CDR: "We may face a situation like a general nuclear war"
Noted presidential historian Michael Beschloss just had a very interesting point on the "Lehrer News Hour" on PBS. He thinks it fairly likely now that the spreading litigation, recounts, and marches in the streets will lead to a situation much like a nuclear war. (For those of you now watching and reading the massive coverage, there are many news developments: New Mexico is now back in the "undecided" category, as additional late votes are counted--including 200 votes mysteriously missing but recovered today, the police and DA's office in Milwaukee are investigating reports that Democrats were offering cartons of cigarettes for votes for Gore and that piles of ballots were handed out in heavily-Democrat precincts, the Iowa, Oregon, and Wisconsin results may be challenged, and a million absentee votes in California have yet to be counted.) Beschloss, by the way, said that this event is "much weirder than Watergate." He said it's a potentially much more serious crisis than Watergate was. And it has developed in 48 hours, not two years. Delicious. Whichever side loses, it will attack the winning side with a new venom. Scorched earth, as Leon Panetta just put it. I like Beschoss' characterization of it as an escalating nuclear war scenario. There's a mass "Re-vote in Florida!" rally happening tomorrow (and the 18th, and perhaps every Saturday afterwards...) in 50 cities and towns. Northern California alone has several of these. I may go to the one in Santa Cruz tomorrow ("Town Clock") and spread what disinformation I can. Delicious. --Tim May -- ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, ComSec 3DES: 831-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, "Cyphernomicon" | black markets, collapse of governments.
At 4:43 PM -0800 11/10/00, Tim May wrote:
Noted presidential historian Michael Beschloss just had a very interesting point on the "Lehrer News Hour" on PBS. He thinks it fairly likely now that the spreading litigation, recounts, and marches in the streets will lead to a situation much like a nuclear war.
By "like a nuclear war" he meant, and I mean, like the escalation scenarios for a nuclear war. Not the damage effects, unless things get _really_ weird. This was clear from his context, and from general game-theoretic discussions over the years about nuclear war. For example, "use them or lose them," counter-force," "scorched earth," and similar scenarios and metaphors. --Tim May -- ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, ComSec 3DES: 831-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, "Cyphernomicon" | black markets, collapse of governments.
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Tim May