The system is not broken. It is working exactly as designed, and the people are happily playing along. That is what makes it work. The voters are the enablers. Only they have the power to render every penny spent on political campaigns utterly worthless, simply by tuning out. Attacking the leaders only perpetuates the cycle. You need to address the followers. That is where the actual physical force comes from. And you'll only succeed by appealing to the same natural instincts that the authorities exploit, hopefully avoiding the lying, stealing, cheating part. Forget all the fancy philosophy, aside from its propaganda value in appealing to those instincts.
The states are run the by the same kind of corrupt bastards as the federal government, I mean, you do notice the traffic flow, right? All positions of coercive power are occupied by the same kind of people. That's how they got there, by hook or by crook, and we reward this behavior with our dollars and our votes. It's very Pavlovian. The thing is, nothing can change until you vote for people that will change things, and once you decide to do that, you've already solved the root problem. The hamster wheel you're running in now is of your own doing. If you want to spend your days in there lamenting the "system", knock yourself out.
I'd say nothing at all which provides value to us, other than the shiny baubles and discounts
Usually that's all it takes to close the deal, regardless of the flaws. You convince a guy he will save a penny, you got him hooked, and he will shut out the naysayers. It works 99% of of the time. So, pray for sufficient backlash to kill this.
Why not? It works on the campaign trail... Made up numbers win elections and gain more customers all the time. We reward the vivid imagination, the more flamboyant and extravagant the better. That's how you make the sale. Yes, it sets a bad example, but there's little to no negative feedback, quite the opposite, so expect more of it.
Why was this modded down? You don't think this might happen, if it hasn't already, considering what we see the cops do these days? While it may be speculative at this point, it most certainly is plausible. I hope the moderation will be corrected.
Doesn't work that way. Business makes the rules. The individual has given up that power. Regardless, forcing me to burn my books is a crime. Plus you're demanding control of what I can look for and see. The restrictions you are asking for are corrupt by default and will be abused, in fact they already have been. I'll do my own filtering on my own machine.
That's bullshit. Nobody has any right to tell me what information I can store.The only right you have is to control how it is used as evidence. Are you going to come and take and burn my books because they might contain information you don't want disclosed? Now you want to steal my possessions. Fuck that! Well, regardless, I'm looking for technical means to make censorship impossible through distributed storage and mesh, whatever it takes to stop the tyrants in their tracks, because obviously you can't reason with idealists, and then we won't have to hear about it anymore. They can whine all they want and we can ignore them.
But are you telling us that 3-year old stories get dredged up now for the sole purpose of swaying election outcomes?
It doesn't matter how old it is. If the problem is ongoing, it should be an issue. But I'm not singling out this story. I'm just saying that if the Americans are interested in rooting out corruption in their house of representatives, this is their big chance to put up or shut up. Even through this thread here I hear nothing but cop outs and excuses, and they're the ones being modded up! I think somebody's trying to poison the thread and turn it into propaganda for business as usual. Bunch of damn whiners.
Promised change but what we got was pretty much more of the same and then some.
Yep, and he got reelected despite all that crap. The voters could have looked for someone to replace him, so screw them for not doing exactly that. Instead they sit and wait for the TV to tell them who to vote for. The system is not going to change and nobody will be held accountable until you vote for somebody that will change it, and if and when you do, all your problems are solved. If you keep reelecting the same old carpetbaggers over and over (where's the incentive to change anything, huh?), you no one to blame but you-know-who... Really, how simple can it be?!
I see more than two parties on the ballot... The voters put those people there. The voters are responsible for the people they vote for, or should be. I'm not going to belabor the point, you are free to stick with the devil you know, just stop passing the blame. It makes you all sound foolish. There is nothing to compel you to vote for people who take the big money you all are always complaining about.
Next week's your big chance. Use it or lose it... All these "scandals" have been coming fast &furious. Let's see if it means anything. Clean the House, if you want it to. If not, I got a bucket of tomatoes just waiting for the first complainers.
Yes, it's very powerful that. But in humans it shouldn't be involuntary, because if it is, it's time to rethink how "advanced" we really are. Civility needs a thicker skin.
Wrong, sir. Politicians are perfectly competent at what they were hired to do. The people who finance them are very pleased. And it shows in the reelection rates. They are not idiots by a long shot, not the winners anyway. Now, the voters, there you might have a point.
Better than you, guaranteed... Your version is pure, sickening bourgeoisie (overused term, but applies here). Maybe you need a little "education" yourself...
Slashdot Mirror
The system is not broken. It is working exactly as designed, and the people are happily playing along. That is what makes it work. The voters are the enablers. Only they have the power to render every penny spent on political campaigns utterly worthless, simply by tuning out. Attacking the leaders only perpetuates the cycle. You need to address the followers. That is where the actual physical force comes from. And you'll only succeed by appealing to the same natural instincts that the authorities exploit, hopefully avoiding the lying, stealing, cheating part. Forget all the fancy philosophy, aside from its propaganda value in appealing to those instincts.
The states are run the by the same kind of corrupt bastards as the federal government, I mean, you do notice the traffic flow, right? All positions of coercive power are occupied by the same kind of people. That's how they got there, by hook or by crook, and we reward this behavior with our dollars and our votes. It's very Pavlovian. The thing is, nothing can change until you vote for people that will change things, and once you decide to do that, you've already solved the root problem. The hamster wheel you're running in now is of your own doing. If you want to spend your days in there lamenting the "system", knock yourself out.
Thanks, pro-corporate copyright laws and contracts!
Next Tuesday. You all know what must be done to start correcting the problem. Everybody needs to put up or shut up.
I'd say nothing at all which provides value to us, other than the shiny baubles and discounts
Usually that's all it takes to close the deal, regardless of the flaws. You convince a guy he will save a penny, you got him hooked, and he will shut out the naysayers. It works 99% of of the time. So, pray for sufficient backlash to kill this.
My chief problem is I'm hopelessly conflicted over which group of assholes I want to win and which group of assholes I want to lose.
Well golly gee! It's not like there's not a choice of "none of the above". Ah, but, *Give me convenience, or give me death* :-)
Why not? It works on the campaign trail... Made up numbers win elections and gain more customers all the time. We reward the vivid imagination, the more flamboyant and extravagant the better. That's how you make the sale. Yes, it sets a bad example, but there's little to no negative feedback, quite the opposite, so expect more of it.
Why was this modded down? You don't think this might happen, if it hasn't already, considering what we see the cops do these days? While it may be speculative at this point, it most certainly is plausible. I hope the moderation will be corrected.
The specific flavor is, "Quantum Mechanics is Philosophical Magic".
The simpler explanation that cannot be denied?
Turtles...
I never did like this one...
Doesn't work that way. Business makes the rules. The individual has given up that power. Regardless, forcing me to burn my books is a crime. Plus you're demanding control of what I can look for and see. The restrictions you are asking for are corrupt by default and will be abused, in fact they already have been. I'll do my own filtering on my own machine.
That's bullshit. Nobody has any right to tell me what information I can store.The only right you have is to control how it is used as evidence. Are you going to come and take and burn my books because they might contain information you don't want disclosed? Now you want to steal my possessions. Fuck that! Well, regardless, I'm looking for technical means to make censorship impossible through distributed storage and mesh, whatever it takes to stop the tyrants in their tracks, because obviously you can't reason with idealists, and then we won't have to hear about it anymore. They can whine all they want and we can ignore them.
But are you telling us that 3-year old stories get dredged up now for the sole purpose of swaying election outcomes?
It doesn't matter how old it is. If the problem is ongoing, it should be an issue. But I'm not singling out this story. I'm just saying that if the Americans are interested in rooting out corruption in their house of representatives, this is their big chance to put up or shut up. Even through this thread here I hear nothing but cop outs and excuses, and they're the ones being modded up! I think somebody's trying to poison the thread and turn it into propaganda for business as usual. Bunch of damn whiners.
That means censorship. Unacceptable.
Mix it with *elderberry wine spiked with strychnine and "just a pinch of cyanide"*.
Promised change but what we got was pretty much more of the same and then some.
Yep, and he got reelected despite all that crap. The voters could have looked for someone to replace him, so screw them for not doing exactly that. Instead they sit and wait for the TV to tell them who to vote for. The system is not going to change and nobody will be held accountable until you vote for somebody that will change it, and if and when you do, all your problems are solved. If you keep reelecting the same old carpetbaggers over and over (where's the incentive to change anything, huh?), you no one to blame but you-know-who... Really, how simple can it be?!
I see more than two parties on the ballot... The voters put those people there. The voters are responsible for the people they vote for, or should be. I'm not going to belabor the point, you are free to stick with the devil you know, just stop passing the blame. It makes you all sound foolish. There is nothing to compel you to vote for people who take the big money you all are always complaining about.
Next week's your big chance. Use it or lose it... All these "scandals" have been coming fast &furious. Let's see if it means anything. Clean the House, if you want it to. If not, I got a bucket of tomatoes just waiting for the first complainers.
Yes, it's very powerful that. But in humans it shouldn't be involuntary, because if it is, it's time to rethink how "advanced" we really are. Civility needs a thicker skin.
Wrong, sir. Politicians are perfectly competent at what they were hired to do. The people who finance them are very pleased. And it shows in the reelection rates. They are not idiots by a long shot, not the winners anyway. Now, the voters, there you might have a point.
OH I think they're perfectly aware of what they are doing, and it is intentional. They just don't care.
I don't think you know what free speech means.
Better than you, guaranteed... Your version is pure, sickening bourgeoisie (overused term, but applies here). Maybe you need a little "education" yourself...
I just saw the perfect name for these people:
The Bedwetter Caucus... It's a very influential group. Let's promise them free diapers if they go away.
Of course nothing is binding. Not even a prenup.
Great place for mesh. Just find some old guy at the center that used to work at Cisco.
We've done this already. You don't believe in free speech. I don't care.
They must forfeit all privileges granted by copyright and patent law to allow others to pick up.