Spies should listen in to whatever they need to listen in to.
Spies should respect laws and constitutions, at the very least those of their own country. If they don't, everyone - including those who ordered the illegal spying - should be punished severely. We already know this is not happening.
Freedom is far more important than a spy's ability to do whatever they "need" to do.
That's what they're there for. Nations spy on other nations. It's not pretty, but it's reality.
Murderers murder people. It's not pretty, but it's reality.
Why would you be opposed to big data finding out when you take a dump in the morning, as long as its voluntary?
Voluntary to what extent? If privacy becomes insanely expensive to have (because all major appliances start violating your privacy in some way or another, and the one's that don't come at a premium), then it doesn't seem so voluntary anymore.
Not using Facebook, Google, etc. is easy, so at least for now, I don't think we're at that point in most cases.
It won't keep you safe from the NSA
To some extent, it will. If you avoid giving out data, then they have less to work with.
but big business isn't holding a gun to your head (yet).
Maybe not directly, but big business hands over tons of information to the government. If big business has your information, the government likely does too.
I once, years ago, would have agreed with this, but I believe you are wrong.
I'm not. People still have a choice to vote third party, but they don't. They're afraid (consciously or otherwise, since I don't think they even think about any of this much at all) if they don't vote for the 'lesser' evil, the other evil will win. However, they're still voting for evil rather than someone they like, and they just ensure that the two parties can remain in power and unchallenged forever. No matter how futile it seems, trying it better than nothing, voting for someone you truly like is a good thing, and enough votes--even if not enough to win--can send a message to The One Party.
The choice is an illusion. This is by design. The two parties are the same.
It's The One Party. Vote third party, regardless of how 'futile' it seems.
In that case then, you're against modern constraints prohibiting automatic weapons ownership by private citizens?
Yes. Also, felons are prohibited from owning firearms in many places, and many people say that should apply to the 'mentally ill' too. Those people don't care about the 2nd amendment, even though some of them claim to be gun rights activists.
I believe people should be free to quit school when they want, do drugs if they want, abort as many fetuses as they want
Yes.
however, I don't believe that the wealth of other people should be taken from them at gunpoint to pay for it.
Well, paying for a lack of school doesn't make sense anyway. And paying for drugs doesn't make sense, either. But the government already has the authority to tax, and if paying for someone's abortion would cost taxpayers less in the long run, then I don't see why not.
Affirmative action - the legal compulsion forcing businesses and schools to hire/retain people of color for no other reason than the melanin content of their skin - is not freedom of association, is it?
No, it isn't. Affirmative action shouldn't work that way.
True freedom (for everyone, not just you) to do what you want means the strong take what they want, and the weak lose every time.
You lost me. I'm talking about fundamental and constitutional freedoms, not the 'freedom' to murder, rape, etc.
No, it's due to restrictions of a winner-takes-all ballot system (one person, one vote) rather than an approval-based system (where you can vote for who you approve of).
Our system is flawed, but voters can still vote for someone they actually like. Most choose not to, making them idiots.
What would you call it when people vote for Republican and Democrat scumbags, then? A wise, informed decision? I might feel just a bit superior, but it's not without reason.
That is, our representatives look at issues and then make informed decisions
They're definitely informed. They're informed evil scumbags. That's why they can pass the Unpatriotic Act, create the TSA, allow the NSA's mass surveillance, support DUI checkpoints, support stop-and-frisk, support protest permits, and support other violations of the constitution. They're not doing this out of ignorance; they know what they're doing and what they want.
There is no "argument" to be made; all I can do is express my disdain for someone like you who tries to argue without ever having bothered to understand the basics of how this country is supposed to work.
If this is how it's supposed to work, it's working very poorly indeed.
Voting for someone who isn't an evil scumbag isn't throwing away your vote, though. If enough people do it, it definitely does send a message to The One Party. Voting on principle is a good thing, and something more people need to do.
Busywork != education, which is what schools should be providing. But in our money-obsessed society, it's seen as much more important to pump out corporate drones, regardless of any long-term negative effects this has.
I will never understand that the same people who say in one sentence that everything government does is horrible and government never gets it right and we need to drown the federal govt in a bathtub will in the very next sentence agree that it should be allowed to surveille absolutely everything you do, torture people it "suspects" of being terrorists (after redefining everything including TPing the neighbor's house as "terrorism") and, through the death penalty, literally be given the power of life and death over you.
You're talking about True Small Government Conservatives, like cold fjord. Can't you see that they just want you to be Truly Free!? Can't you see that they want you to have Real Freedom, instead of License!?
School may not be a democracy, but the school also can't do whatever it pleases. Handing over information to corporations seems unacceptable to me, especially if it's a public school.
That's still utterly ridiculous. Encryption is intended to protect you from Bad Guys (whether they be governments or simple criminals). If it also makes law enforcement difficult, then so be it; our rights don't just vanish just to make their jobs easier.
Draconian punishments for refusing to give up passwords would just further reveal them to be freedom-hating scumbags. Hopefully courts in the US would recognize that as a violation of the constitution (other places, I'm not sure).
Actually, the person used the word "qualified." According to most HR drones, no matter how incompetent you are, as long as you have a piece of paper and meet the rest of their arbitrary, nonsensical requirements, you're qualified. So that's probably true.
Who cares who you had on your time? Truly good programmers (people who understand what they're doing and know how to innovate) are the exception. This has nothing to do with whatever anecdotes you want to put forth, or random arrogant programmers who also suck.
Who is "we"? It looks to me like most people are voting solely based on hot button issues like abortion, and even worse, they're continuing to vote for Republicans and Democrats. The people who take a stand and refuse to vote for scumbags, as well as protest and donate to organizations like the EFF and ACLU, are few and far between.
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Spies should listen in to whatever they need to listen in to.
Spies should respect laws and constitutions, at the very least those of their own country. If they don't, everyone - including those who ordered the illegal spying - should be punished severely. We already know this is not happening.
Freedom is far more important than a spy's ability to do whatever they "need" to do.
That's what they're there for. Nations spy on other nations. It's not pretty, but it's reality.
Murderers murder people. It's not pretty, but it's reality.
What an amazing defense.
Why would you be opposed to big data finding out when you take a dump in the morning, as long as its voluntary?
Voluntary to what extent? If privacy becomes insanely expensive to have (because all major appliances start violating your privacy in some way or another, and the one's that don't come at a premium), then it doesn't seem so voluntary anymore.
Not using Facebook, Google, etc. is easy, so at least for now, I don't think we're at that point in most cases.
It won't keep you safe from the NSA
To some extent, it will. If you avoid giving out data, then they have less to work with.
but big business isn't holding a gun to your head (yet).
Maybe not directly, but big business hands over tons of information to the government. If big business has your information, the government likely does too.
I once, years ago, would have agreed with this, but I believe you are wrong.
I'm not. People still have a choice to vote third party, but they don't. They're afraid (consciously or otherwise, since I don't think they even think about any of this much at all) if they don't vote for the 'lesser' evil, the other evil will win. However, they're still voting for evil rather than someone they like, and they just ensure that the two parties can remain in power and unchallenged forever. No matter how futile it seems, trying it better than nothing, voting for someone you truly like is a good thing, and enough votes--even if not enough to win--can send a message to The One Party.
The choice is an illusion. This is by design. The two parties are the same.
It's The One Party. Vote third party, regardless of how 'futile' it seems.
In that case then, you're against modern constraints prohibiting automatic weapons ownership by private citizens?
Yes. Also, felons are prohibited from owning firearms in many places, and many people say that should apply to the 'mentally ill' too. Those people don't care about the 2nd amendment, even though some of them claim to be gun rights activists.
I believe people should be free to quit school when they want, do drugs if they want, abort as many fetuses as they want
Yes.
however, I don't believe that the wealth of other people should be taken from them at gunpoint to pay for it.
Well, paying for a lack of school doesn't make sense anyway. And paying for drugs doesn't make sense, either. But the government already has the authority to tax, and if paying for someone's abortion would cost taxpayers less in the long run, then I don't see why not.
Affirmative action - the legal compulsion forcing businesses and schools to hire/retain people of color for no other reason than the melanin content of their skin - is not freedom of association, is it?
No, it isn't. Affirmative action shouldn't work that way.
True freedom (for everyone, not just you) to do what you want means the strong take what they want, and the weak lose every time.
You lost me. I'm talking about fundamental and constitutional freedoms, not the 'freedom' to murder, rape, etc.
No, it's due to restrictions of a winner-takes-all ballot system (one person, one vote) rather than an approval-based system (where you can vote for who you approve of).
Our system is flawed, but voters can still vote for someone they actually like. Most choose not to, making them idiots.
You might want to find out more about soft science and subjectivity.
So a few people poisoned the idea itself? I heard Hitler liked puppies.
I didn't say we should keep the system the same. I'm saying that voters still do have a choice, and they choose to vote for evil scumbags.
The reality is that most voters are retarded or apathetic. I recognize this and that's just one more reason to change the voting system.
What would you call it when people vote for Republican and Democrat scumbags, then? A wise, informed decision? I might feel just a bit superior, but it's not without reason.
That is, our representatives look at issues and then make informed decisions
They're definitely informed. They're informed evil scumbags. That's why they can pass the Unpatriotic Act, create the TSA, allow the NSA's mass surveillance, support DUI checkpoints, support stop-and-frisk, support protest permits, and support other violations of the constitution. They're not doing this out of ignorance; they know what they're doing and what they want.
There is no "argument" to be made; all I can do is express my disdain for someone like you who tries to argue without ever having bothered to understand the basics of how this country is supposed to work.
If this is how it's supposed to work, it's working very poorly indeed.
Voting for someone who isn't an evil scumbag isn't throwing away your vote, though. If enough people do it, it definitely does send a message to The One Party. Voting on principle is a good thing, and something more people need to do.
The system just doesn't really allow a message of "fuck BOTH of them"
It does. It's just that voters are retarded.
Busywork != education, which is what schools should be providing. But in our money-obsessed society, it's seen as much more important to pump out corporate drones, regardless of any long-term negative effects this has.
I will never understand that the same people who say in one sentence that everything government does is horrible and government never gets it right and we need to drown the federal govt in a bathtub will in the very next sentence agree that it should be allowed to surveille absolutely everything you do, torture people it "suspects" of being terrorists (after redefining everything including TPing the neighbor's house as "terrorism") and, through the death penalty, literally be given the power of life and death over you.
You're talking about True Small Government Conservatives, like cold fjord. Can't you see that they just want you to be Truly Free!? Can't you see that they want you to have Real Freedom, instead of License!?
It was all beneath me.
To be fair, the busywork they assign in school is beneath everyone; it's just trash.
Public schools hand over student data to corporations and have for a long time.
Which is, of course, wrong. They also use proprietary software. Our priorities are screwed.
School may not be a democracy, but the school also can't do whatever it pleases. Handing over information to corporations seems unacceptable to me, especially if it's a public school.
That's still utterly ridiculous. Encryption is intended to protect you from Bad Guys (whether they be governments or simple criminals). If it also makes law enforcement difficult, then so be it; our rights don't just vanish just to make their jobs easier.
Draconian punishments for refusing to give up passwords would just further reveal them to be freedom-hating scumbags. Hopefully courts in the US would recognize that as a violation of the constitution (other places, I'm not sure).
Actually, the person used the word "qualified." According to most HR drones, no matter how incompetent you are, as long as you have a piece of paper and meet the rest of their arbitrary, nonsensical requirements, you're qualified. So that's probably true.
But "qualified" is not the same as "competent."
team*
The point is, random-ass examples aren't going to disprove the rule.
Bullshit. I had an asshole like you on my team.
Who cares who you had on your time? Truly good programmers (people who understand what they're doing and know how to innovate) are the exception. This has nothing to do with whatever anecdotes you want to put forth, or random arrogant programmers who also suck.
Experience. With all the shitty software out there, this is just a simple fact. Having a degree != competence, either.
But most of the cheap-ass workers that these greedy businesses want to hire are also incompetent; they're just cheaper.
Who is "we"? It looks to me like most people are voting solely based on hot button issues like abortion, and even worse, they're continuing to vote for Republicans and Democrats. The people who take a stand and refuse to vote for scumbags, as well as protest and donate to organizations like the EFF and ACLU, are few and far between.
American schools are graduating more qualified applicants in CS/IT than ever.
Except that most of them are utterly incompetent.
Studies show that the less capable someone is, the more they are sure of themselves.
Soft science studies measuring subjective things, to be precise.