Cato 2.0
There are a number of ways for you to stay connected to the Cato Institute on the web, outside of our main website (Cato.org), this blog (Cato@Liberty), our Spanish language site (El Cato), our political theorists’ digital round table (Cato | Unbound), or our hub for high school and college students (Cato on Campus). As we have grown since our founding in 1977, so have we grown online in recent years, in an effort to provide more opportunities to interact with our research and experts.
We appreciate your interest in our work and we encourage you to leverage any and all of our information resources–both at our main website, on this blog, and across the reaches of new media space. We have recently made many of our multimedia resources available for embed to bloggers, and we are looking continuously at ways to try to connect you to our projects. After the fold, check out a sampling of ways you can connect to Cato online and for ways you can use our multimedia resources.
Unleashing an Internet Revolution in Cuba
By now the name of Yoani Sánchez has become common currency for those who follow Cuba. Through the use of New Media (blog, Twitter and YouTube) Yoani has challenged the Castro regime in a way that various U.S. government-sponsored efforts have failed to do before, earning the respect and tacit admiration of even those who continue to sympathize with the Cuban regime. As my colleague Ian Vásquez put it a few months ago, Yoani keeps speaking truth to power.
Although she’s a remarkable individual, Yoani is not alone in fighting repression with technology. Other bloggers are making their voice heard, and that makes the Castro dictatorship nervous. As Yoani wrote in a paper recently published by Cato, despite the many difficulties and costs that regular Cubans face when trying to access Internet,
… a web of networks has emerged as the only means by which a person on the island can make his opinions known to the rest of the world. Today, this virtual space is like a training camp where Cubans go to relearn forgotten freedoms. The right of association can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and the other social networks, in a sort of compensation for the crime of “unlawful assembly” established by the Cuban penal code.
As recent events in Iran and elsewhere have shown, once a technology becomes pervasive in a society, it is extremely difficult for a totalitarian regime to control it. A new paper published today by the Cuba Study Group highlights the potential of technology in bringing about democracy and liberty to Cuba. The document entitled “Empowering the Cuban People through Technology: Recommendations for Private and Public Sector Leaders,” also recommends lifting all U.S. restrictions that hinder the opportunities of companies to provide cell phone and Internet service to the island. For example, the paper reviews the current U.S. regulatory framework on technology investment in other repressive regimes such as Iran, Syria, Burma and North Korea, and finds that “the U.S. regulations governing telecommunications-related exports to Cuba are still some of the most restrictive.”
By removing these counterproductive restrictions, Washington could help unleash an Internet revolution in Cuba. More Yoanis will certainly bring about more change in the island than 50 years of failed U.S. trade and travel bans.
Who’s Blogging about Cato
Here’s a roundup of bloggers who are writing about Cato research, commentary and analysis. If you’re blogging about Cato, let us know.
- Blogger Melissa Clouthier helps spread the word about Cato’s analysis of Obama’s health plan by posting a video of Cato experts dissecting the ABC special last week.
- David Kirkpatrick examines Obama’s record on civil liberties by quoting Cato scholar Doug Bandow.
- Education blogger Brandon Dutcher links to Neal McCluskey’s analysis of American public schools.
- At the Real Clear World Compass blog, Kevin Sullivan quotes Juan Carlos Hidalgo on the political crisis in Honduras.
- Blogging for Townhall.com, Kevin Glass quotes Michael F. Cannon on Wal-Mart’s support of an employer mandate to provide health care.
- Freedom Politics blogger Thomas J. Lucente Jr. cites foreign policy expert Christopher Preble in a post about the U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq.
- Writing about the political situation in Honduras, Patrick Murphy draws from Juan Carlos Hidalgo’s analysis on the president’s removal.
- At the Americans for Tax Reform blog, Tim Andrews cites David Boaz’s post that lists the “taxes proposed or publicly floated by President Obama and his aides and allies.”
Cato Health Care Experts Live-Blogging Tonight’s ABC News White House Special
Tonight at 10:00 PM EST, ABC News will broadcast a “special report from the White House” on President Obama’s plan to revamp the nation’s health care system. Cato scholars Michael D. Tanner and Michael F. Cannon will offer live commentary and analysis when the program begins.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear another voice in the health care debate.
Sign up below:
For more on Cato’s research on health care, visit Healthcare.Cato.org
Twitter and Iran – It’s Not About the U.S. Government
It’s fascinating to watch developments in Iran via Twitter and other social media. (Notably, when I turned on the TV last night to look for Iran news from a conventional source, there was nothing to be found – just commercials and talking heads yapping about politics.)
It was laudable that Twitter delayed a scheduled outage to late-night Tehran time in order to preserve the platform for Iranian users, but contrary to a growing belief, it wasn’t done at the behest of the State Department. It was done at the behest of Twitter users.
Twitter makes that fairly (though imperfectly) clear on its blog, saying, “the State Department does not have access to our decision making process.”
As Justin Logan notes, events in Iran are not about the United States or U.S. policy. They should not be, or appear to be, directed or aided from Washington, D.C. Any shifts in power in Iran should be produced in Iran for Iranians, with support from the people of the world – not from any outside government.
People are free to speculate that the State Department asked Twitter to deny its involvement precisely to create the necessary appearances, but without good evidence of it, assuming so just reflects a pre-commitment that governments – not people and the businesses that serve them – are the primary forces for good in the world.
My Morning Tabloid
Why is a U.S. senator’s extramarital affair on the front page of The Washington Post this morning?
Don’t get me wrong, I like a juicy sex scandal as well as the next guy. And I’m amused at my friend and former colleague Radley Balko’s Facebook comment (or was it a tweet? who can keep up with the new media?) that ”sadly, growing public acceptance for gay marriage has given yet another conservative politician no choice but to cheat on his wife.” But this affair fit Bill Kristol’s definition of good Republican behavior: “Republicans have old-fashioned extramarital affairs with other adults.” No prostitution, no underage interns, no public toilets.
So why is it front-page news?
Meanwhile, you know what’s not on the front page, today or any day so far? President Obama’s firing of the AmeriCorps inspector general, in apparent violation of a law that Senator Obama voted for, perhaps in retaliation for the IG’s investigation of Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, an Obama supporter. It’s an interesting story. As a Wall Street Journal lead editorial explained:
In April 2008 the Corporation [for National and Community Service] asked Mr. Walpin to investigate reports of irregularities at St. HOPE, a California nonprofit run by former NBA star and Obama supporter Kevin Johnson. St. HOPE had received an $850,000 AmeriCorps grant, which was supposed to go for three purposes: tutoring for Sacramento-area students; the redevelopment of several buildings; and theater and art programs.
Mr. Walpin’s investigators discovered that the money had been used instead to pad staff salaries, meddle politically in a school-board election, and have AmeriCorps members perform personal services for Mr. Johnson, including washing his car.
Other papers have been on the story, notably the Washington Examiner. But as even The Washington Post‘s ombudsman notes, not a word in the Post (until a small story on page A19 today, featuring the Obama administration’s spin on the issue). The Post is, however, ahead of The New York Times, which has apparently not run a word on the story, even online, though it did have room for the senatorial affair.
And I have to wonder: If George W. Bush had fired an inspector general who had alleged fraud by a key Bush supporter, would the Post and the Times have covered the story?
New Media, New Repression: China Blocks Social Networking Sites
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the massacre of students and other anti-authoritarian protests in Tiananmen square.
If you want background info, including causes and the wider political context, check Wikipedia.
You can also see stirring videos on Youtube.
There are incredible photos on Flickr.
And of course Twitter has a wealth of real-time information and thinking about the anniversary. Just search using the hash tag #Tiananmen.
But for those 1.5 billion people trapped behind the Great Firewall of China, absolutely none of those links are accessible. To mark the event that the government assures never happened, the Chinese government has blocked most social networking sites.
In 1989, when a nascent pro-democracy movement wanted to communicate its vitality and prepare to take on the state, meeting en masse was vital. But that made it fairly easy for the CCP to roll in and crush the dream of democracy.
Twenty years later, the Internet is the place where mass movements for liberty can take root. While the CCP is attempting to use the electronic equivalent of an armored division to prevent change, reform today is a question of when, not if. Shutting down open dialogue will only slow the democratic transition to freedom, which the Chinese government cannot ultimately prevent.
The leadership of today’s Chinese government should allow that country’s citizens and journalists to communicate openly. The alternative is to suffer eternal loss of face as history records them occupying its wrong side.
Who’s Blogging about Cato
Here’s a few bloggers who are writing, citing and linking to Cato research and commentary:
- Blogging from the 2009 International Conference on Climate Change, The Foundry‘s Nick Loris covers Patrick J. Michaels’s lecture on an EPA program that will “circumvent Congressional legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and regulate carbon dioxide.”
- Natch Greyes pens his thoughts on Thursday’s book forum featuring Patrick J. Michaels’s new book, Climate of Extremes: Global Warming Science They Don’t Want You to Know.
- Dan Kenitz cites an article by David Lampo on gun control.
- David Kirkpatrick links to Richard W. Rahn’s op-ed in The Washington Times about the increasing loss of liberty in the United Kingdom.
- Free-market energy blogger Robert Bradley, editor of Master Resource, cites Cato’s recognition of the women who launched the libertarian movement: Ayn Rand, Rose Wilder Lane and Isabel Paterson.
- Scott Horton 0f Anti-War Radio interviews Doug Bandow about relations between the US and China.
Let us know if you’re blogging about Cato by emailing cmoody@cato.org or drop us a line on Twitter @catoinstitute.
Who’s Blogging about Cato
Here’s a weekend round-up of bloggers who are writing about Cato:
- Anthony G. Martin links to Michael D. Tanner’s recent article about universal health care on his blog, The Liberty Sphere.
- Thomas Stone‘s web log Philosopher’s Stone links to the most recent Cato Weekly Video featuring Ted Galen Carpenter on Mexico’s drug war.
- The editors at Fiscons.com quote Alan Reynolds in a post about President Obama’s spending plans.
- Peking University Professor Michael Pettis quotes Daniel J. Ikenson on his blog, which covers trade policy in China. The quote was pulled from Ikenson’s latest op-ed in the South China Morning Post.
- Pajamas TV hosts a video debate between Will Wilkinson and Stephen Green over the idea of “liberaltarianism,” the fusion of libertarianism and liberalism.
- Fr33 Agents blogger Morgan Ashcom cites Gene Healy’s Examiner op-ed that criticizes conservative foreign policy.
Let us know if you’re blogging about Cato by emailing cmoody@cato.org or drop us a line on Twitter @catoinstitute.
Who’s Blogging about Cato
Here’s a new list of bloggers who are citing, discussing and writing about Cato commentary and analysis:
- The Economist blog “Democracy in America“ comments on Gene Healy’s DC Examiner op-ed about the rise of executive power.
- On Overton’s Arrow, Carl Oberg cites Doug Bandow’s Cato@Liberty post about the Congressional Budget Office’s prediction that the Obama stimulus plan will ultimately make the country worse off economically.
- Freedom’s Lighthouse posted a video of Daniel J. Mitchell’s commentary about British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s visit to the White House.
- GlobalWarming.org editor William Yeatman discusses Tuesday’s Cato Daily Podcast with Patrick J. Michaels on climate change.
- Aristotle the Geek examines Paul Krugman’s critique of a 2007 Cato Tax & Budget Bulletin about Iceland’s flat tax.
- Brian Doherty reviews Gene Healy’s book, Cult of the Presidency at The Freeman Online.
If you’re blogging about Cato, let us know on Twitter (@catoinstitute) or email cmoody@cato.org.
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