Fahrenheit 451

Busy today with a non-CAF-related project, but wanted to call everyone's attention to an apparent conspiracy of breathtaking political sabotage.

We still don't know who did it, how, or why, but the fact remains that the archive of every blog on the progressive platform Soapblox was wiped out, including the entire contents of dozens of locally focused sites that hold politicians accountable around the country.

This is only but an inadequate analogy, but imagine if right-wing operatives methodically torched the file cabinets of community newspapers and newsletters around the country, and the printing presses, too.

Point for us all to debate: Might the word "terrorism" apply?

Point that I think is beyond debate: The FBI must get involved.

This is a fast-developing situation, with many moving parts. Follow developments here.

[3:13 CST update: some of the affected sites are now staggering back to life.]

Thursday morning update: below find the latest statement of Paul Preston of Soapblox:

Where we stand:

We are stabilizing everything as best we can right now, and getting
ourselves backups to help keep everything safe and restoreable in the
short-term
A long term fix is also on the way.

It also seems like SoapBlox needs to be transformed from a proprietary
model to one of open source to help get rid of me alone as the single-
point of contact with so much stuff.

On a purely personal note, I have been running SoapBlox as a part-time
gig for almost 4 years now. Because I believe so much in the cause
and the medium, I've tried to keep the prices as low as possible, and
perhaps this hasn't been the right approach. Recently I have been
struggling to do my given the time constraints from other duties
(especially my real full time job).

There are so many things I'd like to do with SoapBlox, to provide you
with the best darn platform there can be. I have poured my heart and
soul--my blood, sweat, and tears in to SoapBlox. But this would
require making SoapBlox a full-time gig for me, so I could deal with
all elements of the business with my fullest attention. Any ideas on
how to make this happen, and I'm all ears.

Again, I am awed by today's reaction--so many people would be willing
to donate time, money, and effort to see the continuation of
SoapBlox. We have gotten an amazing outpouring of support.

Onwards!

-Paul

Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future