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> We used to have stable rule of law, but since the protests I'm not so sure now. The protests are not dismantling the rule of law. There is a small subset whe

> We used to have stable rule of law, but since the protests I'm not so sure now. The protests are not dismantling the rule of law. There is a small subset where there is destruction and violence. Many people are expressing their constitutional rights. Some are actually having them violated by the state. > We used to value self-reliance and risk taking, but a growing chunk of America now wants a more risk-averse government-reliant (in the form of guaranteed pensions, etc) European style society. I don’t think people have admonished self-reliance or risk. The reality is many people fall through the cracks, and we should tend to their most basic needs the best we can to reduce suffering and allow people to keep being able to contribute to society, rather than leave them alienated and unable to get back on their feet. We’re the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, and have massive wealth inequality. Large corporations and donors are able to control politicians. People are losing their jobs by the millions, and by proxy lose their healthcare (in the middle of a global pandemic). Workers productivity has gone up, but wages have not followed. It’s not about entirely destroying American society as we know it, but rather providing for our fellow Americans people claim to care so patriotically about.

fossuser 6y ago
The federal forces entering the cities are concerning. When I think of rule of law issues I think of the AG freeing friends of the president (Stone, Flynn) and punishing enemies (Cohen). I think of the Trump administration choosing Microsoft over Amazon for the Jedi contract for political reasons. Also the lies about Berman 'stepping down', firing Comey and attempting to fire/discredit Mueller, the characterization of the report with a misleading summary, current investigations into the origins of the report, targeting political enemies, seeking international assistance in taking out political rivals etc. Rule of law definitely seems to have weakened under Barr. Anyway, this is a really well written opening statement. I know Amazon is known for having a great culture of writing internally, but it's always nice to see it in public. I wish tech companies wrote more about themselves in public, what they get from the press is a disservice - it's a lot more interesting to hear directly from the companies. I'd be curious what he thinks about the counterfeit items given the 'customer-centric' view. One of the main reasons I didn't by Amazon stock earlier was I thought that would be a problem. In hindsight I realized even though it is a problem, there isn't really a better non-amazon alternative in most cases and I ended up buying stock anyway. If I was there, I'd figure out how to fix that issue - some way to hold sellers to a higher quality bar.
- lefrenchy 6y ago
  > When I think of rule of law issues I think of the AG freeing friends of the president (Stone, Flynn) and punishing enemies (Cohen). I think of the Trump administration choosing Microsoft over Amazon for the Jedi contract for political reasons. Also the lies about Berman 'stepping down', firing Comey and attempting to fire/discredit Mueller, the characterization of the report with a misleading summary, current investigations into the origins of the report, targeting political enemies, seeking international assistance in taking out political rivals etc. Rule of law definitely seems to have weakened under Barr. Very well said, I think these attacks on the rule of law are much more concerning given they come from positions of power.
- darkerside 6y ago
  I used to think Jedi was political, but I'm not so sure now. AWS is the superior pure cloud play, but Microsoft may have been able to make a better case for supporting a hybrid cloud. It makes sense that the DoD would want to keep parts of the system in-house. Also, if large parts of the existing system are Windows-based, that's another fair reason to consider MS. And continuing to put more power, in terms of hypothetical access to data, in the hands of one man who is already perhaps the most powerful in America, could be considered a dangerous idea.
  - fossuser 6y ago
    Yeah there are plausible arguments for Microsoft, but the constant self-serving political decisions and punishment of enemies makes it hard to know. Amazon also does have local cloud boxes.
    - darkerside 6y ago
      I try to assume positive intent, or at least look for reasons beyond malicious intent, especially when it's difficult
      - fossuser 6y ago
        I do too, but I think this administration lost any benefit of the doubt a long time ago. When there is enormous evidence of bad behavior it no longer makes sense to assume positive intent.
ghthor 6y ago
Nobody is having there constitutional rights violated by the state. The states are letting violent extremists violate the rights of other citizens and the federal government is having to step in to protect those citizens and federal property.
- lefrenchy 6y ago
  https://www.propublica.org/article/defendant-shall-not-attend-protests-in-portland-getting-out-of-jail-requires-relinquishing-constitutional-rights https://www.propublica.org/article/defendant-shall-not-atten... There are a small subset of violent rioters and looters destroying property, absolutely. If you think that the federal and state responses, including violent beatings of peaceful protestors, are not meant to intimidate peaceful protestors then i’m afraid we’ll never agree. We’ve seen countless escalations from the police and feds.
- triceratops 6y ago
  > Nobody is having there constitutional rights violated by the state. Why are there protests if everything is hunky-dory?

fossuser 6y ago

The federal forces entering the cities are concerning. When I think of rule of law issues I think of the AG freeing friends of the president (Stone, Flynn) and punishing enemies (Cohen). I think of the Trump administration choosing Microsoft over Amazon for the Jedi contract for political reasons. Also the lies about Berman 'stepping down', firing Comey and attempting to fire/discredit Mueller, the characterization of the report with a misleading summary, current investigations into the origins of the report, targeting political enemies, seeking international assistance in taking out political rivals etc. Rule of law definitely seems to have weakened under Barr. Anyway, this is a really well written opening statement. I know Amazon is known for having a great culture of writing internally, but it's always nice to see it in public. I wish tech companies wrote more about themselves in public, what they get from the press is a disservice - it's a lot more interesting to hear directly from the companies. I'd be curious what he thinks about the counterfeit items given the 'customer-centric' view. One of the main reasons I didn't by Amazon stock earlier was I thought that would be a problem. In hindsight I realized even though it is a problem, there isn't really a better non-amazon alternative in most cases and I ended up buying stock anyway. If I was there, I'd figure out how to fix that issue - some way to hold sellers to a higher quality bar.

lefrenchy 6y ago
> When I think of rule of law issues I think of the AG freeing friends of the president (Stone, Flynn) and punishing enemies (Cohen). I think of the Trump administration choosing Microsoft over Amazon for the Jedi contract for political reasons. Also the lies about Berman 'stepping down', firing Comey and attempting to fire/discredit Mueller, the characterization of the report with a misleading summary, current investigations into the origins of the report, targeting political enemies, seeking international assistance in taking out political rivals etc. Rule of law definitely seems to have weakened under Barr. Very well said, I think these attacks on the rule of law are much more concerning given they come from positions of power.
darkerside 6y ago
I used to think Jedi was political, but I'm not so sure now. AWS is the superior pure cloud play, but Microsoft may have been able to make a better case for supporting a hybrid cloud. It makes sense that the DoD would want to keep parts of the system in-house. Also, if large parts of the existing system are Windows-based, that's another fair reason to consider MS. And continuing to put more power, in terms of hypothetical access to data, in the hands of one man who is already perhaps the most powerful in America, could be considered a dangerous idea.
- fossuser 6y ago
  Yeah there are plausible arguments for Microsoft, but the constant self-serving political decisions and punishment of enemies makes it hard to know. Amazon also does have local cloud boxes.
  - darkerside 6y ago
    I try to assume positive intent, or at least look for reasons beyond malicious intent, especially when it's difficult
    - fossuser 6y ago
      I do too, but I think this administration lost any benefit of the doubt a long time ago. When there is enormous evidence of bad behavior it no longer makes sense to assume positive intent.

ghthor 6y ago

Nobody is having there constitutional rights violated by the state. The states are letting violent extremists violate the rights of other citizens and the federal government is having to step in to protect those citizens and federal property.

lefrenchy 6y ago
https://www.propublica.org/article/defendant-shall-not-attend-protests-in-portland-getting-out-of-jail-requires-relinquishing-constitutional-rights https://www.propublica.org/article/defendant-shall-not-atten... There are a small subset of violent rioters and looters destroying property, absolutely. If you think that the federal and state responses, including violent beatings of peaceful protestors, are not meant to intimidate peaceful protestors then i’m afraid we’ll never agree. We’ve seen countless escalations from the police and feds.
triceratops 6y ago
> Nobody is having there constitutional rights violated by the state. Why are there protests if everything is hunky-dory?