Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died • Hacker News Board

Re: Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died

#471

Post by c54 » Sat, Sep 19, 2020, 1:01 AM UTC

nine_k wrote: post #373

op03 wrote: post #188

Remove the Publicly visible Like Count and those kind of conversations and connections are easy. The Like count makes people defensive or aggressive especially when they are called out in public leading to never ending reaction and counter reaction cycles. Without that dumb random signal interfering in conversations all kinds of strange connections are possible. I see it at work meetings between highly competitive pe…

I like how Slashdot handles it. Posts and comments do have counts, but the range is reasonably narrow, from -2 to +5. This allows for modding down noise, and modding up the signal, but this excludes the comparative phallometry typical for FB and twitter threads with hundreds and thousands on upvote counters.

“comparative phallometry” XD

Re: Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died

#472

Post by NicolasGorden » Sat, Sep 19, 2020, 1:01 AM UTC

core-questions wrote: post #315

ianai wrote: post #31

I mourn her loss. She’s done more for my life and the average americans life than quite a significant many. Extremism in any shape breeds further extremism. I hope society is about to do a “big blink”. It only takes a majority in the senate and house to add a seat to the SCOTUS or a state to the union.

> I hope society is about to do a “big blink”. Oh yeah? What does that take the form of? Does it take the form of people who have ideas that you don't like not being there when you open your eyes back up again?

I'm not OP, but to me that means:

1- Ideas don't make people - actions do. If someone is a good neighbor, citizen, friend and father/mother, a valuable and contributing member of their community, that their beliefs on abortion/politics/gay marriage/etc carry little weight compared to the years of actions and toil that they put in to make our society better.

2- The person who has the ideas you don't like shares more ideas that you do like than you don't. Most people want to see America grow, they want to see their children live free, avoid unnecessary harm, etc. The sliver of disagreement is small compared to the pie of agreement.

3- That we are all inherently flawed and primitive and therefore will be wrong 99% of the time. This means that even if you believe with all your conviction you are right on a point, you can remember you are probably just as wrong on more points than you are right on. It's called practicing thoughts of humility, it's a virtue we should all strive for.

Among others.

Re: Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died

#473

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Sep 19, 2020, 1:02 AM UTC

taurath wrote: post #396

anigbrowl wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People were horrible to each other online long before modern social media, and indeed in print and in person long before that. While some people do indeed pursue likes for their own sake, it's not the root cause of social aggression.

It's not the catalyst, it's the accelerant - when you have 1000 points for your troll post you're sure as heck gonna do more of them.

[deleted]

Re: Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died

#474

Post by chiefalchemist » Sat, Sep 19, 2020, 1:02 AM UTC

malandrew wrote: post #428

usefulcat wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that those activists and politicians you refer to are a reflection of what way too many voters genuinely want.

Is it though? Most people are more politically center and the extremes of the political spectrum keep trying to pull politicians towards the extremes. When that failed to work, they started pulling out the "you're either with us or against us" card forcing people to pick sides or be ostracized if they risked being nuanced.

Politics and media have become extreme because they are dying "industries." The internet has (pardon me) disrupted both of them. Severely. They crank up the hyperbole in order to try to justify the need for their existence. That cycle can't go on forever. In fact we see the results weekly. For example, politicians aren't moving the needle so more and more people resort to protesting (and yes, rioting).

I'm not an advocate of violence. But it's easy to see the level of frustration and disgust wasn't being addressed.

Re: Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died

#475

Post by pyuser583 » Sat, Sep 19, 2020, 1:02 AM UTC

malandrew wrote: post #444

theshadowknows wrote: post #162

Absolutely. My family is feverishly working on how to leave this hellscape of a country we’re in. The United States is dead.

As an immigrant to this country, you have no idea how good things are here in the US. It would be nice to trade those unhappy with the US with those that would be grateful to be here.

Thank you very much for this comment!

Re: Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died

#476

Post by pm90 » Sat, Sep 19, 2020, 1:02 AM UTC

taurath wrote: post #435

tyre wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You look at the core beliefs of the Republican Party: Anti-Abortion: about or above sixty percent of Americans support legal abortions Climate change: two thirds of Americans view it as a top priority and that the benefits of action outweigh the costs Guns: sixty percent to two-thirds of Americans support stricter gun control. 90–92% support mandatory background checks Taxing Wealthy: again, sixty percent to two thir…

If people voted for any of those things, there would be quite a different margin. So then, what DO people vote for?

People do vote for these things, but if you split voters is a particular way you can ensure that the minority hold on to power (Gerrymandering and the Electoral College).

Re: Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died

#477

Post by mFixman » Sat, Sep 19, 2020, 1:02 AM UTC

AdamJacobMuller wrote: post #165

throwaway6000 wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Republicans will absolutely do it. This is their chance to mold our country's sociopolitical landscape for decades.

I think it hinges on their (Trump, really) confidence on winning in November. No reason to do it now if you're sure you're going to win. No reason to worry about possible repercussions in the form of lost voters if you're sure you're going to lose.

Trump's chances of winning will drastically increase with another Republican Supreme Court Justice.

The election will likely be contested. When some strategically selected counties in Florida start anulling mail-in votes the Republicans will be glad to have a person who will dispute in their favour.

Re: Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died

#478

Post by goodluckchuck » Sat, Sep 19, 2020, 1:02 AM UTC

tmountain wrote: post #329

ncallaway wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then it's time to fight back. Make it absolutely clear to McConnell and Democratic leaders in the Senate that if McConnell fills this seat in an election year, then the Democrats must increase the size of the SCOTUS. McConnell needs to fear the reprisal more than he fears the delay. Because you're right, this is about power. Nothing else matters to them. So make them fear this.

You can expand the number of seats on the Supreme Court via a bill passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the president. So we'd need the presidency, a majority in the House, and a supermajority in the Senate to invoke cloture to end the inevitable legislative filibuster from the Republicans. So even with a blue wave in November, that's not possible because it is extraordinarily unlikely that we gain a super…

I think I’ve seen that movie before; Gaining control of two branches and then using that power to cement absolute control by seizing the third is what the bad guys do.

Re: Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died

#479

Post by monkeycantype » Sat, Sep 19, 2020, 1:02 AM UTC

seibelj wrote: post #178

theshadowknows wrote: post #162

Absolutely. My family is feverishly working on how to leave this hellscape of a country we’re in. The United States is dead.

I’m sad to say you may find the grass is always greener on the other side - government corruption exists everywhere that government exists.

That's true, but the united states is the big prize, which means the US is where greed and corruption is playing hardest. Having lived in the US and out of it, I believe that other places and not less selfish or petty, but there are places where greed and corruption just doesn't have it's shit together.

Re: Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died

#480

Post by newfriend » Sat, Sep 19, 2020, 1:02 AM UTC

phobosanomaly wrote: post #269

Due to a really old technicality in our electoral system, we keep putting people in the presidency that the American people didn't actually vote for. Both Bush and Trump were not elected by a popular vote. The majority of American are being held hostage by a minority of voters with a disproportionate amount of political power. These un-elected presidents have had such incredibly far-reaching influences on the America…

It's not a technicality. It's the law. The popular vote means nothing in regards to the Presidential election.

* The House is voted in by the people.

* The Senate is voted in by the states.

* The President is voted in by both.

No one is being held hostage. This system was created purposefully, and has been the same since its inception.

Your opinion on the matter is meaningless.