(VIDEO) The Online Immigration Debate - Netroots Nation '09

Three of today's video's come from 'Four Perspectives from the Social Change Blogosphere: Case Studies from Civil Rights/ Pro-Migrant Bloggers' a panel at Netroots Nation 2009 in Pittsburgh hosted by Kety Equivel, the New Media Manager for the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), with David Bennion, a non-profit immigration attorney, Prerna Lal, a blogger, youth organizer, and new media consultant, Edmundo Rocha, the Publisher and Content Producer of Para Justica Y Libertad, a latino centered political blog, and Dee Perez-Scott, who runs the blog 'Immigration Talk with a Mexican American'.  They all shared stories about their efforts to fight a struggling battle.  They were not very optimistic, they all shared depressing stories and sentiments about numerous immigration inequities, but were hopeful and dedicated to getting comprehensive immigration reform passed.  While the immigration reform bill in congress has taken a back seat to other issues, such as healthcare, there are millions of people whose lives and well being are being held hostage by the unjust execution of antiquated laws.  While positive news on the national scene is hard to come by, these panelists are working to facilitate as many small scale successes as possible. Check back for more stories and thoughts from the panel over the next couple weeks.

The last video is the opening statement from Chris Hayes, Washington Editor of 'The Nation' Magazine, for the panel '@FDR Is There A New Deal?'  It is a really astute analogy of how we can more efficiently be pushing to enact the reform that America desperately needs.









We will be releasing lots, and lots, of videos from Netroots Nation over the coming weeks, including some panels in entirety. For more videos, and a list of every event we filmed, please visit the Sum of Change NN'09 page.

(VIDEO) Netroots Nation - This Video Will Save Your Campaign Lots of Money

This is not spam. This is not a commercial. This will seriously save your campaign money, and make it more effective at the same time.



There is a lot more to show from the "Cutting-Edge Evidence-Based Best Practices" panel. We are going to release a long version (almost the entire 1.5 hour panel), sometime over the next week or two at our Netroots Nation page.

This test, done by the Analyst Institute, reminds me of one specific mail piece. I had just come home, from door to door canvassing. I was working on a City Council race at the time, but there was a heated Mayoral race as well. There were three typical lit pieces in my mail box. Big, glossy, nice color work. All typical. Then there was one letter from one of the candidates office. It was in a normal envelope, just a black and white, typed out letter. A dear neighbor letter. At the bottom were signatures, seven of them to be exact. Each signature was from one of my neighbors, someone that lived no more than a mile from me. The letter read off a few of the reasons that these neighbors were supporting this candidate for Mayor. I cannot name a single specific detail about any of the other lit pieces. Clearly, one piece drove itself into my memory, and the others simply did not.

For more video of Netroots Nation, visit the Sum of Change NN'09 page.

(VIDEO) Netroots Nation '09: How Technology can be Utilized to Enhance Democracy in Pittsburgh and beyond

One of the last events of the weekend, was a panel on the fun and interesting things going on with technology, and what effect that will have on our democracy. Technology inevitably comes into conflict and cooperation with our democracy. Technology has made it easier than ever for our government to drop spying nets, to monitor us. Yet technology has also brought us the dashboard cop camera, causing many bad officers to be caught red handed. The speakers in these videos are going to talk about the latter kind of relationship between government and the citizenry, how we can use new technologies to further empower, educate, and change the world...









I hope you enjoyed these. We will be releasing plenty more videos over the coming weeks, including almost entire coverage of certain panels. You can find the list of events that we filmed and see all our current videos at our Netroots Nation page.

(VIDEO) Netroots Nation Day 3: It Comes to an End

Netroots Nation '09 is over. Of course, we are still up until 5:30am (again) working on footage. Today we filmed Valerie Jarrett's conversation with Netroots Nation attendees, a keynote panel with Governor Jon Corzine, Anna Burger, Kevin Drumm, and Dean Baker, the closing keynote with Senator Jim Ferlo, Richard Tumka of the AFL-CIO, and Darcy Burner of the American Proggressive Caucus PolicyFoundation, and four more panels.



In total, two of us filmed 16 panels, and had two cameras running for every major event throughout the weekend. We filmed all day, every day, and edited all night, every night. I'm still running on about 7 hours of sleep since Wednesday. Throughout the weekend we have been posting some highlights. Over the coming weeks we will release more extensive coverage, including the entirety of several panels.

Here is a list of the panels and events that we filmed so you can get a sense of what to expect:

Thursday, August 13th
-The Myth of Post Racial America
-From Prop 8 to Full Equality in all 50 States
-Bloggers and Blue Collar Workers Unite
-How to Get the Most Out of Polling Data
-@FDR is there a New Deal?
-How to Work with Unions in Your District
-The Secret Plan to Defeat the Conserva-tives Forever
-Getting Noticed: Grassroots Media & Film Distribution Caucus
-President Bill Clinton, Welcome Keynote

Friday, August 14th
-Governor Howard Dean Healthcare Townhall
-Pennsylvannia Leadership Forum with Senator Arlen Specter and Congressman Joe Sestak
-Congressman Joe Sestak, media availability
-Stepping it up: Creating Multiracial Alliances with Bloggers
-Science Denial and Science Policy
-Four Perspectives from the Soc. Change Blogosphere
-Organizing in Second Life and other Virtual Environment

Saturday, August 15th
-Valerie Jarret in Conversation with Baratunde Thurston
-Building a 21st Century Economy Keynote Panel with Governor Jon Corzine, Anna Burger, Kevin Drum, and Dean Baker
-Academic Studies of the Netroots
-Advocating for Reproductive Rights in the Age of Obama
-Cutting-Edge Evidence-Based Best Practices
-How Technology can Enhance Democracy in PBH and Beyond
-Closing Keynote with Darcy Burner, Richard Trumka, and Senator Jim Ferlo

(VIDEOS) Netroots Nation Day 2: Dean, Specter, Sestak... Oh My!

It's 11:15pm on Friday night. I'm running on 5 hours of sleep since Wednesday (only 1.5 of which was last night). We are filming all day, and editing all night. On Friday morning, we released 11 short videos covering day 1. Today, we have another stack of videos for you covering day 2, plus some more videos from day 1. We filmed a health care town hall with Governor Howard Dean, a Pennsylvania Leadership Forum with Senator Arlen Specter and Congressman Joe Sestak, a media availability with the Congressman, and four more panels. It was another busy day.

One of the panels that I filmed on Friday was "Organizing in Second Life and Other Virtual Environments." I was not exactly sure what to expect, but I had become intrigued with Netroots Nation in Second Life or NNinSL. Before we decided to apply for press credentials for NN'09, I had planned on attending some of the events in Second Life.

Anyways, I show up to find that more than half the panel is joining us in Second Life, and they'll be feeding from my camera, live at the Second Life Netroots Nation stadium. The panel, turned out to be very exciting. One point that really drove home with me was this, the more communication the better. Blogging has rapidly expanded our ability to communicate, and most notably in politics, to hold politicians and news organization accountable. What Second Life does, is provides us with that same ability to communicate, only your voice is there, and you have an image. And while your image may not be real, it is that association of voice, image, thoughts and ideas, that drive each moment deeper into your memory.

The panel left me convinced to start up a Second Life account just as soon as we return from Pittsburgh. We'll also be providing you with coverage of this panel shortly (but not today).

(VIDEO) Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh, Day 1

6:50pm - I finally found a minute to sit down and type up some thoughts on my first trip to Netroots Nation. We are close to done with day 1 of filming. We filmed 8 panels, interviewed a handful panelists, and are prepping to film President Bill Clinton's keynote address. Below, you will find a play list of day 1 coverage, including interviews with Greg Dworking (DemFromCT), Nate Silver, Congresswoman Donna Edwards, Monique Hoeflinger, and Michael Wilson:


7:56pm - I'm sitting on the press rise, getting ready for President Clinton's speech. This is a big moment for me, as President Clinton inspired me at an early age and sparked my interest in politics. As I got older, and watched the Bush administration reek havoc on our nation, I studied the Clinton administration (which I was too young to fully comprehend during his two terms). This is the first time I have ever seen him give a speech in person. The crowd has filled the room, it's time for me to check my gear one more time. As I look out over a crowd of bloggers and blog enthusiasts, fellow kossacks, I can only feel pride.

8:30pm - Judd Legum, from ThinkProgress just took the stage.

8:37pm - Debra Bowen just too the stage. #socialvoter

9:20pm - I am an activist by nature, not a reporter. So you can imagine the odd feeling I have as I sit in the only section of the hall that no one claps in. No nodding heads, no chanting, no applause. Surrounding us on all sides, are lefty bloggers who take no measures to restrain their... Oh crap, Markos just walked right by me. I was ready to leap off the high rise.

Check back at SumofChange.com/NetrootsNation all weekend for Netroots Nation coverage.

(VIDEO+PICS) Dedication of a Memorial Garden in Honor of Dr. George Tiller 8/08/2009

We were excited to receive the email, roughly a week ago. One of our viewers had seen our coverage of a vigil in honor of Dr. George Tiller on June 1st, 2009. She asked us to come out and film the dedication of a memorial garden in honor of the late Dr. On Saturday, August 8th 2009, a Sum of Change News and Blog Team made the trip to one of the local clinics where the dedication would be held.

The crowd was a close nit group of clinic workers, abortion clinic escorts, pro-choice activists, and a couple elected officials, including Congressman Jim Moran (who, I should add, thanked me for being a clinic escort the second we met, it was much appreciated Congressman). They choose to dedicate a garden to symbolize the continuation of life and the planting of new roots. The vigil we attended in June was a moment to grieve and commit themselves anew to the fight for women's rights, this more recent event was a chance to find closure to their mourning.

We hope you enjoyed the video, below you will find a lot of pictures (click on a picture to enlarge). Check in at Sum of Change for more coverage, and don't miss our coverage of Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh August 13th-16th!