Brief commentary on what has been simmering for so many months now to the point where we even had hearings about it.
A few points to be made:
- How different where were all the russian facebook/twitter/etc bots from special interest groups blanketing ads on tv for/against any candidate? Tobacco companies ads that surely could be responsible for the addictions of many? NRA wealth lining pockets of legislators resulting in even the deaths of our innocent children? The fact of the matter is that this peddling is the new m.o. for campaigning and if we didn’t pass effective legislation against special interest groups and lobbies in campaign reform before, how can congress be two faced about the new head this monster has grown as the world and the internet have grown now? The acts are simply trying to affect voter decisions with disinformation on a higher/insidious level. The onus of the decision at the ballot box has always been on the voter her/himself. End of story, full stop. Smarten up!
- How can Camb-Analy be blamed for essentially blanketing viewers(consumers) with content(ads) that they may react to? Again, the onus of responsibility lays squarely on the voters themselves. Smarten up!
- How on earth–with all the successful hacks to access credit information occurring every year–can anyone expect any modicum of privacy on something as banal as their browsing habits, online spending and actions, etc? Ridiculous. And then get upset about it–for using a FREE platform? Boo hoo little child. Smarten up!
The basis of our democracy is a double edged sword: give everyone a voice but no assurance that every voice is informed, intelligent, and bias free; no assurance that every voice has the interest of our great democracy in mind; no assurance that all interests are not entirely self serving.
When hacks on actual voter rolls, actual votes being cast in a nefarious manner, or any physical action of this sort occurs, then have a hearing. If not so, no need for stupid hearings taking us away from the main issue at hand: voters need to inform themselves accordingly and as true patriots question reality/truth with tried and true methods of inquiry; don’t be gullible; do your research.
And insofar as the democrats suing–show me how actual votes were cast illegally. If it is just influence that you are remarking about, it will never hold up in court. If you are simply trying to remark that the current president aligned with a foreign power to influence an election by influencing the electorate your beef should be with the electorate. Trying to stop any of the above mentioned actions in the future is futile–like stopping all the leaves on a tree from moving with every wind gust. Better your time be spent educating the general public on how they can cast a vote based on right mind and heart. The winds of the internet and electronic pathways will forever blow–it is to the branches to continue their trajectory spreading outward into the light for the benefit of the tree itself regardless of how fickle any leaf’s movements. Knowing that the leaves will whither and die only to repopulate every season is the first step in understanding how to better forge a path into the future.
sentientpolitics 