E-voting, the Fairness Doctrine and Economic Unrest in Ecuador
Problems with electronic voting machines are reported in several states.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) argues for the re-imposition of the “Fairness Doctrine” for TV and radio news.
The global economic downturn hits South America.
More headlines: listen to the LibertyWeek podcast.
1. POLITICS
Problems with electronic voting machines are reported in several states.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Eli Lehrer on why paper ballots are superior:
“Watching the polls, I realized the true advantage of paper ballots: because they cost almost nothing, there’s no real limit on the number of voting booths that can exist in a locality that uses paper ballots. At least in Fairfax County where I live, a computer of sorts – an optical scanner with technology that dates to the 1960s – still gets used to tabulate ballots. But most voters actually cast their votes on paper. Although the line was, by far, the longest I’ve ever seen – it filled up nearly an entire elementary school building – it moved much faster than the one I stood in when I voted for President in 2004 on a touch screen.”
2. LEGAL
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) argues for the re-imposition of the “Fairness Doctrine” for TV and radio news.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Special Projects Counsel Hans Bader on what a revived Fairness Doctrine would mean for broadcasters:
“Under the Fairness Doctrine, a radio station that carries a conservative broadcaster like Rush Limbaugh is ordered by the government to give equal time to those who disagree with him, even if they are so boring that no listener wishes to listen to them. The effect is to discourage the radio station from permitting any discussion of controversial issues that might draw government scrutiny.”
3. INTERNATIONAL
The global economic downturn hits South America.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Journalism Fellow Silvia Santacruz on how the trouble has impacted Ecuador:
“Ecuador, is in fact, an oil-dependent economy. Over 60 percent of its $13.7 billion in exports consist of crude oil, according to the Ecuadorian Central Bank. Oil revenues finance about 40 percent the country’s budget. And according to a J.P. Morgan study, every $10 drop in the oil price would lead to an increase in the current account deficit equivalent to 2 percent of the country’s GDP, and an increase in the fiscal deficit equivalent to 1.3 percent of GDP.”
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