mikem170

88 ms·

841.
by mikem170 6y ago
You make a good point. I appreciate the discussion. This has been an interesting rabbit hole. I just took a look at democracy ratings, comparing different countries over time. I'm still reading about Switzerland, how it works, the pros
842.
by mikem170 6y ago
Yep. It's an irresponsible headline, like so many others, renewing panic even amongst the crowd here. I hope your comment and others like it are not lost amongst all the others so quick to call for a doubling-down of imposed quarantine
843.
by mikem170 6y ago
I see where you are coming from, but I still object. Based on all the problems in our system I don't know that the U.S. deserves to be called a democracy, unless the word has lost much of its meaning. Candidates are effectively presele
844.
by mikem170 6y ago
If the people vote on something I'd say that is a democratic decision. Electing the U.S. president is a democratic decision. Referendums, where they have them, like in California, are democratic decisions. I would not say that quaranti
845.
by mikem170 6y ago
In the U.S. the president at the moment got to decide how we'd respond to the pandemic as it happened. Lots of people disagreed. They got to vote in a new president, but that one vote is for a whole basket of issues. Not exactly a refe
846.
by mikem170 6y ago
Was there even one government that let their citizens vote on quarantine measures? That's what democracy is, or originally was, right?
847.
by mikem170 6y ago
I agree! I wonder the same thing. So far I assume (not in order): A) the "American dream" and doing better economically than your parents ain't all it used to be, B) non-hispanic whites are loosing their majority status, C) m
848.
by mikem170 6y ago
Thanks for that clarifying link! I still wonder about this, though. Relevant section (c)(1) says: >No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another
849.
by mikem170 6y ago
I grant that it's nice to have relevant content presented. But I'm not in favor of profit-driven companies controlling social discourse with their secret algorithms. Couldn't there be a way where users have more control over
850.
by mikem170 6y ago
What about the fact that facebook has an algorithm they made deciding on what posts are presented each user, apparently tailored to drive engagement? They can feature all the controversial posts that stir people up for the clicks. Youtube i
851.
by mikem170 6y ago
>2) They literally profit from the circulation of the very stuff that some would have them sensor. And as far as we know they may have been promoting inflammatory posts to drive engagement. They keep the algorithm they use to do that sec
852.
by mikem170 6y ago
I think you mean FBI. The NSA is supposed to only watch foreigners.
853.
by mikem170 6y ago
But what if far more wacked content is on facebook than on parler and gab, because it is so much bigger?
854.
by mikem170 6y ago
But facebook doesn't just moderate. They control algorithms that decide what posts are presented to users. I think they should loose their common carrier status because of that editorial control. It's like if the phone company pri
855.
by mikem170 6y ago
My two cents: Facebook has an algorithm they use to decide what posts are presented to a user. They should therefore loose their section 230 common carrier status. They are the ones deciding to put toxic and divisive information in front of
856.
by mikem170 6y ago
I took a quick look at campaign financing laws in some other countries (UK, Germany, Canada, and Japan) and it seemed that the U.S. was the exception in allowing trade unions and industry associations to give money to politicians, along wit
857.
by mikem170 6y ago
Handling disasters has always been the states' responsibility. They are the ones with the power to address this. That part of the constitution is still intact. This is why Biden can suggest wearing masks, but is powerless to mandate th
858.
by mikem170 6y ago
Were there any states that did real lockdowns or contact tracing? If not, then perhaps the political will did not exist to do so. There certainly is disagreement on such things. If peoples of so many states could not agree on more drastic m
859.
by mikem170 6y ago
It is my understanding that it is the states' responsibility to handle situations like this. The fact that some states are not doing a good job doesn't incline me to want to gamble on the federal government doing better. They don&
860.
by mikem170 6y ago
I don't understand why you think the states shouldn't be able to handle this. It's their responsibility. How is the federal government supposed to magically increase hospital capacity? Nobody ever wanted to pay for a bunch mo
861.
by mikem170 6y ago
Almost every country in the world is seeing similar per-capita death rates, about 1 in 1000 people so far, skewing much towards the old and/or already unhealthy. Some perceive this as a high risk and would be happy to impose a police s
862.
by mikem170 6y ago
What about your state? They are the ones who are supposed to handle stuff like this. To me it is a cop-out to blame the feds. There is nothing to stop any state in our union from addressing this pandemic as they see fit. The states making u
863.
by mikem170 6y ago
Some people look at the science and numbers, and aren't that worried about it. Nothing to do with politics. Death rates have just passed 1 in 1000 people, skewing older and with co-morbidities. Double or triple that and this should bur
864.
by mikem170 6y ago
I've heard that. What you say about that parking minimum rings a bell, too. Also, I'm sure that the HOAs so many people live in wouldn't allow anyone to convert their single into a double, or build an auxiliary dwelling in th
865.
by mikem170 6y ago
I can't speak for the HN crowd, I imagine opinions vary, but I can say what has caught my eye. I pay attention to what I can walk to in a neighbourhood (beer? live music? park? supermarket?), location in the city (near other things), a
866.
by mikem170 6y ago
Buses are also stigmatized by many in the U.S. as being for poor people, aka losers who can't afford cars.
867.
by mikem170 6y ago
I've read that Japanese zoning regulations are federal laws, and based on population density. As the population in an area increases the building heights are allowed to increase. Also it is allowable to convert industrial to commercial
868.
by mikem170 6y ago
Actually the density of taxpayers in suburbs may not be enough over time to maintain their infrastructure like roads and sewers. Residents in both places pay for their housing units but share the costs for roads, sewers, etc. Denser cities
869.
by mikem170 6y ago
I didn't mean to disparage the people in Florida, or the quality of life in general. But I do think it would be a lot better if so many people didn't have to deal with so much traffic. I think it's a problem the way that citi
870.
by mikem170 6y ago
Georgia made residency requirements for voting that allow the homeless to vote. That's their prerogative. Same rules allow people who live year round in expensive recreational vehicles to vote, also. Different organizations define resi

More ›