Free Essays on Internet Voting

It is no secret that our country’s democratic elections are plagued by various ills. Between low voter turnout, a lack of worthy candidates, and debacles like the one witnessed in the presidential election of 2000, people are searching for a cure. Online voting is definitely not the answer. The ability to vote online will only create more problems for an already faulted process. A switch to internet voting would result in a lack of security in elections, a lack of privacy and honest voting, and most importantly a lack of access to voting. Proponents argue that e-voting is a revolution that might kindle renewed interest in voting, especially among the young, and help raise the shamefully low voter turnout that plagues American elections. I, too, was initially enthusiastic about the prospects for Internet voting. But after researching the issue I have come to think that internet voting should probably be avoided at least for the near future. There are three broad categories that have to be clearly distinguished. Type I systems are county-controlled, with the computers and software used for voting under the full control of election officials. In this category would be Internet voting machines at traditional poll sites on Election Day. The Type II system is one involving computer voting kiosks, similar to ATM machines. The kiosks would be located at convenient places around the county and open to voters for days or weeks prior to election day, allowing many more locations and much more time for voting than we now have. These systems would also be monitored by election officials, but would be located in less traditional places, such as malls and airports or train stations. Type III systems are those where election officials do not control the machine used for voting. Systems that permit voting from home, school or office computers, or ... Free Essays on Internet Voting Free Essays on Internet Voting It is no secret that our country’s democratic elections are plagued by various ills. Between low voter turnout, a lack of worthy candidates, and debacles like the one witnessed in the presidential election of 2000, people are searching for a cure. Online voting is definitely not the answer. The ability to vote online will only create more problems for an already faulted process. A switch to internet voting would result in a lack of security in elections, a lack of privacy and honest voting, and most importantly a lack of access to voting. Proponents argue that e-voting is a revolution that might kindle renewed interest in voting, especially among the young, and help raise the shamefully low voter turnout that plagues American elections. I, too, was initially enthusiastic about the prospects for Internet voting. But after researching the issue I have come to think that internet voting should probably be avoided at least for the near future. There are three broad categories that have to be clearly distinguished. Type I systems are county-controlled, with the computers and software used for voting under the full control of election officials. In this category would be Internet voting machines at traditional poll sites on Election Day. The Type II system is one involving computer voting kiosks, similar to ATM machines. The kiosks would be located at convenient places around the county and open to voters for days or weeks prior to election day, allowing many more locations and much more time for voting than we now have. These systems would also be monitored by election officials, but would be located in less traditional places, such as malls and airports or train stations. Type III systems are those where election officials do not control the machine used for voting. Systems that permit voting from home, school or office computers, or ...

Sobek, the Crocodile God of Ancient Egypt

Sobek, the Crocodile God of Ancient Egypt The Nile River may have been Egypt’s lifeblood, but it also held one of its greatest dangers: crocodiles. These giant reptiles were represented in Egypt’s pantheon, too, in the form of the god Sobek. Sobek and the Twelfth Dynasty Sobek rose to national prominence during the Twelfth Dynasty (1991-1786 B.C.). Pharaohs Amenemhat I and Senusret I built on the already existing worship of Sobek in Faiyum, and Senusret II constructed a pyramid at that site. Pharaoh Amenemhat III dubbed himself â€Å"beloved of Sobek of Shedet† and added splendid additions to the crocodile god’s temple there. To top it off, the first female ruler of Egypt, Sobekneferu (â€Å"the Beauty of Sobek†), hailed from this dynasty. There were even several relatively obscure rulers named Sobekhotep who made up part of the succeeding Thirteenth Dynasty. Most prominently worshiped in the Faiyum, an oasis in Upper Egypt (a.k.a. Shedet), Sobek remained a popular god throughout Egypt’s millennia-long history. Legend has it that one of Egypt’s first kings, Aha, built a temple to Sobek in the Faiyum. In the Pyramid  Texts of the Old Kingdom pharaoh Unas, Aha is referred to as the â€Å"lord of Bakhu,† one of the mountains that supported Heaven. Sobek in Greco-Roman Times Even in Greco-Roman times, Sobek was honored. In his Geography, Strabo discusses the Faiyum, of Arsinoe, a.k.a. Crocodopolis (the City of the Crocodile) and Shedet. He says: â€Å"The people in this Nome hold in very great honor the crocodile, and there is a sacred one there which is kept and fed by itself in a lake, and is tame to the priests.† The croc was also venerated around Kom Ombo- at a temple complex built by the Ptolemies  and near the city of Thebes, where there was a cemetery full of crocodile mummies. A Monster in Myth In the Pyramid Texts, Sobeks mama, Neith, is mentioned, and his attributes are discussed. The Texts state: â€Å"I am Sobek, green of plumage[†¦]I appear as Sobek, Neith’s son. I eat with my mouth, I urinate and copulate with my penis. I am lord of semen, who takes women from their husbands to the place I like according to my mind’s fancy.† From this passage, it is clear that  Sobek was involved in fertility. In the Middle Kingdom-era Hymn to Hapy,  Sobek- who was the god of the Niles inundation- bares his teeth as the Nile floods and fertilizes Egypt. To further his monster-like demeanor, Sobek is described as having eaten Osiris. In fact, cannibalization of gods by other gods wasn’t uncommon. Crocodiles weren’t always seen as benevolent, however, they were  sometimes  thought to be messengers of  Set, god of destruction. Sobek helped Osiris’s son, Horus, when, Isis (Horus mother), cut his hands off. Re asked Sobek to retrieve them, and he did so by  inventing a fishing trap.