Classical Music Lovers win Campaign Victory

It's always refreshing to see positive campaign outcomes at GoPetition. For a list of recent ones see http://www.gopetition.com/news.php and our success story listings.

In the case of the Roberta Invernizzi campaign, a new genre of fan can now be categorized: the "classical music activist". The campaign in question produced a positive outcome and involved a petition commenced by Roberta Triumphans. In short, the petition has been successful in achieving a notable CD release.

The petition requested that a record label release a CD with the Italian soprano Roberta Invernizzi consisting of the following arias:

1- Destin Avaro from Vivaldi´s La fida Ninfa

2- Se pieta di me non senti - From Handel´s Giulio Cesare

3- Gelosia, tu già rendi l'alma mia from Vivaldi´s Ottone in Villa

4- Ah crudel il pianto mio - From Handel´s Rinaldo

5- Scocca dardi - From Vivaldi´s Griselda

6- Io ti levo l'impero dell'armi - from Handel´s Partenope

7- Scoglio d'immota fronte from Handel´s Scipione

8- Combatta un gentil cor - from Vivaldi´s Tito Manlio

9- Credete al mio dolore - From Handel´s Alcina;

10- Son fra scogli e fra procelle - From Vivaldi´s Teuzzone;

11- Destero Dall'empia Dite - From Handel´s Amadigi;

12 -Vede orgogliosa l'onda - From Vivaldi´s Griselda.

Due in no small part to the campaign, a CD with Roberta Invernizzi singing some of the Vivaldi arias requested in the petition will be released in May 2012 by Glossa music.

According to the campaign organizer, "We consider this petition has fulfilled its purpose. Thanks to everyone who signed and supported this campaign, we also thank Glossa, and Ms. Invernizzi for making this dream come true."

"Thanks also to GoPetition. This site was very helpful for us to achieve our goal. After 3 years we fulfilled our purpose."

I look forward to listening to Invernizzi's (below) classical renditions in the near future.

(Photo of Milanese soprano Roberta Invernizzi by: Bruna Ginammi)

Will the White House Petition Platform help Americans?

E-petitioners will be aware that the White House has launched an online initiative to allow Americans to petition online.

The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States protects the right of the people to "to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." When the White House officially launched We the People, that constitutional right was be formally brought into the digital age. 

"When I ran for this office, I pledged to make government more open and accountable to its citizens," President Obama says at WhiteHouse.gov. "That's what the new We the People feature on WhiteHouse.gov is all about – giving Americans a direct line to the White House on the issues and concerns that matter most to them.”

While some political commentators will inevitably tie this initiative to the gearing up of the 2012 campaign, there is a big idea embedded in this launch, going back to the original compact between the American people and its government. Petitions have played an important role in the nation's history, from the Virginia Legislature to Quakers petitioning the colonial government and Continental Congress to abolish slavery. The White House will not be bound to make policy based upon e-petitions, but they have given the nation a powerful new official way to use the Internet as a platform for collective action, making their digital voices heard. Sites like GoPetition.com have been promoting the "digital voice" for the last ten years, but better late than never for the White House platform.

White House Director of Digital Strategy Macon Phillips announced e-petitions with a blog post at WhiteHouse.gov and a video where he explained how White House e-petitions would work. "With We the People, we're offering a new way to submit an online petition on a range of issues -- and get an official response," he wrote.

The initial basis for campaigning incorporated several key ideas:

• Citizens to be able to create or sign e-petitions on a "range of issues".
• If an e-petition gathers more than 5,000 signatures in 30 days, White House officials will review and answer it.
• Initially, an e-petition will have a unique URL that only its creator knows. "It's up to that person to share it in their network to gather an initial amount of signatures -- initially 150 -- before it is searchable on WhiteHouse.gov," wrote Phillips. In this context, a "network" means online social networks, like Twitter or Facebook.

Despite that explanation, there are still many questions that remain in terms of how e-petitions will fit into a 21st century e-democracy. As Phillips recognized, the United States isn't the first to try this: the United Kingdom offers e-petitions, and according to Phillips, their work "was very helpful as we developed our own." The sticky e-widget there is that the UK dropped e-petitions in 2010 as the new prime minister came into office, due to negative publicity and other issues, before relaunching it again.

One key limitation of the White House site is that it only allows campaigns directed to the White House. State and local jurisdictions are not included. Moreover, the broader concept of private petitioning against businesses, corporations and persons in general, is beyond the scope of the site. In these circumstances, online sites like GoPetition.com offer a broader basis for petitioning and a much more flexible platform. So while the White House site may in fact help many Americans voice their concerns at a Federal level, other site like GoPetition offer more flexibility and options in relation to petitioning both non-federal government and private bodies.

John Pope

This article is adapted from one by Alexander Howard  at http://www.nationaljournal.com/tech/commentary-got-a-problem-you-want-the-white-house-to-fix-e-petition-it--20110909

Kardashian petition raises key issues about the status of American popular culture

Los Angeles, USA: A Denver area woman has launched a petition drive in an effort to tell E! Entertainment to terminate the Kardashians' TV program. Cyndy Snider has posted a petition to GoPetition asking that E! find "other shows to air."

"Keeping Up with the Kardashians is just not viewing that we the public would like to see from your network," she states. "Enough is enough."

As of Friday morning the petition had more than 143,000 signatures and a Facebook page promoting it had reached more than 50,000 likes.

The petition drive specifically addresses Kim Kardashian, who has faced criticism after her recent 72-day marriage to basketball player Kris Humphries, and asks people to boycott her. It also suggests not buying any products she or the Kardashian Brands sell and not shopping at any retail store that uses her as a spokesperson or carries the products.

"Kim Kardashian has made a mockery of American culture, doing whatever it takes to extend her fifteen minutes of fame so that she can selfishly profit from her celebrity status," the petition states. It adds she "continues to bate the media into giving her more unjustified coverage and allowing her to cash in financially." Below, Kim Kardashian was in Sydney, Australia, to launch a new handbag line on Nov. 1, 2011. (Daily Telegraph / NewsCore)

A statement by Snider posted by the Yahoo! TV blog stated that petition supporters "feel that these shows are mostly staged and place an emphasis on vanity, greed, promiscuity, vulgarity and over-the-top conspicuous consumption." CBS4 Denver reported that Snider, 41, started the petition in early November. She told CBS4 that she is against what the show portrays and does not consider its material appropriate. The CBS4 interview with Snider can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/user/GoPetition

"I'm not aware of anybody in my neighborhood that's going out and leaking their own sex tapes," she said. Snider told CBS4 that being a "Kim hater" has led to death threats against her.

While the show has its haters, the blog ZAP2it.com stated that "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" is one of E!'s highest-rated shows. The special "Kim's Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event" drew 10.5 million viewers. Comment on ZAP2It's blog have been mixed with one person posting, "Boycott these no talent sharks!" Some suggested not stopping there but boycotting shows like "Jersey Shore" as well. Others said don't bother. "I'm sorry but I think this is stupid," one reader wrote. "If you don't want to watch the show don't watch it, if you don't want your kids to watch it, there's a thing called parental control. There are far more ridiculous things on TV …"

The extreme popularity of the anti-Kardashians' petition suggests a deeply divided America at a core cultural level. On the one hand, the pro camp illustrates a fascination with "real life" pulp fiction entertainment, while the anti-Kardashians' camp illustrates a deep backlash against an alleged degenerating, vain, shallow and valueless American popular culture.

John Pope

GoPetition

Sources: thanks to http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/entertainment/kardashian-boycott-asks-to-cancel-show-dpgoha-20111117-fc_15993955