4 ms·

That's the genius of having states, counties, cities, towns and villages that are almost entirely decentralized. When an evil force takes over the government an

That's the genius of having states, counties, cities, towns and villages that are almost entirely decentralized. When an evil force takes over the government and wants to rule the whole country, they can't, because nobody even knows how a single tiny village is organized. Complete disorganization and inefficiency as a defense against tyrrany. (or, well, at least, slowing it down)

rvnx 2y ago
In that world, we should store that in a blockchain for more efficiency, rather than a csv file.
- 0xbadcafebee 2y ago
  The whole point is for it to be disorganized and flexible. A blockchain is way too organized and rigid
  - adolph 2y ago
    otoh, a blockchain is also immutable unless you take out the entire thing, you can't just alter previous transactions without invalidating subsequent ones
    - mannyv 2y ago
      You can't access the blockchain when the power + internet are gone.
      - adolph 2y ago
        Very true, and also true for the compared technology, csv. In a larger sense, the two are complementary and wouldn't be mutually exclusive.
mschuster91 2y ago
> When an evil force takes over the government and wants to rule the whole country, they can't, because nobody even knows how a single tiny village is organized. As we're seeing right now this isn't true. Everyone is afraid because the current federal executive doesn't give a flying f..k about norms, including telling people "comply with what DOGE wants or get fired" or drawing up lists of "Government Gangsters" [1]. And so, everyone is bending over in fear of getting in the crosshairs, getting government spending contracts cut, getting fired, getting death threats like Fauci, or getting extorted to buy ads on Twitter [2]. Side rant: where are all the "don't tread on me" gun nuts that have arsenals rivaling what would be a special forces unit in smaller countries? [1] https://rollcall.com/2024/12/09/trumps-pick-to-lead-fbi-identified-government-gangsters/ https://rollcall.com/2024/12/09/trumps-pick-to-lead-fbi-iden... [2] https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-linda-yaccarino-x-twitter-threaten-advertisers-government-ipg-2025-02 https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-linda-yaccarino-x-...
- formerly_proven 2y ago
  > Side rant: where are all the "don't tread on me" gun nuts that have arsenals rivaling what would be a special forces unit in smaller countries? They won the election?
  - Retric 2y ago
    Gun nut and republicans have overlap but aren’t the same group. Quite a few are really into Libertarian values and hate Republican stances on a wide range of issues.
    - mschuster91 2y ago
      > Quite a few are really into Libertarian values and hate Republican stances on a wide range of issues. Mostly abortion and to a lesser extent the "war on drugs". The rest is seeing especially Musk's blatant self-dealings [1] and teardown of "big gubmint" as something laudable. "So This is How Liberty Dies, With Thunderous Applause" [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43127819 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43127819
cjs_ac 2y ago
I swear 'defence against tyranny' is the justification for every ridiculous thing the US does.
- JustExAWS 2y ago
  Have you been following US politics lately? Right now there is an election denier in a cabinet position. It’s partially a good thing that elections are controlled by states as some protection.
  - cjs_ac 2y ago
    That just proves my point. All that obsessing about preventing tyrants, and you still end up with one. Maybe if, as a culture, you spent less time poring over quotes from eighteenth-century political thinkers to divine the best possible theoretical form of government, and more time solving concrete problems faced by real-world people, this wouldn't have happened. The Westminster system is looking very 'worse is better' at the moment.
    - __MatrixMan__ 2y ago
      Are you proposing we create a government position for Musk and promote him into it so he can officially have no power? I think I'm on board. How does it work, does one have to consent to become king or can we just sort of make it happen?
    - JustExAWS 2y ago
      The majority of the people in the US want the current situation. Between the fear of the country becoming minority-majority,losing “traditional American values”, and protecting pets from being eaten by Haitians, they see Trump/Musk as their last hope. Admittedly, it didn’t help that the DNC re-enacted “Weekend at Bernie’s” with Biden for two years.
      - saulpw 2y ago
        No, a plurality of people voted for the current situation. Not a majority of people, not a majority of voters (many of whom didn't vote, or weren't able to vote), and not even a majority of people who voted (49.8%, and no you can't round up). Also, voting for slate of candidates on one day in the middle of a billion-dollar multi-year misinformation campaign, does not equal "want the current situation". I agree that an egregious number of people are actively cheering for the current chaos, but let's not give them more psychic power than the institutional power they are already wielding.

rvnx 2y ago

In that world, we should store that in a blockchain for more efficiency, rather than a csv file.

0xbadcafebee 2y ago
The whole point is for it to be disorganized and flexible. A blockchain is way too organized and rigid
- adolph 2y ago
  otoh, a blockchain is also immutable unless you take out the entire thing, you can't just alter previous transactions without invalidating subsequent ones
  - mannyv 2y ago
    You can't access the blockchain when the power + internet are gone.
    - adolph 2y ago
      Very true, and also true for the compared technology, csv. In a larger sense, the two are complementary and wouldn't be mutually exclusive.

mschuster91 2y ago

> When an evil force takes over the government and wants to rule the whole country, they can't, because nobody even knows how a single tiny village is organized. As we're seeing right now this isn't true. Everyone is afraid because the current federal executive doesn't give a flying f..k about norms, including telling people "comply with what DOGE wants or get fired" or drawing up lists of "Government Gangsters" [1]. And so, everyone is bending over in fear of getting in the crosshairs, getting government spending contracts cut, getting fired, getting death threats like Fauci, or getting extorted to buy ads on Twitter [2]. Side rant: where are all the "don't tread on me" gun nuts that have arsenals rivaling what would be a special forces unit in smaller countries? [1] https://rollcall.com/2024/12/09/trumps-pick-to-lead-fbi-identified-government-gangsters/ https://rollcall.com/2024/12/09/trumps-pick-to-lead-fbi-iden... [2] https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-linda-yaccarino-x-twitter-threaten-advertisers-government-ipg-2025-02 https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-linda-yaccarino-x-...

formerly_proven 2y ago
> Side rant: where are all the "don't tread on me" gun nuts that have arsenals rivaling what would be a special forces unit in smaller countries? They won the election?
- Retric 2y ago
  Gun nut and republicans have overlap but aren’t the same group. Quite a few are really into Libertarian values and hate Republican stances on a wide range of issues.
  - mschuster91 2y ago
    > Quite a few are really into Libertarian values and hate Republican stances on a wide range of issues. Mostly abortion and to a lesser extent the "war on drugs". The rest is seeing especially Musk's blatant self-dealings [1] and teardown of "big gubmint" as something laudable. "So This is How Liberty Dies, With Thunderous Applause" [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43127819 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43127819

cjs_ac 2y ago

I swear 'defence against tyranny' is the justification for every ridiculous thing the US does.

JustExAWS 2y ago
Have you been following US politics lately? Right now there is an election denier in a cabinet position. It’s partially a good thing that elections are controlled by states as some protection.
- cjs_ac 2y ago
  That just proves my point. All that obsessing about preventing tyrants, and you still end up with one. Maybe if, as a culture, you spent less time poring over quotes from eighteenth-century political thinkers to divine the best possible theoretical form of government, and more time solving concrete problems faced by real-world people, this wouldn't have happened. The Westminster system is looking very 'worse is better' at the moment.
  - __MatrixMan__ 2y ago
    Are you proposing we create a government position for Musk and promote him into it so he can officially have no power? I think I'm on board. How does it work, does one have to consent to become king or can we just sort of make it happen?
  - JustExAWS 2y ago
    The majority of the people in the US want the current situation. Between the fear of the country becoming minority-majority,losing “traditional American values”, and protecting pets from being eaten by Haitians, they see Trump/Musk as their last hope. Admittedly, it didn’t help that the DNC re-enacted “Weekend at Bernie’s” with Biden for two years.
    - saulpw 2y ago
      No, a plurality of people voted for the current situation. Not a majority of people, not a majority of voters (many of whom didn't vote, or weren't able to vote), and not even a majority of people who voted (49.8%, and no you can't round up). Also, voting for slate of candidates on one day in the middle of a billion-dollar multi-year misinformation campaign, does not equal "want the current situation". I agree that an egregious number of people are actively cheering for the current chaos, but let's not give them more psychic power than the institutional power they are already wielding.