I started subscribing annually to TD several years ago and view it as some of my best spent money. I encourage everyone to chip in if they can so that the great work consistently published here can be sustained.
We live in a post-factual world where everyone is entitled to their own facts. Tweet it if it matches the message. No one doing the tweeting cares if it's true. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if a Trump flunky had penned and placed the story.
I fear that we will be trading one onerous rent collector for another. Broadband providers will really start turning the screws once everyone sees the writing on the wall for the traditional TV subscription bundle. Think usage caps are low and tiered bandwidth priced too high? Just wait. Until real broadband competition emerges, US consumers should be prepared to keep over-paying.
I admire Professor Lessig's passion, but I think his premise is somewhat flawed. We definitely need campaign finance reform, and I'd love to see Citizens United overturned in some fashion. However, while money can sway elections, it does so to a far lesser degree than other factors.
Number one is gerrymandering. The number of uncontested congressional seats is nauseating. There is no need for contests, or the money to run them, where districts have been designed for guaranteed victory by one party or the other. This far outpaces the influence money has in federal elections.
High profile spending does not always deliver results. The billionaire republican spending in 2008 and 2012 could not keep Obama from the White House. Further, for every Koch or Adelson, there's a Soros or Pritzker to balance the equation. These wealthy individuals clearly have out-sized influence that needs to be curbed, but they can't guarantee an outcome.
Most complaints about campaign money center around the national elections. However, state and local elections often carry greater impact (see gerrymandering above). These elections are numerous and small, often decided by a few thousand voters, and can be more difficult to systematically influence with a horde of cash.
I'm happy to see Professor Lessig continue to highlight the excess in campaign spending, but I don't see reform as a panacea or even the biggest problem in the political arena.
Techdirt should prepare a recursive strategy for these cases. Nest the prior story inside a new one with an iterative counter. Repeat until it's turtles all the way down.
I think it's time to divide countries into two categories: information based and mis-information based. Information based countries would be: U.S. (I hope), Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, etc. Mis-information based societies would be: China, North Korea, Argentina and EU countries, along with any others where information tends to be centrally controlled. Then information based companies could craft strategies to deal with each group, or decide to avoid the mis-information group entirely.
I'll second Mr. Oizo's observation. I have a Toshiba android tablet running version 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) with five browser apps installed because none of them surf the entire web well. They all crash after visiting a handful of sites. Dolphin seems "best", but recent updates to Chrome have improved that experience greatly.
I'm barely above lurker status. I read several times a week (via RSS), but not daily. Some weekends I might try and catch up. I've commented a few dozen times, but rarely anymore...no spare time. I think Techdirt hits a sweet spot at the intersection of technology, copyright and civil liberties. I do tell others about Techdirt and count myself a huge fan of Mike Masnick. He and I seem to share a like passion across many topics.
Honestly, if Mike did not post on this site, I would not read. Unfortunately, I may have carped a time or two in the comments when Mike's schedule keeps him from frequently contributing. Sorry about that Mike. While I sometimes enjoy the other contributors work, they don't speak to me in the same clear, concise and ardent manner as Mike. So there's a bit of an echo chamber component to my visits, but reading keeps me up to speed on issues I find important. Often, if I first hear of a news item from another source, I eagerly think "Can't wait to read what Mike has to say about this".
Mike's reporting has motivated me to participate far more actively in the political process. I've stumped against SOPA, written my national reps often and even called their Washington offices a few times to speak up on issues presented here. I've learned about Aaron Swartz, Reddit, ICE copyright enforcement, Sen. Ron Wyden, James Clapper, FBI terrorist breeder programs and all the crazy state surveillance. In fact, when I lay it out this way, I feel embarrassed that I've yet to act on the many times I've thought about subscribing. I think I'll fix that right now.
Thanks for all you've done, and keep up the good work!
There are some Italian seismologists who had to go to jail this year that probably think they deserve "Most Incorrect Law Enforcement Action Of The Year" award.
How long before the sno-cone and CCTV lobbies pressure Senator Coburn to retract his report? We can only hope that those lobbies are not as influential as the RIAA and MPAA.
On the post: Companies Keep Asking Us To Track You; We'd Rather You Be Protected From Tracking
Re: Subs
On the post: Donald Trump's Son & Campaign Manager Both Tweet Obviously Fake Story
Re: Re: or it's strategic
We live in a post-factual world where everyone is entitled to their own facts. Tweet it if it matches the message. No one doing the tweeting cares if it's true. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if a Trump flunky had penned and placed the story.
On the post: How I Taught A Jury About Trolls, Memes And 4Chan -- And Helped Get A Troll Out Of Jail
Thanks!
On the post: Newspaper Archive Disappears From Google, Because Company Wants To Cash In
That's not okay, but...
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/
On the post: United Arab Emirates Makes Using A VPN A Crime... To Protect The Local Telcos From VoIP Competition
And Finally
https://www.techdirt.com/blog/innovation/articles/20121126/01165821142/russian-supreme-cour t-isps-need-to-proactively-block-illegal-content.shtml#c109
On the post: Dear Politicians: At Least Close Those Porn Tabs Before Sending Out Your Campaign Screenshots
On the post: Cable Company CEO Calls TV Business A 'Tragedy Of The Commons' That Ends Badly
As a Long Time Cord Cutter...
On the post: The Erdogan Insult Mess: Dutch Reporter, German Politician Arrested For Mocking Erdogan; Swiss Art Exhibit Targeted Too
Let's get these two together.
On the post: Expanding Unconstitutional Backdoor Searches Of Surveillance Data Is Easy: Just Change What Words Mean
More and More
On the post: New Year's Message: Keep Moving Forward
Thanks to Techdirt
Cheers!
On the post: Ted Koppel Writes Entire Book About How Hackers Will Take Down Our Electric Grid... And Never Spoke To Any Experts
Fact Checking Anyone?
On the post: Larry Lessig Dumps His Promise To Resign The Presidency In An Attempt To Get People To Take His Campaign Seriously
Money Doesn't Always Win
Number one is gerrymandering. The number of uncontested congressional seats is nauseating. There is no need for contests, or the money to run them, where districts have been designed for guaranteed victory by one party or the other. This far outpaces the influence money has in federal elections.
High profile spending does not always deliver results. The billionaire republican spending in 2008 and 2012 could not keep Obama from the White House. Further, for every Koch or Adelson, there's a Soros or Pritzker to balance the equation. These wealthy individuals clearly have out-sized influence that needs to be curbed, but they can't guarantee an outcome.
Most complaints about campaign money center around the national elections. However, state and local elections often carry greater impact (see gerrymandering above). These elections are numerous and small, often decided by a few thousand voters, and can be more difficult to systematically influence with a horde of cash.
I'm happy to see Professor Lessig continue to highlight the excess in campaign spending, but I don't see reform as a panacea or even the biggest problem in the political arena.
On the post: Google Disappears Techdirt Article About Right To Be Forgotten Due To Right To Be Forgotten Request
Recursive Journalism
On the post: UK Orders Google To 'Forget' News Articles Discussing Previous Right To Be Forgotten Requests
Info vs. Not
On the post: Techdirt 2014: The Numbers.
Re: Re: Android haha... crash.. .haha...
On the post: Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Universal Music Takes Down Fun Mashup Of Taylor Swift's 'Shake It Off' And 1989 Aerobics Video
Hadn't heard the song?!
On the post: What Makes You Tell Others About Techdirt?
As for me
Honestly, if Mike did not post on this site, I would not read. Unfortunately, I may have carped a time or two in the comments when Mike's schedule keeps him from frequently contributing. Sorry about that Mike. While I sometimes enjoy the other contributors work, they don't speak to me in the same clear, concise and ardent manner as Mike. So there's a bit of an echo chamber component to my visits, but reading keeps me up to speed on issues I find important. Often, if I first hear of a news item from another source, I eagerly think "Can't wait to read what Mike has to say about this".
Mike's reporting has motivated me to participate far more actively in the political process. I've stumped against SOPA, written my national reps often and even called their Washington offices a few times to speak up on issues presented here. I've learned about Aaron Swartz, Reddit, ICE copyright enforcement, Sen. Ron Wyden, James Clapper, FBI terrorist breeder programs and all the crazy state surveillance. In fact, when I lay it out this way, I feel embarrassed that I've yet to act on the many times I've thought about subscribing. I think I'll fix that right now.
Thanks for all you've done, and keep up the good work!
On the post: Oakland Raiders Hack NFL Blackout Rules In Real Life By Shrinking Stadium
S.O.P.
http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/jaguars/2012-07-08/story/jaguars-still-trying- tackle-tarps
On the post: Japanese Police Arrest 2Channel Founder Because Users Talk About Illegal Stuff Occasionally
Tim, you ignorant slut!
On the post: The DHS: Selling Fear And Uncertainty; Buying Sno-Cone Machines And Latrines-On-Wheels
Retraction in 1, 2, 3...
Next >>