Wired magazine recently reported that several of the electronic voting machines, which contain the “closely held” software secrets were recently auctioned off at government auction. How’s that for “homeland security” gone awry? The cost? $82.

The man that purchased these five machines was none other than a Princeton computer science professor who promptly reverse-engineered the systems, along with his students seeking security holes. Want to know what he found?The read the entire Wired article about the Auction of Top Secret US Voting Machines. *tsk-tsk*

Technorati: electronic voting machines, vote security, reverse engineering

Spam has been a problem since email was invented, but lately it’s not only been on the rise, it’s been more alarming. I saw some figures a few months ago that said that spam had increased by 80% in a matter of just a few weeks.

My inbox verifies that fact. And lately, the spam that has wormed its way into my line of vision has been even more… ahem… interesting…Today, for instance, I’m looking through my “junk” mail folder before trashing it all. (You never can tell when something GOOD goes in there, so I always give it a cursory glance).

And what I see is the (expected) non-female ads for products to — ahem — “pump you up” so to speak. What I didn’t expect was the preview pane for this particular well-known “V” product to be populated with information on how to save my soul.

Since when did “sex drugs” wiggle through spam filters disguised as religious advice?

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I have a few ideas for your consideration:

• What would you say if, suddenly, you could no longer access the sites you like to visit? What if you were automatically redirected to a “similar” site without your knowledge or permission?
• What if your own site was no longer visible on the web or if it took MUCH longer to load your site than to load others?
• What if every search query typed in for real estate your area came back with a single franchise — the competition’s and you had no way to change that because they had an exclusive agreement with the ISP/Host/Search Engine providers in your area?

Sound impossible? It’s not….I’ve just returned from Memphis, the host city for the 3rd National Conference on Media Reform. I must say that about 17 years ago, I would have attended this (and probably the two prior conferences) from a completely different perspective — one of a journalist.

This year, I attended for one reason only — I wanted to learn more about the organizations and the individuals dedicated to helping insure that everyone who wants to define, pipeline, shunt and stifle the Internet is stopped. I went with one issue “Keep your grubby paws off my Internet!”

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Ok, I’ve been doing alot of thinking lately…

The conference planted a few new seeds, but mostly it fertilized the seeds already planted in my mind. And the vines are becoming dark and twisted. I’m getting mad… mad as hell, to use an overused (but extremely accurate) phrase…

I recently commented about working harder to make less. And I’ve done even more thinking about that now. I’ve determined the following:

• I work harder to make less (which means I spend less time with my family to give over more money in taxes to my government)
• My food supply is not a quality food supply (and quality food supply is not readily available, although that is improving — if you have the money to pay for organic foods and the time to search out and use local growers)
• The quality of my children’s education is abhorrent (this isn’t improving and I have little hope that it will)

So, I’m wondering if I wouldn’t be better off if I worked half as many hours, brought my children home and spent the other “half” of my time educating them. I wonder if teaching them to put food back, raise a garden and cook from scratch wouldn’t be a better use of my time and energy — and a better preparation for them. At the very least, I’d get to spend more time with my family. Quality time, working together, learning together, playing together.

I wonder if moving back to the farm is the answer. I’m wondering about alot of things and I’m trying to put it all together. And I’m redefining what I consider “poverty.” I talked with my father about this. We argued and “talked politics” for quite some time. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we violently disagree. Today, we did a little of both.

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I really enjoyed this spoof from the National Conference on Media Reform, and I wanted to share it with those of you who were unable to attend. I’m not really fond of our President, but I enjoyed THIS appearance…

Last night, I saw Geena Davis. Cool enough all by itself, but I found her to be an impressive speaker with an interesting message. I’ve never been much of a feminist — perhaps because I live in a time and in a country where I can do mostly what I want without worry.

But she made me think about a few things. About how women are portrayed to our children. As the mother of a 9-year-old, this rang a little more loudly than it may have otherwise. Her examples were matter-of-fact, entertaining, engaging and leave me still thinking about it this morning. For instance…She compared the cartoon “females” available to her growing up. Since we are approximately the same age, I can relate to all of them. One of the ones that stood out most was Smurfette. The ONE female in the 100 male-group of Smurfs. Initially ugly, and created by the enemy to bring down all the Smurfs (isn’t that nice?), Papa Smurf reworked her by plastic “smurfery” and she became a blond bombshell adored by all the boys. Hmmmm.

She talked about the “mysterious dead mother syndrome” wherein many films dealt with women by killing them off before the story started. Think The Rifleman, Bonanza, and even Nemo.

She mentioned that Loony-Tunes had one long-term woman. Granny. Davis explained, that she was the one who “owned Tweety bird and had to leave so the story could begin.” Interesting, I thought.

Then her other examples really hit home for me. She talked about Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie and Star Trek. Now, these first two shows were my childhood favorites — and as she pointed out they were about two powerful women who “sat on their powers for fear of pissing off their men.” I liked Star Trek too, and the only recurring female character there, Lt. Uhura (sp?) was “a glorified telephone secretary.”

On my own, I started thinking about the other women in Star Trek — all foils for Captain Kirk’s sexual foibles. Hmmmm.

Yes, I realized, she was right. There was a serious lack of female role models in TV when we were growing up. No wonder I was a tomboy and always “play acted” the male roles. Geena Davis did the same thing. (That’s comforting.)

What surprised me was that the disparity is still with us. Her not-for-profit www.SeeJane.org did the largest study ever done of G-rated movies and found that 3 out of 4 characters are male — even today! SeeJane is currently undertaking a study of TV shows and will be doing a study of PG-13 movies soon.

She ended by stating her goals:

• Work with the industry to close this gap and dramatically increase the number of female characters
• Create a public education/awareness campaign
• Reduce the gender stereotypes

She hopes in five years that reviewers will notice if there is only one woman in a movie and will make a note of the fact.

Davis ended the presentation with a few facts about our current political system. She said that we are 68th in the world for females in our government and that if we continue to add women at the current rate to public office, we will reach parity in 500 years. Davis said, “I think that’s too long.”

It was an excellent presentation. And I, for one, will now notice this when I see a movie.

technorati tags: Geena+Davis, SeeJane.org, See+Jane, Media+reform, women+in+media, NCMR2007

I’ll bet that, by now, you wish you had come to the conference. If you would like the “next best thing to being there” you may want to consider “tuning in” for streaming video…

If you are interested in seeing the evening’s conference event via streaming video, go here.

In addition you can get more information about the events, view photos and voice recordings by vising the main site: http://www.freepress.net/conference/.

You can also peek at a slew of photos from everyone at the conference posted at Flickr.

Enjoy! I’m headed to the conference center now to watch in person!

technorati tags: NCMR2007, , streaming+video, National, Conference, on, Media, Reform

I thoroughly enjoyed the session with the FCC commissioners. I genuinely related to these individuals in the panel presentation and Q&A format in the morning session. And I wasn’t alone. During one of the responses by Copps, I heard a female voice behind me say, “I love this guy, can we hang out with him?”

I couldn’t agree more. I’d love the opportunity to have lunch with these three individuals. Pro-public access, openly vocal about the problems with the current system — even the FCC itself — they are endearingly honest and openly frustrated… and yet they keep working.

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This morning, I picked up the news releases on the presentations last night by FCC Commissioners Michael J. Copps and Jonathan Adelstein.

Since these releases have the full body of the speeches that the two made at the National Conference on Media Reform event, I thought I’d share it with those of you who are interested, but were unable to attend the conference.

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When I returned from my blogging lunch (in comparison to a working lunch), I attended a speech by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. I’d just managed to wrap my mind around what I could do as a single person for this cause when he urged the audience to “light a match” explaining that in a room of darkness, a single match throws out alot of light.

I must agree…

In an effort to light my own match, I started working to gather more effective tools I need to explain the issues to my own “sphere of influence” when I return from Memphis.

During a later afternoon session on Net Neutrality, I had the opportunity to talk briefly with Tim Wu (probable author of the term “Net Neutrality”), professor of law at Stanford and proponent of Net Neutrality.

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This conference is one of the most diverse I’ve ever attended. People from all walks of life, of all ages, with a variety of agendas andinterests have converged in Memphis, Tennessee this weekend. I see what my sister described as “crunchy” folks — the granola crowd — when she accompanied me to my registration the night before the event. I’m not sure where I fit in her definition. I think I’m a bit “crunchy” from time to time myself.

I also see corporate suits (although these are in the minority) and everything in between. There are college students and retirees. There are concerned citizens and executive directors, some are here as activists, some have come to become educated on what’s at risk — there are women and men from all over.

This is also one of the most diverse groups from a technology standpoint. Some people are concerned most with the traditional media outlets, but there is an amazingly high percentage of wired participants. Wall outlets are in high demand. I’ve never attended a conference where so many members of the audience are “connected” during the presentations.

There are over 3000 people in attendance and “diversity” is certainly the best word to describe this conference on all levels.

technorati tags: Memphis, NCMR2007, National, Conference, Media, Reform

The conference is off to a great start. I’ve heard speakers and issue activists Danny Glover and Bill Moyers. Personally, I’ve been battling with what, exactly, my role should be in this fight. I’ve been battling with it for weeks. I now believe that by the end of the conference, I’ll have my game plan.

So far, I know I’ll continue to be vocal to my local political representatives (Not that it’s been a particularly productive pasttime so far). However, I must continue to try. My interests are broad — but interrelated.

• I think that the Internet is required for economic development in rural areas. That requires access.
• I think that our current defunct educational system could be better served by relying more on online resources to educate our children. (I have children that ride a rural bus for over an hour and a half each day to get, what I consider to be, less-than-adequate education). If it were possible to do online courses that were state approved in KY as they are approved in other states, my children would be studying online at home.
• I think independent workers and small businesses can compete more effectively with online tools and that the removal of geographic boundaries is advantageous to the businesses and our economy overall.
• I think NOT being required to commute and pollute our environment in order to do your job is a good thing. The Internet permits me to do just that and I want others to be able to do the same.

I think all these things are important. And although I find media reform a sticky and difficult to fully recognize, much less fully understand, I do know that these issues are what impact my own issues.

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Later this week, I’m headed to Memphis to attend the National Conference for Media Reform. I’m looking forward to the trip, but it’s been a bit challenging getting ready. My tablet needed a complete overhaul, there are three family birthdays (Wayne’s, Alex’s and my own) in the first two weeks of January) and this year has not been the “brave new world” I had hoped it would be. (So far, It’s been a stressful old world.)

However, I’ll begin getting packed on Tuesday night to head out on Wednesday. The speaker lineup and the schedule promises to be quite a learning experience. In addition to the diverse topics on the world of media (online and traditional formats), there will be a particular emphasis on net neutrality this year.

The speakers include some pretty impressive names: Helen Thomas, Geena Davis, Bill Moyers, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Jane Fonda, Phil Donahue, Danny Glover, other activists and proactive individuals and a even handful of government representatives.

I’m personally interested in the media legislation, net neutrality and community broadband topics, but look forward to dipping my toes into other topics as well. I’ll be blogging the event and will keep you updated while onsite.

If you want to learn more about it, visit: http://www.freepress.net/conference.

Registration is still being taken by phone, but online registration has now closed.

technorati tags: media+reform, national+conference, net+neutrality, Memphis, TN, NCMR2007

I’ve tried to do a bit of financial planning in the final days of 2006. Armed with my financial statements for the business, the most recent stub from my husband’s work (with YTD figures), and my mileage, expenses, and medical information, I began my work…

Last year, being unexpectedly surprised by the “taxes owed” column of
the 1040 form, my hubby and I decided to bump up (dramatically) the
amount he had withheld rather than doing quarterly estimated taxes. We dramatically over-estimated our tax bill for 2006 and hubby tried hard all year to not complain too loudly that he was bringing home less than 35% of his paycheck each payday.

So, I wanted to do a bit of figuring before the December 31st deadline for making any necessary purchases, etc. And what I found shocked me. We scrimped this year. We made a respectable amount of money… more than we have ever made (collectively and individually) in any year prior, too.

We both stared at the gross totals with awe. Funny, I thought, I don’t recall any fancy vacations, any extraordinary jewelry, any shiny new cars or any major investments. What I recall is us scraping so we wouldn’t have to worry about taxes this year. What I recall was an expectation of a refund at the end of the year and no worries there, even if the bills accrued for medical and standard expenses were larger than anticipated for this year.

What I did NOT expect was a figure to be missing in the “refund” slot and a LARGE figure in the “Taxes owed” box. Now, granted this was a quick calculation. Granted, I may have overlooked something (and will go through it all again, once my tears dry and I get brave again). And I pray that I’ve missed something huge — but right now I’m too disgusted to review it all. We OWE? Geeze! This is nuts!

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I got my first glimpse of the new voting machines this year. My son had already seen them (he’s 16 and not old enough to vote, but saw them at school when they were setting up for Election Day). The good people at the polling place gave me a quick tour of the new machines — which are going to be replacing the old “stand up” models I’ve grown to love over the years. Apparently, in this particular arena, I’m pretty old school. If you are interested in learning a bit more about the voting process here in America, you may want to watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/v/TtPiGIqSljE

I discussed with the poll workers that I was looking forward to being able to vote ONLINE rather than having to get out and run to a polling place. But, they assured me, that it wasn’t safe to do that… then I watched “Hacking Democracy” (part one above) and read this…There’s a known issue with the new little voting boxes. It has been described to poll workers who are troubleshooting the machines (or those that bother to read the manual). Hmmmm…and I was told that voting online wasn’t safe…. Haruummphhh!

Want to watch the rest of the videos that comprise this HBO special? See below for parts 2-9. (A couple of the sections are “skippy” but the bulk of the show is here. It’s no longer available on Google’s Video search, it’s been removed.)

http://www.youtube.com/v/nwBGgoLcTuU
http://www.youtube.com/v/ilq-KoQUMRw
http://www.youtube.com/v/nPFUNYtvg5M
http://www.youtube.com/v/-az3g0jgNqM
http://www.youtube.com/v/T3BtLxH5ACk
http://www.youtube.com/v/qUVfovXfw4o
http://www.youtube.com/v/Z6Juvpik8ks
http://www.youtube.com/v/70bR4eRwL8s

It is my hope that others, like me, will take the opportunity of tomorrow’s election to show how important one issue can be. For instance, I’ll not be voting for Ed Whitfield tomorrow. Why? He voted NO — he voted against Net Neutrality. I wrote him earlier this year and told him my feelings on the topic. He decided to go another way, so tomorrow, I’ll go another way too.

He serves on the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and is on the Telecommunications and the Internet subcommittee. So, I’m guessing that he knows EXACTLY what’s at stake here… and yet for some reason… he voted against Kentucky citizens and in favor of the Telecoms. Things that make you go…. Hmmmmmmm.

I know it sounds simplistic, but this issue is important enough to be the ONLY issue that sways me this year when the time comes to mark my own ballot…

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Today, Government Technology released an article with some pretty alarming statistics on where America is in the digital revolution. We are losing.

The article, The Truth Behind America’s Digital Decline, by S. Derek Turner, offers a great snapshot of how far behind we are, including these little tidbit-facts…

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As the time passes and the Net Neutrality Nay-Sayers get stronger, I must push aside my differences with some of our political leaders and come together on this one issue. I think it is one of the biggest issues of my adult life… and I think the full impact of how this decision plays out will not be felt for several years.

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Just a bit of food for thought:

Learn more on www.SaveTheInternet.com.

technorati tags: Net+Neutrality+Video, Save+The+Web, My+Internet

I’m having a fit. All over anyone who will listen. A HUGE fit. I’ve ranted about school attendance policies before, but I’m in the middle of another situation with this topic.

Alex is sick. She got sick over the “fall break” from school. She got worse over the weekend and, against my better judgment, I sent her to school on Monday. I did it because the new attendance policy sucks. Despite the fact that she was snotty and coughing and droopy, I sent her. I knew better. And it was socially irresponsible of me to expose others to the germs and I regret it. But, there was a part of me that was waiting for them to call me to tell me to come and pick her up because she was sick — just so I could ask… “Since you called ME.. is this an “excused” absence?”

It really is about the money from the school’s perspective, else they wouldn’t have “free days” so often and “movies” during library class, and no homework assignments on the days before weekends and often-times very few classes and no homework the days before and after big breaks (like Fall Break, Spring Break, Christmas Holiday, etc, etc…) If it were about educating the children, that would be the focus. That would be how the majority of the time in school was spent.

They are so worried about the “per head” money they get for each child, I figured having a contagious child would make them call me. After all, in the long term, more germs = more illness = fewer kids in school.

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