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Fred Thompson on Technology
Former Republican Senator (TN)
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No exporting sensitive technology to unreliable countries
In the Senate, I wanted to help accomplish things that I thought were necessary and achievable. I wanted to balance the budget, cut taxes, reform welfare, and I wanted to begin modernizing of our military. We were able to get those things done.
I also took a leadership role in the passage of the homeland security bill, and blocked export control legislation that would have allowed the sale of our sensitive technology to unreliable countries.
Source: Candidacy announcement speech
Sep 6, 2007
Don’t apply obsolete Fairness Doctrine to radio talk shows
A congressman, who is also an ex-radio talk show host, managed to get a “yes” vote on language in a House bill that could permanently stop those who want to resurrect the Fairness Doctrine. We’ve been hearing threats to use the obsolete Fairness Doctrine
to go after talk radio ever since the left-leaning talk radio network, Air America, failed. But regardless, giving the government veto power over radio stations’ programming decisions is wrong. I don’t think forcing the one sector of the media where
conservatives have a clear voice to provide equal time to liberals is the American way. Everyday, more people are listening to streaming radio on the Web and downloading podcasts. You can even hear talk shows on Web-enabled telephones if you want,
and that will get much easier and cheaper quickly. If the current stars of talk were pushed off the radio dial, they’d get their audiences anyway. The era of controllable media is over, and nothing will ever bring it back.
Source: Thompson’s blog on ABCradio.com, “Better than Fair Day”
Jun 29, 2007
Internet guerrilla campaign ads democratize politics
You might have heard that someone altered Apple Computer’s 1984 Super Bowl commercial, replacing the face of George Orwell’s Big Brother with Hillary Clinton’s. For two weeks, no one knew who was responsible. Rumors blamed Barack Obama’s staff.
It turns out that the maker of the ad was just an independent Obama supporter. The enduring message he sent to the political world is that anybody can compete with the pros.Over 100 million Americans reportedly watch videos online.
The Websites of citizen journalists, the bloggers, have an estimated 75 million Americans reading them. Cheap software and computers put tools into the hands of teenagers that used to belong only to networks and studios.
There’s no question that
this is democratization. Professional journalists and campaign staffers no longer control the political debate. Individuals can now make headlines and directly influence elections--though some of the accountability that once existed is gone.
Source: Thompson’s blog on ABCradio.com, “Democratizing Campaigns”
Jun 1, 2007
Government unable to protect its computer data from attack
Part of the mismanagement of agency information technology systems results from the government’s inability to protect its systems and data from internal or external attack. Disruptions could be caused by sabotage, natural disasters, or widespread
system faults. Executive agencies and departments should: - Emphasize early oversight and planning
- Avoid reinventing existing technology
- Size projects to manageable levels
- Encourage innovation
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Create incentives for contractors to perform better
- Communicate lessons learned
- Review existing large computer systems acquisitions
With regard to security issues, executive agencies and departments should: -
Examine the security risks
- Implement risk reduction approaches
- Educate users on reducing security risks
- Monitor the effectiveness of the risk reduction approaches
Source: Government at the Brink, by Fred Thompson, Vol.1, p. 45-50
Jun 3, 2001
Voted YES on Internet sales tax moratorium.
Vote against allowing states to require companies who do business in their state solely by phone, mail, or the Internet to collect state sales taxes. [Current law does not require companies to collect sales taxes where the customer is out of state]
Reference:
Bill S.442
; vote number 1998-296
on Oct 2, 1998
Voted YES on telecomm deregulation.
Deregulation of the telecommunications industry.
Status: Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act of 1995 Y)91; N)5; NV)3
Reference: Conference Report on S. 625, the;
Bill S. 652
; vote number 1996-8
on Feb 1, 1996
Page last updated: Feb 08, 2010