I voted in the Democratic Primary on Tuesday, but wasn’t up for going to the Precinct Convention when I got home. I wanted to go just to experience it, but it didn’t happen.
I consider all the elections in recent years to be suspect. I’m resolving to write up a letter to that effect to hand over to the precinct workers come the full election.
Nothing wrong with this ticket to the right. The problem is the complete unauditability of the process. There is no way to confirm what I click on and what I am displayed is ever actually accounted for. The only way to provide that functionality is to provide a hard copy in the voting booth.
That’s the only issue that needs to be considered. But on top of that is the closed nature of the system. How it works is not public knowledge. This is what we call security through obscurity and 1) it is never secure 2) it is suspect to collusion by insiders, and 3) the secret nature of it makes people lazy.
And, the nature of humans is to be cheaters. Everyone wants something without working for it.
March 6th, 2008
Posted by
bshirley |
government, politics, resolution |
one comment
As I’ve been reviewing past presidents’ experience prior to becoming president, the topic has come up a few times in the media recently. As we head for a Tuesday penultimate in its Superness, it’s been in some of the political coverage.
The question was raised directly by George Will on This Week: Does that experience count for anything? Of course he had to do it such a was as to attempt to show himself to be the smartest Ass in the room. Who was the most “experienced and prepared” president? James Bucannan, generally judged one of the worst. Because it was such an obviously researched and prepared fact and delivered with much smugness, it failed at making Will seem superior. Not that it’s not an interesting data point.
Also in Slate.com this week, John Dickerson broached the subject in Tough Call, Will Clinton or Obama Protect Your Children.
… the essential question the ad asks is a fair one: Which of the candidates do you trust to keep his or her head when everyone around them is lighting theirs on fire, and at a time when your kid’s safety could be on the line?
The answer touches on the elements of experience as we’ve batted them around so far this election—who has broader exposure to the world, who has dealt with more foreign leaders, and who knows more about the military. But the ad also raises a new question the Clinton campaign has been stressing over the last few days: Who has been tested?
March 4th, 2008
Posted by
bshirley |
government, inthenews, politics, presidents |
2 comments
A friend and financial analyst was over last night for some socializing. On his way out the door he quipped, “better trade in that car soon; $4 gasoline is a month away”.
My dislike of staring at tail lights has almost led me to study the bus schedule, this could be the last straw. 34 to the 65 (or the 2): bus routes.
And Ben Bernanke – new chairman of the Federal Reserve – said the Economy is worse than previously stated. Surprise, surprise. Perhaps he and the Bush administration have successfully extracted their long necks from the sand.
February 28th, 2008
Posted by
bshirley |
friends, government, inthenews |
one comment
Q: What was the first amendment proposed to the United States Constitution?
(more…)
January 28th, 2008
Posted by
bshirley |
government, politics, presidents |
no comments
I voted. Didn’t even remember until my way home. Lots of NOs on my ballot. Of course, that’s assuming that it gets counted. With no possible way to audit an electronic Harris County ballot, we have no way of knowing that the buttons we clicked had anything to do with the outcome.
As I computer scientist, I suggest you be wary of your democratic freedoms!
“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” -Thomas Jefferson
November 6th, 2007
Posted by
bshirley |
government |
no comments
The US Military can’t patrol their own camps, they pay others to do it.
Oh, they can patrol the camps, but they don’t have enough people to do all the jobs that need doing in Iraq, so they hire “private contractors”. Basically, mercenaries. But the State Department hires as many as 8 times more (from Blackwater - the leading “security” firm doing business in Iraq) than the Pentagon does1. And some of those guys went on a shoot-em-up spree. The military is much too familiar with this.
“The problems with the absence of oversight, management, doctrine, and even law and order when it comes to private military contractors have been known for a while.”2 And our government has failed to act on any of this.
Just as their was failure to adequately plan before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, just as there has been an absence of true diplomatic efforts before and after the invasion, there has been utter lack of action on huge problems with the mercenary “civilian contractors”.
Such inaction by government is absolutely impeachment worthy. The only reason I don’t think it is treasonous is because I think they believe they have a valid intent. I believe they are merely incompetent. If it were proven true that their behavior was one for personal or corporate profit in blatant disregard of morality, decency, and law, that would be another case.
September 26th, 2007
Posted by
bshirley |
government, inthenews |
one comment
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