First off, this is to announce my third and final (I hope) big political salvo. That is, till the scandals start hitting that make Watergate look like a playground spat.
FOlks are welcome to drop in at: http://www.davidbrin.com/realculturewar1.html
comments & suggestions welcome. (Still some corrections to make. e.g. "Part II" has a title atop that says "part I.")
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Related matters: something weirdly amusing and scary: http://www.isteve.com/babygap.htm
Also see: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/28/books/review/28WOLFEL.html?ex=1102674094&ei=1&en=cf1ce393eb798b6a for another view of the Starussians I describe at http://www.davidbrin.com/neoromantics.html
Here is someone who has posted a cash reward for evidence of election fraud.:: http://www.yuricareport.com/
"$100,000 Reward for Evidence of Vote Fraud
Justice Through Music, which strongly supports the democratic principles of transparency and honesty in the electoral process, is offering at least a $100,000 reward to any person or persons who provide conclusive and verifiable evidence that the results of the 2004 presidential election were not correctly tabulated because of one or more of the following reasons:"
If only a bizillionaire would REALLY make it worthwhile with millions. On our way to my Henchman's Prize... an annual huge award (plus a new identity) for whoever in the world blows the whistle on that year's "worst thing".
Under Clinton, the number of secrets held by the Federal government was cut in half. Now it has multiplied by a factor of more than ten and is only accelerating. Is there any other reason that anyone would need, to sniff the diff between good and evil?
== And now other matters:
Interesting item from Andrew Love said: " an article from New
Scientist that bears on the subject of "supermen" - apparently,
Superman himself is so much more effective than any mere mortal can be, that
simply thinking about him makes it less likely that people will be
helpful themselves (http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996679). This struck me as related to your thesis on elites in Star Wars and other fantasy
(and Superman himself has always been a fantasy character more than an
SF one). "
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Andy goes on to say: "In related news, I had a thought while watching the "Stargate"
series recently; even though it's a pretty good show, like much television science fiction, it has the annoying feature of justifying secrecy and unaccountability at many points. Opponents of the fictional Stargate project make perfectly reasonable arguments about the need to have external oversight and the fact that the protagonists frequently
engage in activities that risk the lives of everyone on Earth, without
bringing the rest of the world in on the action - and after they make
these speeches, they are made to look like fools, cowards or villains."
Actually, I give Stargate full points for the following reason. They have decided, as producers, that they do not feel ready or able to deal with a scenario different than the present one. Perhaps they feel a Mobilized Earth would be too expensive to show, or else would lack the present show's drama. I disagree, but that's their judgement call.
WITHIN that call, they have shown continuous sensitivity to the issues of openness and inclusion and citizen involvement by showing all the main characters to be dubious about the secrecy and reluctant and willing to discuss it over and over again. Also, like Star Trek (and unlike Star Wars) they are relentlessly skeptical of demigodhood... even when one of them briefly attains such status, himself.
Oh, I'd love to have a chance to argue with the producers. But I respect them. Some of the writing is, in fact, dynamite. (Which I don't feel about the new spinoff show, by the way.)
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See http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/13/demaray.php for one of the weirdest justifications for pollution ever.
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