more on Pork feast -- WORTH READING DJF

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 16:06:36 -0500
From: Daniel Berninger <dan () danielberninger com>
Subject: Re: [IP] more on Pork feast -- WORTH READING DJF
To: dave () farber net

Dave,

Regarding solutions.  We should start by blaming ourselves.

Abuse of power always requires an uprising of the oppressed.  Legislators
serving their corporate donors rather than the public interest succeed only
where the public remains apathetic.  The public deserves nothing and can
expect nothing unless it gets engaged in holding government and corporations
accountable.

Martin Luther King, Jr noted "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the
oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."

Some ideas:

1) Agressive education to increase awareness about misdeeds in the sense of
Thomas Paine's "Common
Sense"

http://earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/text.html

There exists lots of information on all of the bad actors if people care to
look.

2) Economic boycott holding the offending corporations accountable.

See for example: http://www.conscientiousconsuming.com

3) Use the Internet to drive down the cost of campaigns.  This requires
getting more people connected and educating people on the use of the
Internet.

The present seems to similar to rule by a collective of private interests
otherwise known as Feudalism.  The arrival of the printing press making
books more affordable produced an educated middle class that ended Feudalism
and produced the Renaissance.  The Internet seems a good match for the
present incarnation of Feudalism, but things may need to get worse
before people feel enough pain to join an uprising.

Best regards,

Dan

http://www.danielberninger.com


> What I have *not* heard is any sensible proposal to change the
> situation.  I think term limits would help, but would not really cure
> the problem.  Appealing to legislator's altruistic instincts is clearly
> a non-starter.  Any Congressman or Senator who does not vote
> his constituents self interest is very likely to be a one-termer, and
> the game is rigged so that only the most senior of members have
> any influence whatsoever.
>
> If anyone has any really good ideas, let them speak forth.
>
> Bob McClure
>

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