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Ted,<br>
<br>
Perhaps it's the case that we're not yet as internet-savvy as a group
as we think we are. I know I use the internet more and more for
checking facts and learning about new things, and I've been on the
internet since at least 1989. So my hope is that people are simply new
at this and will make it a part of their lives more and more. But as I
say, it's a hope - I have no idea how it will actually turn out.<br>
<br>
Also, when I was talking about the cost of voting, I meant the cost to
the voter at the time of voting (which is free). I was just trying to
make the point that although Candidate A hasn't spent one dime on
advertising or exposure and Candidate B has spent billions, it makes no
difference at all if the voter somehow found out about Candidate A in
some other fashion - they can still vote for them. All of Candidate
B's money would have been wasted, which suits me fine. I'm hoping that
the internet will be the place that makes this possible. Grassroots
politics has never been easier.<br>
<br>
Paul<br>
<br>
Ted Moffett wrote:
<blockquote
cite="midd03f69e0610142303q5ef09ef1w545e79f2abac30b@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div>Paul wrote:</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote"
style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> With
the<br>
Internet tearing down what would have seemed to be rock-solid<br>
institutions, the landscape will probably be a whole lot different in a
<br>
few elections from now. </blockquote>
<div> </div>
<div>This seems logical, yet certain facts contradict this hope. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>I approached a very committed local anti-Iraq invasion activist
recently asking how they might explain the US public and US Congress
pathetically buying into the yellow cake uranium from Niger, aluminum
tube centrifuge nuclear fuel processing, remote controlled air
plane drone dispersing bio or chemical weapons, etc. fabricated WMD
"mushroom cloud over America" scare tactics, sheepishly accepted as it
was insisted Iraq presented an immanent threat of attack against the
USA via WMDs, in the age of.....INSTANT INTERNET FACT CHECKING OF
GOVERNMENT
PROPAGANDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I abandoned using caps in Vision2020 posts long ago, but I could
not resist.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The conclusion? The Internet made no substantive difference,
for reasons that were hard to decipher, though anyone with a limited
effort via the Internet could have determined that Bush, et. al. were
spinning better than Lance Armstrong... </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Paul also wrote:</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote"
style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">It's
my guess, and my hope, that the money will matter less and less in<br>
this process as time goes on. It doesn't cost anything to vote,
<br>
regardless of how much money your candidate has spent.</blockquote>
<div> </div>
<div>Actually, it costs a lot to vote. Taxpayers pay for voting.
And for easily accessible, fair, well monitored and maintained voting
systems, it will cost far more than we are now spending.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Often voting systems in the USA are so ill prepared, underfunded
and understaffed that there are lines around the block on a Tuesday
afternoon, frustrating voters into abandoning their efforts. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Why don't we vote on Saturday, or have a national holiday, for
the most important act in the functioning of democracy? We have a
national holiday to eat turkey! What is wrong with this picture? Why
vote on a working day? Does this not discourage participation?
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Voting machines are sometimes in poor condition or
malfunctioning, or susceptible to tampering, as it seems clear applies
also to the new computer voting machines. Ensuring voting machines are
reliable and not subject to tampering costs money, both for the
machines and the monitoring.
</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I won't even start with Ohio in 2004...</div>
<div> </div>
<div>There are numerous problems with US voting systems that require
more funding to address.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Even a libertarian should be able to accept the essential need
for full government funding of well monitored, non-partisan,
easily accessable and well constructed voting systems everywhere in the
USA. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Ted Moffett</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
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