Raising minimum wages has the effect of raising actual wages for a significant portion of the population.
I guess you missed the post upthread from grimjester, citing the statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: "Together, these 2.2 million workers with wages at or below the federal minimum made up 2.7 percent of all hourly paid workers." Also, the the latest statistics on average hourly wages by sector showed no sector with an average hourly wage below $15/hr.
So no, not a significant portion of the population.
Does WordPress have anything in their terms of service about inciting violence, committing crimes, or breaking the law in general?
If Vanguard America hasn't distanced themselves from the actions of this alleged member, perhaps they could be classified as a terrorist organization? This isn't necessarily an issue of free speech any more than breaking the law is.
From the WordPress User Guidelines:
Directly threatening material. Do not post direct and realistic threats of violence. That is, you cannot post a genuine call for violence—or death—against an individual person, or groups of persons. This doesn’t mean that we’ll remove all hyperbole or offensive language.
In the old days, one could go to the town square, get on their soap box, and speak their mind and be jeered, cheered, or both or even just ignored by those passing by.
And in the new days, you can still do this. The Internet is not a town square, nor is it necessary for wide distribution of ideas. You could: Write a book. Go on pubic access cable TV. Take out a newspaper ad. Wait, you say you'd have a hard time finding a publisher/cable tv station/newspaper willing to facilitate your hate speech? Why should the Internet be different?
How is "reverse" discrimination not discrimination?
Haven't you heard? Only members of oppressed groups can be the victims of discrimination, and only members of non-oppressed groups can be guilty of discrimination.
Perhaps you didn't notice, but the site you linked lists companies and individuals holding a state contractor's license. These are entities that are licensed by the state to provide services to the public, and shouldn't be confused with companies that have contracts with the state.
Here's something a little more relevant to the discussion, as it shows that Google does indeed have a contract with the state of California -- a description of Google's contract with the University of Californa.
How is this whistleblowing ? That's only when illegal activities are going on, no ?
Glad you asked, and happy to provide an answer: Whistleblowing: The disclosure by a person, usually an employee in a government agency or private enterprise, to the public or to those in authority, of mismanagement, corruption, illegality, or some other wrongdoing.
So no, not only when illegal activities are going on. And here's a bonus for the "he's an at-will employee, so the company can fire him for any reason without recourse" crowd:
Persons who act as whistleblowers are often the subject of retaliation by their employers. Typically the employer will discharge the whistleblower, who is often an at-will employee. An at-will employee is a person without a specific term of employment. The employee may quit at any time and the employer has the right to fire the employee without having to cite a reason. However, courts and legislatures have created exceptions for whistleblowers who are at-will employees.
Since TFS states, "Later, on stage, Schwartz told attendees that he would fight to get the tool published.", clearly you need to work on your reading comprehension.
News Feed suggest this has something to do with news
Well of course it does; just mainly not the kind of news you're thinking of. News, as in a report of a recent event (e.g, FB post that says, "I'm on vacation in Elbonia"), or as in information that is new to the observer. When you ask a friend, "What's new with you?" their answer is... news.
Right to Work means an employee can be terminated without cause. It does not mean an employee can be terminated for a cause that is illegal. Wrongful termination lawsuits are not prohibited in Right To Work states.
NK's launch last month reached an altitude of 2700 km. That means it had enough velocity to reach either Anchorage or Oahu if it was in a flatter trajectory. They kept it in a near vertical trajectory to make it easier to monitor.
Where did you get that, your favorite news anchor? ICBMs use a "high apogee" trajectory because it's the most energy efficient. If you flatten the trajectory, you won't get anywhere near the range you seem to think you will.
if they can perfect complex gyros and navigational hardware / software
They kept it in a clean vertical trajectory for 2700 km, so they have already accomplished all of this. Btw, there is a 3 axis "complex gyro" chip in your cellphone. This isn't the 1950s.
Making it go straight means they have pretty good control software; you don't need great gyros for that. But navigation is a different animal. If you think you can guide a ballistic missile along a 4,600 mile trajectory (NK - Hawaii for example) and come within 100 miles of your target using inertial sensors that are even 3 or 4 orders of magnitude better than the ones in your cellphone, you're probably also deluded enough to think you can make effective use of GPS aiding on an ICBM.
Will not happen because CA voters locked down a ton of the housing market with Proposition 13, which in effect punishes you for moving around, and strongly incentivizes not to sell.
Prop 13 incentivizes people who have owned their home for a long time not to sell. Otherwise, it's not that significant unless you're in a bubble. Upwardly mobile homeowners tend to trade up every 5 - 7 years.
The lack of available housing in California is more likely due to restrictions on development because ENVIRONMENT, especially in coastal urban areas where the good jobs are. There have been several attempts to overhaul the California Environmental Quality Act to ease restrictions on development, but they always run into resistance from entrenched environmental, labor and business interests.
I'm more curious why he turns wifi off at night? So you purposely want to use up your cellular bandwidth while its charging?
Turning off wifi does not mean cellular is enabled. I know a number of people who put their phones in airplane mode at night to avoid being awakened by notifications.
There are many things that people do that baffle me. I try not to let it bother me, though, unless the thing they're doing is complaining about things that people do.
For a start that should make it illegal to call it gambling when the odds are specifically, purposefully and corruptly tilted in the houses favour.
"Specifically and purposefully", of course. That's how casinos can stay in business. See, for example, the green "0" and "00" slots on American roulette wheels that make bets on red or black somewhat less than an even bet, and odds on single numbers 37:1 when the payouts are 35:1. In blackjack, the only house advantage is that the players draw before the dealer, so if the player busts he loses whether or not the dealer busts, rather than it being a push when he and the dealer both bust.
"Corruptly", not so much, unless you consider any business that makes any profit corrupt. The odds are well known to anyone who investigates. Corrupt would be using loaded dice, or a crooked roulette wheel, or a marked deck of cards.
Especially if I up my 401k contribution rate to 100% (which my current employer bizarrely offers)
By Federal law, you're currently allowed to contribute a maximum of $18K/year ($24K/year if you're over 55), even if your employer says you can contribute your entire salary.
Failing a drug screen doesn't automatically mean you're going to cause an accident or not show up to work.
Of course not. It means you're statistically more likely to cause an accident or not show up for work. What it automatically means is, your employer is going to be saddled with higher insurance premiums, and that automatically means you won't get hired.
The theory is that it's easier for people in open-plan offices to use noise-cancelling headphones to focus when they need to be productive than it is for employees to walk out of their office and into a colleague's office when they need to collaborate.
As if the need to collaborate with colleagues is something new. The part about "they believe that open plan office spaces, with lots of additional space for ad-hoc collaboration in meeting rooms, lounge areas, volleyball courts, etc." sort of contradicts the claim that open-plan offices reduce the need to walk away from your desk to collaborate. Does anyone in an open-plan setting really collaborate by yelling to a colleague on the other side of the room (who can't hear you anyway, 'cause he's got his noise-cancelling headphones on to avoid being distracted)? Or do you send an IM saying, "Hey man, take of your headphones; I need to yell at you"?
Not sure what the law says in any particular jurisdiction, but policies like this are usually implemented for the purpose of limiting corporate liability; same reason employees are rarely terminated for cause, but laid off as a result of downsizing or reorganization.
Companies should have 1to1 technical interviews and/or ask for past references, and I don't mean ref. letters, but flat out calls to former employers and teachers.
In the US, references from past employers are almost always limited to, "That person worked at this company from to ". Any mention of job performance is an open invitation to a lawsuit.
When talking about taxation, it really is the principal use, at least in my experience. I doubt the AC will clarify it, though. Re-reading his post, it sure looks like he or she was talking about something like expansion of estate taxes.
The OP said, "Why not laws that break up the estate of people that accumulate more than say 1000x the median net worth?" An expansion of estate taxes? Sounds more like a proposal for expansion of the Sherman Antitrust Act into the private sector to me.
Slashdot Mirror
The alternative in the US is you die or go bankrupt.
I'm confident that no one in the US has died or gone bankrupt because they were on vacation when their blood pressure appointment rolled around.
Raising minimum wages has the effect of raising actual wages for a significant portion of the population.
I guess you missed the post upthread from grimjester, citing the statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: "Together, these 2.2 million workers with wages at or below the federal minimum made up 2.7 percent of all hourly paid workers." Also, the the latest statistics on average hourly wages by sector showed no sector with an average hourly wage below $15/hr.
So no, not a significant portion of the population.
Does WordPress have anything in their terms of service about inciting violence, committing crimes, or breaking the law in general?
If Vanguard America hasn't distanced themselves from the actions of this alleged member, perhaps they could be classified as a terrorist organization? This isn't necessarily an issue of free speech any more than breaking the law is.
From the WordPress User Guidelines:
Directly threatening material.
Do not post direct and realistic threats of violence. That is, you cannot post a genuine call for violence—or death—against an individual person, or groups of persons. This doesn’t mean that we’ll remove all hyperbole or offensive language.
At what point does free speech, which is protected, become hate speech, which isn't?
At no point. There is no hate speech exception to the First Amendment.
Your previous post is you complaining that people call everyone they disagree with Nazis. Here you are calling everyone you disagree with an idiot.
Good point. "Nazi" and "idiot" are pretty much the same thing, after all.
In the old days, one could go to the town square, get on their soap box, and speak their mind and be jeered, cheered, or both or even just ignored by those passing by.
And in the new days, you can still do this. The Internet is not a town square, nor is it necessary for wide distribution of ideas. You could: Write a book. Go on pubic access cable TV. Take out a newspaper ad. Wait, you say you'd have a hard time finding a publisher/cable tv station/newspaper willing to facilitate your hate speech? Why should the Internet be different?
How is "reverse" discrimination not discrimination?
Haven't you heard? Only members of oppressed groups can be the victims of discrimination, and only members of non-oppressed groups can be guilty of discrimination.
Perhaps you didn't notice, but the site you linked lists companies and individuals holding a state contractor's license. These are entities that are licensed by the state to provide services to the public, and shouldn't be confused with companies that have contracts with the state.
Here's something a little more relevant to the discussion, as it shows that Google does indeed have a contract with the state of California -- a description of Google's contract with the University of Californa.
How is this whistleblowing ? That's only when illegal activities are going on, no ?
Glad you asked, and happy to provide an answer: Whistleblowing: The disclosure by a person, usually an employee in a government agency or private enterprise, to the public or to those in authority, of mismanagement, corruption, illegality, or some other wrongdoing.
So no, not only when illegal activities are going on. And here's a bonus for the "he's an at-will employee, so the company can fire him for any reason without recourse" crowd:
Persons who act as whistleblowers are often the subject of retaliation by their employers. Typically the employer will discharge the whistleblower, who is often an at-will employee. An at-will employee is a person without a specific term of employment. The employee may quit at any time and the employer has the right to fire the employee without having to cite a reason. However, courts and legislatures have created exceptions for whistleblowers who are at-will employees.
Additional information available here.
Since TFS states, "Later, on stage, Schwartz told attendees that he would fight to get the tool published.", clearly you need to work on your reading comprehension.
News Feed suggest this has something to do with news
Well of course it does; just mainly not the kind of news you're thinking of. News, as in a report of a recent event (e.g, FB post that says, "I'm on vacation in Elbonia"), or as in information that is new to the observer. When you ask a friend, "What's new with you?" their answer is ... news.
Right to Work means an employee can be terminated without cause. It does not mean an employee can be terminated for a cause that is illegal. Wrongful termination lawsuits are not prohibited in Right To Work states.
NK's launch last month reached an altitude of 2700 km. That means it had enough velocity to reach either Anchorage or Oahu if it was in a flatter trajectory. They kept it in a near vertical trajectory to make it easier to monitor.
Where did you get that, your favorite news anchor? ICBMs use a "high apogee" trajectory because it's the most energy efficient. If you flatten the trajectory, you won't get anywhere near the range you seem to think you will.
if they can perfect complex gyros and navigational hardware / software
They kept it in a clean vertical trajectory for 2700 km, so they have already accomplished all of this. Btw, there is a 3 axis "complex gyro" chip in your cellphone. This isn't the 1950s.
Making it go straight means they have pretty good control software; you don't need great gyros for that. But navigation is a different animal. If you think you can guide a ballistic missile along a 4,600 mile trajectory (NK - Hawaii for example) and come within 100 miles of your target using inertial sensors that are even 3 or 4 orders of magnitude better than the ones in your cellphone, you're probably also deluded enough to think you can make effective use of GPS aiding on an ICBM.
Will not happen because CA voters locked down a ton of the housing market with Proposition 13, which in effect punishes you for moving around, and strongly incentivizes not to sell.
Prop 13 incentivizes people who have owned their home for a long time not to sell. Otherwise, it's not that significant unless you're in a bubble. Upwardly mobile homeowners tend to trade up every 5 - 7 years.
The lack of available housing in California is more likely due to restrictions on development because ENVIRONMENT, especially in coastal urban areas where the good jobs are. There have been several attempts to overhaul the California Environmental Quality Act to ease restrictions on development, but they always run into resistance from entrenched environmental, labor and business interests.
I'm more curious why he turns wifi off at night? So you purposely want to use up your cellular bandwidth while its charging?
Turning off wifi does not mean cellular is enabled. I know a number of people who put their phones in airplane mode at night to avoid being awakened by notifications.
Here I sit without mod points. Thank you for posting this.
There are many things that people do that baffle me. I try not to let it bother me, though, unless the thing they're doing is complaining about things that people do.
For a start that should make it illegal to call it gambling when the odds are specifically, purposefully and corruptly tilted in the houses favour.
"Specifically and purposefully", of course. That's how casinos can stay in business. See, for example, the green "0" and "00" slots on American roulette wheels that make bets on red or black somewhat less than an even bet, and odds on single numbers 37:1 when the payouts are 35:1. In blackjack, the only house advantage is that the players draw before the dealer, so if the player busts he loses whether or not the dealer busts, rather than it being a push when he and the dealer both bust.
"Corruptly", not so much, unless you consider any business that makes any profit corrupt. The odds are well known to anyone who investigates. Corrupt would be using loaded dice, or a crooked roulette wheel, or a marked deck of cards.
Especially if I up my 401k contribution rate to 100% (which my current employer bizarrely offers)
By Federal law, you're currently allowed to contribute a maximum of $18K/year ($24K/year if you're over 55), even if your employer says you can contribute your entire salary.
Failing a drug screen doesn't automatically mean you're going to cause an accident or not show up to work.
Of course not. It means you're statistically more likely to cause an accident or not show up for work. What it automatically means is, your employer is going to be saddled with higher insurance premiums, and that automatically means you won't get hired.
Here's a nickel, go buy yourself a real computer system
Now, that's a genuine oldie.
The theory is that it's easier for people in open-plan offices to use noise-cancelling headphones to focus when they need to be productive than it is for employees to walk out of their office and into a colleague's office when they need to collaborate.
As if the need to collaborate with colleagues is something new. The part about "they believe that open plan office spaces, with lots of additional space for ad-hoc collaboration in meeting rooms, lounge areas, volleyball courts, etc." sort of contradicts the claim that open-plan offices reduce the need to walk away from your desk to collaborate. Does anyone in an open-plan setting really collaborate by yelling to a colleague on the other side of the room (who can't hear you anyway, 'cause he's got his noise-cancelling headphones on to avoid being distracted)? Or do you send an IM saying, "Hey man, take of your headphones; I need to yell at you"?
I don't know if you mean limited as in legally
Not sure what the law says in any particular jurisdiction, but policies like this are usually implemented for the purpose of limiting corporate liability; same reason employees are rarely terminated for cause, but laid off as a result of downsizing or reorganization.
Companies should have 1to1 technical interviews and/or ask for past references, and I don't mean ref. letters, but flat out calls to former employers and teachers.
In the US, references from past employers are almost always limited to, "That person worked at this company from to ". Any mention of job performance is an open invitation to a lawsuit.
When talking about taxation, it really is the principal use, at least in my experience. I doubt the AC will clarify it, though. Re-reading his post, it sure looks like he or she was talking about something like expansion of estate taxes.
The OP said, "Why not laws that break up the estate of people that accumulate more than say 1000x the median net worth?" An expansion of estate taxes? Sounds more like a proposal for expansion of the Sherman Antitrust Act into the private sector to me.