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In 1999 the show writers of the West Wing accurately predicated this in an episode about the selection of a Supreme Court Judge: "It's not just about abortion,

by tmpz22 2y ago

In 1999 the show writers of the West Wing accurately predicated this in an episode about the selection of a Supreme Court Judge: "It's not just about abortion, it's about the next 20 years. In the '20s and '30s it was the role of government. '50s and '60s it was civil rights. The next two decades are going to be privacy. I'm talking about the Internet. I'm talking about cell phones. I'm talking about health records and who's gay and who's not. And moreover, in a country born on the will to be free, what could be more fundamental than this?" - Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) West Wing (ep: The Short List) 1999 - We've seen massive breaches of EMR systems - We've seen massive breeahes from dating apps (Grindr) outing Gay individuals - None of these entities faced significant consequences for their actions and continue to operate with large amounts of profit. - 2 years after this episode the Patriot Act was passed. We've failed on privacy so far.

SturgeonsLaw 2y ago
Imagine if the real government was as competent and good faith as the West Wing government
- switch007 2y ago
  Right! The West Wing was political porn, and I loved it (and still re-watch it occasionally)
m463 2y ago
The government has failed the constituents. Regulatory capture is still the highest ROI investment, and we should work on that.
- potato3732842 2y ago
  It's a perverse feedback loop. The more power the .gov has to regulate the better the ROI of regulatory capture.' I'm not sure how we get out of this situation without it getting way worse.
  - r-w 2y ago
    Huh? Why can't you just regulate the flow of private funds to public servants and leave it at that? Not sure why you seem to be arguing that passing one bill expands the power of government as a whole.
  - hobobaggins 2y ago
    Reduce the power of the govt to regulate things at the federal level and instead move that power to the states. This will return power to the people, and people will naturally move to states that are delivering for them (whatever that is that they're looking for). Across 50 states, this makes it 50 times harder (literally) to practice regulatory capture, and 50 times as likely that they'll be caught out by it, and because news travels at the speed of light today (unlike in the Constitutional era), 50 times as likely that the other state residents will find out about it. Everything becomes fifty times better once we just return to the principles of federalism: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." (Tenth Amendment) Decentralization still works. Push the power back downward to the people who care the most -- you and me. Even though it's one of the rare examples of a federal governing agency that is mostly apolitical and actually functions semi-effectively, the FTC, for example, is a largely pointless, neutered entity that pales in comparison to state powers. For example, the state Attorneys General were able to effectively destroy Big Tobacco. The federal government didn't even come close.
    - consteval 2y ago
      This just doesn't work because MOST companies are multi-state. Hell, most are multi-national in the new globalized world. So you have to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
    - b3ing 2y ago
      Yeah and only 1 or 2 states will get around to doing anything about that 5-10 years down the road.
    - paulryanrogers 2y ago
      People cannot move so easily. Some states have more influence than others. It also makes the decision of 'where' to move more complex. Do I choose a state where my daughters have few rights or one where corporations control everything or where the pollution is so bad my kid's IQ will suffer?
- bee_rider 2y ago
  Someone should come up with a form of government where we just, like, ask the people what they want the government to do and then it does that.
  - Loughla 2y ago
    I was at breakfast this morning and overheard a conversation at the table next to me. This conversation was about how a recent thunderstorm had small hail accompanying the rain. And then that this small hail was the leftover seeds from "the jet planes spraying that stuff to control the weather." Direct voting on issues terrifies me.
    - jh00ker 2y ago
      I was at a coffee shop a couple weeks ago and I heard two guys going on about how the moon landing never could have happened because it seems impossible. They didn't have any supporting data. They just kept saying things like "all the footage looked so totally fake." My favorite was "and how did they even get back to Earth? I don't remember ever seeing video of then launching a rocket off the moon, do you?" SMH
      - orbisvicis 2y ago
        The astronauts drew straws, and Sandy Koufax had the bad fortune to draw the short straw. He would stay behind to roll tape while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were to return home. The two astronauts would remain suited for the ascent. Buzz Aldrin would monitor the instrument consoles while Neil Armstrong was to remain tethered to the open hatchway in what was later termed "a daring attempt" to recover the film canister thrown by Sandy Koufax. Unfortunately Neil Armstrong was unable to recover the canister. He described it whizzing past his gloved fingers merely inches away during the docking maneuvers with the command module. No one knows what became of the footage. To this day it is likely tumbling around the cold dark expanse of space, perhaps as a new lunar satellite. ... and that's why we don't have footage of the lunar ascent.
        2y ago
awkwardpotato 2y ago
There are so many beautiful quote I love from the West Wing... but this one stands out for me because of how (a decade off but) shockingly accurate it is.

by tmpz22 2y ago

SturgeonsLaw 2y ago

Imagine if the real government was as competent and good faith as the West Wing government

switch007 2y ago
Right! The West Wing was political porn, and I loved it (and still re-watch it occasionally)

m463 2y ago

The government has failed the constituents. Regulatory capture is still the highest ROI investment, and we should work on that.

potato3732842 2y ago
It's a perverse feedback loop. The more power the .gov has to regulate the better the ROI of regulatory capture.' I'm not sure how we get out of this situation without it getting way worse.
- r-w 2y ago
  Huh? Why can't you just regulate the flow of private funds to public servants and leave it at that? Not sure why you seem to be arguing that passing one bill expands the power of government as a whole.
- hobobaggins 2y ago
  Reduce the power of the govt to regulate things at the federal level and instead move that power to the states. This will return power to the people, and people will naturally move to states that are delivering for them (whatever that is that they're looking for). Across 50 states, this makes it 50 times harder (literally) to practice regulatory capture, and 50 times as likely that they'll be caught out by it, and because news travels at the speed of light today (unlike in the Constitutional era), 50 times as likely that the other state residents will find out about it. Everything becomes fifty times better once we just return to the principles of federalism: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." (Tenth Amendment) Decentralization still works. Push the power back downward to the people who care the most -- you and me. Even though it's one of the rare examples of a federal governing agency that is mostly apolitical and actually functions semi-effectively, the FTC, for example, is a largely pointless, neutered entity that pales in comparison to state powers. For example, the state Attorneys General were able to effectively destroy Big Tobacco. The federal government didn't even come close.
  - consteval 2y ago
    This just doesn't work because MOST companies are multi-state. Hell, most are multi-national in the new globalized world. So you have to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
  - b3ing 2y ago
    Yeah and only 1 or 2 states will get around to doing anything about that 5-10 years down the road.
  - paulryanrogers 2y ago
    People cannot move so easily. Some states have more influence than others. It also makes the decision of 'where' to move more complex. Do I choose a state where my daughters have few rights or one where corporations control everything or where the pollution is so bad my kid's IQ will suffer?
bee_rider 2y ago
Someone should come up with a form of government where we just, like, ask the people what they want the government to do and then it does that.
- Loughla 2y ago
  I was at breakfast this morning and overheard a conversation at the table next to me. This conversation was about how a recent thunderstorm had small hail accompanying the rain. And then that this small hail was the leftover seeds from "the jet planes spraying that stuff to control the weather." Direct voting on issues terrifies me.
  - jh00ker 2y ago
    I was at a coffee shop a couple weeks ago and I heard two guys going on about how the moon landing never could have happened because it seems impossible. They didn't have any supporting data. They just kept saying things like "all the footage looked so totally fake." My favorite was "and how did they even get back to Earth? I don't remember ever seeing video of then launching a rocket off the moon, do you?" SMH
    - orbisvicis 2y ago
      The astronauts drew straws, and Sandy Koufax had the bad fortune to draw the short straw. He would stay behind to roll tape while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were to return home. The two astronauts would remain suited for the ascent. Buzz Aldrin would monitor the instrument consoles while Neil Armstrong was to remain tethered to the open hatchway in what was later termed "a daring attempt" to recover the film canister thrown by Sandy Koufax. Unfortunately Neil Armstrong was unable to recover the canister. He described it whizzing past his gloved fingers merely inches away during the docking maneuvers with the command module. No one knows what became of the footage. To this day it is likely tumbling around the cold dark expanse of space, perhaps as a new lunar satellite. ... and that's why we don't have footage of the lunar ascent.
      - 2y ago

awkwardpotato 2y ago

There are so many beautiful quote I love from the West Wing... but this one stands out for me because of how (a decade off but) shockingly accurate it is.