Lessig on McCain on Tech

[xxxXoakwoodXxxx]

The graph only means other countries didn't onto the internet as fast as we did. We are 15 behind mostly European and Asian countries which is not too alarming. As for Obama's idea of transparency, is it turning out how he said in regards to gov't posting information and what he would do to in Iraq and Gautanemo? The telecoms may be sleazy, but to give the gov't power more power over them. It is like they said with Health care, we don't need a new policy, just more competition

[bluedevil112]

Great video

[sisforshayla]

hey, this was really good. obama talks about transparency in his 'blueprint for change: ethics' video. also, very good.

[bjornredtail]

I wish Lessig went into further detail as to which policies he believes caused the decline in broadband competition to decline as he described. Has telecom regulation really changed THAT much since 2000?

How much of the decline in broadband penetration is because of the rural areas being difficult to connect to due to the limits of technology. France and a lot of countries that score higher for broadband penetration do not have any rural areas to speak of, and thus don't have this problem.

[L8nitedave]

McCain had subsidised Non_neutrality and decreased competetion. The lobbyist and Pac influence is having the same affect on technology it had on healthcare and as a result our nation is suffering the same fate.

[wyrwich]

If McCain has no idea on how to use technology, how can he possibly lead a country into the future, when society is intertwined so much with technology at the moment and this will only grow more. I mean, look at social networks such as Youtube, Myspace, Facebook, IMs, blogs and so on. Won't this mean his opinion will be a bit outdated. And this guy can't grip the concept of emails. Wow, I'm going to be worried if this guy is elected.

[NormsChem]

The answer to your question is, he can't. You cannot look at the world through a 1960's lens and still be an effective president in an age where technology is changing the world more in one decade than it used to change in a century.

Only a moron would vote for an anti-'net-neutrality candidate.

Oh, and lessig, you're the man.

[bimhimbim]

McCain's pro software patent strategy is ignorant to market developments. "John McCain Will Push For Greater Resources For The Patent Office." Yes, equip the bureaucracy that strangulates free competition with even more resources. "The lack of an affordable, reliable means to ensure that the Government only grants valid patents has led to overly broad, frivolous lawsuits designed to force innovative companies into big settlements." Yes we know, but no solution for the patent mess.

[synchronous0987]

Nice work Larry, I loved the "Future of Ideas" by the way

[austinpsycho]

Can I ask why it is that every time I watch a politically charged video like this one; The candidates are not compared? You evaluate John McCain's policy on technology; where basically you discuss a negative trend in (some measurement of internet which is not disclosed). Why is there no direct comparison when you talk about Obama. How is HE going to 'reverse this decline?'

[richardgozinya]

I'm not an expert on the candidate platforms, but I do know that Obama supports network neutrality. If you're actually curious, check out his website to see where he stands.

[AdDigit]

Obama: Knows how to use a computer.

McCain: Literally does not even know how to use a computer.

[CityzenJane]

Thank you for all your great work Lawrence. I consider you a national treasure!

[jbeck415]

I have to say this does ring true, I live right near SF and my bill is enormous, with no option except Comcast. Otherwise I would need to get ATT for phone and Dish network for TV and then find some DSL or satallite serverice.

I hate comcast, they are an evil company and a monopoly. We need competition and we need Net Neutrality....enough said.

[embeddedprogrammer]

This sounds like the DNC talking points interspersed with moments of lucidity. Too partisan to be taken seriously on the technical side.

[CityzenJane]

LOL. Please be specific oh programming whiz.

[poseidon129266]

Lessig for CTO '08!!

[L8nitedave]

Great Vid. I'm entertained by the comment accusing a private citizen using the Internet to express his views as being controlled by Obama, as if they expect the filter but are more comfortable with the filter they choose. Funny we wouldn't have thought this possible in the early 90s, but where there's money involved...

[moroni360]

What a wast of 16 mins.

[t3mp357]

What a waste of 24 characters.

[t3mp357]

bah. that was supposed to be a witty reply.

I fail.

[moroni360]

Are you talking about yours? Because mine are only 17 and yours is 24.

[t3mp357]

Spaces and punctuation are characters, too, y'know.

Also, it's a shame there's no "delete comment" button.

[moroni360]

LOL thats still only 23 characters then.

[xyg49]

Lawrence, you may say "Obama had nothing to do with this message" all you want, but including the bit about Iraq and Bush at the end make it sounds like it comes straight from his campaign. You would have done better to stick to your topic. Note that I have NOT dinged you for the 99.99% of your commentary which is critical of John McCain. Those comments were not political. The bit at the end, was (very).

[RobTFirefly]

Thank you.

[marcoantoniocosta]

Yea, I had to stop the video and move on when I saw the big capitalized CHANGE hit the screen. Not from the Obama campaign, right. ;-)

[CityzenJane]

No, active tech savvy supporters though, will make our opinions clear. Obama is the best choice for the nets future and for ours. Why would we not say so? Looking at McCain's record tells us where he stands. It's not a good place.

[jnby]

a tax credit or a tax deduction is not a subsidy

[ZuperKlown]

whatever you want to call it, it's still a handout

[DXGN]

Amazing video. I'm going to spread this around :)

[dstuve]

Excellent video - especially chilling are the examples of AT&T and Verizon blocking political messages on their networks because they disagreed with them. (Criticizing Bush and Pro Choice messages.) Clearly we need more competition, not bigger companies who stifle innovation and our freedoms. Imagine if some provider with a political agenda started blocking sites/blogs/videos they didn't like?

[cephah]

Very interesting, thanks for taking the time to make this video.

[aylusarn]

Thanks for the video Lawrence, it should serve well for sharing with friends and family.