Campaigns
GOP Platform Covers Security, Privacy, More Tech Issues
     The Republican Party platform approved this week refers more frequently to technology issues than does the Democratic Party platform approved in July. The 94-page document defends the Bush administration's record on homeland security, free trade, tax cuts, funding for research and development, deregulation of the telecommunications sector and deployment of electronic health records. The platform emphasizes privacy even as it touts the administration's record on fighting terrorism and bolstering homeland security. It defends the anti-terrorism statute known as the USA PATRIOT Act and says the law gives the FBI "tools that have been long available to fight organized crime and drug trafficking but could not be used in the past to fight terrorism." The document also defends the use of screening of commercial airline passengers and checked bags. But it also says, "As tagging and tracking citizens is inconsistent with American freedom, we oppose the creation of a national identification card or system."

Privacy
Key Conservatives Criticize Bush Over PATRIOT Act
     Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr excoriated the Bush administration's approach to privacy issues and for its intransigence against revisions to the USA PATRIOT Act, the anti-terrorism law that increases law enforcement's electronic surveillance powers. Conservative activist Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, joined Barr at a forum in New York amid the Republican National Convention to criticize aspects of the PATRIOT Act. Although Barr voted for the legislation initially, he believes it was misrepresented to Congress and now cites it as "the most important issue on which I will be basing my vote." The forum made evident that some conservatives are still hostile to aspects of the law. While Norquist agreed with aspects of the law, he noted that conservatives may have "nothing to fear from a [George W.] Bush but might be somewhat concerned about Hillary Clinton's Justice Department. The Constitution was not designed for a bunch of people you can trust."

Business
Tech, Telecom Chiefs Talk Stock Options, Not Politics
     At a gathering of the technology and telecommunications industry during the Republican National Convention, Dwight Decker, CEO of the semiconductor maker Conexan, urged President Bush and lawmakers not to require companies to count employee stock options as expenses on balance sheets. Decker and other executives argued that letting companies provide stock options without having to count them against their bottom lines lets U.S. companies compete against foreign firms. President Bush said in 2002 that he did not support the mandatory expensing of stock options. But Treasury Department and Securities and Exchange Commission officials have said they would not interfere in the deliberations of the Financial Accounting Standards Board on the issue. The president also excluded the issue from his election platform. Democratic nominee John Kerry has said that companies should have to expense stock options but that the government should use the appropriate formula when estimating their value.

Politics
Bloggers Could Influence Tight Race, Bush Aide Says
     The authors of online diaries known as Web logs, or blogs, may not have been the toast of the media and politicians at the Republican National Convention, but the chief strategist for President Bush said they could make the difference in a tight election. "I honestly believe that this election can be decided based on Internet communication," Matthew Dowd said to about 15 bloggers at a breakfast hosted by the Republicans. Dowd said Americans trust what they read on the Internet more than what they see on television, and he said bloggers have played a key role in connecting politically like-minded citizens. "It takes the place of what town meetings used to be," he said. Dowd's remarks appeared to be an equal mix of campaign strategy and press conference for the bloggers at the convention, a generally conservative group who asked questions about Internet advertising, polling numbers in swing states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, and appealing to undecided voters.

Civil Liberties
ACLU To Represent Web-Site Owners In GOP Controversy
     The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and New York Civil Liberties Union announced that they will represent a group of Web-site owners under federal investigation for posting online identifying information about delegates who attended the Republican National Convention. Based on a report from the Secret Service, the Justice Department launched a criminal investigation into Independent Media Center and Calyx Internet Access to determine whether the information could be used by identity thieves or if posting the information is tantamount to voter intimidation because it was allegedly posted with the intent to make the delegates feel unwelcome in New York. "The posting of publicly available information about people who are in the news should not trigger an investigation," ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann Beeson said.

Trade
Administration Officials Tout Bush's Trade Policies
     Top Bush administration officials took advantage of being near the Nasdaq stock market office in New York, where several leading tech companies have their stocks listed, to highlight the president's policies on free trade at a gathering hosted by the Republican Technology Council (RTC). "The president is totally committed -- an unwavering commitment -- to free and open trade," Commerce Secretary Donald Evans said. RTC spokesman Adam Falkoff said the group gathered technology, oil and other companies to mark the differences between this year's presidential candidates. They offered specifics on increasing U.S. job growth through technology and trade, strengthening the economy, and improving educational possibilities, he said. The economic implications of trade are a top issue in this year's presidential campaign, with the candidates debating the politically charged issue of U.S. jobs moving overseas.

Campaigns
Voting Rights Group Plans To Watch Florida E-Voting
     A voting rights group has enlisted more than 1,300 volunteers to monitor the 2004 presidential election in an effort to prevent a repeat of problems with voting in Florida and other states that marred the 2000 race. Verified Voting's new program, TechWatch, began by independently observing Florida's primary election this week, but Secretary of State Glenda Hood said her office received no complaints about the machines. Voting rights advocates fear that e-voting machines may be the center of controversy in November, replacing the infamous "hanging chads" from paper ballots used in Florida in 2000. Given that Florida does not require that voters be given paper receipts of e-votes, advocates are taking a grassroots approach to protecting voter integrity. Technology experts will observe the pre-election testing of e-voting machines, be dispatched to precincts to observe and document reported complaints, and be encouraged to volunteer as poll workers. The group, however, could face problems gaining access to polling stations.