Thursday, March 15, 2007
Internet impacts politics – here & abroad
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
A Nigerian born engineer friend, in the US since 1974 and currently semi-retired as a math tutor in Florida, visits Lagos annually, and claims that every household there is computerized, with internet access.. Not just those with school-age kids, adults too are accessing commercial sites, as well as non-commercial and government resources that make themselves available, and daily newspapers (we looked at some).
Can we make the same comparable claims about our New York neighbors? Well, yes. I can only think of four confirmed Luddite friends who refuse to use computers in their private lives. Otherwise, of the 18 neighbors surveyed 16 have home IT gear, and all have done or do work with complex commercial IT equipment. As to non-commercial and government services making themselves available on-line, the findings range.
Take government resources – all NYC legislators and administrators have web sites, government-provided, with e-mail and fax communications facilities, and staff to answer your inquiries and complaints. That means PR people and press relations experts and legislative assistants and chiefs of staff to supervise them, in profuse numbers, servicing all levels of legislators, City Council and up, as well as commissioners in charge of administrative departments. What an explosion in government costs and functions…
On the voluntary service level, let’s examine our political clubs, the citizens-in-action groups in the 74th Assembly District. Now, I’ve only looked at the internet briefly, and would appreciate your corrections, but of the four Democratic clubs only one appears to have a web site. This is a sad commentary, and there is a reason – the high cost of real estate has driven all of these low dues organizations out of rental rooms, and they are now relying on community-minded religious and social service organizations for donated monthly meeting space. No longer is there a clubhouse where you drop in to pass time and help fold and stuff envelopes, or make phone calls to voters, or answer their questions, or conduct housing clinics, or even keep files and maintain a web site.
Of the four 74th AD Democratic clubs, the Samuel J. Tilden Democratic Club, District Leaders Louise Dankberg and Steven J. Smollens, POBox 1500 NY 10159-1500, can be found as
A Nigerian born engineer friend, in the US since 1974 and currently semi-retired as a math tutor in Florida, visits Lagos annually, and claims that every household there is computerized, with internet access.. Not just those with school-age kids, adults too are accessing commercial sites, as well as non-commercial and government resources that make themselves available, and daily newspapers (we looked at some).
Can we make the same comparable claims about our New York neighbors? Well, yes. I can only think of four confirmed Luddite friends who refuse to use computers in their private lives. Otherwise, of the 18 neighbors surveyed 16 have home IT gear, and all have done or do work with complex commercial IT equipment. As to non-commercial and government services making themselves available on-line, the findings range.
Take government resources – all NYC legislators and administrators have web sites, government-provided, with e-mail and fax communications facilities, and staff to answer your inquiries and complaints. That means PR people and press relations experts and legislative assistants and chiefs of staff to supervise them, in profuse numbers, servicing all levels of legislators, City Council and up, as well as commissioners in charge of administrative departments. What an explosion in government costs and functions…
On the voluntary service level, let’s examine our political clubs, the citizens-in-action groups in the 74th Assembly District. Now, I’ve only looked at the internet briefly, and would appreciate your corrections, but of the four Democratic clubs only one appears to have a web site. This is a sad commentary, and there is a reason – the high cost of real estate has driven all of these low dues organizations out of rental rooms, and they are now relying on community-minded religious and social service organizations for donated monthly meeting space. No longer is there a clubhouse where you drop in to pass time and help fold and stuff envelopes, or make phone calls to voters, or answer their questions, or conduct housing clinics, or even keep files and maintain a web site.
Of the four 74th AD Democratic clubs, the Samuel J. Tilden Democratic Club, District Leaders Louise Dankberg and Steven J. Smollens, POBox 1500 NY 10159-1500, can be found as
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 2:54 PM 
