Category: Election

Navigating a Divided World: A Personal Approach

The current political climate can feel overwhelming, especially when it seems like the world is moving in a direction that doesn’t align with your values. But remember, while we may not be able to control the larger political landscape, we can control our own responses and actions.

Prioritizing Self-Care

  • Mental Health Matters: Practice mindfulness techniques like meditation or yoga to reduce stress and anxiety.
  • Physical Well-being: Ensure you’re getting enough sleep, eating nutritious food, and exercising regularly.
  • Digital Detox: Limit your exposure to news and social media, especially if it’s causing you distress.

Engaging Constructively

  • Educate Yourself: Stay informed about current events, but be mindful of the sources you rely on.
  • Open Dialogue: Engage in respectful conversations with those who hold different views.
  • Support Positive Change: Volunteer, donate, or advocate for causes you care about.

Protecting Your Peace

  • Set Boundaries: Limit your exposure to negativity and toxic people.
  • Focus on What You Can Control: Concentrate on the things you can influence, like your own actions and choices.
  • Practice Gratitude: Focus on the positive aspects of your life, no matter how small.

Remember, it’s okay to feel overwhelmed or frustrated. The key is to find healthy ways to cope and channel your energy into positive action. By taking care of ourselves and engaging in constructive dialogue, we can navigate these challenging times with grace and resilience.

Developed with the help Gemini

Van Buren v United States

Date & Time:
Tuesday, June 29th, 2021
10:30 AM PT | 1:30 PM ET

Explained: A Legal Perspective on the Future of Cybersecurity Research

The Supreme Court’s Van Buren decision earlier this month aimed to clarify the ambiguous meaning of “exceeding authorized access” in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the federal computer crime law.

In the context of protecting critical infrastructure from hackers, this particular ruling will define how we manage, report, and handle unauthorized access.

It also raises some foundational questions that, if weighed carefully, have the potential to foster a collaborative relationship between researchers and companies. How should good-faith researchers conduct themselves? Does this redefine the relationship between companies and hackers? Is every researcher considered to be in violation of CFAA if they’ve not sought permission to access a system?

Jared L. Hubbard and Christopher Hart have followed this ruling closely and worked on amicus briefs to aid the Court in this matter. They will discuss the case and answer questions.

Speakers:

Jared L. Hubbard, Partner, Fitch LP
Christopher Escobedo Hart, Partner, Co-Chair, Privacy & Data Security Practice – Boston, FoleyHoag LLP


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Voter suppression cannot be what the political parties seek

I am confused. I thought the goal of a democratic society was to ensure each citizen of age had the ability and the right to vote. In 2020 there was and still is a pandemic often in history there have been natural disasters these challenges create issues voters have to consider when attempting to voice their intent on who shall represent them at a city, municipal, county, state, or federal level.

Many legislatures, Secretaries of State, or Lieut. Governors decided to expand the ability for voters to vote by mail. Our previous president argued mail-in voting was subject to fraud and built a case or better-said conspiracy theory that would allow him to contest the election of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States. Now the GOP is busy attempting to rewrite the law that will remove the ability of those unable to attend the voting place to use mail-in ballots. Why one should ask! To restrict the number and class of people who can vote in a democracy is unacceptable. Our political class should wish and work and make sure our democratic process of voting enables each of us the ability and the right to vote. Any attempt to limit someone’s ability to vote should be classed as a criminal act. By making this statement one could easily argue the GOP are criminals.

Often in history, those who seek power seek to suppress those who wish to also participate. We can only hope the good people of this country will decide that we are a free nation built upon laws that engender respect and seek to include everyone.

Settled science

In March 2020, I moved from the payments industry into the election industry. This movement caused me to wonder about democracy, politics, academia, and the world of technology. What amazed me is how computer science academics could rail at the idea, technology could be used to innovate on the election process. Years ago I imagined participating in a national referendum simply by opening a browser searching for the government website and voting on the measures and contests currently under consideration.

Unfortunately what I’ve learned troubles me.  Certain clusters of intelligent individuals believe that they know best.  They stigmatize technology and argue that a human being, who writes software, could leave unintended bugs which might lead to unintended consequences.  They forget software is an evolutionary science.  Through piloting, continuous improvement, testing, and rigorous testing we can eliminate bugs and create stable and secure critically important applications serving our financial, health, national security, and public interests.

Recently in a letter written by verified voting, a nonprofit organization, the word settled science appeared. An intriguing word, an intriguing phrase.  I was driven to wonder what did it mean. From my high school years, science was an evolutionary process.  A hypothesis was put forward. it was tested.  If it was found to be false a new hypothesis was offered, it was tested and on the scientific community went.  In one article when googling “Settled Science” I was intrigued to read the word oxymoron followed by an explanation of how if Sir Isaac Newton’s beliefs had been settled science Albert Einstein would never have been able to put forward the concepts of general relativity.

This whole conversation feels very much like a religion, a church, who has a dogmatic belief in the written word of the Bible being the written and only word of God.  We forget how man inserts himself into every dialogue.  Too often we insert our beliefs on others.  Maybe “Settled Science” is the dogmatic belief that we are right and everyone else is wrong.

If this is the case then how do we move forward? If scientists – academics force there will on society than society has lost its objectivity.