cross-posted from Sum of Change

COLUMBUS, OH: I am on the ground in Ohio, here to cover the protests for the couple days that I can afford to be away from DC. Today, despite a persistent rain, demonstrators lined the sidewalk outside of the Capitol Building in Columbus to voice their opposition to Senate Bill 5 which threatens state employees’ bargaining rights. Today’s protest was a lead up to tomorrow, when thousands are expected to descend on Columbus.

cross-posted from Sum of Change

Last week, we attended a candidate forum for candidates in the special election for Washington, DC’s At-Large City Council. We were hosted by DC for Democracy, Greater Greater Washington, and the DC Environmental Network. This event was streamed live and you can watch the entire recording of that livefeed here. Below, you will find videos broken out by question. We have posted every question that was asked, in the order it was asked. Enjoy!

cross-posted from Sum of Change

I was honored today to join folks from DC for Democracy, the local Democracy for America affiliate, to personally deliver over 23,000 thank you notes to Senator Russ Feingold. Shortly after the the 2010 election, Jim Dean asked DFA members from all across the country to send the Senator messages of appreciation. In an email to all members, he wrote:

A while back, a couple of us here at Sum of Change got involved in meetings with a great group of folks about working together to provide insider reporting of Capitol Hill with an outsider perspective. In time, we became Main Street Insider. Today, Main Street Insider released a new show, 90 Second Summaries.

The purpose of 90 Second Summaries is simple, provide citizens on Main Street with a quick synopsis of what a bill is all about. The first three episodes come out today, tomorrow and Thursday, with new ones every following Monday. Each video comes with a one-page summary (which you can view online or download as a pdf) containing everything you will need to learn even more about any piece of legislation.

Without further ado, presenting Season 1, Episode 1: H.R. 4790, Shareholder Protection Act

The following is cross-posted from Main Street Insider:

cross-posted from Sum of Change

We have already posted several telling interviews from our filming at Glenn Beck’s 828 Restoring Honor Rally, but we haven’t yet posted our most emotional, interactive, and intense experiences.  Towards the end of our day downtown, we stopped to chat with some folks from the crowd- as we did throughout the day.  When we began our interview with Madonna from Indiana, we were in the exact center of a circular cement area that is the entrance way to the World War II Memorial.  Our conversation started with Madonna, the only person in her group of 5 or so who decided to stop and chat with us.  Quickly, however, not only did several of her friends decide to join our discussion, but several onlookers decided that they belonged in our conversation as well.  Before we knew it, we were encircled by 30 or so rally goers who decided to engage us (verbally) in an effort to try and convert us to Glen Beck’s White Christian Civil Rights Utopia.  Below is the majority of the half hour experience in 6 parts and at the very bottom is all 30 minutes of our discussions unedited.

cross-posted from Sum of Change and check out Pam Spaulding’s post at PHB for more thoughts and discussion.

Yesterday we sent cameras to Glenn Beck’s 828 rally and Al Sharpton’s rally and march. We posted a handfull of videos from each. But first, a personal comment, if you don’t mind. My parents and grandparents were civil rights activists (not to mention anti-war activists and labor organizers). On the same grass where we stood yesterday, my mother stood 47 years ago to watch Martin Luther King Jr. declare his dream for the world. I highly doubt anyone will remember yesterday the way my mother remembers 47 years ago.

We will begin with Beck’s event::

cross-posted from Sum of Change

If Verizon and Google were trying to show support for net neutrality, they sure dropped the ball today. On a conference call with media just a couple hours ago, Verizon CEO, Ivan Seidenberg began explaining how companies might want to use a different network to send information. He took offense when Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land termed it “alternative internet,” but his further explanation did little to counter the naming. Here is Mr. Seidenberg’s further discussion of the “alternative internet” after questioning from Erick Schonfeld of TechCrunch:

cross-posted from Sum of Change

This is our last round of videos from the Netroots Nation panel, Undoing Citizens United: A Comprehensive Plan to Prevent Corporations from Buying Elections (here is part 1, and part 2). Today, we are going to focus mostly on how to move forward. But first, some inspiration from Congresswoman Donna Edwards: