For possibly good reason one of my favorite films… Palombella Rosa was on my mind as I drove back from Batavia, IL .Several years ago the Gene Siskel Film Center presented a number of films by Italian director Nanni Moretti… with this one in particular standing out. There are several exceptional moments in the film… where popular culture unites competing factions and teams, not to mention halting in-fighting.The film offers sport – water polo – as political metaphor.I’m still hoping to get a copy of this on DVD.. each time I look its not been available. Dont even know that it has been released to DVD.So, what brought this to mind? There was a general context of civic action and organizing for the day.
I was in Batavia to meet with others concerned about the political process in Illinois… considering everything from http://www.ballot-integrity.org to campaign finance.
ilCTC and NPOTechs had something to say on civic use of technology, but our deeper concern rests upon recognition of the alienation of so many from the political process. There is much to be repaired to overcome the malaise of the electorate. The act of gathering to repair has restorative function in itself.
Among the more interesting issues to come up was the backstory on HAVA… federal legislation that signals a shift in power from the states over voting procedures and which is pushing many states towards an incautious certification of propietary electronic voting systems.
I encourage you to dig for the backstory of HAVA… who introduced the legislation (now law)? Who helped draft it?
A more talented political voice than I could easily develop the theme:
Who wrote HAVA and how it hurts us all
It seemed very odd to me that the electronic voting devices with clear and obvious problems – not to mention problems surrounding security and sanctity of process – have been taken as a done deal by some of the active voices in the state on these topics.
Accepting that HAVA brings deadlines to the states for implementation of these new requirements is wrong headed. We should be fighting HAVA if the GAO has issued critical reports on electronic voting machines.
Meanwhile in Illinois we’ve approved machines that Governors of about seven other states have decertified. It would be nice if those Governors sent a friendly note to the Illinois Governor informing him of how they reached their decision, and encouraging him to have the State Board of Elections revisit the issue… or possibly disbanding the SBoE in its current form as they have not heeded public reason.
In fact, as I understand their recent meeting where the equipment was approved may have violated rules requiring open public meetings.
It’s time to do something if we want people to have faith in political process…. that is…. it’s time for us all to do something.
There was a great sports metaphor offered today in Batavia by a gentleman from the Quick’n Clean Foundation… He described the political process through the metaphor of a baseball diamond… the four corners representing key themes drawn out in discussion.
He then built out this metaphor … driving home the point … in addiition to the diamond we have the grandstand where we’re all spectators. Yes, politics as spectator sport… but he urged us to take the field and to cover the bases… his four points of the diamond….
Hmmmm.. What was the name of that film again?