Moderation Questions
The last iteration of the moderation discussion thread was a complete disaster. Numerous attempts to keep it on topic fa
The first government I had a hand in forming back in jr high civics we settled on a 2/3 majority before the group could act. If we're looking for the will of the people, I think that's pretty close. 51% is more like the whims of the people.
I like that.
I may have said either here or on UP (during my 2p2 exile) that 60% should be required to pass a law in Congress.
One thing Socrates (Plato?) may have been right about is that democracy is one of the worst forms of government.
Of course, this was a very self-interested thing for him to write because he ostensibly supported a coup on the existing government of Athens that was removed for being too tyrannical, which eventually led to the death of Socrates as he was associated negatively with the thwarted coup. His dislike of democracy wasn’t some dispassionate evaluation of political theory, it was very much influenced by his historical circumstances.
Not just the filibuster. If you don't control the white house, you may to overcome a veto as well.
yes that transition had been happening for a whilebut covid is where we became a meme for them - they utterly lost all respect for us watching as we ran around like chickens with our heads cut off where everyone had a different opinion over what to do and we closed our eyes and covered our ears ignoring the playbook that every asian country followed to stupendously better resul
If China had handled it in a competent manner, it is unlikely we would even have had a Covid-19 pandemic. Secrecy, suppression of information and refusing to cooperate internationally is the three cardinal sins of epidemiology.
Not to mention their history of poor safety standards in biosafety in agriculture and food industry, but granted that the US seems poised to compete in the name of profitability through lax standards for factory farming.
As for reported numbers, it is likely that a lot of Chinese mortalities were never reported up the system. Similarly, that a lot of reported deaths were not published. A side-effect of authoritarian rule is that reporting facts that reflect poorly on the government can be a poor career choice.
Tell me what?
It never gets to the President's desk if it only 'passes' 59-41.
And the House doesn't even have a filibuster option.
Don't you get it yet? The Pres can do anything he wants, because he can ignore court rulings. Election results can be engineered by sending large numbers of ICE into marginal areas to "monitor" voting, and suspected dissidents sent to prison camps.
Don't you get it yet? The Pres can do anything he wants, because he can ignore court rulings. Election results can be engineered by sending large numbers of ICE into marginal areas to "monitor" voting, and suspected dissidents sent to prison camps.
Okay....NOW I get it!
Maybe I can be the chaplain at one of them prison camps.
Yes. I'm guessing you working at a concentration camp would be liberating for you, similar to a latent homosexual accepting they're homosexual and coming out to the world and getting that monkey off their back.
If China had handled it in a competent manner, it is unlikely we would even have had a Covid-19 pandemic. Secrecy, suppression of information and refusing to cooperate internationally is the three cardinal sins of epidemiology. Not to mention their history of poor safety standards in biosafety in agriculture and food industry, but granted that the US seems poised to compete in
that isn't just china - that data is shown in japan, korea, singapore, malaysia, etc - so your nonsense of "those dirty lying commies" is easily debunked
Indeed! What could be more liberating than a racist spending all day telling shackled brown people that they're going to hell and getting paid to do it? You could televise that chit on Turning Point USA.
but covid is where we became a meme for them - they utterly lost all respect for us watching as we ran around like chickens with our heads cut off where everyone had a different opinion over what to do and we closed our eyes and covered our ears ignoring the playbook that every asian country followed to stupendously better resultsthis is a great shame on our system - the usa an
First off, many people are "willing to admit" that America's response to COVID was subpar. That's something both sides of the aisle can agree on!
Secondly, if America had adopted an Asian-style response to COVID, you'd be the very first one in here screaming about tyranny. One American political party was vastly more serious about confronting COVID and adopting social isolation/masking/vaccination policies, and it's the one you endlessly rail against.
that isn't just china - that data is shown in japan, korea, singapore, malaysia, etc - so your nonsense of "those dirty lying commies" is easily debunked
Yes, td is talking nonsense there. I have extended family in Shanghai and was monitoring the infection and death rates every day, noting very early on with alarm that mortalities were doubling every three days. If I, a lay person, was doing this back in January 2020 why weren't our governments?
i spent covid in beijing - after about 6 weeks of genuine lockdown it was back to normal
never knew a single person who had covid the entire time i was there - they were really good about preventing large outbreaks via contact tracing
everyone eventually got it after i left and they stopped with the contact tracing - but by then the disease was no longer as deadly and the vax was already out
It was so much easier in modern-built cities with apartment blocks and security guards at the gate.
It was so much easier in modern-built cities with apartment blocks and security guards at the gate.
I think it is more to do with a generally more obedient (?) citizenry.
Obedience that comes from generations of people living under harsh authoritarian rule. Believe me, what many Chinese people say in private where they don’t feel they can be snooped on (ie not on the phone or even in their own homes) is far from obedient.
Its far easier to enforce lockdowns with security guards already in place at the point of entry, which is why they were designed in this way.
Obedience that comes from generations of people living under harsh authoritarian rule. Believe me, what many Chinese people say in private where they don’t feel they can be snooped on is far from obedient.
Its far easier to enforce lockdowns with security guards already in place at the point of entry, which is why they were designed in this way.
you're mistaken
people speak very openly about whatever is on their mind - it's very clear that anyone can say bad things about the government at the dinner table, even amongst a group of people - will it help them gain connections and business dealings - very unlikely, people will probably try to not associate much if someone was always being debbie downer and there's no upside to it
but nobody is getting reported for that stuff, nor would much happen with a report
in china, it's pretty well known that what you say amongst friends and colleagues is very different from publishing an essay or standing up to give a speech in a busy part of town - those are political activities - not dinner conversation
and by and large people overwhelmingly support their government
let's say the more anonymous version is correct - seems reasonable, that's still going to be 60%-80%+ approval which is overwhelmingly positive
40% say they don’t approve. Amd that doesn’t include people still too wary to trust a random person telling them it’s anonymious.
Obedience that comes from generations of people living under harsh authoritarian rule. Believe me, what many Chinese people say in private where they don’t feel they can be snooped on (ie not on the phone or even in their own homes) is far from obedient. Its far easier to enforce lockdowns with security guards already in place at the point of entry, which is why they were desig
I was referring to Asia in general, not just China.
you're mistakenpeople speak very openly about whatever is on their mind - it's very clear that anyone can say bad things about the government at the dinner table, even amongst a group of people - will it help them gain connections and business dealings - very unlikely, people will probably try to not associate much if someone was always being debbie downer and there's no upside
I didn't read jalfrezi to be suggesting that Chinese people were afraid to speak their minds at a dinner table or afraid of being reported for a private dinner conversation. There is a difference between an authoritarian state and a totalitarian state. No sane person thinks that modern China is a 1984-style totalitarian state.
That's a vast continent comprised of more than 50 countries. I'm not sure it makes sense to generalise about its peoples.
