17-year-old created a new app to expose sellout politicians

[dixiegrrrrl]

IMPORTANT EDIT:
Only those holding elected offices get contributions tracked.

In an interview with Vice, Rubin said he wanted to “put the data at people’s fingertips” for people to be able to make the most informed decision when it comes to politics.

The plugin called Greenhouse works with Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers, and it can be downloaded at www.allaregreen.us.

After installation, when a politician’s name comes up in article text, the app will break down their top ten monetary influences.
The plugin is free and simple to use, as noted in this article by Vice.com.

“Greenhouse allows people to see the money story behind the news story,” said Rubin to Vice.

The name Greenhouse was created by combining three symbolic ideas: the color of money, the two houses of Congress, and the transparency of a greenhouse.

http://althealthworks.com/6804/this-17-year-old-created-a-new-app-designed-to-expose-sellout-politiciansyelena/

His VICE interview has mostly the same info:
http://www.vice.com/read/greenhouse-app-hannah-ewens-nick-rubin-201


yeah, I am gonna try it....just think how much it will enrich our comments on politicians.

[NV Whino]

1. Oooo, I like it.

Gonna try it. It might get too annoying with pop ups, though.

[malaise]

2. I use Open Secrets

works fine

[silvershadow]

4. does it interface with articles you are reading and have pop-ups? Is it an app? nt

[malaise]

5. No

and the AP would be useful, but I love doing the research on Open Secrets.

[silvershadow]

6. Oh I do too. I find this app story rather interesting though. :) nt

[malaise]

7. It would be great for those who like

instant access to details - it's fascinating.

[valerief]

10. You hover over the name and the opensecrets data appears in a div. nt

[Renew Deal]

3. I like the way he chose the name.

[JDPriestly]

8. Wow. Maybe we don't need to amend the Constitution. That's great!

[valerief]

9. What a hoot! nt

[bjo59]

11. Fantastic.

"In the last 5 years, the 200 most politically active companies in the US spent $5.8 billion influencing our government with lobbying and campaign contributions. Those same companies got $4.4 trillion in taxpayer support - earning a return of 750 times their investment." Taxation without representation humming right along.

[SammyWinstonJack]

12. Holy crap!

[myrna minx]

13. K&R

[disillusioned73]

14. This is awesome..

just installed it onto my chrome.. unfortunately it's limited to "elected" officials - it should include individuals campaigning for elected office as well.. isn't that where the most visibility should be?

[dixiegrrrrl]

17. Og goodie...look up chuck schumer...

"Sen. Charles Schumer slipped in an amendment letting the State and Justice departments halt lawsuits by 9/11 families against terror sponsors."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027855515

[disillusioned73]

19. ???

Was that post intended for me?? I appreciate the link either way though..

[dixiegrrrrl]

20. Yeah..cause he is a good one to test the app on. n/t

[The2ndWheel]

15. When voting, people don't usually care about their preferred

candidate's monetary influences. It's easily justified or rationalized. Now, the opponent, there's no justifiable or rational reason for them getting the money they get.

When someone invents an app that will eliminate the subjectivity of human beings, that will be the game changer. Until then, I'm going to guess the data from this app will change 0 minds.

[ryan_cats]

16. How hard

How hard was that to code? Gather a list of every politician, post their names.

[dixiegrrrrl]

18. In the article, he tells how he did it. n/t

[Dont call me Shirley]

21. Creative kid!