thoughts on technology and culture, politics, and information design
Friday, October 22, 2004
Why I am Voting for John Kerry
Here are a few reasons why my vote will be for Kerry in 2004.
1. I feel that Bush's economic policies disproportionately favor the rich, and are doing little for middle and lower class Americans. I do not believe a return to trickle-down economics is an effective way to create jobs. John Kerry has proposed providing additional tax credits to individuals for education and child care expenses, providing tax incentives to businesses that create jobs in America, and repealing tax breaks for those making over $200,000 a year in order to extend health care benefits to more Americans. I think this plan will help middle class Americans to find jobs, improve education levels, and have more affordable access to health care. I am not in support of Bush policies that continue to increase the gap between the very rich and the very poor.
2. Bush has isolated the United States from much of the rest of the world - I do not believe this is savvy foreign policy, or likely to make the world a safer place. The United States will be safest when the rest of the world regards us with respect and friendship. Trying to improve conditions throughout the world, seeking to understand and empathize with the perspectives of others, and participating in international organizations and forums in a cooperative, meaningful way are essential components of 21st century foreign policy. Bush, through impatience with the United Nations weapons inspection process in Iraq, a stated policy of "pre-emptive war," the denial of reconstruction contracts to those who disagreed with his course in Iraq, and withdrawal from both the Kyoto treaty and the anti-ballistic missle treaty, has negatively influenced the way in which the United States is perceived throughout the world. This is not good foreign policy - I think only a new president can begin the process of changing the way most of the world currently regards the United States.
3. Despite the President's words, it is apparent from almost any other source one might consult that things in Iraq are not going well. What reason is there to expect that things are going to get better given our current course? As someone who opposed an "invasion" of Iraq in the first place, I was disappointed that Bush did not give time for the United Nations to finish weapon inspections, and not surprised when it turned out that Iraq never had those weapons that were given as the reason for the war. War is a terrible thing, and must be a last resort. Bush promised Congress and the American people that he would only invade as a last resort, but failed to keep his word.
I truly believe that another 4 years of President Bush's leadership could be disasterous to the country with respect to our domestic issues and our relationship with the rest of the world.
I believe it is time for a change and would encourage you to vote for John Kerry.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
web accessibility toolbar
A colleague suggested taking a look at a web accessibility toolbar for internet explorer that has turned out to be really fantastic. It will dynamically show where structural markup does (or does not) occur. It has tools to reveal missing alt tags or label tags, examine color issues, disabled/enable particular technologies, and much more. Some of my favorite uses for it include turning off javascript and css support to make sure pages still render properly without these technologies. Disabling javascript and/or css can be very difficult depending upon what browser one uses. This open source tool, released under the creative commons license, was developed by a group called National Information and Library Service out of Australia. I wish a powerful tool like this was available for Safari so I could use it on my mac. This tool rates as a must for anyone who does web accessibility assessments or wants to dissect the structural elements within a page for any reason. Check it out.