Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!snorkelwacker!bloom-beacon!primerd!teapot!milgr
From: milgr@teapot.prime.COM (Marc Milgram)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Let's get moving gang!!!
Keywords: Implementation, Network Novelties
Message-ID: <739@primerd.PRIME.COM>
Date: 29 Aug 90 15:23:32 GMT
References: <7686@helios.TAMU.EDU> <737@primerd.PRIME.COM> <1990Aug28.195810.22359@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Sender: news@primerd.PRIME.COM
Reply-To: milgr@teapot.prime.COM (Marc Milgram)
Lines: 58

In article <1990Aug28.195810.22359@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>,
conte@crest.crhc.uiuc.edu (Tom Conte) writes:
|>Just an aside, but _Hyperion_ by Dan Simmons suggests a merged
media/electronic
|>electorate that has one vote in the senate, which is aparently
composed of one
|>house (US Senate-like).  This entity, the AllThing, has voluntary
|>membership.  If
|>you are interested in voting, you spend time listening, arguing with other
|>`tuned-in' members, and voting. If you don't care, you ignore what goes on
|>and rely on your elected senator's vote.  The feeling that someone is making
|>decisions without you having a say compells people to voluntarily
enroll in the
|>AllThing.
|>
|>Imagine `In response to the distinguished Usenet Senator, I have no
|>recollection
|>of such a meeting...'

I am a little confused with how this either fits in with the current US
governmental
structure.

Currently there are two branches of the US Congress.  In the Senate,
each state has
two senators -- each of whom has 1 vote in the Senate.  If Mr. Simmons
is suggesting
creating a new "Electronic State", how would people become members of
this new electorate
-- as they would still supposedly reside within another state.  I assume
if this
was what Mr. Simmons suggested, the "Electronic State" would still have
just two votes,
but each of the members of this state would cast a fraction of a vote,
or vote on the vote.

In the House of representatives, each representative represents
approxamitely the same
number of constituents.  This branch of the congress sounds a little
more similar to
Dan Simmons' suggestion.

Or was he suggesting a new branch of congress, or a replacement for all
or part of the
congress?  Changing the constitution to allow an Electronic House of
congress would
be real tough.  Getting a Senator or Representative to vote according to how an
electronic electorate wishes him to vote sounds much simpler.

|>------
|>Tom Conte	  Center for Reliable and High-Performance Computing
|> conte@uiuc.edu   University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
|>  Bachelor tip #48: used gym socks make great no-pest strips!
                                              

Marc Milgram     Software Engineer, Product Integrity Group, Prime Computer
milgr@teapot.prime.com
  My views are my own.