#27- O'Reilly Says It Best

That's Tim O'Reilly, no the screaming, finger jabbing, self important Bill.

Tim O'Reilly is known for coining the term Web 2.0. He is a writer and leader in the open source movement. You can read his thoughtful and detailed endorsement of Obama here:

27. a Climate Change
I was always planning on writing about climate change but O'Reilly says it best so I will simply quote him without my own pontificating:

"the most urgent case for the election of Barack Obama was made by John McCain. Despite being an early and thoughtful advocate on the threat of global warming, he lost all credibility with his selection of Governor Palin as his running mate. We can not afford to take the risk of a Vice-President (especially for a candidate as old as McCain) who is scornful of science, denies human involvement in creating climate change, and is completely unprepared to tackle this most urgent of problems. If scientists are right, we have to act now. Every year counts. There is no "do over" on this issue."

The preponderance of scientists agree that climate change is a problem. Even the Bush administration has acknowledged the need to address warming.

O'Reilly also writes, "Climate change and energy policy can no longer be dictated by "politically possible" but must be dictated by "technically necessary." NASA's James Hansen has recently argued that an atmospheric CO2 concentration of 350 ppm looks to be the safe bet climate wise for humanity. We are already at more than 380 ppm!" You can read a pdf of Hanson's paper embedded within O'Reilly's endorsement.

27. b. Net Neutrality

I really hadn't thought about the candidates position on this issue until I read O'Reilly.

Net neutrality is a principle that endorses the free and open internet. It is not about free connections rather it is concerned with preventing ISPs from "blocking, speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, ownership or destination." (definition from SaveTheInternet.com) If you appreciate access to any Web site, whenever you wish- at the fastest speed- whether it's Amazon or your sister's family reunion site, if you like using any service- from online video to podcasts and sending instant messages- without paying extra fees to the telephone or cable company that provides you with Internet service then you support New Neutrality. .

Here is what O'Reilly says,
"I love the internet. It's been one of the most fertile grounds for technological innovation, wealth creation, and social change that our country has seen in my lifetime. I believe passionately in the "small pieces loosely joined" model that allows anyone to invent a compelling new service, find other people to use it, and grow a business without having to ask anyone's permission.
It's essential that we preserve the architecture of the internet.
Under the guise of free market experimentation, big companies with monopoly positions in local markets are asking us to change the fundamental rules that have served the internet so well. They want to be able to charge differential fees for different types of data traffic.
This will, quite simply, be the end of the internet as we know it, turning it into a network that works much more like the cellphone network, slow to innovate, hostile to its users, extracting profits through artificial barriers rather than true value creation.Barack Obama supports net neutrality"

I encourage you to read O'Reilly's endorsement.