Campaigns
Key Senate Races Among Those With Tech Ties
     This year's mid-term elections feature a handful of races of interest to the technology community. The most visible congressional challenger thus far has been Ned Lamont, who this week defeated Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., in a primary. Lamont successfully mobilized the authors of many Democratic Web logs by attacking Lieberman's stance on the war in Iraq. He also pledged to match online donations to his campaign with cash from the fortune he made as the founder of Lamont Digital Systems. Lamont won 52 percent of the vote to 48 percent for Lieberman, who now has vowed to run as an independent in the fall. Other senators with tech ties who are in competitive races include: George Allen, R-Va.; Conrad Burns, R-Mont.; Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; and Rick Santorum, R-Pa. In the House, New Mexico's Heather Wilson and California's Richard Pombo, both Republicans, are in tight races. Technology Daily reported on those races in our ongoing series about politics and technology.

Campaigns
Telecom Bill May Be Missed Opportunity For GOP
     With members of Congress at home to campaign during the August recess, the top issues on voters' minds appear to be the war in Iraq and pocketbook issues. But some technology issues are on the radar as well, at least for a few lawmakers. Virginia Democrat Rick Boucher, a co-chairman of the Congressional Internet caucus, said the technology issue he gets the most voter questions about is video choice. Boucher said Republicans may be on the verge of a missed opportunity by not clearing a telecommunications bill that would create national franchises for new entrants into the video market. Another missed campaign opportunity likely will be some economic items that are part of the American competitiveness initiative proposed by President Bush. But when it comes to swaying elections, Boucher and Internet caucus co-Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. do not see tech issues as ones that change votes from one candidate to another.

Campaigns
Medium Versus Message: Candidates Sample New Tools
     Candidates across the country are seizing upon tools like Web logs, audio "podcasts" and online video as ways to reach voters. A Technology Daily survey of key House and Senate races found that many candidate Web sites include such new communications tools. Mindy Finn, director of new media and political technology for the re-election campaign of Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., said campaign sites now are "more an interactive online headquarters." Podcasts and text-messaging are still mostly media of the future, but media consultant Zack Exley said that makes sense because text-messaging costs a lot of money and offers few opportunities to sway voters. "It's really the dumbest thing in the world," he said.

E-Government
Debate Over E-Voting Is Still Plaguing Elections
     When George W. Bush was elected president in 2000 amid controversy over paper ballots, the nation quickly moved toward electronic balloting. Ever since then, the controversy has focused on e-voting, and the battle shows no signs of receding this year. Complaints surfaced anew Tuesday in Georgia, where Rep. Cynthia McKinney was soundly defeated in a Democratic primary. Any e-voting problems that might have existed would not have changed the outcome of the race, but McKinney still decried the technology. "Electronic voting machines are a threat to our democracy," she said in a post-election rally. As the technology is being deployed, much of the focus now is on ensuring its success. According to a June update from VerifiedVoting.org, 27 states now require voter-verified paper records to confirm e-votes.

Business
Regulators Weigh Accounting Relief For Small Firms
     The Securities and Exchange Commission this week announced moves to grant smaller public companies and many foreign private issuers relief from a 2002 accounting law that requires internal controls and financial-reporting procedures. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said in a statement that the move will give the commission and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board time to redesign implementation of the law "in a way that is efficient and cost effective for investors." The act requires companies and their independent auditors to separately assess firms' internal financial controls. Many officials within the technology industry and small-business community have complained about the cost. Others have said the law was needed to improve transparency and public trust. The SEC said it is seeking public comment on proposals to grant relief by changing deadlines for companies to issue reports on the internal financial controls.

Budget
R&D Earmarks Are Still Popular Despite Criticisms
     The core of science involves experiments that will not bias outcomes, so earmarking federal funds for specific research and development projects tends to make scientists bristle. The American Association for the Advancement of Science, which tracks the percentage of earmarked R&D funds, said designated projects have increased 63 percent since fiscal 2003. For 2006, R&D earmarks totaled $2.4 billion. The Bush administration asked, as it does each year, for Congress to refrain from such spending in fiscal 2007. But it is unclear that the argument made much impact. Preliminary figures on current House earmarks show that the House has earmarked $1.1 billion of its R&D spending. The National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and Homeland Security Department remain free of them, AAAS said.

Telecom
FCC's McDowell Sees Video Role Without New Bill
     If Congress fails to clear a telecommunications bill this year, the FCC can play a role under existing law to bring more video competition to the market, Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell said this week. "I don't want to underestimate Sen. [Ted] Stevens," McDowell said of the Alaska Republican who authored a pending telecom measure. But he added that there are some things the FCC can do to "clear unnecessary regulatory underbrush." "We can help speed the deployment of video penetration ... and broadband penetration," McDowell said. But he does not believe existing law allows the FCC to mandate that cable operators carry all digital broadcast signals. McDowell voted against a mandate in June. "If Congress changes it, we'll enforce that mandate," he said. As a commissioner, he said his main goal is "to trust free markets and free people to make their own decisions."

Porn
More Adult Content, Less Solicitation Found Online
     American youngsters are likely to encounter more sexual material online but fewer instances of sexual solicitation than five years ago, a new national study showed. One-third of Internet users ages 10 to 17 were exposed to unwanted sexual content, compared with 25 percent in previous studies. Aggressive porn-marketing tactics paired with faster computers and Internet connections to transmit images were partly to blame for the increase, researchers said. But a smaller number of online youth -- only one in seven in 2005, compared with one in five in 1999 and 2000 -- received sexual solicitations. The vast majority occurred in homes, and only 8 percent reported being contacted while on school or library computers. The findings could be fodder for future debates over a bill that would force federally funded schools and libraries to ban youngsters from chat rooms and social-networking Web sites.