prottog

48 ms·

571.
by prottog 4y ago
> It basically rains in winter, and does not rain in summer. Like, at all. You needn't have moved so far from southern Germany to experience that! Lack of rain in the summer is a defining characteristic of the Mediterranean climate.
572.
by prottog 4y ago
What are some recent examples of minority-backed policies that are controlling the whole country? Things like Dobbs v. Jackson merely moved controversial questions back to the states, which is clearly not at all something that affects the w
573.
by prottog 4y ago
> Fossil fuel is going to end human civilization as we know it within the lifetime of people born in this century And New Yorkers in the 1900s thought that the existential crisis facing their city was too much horseshit in the streets, a
574.
by prottog 4y ago
> If we consider that the suffering of animals, and perhaps even plants, has any meaning Would you have been against cavemen cutting down trees and burning them to stay warm, then? Would you stop cows from eating grass, to alleviate the
575.
by prottog 4y ago
You're comparing two fossil fuel companies (Exxon and Peabody) to a tobacco company (Marlboro). I get calling the latter a "fundamentally harmful company", but to say that fossil fuel companies are fundamentally harmful is ri
576.
by prottog 4y ago
We do have to acknowledge that the Commerce Clause has been twisted to federally regulate things that are probably outside what the framers intended. In Wickard v. Filburn, the Supreme Court gave the federal government authority to fine a f
577.
by prottog 4y ago
> Griswold You're right -- I was thinking of more recent cases that expanded upon Griswold. Thank you for reminding me. As I understand it, Justice Thomas's mentioning of Lawrence v. Texas and other laws "to be revisited&q
578.
by prottog 4y ago
I agree, inalienable rights shouldn't depend on what other people think or want. That's why basic rights should only be negative rights; in the classical formulation, your rights to be free from the government depriving you of &qu
579.
by prottog 4y ago
That's glib. Do you know much about Mississippi? Do you live there, or have close friends who do? I live in a neighboring state and it's unthinkable that the people of this state would bring back slavery or segregation. In fact, a
580.
by prottog 4y ago
In the same vein as GP, the validity of an idea is independent of whether the people who held them owned slaves. If you don't own slaves but think the sun rises from the west, you're still wrong. Besides, if the only things to be
581.
by prottog 4y ago
Chesterton's fence stands tall and proud still.
582.
by prottog 4y ago
You are right, though of course no single person is the authority on what the ultimate moral truth is, so this is perhaps a non-operative statement when it comes to governance.
583.
by prottog 4y ago
You don't need a constitutional amendment -- just pass a law. If they're so broadly accepted, it shouldn't be difficult. > the right to birth control You mean the right to contraceptives paid for by the public, covered by
584.
by prottog 4y ago
You're right that the geography of the US confers such an advantage that it seems as though it could have had literally any form of government since its founding and still come out ahead in the end, but I'm not sure if that's
585.
by prottog 4y ago
Some constitutions, like that of the US, are designed to prevent any individual from amassing such power. The Russian and Chinese constitutions aren't in that same school.
586.
by prottog 4y ago
> It says practically nothing. Is that not the whole point? "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."
587.
by prottog 4y ago
I don't know that society can handle a government large enough to ensure that large numbers of uneducated and angry young people do not exist, if the majority of parents do not care to educate their children . Put another way, I'
588.
by prottog 4y ago
The last two years have proven that remote learning at the K-12 level does not exist.
589.
by prottog 4y ago
Indeed, why bother amending something that isn't being adhered to in the first place.
590.
by prottog 4y ago
Absolutely! The constitution by its nature should dictate things that the overwhelming majority of people agree on, not the usual fifty percent plus one person slim margin that a lot of controversial policies end up being.
591.
by prottog 4y ago
The cap on the size of the House should be lifted, so that an approximately equal number of people are represented by each representative, no matter what state you live in. I don't see the problem in both California and Wyoming getting
592.
by prottog 4y ago
What are some of those "obvious good policy decisions"? Every policy decision is a decision to allocate the scarce resources of the public in one the pursuit of one goal or another. Is "training more doctors and nurses"
593.
by prottog 4y ago
You're absolutely right that children are not to be blamed for the sins of their parents. But in order to advance society we must work with human nature to make incentives aligned between disparate entities. One of the most fundamental
594.
by prottog 4y ago
The "libertarian argument" (insofar as any one ideology can be summarized in a sentence) is for enough government for the rule of law to exist, with as many things as possible on top built by private efforts, not government. Somal
595.
by prottog 4y ago
It's a far stretch to say that allowing slavery or involuntary servitude as a penalty for duly convicted criminal is somehow "enshrining" it.
596.
by prottog 4y ago
There are a a lot of people who believe that evil assholes are only created due to the oppressive forces du jour (whether that be capitalism, white supremacy, or whatever), not that it is innately a part of human nature.
597.
by prottog 4y ago
Perhaps we can stop at least spending the public's money on parents who don't value educating their children.
598.
by prottog 4y ago
Full time remote work can be done for a lot of jobs, but even those you would agree that occasional in-person time helps. I'm not taking an absolute position one way or another. > that is beyond their scope of work and should be cur
599.
by prottog 4y ago
Yes, many person years were lost, mostly among the elderly and infirm. I am truly sorry for your loss, whether your father was in that group or not. But the fact on the ground is that "do nothing" and "do something stupid&quo
600.
by prottog 4y ago
I'm entirely in favor of making lobbying as expensive as possible, but I disagree that there isn't something to be gained from having people be in the same physical location to achieve a common goal. Some things just can't be

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