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The City of Seattle Accidentally Gave Me 32M Emails for $40

mchap.io

221–230 of 239 posts

Re: The City of Seattle Accidentally Gave Me 32M Emails for $40

#221

I'm very surprised they gave out this information. I'm not talking about the mistake, I mean the actual request. In the UK I don't think you could even get a production order for this. Like, it's effectively getting Communications Data simultaneously against thousands of people not suspected of any crimes?? Like, do people know that by emailing their local government their email address is now free for scammers to re…

The part I found even more strange is that people are sending their credit card numbers and other personal information through e-mail...

Imagine you are a secretary working at a company where HR is physically located across the country. HR needs you to fill out "Government Form 27" which requires personal information.

You fill out the form, how do you transmit it back to HR? You're probably going to email it. Very few companies have a "secure document transfer system" and very few people understand the risks of emailing personal information.

Re: The City of Seattle Accidentally Gave Me 32M Emails for $40

#222
post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Primaries aren't enshrined in the Constitution, but they became state business in the 1970s because there was a desire to let the average voter have more say in the selection process, which had previously been done via party conventions. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/05/1...

I would prefer going back to party conventions instead of the endless campaigning :-)

Either way it boils down to $ spent to “win” the nomination. Whether it’s spent on advertising or back room wheeling n’ dealing it’s just money spent.

Re: The City of Seattle Accidentally Gave Me 32M Emails for $40

#223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t understand... You found an drive, tried to return it and then we’re subject to an illegal search? Or you consented to a search that would have otherwise been illegal?

I consented to a search

I personally don’t consent to any searches. But I’m sorry you tried to help out and then we’re coerced into having your liberty taken.

Re: The City of Seattle Accidentally Gave Me 32M Emails for $40

#224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are states with ‘closed primaries’, where certain elections are only open to registered party voters - ie a Democrat would not be allowed to vote in the Republican primary and vice-versa. This, and ‘because that’s how we’ve always done it’ are probably the main reasons party affiliation is part of voter registration.

If a party wants to hold a closed primary, can't they do that themselves without help from the government? Why would the government be involved in a party-internal election?

[deleted]

Re: The City of Seattle Accidentally Gave Me 32M Emails for $40

#225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are states with ‘closed primaries’, where certain elections are only open to registered party voters - ie a Democrat would not be allowed to vote in the Republican primary and vice-versa. This, and ‘because that’s how we’ve always done it’ are probably the main reasons party affiliation is part of voter registration.

If a party wants to hold a closed primary, can't they do that themselves without help from the government? Why would the government be involved in a party-internal election?

Deleted my previous comment as it didn't directly address your question. I don't know all the history behind it, but in terms of "can", I'm assuming that no, parties were unable to effectively hold a closed primary in a way that was well-run and accessible. And a poorly run primary vote defeats the purpose of having any primary in the first place. Using the state infrastructure and schedule makes the voting process much easier for the average voter, without being a burden to the state political parties.

As to "why" the government should feel obligated to subsidize the process -- because the government has the ostensible goal of facilitating fair and proper elections, and presumably the primary process -- which is not Constitutionally-enshrined -- is a net benefit to the general election, at least compared to selection-by-party-convention. In the future, political parties may decide that it's better to have open primaries, but that's orthogonal to the government providing the voting infrastructure and logistics.

Re: The City of Seattle Accidentally Gave Me 32M Emails for $40

#226
post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a party wants to hold a closed primary, can't they do that themselves without help from the government? Why would the government be involved in a party-internal election?

It always interests me how much of the US electoral system is just obviously completely broken from the perspective of outsiders, and it seems strange that people within the US see procedures like this and view them as normal and legitimate.

I'm curious what you see as "obviously completely broken" about the current primary process. Previously, party candidates were chosen via convention, which effectively left the selection process to party elites.

Re: The City of Seattle Accidentally Gave Me 32M Emails for $40

#227
post #43

A few years ago I found a random SSD on the ground while on a walk with my son. The drive contained unencrypted records which squarly fall under HIPPA. I also did the right thing and returned it to the proper owner and told them about how their mdb files were readable by anyone. The same exact thing happened. They thanked me and then their lawyers nicely asked me to clone my hard drive and sign a bunch of shit. It wa…

Why would you ever reach out to the owner? Is patting yourself on the back really worth the risk?

Re: The City of Seattle Accidentally Gave Me 32M Emails for $40

#228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I consented to a search

I personally don’t consent to any searches. But I’m sorry you tried to help out and then we’re coerced into having your liberty taken.

Yeah it sucked. Lesson learned :P

Also, googled you. Here is a quote from your website: "I'm an american entrepreneur, inventor and __activist__" :)

Re: The City of Seattle Accidentally Gave Me 32M Emails for $40

#229
post #227
post #43

A few years ago I found a random SSD on the ground while on a walk with my son. The drive contained unencrypted records which squarly fall under HIPPA. I also did the right thing and returned it to the proper owner and told them about how their mdb files were readable by anyone. The same exact thing happened. They thanked me and then their lawyers nicely asked me to clone my hard drive and sign a bunch of shit. It wa…

Why would you ever reach out to the owner? Is patting yourself on the back really worth the risk?

To tell them about their huge security hole.
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