Melançon Enterprises • a multidivision multinational since 1980

[late and horribly hastily submitted to the ACME conference]

Self-rule in any group or society needs democratic communication. Equal power or participation call for equal access. A transparent way for people to filter for the most important messages can be an essential tool in working together for a better world.

But most internet communications today follow one of two paths: [1] someone is in charge of deciding what gets on the list, creating a top-down newsletter, [2] a noisy mess of chaos where the loudest members get the most posts.

Alan Greenspan, Federal Reserve chairman from 1987 to 2006 (fearless defender of wealth inequality and chief architect of the global finance meltdown of the late 2000s), is a symbol of plutocracy (rule by the rich).

Presidents are limited to serve eight years, and are (theoretically) elected every four. If chief lackey to billionaires, and economic overlord to the rest of us, can serve for nearly twenty, while the presidency shifts three times between the two (allegedly oppositional) parties, there's a problem with our democracy.

Naomi Klein at the annual conference for the American Sociological Association broadcast by Democracy Now:

AtlanticRichfieldCompany
had ad on back of 1974 National Geographic advocating democratic reforms (one person one vote, hinting at abolition of electoral college)

The real
Our election laws and
traditions reflect the country
as it was decades ago.
The time has come to ask
some basic questions.

How long should elected officials serve?
Is there still a need for the electoral college?
Should taxpayers foot the bill for election campaigns?
Does our present system truly provide one vote for each person?