The Political Voices of Women

Now that independent bloggers have become a viable and influential source of political news and commentary it appears that the mainstream media has declared all out war.

Frequent visitors to the blogosphere are familiar with the fact that news agency, The Associated Press (AP) sent DMCA notices to the Drudge Report, citing that DR’s use of excerpts from AP articles infringes on their copyrights.

You’re also probably familiar with Viacom’s lawsuit against Google over Youtube’s use of their content. A federal judge is now ordering YouTube to turn over information on its users’ viewing history.

And the latest salvo has targeted Redlasso, the video search and clipping service that many bloggers have come to rely upon.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

NBC Universal and Fox filed suit Wednesday against RedLasso Inc., saying the video provider copies and distributes the companies’ content without authorization.

In the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, NBC Universal, Fox News Channel and Fox Television Stations Group said RedLasso had been engaging in the “wholly unauthorized” copying and distribution of its content. It isn’t clear how much in damages the companies are seeking from RedLasso.

Informal talks had been going on between RedLasso and NBC, Fox and other networks since the companies sent a cease and desist order in May. It wasn’t immediately clear why the other companies, which included CBS Corp. and Allbritton Communications Co., did not join in the lawsuit.

Is anyone surprised that FOX is involved in this?

Redlasso executives issued the following press release this afternoon:

REDLASSO TO SUSPEND ACCESS TO BETA SITE
COMPANY TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SERVICES FOR
BUSINESS AND RADIO TO WEB CLIENTS

King of Prussia, PA – July 25, 2008 – In light of recent legal actions by two networks, Redlasso(www.redlasso.com) announced today that it has no alternative but to suspend blogger access to its video search and clipping Beta site for the immediate future. The company will continue to operate and provide services to its business and Radio To Web clients such as Greater Media and XMSatellite Radio.

The now-suspended Beta site provides bloggers with online broadcast content tools that enables them to exercise their first amendment rights to comment on newsworthy events, by searching blogger-selected TV and radio segments and creating limited duration clips for usage in blog posts.

In addition to the Beta site, Redlasso also offers two other services which will continue.

The first is a solution for businesses that allows them to track and clip content for internal use. The second service, Radio To Web, is an on-line platform that allows each radio station client to search, clip, and upload its content to its own web site and share that content online.

“We are very disappointed in the actions of select networks. We believe we have always acted within the law and have been respectful of the networks’ rights. Unfortunately, they have forced our hand and are denying the blogging community access to the Redlasso platform that beneficially tracks the usage of newsworthy clips across the Web,” said Ken Hayward, CEO of Redlasso.

“Redlasso’s goal is to develop a platform that provides content owners and bloggers a viable solution to tracking and monetizing content online, not to engage in lawsuits. In the eight months the Beta site has been in operation, we have built wide brand awareness and equity amongst the blogger and media communities. The wide spread use of our tools and platform demonstrates that the Redlasso model is a simple and elegant solution for all content owners to track and monetize content usage on the Web; content that would otherwise be untraceably spread across the Internet and used
for free.”

What is really at the heart of these legal actions?

Could it be that the political power brokers are realizing that if Americans aren’t limited to getting their news from mainstream media sources that they won’t be as easily lead?

The following videos address just how powerful the blogosphere has become and why forces like the Rupert Murdochs and the Washington insiders might want to see it stifled. View them while you can.

In the following video Sherine Tadros of AlJazeeraEnglish reports on how internet technology has changed the face of politics and political coverage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz7zx2M6FWE

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In this video, TheRealNews interviews Joe Trippi, author of “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” about the social shift from TV to the Internet will affect politics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxWJ7NQgaqQ

PunditMom is asking the question…Should Barack Obama and John McCain should come to the BlogHer conference?

Last year, after attending my first BlogHer conference, I was a little put out when I discovered that most of the Democratic presidential candidates were making appearances at The Yearly Kos conference just one week later (now called Netroots Nation) and not BlogHer.

Having heard more times than I care to count that women voters are the key demographic to winning elections – especially this election — it just didn’t make sense. Of course, I was thrilled that Elizabeth Edwards was hanging out with us BlogHer chicks, but it’s a different message to send a spouse rather than the candidate him- or herself.

I hoped that would change this year, especially with the general election just four months away.

What do you think? Do the Obama and McCain campaigns realize the impact that over 1,000 women bloggers could have? Are they making a mistake by not attending?

Personally, I would love to see Hillary Clinton there.

Yoani Sanchez is a brave woman blogger, who blogs her life in Cuba. She was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2008.

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Here is her blog…

http://www.desdecuba.com/generaciony/

Castro Threatens Cuban Blogger

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This is a post by Shannon Lowe, BlogHer contributing editor — Military Families Blogging Deployment

My favorite thing about participating in the blogosphere is the opportunity it provides to walk a mile (or two, or twenty) in the shoes of people in very different life experiences from my own. I have been learning much lately by reading some of the blogs by parents holding down the fort at home while their spouses are deployed overseas in the U.S. Armed Forces. Many of these families are blogging their journey with great honesty and courage.

Read Full Post At BlogHer

Welcome to the new and improved Political Voices of Women. We still have our list of over 400 women political bloggers, and a great community. But, we’ve changed our look a bit, and now we also have eight contributing editors.

Joanne Bamberger from PunditMom

Pamela Lyn from Pam’s Coffee Conversation

Patricia Murphy from Citizen Jane Politics

Suzanne Reisman from CUSS

Dana Tuszke from The Dana Files

Jill Zimon from Writes Like She Talks

Kay B. Day from Covering Florida

Tami from What Tami Said

I hope you enjoy the changes, and all of the different political perspectives from our new contributors.

McCain Flip-Flops on Offshore Oil Drilling - by Catherine Morgan 

John McCain is using our sky-high gas prices to justify his flip-flopping on the issue of offshore oil drilling. I mentioned this yesterday in a post, and questioned why the MSM didn’t seem to notice. Today, they have noticed.

However, there is no evidence that allowing more offshore drilling will help in reducing the price of gas in the near future (as McCain is suggesting), or even the far future. But, I guess the McCain campaign is hoping you will be fooled, and vote for McCain in the hopes of lower gas prices.

Here is an interesting clip from The Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer…

SEE VIDEO AND READ FULL POST AT THE CARE2 ELECTION BLOG

Afghan Prison Break - Taliban Fighters Taking Control — by Catherine Morgan (cross posted at The Care2 Election Blog)

Have you heard about the prison break by Taliban rebels in Afghanistan on Friday? You might not have, it’s not getting very much coverage in the MSM. However, as the days have gone by, this situation has escalated. Here are some video and news clips, as well as blogger reaction to this news.The first report I heard about this prison break was this 1 1/2 minute piece of coverage…

What do you think? How big of a problem is this prison break? How big of a problem is the Taliban in Afghanistan? Has the war in Iraq hurt the war on terrorism?

READ FULL POST AND SEE ALL THE VIDEO CLIPS AT THE CARE2 ELECTION BLOG–

Here is a guest post from Frances at Frances Ellen Speaks.

(If you would like to be a guest blogger on this site, please join our community)

Have you noticed whether your gas station is putting ethanol in their gas? Have you noticed that your gas mileage has decreased?

I get my gas at a Shell station and right there on the front of the pump is a sticker that says, Contains 10% Ethanol. My gas consumption has been rising by leaps and bounds lately, but I’m not driving any more than usual. Actually, because of the gas prices, I’m more selective about where I go and how I get there.

While I was pumping, I looked up at the sign to see if the price had come down since my gas was now being spiked with ethanol. What a joke! What made me think a gas company would dream of giving the consumer a break.

It appears I’m not the only person that’s miffed. Here’s an excerpt from Slow Food Waltz

Ethanol, isn’t it’s use supposed to lower gas prices? Huh??

Help me out someone, what am I missing here. I just noticed this Shell gas station uses 10 percent ethanol, but the gas prices are exactly the same as they are at other places. Will ethanol ever translate to a cost savings for the consumer??

Okay, so the price hasn’t come down. It’s still up there at $3.90 a gallon in my neck of the woods. To top that off, I recently purchased a fuel economy car, but now I’m getting less gas mileage. That’s a fact and I’m not the only one who’s noticed. See information from Punny Money.

It lowers fuel economy. That 10% ethanol being mixed into your gasoline might be helping to keep it 10 cents a gallon cheaper, but you’re probably getting 10-30% fewer miles per gallon because of it. Since all the gas stations around here switched to a 10% ethanol blend, my gas mileage has dropped by about 15%!

What is going on? I understand it’s imperative that we cultivate some type of alternative fuel, but why am I suffering while the gas companies are reporting record-breaking profits? Oh yeah, I forgot–I don’t have a lobbyist. Drat!

So, it appears that you and I will be at the pumps more often, paying the same ridiculous prices. And I don’t expect to hear too much squawking from anyone because the change is couched in “alternative fuel” rhetoric. I suppose the media will somehow find a way to make it sound unpatriotic if anyone speaks out against it, too. What a racket!

READ MORE BY FRANCES AT FRANCES ELLEN SPEAKS

Also See:

How High Will Gas Prices Go?

Taxes on Big Oil

$4+ Gas Prices

The Obama campaign builds a rumor debunking website called Fight The Smears. — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at The Care2 Election Blog)

I think this is an excellent idea, and I hope it will help to cut down on the amount of lies swirling around Obama. For the life of me, I don’t understand how people actually believe this stuff. I believe people should start looking at these smear emails that are forwarded to them, the same way we look at tabloids when we are standing in line at the grocery store. These emails are the cyber equivalent of a tabloid magazine, and we all know we can’t believe what we read in the tabloids.

From TIME…

As long as there have been rumors in politics, there has been one widely accepted way for a candidate to deal with them. Basically, it’s not to. Otherwise, according to prevailing wisdom, all a candidate achieves is to elevate the rumors to a legitimate story for the media to feast on. That don’t-go-there approach was Barack Obama’s plan for months until, on the candidate’s first full day of campaigning as his party’s presumed presidential nominee, a reporter from McClatchy Newspapers who was traveling aboard his plane asked him about a particularly toxic bit of hearsay that was zooming around the Internet about his wife Michelle. Obama lost his cool. “We have seen this before. There is dirt and lies that are circulated in e-mails, and they pump them out long enough until finally you, a mainstream reporter, asks me about it,” Obama said, bristling. “That gives legs to the story. If somebody has evidence that myself or Michelle or anybody has said something inappropriate, let them do it.”

That night, in a conference call, Obama told his top aides it was time for a more aggressive solution to the rumors that have been popping up on the Internet about him and his family for months. And so the Obama campaign has built what might best be described as a Web-based rumor clearinghouse, located at fightthesmears.com, in which it hopes all the shady stories about Obama’s faith, his family and his rumored connections with controversial figures can go to die.

From MSNBC…

Obama’s campaign has mastered the use of the Internet for fundraising. His backers have used viral videos like the “Yes we can” mash-up and the ‘Empire Strikes Barack’-style videos to rev up supporters. But there have also been instances where the Web has hurt Obama, like the Rev. Wright playing on a loop on YouTube. There have also been numerous emails about Obama being a Muslim and a man who refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance and most recently messages accusing his wife Michelle of uttering a racial epithet at Obama’s former church.

With all the talk about Hillary supports not supporting Barack Obama, it was nice to see some pro-Hillary sites promote the new site by Obama.

From The Hillary 1000…

Hell, The Clintons could have used a site like this during the Vast-Right-Wing-Conspiracy’s infancy. Notwithstanding the opening quote at the top of the page that the Obama campaign is above the politics-as-usual approach of demonizing his opponent[’s tears (she didn’t cry over Katrina), roots (Annie Oakley), and memories (RFK, anyone?)], I’m nonetheless satisfied that he’s taking on the xenophobic, racist attacks against him (you know, that he’s an unpatriotic terrorist who hates white people).

Fightthesmears.com is required reading for anyone compelled to leave similar incendiary remarks at this site. Let’s keep up the fight here for Obama to answer to the sexism and misogyny that helped propel his victory, and expect him to keep exposing McCain as not an independent, post-partisan maverick but as the right-wing conservative he is.

Emily from Political Artwork has an interesting post on the new website by the Obama campaign.

From The Daily Democrat…

For weeks now there has been an internet rumor, started by Larry Johnson, that there was a very damaging tape out there with Michelle Obama saying something racist against whites. Johnson promised to produce the tape, or at least more solid information about it, but we have seen nothing. But the Republicans have learned that the rumor is enough to cause problems. The right wing radio shows are smearing Michelle with this rumor, and now FOX News has joined in with its own ugly racist approach.

So now McCain, once the victim of typical Republican smear tactics, is allowing his surrogates to use such attacks against his opponent. Why? Because there is no way he can win against this incredibly popular, intelligent, youthful, and historical candidate unless he makes him completely unacceptable to white America. He has to paint Obama - and if not Obama, then his wife - as a dangerous black person, someone not to be trusted, someone who is not “one of us.” McCain is old, increasingly forgetful or confused, and is supporting failed policies and failed wars. Unless he can appeal to the covert racism in many voters, and make Barack and Michelle Obama into suspicious and un-American characters, he will lose. So the wingnuts on FOX and right wing radio are beginning the campaign.

From Seeing the Forest…

Conservatives campaign with smears. It goes back to the days when the tobacco industry was trying to discredit people who said their product was harmful to people. The way they campaign for office is to destroy their opponents rather than make the case for themselves.

They destroy our leaders. And they have been working to destroy Obama with lies and innuendo and smears.

The Obama campaign has launched a website to fight the smears…

Pro-Life group has a Pro-Choice site that is really Anti-Choice. What will they think of next?

From Jessica at Feministing…

Before today, I never visited prochoice.com. And I’m sincerely hoping others haven’t either. Because the site, rife with rhetoric about ‘choice’, is actually an anti-choice website that contains gems such as “[abortion is] the death of another less developed human being” and “the dirty little secret is that Abortion providers are interested in their bottom line YOUR MONEY.”

The bullshit goes on and on, in all of their sections on adoption, abortion and parenthood. The kicker? There’s a little “Under Development” icon of a waving (yes, waving) fetus.

Consider my day ruined.

Have you heard about this? What do you think?