politeness

Vote iQ bills itself as "the nation's first major nonpartisan social-networking site built expressly for politics." The site allows voters to find candidates whose views mostly align with their own and to engage in a dialog with other political activists. Working with a variety of data sources, the site provides information on how politicians have voted and also offers a dating service-like matching feature to help voters find candidates they might consider supporting or voting for.

When asked how it's different from all the other sources of political information, Vote IQ Vice President Rick Shenkman said, &… Read more

I have heard it muttered that the Web was responsible for the election of Barack Obama. So I have sudden cause to wonder whether the Web can also be used to prevent a candidate from getting elected.

I am brought to this wonderment by an election for a judgeship in McClain County in Oklahoma, one that is being characterized by some splendid online activity.

John Mantooth would like to become a judge. His daughter and son-in-law, on the other hand, appear to think he is the type to give people chocolates filled with worms. Now I am not entirely sure … Read more

Senate Democrats said on Thursday they would wait until the fall to take up climate-change legislation, setting the stage for a pitched battle in the weeks before congressional elections.

The delay would give Democrats a small window to advance the complex legislation amid intense political pressure in the weeks before the November elections.

"We will fight that out in September," said a Democratic senator who did not wish to be quoted by name. "It will be tough to win."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he plans to bring up a narrower energy bill next week … Read more

WASHINGTON--In his first major speech on the issue, President Barack Obama on Thursday said the current immigration system in the U.S. needs to be changed, and he called on Republicans to join Democrats in supporting immigration reform legislation.

"The system is broken," he said in a speech given at American University in Washington, D.C. "And everybody knows it. Unfortunately, reform has been held hostage to political posturing and special-interest wrangling...But the fact is, without bipartisan support, as we had just a few years ago, we cannot solve this problem. Reform that brings accountability to … Read more

The New York state legislature is set to vote this week on a bill that would ban apartment sublets that last less than a month, which if passed would have a significant impact on online vacation rental services like AirBnB, Roomorama, HomeAway, and even classifieds behemoth Craigslist.

In recent years, there's been a surge in popularity for short-term apartment rentals and housing exchange services that let users offer anything from luxury lofts to pull-out couches--especially in states like New York, whose eponymous island metropolis is known for housing prices so exorbitant that many tourists seek alternatives to hotels and … Read more

Graphics in a political attack ad for California gubernatorial candidate and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman that imitated popular humor blog FailBlog aren't going over too well with Cheezburger Network, the amalgam of blogs that owns FailBlog.

"We are talking to our attorneys on this," Cheezburger Network founder and CEO Ben Huh told CNET via e-mail. "We haven't decided on a course of action, if any. The law is a complex beast."

Huh's comment followed a post he wrote Friday on FailBlog, in which he addressed the fact that a recent video campaign … Read more

On today's ever more open Web, to whom do you want to be closer? Is there someone for whom you wish to express your affection, your desire, or your admiration, perhaps in the hope of getting some in return?

May I give you just two choices? President Obama or Lady Gaga.

Perhaps you feel I am limiting you too much. But this is an issue of such importance, one that will show just what the world sees when it looks in the mirror.

On the one hand, we have someone who is trying to rectify so many wrongs. Someone … Read more

California Democrats will decide Tuesday whether a former Facebook executive will have a shot at becoming state attorney general.

Chris Kelly, former chief privacy officer of the social network, is up against San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris in the party's primary. The winner will go on to the general election in November.

Kelly has earned the support of many deep-pocketed Valley types, including other current and former Facebook executives, and has cited his law-and-order role at a successful company as evidence that he can take on this role of attorney general in the most populous state. Meanwhile, Harris … Read more

Revolutions are difficult things. One person's change is another person's threat. One person's magic is another person's incarcerating sorcery.

Please forgive me for sounding deeply philosophical, as opposed to the usual shallow caliber. But I have been moved to more profound thought by the words of President Obama to the students of Hampton University.

In a commencement speech Sunday, he warned them about the superficialities that are engendered by gadgets.

"With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations--none of which I know how to work--information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather … Read more