If you're particularly engaged on the net neutrality issue -- or if you're not at all, but interested in new models for online deliberation -- the National Science Foundation-funded Deliberative E-Rulemaking Project (DeER) at the University at Albany (SUNY) and Texas Tech is "test[ing] a new model for citizen input on proposed rules and regulations by federal agencies. We are recruiting people to participate in an online message board discussion on a possible FCC network neutrality regulation."

The project is supposed to begin in late August, but you can sign up for it right now. » read more | Jason Z.'s blog | add new comment

Lawrence Lessig ... speaking to a packed house at the DIA user conference keynote.

(ot) Seating nailed down at the power strip oasis. Why are there never enough outlets? airports are a special offender in this ... or, maybe i should think about a computer with more than 30 seconds of battery life.

The TSA -- the very face of obnoxious, ineffective, ham-handed government to anyone with the misfortune of commercial air travel "in the wake of September 11" -- has launched a blog.

This'll be interesting.

Smarter folk than I find this promising, but it's hard to see where this is going, especially since the bloggers profess surprise at the torrential commentary.

What are the distinguishing characteristics of this institution that makes it a good fit for this communications medium?

"The crisis of today is the joke of tomorrow."
-H.G. Wells

It's been a week for the snarling technophobes, eh? While Bush pere was reflecting on the evils of adversarial bloggers and the lucky way he wasn't leaving an IP trail with the email way back when at the Army-Navy game, across the pond, Tony Blair's outgoing spinmeister was heard huffing through the revolving door a remonstrance fast becoming the "uphill both ways" cliche of the pre-Internet pol:

As the coalition of vendors (including DIA) providing email-your-rep services to advocacy organizations continues to churn away at the Congressional email deliverability logjam, the changing times may be in the process of evolving the question -- at least on the national level -- towards obsolescence.

The Center for Citizen Media got a post-election pitch to buy an updated legislative directory, and sensibly wonders ... why does this cost money?

"[M]aybe someone could create a wiki to keep track of comings and goings"? Congresspedia has it covered. And a tool like Google's Google Earth/electoral district mashup basically covers the part of the equation that determines a legislator from an address.