Date: Tue, 4 Oct 1994 15:00:07 -0700 From: Jim Warren Subject: GovAccess.067: Congress gopher; lobbyist bribes; greencards; irish law INFORMATION ABOUT FIRST(?) GOPHER ACCESS TO/FOR A U.S. REPRESENTATIVE >From xxx Thu Sep 29 12:55:45 1994 I'm going to send you a copy of an e-mail message a colleague sent me several months ago on Sam Coppersmith's gopher system. It's a little outdated--I'm sure Coppersmith will upgrade this if he becomes the Dem nominee for Senate--but it might help you find more information. === From: steve.corman@asu.edu Subject: U.S. Rep. Coppersmith Services Study Date: Sun, 17 Jul 1994 14:22:06 MST I have just completed a report on a study entitled "Use and Users of a Congressman's Network Information Services," that may be of interest to readers of this list. I head a project at Arizona State University that, among other things, has established gopher directories and LISTSERV services for members of the Arizona Congressional Delegation. U. S. Rep. Sam Coppersmith was apparently the first member of Congress to offer these kinds of services in January, 1994; the study analyzes use of his gopher directory during the first quarter of 1994, and reports the results of a survey distributed to users of both his services just after that period. Those who are interested may access the full text of the report via WWW through http://info.asu.edu/asu-cwis/pctp/homepage.html Gopher users may access a text version through the ASU gopher server (info.asu.edu, port 70) under directory ASU Campus-Wide Information, subdirectory Public Communication Technology Project (selector: 1/asu-cwis/pctp). If you want the study but can't retrieve it through either of those methods request a text copy via e-mail to pctp@asu.edu. For those who do not want to read the whole study, a summary of conclusions is included below. I welcome your comments. === Conclusions from the gopher use study: o There is considerable interest in Coppersmith's gopher service, with 6810 hits from 955 distinct nodes during the first quarter of 1994. Most hits were from ASU. Other .EDU, .GOV, and .COM nodes accessed next most frequently in that order. The heaviest individual clients were nodes serving multiple users. o "Basic" information files (maps/descriptions of the district, how to contact Coppersmith, etc.), unique dated information (like the House floor schedule), and current issue position statements were the most frequently accessed files. o There is evidence that different types of clients differ in their access patterns. Users from .COM and .NET nodes were especially interested in basic information files. .GOV clients accessed press releases and position papers especially often. Small Business Administration information was most often accessed by .COM nodes. Conclusions from the survey of gopher and LISTSERV users: o Users express the greatest interest in information that is not readily available through other means, especially the House floor schedule and position papers on current issues. o The greatest number of users (37%) value the services because they promote observability, allowing them to better monitor what Coppersmith and/or Congress is doing. Smaller numbers value the services because of specific benefits classified as "other" (29%), or because they provide easy or convenient access to information (20%). Enhanced participation is the least often cited value (17%), even though it is the most often discussed value of public access to government information technology in existing literature. o Most users could be described as casual, though about one- third report paying regular and/or close attention to the information. o About half the users discovered the service through the network itself, gopher users while cruising the net and LISTSERV users while reading another list or bulletin board. Information in the press and word of mouth were also important in attracting users, but less so. o Sixty-one percent of the respondents were residents of Arizona, and slightly less than half of these were from Coppersmith's district. Respondents were predominantly male and highly educated. 48% were Democrats (Coppersmith is a Democrat), 32% were Republicans, 6% were independent, 4% reported another party affiliation. Forty-three percent reported accessing the services on the job. General conclusions from the research: o In terms of numbers served, use of the gopher subdirectory (between 955 and 3405 users) dwarfs that of the LISTSERV list (80 subscribers). This may be because the type of information distributed by Coppersmith is better suited to self-activated information on demand systems than passive e- mail lists. The need for political representatives to offer mail-based services like LISTSERV is an issue for future research. o Users say they value topical issue-related information and hard-to-obtain dated information like the House floor schedule the most. Gopher users indeed access this information, but also make considerable use of more basic information (district map/description, how to contact Coppersmith, etc.). Political representatives should offer both kinds of information to attract users and encourage repeated use of their services. o The primary value of these services to users is that they increase observability of Coppersmith and/or Congress. This is in contrast to existing literature on teledemocracy, which focuses on its effects on participation. Observability may enhance participation under certain conditions, but it is not the same thing. Further research should observe this distinction and study factors responsible for converting constituents' observations and information into manifest participative action. ------------------------------ CONGRESSIONAL BILL CONTROLLING LOBBYISTS' BRIBES ("GIFTS") NEARS ACTION >From parsons@bga.com Fri Sep 30 04:45:48 1994 From: Brad Parsons Subject: ACTION ALERT!!!: LOBBYIST GIFT REFORM Late Thursday the U.S. House approved the compromise Lobbyist Gift Ban bill, passing by a final vote of 306 to 112. Prior to that, opponents tried to prevent the bill from coming to a vote but were defeated by only 11 votes, 216 to 205, and lost a second vote to send the bill back to committee, which would have effectively killed it, defeating that by 13 votes, 215 to 202. Once efforts to kill the bill narrowly failed, many opponents switched sides, not wanting to be on the record as voting against this popular reform. That cleared the way for final passage in the House, 306 to 112, late yesterday. BUT, THE BILL STILL FACES AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE TODAY IN THE SENATE. SCUTTLEBUTT IS THAT SOME REPUBLICAN SENATORS MIGHT TRY TO FILIBUSTER THE LOBBYIST GIFT BAN BILL TODAY, FRIDAY, SEPT. 30, IN THE SENATE. SO, THE ACTION ALERT STILL HOLDS. CALL YOUR SENATORS AND DEMAND THAT THERE BE A VOTE ON LOBBYIST GIFT BAN TODAY AND STATE YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE BILL. REMEMBER, FIRST TRY USING (800) 768-2221. === >From d.wiesner@genie.geis.com Mon Oct 3 01:39:15 1994 ================================================== BAN BRIBERY NOW! October 2, 1994 ================================================== Supporting the Levin/Bryant Lobbyist Gift Ban Bill ================================================== EDITORIAL When the Senate's lobbyist gift ban was merged with the House's bill, it became the lobbyist disclosure and gift ban bill. As an indication of how hated this bill is, all kinds of false charges have been leveled. Q: Will this bill force organizations to turn over their membership lists to the U.S. government? I asked this question to Common Cause's legislative analyst. She said she has read the entire bill. It does not require or permit the government to demand organizations' membership lists (I have also read the bill and I agree). She said that we are victims of a scare tactic by lobbyists who don't want us calling in support of the bill. Q: If there is nothing to worry about, why does the bill mention grassroots lobbying? What is grassroots lobbying anyway? Will I be forced to register as a lobbyist if I contact Congress? Washington is home to mercenary companies who guarantee a certain number of citizen letters to Congress on any subject. Very often foreign countries will hire lobbyists to get favorable treatment from Congress. First they figure out what kind of law they want introduced. Then they hire a grassroots lobbying company to do a targeted mailing to sympathetic voters. Sure enough, a bunch of citizen letters begin flooding Congress. This gives them the cover to vote for the bill that will also mean a large campaign donation. Under the lobbyist reform bill, this doesn't change. The only difference is that every six months, lobbyists will have to list the names of the companies they hired and how much they paid them. Lobbyists hate that. Their biggest weapon is secrecy. Why would they let Congress pass such a bill? There are over 40,000 lobbyists in Washington, and right now, this bill is all they have to defeat before Congress adjourns. Let's go for a minute inside the mind of a lobbyist trying to kill this bill. "How about this: 'Please oppose this bill so that we can continue to buy your Congressman in secret.' No, that will never do. I need something that will make me look like a hero. Let's see. The bill is supported by grassroots activists. These people are very afraid of the government reigning them in because they were so successful at defeating NAFTA and the crime bill. I know. 'This bill is going to take away your First Amendment rights, by forcing you to register with the government if you contact Congress.' Beautiful!" If we buy into their trick, then a great opportunity will be lost. The lobbying bill gives us is a magic window into the money trail that goes from special interests to Congress. The information will be available to the public, so we can see who bought Congress and what they got for it. Wouldn't you like to have this window? Wouldn't you like to know how much rich corporations and foreign governments paid to buy Congress? I know I would. Congress doesn't want us to know who bought them. Many supposedly grassroots organizations don't want their names and dollar amounts popping up on lobbyists' disclosure reports, so they are fighting this too. I say let's open up the box of lobbyist corruption of the system and have a good look inside. We may be surprised at who is funding whom. But if this bill fails, we will never know. Go get em, team! ------------- ACTION NOW ------------- Call your two Senators right away at (800) 768-2221. Or if that number is busy, call (202) 224-3121. The bill is called the Lobbying Disclosure Conference Report. The real danger is in the vote to send the bill back to committee. Senators who are really opposed to the bill will vote to send it back to committee. Tell both your Senators, "Vote yes on the rule and vote yes on the Lobbying Disclosure bill." [And!, ask what their definitive position is on the bill, saying that you will report their position - or lack of position - widely across your state's computer nets and high-tech industry. --jim] ------------------------------ IMMIGRANT GREEN-CARD LEGAL/LAW INFORMATION LIST >From owner-new-list@VM1.NODAK.EDU Thu Sep 29 14:52:59 1994 From: Mark Carmel Editor's Note: The USAGREENCARD list was previously announced on another host then terminated. It is being restarted on a new host. mgh USAGREENCARD via uslawyer@inforamp.com The law office of Mark Carmel, Attorney at Law, is now hosting a new mailing list on the topic of U.S.A. Immigration Law. Subcribers receive up-to-date news and information about U.S.A. Immigration Law. Our E-Mail address for subscriptions is: uslawyer@inforamp.com. 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To subscribe to the list send the command SUBSCRIBE IRISHLAW Yourfirstname Yourlastname to LISTSERV@IRLEARN on BITNET or LISTSERV@irlearn.ucd.ie on the Internet. Moderator: Darius Whelan dwh@staffmail.rtc-tallaght.ie or dwhelan@vax1.tcd.ie Lecturer in Law Regional Technical College Tallaght Dublin 24, Ireland. Tel. +353-1-459 8888, ext. 806 Fax +353-1-459 8989 ------------------------------ "I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it" -- Voltaire (from farber@central.cis.upenn.edu's sig) Mo' as it Is. --jim GovAccess is an email distribution-list of irregular postings, maintained by Jim Warren, columnist for MicroTimes, Government Technology, BoardWatch, etc. 345 Swett Rd., Woodside CA 94062; voice/415-851-7075; fax/<# upon request> jwarren@well.com -or- jwarren@autodesk.com >> Permission herewith granted for unlimited reposting and recirculation.<< >> Past postings are at ftp.cpsr.org:/cpsr/states/california/govaccess << >> To add or drop the GovAccess list, email to jwarren@well.com . <<