The economy is struggling. An unpopular war appears to have no end. A widely mocked and loathed president sits in the oval office. All these components were supposed to spell disaster for the GOP and bring the executive branch back to the democrats. But thanks to the broken primary process and appointment of superdelegates, the democrats will be spending the next few months bickering amongst themselves, paving the way for warmonger John McCain to miraculously become our 44th president. It does not help that the democrat's award delegates proportional to what percentage of votes a candidate won in a state, effectively awarding delegates to the loser in the state. Unlike the republicans – who have a winner take all approach – this process inhibits the leader to take a large lead heading into the democratic convention in August. If neither Obama nor Clinton manages to secure the committed vote of 2,025 out of 3,253 delegates by the convention – a historically rare occurrence – then the votes of the 796 superdelegates become of vital importance. Superdelegates are democratic congressman, democratic governors, mayors, members of the Democratic National Committee, and various other individuals, some of whom are only 21 years old and have never voted in a presidential election – is that democratic? Even more frightening is that the superdelegates are unchecked and are free to vote for whomever they choose, for any reason; whereas delegates are forced to vote for the winner of their district. This style of freedom opens the door for under-the-table-deals and bribes that the public will never hear about. Similar to an NCAA coach wooing a high school player, don't think that the Obama and Clinton camps have not been contacting the superdelegates in hopes of influencing their vote at the convention. We could be looking at another Gore-Bush fiasco. Obama may come into the convention with a lead in the popular – or delegate – vote, but after the superdelegates have had their say, Clinton could very well become the party's nominee, assuring the Obama camp – and the rest of America – will become incensed. Which begs the question, why do the superdelegates even exist? Why should some junior at Marquette University who can vote for whom he feels is "best for the nation" have the same authority as a delegate from California who represents thousands of voters? It is like giving Derrick Low the same voting power as all of Waller Hall. Just because Derrick may be a more recognizable student from WSU and wants the best for the university, it does not mean that the opinion that you and I hold should be much less significant. It is unfair and undemocratic. There are several issues in this tiresome and inefficient nomination process, but the controversy of the superdelegates is the most prominent. In a thrilling and unprecedented race for the white house, it would be extremely disappointing to have it tarnished by the votes of a select few members of the political elite. It is time to take the power from the superdelegates and trust the people in selecting the nominee. Now that is a super idea.
Superdelegates
Sharing is Caring
Sharing is Caring I'm a criminal, and you likely are as well. Regardless if you tried KaZaa once to hear the latest Kelly Clarkson single, or if you keep your uTorrent client humming to keep your ratio high with a private tracker, you and I are guilty by the standards of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). But as the RIAA scrambles to file lawsuit after lawsuit towards file sharers in an attempt to alienate the consumers, I mean, hunt down terrible criminals, maybe it's time we evaluate the mindset of the youth today and adjust industry business models to reflect the new digital era. I would like to think of pirating music as a modern day library. You download, or borrow, what music you feel may be interested in. If you enjoy the product, you support the artist by spreading their talents by word of mouth, paying exorbitant fees to attend live concerts, purchase merchandise, or buy a higher quality version of their work via vinyl or DVD. If you don't, well, that's the last time you'll give those guys a spin. The issue today is that artists are perceived to be "rich enough" and are producing lower quality work. As we witness the homes of artists through shows such as "MTV Cribs," it can become difficult to emphasize and feel remorse over stealing their music. More importantly, music in America today has gone downhill. I'm sorry, but if you think you can squeeze another $16.99 out of me by telling me to "crank, super soak, or superman dat hoe," for four straight minutes, you are sadly mistaken. The newest iPod classic now has 160GB storage capacity. That's nearly 40,000 songs or $40,000 if you use the iTunes to purchase your music. Oh, and by the way, the music you purchase there is crippled by Digital Rights Management (DRM), has a relatively low bite rate, can only be stored on one iPod and played on 5 platforms. Meanwhile, the content found on OiNK and other sites are of studio quality, can be played on any platform, and most importantly, free. It doesn't take a genius to realize what route the average competent consumer will obtain their content, legally correct or not. As the public has made their choice clear, I only wish that Washington State University would reflect this new standard. Schools such as the University of Washington inactively monitors file sharing traffic, and does not attempt to vilify individuals who elect to file share. In fact, programs such as DC++ run actively on the University's bandwidth, almost encouraging file sharing. Users only get in trouble if the RIAA sends a pre-settlement letter, and UW will only forward pre-settlement letters to individuals accused of copyright infringement when they are reasonably identifiable. To date, 15 letters have been passed along to students, according to the university's official website. In contrast, WSU's ResNet actively monitors traffic looking for file sharers. If found, the offenders' network access is immediately shut down, must take a class, and have their hard drive thoroughly inspected. Furthermore, violators could be submitted to the student conduct board or to law enforcement officials. Without stating file sharing is okay, I would like to see WSU revisit their current outdated, unrealistic, and cumbersome policy. Instead of wasting time inspecting and clearing hard drives, it may be more beneficial to perform other tasks such as solving the computer issues of students in a more timely fashion. Times have changed, it's time we see the industry reflect and accommodate this change.
As file sharing runs rampant, the industry must adopt, not attack
