Independent Candidate Chris Daggett Names His Lt. Governor Nomination

On Tuesday, Independent New Jersey Gubernatorial Candidate Chris Daggett selected his nomination for lieutenant governor.

Daggett named Frank Esposito, a professor of history and education at Kean University for his Lt. Governor nomination. Daggett said of Esposito, "Frank Esposito has been in the forefront of the movement to reform our education system, which too often has failed New Jersey's children."

Vying to make education on the forefront of his platform, Daggett wants to tap the experience of Esposito to ensure voters see his platform as a strong supporter of reforming education in New Jersey. After the large corruption scandals which resulted in 44 total arrests which spanned both the Democrat and Republican parties, Daggett is claiming that, being the independent candidate, he is the real person who can reform Trenton.


Read More
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20090728_Daggett_names_Frank_Esposito_as_running_mate.html

Crucial Doctor in 21 Drinking Age Establishment Joins Founder of MADD In Speaking Out Against 21

Dr. Morris Chafetz, a psychiatrist who, in the early 1980s, sat on the presidential commission in that recommended raising the national drinking age from 18 to 21 now regrets his decision.

Dr. Chafetz now considers his role in pushing for the drinking age "the single most regrettable decision" of his career, reports the Los Angeles Times. Dr. Chafetz believes the 21 year-old drinking age has not worked, and, "To be sure, drunk driving fatalities are lower now than they were in 1982. But they are lower in all age groups. And they have declined just as much in Canada, where the age is 18 or 19, as they have in the United States." Additionally, Dr. Chafetz recognizes the immense harm caused by the unintended consequences the drinking age has caused in American drinking culture, including the 1,800 deaths per year among college-aged youth in deaths related to alcohol.

Dr Chafetz is not in fact the first person (nor most likely the last) who has changed their mind being originally involved in supporting the drinking age, and now being outspoken against it.

Candice Lightner was the mother of 13 year-old Cari Lightner, who was killed by a drunk driver in 1980, the event which prompted Lightner to start Mothers Against Drunk Driving later that same year. The driver, Clarance William Busch, who killed young Cari, had 22 traffic citations on his record, including four for drunk driving (for which he had served at most 48 hour in jail). His fourth drunk driving accident, another hit and run, occurred just two days before killing Cari Lightner. Interesting, or ironically, for the drinking age argument, Busch was 46 years old at the time of the accident.

Busch had despicable track record that anyone would agree should be warrant enough to permanently revoke one’s driving privileges. After what happened to her daughter Lightner became concerned with the lack of severity for repeat offenders, and saw it as her duty to push for tougher drunk driving laws, especially for repeat offenders. However, Lightner soon left MADD and became one of the most outspoken critics of how purely “anti-alcohol” MADD has become. She stated that MADD “has become far more neo-prohibitionist than I had ever wanted or envisioned … I didn’t start MADD to deal with alcohol. I started MADD to deal with the
issue of drunk driving." Lightner left MADD in 1985, just one year after MADD lobbied the federal government to raise the drinking age to 21.

The issues surrounding youth alcohol abuse and drunk driving are serious, complicated and have historically convoluted explanations. As more people feel comfortable taking the political heat dished out by organizations like MADD (Who earlier this month criticized a New Jersey brewery for having New Jersey Turnpike exits themed microbrews) more academics, scientists and public officials will come out in support of a new solution. At a certain point, we will hit a tipping point and finally be able to move into an effective public policy discussion that will finally help keep both our roads and American youth safe.

Sources & Reading:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/07/underage-drinking.html

Jon Corzine selects Lieutenant Governor Nomination

Jon Corzine on Friday selected legislative veteran Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) to be his running mate in the first ever gubernatorial election that features a running mate. Republican candidate Chris Christie made his announcement Monday of last week - the first candidate to do so.

Senator Weinberg, 74, has been in the state legislature for nearly 20 years. She started her tenure in the Assembly in 1991 and in 2005 was elected to the state senate.

Sen. Weinberg’s legendary, and widely recognized, experience as a reformer and a proponent of open government is considered to be one of the primary reasons that Corzine has selected her - and doing so just one day after a massive corruption scandal rocked the Garden State. Additionally, Senator Weinberg hails from Bergen County, a key swing county.

Throughout her career in Bergen County, Sen. Weinberg has battled what many consider to have been one of the most corrupt political machines in the state. A real New Jersey legislative legend, Weinberg is also the primary sponsor of 50 laws that are on the books, in addition to being a co-sponsor on another 40 current laws, an astounding record.

It will be interesting to see how the next round of polls places the candidates now that both Christie and Corzine have named a running-mate.

NJ Politicians, NY Rabbis rounded up as part of corruption ring

Today, federal authorities rounded up a host of public officials and rabbis - 44 in total - who are apparently linked to a ring of money laundering and dirty political contributions.

At a press conference today, federal authorities, including officials from the US Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations Division said that New Jersey needed to clean up its act, and that the Garden State may be the worst in the country in terms of political corruption.

As election season kicks into high gear for the governor’s race, in addition to many other state and municipal races, some felt as though the arrests were politically motivated. Federal authorities did state multiple times at a press conference today that politics had nothing to do with the arrests as this case, code named “Bid-rig,” has been developing for nearly a decade, and surpasses political parties and multiple administrations.

Corruption in public office seems so embedded in the governance process that it seems to barely register on the psyche of our state. These actions must not be tolerated, and both public leaders and New Jersey voters must take a stand for more transparent and honest governance. Federal authorities were right on when they said that law enforcement along cannot fix this issue alone, but rather we need a mental overhaul of how, as residents, we want our state to run and how open and transparent we must require our government to be.

More Reading
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/nyregion/24jersey.html
http://sbk.online.wsj.com/article/SB124835404608875685.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iK4nrZ7GALyorz4G34gTnFocFM9gD99KCVB80
http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/23/new-jersey-curruption-solomon-dwek-business-beltway-dwek.html
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20090723_N_J__official_resigns_amid_corruption_probe.html

Christie, in a First, Picks a Running Mate (Featured in NY Times)

Some ask how important new media will be in politics. Today should answer that question once and for all, as Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie announced his pick for lieutenant governor on social networking sites, placing a video on YouTube as well as announcements on Twitter and Facebook.

Mr. Christie, a former United States prosecutor, selected Kim Guadagno, who currently is the Monmouth County Sheriff, to run with him. If elected, she will serve as the state’s first lieutenant governor.

Before 2005, the year that the position was created by a statewide vote — with much encouragement from then-Acting Gov. Dick Codey, who had to step in after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned — New Jersey was one of a handful of states with only a governor position. In addition, our state’s governor appoints all cabinet level officials, many of which are elected in other states, contributing to the New Jersey governor widely being recognized as perhaps the most powerful in the country.


The new position of lieutenant governor will help equalize the vast amount of authority that currently is placed solely in our only state-wide elected official.

Ms. Guadagno , who has been the Monmouth County Sheriff since 2007, served 15 years as the commissioner of Monmouth Beach, as well as on the Board of Adjustments. Ms. Guadagno also spent 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, working both in Brooklyn and New Jersey.

Both Mr. Christie and Ms. Guadagno are long-time residents of the state — he was born in Newark, grew up in Livingston and now resides with his family in Mendham. Ms. Guadagno has lived and worked in New Jersey for many years, and now lives in Monmouth Beach.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine, who is seeking election to a second term, has not made an official announcement as to his selection, though he is reported to be considering Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, Senator Loretta Weinberg and Rhodes Scholar and winner of Season 4 of “The Apprentice,” Randal Pinkett.

Already a heated battle, with candidates mainly clashing over financial policy issues, the race between Mr. Corzine, Mr. Christie and independent candidate Chris Daggett should be historic, the first featuring a “running-mate.”

Stay tuned for more news on the local angles to the race.


Please feel free to visit the New York Times local section, where this blog entry was featured yesterday: http://maplewood.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/christie-in-a-first-picks-a-running-mate/

Medical Amnesty Policies Gaining Ground Nationally!

Every year, 1,800 college students die in accidents (off the road) involving alcohol. And what are schools doing to combat this rising problem? Some schools are "cracking down" on underage drinking, claiming that enforcing existing laws is all that needs to be done to fix the solution. However, some college presidents and administrations have taken a more thoughtful approach to ensuring their students stay safe: Medical Amnesty.

Medical amnesty policies grant students who call emergency service (campus police, EMTs, etc) for a medical emergency where people were consuming alcohol (whether that led to the emergency or not) and are under 21 immunity from punishment, in an effort to ensure a student never goes without calling for help.

The majority of college students report being less likely to call for help because of a fear of getting in trouble. Primary research we did when I was chair of the Public Health & Safety at Hampshire College (which contributed to eventual adoption of a medical amnesty policy at Hampshire) did show that students were significantly less likely to call for help if alcohol (or illegal drugs) are involved.

A recent story from ABC has more about this, please take a moment to read the story below!

It's Official - Tap Water Safer Than Bottled Water

The large transportation costs and plastic usage of bottled water has long upset environmentalists who see a lot of wasted energy going into a product that is available throughout the country through your tap. To add to the seemingly large array of problems related to bottled water, Consumer Reports recently concluded that tap water is indeed safer to drink than bottled water.

In a Consumer Reports article from July 10th called "Is tap water safer than bottled?" they seem to answer that question in the affirmative: Yes, it is.

Bottled water, regulated under the federal Food and Drug Administration and the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act has less stringent quality standards than tap water, which is regulated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The EPA has more restrictions as to the amount of particulate matter that can be present in water, and there are a few substances that the EPA regulates that the FDA doesn't have any limits for. Certain bottled waters leech carcinogens into the water as well from the plastics used in the bottle.

When looking at whether to drink bottled or tap water, personally I always choose tap water. In restaurants or any pubic places it's free, taste just the same as most bottled water (double-blind studies show that people are more influenced by either the brand or the price, and cannot actually tell the difference between premium bottled water and tap water), does not have the environmental costs as bottled water, and, it turns out, is actually safer for you. The choice seems pretty simple to me.

Water is becoming a serious world-wide issue as people's access to clean drinking water is in higher demand than it has ever been. Drinking tap water, rather than bottled water, may actually help reduce the energy and environmental costs of ensuring that all people have access to clean, safe drinking water.

Consumer Reports: http://blogs.consumerreports.org/safety/water_safety/

Update to A1360, New Jersey's Medical Amnesty Bill

NJ Bill A1360 a bill that "Grants immunity to certain underage persons for unlawful possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages" has passed in the Senate 38-0.

Here is the timeline the bill has taken so far: (From the NJ Legislature)

9/22/2008 Introduced, Referred to Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee
3/12/2009 Reported from Assembly Comm. as a Substitute, 2nd Reading
5/21/2009 Passed by the Assembly (77-0-0)
5/21/2009 Received in the Senate without Reference, 2nd Reading
6/25/2009 Substituted for S2748
6/25/2009 Passed Senate (Passed Both Houses) (38-0)

Now, the bill needs to gain the signature of Governor Jon Corzine. I'll post updated as news comes out about that.

Here the sponsors of the bill:
Angelini, Mary Pat as Primary Sponsor
Johnson, Gordon M. as Primary Sponsor
Bramnick, Jon M. as Primary Sponsor
Evans, Elease as Primary Sponsor
Rodriguez, Caridad as Co-Sponsor
O'Scanlon, Declan J., Jr. as Co-Sponsor
Handlin, Amy H. as Co-Sponsor
Rible, David P. as Co-Sponsor
Chivukula, Upendra J. as Co-Sponsor
Diegnan, Patrick J., Jr. as Co-Sponsor
Casagrande, Caroline as Co-Sponsor
Wagner, Connie as Co-Sponsor
Kean, Sean T. as Co-Sponsor
Girgenti, John A. as Co-Sponsor
Van Drew, Jeff as Co-Sponsor
Bateman, Christopher as Co-Sponsor
Turner, Shirley K. as Co-Sponsor

More Information:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/BillView.asp

MADD Lambasts Brewery over New Jersey Themed Beer

Mothers Against Drunk Driving on Friday criticized a New Jersey Brewery of helping contribute to the drunk driving problem by offering New Jersey themed beer.

Flying Fish Brewery, based in Cherry Hill, NJ, is receiving flak from MADD because of a new line of beers that they recently announced. This line of beers, celebrating New Jersey, will be comprised of many different beers to be released periodically, each one named after an exit on the New Jersey Turnpike. The first brew released "Exit 4" is named after the exit closest to where Flying Fish calls home. Reports the Associated Press, "The next beer, Exit 11 Hoppy American Wheat Ale, is scheduled to start hitting bars and stores in the region on July 15. The intersection of styles is a tribute to Woodbridge's exit, where the Turnpike meets the Garden State Parkway."

However, Mothers Against Drunk Driving is criticizing the brewery for encouraging drunk driving. Mindy Lazar, the executive director of MADD, New Jersey said "The combination of a roadway and advertising for any kind of a beer doesn't make any kind of sense," she continued. "This is almost a mockery."

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority also has responded over concerns that the organization may be seen as endorsing the beer. Flying Fish has since released a disclaimer that no endorsement is implied.

Responding to MADD's concerns, Brewery president Gene Mueller said this not at all true, "The one thing that both of us agree is drinking and driving is never an option," he said. He also commented that they were originally going to base the alcohol content off of the exit number of the beer, but quickly realized that once you get around exit 16 or 17 it would become "dangerous."

Does naming a beer after sentimental or historically significant exits off of a state highway really create any problems? Is it likely that someone will see this beer and feel more comfortable getting behind the wheel of a car after consuming too much of it? Not likely, at all. Rather, this seems to be more of an attack by MADD against alcohol in general.

Since the organization's founding in 1980, MADD has gone through a few eras of leadership. Candice Lightner was the woman who founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving (Originally called Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) after her 13 year-old daughter was killed by a hit and run drunk driver who had four previous DUIs, including another hit and run just days earlier. Lightner started MADD to crack down on repeat offenders and provide support for families or friends of people who have met tragedy because of drunk driving accidents. However, just five years later (only one year after MADD lobbied for the 21 year-old drinking age) Lightner left MADD, becoming an outspoken critic accusing MADD of becoming "anti-alcohol". Lighnter said, after leaving MADD, that the organization "has become far more neo-prohibitionist than I had ever wanted or envisioned … I didn’t start MADD to deal with alcohol. I started MADD to deal with the issue of drunk driving."

Is it possible that MADD has seriously over-reacted to the Flying Fish Brewery's beers, which are meant to celebrate unique history and culture of New Jersey? Most likely, MADD is using anything it can to lobby against alcohol and its enjoyment, whether it be responsible, irresponsible, over 21 or under 21.*




*An interesting fact: MADD does not consider responsible alcohol consumption to literally exist for anyone under the age of 21.

Sources and Reading:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/mothers_against_drunk_driving.html
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TURNPIKE_BEER?SITE=1010WINS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

NJ Gubernatorial Election Update: Chris Daggett, Independent Candidate, Enters the Race

Today marks the announcement of the candidacy of Chris Daggett for Governor of New Jersey. Daggett today announced that he will be seeking office on an independent ticket, citing that over 50% of registered voters in New Jersey are registered as not affiliated to a political party, and that independent voters outnumber both Democrat and Republican voters by a large margin in the Garden State.

Daggett has just surpassed, by $10,000, the $340,000 raised funds mark to qualify for public election funding. This means that for every dollar that Daggett himself spends, the state will provide $3. Daggett will receive that funding as part of agreeing to some terms, including taking part in official debates.

Daggett believes that neither party has accurately reflected what New Jerseyans want in Trenton and that the political system is broken in its current partisanship.

More information at Chris Daggett's website: http://daggettforgovernor.com/wordpress/

Sources & Reading:
http://daggettforgovernor.com/wordpress/
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/nj_independent_candidate_for_g.html

Describing the Divide

"Gradually I began to understand how different a place Hamilton had become..."
- Barrett Seaman. Former Time Magazine editor, author of Binge and trustee of Hamilton College.

Drinking has always been a part of college life. Indeed the mere fact that alcohol has been associated with the idea of rebelling is partly what has contributed to it being seen as the root of many problems. The truth is, that as residential colleges started to become more common in the US, problems started to arise. These problems, including violence, sexual promiscuity, alcohol and drug abuse, destruction of property and other similar 'immature' decisions and behaviors started to become serious problems that campuses have to deal with. Because these young people were able to live some of their youth years away from parental - or really any - oversight, they naturally become, well, more rambunctious than they had been. Alcohol was as much a part of that as anything else, though it would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to conclude that alcohol itself (with no distinction as to how its drunk) was the cause. More likely, excessive and abusive alcohol use (which may lead to some of those problems) became the norm on college campuses.

When discussing the problems that college campuses face now, especially in regards to alcohol, I sometimes forget that my college experience is very different than the college experience of many of those whom I'm speaking with, who may have gone to school 30 years ago. (A time when my alma mater was just being built!)

This was brought up to me at my recent lecture/discussion "Rethinking 21" in Lake Luzerne, NY by a friend/audience member, who reminded me that there may be a large discrepancy of how people define campus life and alcohol culture.

Barrett Seaman lays down an very accurate view of modern college life in his book Binge: What Your College Student Won't Tell You. He sums this up well by saying, after spending two weeks living in student housing at Hamilton, "My two-week stay made me realize how very different student life was compared to what I had experienced."

When I speak about the problems of youth alcohol abuse with people older than myself they often share stories about crazy drinking parties when they went to college, yet as Seaman also notes, those events rarely, if ever, led to emergency room visits, stomach pumping or death. Unfortunately, college campuses are too often visited by ambulances, and as a student leader for four years, helping to organize many campus events, the goal is to reduce the number of ambulance visits from the previous year. Off the record, staff and organizers will use the number of ambulance visits on campus during an event to measure an events success. Many larger schools see multiple ambulance visits as inevitable and often specifically reserve ambulances to standby on campus. That didn't used to happen.

Although drinking culture on college campuses has existed for decades, if not more, in the US, the problems facing young people are vastly different than before and require a serious re-examination of the state of our college campuses to fully understand the problems that exist. I'll end with a quote from my thesis, Breaking Taboo:

Some studies may correlate – sometimes very loosely - certain behaviors, but until you’ve been on the wrong end of the drinking age, and are leaving a party of high school students and have actually watched groups of intoxicated kids pull out their cell phones as they drunkenly climb into their cars trying to find the next party so they can drink more, you are missing a critical perspective regarding the drinking age.

Further Reading
Binge, By Barret Seaman

Sarah Palin's Resignation as Governor of Alaska

On Friday, Sarah Palin shocked quite a few people by formally resigning from her position as Governor of Alaska. Citing personal reasons, Palin gave up her position in a similar fashion to her resignation from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) in 2004. When Palin resigned from AOGCC in 2004, the move helped launch her into a larger political spotlight.

Although Palin ran on a populist platform for Governor, and held extremely high approval ratings (generally in the 80s) for the beginning of her tenure as Governor, her popularity took a nosedive after her VP candidacy in the 2008 Presidential election. Democrats accused her of no longer working with them, and Republicans felt as alienated as well. Palin's approval ratings after the '08 election dropped into the 50s and never fully recovered.

The best take on why Palin may have done this is from TIME:

1) This resignation is a mirror of her move in 2004 with AOGCC
2) She no longer has bi-partisan support
3) She has introduced almost no bills, and only one made it to becoming law
4) Her national publicity has waned since the election, and this is to remind America of Sarah Palin
5) The enormous cost of defending herself against ethics violations is not worth being in office for.

Follow up below to read TIME's full article.

Sources & Reading
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1908800-2,00.html
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/obama/2009/07/06/republicans-perplexed-by-palins-resignation.html
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/07/06/1987086.aspx

Re-evaluating the drinking age @ WhiteHouse2.org

WhiteHouse2.org is....

Hollywood has the box office charts, television has the Nielsen's, college basketball has the ESPN/USA Today poll. Why don't we track our nation's priorities as closely?

White House 2 lets you set your own priorities for the United States. You'll get your own page, which you can send to friends and colleagues urging them to sign on to support your priorities.

The more people you encourage to endorse your priorities, the higher those priorities will rise on the site. And the more people who join the network, the more clout we will have with the President and the media to make our agenda happen.
(Source: Whitehouse2.org)

Head on over to the WhiteHouse2.org site to endorse asking President Obama to re-evaluate the 21 year-old drinking age.

Personal Democracy Forum 2009 Recap

Personal Democracy Forum (http://personaldemocracy.com) Wow. Instead of describing each session, as there are plenty of great summaries (search Twitter for #pdf09) I just wanted to note some thoughts:

Nate Silver brought up an interesting point in regards to the tea parties. Though he wasn't endorsing the content of those events, he certainly was impressed, and rightly so, at conservative organizing. He pointed out how it is in general more difficult for republicans to organize the way democrats do because they tend to live in rural areas - an interesting point that I hadn't thought about.

Blair Levin talked a bunch about how the FCC is changing to provide more access and accountability.

Vivek Kundra, the US Chief Information Officer presented the new federal IT Dashboard - a way to get information about money, investments, projects, budgets, contracts out to the American people. Really breakthrough concept & design - it.usaspending.gov.

Alex Ross, from the US State Dept., commenting on political organizing, said how drastic this culture is changing. No longer do you necessarily need a charismatic person who looks great on camera, etc. When organizing via Facebook or twitter, none of that really matters. This is interesting, as it is similar to much of what was talked about that seems as though technology is flattening the playing field of politics and political organizing.

The New York Senate Chief Information Officer presented the re-design of nysenate.gov, which is based on free, open-source software. This is a huge step, and hopefully an example for other state legislatures.


Overall, technology is going to be changing politics in ways that even now we literally can't imagine. So much happens so fast, and we are at the base of an exponential curve of improvement in tech. Looking even just at the role that Twitter has played recently in Iran, one must wonder what new platforms and technologies will be develop, even in the next few years, and how those new developments will impact government, politics and democracy.



Here is a list of the sessions/people I saw speak:

Opening Welcome, Andrew Rasiej and Micah L. Sifry

Did Obama Revolutionize Campaigning? A Conversation with Joe Rospars (Obama '08) and Mark McKinnon (McCain '08)

Keynote speech on how technology is improving government by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Reality Check: The Internet's Impact on Politics: A Conversation With Nate Silver, Fivethirtyeight.com

Powering the Youth Vote. Maria-Teresa Kumar of VotoLatino; Greg Miller of the Open Source Digital Voting Foundation; and Mike Connery of Future Majority

Mobile Politicking: From Text-Messaging Basics to Campaign iPhone Apps: Scott Goodstein, CEO - Revolution Messaging, LLC and External Online Director for Obama for America; Becky Bond, Political Director at CREDO Mobile and Working Assets; Nicola Wells, Organizer for FIRM, the Fair Immigration Reform Movement; Beka Economopoulos, Fission Strategy

PoliTech Demos: Tristan Harris of Apture, Stan Magniant of Linkfluence, Abby Kirigin of TipJoy

The Obama Broadband Initiative and the Future of the Internet: Opening Remarks by Blair Levin, FCC; Discussion with Josh Silver, Founder of Free Media; James Assey, Executive Vice President of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association; Hank Hultquist, Vice President, Federal Regulatory, AT&T Andrew Rasiej (moderator)

Innovation in Government, Obama-Style: Conversations With and Vivek Kundra, US Chief Information Officer; and Macon Phillips, White House New Media Drirector; introduced by Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist

Chairman Steele said, “Take the lid off”: The New GOP Web Presence, Todd Herman, new media director for the Republican National Committee

Social Networks and Social Revolutions, Randi Zuckerberg, marketing director at Facebook

21st Century Statecraft: Fostering Citizen-Centered Diplomacy and Development, Alec Ross, Senior Advisor for Innovation in the Office of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

The Machine is (Changing) Us: YouTube Culture and the Politics of Authenticity, Michael Wesch, Professor at Kansas State University

The Dangerous Power of Sharing (Power), Mark Pesce, Inventer, writer

Mapping the Networked Public Sphere: How Blogs, Mainstream Media and Official Sources Interact: Ken Deutsch, Director of Strategic Services and Partnerships at Morningside Analytics; Stan Magniant, Vice President & General Manager of Linkfluence Vincent Ducrey, French Government new media director; Michael Cornfield, Vice President for Research and Media Strategy at 720 Strategies

PoliTech Demos: Andrew Hoppin, the CIO of NYSenate.gov, David Moore of OpenCongress, Benjamin Stein of MobileCommons and Tristan Harris of Apture


Final Plenary: Can We.gov? How? A Conversation With Rep. Steve Israel, (D-NY) Jack Dorsey, Creator, Chairman and co-founder of Twitter, Ellen Miller, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Sunlight Foundation and Joe Trippi, Democratic Campaign Strategist.