Sunlight Foundation~Transparency in US Gov~PLEASE Support This Endeavor

[Guest guest]

It's time to start turning our talk into something with impact.

At 2 p.m. today, we are launching the Public=Online campaign to put public

pressure on government to be more open and transparent.

_http://PublicEqualsOnline.com_

(http://bsd.sunlightfoundation.com/page/m/64f58de0/28894f0e/3389606c/6802984a/25\

10720017/VEsH/)

It's a completely non-partisan campaign with the first goal of making

government transparency a major issue in the upcoming mid-term elections.

Ultimately, Public=Online is focused on getting government to pass the

transparency laws we need - laws that put government information online in

real-time where we can use it - and we're going to do that by building a demand

for transparency that is so large it cannot be ignored by politicians.

We are going to ensure public officials answer to us for making government

open and transparent by telling them just how important it is to us as we

consider who to vote for in November.

This will only work, though, if hundreds of thousands of us make this bold

statement across the country - in every city, state and congressional

district.

Make this statement with us by signing the Public=Online pledge, and ask

others to join us as well.

_http://PublicEqualsOnline.com/pledge_

(http://bsd.sunlightfoundation.com/page/m/64f58de0/28894f0e/3389606c/6802984b/25\

10720017/VEsE/)

It is through the pledge that this campaign will build political clout

strong enough to move government. When it comes to making government

transparent, we need those muscles to be as big as possible.

In the months ahead, we will send letters to the editor and make calls to

congress; we'll organize days of action around such legislation as the

Public Online Information Act, and we'll ensure that our representatives Read

the Bill.

We'll ask candidates for office questions about their positions on

transparency at town halls, we'll scour earmark requests, write blog posts

diving

into campaign data or post video of important events.

There are a thousand things we can do together - many of which we don't

even know yet - but first, we must come together with a powerful voice, and

that's what this pledge does.

For the first few weeks, that is our focus. It will also be a lot of fun.

Thank you for joining us! This is just the beginning.

The Public=Online Team

PS Are you on Twitter? Send this tweet to your friends or put this in your

Facebook status today:

Help me get government information online in real-time. We CAN make

government more transparent. http://publicequalsonline.com #opengov

Sharon Noonan Kramer