I had a conversation with my better half this evening about the election and our relief and elation with the week’s events—I’m still grappling with and collecting my thoughts, hopefully something more coherent on that later this week. At any rate, we got to talking: what if Gore had won in 2000? Would we be in Iraq? What would the world think of us? Would the American people be electing a Democrat this year? Would the American people have even heard of Barack Obama?
With all of that in mind, what about four years from now? Eight? I can’t yet wrap my head around what it means to have elected a president who is not a white man, save that it’s an emotional and societal catharsis that we badly needed. Does this really change our politics in any significant way? Does this really change our society in any significant way?
In his speech on Tuesday night, Obama recounted some of the most significant changes to our country seen in the lifetime of a 106-year old black woman from Atlanta. He called on people to have in mind the long-term effects (i.e., more than an election cycle) of the choices and events of our time.
Is America capable of that? Given the current state of things, I think the future of our country demands that we make ourselves capable. I’m hopeful that this election is but the beginning of sweeping change for the better, but only time will tell.
What person in the McCain-Palin campaign thought it would be a good idea to send the country’s most lampooned and reviled political figure (outside of the White House) for the opening ceremonies of a sporting event in the city where they throw batteries at baseball players and boo Santa Claus?
…and begins. Speculating here, but it seems that the McCain-Palin campaign has accepted the fact that there’s no way Palin could possibly win tonight, so they’ve convinced the media to focus on the fact that moderator Gwen Ifill has a forthcoming book about Barack Obama, and therefore can’t possibly be a neutral party.
Does this mean Tom Brokaw’s book, Boom, proves that he loves the 1960s and must also be enamored with Obama because he was born in that decade, thereby undermining his credibility as moderator in one of the upcoming presidential debates?
Mainstream media’s coverage of the election will probably give you plenty of reasons to vote however you’re going to vote on November 4th. Unfortunately, and predictably, much of that so-called analysis will be shallow or slanted onedirection or the other.
For the 4 or 5 or you who read this blog with some regularity, and for the 15 of you who will stumble upon it sometime between now and Election Day, I intend to share with you some thoughtful reasons on why Obama-Biden is the better choice, and/or why McCain-Palin is an unnecessary gamble.
Today, I point you to Lawrence Lessig‘s discussion of John McCain’s record while serving as chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (quite the combination, no?):
Skeptical? Take a look at McCain’s webpage on his technology platform. Some important (I think) excerpts:
On taxation of Internet services:
“From its inception, John McCain has seen the Internet as an engine of growth for the next generation of American innovation. Burdening that engine of growth with heavy taxes only harms American competitiveness in this vital sector.”
But there are ways to hinder growth, other than taxation.
On piracy:
“While the Internet has provided tremendous opportunity for the creators of copyrighted works, including music and movies, to distribute their works around the world at low cost, it has also given rise to a global epidemic of piracy. John McCain supports efforts to crack down on piracy, both on the Internet and off.”
And on intellectual property in general:
“Intellectual property protection is increasingly an issue for U.S. innovators operating in the global economy. John McCain will seek international agreements and enforcement efforts that ensure fair rewards to intellectual property.”
All of which begs the question: how will you do all this without infringing on user’s rights?
On net neutrality and regulation:
“John McCain does not believe in prescriptive regulation like “net-neutrality,” but rather he believes that an open marketplace with a variety of consumer choices is the best deterrent against unfair practices…He championed laws that penalized fraudulent marketing practices, protected kids from harmful Internet content, secured consumer privacy, and sought to minimize spam.”
On increasing broadband penetration:
“John McCain has long believed that all Americans…should have access to high-speed Internet services and receive the economic opportunities derived from technology. Access to high-speed Internet services facilitates interstate commerce, drives innovation, promotes educational achievements, and literally has the potential to change lives. As President, John McCain would continue to encourage private investment to facilitate the build-out of infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet connectivity all over America. However, where private industry does not answer the call because of market failures or other obstacles, John McCain believes that people acting through their local governments should be able to invest in their own future by building out infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet services. For this reason, Senator McCain introduced the “Community Broadband Bill,” which would allow local governments to offer such services, particularly when private industry fails to do so.”
Basically: If local government wants to foot the bill to build its own infrastructure (because giants like Comcast own a lot of those cables) and offer service to its citizens, great. Go for it. But if in the long-run it doesn’t work, too bad, you’re out of luck; the Federal government isn’t going to spend any money to improve the country’s infrastructure. We’re just going to rely on the telecommunications industry to do it when they want to do it.
On piracy and protection of intellectual property:
“Barack Obama and Joe Biden will work to ensure intellectual property is protected in foreign markets, and promote greater cooperation on international standards that allow our technologies to compete everywhere.”
AND
“Barack Obama believes we need to update and reform our copyright and patent systems to promote civic discourse, innovation and investment while ensuring that intellectual property owners are fairly treated.”
The first part of this is vague, the second is getting better, talking about copyright and patent reform, but still vague. Still, I like that he’s not talking about “enforcement efforts,” like McCain is, and instead recognizes that maybe our current system is not the best for our current situation.
On neutrality and regulation:
“Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet.”
AND
“We live in the most information-abundant age in history and the people who develop the skills to utilize its benefits are the people who will succeed in the 21st century. Obama values our First Amendment freedoms and our right to artistic expression and does not view regulation as the answer to these concerns.”
Night and day from McCain here.
On increasing broadband penetration:
“Barack Obama believes that America should lead the world in broadband penetration and Internet access. As a country, we have ensured that every American has access to telephone service and electricity, regardless of economic status, and Obama will do likewise for broadband Internet access. Obama and Biden believe we can get true broadband to every community in America through a combination of reform of the Universal Service Fund, better use of the nation’s wireless spectrum, promotion of next-generation facilities, technologies and applications, and new tax and loan incentives.”
Bingo.
So there you have it. More to come as I have time and energy 🙂
Honester Ciphers 