4 ms·

Am I the only one embarrassed by the blatant errors in that petition? The first sentence is a run-on grammatical non sequitor. The rest of the petition conveys

Am I the only one embarrassed by the blatant errors in that petition? The first sentence is a run-on grammatical non sequitor. The rest of the petition conveys a muddled thought process that seems blinded by outrage. Did the author even bother to proofread that thing before submitting it? There are plenty of other reasons to pass on this petition. That said, this displays less polish and thought than an email I typically send to my boss. I wouldn't blame the White House for ignoring a plea that reads more like a teenager's facebook rant. It certainly appears to have involved the same level of critical thinking.

olefoo 14y ago
As the author of the petition; I take responsibility for hitting the submit button, halfway through an edit. Sorry.
- neltnerb 14y ago
  I forgive you. (No, seriously, this bugged me too, but it's the sentiment that counts)
  - olefoo 14y ago
    I was in the midst of changing the tense; I should have written it in emacs and then copied it into the form once I was happy with it. So it goes. I'm actually wondering whether a more considered phrasing would have done worse. As it is the main goal of putting the headline into Barack Obama's eyeballs has been reached, and Ms. Ortiz knows that her boss is making the political calculation of whether she is a liability or an asset.
    - res0nat0r 14y ago
      Unfortunately this will come no where near close to the President's eyeballs. It will be reviewed and responded to by some low level staff group who has been tasked to wade thru all of the petitions (and nonsense like the Death Star) which get 25k votes.
      - waterlesscloud 14y ago
        Given the flood of news stories on Aaron's death over the weekend, it's a pretty sure bet the issue is on the radar of some mid-to-high level staffers. At the edges, to be certain, but there's an awareness of it, I'm sure.
      - kamjam 14y ago
        So the alternative is to do nothing? Which is better? At least this gets some momentum going, hopefully being picked up by press, maybe even them questioning the president about it at some later interview. Doing nothing means nothing will get done. This is probably exactly what the government would like you to do. "The people rose up and caused a sea change in Washington" ~ Aaron Swartz This last part of his speech is so powerful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgh2dFngFsg&t=16m57s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgh2dFngFsg&t=16m57s
      - olefoo 14y ago
        From all accounts I've heard, he's pretty focused on the details. And the petitions site is one of the few direct feedback channels from the electorate to him. That said he is a busy man who will delegate the research to others. If he does decide that telling her to resign will get him in the good graces of an important constituency; things will probably happen rather quickly.
      - cabalamat 14y ago
        > Unfortunately this will come no where near close to the President's eyeballs. I'm not so sure. Obama must have been aware of the protests over SOPA last year, because it was a major news item. Swartz' death is almost as big a news item; certainly the UK media have given it significant coverage[1]. I would imagine that Obama is aware at least of roughly who Swartz was and why people are angry, and so are most other US politicians. And we all saw how quickly they caved on SOPA. 1. E.g. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jan/15/aaron-swartz-husband-prosecutor-criticises http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jan/15/aaron-swart... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2263084/Aaron-Swartzs-father-claims-Reddit-founder-son-hounded-death-government.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2263084/Aaron-Swartz... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/technology-obituaries/9799189/Aaron-Swartz.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/technology-obitua... http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/colleagues-of-seer-of-the-web-aaron-swartz-face-dark-questions-over-his-suicide-8451389.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/colleagues-...
- toomuchtodo 14y ago
  I say this only to help in the future: (Life Pro Tip style) Do your writing/editing in a separate app/editor window, and then copy/paste it in. This applies to important emails as well, to prevent hitting send before your final draft is done.
  - MartinCron 14y ago
    Similarly: I always leave the TO: line empty in emails until I'm sure that the message is done.
    - wildmXranat 14y ago
      Ha, I do the the same thing. Only once the message is spell-checked and read over, do I fill in the recipient address.
  - zby 14y ago
    Even better do it collaboratively on a pad.
zoowar 14y ago
Participation in democracy is not limited by literacy.
- rosser 14y ago
  Not any more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act
- AnIrishDuck 14y ago
  No, but influence certainly is.

olefoo 14y ago

As the author of the petition; I take responsibility for hitting the submit button, halfway through an edit. Sorry.

neltnerb 14y ago
I forgive you. (No, seriously, this bugged me too, but it's the sentiment that counts)
- olefoo 14y ago
  I was in the midst of changing the tense; I should have written it in emacs and then copied it into the form once I was happy with it. So it goes. I'm actually wondering whether a more considered phrasing would have done worse. As it is the main goal of putting the headline into Barack Obama's eyeballs has been reached, and Ms. Ortiz knows that her boss is making the political calculation of whether she is a liability or an asset.
  - res0nat0r 14y ago
    Unfortunately this will come no where near close to the President's eyeballs. It will be reviewed and responded to by some low level staff group who has been tasked to wade thru all of the petitions (and nonsense like the Death Star) which get 25k votes.
    - waterlesscloud 14y ago
      Given the flood of news stories on Aaron's death over the weekend, it's a pretty sure bet the issue is on the radar of some mid-to-high level staffers. At the edges, to be certain, but there's an awareness of it, I'm sure.
    - kamjam 14y ago
      So the alternative is to do nothing? Which is better? At least this gets some momentum going, hopefully being picked up by press, maybe even them questioning the president about it at some later interview. Doing nothing means nothing will get done. This is probably exactly what the government would like you to do. "The people rose up and caused a sea change in Washington" ~ Aaron Swartz This last part of his speech is so powerful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgh2dFngFsg&t=16m57s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgh2dFngFsg&t=16m57s
    - olefoo 14y ago
      From all accounts I've heard, he's pretty focused on the details. And the petitions site is one of the few direct feedback channels from the electorate to him. That said he is a busy man who will delegate the research to others. If he does decide that telling her to resign will get him in the good graces of an important constituency; things will probably happen rather quickly.
    - cabalamat 14y ago
      > Unfortunately this will come no where near close to the President's eyeballs. I'm not so sure. Obama must have been aware of the protests over SOPA last year, because it was a major news item. Swartz' death is almost as big a news item; certainly the UK media have given it significant coverage[1]. I would imagine that Obama is aware at least of roughly who Swartz was and why people are angry, and so are most other US politicians. And we all saw how quickly they caved on SOPA. 1. E.g. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jan/15/aaron-swartz-husband-prosecutor-criticises http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/jan/15/aaron-swart... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2263084/Aaron-Swartzs-father-claims-Reddit-founder-son-hounded-death-government.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2263084/Aaron-Swartz... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/technology-obituaries/9799189/Aaron-Swartz.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/technology-obitua... http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/colleagues-of-seer-of-the-web-aaron-swartz-face-dark-questions-over-his-suicide-8451389.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/colleagues-...
toomuchtodo 14y ago
I say this only to help in the future: (Life Pro Tip style) Do your writing/editing in a separate app/editor window, and then copy/paste it in. This applies to important emails as well, to prevent hitting send before your final draft is done.
- MartinCron 14y ago
  Similarly: I always leave the TO: line empty in emails until I'm sure that the message is done.
  - wildmXranat 14y ago
    Ha, I do the the same thing. Only once the message is spell-checked and read over, do I fill in the recipient address.
- zby 14y ago
  Even better do it collaboratively on a pad.

zoowar 14y ago

Participation in democracy is not limited by literacy.

rosser 14y ago
Not any more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act
AnIrishDuck 14y ago
No, but influence certainly is.