MyDD :: Conservatives and Freedom

Conservatives and Freedom

by Chris Bowers, Thu Nov 11, 2004 at 08:18:00 PM EST

It is no secret that the people who run the corporations who produce the culture that the Christian right so despises are all conservatives and Bush supporters. It is no secret tht Bush wants to push as much of Social Security as possible out of the public sector and put it in the hands of corporate financial investors. It is no secret that Bush's tax cuts always favor the rich and bend over backward for corporations. For Bush and for conservatives, somehow the wealthier the wealthy become, the better off us plebeians will be.

As Americans, we seek freedom and independence, not do be dependent on large corporations so much more powerful than any one individual. Regions that value this independence and put their faith in entrepreneurs, small business and local products will face sustained growth that is not dependent on whether or not some town in some other state gives even more tax breaks to a major corporation in an attempt to lure away the major local employer. It is no secret that this independence is not something which conservatives value. Instead, they want us all dependent on corporations, because their discredited economic theories suggest that we will all benefit from the crumbs they sweep off their tables.

Even beyond these issues of culture and economic, the conservative agenda to corporatize America and make us all dependent on the Enron's of world extends into the very fabric of our Democracy. One aspect of a healthy Democracy is that its citizens are presented not with propaganda, but with accurate information that allows them to make informed decisions about the world in which they live. News organizations are not supposed to tell people only what they want to hear and only what they already believe, they are supposed to tell them what is happening. This is a national trust between Americans between news organizations: we will receive accurate information about the world.

However, when the interest of news organizations is only to make money, and not present important, accurate information, our national trust is violated and our Democracy is damaged. Americans know this is a problem, because as time goes by, fewer and fewer people trust the news. They are right to do so, because the importance and accuracy of the information given to them by news organizations is rapidly declining.

The conservative solution to this threat to our Democracy, unsurprisingly, is to allow corporations even more power over this national trust. Last year, this is exactly what FCC chairman Michael Powell proposed, and before long, under our current conservative administration, it will probably become law.

News organizations are not supposed to tell people only what they want to hear and only what they already believe, they are supposed to tell them what is happening. This is a national trust between Americans between news organizations: we will receive accurate information about the world. However, when the interest of news organizations is only to make money, our national trust is violated. This is what happens when corporations that control of the news:

Top management has made it clear to all Time Warner companies that their number one priority must be to increase profitability. This is the only way to boost the value of Time Warner stock, which remains low since its share price plunged dramatically after the stock market bubble burst in 2000-2001. At CNN, the bulk of profits are generated by revenues from advertising on CNN USA. It was made clear to all Bureau Chiefs by CNN executives that the revenue generated by advertising and subscriptions for CNN International is only a fraction of the revenue generated by CNN USA. Thus, executives told us that the fate of the CNN news group overall depends largely on the improved profitability of the CNN USA network. This means that the company's number one priority is to boost ratings for domestic prime time shows.

This is why no one trusts CNN anymore, no matter how much they claim in their promotional segments that "you can count on CNN." You can't. CNN does not care about the news, it only cares about helping Time Warner make more money. Our national trust over the accuracy of our information about the world is being violated.

Even worse, corporations now control our voting, and conservative want us all to trust them. As fewer and fewer people trust that their votes are counted accurately, their solution is to entirely hand over control of our most important national trust to corporations who, after cutting your health care are reducing your pay, will never tell you how they are operating that national trust. This is what happens when corporations control our votes:

Indeed, the fraud in this election that is incontrovertible so far is that private corporations, using copyrighted, proprietary code, counted the public's votes in secret.

Now, we may very well uncover proof of tampering. But I seriously doubt it. The main feature of operating systems that use a Graphical User Interface (GUI) is that you only see the interface. The code and processes run undetectably in the background. And this is the problem. A poll watcher can sit attentively at the vote counting machine and not see one vote counted. I actually saw a CVM advocate on NBC recently explain how you can in fact do a recount. "You just hit the 'Enter' key again and voila, a recount." It would have been funny...

Unverifiable ballots and ballot tabulation is a violation of the most basic principle of democracy. Proprietary software secretly tabulating our votes is the absolute equivalent to letting some guy named Ed go off into a closed room by himself and count our votes in private. That we even have to have this conversion is incomprehensible to me.

This is why I, and many others, were so adamant that these things need paper receipts at least, and should be scrapped at best.

A lot of people argue over just how bad the next four years will be, but one thing is fro certain. With conservatives in power, more Americans than ever will lose their economic and personal freedom, and become dependent on large corporations to survive. The elderly and just the next in line.

Tags: Ideology (all tags)

Permalink :: 6 Comments :: Post a Comment

Centralized (none / 0)

The problem with the elections are that there are too many disparate systems/ machines out there. Each state is different, each county is different, and it's even different from one precinct to another. The establishment of a national system is probably beyond feasability in any near term. But let's get working on reforming the statewide systems, especially in states where there are the most irregularites. Let's try to get the entire state to use a single simple system. Let's push for an open system. There is no reason why these election machines have to rely on proprietary software or hardware. The best solution would be to create an open system that can be examined by experts to detect any flaws. Then this system can be tested and refined over and over as it is used in the field, eventually getting to an air tight solution.

I'm wondering why are these machines so crappy, so unreliable, so prone to crashing. I've heard reports where some of these machines need to connect to a central server, which is preposterous. Each machine should only rely on self-contained memory, and should have all of the software installed natively. There should be absolutely no way for anyone to remotely connect to it.

I've heard that they're using Windows, my God! That's just overkill. These machines should have no processing capabilites, aside from maybe a graphics processor for the displays. All they need to do is count, or add. Start it up, load it with the variables/ choices, and record the choices/ data. All data should be stored in a non-volatile, non-erasable medium. They use those ROMs that once the memory gets burned, then that's it, it's permanent. Each machine gets a single chip, maybe on a card or something that goes into a slot, and that can be removed for the counting. No need for a remote connection.

As for a way to counter fraud, give each voter an ID when they register, maybe even a card with a magnetic strip they can use on the machines. When they vote, they slide it in, and each person gets to vote once. Each person can be assigned a random ID, so that there's no traceability. When a particular card is used, then it gets recorded and timestamped, with the date, time, location, etc. That should root out any fraudulent votes.

Work on getting good voting machines state by state. That's a goal that is within reach. There are already laws that require paper trails in some states, such as Nevada.

by nkp on Thu Nov 11, 2004 at 09:04:21 PM EST

Grad Students (none / 0)

As a follow up, if you really want to do this on the cheap, there're abundant resources at all of our public universities; grad students.

Why not have a few grad students team up at each of the state universities, and have each one come up with a machine. This would make a great senior project in CS or EE. Write some software, cobble together some hardware, porbably won't cost more than a few hundred bucks. You can also have a muti-disciplinary team, throw in a poly-sci major in there, maybe a psychology one too for the user interface. Most states have at least two large universities, so they can have a competition. Then they all convene in the state house at the end of the semester to show off their machines.

by nkp on Thu Nov 11, 2004 at 09:20:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Paper Ballots (none / 0)

I wrote my first line of Fortran in 1973, so no way I'm a Luddite, in the vulgar sense. But other countries use paper ballots, and have far fewer problems than we do. It's the old "appropriate technology" battlecry that we need here, IMHO. And what's most appropriate is paper, because it's durable, tangible, readily countable/recountable and unambiguous--if properly designed.

by Paul Rosenberg on Thu Nov 11, 2004 at 10:11:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]

E-Voting (none / 0)

Good resource for e-voting news, and woes:

http://www.evoting-experts.com

by nkp on Fri Nov 12, 2004 at 04:25:13 AM EST

Paper please (none / 0)

Here in Vermont I recieved an official paper ballot and a photo copied add-on for a local race (high baliff I think). After I recieved my ballot I entered the booth to find a pencil waiting for me. After I was done marking off the ballot, I deposited it in a plywood box to be counted later that day.
In any other state the photo copy, the pencil and the ply-wood box would have sent people into a tizzie. Am I sure my vote was counted? Damn right! Thats how Vermonters are. An honest bunch.
No point for my post, just trying to show how different things are in other parts of the country.

by Monkton man on Fri Nov 12, 2004 at 05:46:11 PM EST

CNN and money (none / 0)

If CNN stopped trying to be Fox, their ratings would go up and they would make more money. Some of their programs have incredibly small audiences. The success of shows like Dohohue show that there is money to be made with shows that liberals watch.

by unterhausen on Fri Nov 12, 2004 at 08:36:34 PM EST

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