By William Nelligan

I’m an intern on Capitol Hill this summer for a member of the Senate who voted against the debt ceiling deal today and who spoke for nearly an hour yesterday about how much he disliked it.

As I watched the vote in the Senate Gallery, I found myself feeling some very mixed emotions. I asked myself, is this what compromise is supposed to look like?

The whole debate has been a major topic of conversation among my friends in DC. Trust me when I say that this town has no shortage of informed and opinionated young people willing to offer their two cents on what has been going on in recent weeks.

Ryan Sellinger is a recent college graduate who works for another Senator only a few steps away from my office. Ryan and I argue, in the best sense of the word, almost daily about whether the President is a skilled negotiator or a flawed political leader. I tend to think closer to the former, he the latter. Accordingly, I can almost always count on him to push back on my logic. He didn’t today. “I still believe in the President,” Ryan said to me over lunch. Before I even had a chance to cut him off and tell him to get to the point, he continued, “I just believe in him a little less.” I was genuinely shocked. Ryan, who was always apt to blame the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue, hadn’t been able to keep the faith? “I’m not sure anyone could deal with some of these House members,” he said, “at the same time, I can’t get away from the thought that he could have done a lot differently.” Ryan is fortunate enough that he doesn’t have to worry about student loans. That said, the end of his internship will likely not mark the end of his political career. “I am starting to really worry about what kind of mess this generation of leaders is leaving for the next,” he said.

While online privacy bills make their long and perilous journeys through the U.S. House and Senate, it’s important to consider what precautions users can take themselves to protect their online reputations.

That's the goal of the 2011 What’s Your Story contest, sponsored by Trend Micro. (There's likely a second, advertising-related goal to the contest: Trend Micro makes it's money selling software that protects against spam, viruses and spyware.) Aspiring filmmakers, age 13 and up, can win a grand prize of $10,000 for a short educational video about digital privacy. 

Last year's winning video (below) depicts a job interview sabotaged by the young applicant's Facebook page. This kid's predicament could have been prevented if he had simply turned on his privacy settings. There's an old saying: “If you don’t want anyone to know about it don’t do it.”

The adjective “Orwellian” refers to the frightening world of George Orwell’s "1984," in which the state controls thought, and spreads misinformation, in Wikipedia's words.  This term was recently applied to new trends in education in communist China as well as... Wyoming. 

In Chinese universities, colleges, and lower level schools, the Chinese government plans to expand the Student Informant System (SIS), a system in which student informants report on the behavior and language of their classmates and teachers / professors.  The goal, according to a CIA document, is as follows: “to ensure campus stability and to control the debate and discussion of politically sensitive issues.”

According to the document, students have had their academic records penalized and their scholarships revoked for voicing unconventional views.  The informant system has led to professors being investigated for criticizing the communist government in class.

Major concerns mentioned in the document include creating a “culture of denunciation,” and the fear of being punished decreasing the quality of intellectual discussion and ultimately, learning. 

The SIS system originated after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.  The document says, “Government and Party officials were determined to suppress simmering resentment on campus, and identify and monitor potential future student leaders.” 

In Wyoming, the activities of students and teachers will soon be monitored by a camera, as mandated by two new bills that are geared towards revamping teacher evaluations., according to Trib.com. 

The first bill would mandate that teachers are evaluated every month in writing. The video tapes of classroom instruction would ensure that both teachers and administrators see what really goes on, instead of putting on a show for principal evaluation day.

The second bill requires that an instructional facilitator or seasoned teacher and parent representative view the tapes with the teacher and principal.  That parent would report to the school board. This is all in hopes of giving the educator a chance to improve by watching the tapes, and ultimately, increase student achievement.

After passing in the House of Representatives, the DREAM Act died in the Senate this past weekend after a vote of 55 - 41.  The DREAM Act would have granted citizenship to undocumented youth who were brought to the United States as children, and have either attended two years of college or served two years in the military and meet other criteria.  Mother Jones reports that immigration advocates will now turn their efforts towards the state level.

Advocates of the bill were creative with their campaigning strategies.  One Facebook user personified the DREAM Act in a Facebook profile and collected friends to spread news about the cause.  Dream's bio reads:

I am a Bipartisan bill and well I guess DREAM Act is just a nick name my full name is....
Development
Relief and
Education for
Alien
Minors

Act

I was born in the 107th Congress in 2001 although I wasn't named DREAM Act back then I was known as H.R.1918 and S.129. In 2003 I was officially called the DREAM Act! I am liked by many, since every congressional year Senator and House Representatives keep introducing me...Unfortunately I am just a bill right now and my ONLY wish is to grow up and become a law this congressional year!

This year my alias is S.729 and H.R.1751 when my wish comes true and I become a law I will be able to help qualifying students gain freedom and education opportunity but they must meet this criteria..

* Had arrived in the U.S. before their 16th birthday;
* Had lived in the U.S. for at least the last 5 years;
* Had graduated from U.S. high school or obtained an American G.E.D.;
* Serve in the military or attend college for at least two years; and
* Have good moral character

I could use some help! Tell your congressman you want me to become a law!

Dream currently has 4,812 friends.

Just as the Chicago 7 became an iconic symbol for popular resistance in 1968, the Capitol 9 may become shorthand for youth resistance to Arizona's harsh new immigrant detention law.

From our friends at Minnesota Public Radio:

Iman Fears (photo: Jakub Mosur) was one of two teens chosen from Minnesota to attend the U.S. Senate Youth Program. She spent a week in Washington D.C. in early March conducting interviews and recording her thoughts in an audio diary. Fears, 15, is a junior at the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists.

Here's a sample of Iman's diary from the trip:

Diary entry: March 9, 2010

Probably the coolest part of this trip is the VIP treatment we get. So we'll be walking into a major building and there'll be like 104 of us all in our business casual attire. We'll have people around us that say, "Why can't we go into the building too, with them?" And the building staff will say, "Oh well, this is the U.S. Senate Youth Program, and they're on a very tight schedule and we have to move them along."

I feel kind of bad, but at the same time, we get to tour the White House! I'm really, really excited. I've never been inside. I didn't think normal people were allowed inside. But I guess we're not normal people.

Check out the whole piece at MPR.

By: Emily Beaver

If you dozed off during the endless debate over health care reform, it's time to perk up. Members of Congress are planning to make a decision on a health reform bill this week.

So what's happening now? After political changes in January stalled Democrats' efforts to overhaul our health care system, President Obama stepped in. After February's televised health care summit, Obama said it was time for Congress to stop the endless debate on health care reform and take action. Democrats are worried that if they don't pass a health reform bill soon, reform will lose momentum as members of Congress break for Easter recess.

Obama has gone on the road to push for health reform, making his first stop at Arcadia University to rally support for reform. The Democratic party's leadership is counting votes (they need 216 votes in the House and 51 in the Senate to pass reform) and trying to convince members of their party who haven't agreed to vote for reform. Obama even took Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic Congressman from Ohio, for a ride on Air Force One to persuade him to vote for the health care reform. Republicans are mounting their own campaign to get lawmakers to vote against healthcare reform. Interest groups are dropping millions on advertisements to pressure lawmakers into voting against (or for) the bill.

While this is a big moment for health care reform, what actually happens in Congress this week may not be dramatic. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested that members of the House of Representatives may try to approve the bill without technically voting on it, using a legislative tactic called the "self-executing rule." If Congress passes reform, the way Americans access and pay for health care could change drastically. But this isn't our country's first attempt at changing our health care system. If Democrats can't get the votes they need --or find another legislative maneuver to pass reform--it's quite possible that we'll still have the same health care system we've been complaining about for years.

At times, the health reform debate has reminded me of the noise a refrigerator makes -- after a while, you get so used to the monotonous hum in the background you automatically tune it out. If Congress doesn't pass reform now, the health care debate won't vanish. It will just keep humming in the background.

By: Emily Beaver

After Massachusetts voters elected Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts to the Senate Tuesday, members of Congress immediately starting talking about what to do about health reform.

"Scaling back", "paring down", and "stripping down" are some of the phrases being used to describe how health care reform might change since the Democrats lost their filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. It sounds more like going on a diet than changing public policy -- but what politicians are really talking about cutting out are reforms that would help everyone get health insurance. And with young adults making up a disproportionate share of the uninsured population, many young people wouldn't receive any benefits from a "scaled back" health reform package.

So what does Tuesday's election mean? Some politicians read the election as a sign the public is more concerned about jobs than health care. Some are saying the public just doesn't support or understand the health care reform plans Democrats originally proposed. Others say Massachusetts voters, who already have a statewide universal health insurance program, don't want to help other states that haven't provided insurance to all residents.

The Y.I. Want Change coalition of more than 20 youth organizations is urging the Senate to go even further to make reform that works and is affordable for young Americans. The bill unveiled by the Senate extends coverage to millions of the uninsured, many of whom are young people. It includes a public option, and allows young adults to stay on their parents’ policies until the age of 26.

In a press release, the coalition stated that it continues "to be concerned about what began as the so-called “Young Invincible” plan, a high-deductible catastrophic plan now available to young Americans up to age 30 and any American who would have to pay more than 8 percent of their income in premiums."

Some members of the coalition believe that such a plan would create two classes of insured people in the country, with one class being akin to having insurance in name only.

For more information on Y.I. Want Change and how to get involved, visit their website.

Previously:

• Sweeping Health Care Overhaul Passes the House
• Ten Health Care Terms You Need to Know
• Ten More Health Care Terms You Need to Know

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a $894 billion health care bill Thursday. The bill would extend coverage to 36 million Americans through a mix of subsidies, tax incentives and penalties on individuals and small businesses. Under the bill, the government would sell health insurance, in competition with private insurers. Pelosi said the competition would hold down premium costs, but Republicans said the public plan could eventually drive private insurers from the market. The final package from the House does not have the more liberal vision of a public health insurance option.

In the House bill, as in the Senate version, insurers would have to accept all applicants, regardless of pre-existing conditions and they would not be able to charge higher premiums because a person was sick. The House bill includes a provision letting children stay on their parents’ insurance through the age of 26. A bill approved by the Senate health committee offers a similar provision allowing children to stsay on their parents' insurance through age 25.

President Obama welcomed the House bill as “a historic step forward”. He said it meets two of his criteria. “It is fully paid for and will reduce the deficit in the long term,” he said.

Opponents to the bill were quick to respond to Pelosi's announcement. Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, the No. 3 Republican in the House, said the Democrats’ bill “looks like another freight train of big government with more taxes, more mandates and more spending.” That, he said, is “not what the American people want.”

(via The New York Times)

• Baucus Bill
• Ten Health Care Terms You Need to Know
• Old vs. Young -- the Health Care Tug-Of-War