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Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

missouriindependent.com

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Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#21

Post by nerdkid93 »

Bhilai wrote: post #3

Here is a potentially dumb idea: Before someone can declare candidacy for a public office, they should pass an exam that tests them on general and basic knowledge on a wide variety of topics that proves that the person has some level of general awareness of tech that is so ubiquitous.

I agree that it's a potentially dumb idea, it sounds like just another kind of Jim Crow era law that could very easily be misused to prevent people from running for office for any reason that people in power see fit (e.g. racism, sexism, other -isms). The only way I see it being a good idea is if you just need to answer the provided questions, and not necessarily "pass" the exam, but that would necessitate voters actually caring if their lawmakers know anything about tech (or the other variety of topics included).

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#23

Post by davidw »

colpabar wrote: post #16
davidw wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sort of thing was used in the past to keep Black people from voting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_test#Voting

Very true. Just like gifted programs in schools. We should keep the bar as low as possible so that no one can ever claim we're racist.

This isn't about claiming anything. It was very much used in practice for many years in southern states, to keep people who had the "wrong" colored skin from voting.

It's great to have high standards for public office, but it's the voters who should hold their elected officials to those, not an arbitrary test imposed by the government.

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#24

Post by Someone1234 »

Bhilai wrote: post #3

Here is a potentially dumb idea: Before someone can declare candidacy for a public office, they should pass an exam that tests them on general and basic knowledge on a wide variety of topics that proves that the person has some level of general awareness of tech that is so ubiquitous.

Who gets to set the test? This is a well-intentioned but very wrong-headed idea. History is littered with examples of how these things are abused.

It is up to voters to evaluate their chosen candidates for their qualities and qualifications for the job. The biggest problem right now is that too many vote on party lines instead of for candidates based on their qualities.

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#25

Post by atty »

This feels like the reaction of a child who was embarrassed in front of their friends on the playground, too upset to understand that doubling down just makes it look worse. Sad to see that sort of behavior coming from one of the ~100 most powerful elected individuals in the country. Bad look for Missouri.

I also am incapable of understanding how this could be twisted into even vaguely being described as hacking. That’s like if I called myself a hacker for opening up the dev tools in my browser.

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#26

Post by itake »

joncrane wrote: post #15
davidw wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sort of thing was used in the past to keep Black people from voting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_test#Voting

The OP is saying the test is for holding office, not voting. There absolutely should be a higher bar for holding office than for voting.

Maybe you're misunderstand, and if not I think your response is a bit disingenuous given that the commenter is saying the test can be used to marginalize a minority.

The commenter's point is that these "tests" can be designed to be difficult for one race/community, but easy for another, thus preventing them from holding an office.

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#27

Post by nrmitchi »

Acutulus wrote: post #7

I find the article title kind of curious, given that it states Parson has "doubled down" which suggests that the video the article references is an active effort on Parson's part. It then goes on to state that the video was produced by a PAC Parson created but doesn't give direct input to. Comes off as unnecessarily inflammatory to me I suppose. Having said that, this situation in particular really tests my willingne…

This situation is keeping his name in the spotlight, and people will, in general, be more likely to vote for names that they recognize.

I don't believe that there is any other reason here.

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#28

Post by ethbr0 »

Bhilai wrote: post #3

Here is a potentially dumb idea: Before someone can declare candidacy for a public office, they should pass an exam that tests them on general and basic knowledge on a wide variety of topics that proves that the person has some level of general awareness of tech that is so ubiquitous.

Don't worry about their passing: just require the results be publicly available.

In the US, VoteSmart [0] and others have tried to do this with position surveys for years, but most politicians would prefer not to answer.

[0] https://justfacts.votesmart.org/

Re: Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site

#30

Post by tdhz77 »

When I lived in Missouri 10 years ago it would never have elected such an idiot. A state that brought decent thinking people like Thomas Hart Benton, President Truman, Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill. There was a saying what goes Missouri so goes the nation.. this will never be true again. Thinking is secondary to outrage in this state. They have been outraged since Obama was elected.
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