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07/17/2003 Archived Entry: "Send comments to the Preznit! Or maybe not..."
Send comments to the Preznit! Or maybe not...
We know about the absence of real press conferences, the First Amendment Zones, every effort to keep the people away from the Preznit. Welp, they've taken a simple act like sending an email and turned it into... the exact opposite.
In the past, to tell President Bush — or at least those assigned to read his mail — what was on your mind it was necessary only to sit down at a personal computer connected to the Internet and dash off a note to president@whitehouse.gov.But this week, Tom Matzzie, an online organizer with the A.F.L.-C.I.O., discovered that communicating with the White House had become a bit more daunting. When Mr. Matzzie sent an e-mail protest against a Bush administration policy, the message was bounced back with an automated reply, saying he had to send it again in a new way.
Under a system deployed on the White House Web site for the first time last week, those who want to send a message to President Bush must now navigate as many as nine Web pages and fill out a detailed form that starts by asking whether the message sender supports White House policy or differs with it.
The White House says the new e-mail system, at www.whitehouse .gov/webmail, is an effort to be more responsive to the public and offer the administration "real time" access to citizen comments.
Completing a message to the president also requires choosing a subject from the provided list, then entering a full name, organization, address and e-mail address. Once the message is sent, the writer must wait for an automated response to the e-mail address listed, asking whether the addressee intended to send the message. The message is delivered to the White House only after the person using that e-mail address confirms it.
Jimmy Orr, a White House spokesman, described the system as an "enhancement" intended to improve communications.
Goddamn. Up is down with these thugs, ain't it?
Replies: 3 people speak up
Stupid AND corrupt...what a combination.
BARF!!
Posted by Aristophanes @ 07/17/2003 10:53 PM NY
Could it be that it's nothing more sinister than the White House implementing the latest anti-Spam protocols?
Posted by Metropolitan99 @ 07/18/2003 08:20 AM NY
It's like the new Radiohead song, "Sit down, Stand up." When you tell Bushco that you do not support their policies, you get a return e-mail saying:
"We can wipe you out anytime"
I guess in the future, all media websites can include a "fanmail" contact and a "hatemail" contact. "Complaints" and "Compliments" can be seperated. Then all negative voices can be easily ignored like spam.
Posted by MercuryX23 @ 07/19/2003 04:13 PM NY
