FreedomTalks

Here is something that you don’t see too often, government agencies using web 2.0 technologies to make their site and content more accessible to the masses.

While it’s rare, it appears that South Carolina has taken some huge steps in making their state’s website more accessible and interactive.

From SC.gov:

“By updating the state’s site with Web 2.0 features, South Carolina citizens are informed of and have access to services in a way that is convenient and usable for them. At the same time, these features allow them to share information with others in an online community,” said Barbara Teusink, Deputy Chief Information Officer of the State Budget and Control Board.  “South Carolina government is dedicated to promoting information and applications to all users and we are excited about the ability to reach new demographic groups through these features and improve the ease of use for all users.”

http://www.SC.gov added Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter accounts to engage more of the state’s citizens using social-networking sites.  These additions reach a new generation of users in a medium that is familiar to them.

A new Help Section was also created that lets users view video and listen to audio clips of frequently asked questions.  All video and audio clips are enhanced for users with disabilities, which makes viewing and listening accessible to all citizens and ensures users are getting the information they need.

These are advancements I’d like to see more governments (on all levels) make in the very near future.

We need our government to be more accessible and transparent, and if used the right way, the internet is a great way to enable that.

Some of South Carolina’s online communities:

Facebook

MySpace

Twitter

FreedomWorks North Carolina took our message of lower taxes, less government and more freedom directly to their congressman a few days ago in Asheville, NC. Watch this great video of their protest inside and outside Congressman Heath Shuler’s office, where they couldn’t find anyone to talk with them about the mortgage bailout bill or high gas prices.

This is what it means to take ideas to the streets. Great job FreedomWorks NC!

Stephen Moore has a great piece on WSJ.com illustrating the success that Bulgaria has had since implementing the flat tax. More specifically, he discussed the benefits it has reaped by implementing an “across the board” 10% flat rate earlier this year.

Here is an overview of some of the successes Bulgaria has seen since implementing a flat tax:

• Bulgaria went from having an unemployment rate of 12% to 6%
• In the first six months of 2008, Bulgaria experienced record GDP growth (7%)
• Inflation is projected to drop from 14% to 9% by the end of 2008
• In May, Bulgaria was accepted into the “Reformers Club of the World Bank,” a group which honors countries that have made considerable changes to promote business growth.

This positive impact of the flat tax in Bulgaria isn’t something that is only being seen on paper, but is being felt in the homes of many Bulgarians. An example of this can be seen in things like automobile sales, where year after year, Bulgaria ranked second in the European Union for most growth (20.5%). The country with the highest growth was Lithuania (36.2%), and third was Slovakia (19.3%).

What is one correlation between the three countries? They each have some form of a flat tax.

Of course, the question that I’m sure many have is whether or not the flat tax is something that the United States should consider implementing. There are some who will argue that examples like Bulgaria, Estonia, etc, shouldn’t be used simply because they are post-war countries with smaller economies, thus making it a weak argument for implementation here in the United States. To no surprise, it is often that those very naysayers are the ones who are promoting other policies like the fair tax.

While the HR 25/S 105 (Fair Tax) crowd has definitely built a strong base of supporters, there is one thing that a flat tax has that the Fair Tax simply cannot match, a track record of success. There are over twenty countries that have implemented a flat tax and seen success, and that number will only continue to rise.

The Examiner has a good editorial about Senator John McCain’s support of school choice. The Opportunity Scholarships program has given thousands of kids the chance for a better education and thus, a better life. As the editors point out, “His stances put him at odds with the powerful education unions, but on the side of parents and on the side of excellence in education.”

It would be nice to see more of this kind of straight talk for conservative values and policies. Too often Sen. McCain has strayed from the right and then blasted conservatives for calling him out on it.

The biggest obstacle to greater opportunity for poor children in failing schools? The teachers unions, of course. They are simply afraid of competition and know that if there were more of it, they would be held to a higher standard.

Kudos to McCain for delivering such an important message to a somewhat hostile audience, the NAACP.

Politicians don’t like to say who really ends up paying, not just for the massive bailouts on the horizon, but for programs, earmarks, and the day to day waste in government spending.  Few connect the dots between the billions - or in the case of Fannie and Freddie trillions - they write into legislation as if it were Monopoly money and the very real, hardworking Americans who truly foot the bills.  Like Elaine’s former boss Mr. Lippman in “The Muffin Tops,” politicians wave their hands in the air and say “The money is all in the air. They’re in the air.”  As if the dollars never really belonged to anyone before.

Sen. DeMint’s office captured a striking example of this mentality at the Fannie Mae hearings earlier this week as the Senate questioned Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson who was finally forced to admit to the courageous Sen. Bunning that It’s not just “government,” the money’s not just “in the air,” it’s taxpayers who are going to be on the hook for this travesty.

Watch, enjoy, digg and share.

Our friends at Accuracy in Media put together this great video of our MoveOn.org crash in Bethesda a few days ago. It’s clear from the video of the local MoveOn.org comrade, they were a bit flustered. Enjoy the video!

Here are the pictures from today’s protest of Al Gore’s speech in Washington, D.C.

The speech is getting a lot of news coverage, but so far none of the stories I’ve seen have mentioned our protest. But there is no question that the vast majority of attendees saw what we were up to and did NOT like it.

UPDATE: The Washington Times has this story about Gore’s speech, and features a photo of one of our interns protesting.

In Washington, one of the greatest divides amongst the young and old is whether or not new technologies are viewed as positive or negative additions to the political arena.

Naturally, an overwhelming majority of young people see the potential in online social networks and bookmarking sites like Digg, Facebook, Reddit, Propeller, etc, but when it comes to many who belong to the “old guard,” there seems to be great fear and resentment, most likely because they don’t know how it can be used against them.

Based on what has happened over the last four weeks with just a modest online push, I wouldn’t be surprised if even more members of the “old guard” developed a genuine fear over the power of the internet and those who know how to use it to seek change in Washington.

On June 19^th, a provision was discovered buried deep inside a 613 page piece of housing legislation that had absolutely no relevance to the nature main bill. However, since the bill was one that was “high profile,” there seemed to be an assumption by many Washington insiders that it would get pushed through quickly, so why not kill a few birds with one stone.

This provision, submitted by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), essentially would have required that various bits of credit card information and transaction activity be reported to the government so that they could use it to generate information that in the end will help them raise $9,802,000,000 over the course of ten years.

For just under $10 billion, this Senator from Iowa was willing to put the security and privacy of America’s small businesses in jeopardy simply to raise what is by government standards, a miniscule amount of money.

As soon as a press release with the details of this hidden legislation was released, it quickly appeared on sites like Digg, Reddit and Slashdot. Within hours, members of these communities saw exactly what Senator Grassley was trying to do and used those networks to bring more awareness and perspective to the issue and take action.

Within 5 hours of submitting the press release to Digg, Senator Grassley’s attempts at playing big brother made the front page. In less than 24 hours, this story received over 1,000 diggs and was quickly making the rounds to various blogs.

Over the next two weeks, various other articles and images depicting the heinous actions of Senator Grassley were also submitted and made popular by other users who saw what was at stake.

What’s even more unique about this story is what is happening now, just over 3 weeks later. Because of the outrage generated by his actions, as well as a variety of other positions that are unpopular with most Americans, Senator Grassley has been feeling the wrath of these actions back home in Iowa.

In a post by Townhall.com blogger Matt Lewis, the following was reported from a source in Iowa this past weekend:

“According to a reliable source, some conservatives (believing Sen. Grassley has lately been drinking too much water from the Potomac), decided to punish the sitting senior senator by not including him as a national delegate for the Republican National Convention.”

Keep in mind, as recently as December, Senator Grassley’s approval ratings were well over 60%, ranking him as one of the more popular members of the United States Senate.

While high marks might have been the case in December, it’s quite conceivable that in the last six months, Senator Grassley has alienated such a large portion of his base, that the people of Iowa simply don’t want him representing them anymore.

Even though there is no updated polling data available at this time, I have no doubt whatsoever that a huge factor in his inevitable decline is the power of the internet and the dedication of those who are using it to seek change.

NTU really hits the nail on the head with their new project: www.nonewenergytaxes.com.

That really sums up so much of the gas prices, cap-and-trade, regulations, and carbon arguments - whether it be fee levied on energy producers, unrealistic mandates like CAFE standards and biofuels, or subsidies dealt out to favored industries and technology - it all adds up to a big tax on our economy and higher prices for everything.

The new site will focus on all things energy and will be a great resource for our side.

Check it: www.nonewenergytaxes.com.

Senator Chuck Grassley is having some problems with conservatives in Iowa. Matt Lewis over at TownHall.com writes, “According to a reliable source, some conservatives (believing Sen. Grassley has lately been drinking too much water from the Potomac), decided to punish the sitting senior senator by not including him as a national delegate for the Republican National Convention.”

Senator Grassley has been supporting big government policies and income distribution. He is a liberal when it comes to health care policy and a porker when it comes to agricultural policy.

Something tells me this trend will not go away as long as Grassley is obstinate about maintaining his big government ways.