Hey y’all.  It’s been awhile since we last talked. Well, I’m doin ok.  I hope y’all are all living blessed. Have you decided who you’re voting for yet?  What about that Sarah Palin?  Who’s going to win?  All these question and more like them can be discussed on another blog; as for us, we are going to talk more about Mr. McCain’s proposed way of doing technology for America, if he becomes “the man.”
 
To start off, Mr. McCain believes that in order to get America at the forefront of the technological revolution, we need to invest in programs that will encourage more students to participate in the math, science and technology fields.  According to Mr. McCain, less than 20% of students in the US obtain degrees in the maths and sciences (that because it’s hard). Mr. McCain went further to say that the number of students pursuing computer science degrees has fallen by over 50% in less than a decade.  He believes that by introducing programs like the “America Competes Act” we will be able to move these numbers in a positive direction again.  Mr. McCain also is aware that there is a digital divide between Americans with access to broadband and information communication technologies and those without, and he has attempted to address the issue by providing grants for digital and wireless technologies instruction to minorities and those in the lower income brackets.
 
Due to the fact that participation in the abovementioned areas is dwindling, we are coming up with a shortage of skilled tech workers.  Mr. McCain believes he can address this issue by leveraging our technologically skilled workforce by increasing the number of H-1B visas granted to foreign workers, who are oftentimes educated in the United States, and encouraging those workers to stay here in the States to benefit our national productivity.My three cents.
 
All this is good and I really have nothing bad to say, just a suggestion.  Mr. McCain’s camp has made it a point to make it known that he has supported efforts in the past, on behalf of minorities, to shrink the digital divide by providing the grants mentioned above. I think that Mr. McCain could be even more effective in reducing the digital divide by providing grants and scholarships to those same individuals interested in taking advantage of digital instruction by funding their education at traditional colleges and other post secondary schools. If these same people realize that America will help them learn new skills, and will assist them in getting a degree and earning a living, they will more likely to pursue careers in math, science and technology-related professions, thereby increasing the pool of qualified minorities in the market.

Hey ed- body.  Back once again – it’s the INCREDIBLE “D”.   Naaw, for real.  How are ya’ll doin.  I’m well; I am well.  For the next few days I am going to make an effort to discuss the different technological ideologies of the running candidates.  Keep in mind that I have a counterpart that will be doing his own things on various Tech issues but mine, at least for a bit, will be on the technology stances touted by our two completely different candidates. As I have mentioned in the past; I won’t discuss who I am voting for but I will call a spade a spade.  If I think the idea is great, I will say so; if the idea is not so great I will make fun of it but isn’t that one of the beauties of a blog; you can take the political correctness right outta the politics.

Let’s start with McCain, today and his Technology stance.  Like President Bush, Mr. McCain believes heavily in a global market place. He says that “markets work best when there is robust competition” and believes that, as with other goods, the economy of technology should be consumer driven with minimal government regulation.  Mr. McCain (I feel like I have to call him “Mr. McCain” because he’s so old – sorry) justifies his stance by saying that “any new device will cost less because of more competition” consequently, the larger the competing arena the lower the price will be.

What about his ideas on the internet?  Well Mr. McCain believes that all individuals should have access to high-speed internet and the educational and economic opportunities provided by it, so as president he says he will encourage private companies to invest in the infrastructure that will help make this belief a reality.  I think that even Mr. McCain knows that private industry can and does fail at times (as all man made things tend to do) which is why he states that in the case where private industry can not meet the demands or needs of a market, local government can step in to help create infrastructure that will.

My three cents

So what do you think?  Personally – for the most part; I like this part of the plan but I am torn between the whole “Global Competition”.  On one hand GC will allow for lower prices and quicker technological advancement but at what cost - there is always a cost.  Will it be at the price of quality or jobs?  I think that those are valid questions when you take into consideration the problems we have been having with goods from other countries not to mention rising unemployment levels.  In January national unemployment levels were around 4.7% NOW they hover around 5.5%.  I can’t help but wonder if a little less globalization and a little more domestic investment in jobs might help us all out a little more in the long run. But I’m not an economist, just an opinion head and that’s my opinion.

I do like his ideas on the internet.  I am all for doing whatever it takes to make this technology available to all.  I like his contingency supplement; the idea that encourages local government to step in when private industry fails or when they (private industry)  think that they have picked all the low hanging fruit.  I think that it will take a balanced and concerted effort from both sides to make this goal a reality and again, I am all for an effort that can bring this dream to fruition.

News Corp’s MySpace has been officially sanctioned by the Commission on Presidential Debates to launch MyDebates.org, scheduled to debut later today; one more example of the power of both technology and the internet today.

“MySpace will launch ‘MyDebates.org’ – a new website which will house online tools to promote deeper levels of political engagement with viewers at home. Visitors to the site will have the option of downloading a personalized application which, during the debates, will stream the television event live from the embed location (e.g. within a blog, social network, or website). The application will also provide users with an on-demand playback functionality as well as issue-based tracking, allowing users to track a candidate’s stance on issues they care about throughout the live stream. The full functionality will be available in the days leading up to the first Presidential debate on Friday, September 26.”

While the upcoming election was already set to be a landmark event in allowing bloggers to podcast from the national conventions now thanks to MySpace the rest of the general public have the power to communicate with the candidates live and in real time… if they have a computer and broadband access. 

So that’s right, for those of you out there with high speed internet and the ability to watch streaming video, you too can ask Barack Obama what Oprah is really like or ask John McCain what Jesus was really like… 

No, but seriously, the internet, webcams, podcasts, and you in the online community are going to play a huge role in the upcoming elections.  If there was ever a more undeniable example of the power of technology I for one am completely unaware of it.

Who would have thought just 8 years ago that today, in 2008, the fate of the United States could rest on who has more friends on MySpace, but I guess the bigger question is… who will Tom vote for?

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.