I've noticed that a few times in here. I've posted info on things like why mass transit is unfairly underfunded compared to roads, and I suddenly find myself being modded Troll or Flamebait. Definitely something fishy going on.
For presidential elections this isn't much use, but for congressional and state assembly elections it would be ideal and would help to negate some of the effects of gerrymanderring.
This simulataneously removes the problem of voters voting against their consciences for fear of wasting their vote. In the PR system, no votes are wasted. It has been used in Ireland and other European countries for quite some time now, and the constitution is designed to allow for coalition governments. Just about all of the smaller parties have been players in coalition governments at one time or another.
Let me tell you, gerrymanderring was a fact of life in Northern Ireland from 1923 to 1969, most famously in Derry where about 8,000 protestants regularly outvoted 12,000 catholics. That was one factor that led to the civil unrest that resulted in the troubles that brought the state to its knees and killed about 3000 people over 30 years. I'm not suggesting that that could happen in the US when word gets out about the rigging of elections, but if the sound of angry voices and marching feet take to the street, I'm outta here!
The Foundation series was aclaimed for its epic scope and the concepts it came up with, a lot of which made its way into Star Wars and other famous Sci Fi work. Sure Asimov's character development wasn't exactly in the same league as Leo Tolstoy, Charles Dickens or James Joyce, but his stories themselves were damn cool.
Firstly, I did not say that the government does not subsidise Amtrak. Secondly, in the more urban parts of the world, railways are rightly given the funding that they need because without them the neighbouring road network would grind to a halt. Look at the traffic chaos on the Bay Bridge from San Francisco to Oakland every time BART goes on strike, you'd be quicker riding a horse. The issue is not as simple as counting up how many people travel by what mode and allocating funds accordingly. All transport infrastructure os part of a bigger picture.
And when the roads fill to capacity and there's no railway to take the strain, will you still cling to the belief that contributing to a railway is not in your own interest?
10^-7 of the distance along the meridian from the Equator to the North Pole (through Paris) is what the metre was derived from, that's what the guy was getting at. He said it was a random thing, which it isn't.
Nothing like totalling the amount of money spent over thirty years to inflate your figures. And the money spent on roads over the same period was......?
5. The auto makers bought up trolley and light rail companies in the sixties and promptly tore up the tracks to make way for their cars
6. The auto industry lobbyists make sure that their congressmen insist that Amtrak pay for rolling stock, pay for the maintenance of the track and still make a profit whilst the Interstates that carry their products remain subsidised by Uncle Sam.
In the US, roads are paid for by a tax on gasoline, so roads are still paid for only by the people who use them, but the money is collected more efficiently.
If almost everyone either uses libraries or at least likes knowing that they're there, then public funding may be the way to go, but that doesn't make user fees evil in all cases.
'Evil' wouldn't be my choice of language, but I have to disagree. There are people out there who cannot afford to pay membership fees and they should not be prevented from obtaining knowledge just because they are poor. This is kinda the whole point of libraries existing.
But then it's not a 'free' lending library anymore, is it?
Look, I know where you're all going with this. You say that resources should be paid for by the people who use them. Fine, let's put it to the test then. I propose that we put tollbooths on all roads to make sure that the people who use them pay for them. All downtown parking lots should be pay & display. Why should the taxpayer subsidise your motoring habits?
"Hold on" I hear you say, "roads are a vital resource that must be free at the point of use if they are to serve their purpose."
Well I think you could make a stronger case for libraries being free at the point of use.
I never use Interstate 680, but that doesn't stop the taxman from repairing it with my tax dollars.
Correct. Market fundamentalism is the biggest threat to libraries today. Libraries are not a profit-making institution. They are there to produce public goods, namely a place where anyone can go and obtain knowledge regardless of how much or how little they earn. It is in the interest of society as a whole that these institutions are kept up to date, to hell with the "I'm alright jack to hell with you and don't ask me to pay tax" brigade.
Just on the subject of still suing, from the article:
The North Canton, Ohio-based Diebold.... said it will continue to monitor the online proliferation of the leaked documents, and may sue others who publish the data
They haven't gone away you know!
We'd better keep an eye on this.
Slashdot Mirror
I've noticed that a few times in here. I've posted info on things like why mass transit is unfairly underfunded compared to roads, and I suddenly find myself being modded Troll or Flamebait. Definitely something fishy going on.
Translation: "The Dems did it for years, therefore it's okay now that Reps are doing it. Two wrongs make a right."
(That's actually how it works in America, but who am I to break a long standing /. tradition?)
Single Transferable Voting, aka Proportional Representation.
This simulataneously removes the problem of voters voting against their consciences for fear of wasting their vote. In the PR system, no votes are wasted. It has been used in Ireland and other European countries for quite some time now, and the constitution is designed to allow for coalition governments. Just about all of the smaller parties have been players in coalition governments at one time or another.
Let me tell you, gerrymanderring was a fact of life in Northern Ireland from 1923 to 1969, most famously in Derry where about 8,000 protestants regularly outvoted 12,000 catholics. That was one factor that led to the civil unrest that resulted in the troubles that brought the state to its knees and killed about 3000 people over 30 years. I'm not suggesting that that could happen in the US when word gets out about the rigging of elections, but if the sound of angry voices and marching feet take to the street, I'm outta here!
The Foundation series was aclaimed for its epic scope and the concepts it came up with, a lot of which made its way into Star Wars and other famous Sci Fi work. Sure Asimov's character development wasn't exactly in the same league as Leo Tolstoy, Charles Dickens or James Joyce, but his stories themselves were damn cool.
This book is the worst ever. I was on the internet within minutes registering my disgust. The worst ever.
Firstly, I did not say that the government does not subsidise Amtrak. Secondly, in the more urban parts of the world, railways are rightly given the funding that they need because without them the neighbouring road network would grind to a halt. Look at the traffic chaos on the Bay Bridge from San Francisco to Oakland every time BART goes on strike, you'd be quicker riding a horse. The issue is not as simple as counting up how many people travel by what mode and allocating funds accordingly. All transport infrastructure os part of a bigger picture.
And when the roads fill to capacity and there's no railway to take the strain, will you still cling to the belief that contributing to a railway is not in your own interest?
10^-7 of the distance along the meridian from the Equator to the North Pole (through Paris) is what the metre was derived from, that's what the guy was getting at. He said it was a random thing, which it isn't.
Whetever. Look, someone suggested that it's physically impossible to build a railway from SF to LA because of geography. It's not.
... Imminent releases from the same author include "Stuff" and "Things," and he is currently working on "Whatyamacallit."
Tunnels. Trains have been running through the Pennines between Manchester and Sheffield since the industrial revolution.
Nothing like totalling the amount of money spent over thirty years to inflate your figures. And the money spent on roads over the same period was......?
A high speed rail link from San Francisco to LA has been in the pipeline for decades, but politics keeps getting in the way.
6. The auto industry lobbyists make sure that their congressmen insist that Amtrak pay for rolling stock, pay for the maintenance of the track and still make a profit whilst the Interstates that carry their products remain subsidised by Uncle Sam.
A metre is exactly the decimal fraction 10^-7 of the distance along the meridian from the Equator to the North Pole.
Look, I know where you're all going with this. You say that resources should be paid for by the people who use them. Fine, let's put it to the test then. I propose that we put tollbooths on all roads to make sure that the people who use them pay for them. All downtown parking lots should be pay & display. Why should the taxpayer subsidise your motoring habits?
"Hold on" I hear you say, "roads are a vital resource that must be free at the point of use if they are to serve their purpose."
Well I think you could make a stronger case for libraries being free at the point of use.
I never use Interstate 680, but that doesn't stop the taxman from repairing it with my tax dollars.
Correct. Market fundamentalism is the biggest threat to libraries today. Libraries are not a profit-making institution. They are there to produce public goods, namely a place where anyone can go and obtain knowledge regardless of how much or how little they earn. It is in the interest of society as a whole that these institutions are kept up to date, to hell with the "I'm alright jack to hell with you and don't ask me to pay tax" brigade.
How should a six-year-old girl who uses the library pay for it then?
Don't they mean a 'Class M' planet?