Normally I try, with varying degrees of success, to keep things pretty apolitical here. ย But this is something I feel very strongly about and wanted to share with you all. ย Whitehouse.gov has a new-ish “petitioning” feature that allows basically anyone to start a signature-collecting campaign which, upon reaching a certain number of clicks from registered users, will require an official response on the issue in question. ย That may seem like weak cheese, but it does oblige the executive branch to publicly state a position, which can focus media attention, spark debate, and create windows for real policy change.
At issue is open access to scientific information gathered using tax dollars. ย Which, in the US, is about a third of it. ย If you’ve ever been hot on the trail of a technical lead and run up against a robot demanding $40 to download one four-page, twenty-year-old journal article, you know what I’m talking about. ย Please take a minute, if you haven’t already and are so inclined, to go register an account and sign. ย They’re just shy of 23,000 clicks, as of this writing, and need 2,000 more before June 19th.
Thanks. ย We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.
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