I got a great political action plan from an anonymous wage slave in the entertainment industry. Well worth reading, contains some stimulating thoughts. Thanks! [Scripting News]

I've wanted to comment on this issue, but I've been putting it off.  I didn't want to make myself sound any more like a dismal pessimist than I already have.  But I truly think the modern American democracy is broken, and any attempts to deal with it on its own terms are doomed to fail. 

Dave's early posts on the subject of defeating the Hollywood Anti-P2P bill almost changed my mind.  I respect Dave, and I thought, "Maybe we really can work within the system."

And then reality crept in.  The bill's sponsors are running unopposed.  They've taken orders-of-magnitude more contributions from the Entertainment Oligopoly than from their constituencies.  Their local papers laughed off the issue.  Realistic political action plans for defeating the bill call for raising US$5 million.  In short, influencing them with votes is hopeless.

I'm disappointed my instincts were proved right.  I really wanted to believe there was still room in American politics for the voters.  But all the "I vote and that still matters" rhetoric doesn't change the fact that your vote doesn't count.  The average citizen doesn't have what it takes to get representation in this country -- the politics of incumbency guarantees that.

2:36:32 PM