Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Libertarian Discussion Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Street who wrote (2281)	3/25/1999 11:50:00 AM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13056

Assuming that were true, I would be too...

To: The Street who wrote (2281)	3/27/1999 9:57:00 PM
From: MeDroogies	Respond to of 13056

I've been missing for a few days due to a period of time in a takeover that prevented me from posting here or on the web generally. Not the "quiet period", just a very busy time..... Anyway, part of that period was a training session at a very large online facility. This facility is active in helping train our legislators on the uses of the internet. I wasn't surprised, but our instructor held the legislators in very low regard for many reasons. They were hard to teach (they either didn't get it, or didn't care to get it), they felt it was a fad that would pass or a threat that endangered them, or they were just plain felt they knew about it all when they didn't. The most telling story: when an unnamed Senator/Representative came in and was learning about email and shopping, he said "stop with this stuff...nobody needs to know how to use that. Search for pipebombs, firearms and crack." "But I'm trying to show you how positive the web really is." "That stuff is useless. Our country is at risk from this thing, and people are using it to undermine our authority." Sad to say, but these guys really don't get it, and they honestly fear the power of individuality. On another note, one member of the class was related to a politician of note, and claimed to fear the "egocentrical" nature of the internet. That it was decreasing our need for community and politics, when it should be increasing our need for both to maintain our society. The trainer, while agreeing that egocentric behavior was probably promoted by the web, the other fears sounded like those voiced by a politician who recognizes he has been discovered to "wear no clothes".