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It is pretty damning for hacker news to remove this from #1. The largest democracy of the world, the tech magnet of the world, is going down in a coup. This is

It is pretty damning for hacker news to remove this from #1. The largest democracy of the world, the tech magnet of the world, is going down in a coup. This is not a fluke nor a desire for sensationalism. "But-but the Python library discussion!" Bullshit. It is our collective behavior. And the choice is to contain, to minimize, to pretend this is just something minor. If we morally could, we would all prefer to ignore it. Democracy doesn't have the concept of passive bystanders. It is by the people, for the people. That means involvement in all aspects of life. This, or it dies. I don't say it lightly, but HN isn't on the side of democracy. For if it was, its actions would have spoken. "But I didn't know it was really an event larger than a single incident". No one believes this really.

hagbard_c 2y ago
The largest democracy in the world is India, not the United States of America. The former is an (imperfect) democracy, the latter a representative republic. Neither of the two are 'going down in a coup', the latter just happened to have had an election where the majority of voters decided that the previous periods of "democratic" party rule did not lead to better outcomes for them or for things they cared about. They gave their vote to a group of people - not just a person but a group - who clearly outlined what their plans were should they win the elections. Which they did, and - lo and behold - they actually fulfilled many of the promises they made. People voted for a group of people who promised to radically reduce the size of the federal state, a promise they seem to be intent on keeping. They voted for a group of people who promised they'd open up the books on "all the malversations and shady dealings" by previous governments. They have started to fulfil their promise, it remains to be seen how much they can and will dig up. Calling a government which went to the polls with a set of promises which they, after winning the elections, seem to fulfil is not a coup. It is the political process finally working as intended even if you do not like the outcome. Assuming that you would prefer a "democratic" candidate to win the next time it is time for you and the party you support to align yourselves with the zeitgeist and realise you do not get to shape the future exactly the way you please. That, you see, is also what the word democracy means, it is the people - not you and whatever party you happen to support, if any - who get to decide what to aim for. Though imperfect and often messy this remains the best system of government in times of peace. In times of crisis - war, famine, pestilence, natural catastrophes - it can be more effective to limit the influence of the people but as soon as the crisis is dealt with the 'dictator' (from the Roman Republic, a 'temporary magistrate with extraordinary powers, nominated by one of two consuls on the recommendation of the Senate and confirmed by the popular assembly, only t be used in times of crisis') is supposed to step down [1]. [1] this may be one of the reasons for constantly pushing different crises onto the public
- exceptione 2y ago
  If you still think this is about government efficiency, you better wake up FAST. Efficiency, sure, good! Why would you ignore the law? Why would you fire left and right, creating crisis after crisis? Why do you want billionaires to run your country? Why do you give tax cuts to the super wealthy? This all has ++ZERO++ relation to efficiency. On the contrary, it will make problems worse. FAR worse. Shooting down expertise, furthering pandemics by installing a total lunatic (RFK jr): a great way to embezzle money, real world consequences damned. Education, health care, it will be for the few, not you. I urge you to read the news, because this is not a conspiracy theory. It is nuts, yes, but is also reality. Exactly what this submission tracks. It is very telling that HN chooses to suppress this. Very telling. ----- https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/career-civil-servant-end/681712/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/career-civ... «One of the greatest tricks that Donald Trump and Elon Musk ever pulled is to convince millions of people that DOGE, the self-styled Department of Government Efficiency, is about government efficiency. DOGE isn’t really a department; it’s not an agency; it has no statutory authority; and it has little to do with saving money, streamlining the bureaucracy, or eliminating waste. It is a name that Trump is allowing a favored donor and ally to use in a reckless campaign against various targets in the federal government. The whole enterprise is an attack against civil servants and the very notion of apolitical expertise.» ----- https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/defense-department-deputies-qualifications/681670/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/defense-de... «As with Trump’s nominations in other departments, the key factors appear to be loyalty, wealth, and ideological fervor, not competence.» ---- All the DOGE chaos will not even create a dent in the deficit problem of the USA. The ==LAST== thing you should do is to give the billionaires even more tax cuts. https://www.vox.com/politics/398583/musk-trump-doge-fraud-waste-debt-deficit https://www.vox.com/politics/398583/musk-trump-doge-fraud-wa...
  - hagbard_c 2y ago
    > I urge you to read the news I do follow the news but probably not only the 'news' you're referring to assuming you mean the legacy media. The Atlantic is not what I call news but agitprop, a vehicle for agitational propaganda aimed at driving a narrative. If that is 'the news' you are referring to I understand why you are so agitated and I'd advice you to broaden your horizon beyond these types of sources. Look at the entire spectrum of 'news' organisations from Breitbart/Daily Wire/Daily Caller to WaPo/NYT/The Atlantic/The New Yorker/HuffPo/etc and whatever lies in between to get a more complete view, don't let yourself be used as a tool and keep an open mind for a different view - not so open that your brains fall out but open enough to avoid being duped by the likes of The Atlantic.

hagbard_c 2y ago

The largest democracy in the world is India, not the United States of America. The former is an (imperfect) democracy, the latter a representative republic. Neither of the two are 'going down in a coup', the latter just happened to have had an election where the majority of voters decided that the previous periods of "democratic" party rule did not lead to better outcomes for them or for things they cared about. They gave their vote to a group of people - not just a person but a group - who clearly outlined what their plans were should they win the elections. Which they did, and - lo and behold - they actually fulfilled many of the promises they made. People voted for a group of people who promised to radically reduce the size of the federal state, a promise they seem to be intent on keeping. They voted for a group of people who promised they'd open up the books on "all the malversations and shady dealings" by previous governments. They have started to fulfil their promise, it remains to be seen how much they can and will dig up. Calling a government which went to the polls with a set of promises which they, after winning the elections, seem to fulfil is not a coup. It is the political process finally working as intended even if you do not like the outcome. Assuming that you would prefer a "democratic" candidate to win the next time it is time for you and the party you support to align yourselves with the zeitgeist and realise you do not get to shape the future exactly the way you please. That, you see, is also what the word democracy means, it is the people - not you and whatever party you happen to support, if any - who get to decide what to aim for. Though imperfect and often messy this remains the best system of government in times of peace. In times of crisis - war, famine, pestilence, natural catastrophes - it can be more effective to limit the influence of the people but as soon as the crisis is dealt with the 'dictator' (from the Roman Republic, a 'temporary magistrate with extraordinary powers, nominated by one of two consuls on the recommendation of the Senate and confirmed by the popular assembly, only t be used in times of crisis') is supposed to step down [1]. [1] this may be one of the reasons for constantly pushing different crises onto the public

exceptione 2y ago
If you still think this is about government efficiency, you better wake up FAST. Efficiency, sure, good! Why would you ignore the law? Why would you fire left and right, creating crisis after crisis? Why do you want billionaires to run your country? Why do you give tax cuts to the super wealthy? This all has ++ZERO++ relation to efficiency. On the contrary, it will make problems worse. FAR worse. Shooting down expertise, furthering pandemics by installing a total lunatic (RFK jr): a great way to embezzle money, real world consequences damned. Education, health care, it will be for the few, not you. I urge you to read the news, because this is not a conspiracy theory. It is nuts, yes, but is also reality. Exactly what this submission tracks. It is very telling that HN chooses to suppress this. Very telling. ----- https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/career-civil-servant-end/681712/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/career-civ... «One of the greatest tricks that Donald Trump and Elon Musk ever pulled is to convince millions of people that DOGE, the self-styled Department of Government Efficiency, is about government efficiency. DOGE isn’t really a department; it’s not an agency; it has no statutory authority; and it has little to do with saving money, streamlining the bureaucracy, or eliminating waste. It is a name that Trump is allowing a favored donor and ally to use in a reckless campaign against various targets in the federal government. The whole enterprise is an attack against civil servants and the very notion of apolitical expertise.» ----- https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/defense-department-deputies-qualifications/681670/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/02/defense-de... «As with Trump’s nominations in other departments, the key factors appear to be loyalty, wealth, and ideological fervor, not competence.» ---- All the DOGE chaos will not even create a dent in the deficit problem of the USA. The ==LAST== thing you should do is to give the billionaires even more tax cuts. https://www.vox.com/politics/398583/musk-trump-doge-fraud-waste-debt-deficit https://www.vox.com/politics/398583/musk-trump-doge-fraud-wa...
- hagbard_c 2y ago
  > I urge you to read the news I do follow the news but probably not only the 'news' you're referring to assuming you mean the legacy media. The Atlantic is not what I call news but agitprop, a vehicle for agitational propaganda aimed at driving a narrative. If that is 'the news' you are referring to I understand why you are so agitated and I'd advice you to broaden your horizon beyond these types of sources. Look at the entire spectrum of 'news' organisations from Breitbart/Daily Wire/Daily Caller to WaPo/NYT/The Atlantic/The New Yorker/HuffPo/etc and whatever lies in between to get a more complete view, don't let yourself be used as a tool and keep an open mind for a different view - not so open that your brains fall out but open enough to avoid being duped by the likes of The Atlantic.