone in Minnesota and in this country should not only have access to basic telephone service,
but access at a fair and affordable price. These things can only happen if the states provide for competition among telecommunication service providers -- and that is exactly what my plan does.Based on what is going on in our world today it is
absolutely imperative that-- No one, No matter where they live,
--Be left without access to these new technologies.
Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.
Source: Speech to FCC/Indian Telecommunications Training Initiative
Donald Trump on Gun Control
: Jul 2, 2000
For assault weapon ban, waiting period, & background check
I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun.
With today’s Internet technology we should be able to tell within 72-hours if a potential gun owner has a record.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.102
Jesse Ventura on Technology
: Jul 2, 2000
Leave Internet sales tax to states
When I was at the annual governors’ conference, we discussed the question of whether or not states should be taxing Internet sales and access. Any time somebody’s making money, the federal government is sure to stand up and take notice.
I don’t believe this issue is any of the federal government’s business. The federal government doesn’t have the right to tell states whether or not to tax something.
It should be left to the individual states to decide if they want to tax Internet purchases. I understand the concern that many governors expressed, that stores are losing important sales tax revenue to Internet sales.
But I suspect that a tax on Internet purchases would put a severe damper on an industry that’s still getting its feet wet.
Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.
Source: Do I Stand Alone, by Jesse Ventura, p.218
Jesse Ventura on Technology
: Feb 10, 1998
Government may facilitate the Internet, but not control it
Q: What role should state government play in the Internet?A: If government is involved with the Internet at all, it should facilitate but not control it. It’s OK for government to help wire the State for Internet use. The more people that get
connected, the better. It’s not OK for government to try to control the content of what goes over the wires. In schools and libraries where children can access the Internet, use filtering programs to limit access to adult content. At home, parents are
responsible for their children’s use of the computer...not the government, and not Internet service providers operating under government-imposed mandates. Except for helping more people get on line, government should have as little to do
with the Internet as possible.
As Governor, I will veto any new proposed tax.on the Internet. The Internet is a good thing. Let it grow with some government help and with no government interference.
Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.
Source: E-Democracy Debate
Page last updated: Feb 11, 2020
