This is an article in The Guardian that I will not attempt to summarize. What I will Di is urge you to read it. It is about money, power, and a coordinated attack on democracy. It is about data mining psychological warfare financed by a billionaire and used to win elections. It is about the use of technology to subvert democracy and empower a new, far-right elite.

Categories Data and Data Mining, Democracy, Technology

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David Kristofferson says:

May 13, 2017 at 1:16 pm

This article also brings up Google and other Silicon Valley companies. Big article in today’s NY Times re Google’s push into education:

My comments “Is Google pedaling intellectual crack???” are on

Is Google peddling intellectual crack???

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- dianeravitch says:
  
  May 13, 2017 at 2:05 pm
  
  David,
  
  The correct term in your headline should be “peddling,” not “pedaling.” The first is selling, the second is riding a bicycle.
  
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  - David Kristofferson says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 2:07 pm
    
    Right! Stupid oversight on my part due to too much cycling 😉! I’ll fix it immediately!
    
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  - David Kristofferson says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 2:20 pm
    
    The title is fixed, but I’ll have to live with the embarrassing lapse in the hyperlink. Thanks very much for pointing it out! Even Ph.D.’s make errors!☺️
    
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  - SomeDAM Poet says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 7:35 pm
    
    “Pedaling Edu-crack”
    
    Google pedals on the street
    Canvasing the folks they meet
    Carrying a gunny sack
    Peddling their Edu-crack
    
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  - David Kristofferson says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 8:42 pm
    
    Nice! I am retired and cycling is my main hobby; did over 5000 miles on my bike last year. Embarrassing how one can stare at a title like that for a long time and not “see” the error 😳!
    
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  - Roy Turrentine says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 9:36 pm
    
    Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. It was just a Freudian schlep.
    
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  - Catherine Blanche King says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 10:06 pm
    
    Roy Turrentine: That’s “Froodian.”
    
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  - SomeDAM Poet says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 10:18 pm
    
    “Things to dew before you dye”
    
    Put the peddle to the medal
    Wipe the tiers from duey ayes
    Take the thyme to pump your mussel
    Til the Dolly Llama dyes
    
    Phew, self-correct did not like that one at all! I feel like I just won a war.
    
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  - SomeDAM Poet says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 10:21 pm
    
    Sorry, I meant “Few, self correct didn’t…”
    
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- SomeDAM Poet says:
  
  May 13, 2017 at 9:10 pm
  
  From the NY Times article
  “I cannot answer for them what they are going to do with the quadratic equation [sic]. I don’t know why they are learning it. And I don’t know why they can’t ask Google for the answer if the answer is right there.”
  
  That’s what the director of Google’s education apps group, Jonathan Rochelle, said about his own children.
  
  Well, I can at least see why he can’t answer that.
  
  First, he obviously does not know what either the quadratic formula or quadratic equations are. (Big Hint for Rochelle: they are not the same and more specifically, the quadratic formula is a simple way of finding solutions to quadratic equations.)
  
  Second, he has obviously never had a high school physics course wherein he had to figure out projectile motion because (neglecting air resistance) projectiles near the surface of the earth follow parabolic trajectories described by quadratic equations.
  
  So, knowing how to set up and find solutions to quadratic equations can actually be very useful — eg, to scientists and engineers — unbeknownst to Rochelle.
  
  And, also unbeknownst to Rochelle, you can’t ask for the answer if you don’t even know the right question to ask.
  
  It’s actually very humorous that the Director of education apps for a high tech firm like Google doesn’t know basic algebra and has apparently ever taken high school physics.
  
  Pathetic, really.
  
  I wonder how much he gets paid for his ignorance.
  
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  - David Kristofferson says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 11:31 pm
    
    I replied re the quote above into Rochelle’s Twitter feed.
    
    In his defense, he claims the Times took the quote out of context, but there are other tweets in his feed that also protest along similar lines against “mere memorization.”
    
    I replied that I highly doubt any decent teacher makes students memorize the quadratic formula without first teaching how it is used (and in some cases showing where it comes from by “completing the square” on a general quadratic in standard form).
    
    On the other hand, the use of Google as an intellectual crutch by kids is widespread.
    
    It IS a wonderful tool, but should not be used as a reason to avoid developing a foundation of essential knowledge.
    
    Of course, one can debate the meaning of “essential” for years…
    
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Catherine Blanche King says:

May 13, 2017 at 1:21 pm

Diane: It occurs to me that, following the Nixon-era Republicans’ willingness to finally impeach Richard Nixon, many are calling for Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and others with (R) after their names, to “step up and put their democracy before their Party.”

But in OUR environment, as distinct from the Nixon era, perhaps those Republicans are not so democratic (small d) as their precursors were. To me, the majority of them, especially those in the so-called “Freedom Causus” have little-to-no interest in preserving democratic principles and institutions, or the Constitution, not to mention their oath of office.

Perhaps this breakdown of principles is so-far evident in their silence. Perhaps it is a crisis coming to a head in the two conflicting comportments of (1) Trump and (2) Comey, which are just the tip of a very big iceberg made of a winning “market mentality” coupled with oligarchic power and tribal politics that have slowly and methodically overcome the nation’s consciousness and sources of power.

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- dianeravitch says:
  
  May 13, 2017 at 1:44 pm
  
  CBK,
  
  One of the big differences between 1972-1974 and today is that the Republicans today are fearful of the Tea Party Trumpsters. The fringe right keeps mainstream Republicans fearful of a primary challenge from the right.
  
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  - Catherine Blanche King says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 4:37 pm
    
    Diane Yes–but then there are the oligarchs which, like Trump, are not loyal to any nation, country, or culture as we know them, but only to their bank accounts and the powers they are able to wield. Some are “tea party,” but some are just corporate creatures beholden only to themselves.. .
    
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- retired teacher says:
  
  May 13, 2017 at 1:58 pm
  
  I doubt McConnell and Ryan would do anything to support democracy. I think John McCain, Lindsey Graham, perhaps even John Kasich, and a few of the Republican women are more likely to take a stand against suppression of democracy. The rest of them are afraid of the “freedom caucus.”
  
  I also read the “Guardian” article, and I feel like my head will explode. My conclusion is that our tax rates were way too low during the Dot.com bubble. These people have kept too much money, and now they are using technology to swing elections. Dangerous times!
  
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  - Catherine Blanche King says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 4:41 pm
    
    retired teacher: I am no die-hard socialist. However, capitalism way-too-easily takes over the soul and turns to greed and carelessness of others and certainly doesn’t seem to keep what is right about the its competitive spirit within the bounds of community responsibility.
    
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  - Duane E Swacker says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 7:29 pm
    
    For an interesting take on how fascism might work it’s way into American society, an oldie but really good one by FDR’s VP Henry Wallace written during WW2:
    
    http://newdeal.feri.org/wallace/haw23.htm
    
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  - Linda says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 9:25 pm
    
    Kasich talks a good game about Ohio’s gerrymandering but, that’s all it is, talk.
    
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  - Roy Turrentine says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 9:42 pm
    
    Thanks, Duane, fascinating read.
    
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  - Duane E Swacker says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 10:18 pm
    
    You’re welcome, Roy!
    
    All here should read and pass it on. Quite prescient and other than his thinking that Latin American fascists would influence the U.S.-it actually worked the other way around, what he says is spot on!
    
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  - Catherine Blanche King says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 10:42 pm
    
    Duane: I already reposted and saved it–thanks.
    
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  - Duane E Swacker says:
    
    May 13, 2017 at 10:52 pm
    
    You’re welcome. Amazing how well-stated and accurate it is.
    
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Laura H. Chapman says:

May 13, 2017 at 3:49 pm

I am not surprised that some of the connective tissue in this article is under attack. The effort to connect the dots on how elections can be rigged and who is leading the charge is impressive.

One day ago Bloomberg tried to debunk the The Guardian article. I think they were not successful, but they did include a link to website that purports to offer insights into your personality based on some samples of your writing. https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-05-12/i-want-to-surrender-to-cambridge-analytica

The website offering a personality profile is sponsored by IBM’s Watson™. The IBM Watson™ Personality Insights service “enables applications to derive insights from social media, enterprise data, or other digital communications. The service uses linguistic analytics to infer individuals’ intrinsic personality characteristics, including Big Five, Needs, and Values, from digital communications such as email, text messages, tweets, and forum posts.

The service can automatically infer, from potentially noisy social media, portraits of individuals that reflect their personality characteristics. The service can infer consumption preferences based on the results of its analysis and, for JSON content that is time stamped, can report temporal behavior. “(Wikipedia can tell you what JSON content is.)

Links at the website will give you more information about the models that this service uses to describe personality characteristics and the meaning of consumption preferences. https://personality-insights-livedemo.mybluemix.net

Sentiment analysis is now being used by the financial industry as one of several predictive tools.

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Duane E Swacker says:

May 13, 2017 at 7:18 pm

How about these connections of Trump?

Dubious friends of Trump by Zemba:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdZ-RbL7pmw

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Linda says:

May 13, 2017 at 9:46 pm

Wikipedia reports that New America was funded by the following major donors, Gates, Eric Schmidt, Lumina and the U.S. DEPT. of STATE. Read the organization’s agenda at Wikipedia. Scary indeed.
A former New America employee currently working for the Center for American Progress co-wrote “It’s time for a Quality Alternative to College Accreditation”, in Forbes,… two weeks after Hillary’s campaign failed to win her election. The Wikileaks’ hacked tapes provide e-mails between strategists for the campaign who were Podesto and apparently, CAP.
Sen. Rubio’s legislation introduced in March, echoes the CAP plan.

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Linda says:

May 13, 2017 at 9:49 pm

Right wing extremists subverting democracy include the Bradley Foundation. The Center for Media and Democracy’s expose was published this week.

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m4potw says:

May 15, 2017 at 3:32 am

Thank you Dr. Ravitch for an informative and important post.

The rich are small in number, so they can never enact fascism on their own; a middle class without morality is the necessary extension to cause fascism. Alternatively, the combination of poverty possessed of intelligence, with no respect for the common good, is the cause of communism.

The common source of both fascism and communism is intelligence combined with a limited respect for the common good.

Solution:

1) Eliminate both physical and mental hunger.
a) Providing jobs that can support the cost of living.
b) Free (basic) education for everyone. This cultivates knowledge and common sense.

2) Mutual-respect between able-bodied and disabled people.
a) A learning system based on learners’ strengths and weaknesses in all three dimensions of body, mind and spirit. This will sharpen strengths and improve weaknesses.
b) Providing sufficient subsidies for the disabled so to maintain their human dignity without threat. (the realpolitik here is that the marginalized are easy targets for extremism – a cripple may have the mind to write the next “Communist Manifesto” so to speak)
c) Rich and Poor; Able-bodied and Disabled; Blue Collar and White Collar will pay the same basic tax of minimum 10% of their GROSS earning income. This basic tax covers basic healthcare coverage, public education, public transportation and all infrastructures.

3) True separation of Church/Temple/Synagogue/Mosque and State: No religious elements permitted in political affairs.

Hopefully, human morality can restore belief in the spirit in altruism to overcome present fixations on wealth and power.

I am not a dreamer because public education can make this happen. Back2basic

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