NetAction Notes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Published by NetAction Issue No. 2 September 2, 1996 Repost where appropriate. See copyright information at end of message. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Watching the Grassroots Grow Creating networks and coalitions with grassroots organizations requires patience, attention and care -- much the same qualities a gardener needs to grow healthy flowers and vegetables. Like well-tended gardens, activist networks and coalitions will thrive if they are nurtured. Cyberspace activists who are interested in developing powerful networks and coalitions with community-based organizations will need to "cultivate" the grassroots organizations with regular visits and phone calls, as well as with reciprocal support when requested. This issue of NetAction Notes discusses two issues likely to be of interest to some of our offline allies, includes pointers to additional online resources, and suggestions for building coalitions. * * * * * * * * * * Frequent Flyer Meets Big Brother Weekend reports from the Washington Post and Reuters news service suggest that government officials are considering sacrificing our privacy in order to save us from terrorism. Frequent flyers will not be pleased, and neither will anyone else who values privacy. According to the news reports, a presidential commission on aviation security is considering plans that would require airline companies to scrutinize all passengers at U.S. airports using massive computer files. Under this plan, a computer profiling system would be created that would examine passengers' bill-paying records, flying habits and other data in an effort to identify potential terrorists and other suspicious individuals. According to The Washington Post, senior officials involved in the commission's deliberations say that federal agencies and White House staff plan to propose a combination of computer profiling and explosives detection equipment as the chief option for countering airline terrorism. Will government officials actually propose a plan this extreme? Maybe, maybe not. If they do, privacy advocates and civil libertarians will have a powerful, bipartisan issue to organize around -- one that readily lends itself to coalition-building efforts at the community level. Even without a formal announcement of the plan, cyberspace activists should begin thinking strategically about the types of organizations that might have an interest in this issue. Senior and labor organizations, church groups and immigrant rights organizations are all likely allies. Lists to watch for further developments on this issue include the Red Rock Eater News Service and the CPSR Cyber-Rights Discussion List. To subscribe to Red Rock Eater, send email to: rre-request@weber.ucsd.edu In the subject line, type: subscribe To subscribe to CPSR's Cyber-Rights list: send email to: listserv@cpsr.org In the message body, type: subscribe cyber-rights An extensive archive of information on electronic privacy issues is available on the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Web page at: http://www.cpsr.org * * * * * * * * * * Getting Into the House (of Representatives) Gary Ruskin of the Congressional Accountability Project is seeking help from cyberspace activists in signing up co-sponsors in the House of Representatives for House Resolution 478, which would provide citizens with Internet access to many important House documents that are not available through the federal government's existing Internet services. Introduced by Representative Rick White (R-WA), H.R. 478 would enable anyone with Internet access to obtain the same documents presently made available to Washington lobbyists. At present, there are only four co-sponsors of the resolution, Reps. Dreier (R-CA), Bass (R-NH), Brownback (R-KS), and Frisa (R-NY). Access to these documents is critical to public interest advocates inside and outside of the Beltway who are working to influence federal legislation. According to Ruskin, committee hearing records, which are often available to Washington lobbyists within 48 hours, may not be provided to citizen activists for a year or more. H.R. 478 will pass if there are enough co-sponsors to generate political pressure. Cyberspace activists are urged to contact their House member and ask them to co-sponsor the resolution. All members of the House can be reached through the Congressional Switchboard, at (202) 224-3121. While some members have E-mail, electronic communication is not as effective as a telephone call or fax. Because the resolution would provide Internet access to House travel expense reports, oversight plans, and committee staff lists, the media is a likely ally on this issue. Consider writing a short letter to the editor of your local paper, or call the editor and suggest an editorial on the subject. Local television and radio outlets may be willing to air a 60-second public service announcement in support of the resolution. To receive Congressional Reform Briefings from the Congressional Accountability Project, send an email message to: listproc@essential.org In the body of the message type: subscribe cong-reform HotWired writer Brock Meeks has written two articles about online access to Congressional documents. The articles are located at: http://www.netizen.com/netizen/96/29/index3a.html and http://www.hotwired.com/muckraker/96/10/index3a.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright 1996 by NetAction. All rights reserved. Material may be reposted or reproduced for non-commercial use provided NetAction is cited as the source. NetAction is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting effective grassroots citizen action campaigns by creating coalitions that link online activists with grassroots organizations, providing training to online activists in effective organizing strategies, and educating the public, policymakers and the media about technology-based social and political issues. To subscribe to NetAction Notes, send a message to: . The body of the message should state: To unsubscribe at any time, send a message to: The body of the message should state: For more information about NetAction, contact Audrie Krause: E-mail: audrie@netaction.org Phone: (415) 775-8674 Or write to: NetAction 601 Van Ness Ave., No. 631 San Francisco, CA 94102