What is Digg?74 Comments
- dullurd, on 02/21/2008, -1/+37It's hard not to be excited at the prospect of an intellectual giant like Lessig joining Congress. Most lawmakers don't know their asses from their elbows when it comes to technological matters and are therefore led around by their dicks by advisers, lobbyists and interest groups. The problem is, it's similarly hard to imagine a lone Congressman getting anything done when doing so requires him to persuade his ignorant, self-interested, opportunistic colleagues.
- jpeel, on 02/21/2008, -1/+35The last big story (that I remember) involving government and the internet was the one where a politician thought the internet was a "series of tubes". We need more people in government who actually understand what the issues are, and not just at a joe-sixpack user level. Part of the problem with U.S. politics (from copyright law, to cyber law, to voting machines) is that politicians don't "get" how computers work, at a really fundamental level. When politicians finally start catching on, I can see someone like Lessig having an influence, especially on copyright law. Hopefully he could make some headway on the U.S. patent system as well.
- bhartzer, on 02/21/2008, -0/+21If I could, I would vote for him.
- Fordi, on 02/21/2008, -1/+12I would vote for him.
- pianomahnn, on 02/21/2008, -0/+8I believe you can at least donate. Which, by all historical accounts, is probably worth more than a vote anyways...heh.
- evildeadxsp, on 02/21/2008, -1/+8A presentation of his - How creativity is being strangled by the law -- http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/187
the man is a genius. it would be amazing if he was apart of our Congress - RuthlessPirate, on 02/21/2008, -0/+7This guy has one of the coolest job titles I've heard - "cyberlawyer".
- DAaaMan64, on 02/21/2008, -0/+6Well as our founding fathers would have never let them regulate the internet anyway. If they didn't want to regulate they internet, we wouldn't need tech savvy people on Capitol Hill. Not that expect all tech savvy people to work for the correct legislation anyway.
- DAaaMan64, on 02/21/2008, -0/+6Putting the word cyber with any usually sounds stupid and 90's.
Although cyberlawller sounds kinda cool. - Nanobe, on 02/21/2008, -0/+6To be fair, Ted Stevens was trying to make a metaphor. I doubt he thought that the Internet was *literally* a series of tubes. He was basically stating that the current infrastructure only has so much bandwidth, and the more content going back and forth, the slower it will be. Basically, he was saying what Comcast currently says in its argument for conducting "reasonable network management" by capping BitTorrent transfers. Now, it's fine to argue about the merits of that claim, and to point out that Ted Stevens isn't exactly the most informed guy in the world when it comes to technology, but people should address the claim in context.
- nakani, on 02/21/2008, -0/+5He'll need to persuade those Congressman that it's in their self-interest to vote with him. And to do that, he'll need to convince them that a voting base exists that will reward them with another term in office.
- steaksgalore, on 02/21/2008, -0/+5So many law professors join the judicial branch (e.g., Bork, Posner, Scalia). Its rare to see one go for the legislative one, but I hope he succeeds: he has a lot of good ideas to share and hopefully implement.
- purenoni, on 02/21/2008, -0/+5It would be great if the federal and state governments could host live, collaborative documents about issues facing the country and each state. Citizens could suggest changes and make comments on existing and future policies and track responses by lawmakers and the people who influence and contribute to the decisions. Citizens could subscribe to any changes made to specific bills and policies, track individual or corporate donations, etc. I would like to see the immediate voice and power of the millions of voters of "American Idol" applied to important issues facing us, instead of a small group of amateur singers. It would be great if a web application could tie online collaborative documents (such as wikipedia), google alert tracking, "sunshine" fundraising tied to individual policies, online voting, blogging, digg type feedback, etc.
- evildeadxsp, on 02/21/2008, -1/+6Video of Lessig speaking -- How Creativity is strangled by the law --- http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/187
the man is a genius, and it would be amazing to have him apart of the US Congress - gwalms, on 02/21/2008, -0/+4He probably didn't think that you could send an internet either.. he just said that as a metaphor for email..
- pintomp3, on 02/21/2008, -0/+4This suit is NOT black!
- Stevethegreat, on 02/21/2008, -0/+4The problem with such ideas is that their respective writers suppose that people have an intellect of the same level as them, unfortunately that can't be further from the truth. Unfortunately the intellectual difference between a really educated man or woman from the average person in the streets is greater than the aforementioned person's to an orangutan's regarding sophistication of thought, deeming the vast majority of people incompetent to govern or even vote.
That's exactly the reason why each and every democratic nation turned to oligarchy no matter how well intentioned were the people that granted democracy, oligarchy is still the only trusted political system that we know it works, barely. It's leaps and bounds better than mob rule (what democracy turns out to become in the end) and surely better than monarchy, thus we have the politicians and the lobbyists to be our oligarchs, they only have to mold and -at times- go along with public opinion to give us the illusion of a democratic institution.
I -for one- however think that 2 centuries of oligarchy are too much and it is time for change and I mean real change. People like those writing the "we the people" manifestos or other intellectuals didn't become so because they were born intelligent. Intelligence from a point onwards is irrelevant, you can find people with the highest iQs often to be douchebags, the recently deceased Bob Fischer is a notable example. No, what we need is wisdom and that's something which is perfectly taught-able and by wisdom I don't mean everyone to become a sage, far from that, I mean the rather modest of teaching people (children primarily, through their education) the principles of logic, epistemology and the foundations of logical inquiry. I'm not saying to make our schools revolutionaries' recruiting units, I'm only saying to make our citizens capable of constructed thought and thus active critics of the downsides of the current societal system or even political system, based -always- on logical grounds derived but their own thinking process.
If indeed people become induced with the notion of common sense -really- only then we will be able to make those "we the People" movements seem realistic, until then we'll have oligarchs because we deserve them. - feenxfire, on 02/21/2008, -0/+4Those were authoritarian regimes. A "netocracy" would be fundamentally different than anything we've had so far.
- Stevethegreat, on 02/21/2008, -0/+3I never thought a pessimistic view can be the solution, I'm only saying that your attempt most possible will fall on deaf ears, I pray that you will prove me wrong because it will mean that people are more educated on the importance of freedom than they seem to be.
If I'm right though I also have a solution, although it may be the most indirect one. What I propose is that through the net raise awareness as a first step on how badly education needs reform, then through this reform we will change education to focus on rationalism and logical inquiry and NOT on raw knowledge, then we'll have to wait another two decades to see the crops of our work to actually DEMAND freedom in our political state and for our personal lives. If we want to abolish slavery once and for all we have to abolish the American dream and this can only come through education and the work of a whole generation, it's not -and can't be- an overnight process.... - dorey, on 02/21/2008, -0/+3I live in CA's 12th and I will vote for him if he is on the ballot. Hell, I would campaign for him.
- rstarr, on 02/21/2008, -0/+3All I know is that librarians are hiding something.
- pogfreak, on 02/21/2008, -0/+3The Future of Ideas or any of his other books should be considered required reading.
- coyote1284, on 02/21/2008, -0/+3Larry Lessig did have an impressive and compelling slide-show, though. http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/187
- antoniojvr, on 02/21/2008, -0/+3He can change things as long as his suit is not black.
/goes back to 2006 - xptoast, on 02/21/2008, -0/+2You have not understood the intention of this project. This isnt a new government. This is to influence the government as well as fix other societal problems the government has no business influencing. The government is to govern. It is not to provide everything we need. We should do that part and monitor ourselves in the portion of our countrys activites. As I said. More to come later.
- JSavage37, on 02/21/2008, -0/+2This looks like a step in the right direction.
Still, I'm a little hesitant. This guy didn't invent the internet or anything. - xptoast, on 02/21/2008, -0/+2People dont go to the polls or vote because it seems it doesnt do much. This however would be straight from the people. Watch for it.
- BadseedJR, on 02/21/2008, -1/+3Did you really just do a "not" joke? You forgot the pause anyway... "Wow Lessig is going to change things so much by becoming part of the government. (pause) Not! This guy wont change *****."
- nnscott, on 02/21/2008, -0/+2To all the people with the attitude of "One man can't change things". Your thinking is the reason there hasn't been any positive changes in the last few years in the US. Change has to start somewhere and this man is organized and determined at what he does, just look at how far Creative Commons has come.
- thickape, on 02/21/2008, -0/+2hand on face plus glasses = big thinker
- gwalms, on 02/21/2008, -0/+2You can always donate..or go to CA's 12th and campaign for him.. or just campaign for him over the internet..
- korashime2001, on 02/21/2008, -0/+2"Be the miracle" -God
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world" -Benjamin Franklin - Stevethegreat, on 02/21/2008, -0/+2The people are the army of corrupt corporations and media, there is no such thing as slave master without slaves. If people were educated enough to understand their place in a given society would at last give the boot to the "American dream" which serves as the whip of those -aforementioned- corrupt entities.
- phrees, on 02/23/2008, -0/+2LINKS AND UPDATES
Draft Lessig Change Congress - main site
http://draftlessig.org
Hackfest this weekend
http://hacking.4lessig.org/
Widget for Facebook, MySpace, Orkut, iGoogle etc
http://greenhouse.sproutbuilder.com/sprout/seed/Jw ... - greenlight2001, on 02/21/2008, -0/+2For when you cybering doesn't quite go to plan.
- joshuabowers, on 02/22/2008, -0/+2I believe part of Obama's platform is, in fact, to have something like what you describe: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/technology/#tran ...
- Stevethegreat, on 02/21/2008, -0/+2I know, my comment was cynical in scope.
Even if the founding fathers were people of great mental capacity they were still unable to construct a system that cannot be corrupted and proof of this notion is 20th century's American politics and I think it happened exactly because of "the people"'s nature - bphicke, on 02/21/2008, -1/+3Take your Euro-trash comments somewhere else, thanks.
- inactive, on 02/21/2008, -0/+2LOLocaust
- Elissar, on 02/21/2008, -0/+2I hope he runs, we need more people like him in Congress.
- cmann50, on 02/21/2008, -0/+2just donated $100. we really need someone like this in congress. Looks like a bunch of people are doing the same. Hopefully these early donations will convince him to run!
http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18909 - theblacknight, on 02/22/2008, -0/+2Before you can elect 218 Congressmen to change Congress, you have to elect 1.
- coyote1284, on 02/21/2008, -1/+2I like your train of thought, however... (paraphrased from http://www.tuccille.com/blog/2008/02/how-do-we-dea ... my thoughts in parentheses) candidates and proposals that maximize individual choice and restrict government mandates consistently lose at the polls because Americans just aren't all that interested in being free. Over and over again they reject candidates who champion free markets, civil liberties, global free trade and similar ideas and institutions. Instead, they favor protectionism, government regulation, meddling in people's personal lives and habits and restricting freedom so as to achieve the mirage of perfect safety - be this about over-the-counter drugs, the threat of terrorism or environmental concerns. Sadly, that's now the character of the bulk of the American citizenry. They are not being mislead by the media or pundits or politicians. No. They want to get a free ride wherever they see a chance. Most people think they want freedom but most people don't want to extend the same courtesy to others. They don't see freedom as something that you have to extend to everybody or else lose; instead, they see it as an a la carte menu from which they can select. So the guy who wants the building code inspector to stop harassing him is also eager to lock up pot smokers and raise taxes to fund Social Security. The woman who thinks gays and lesbians should be free to marry also wants private establishments forbidden to permit their patrons to smoke and wants to force taxpayers to pick up the tab for her health-care. And the nice folks down the street who resent being told what color to paint their house also think that any organization that criticizes politicians should have to register with the government and file financial disclosure forms. And, if it really comes down to it, they're more opposed to leaving you free to decide on your pet issues than they're dedicated to gaining breathing room on their pet issues. (For instance, if one were to raise an objection to someones pet issue, one is instantly derided as a racist, or a commie, or what have you. If you are not in line with the next guy's pet issue, then "you are what's wrong with this country".) To be left alone to engage in the activities that matter to you, you have to be willing to leave your neighbors similar space, even if their businesses and pastimes offend you; if you don't allow for that live-and-let-live compromise, you create no precedent for a government of limited power and scope. By and large, most modern Americans are unwilling to make that concession, so the state grows larger and more intrusive every year.
- DeFex, on 02/21/2008, -0/+1at first i thought it said on the video before you start it, "end tax breaks for scientologists"
they would get so many votes! - binaryloop, on 02/22/2008, -0/+1I wish him luck. But, it sure ain't gonna be easy. It's like the old saying: "Arguing with idiots in Congress is like running in the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you're still a retard"
- xptoast, on 02/22/2008, -0/+1@ steve and your idea
That is part of this project. As I said this project is much larger than the summary. - Stevethegreat, on 02/21/2008, -0/+1All the abolition of slavery managed to do was to give a crop of the slaves the means to become slave masters either by their merits or their luck and social connections. The rest of the people are still slaves either because of their skewed ethics or because of their fanatical belief to the American version of success (women, cars, money NOT peace of mind that it should had -obviously- been). At some time it was the blacks to be the slaves, now everybody is, we only have the bonus of selecting our slave driver but -still- people with slave mentallity -proportionally- are a lot more compared to the so called pre-abolition era. An army of slaves cannot grant you freedom, make them yearn for freedom, free them from their slave mentality and then you may have a chance for change.
We have the oligarchs because we deserve them..... - inactive, on 02/21/2008, -0/+1If you want to check out one fictional scenario where that wouldn't necessarily be a good idea: http://podiobooks.com/title/the-immortals
- xptoast, on 02/21/2008, -0/+1The principle behind the project is to not be ho hum we are screwed but to actualy do something about it. We can fix it. I will work on the site soon for a proof of concept and then proceed to build the actual site completly as soon as I get done learning php and mysql. I could use some help however.
- gwalms, on 02/21/2008, -0/+1Change Congress
-
Show 51 - 73 of 73 discussions
The Digg Toolbar for Firefox lets you Digg, submit content, and keep track of Digg even when you're not on the Digg site. Download the official 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is