How Can Nerds Make a Difference In November? 950
Scott Aaronson offers an intriguing call for ideas on how nerds can supercharge the political process this year. He's clearly an Obama admirer and phrases his challenge this way: "What non-obvious things can nerds who are so inclined do to help the Democrats win in November?" But the question itself is not inherently partisan. The analogy Aaronson gives is to the Nadertrading idea in 2000 (which we discussed at the time). What's the Nadertrading for 2008? "The sorts of ideas I'm looking for are ones that (1) exploit nerds' nerdiness, (2) go outside the normal channels of influence, (3) increase nerds' effective voting power by several orders of magnitude, (4) are legal, (5) target critical swing states, and (6) can be done as a hobby."
Re:I know I know! (Score:5, Informative)
When mentioning Diebold, it is always crucial to mention that they now call themselves Premier Election Systems, in an attempt to make people forget that they are "that" company.... you know, the one with broken and insecure voting machines.
Barak Obama? (Score:3, Informative)
You mean the guy who voted for telco immunity [cnet.com]? The guy whose vice-presidential nominee is a MAFIAA crony [yahoo.com]?
Remind me why I should support either him *OR* the equally scummy McCain?
Re:I know I know! (Score:4, Informative)
Not only is there no method of inspecting the "mechanics" or logic (one transistor or bit out of billions could throw an election) of these Black Box Voting machines, but the prospects of forensic investigation are extremely poor.
It is hard enough maintaining security/integrity in computerized transactions these days even when the identity of both parties is known and a statement/receipt is generated. But where the user is necessarily anonymous, accountability with computers goes out the window.
Computerized "ballots" (those not submitted as physical objects) can't truly exist and must be banned.
Re:Ummm .. Vote? (Score:3, Informative)
Good luck getting anyone to vote in this country.
Actually, voter turnout is on the upturn [wikipedia.org], sure 56% is still lower than I'd like to see, but it's the youth vote which has been lacking. I think that Obama has a real chance of improving that number and even the very young governor of Alaska on the McCain ticket should generate some youth buzz. I still think that McCain will lose big, but the numbers of voters will be more respectable.
Re:I know I know! (Score:5, Informative)
what if they had asked black people to vote on wednesday instead to prevent long lines?
They did [wikipedia.org]
Re: voting and motivation (Score:3, Informative)
Democratic leadership is just itching for their turn at the helm of the war machine.
WWI
WWII
Korea
Vietnam
Those weren't Republican Presidents who entered us into those wars. You're sadly mistaken if you think the Democrats want less war. What the Democratic leadership wants their own wars that benefit them financially and benefit them politically. They've said they had enough of Bush's war only because it doesn't help them. Have you not noticed how the all powerful Democrats in the house and senate, and Pelosi made promises of getting the U.S. out of the Iraq situation....have faded away?
Democrats know just like they've always known, war is profitable, war can help you win elections....and they're pissed of that the Republicans have stolen this page out of their playbook.
Just face it. You're a goddamn sheep, who believe the kumbaya song the Dems are singing is real.
It's not. It never has been.
Re:just ask the experts (Score:3, Informative)
He is hosting a "Rally for the Republic," [rallyfortherepublic.org] in Minneapolis, MN the same time the RNC is going on which has so far sold 10,000 out of 15,000 tickets at $17.76 a piece. How many Presidential contenders in history can say that?
Ron Paul has said many times that his campaign for President exceeded every one of his expectations. His goal wasn't to win the Presidency, but to inject different ideas into the race.
The goal for his continued campaign is to get like minded people into every facet of government. There are tons of "Ron Paul Republicans" running for office everywhere around the country. How many other Presidential contenders in history can say that?
Re:I know I know! (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Ummm .. Vote? (Score:3, Informative)
The problem with Bush wasn't any of the policies it was just so many people didn't like him
And that's where I stopped reading your post...
Re:I know I know! (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Ummm .. Vote? (Score:3, Informative)
The Democratic party is hardly what anyone thinking person would classify as a "classically conservative" party, or for that matter "classically liberal" either. They are 'Progressives" which is in fact a form of socialism.
Both classic liberalism and conservatism basically boil down to the same thing, "live and let live", where the role of the government is very limited; mostly to subjects such as natioanl defense and infrastructure. The only real difference is that one (conservatism) starts from a point which is more rigid defined social constructs than the other.
While neither party truly shines as a glowing example of either of these two belief structures the Democratic party, with its "it takes a village" mentality is as far away from the classic model as you can get on the American political landscape.
This is the party that has had members openly talk about nationalizing the oil industry or confiscating their profits even after repeated investigations have shown no illegal activity because to them it seems unfair that one group would be permitted to make so much money while others cannot (even though as a percentage of sales they actually make less profit than most soft drink companies). That is socialism, pure and simple.
Re:Ummm .. Vote? (Score:5, Informative)
I realize you're not actually advocating this kind of thinking, but I'd like to answer it just the same... in case others out there come across it.
If you KNOW your state is going to go one way or another (e.g., Massachusetts or Wyoming), vote third party. If the Libertarian or Green candidate [votetruth08.com] gets 5% this year, their party will get matching funds in 2012. Then they'll have something like one half of 1% of the money the big two have, instead of 1% of 1%.
This is counted nationwide, not by state, so this is a good way to make a difference, wherever you live.
Re:I know I know! (Score:1, Informative)
As a member of the National Guard, I view this scenario with horror, as I'm one of the guys that would probably be called out to keep the peace. Not something I look upon with any enthusiasm...
Off topic:
And remember, ultimately your loyalty (and that of your fellow soldiers) is to the Constitution, not to any political party, president, the office of president, the congress, state governor or the supreme court. :-)
Re:Psycho-engineering response to above (Score:3, Informative)
I think this is a joke, but I'm not sure.
It's funny because from ciphertext of random noise, you can always generate a one-time pad which will generate any plaintext you want. Repeat as necessary for each candidate.
C'mon everybody, laugh!
Re:Simple.. (Score:1, Informative)
If you want to get Obama elected then the facts are not what you want out there.
Re:2 comments for the price of 1 (Score:3, Informative)
True only in the Miami (Cuban) area of the state, as far as I know. I've lived in a few parts of Florida for over a decade and except for the Cubans, who really know how to hold a grudge over the Bay of Pigs, most of the states' hispanics are Democratic leaning.