Whistleblower warns Postal Service mail ballot system has catastrophic problems • Hacker News Board

Re: Whistleblower warns Postal Service mail ballot system has catastrophic problems

#331

Post by cogman10 » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 12:58 PM UTC

wallst07 wrote: post #327

cogman10 wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

#2 isn't really addressing the argument being made. > The fact that reputable sources were not provided to justify the need for fixes has been reputable source enough. The the question wasn't "what do people prefer" it was "what's the evidence this is a problem." People wanting a thing doesn't necessarily mean the thing is is a problem. But further, what the Trump admin is doing isn't the thing being polled. What's w…

It's clearly a nuanced topic that requires debate in good-faith, no? So why is it flagged and not debated? If all counter points are flagged, then there is no discourse. The only discourse is all the people who agree with each other.

It's not good faith to mott and baily, gish-gallop, and non-sequitur.

I've not seen a comment yet that is actually responsive to points being raised about why this action by the administration is a bad idea. Instead it's "Well, people want voter ID" and "Well because there's unlimited fraud in mail in voting and early voting".

What a lot of the flagged comments are (but I don't speak for all the flagging, I personally avoid downvoting or flagging myself unless something is very egregious) are bad faith.

It's not one sided, I've gotten into arguments about Biden/Harris when throwing critiques their way with diehard supporters. But frankly, from what I've observed it's a lot worse when it comes to Trump's actions. When he does something indefensible, like this incomplete citizen registration 2 months before an election, instead of addressing the action he just did, his supporters try and change subjects rather than justify this action.

The most charitable reading I have from one of his supporters is that this will stop non-citizens from voting in federal elections. But the issues with this they don't address, like the fact that a citizenship list doesn't currently exist and that the process of creating such a list is completely opaque, are simply never addressed. And even when "Ok, if it's such a problem, where's the evidence?" is asked, the only response is to change subjects.

That's not a good faith argument. That's not nuance. That's "I have an unfounded belief and rather than defend it, when questions get uncomfortable I'll rely on bad faith debate tactics to try and win the argument".

Re: Whistleblower warns Postal Service mail ballot system has catastrophic problems

#332

Post by hackyhacky » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 9:10 PM UTC

somenameforme wrote: post #323

hackyhacky wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> disclaimer No idea what disclaimer you are referring to. > as any human alive would know he's joking. On the contrary, I know that he's not joking. He doesn't think he's joking. This isn't a one-off comment: he's selling hats about running in 2028. He wasn't joking about "building the wall," about mass deportations, about tear-gassing peaceful protesters [1], or about trying to steal the 2020 election. Every time h…

When has he ever admitted to joking? More or less always if we speak of implicitness, but quite often explicitly as well. He knows that part will get snipped out by partisans which makes them look even more absurd. In the context I linked above he says, "I'm only kidding" literally immediately following his joke about a third term. You haven't given any evidence. You've instead spread misinformation, relied heavily o…

> When has he ever admitted to joking? More or less always if we speak of implicitness,

Sorry, but I have to laugh at the idea of an "implicit admission." Also known as "not an admission." I feel like you have a parasocial relationship with the man, and that you are projecting your own emotions on him.

> You haven't given any evidence.

The evidence I've given is the man's own words. But you don't want to believe that, because you're too deep in the cult. You're at a point where no amount of evidence could possibly reach you because your emotional defense systems won't allow you to accept that you've been conned.

> Partisanship just blinds people, and is something that should be avoided like the plague.

Well, we agree on that much.

Re: Whistleblower warns Postal Service mail ballot system has catastrophic problems

#333

Post by hackyhacky » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 9:19 PM UTC

somenameforme wrote: post #324

Capricorn2481 wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> as any human alive would know he's joking You are perfectly demonstrating the lack of engagement I was referring to. You would have to ignore the entire history of his political career to think he is doing anything other than testing the waters here. Furthermore, he has done more than a single joke about this. Over multiple interviews, he has laid out specific methods he could use to functionally seek a third term,…

I think he genuinely believes that the 2020 election was likely stolen and that his extreme actions were a response to that. I also think he enjoys trolling the media, probably in part because its his personality but also probably because it's the best way to take on yellow journalism. By overtly feeding the media stuff that he knows will be taken out of context, he lets them destroy themselves. When the media run se…

> I think he genuinely believes that the 2020 election was likely stolen

There are more-or-less two possibilities: either he believes that the election was stolen despite the total absence of evidence to that effect, in which case he is a fool; or he cynically pretends to believe that for the purpose of personal gain, in which case he is a liar and a con-man. Based on what we've all seen of his psychology, though, I think the more likely case is that he's simply unconnected to reality: he's spent his whole life in a billionaire bubble where everyone tells him what he wants to hear, and he's able to to convince himself that he won in 2020 because he wants to believe that.

> because it's the best way to take on yellow journalism.

What part of the reporting the fact that Biden won the 2020 election is "yellow journalism"?

> 'Why aren't you taking these jokes seriously!?' isn't the most compelling call to action.

Except, as I've already pointed out, people have been excusing behavior as a "joke" since 2016, and at every opportunity he proves that it's not a joke. People thought "Mexico will pay for a wall" was a joke; it wasn't, it was just a lie.

> Trump never laid out the idea of running as Vance's VP and forcing him aside.

I never he said he did. I did say that he said that he's "looking into ways that he can run," an idea supported by other people in Trump's orbit, such as Steven Bannon. It's not misinformation to say that Trump is considering running again, it's plainly stated in the record.

So your position is that: Trump said he's looking into running (but it's a joke), he's selling 2028 hats (but he's trolling), close advisers say he's running again (but that doesn't count). Do you understand why people think MAGA denies reality? Is there any possible evidence that would make you think he's thinking of running again? (For the record, I don't think he'll run again, because I think he will die or become gravely ill: were it not for that, he definitely would try.)

> That's accurate, but the implication to somebody who only relies on the media, instead of first party sources,

Oh, you have first party sources? Great, please tell me what Donald Trump has personally told you, that has not been publicly revealed.

> In any case, none of this would be news to you if you posted this in a place with more open discussion.

Nothing you've told me is new. I've heard all this before. The entire country has spent a decade hearing people like spout nonsense like "Trump isn't a politiician, he tells it like it is" and "Trump is already rich so he has no need to make money from the presidency" and "Trump may lack expertise, but he'll hire great advisers" and other provably incorrect statements. You mistakenly believe that we disagree because we haven't heard your side. The truth is that we've all heard your side incessantly and we just think you are dumb and/or crazy.

Re: Whistleblower warns Postal Service mail ballot system has catastrophic problems

#334

Post by hackyhacky » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 9:28 PM UTC

wallst07 wrote: post #329

hackyhacky wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Any/Every discussion that makes the top page on HN about politics will flood out most of the conservative discussion, further most of the comments are echo chamber 'me too, I keep waiting for all these well-thought-out, factually-based, good-faith arguments offered by conservatives but for some reason they never appear. It seems that the only comments written by conservatives are knee-jerk, xenophobic, semi-literat…

Are you talking about this particular topic, or all of them? Are you able to say one positive change current administration has purposefully done? "I agree that it adds little to the conversation" Do you think those comments should be flagged and [deleted] or they add value here and should be kept around?

> Are you able to say one positive change current administration has purposefully done?

Not sure what kind of test this is supposed to be, but okay, I'll bite. He's done some things that could be good, but because of his unique pathology, he makes even good things bad. Look at the Trump Accounts. Creating a savings account for children is potentially a good thing. Here are the problems with it: during his presidency, he has single-handedly doubled the national debt, so this isn't a great opportunity to give away money; the move is ideological incoherent, coming from a guy who thinks that wealth redistribution is un-American; and of course he's a narcissist, so he's incapable of doing anything with stamping his name on it. It's hilarious that MAGAs decry "partisanship" but for some reason love obviously partisan, and likely Hatch Act-violating, nonense like this.

> Do you think those comments should be flagged and [deleted] or they add value here and should be kept around?

Some of those comments are flagged because they express non-constructive, hyper-partisan, anti-immigrant sentiment. They deserve to be flagged. Some are flagged because they are just unpopular on HN; those should not be flagged. I'd never claim that HN doesn't lean left, and it's always hard to be a minority in a community. The appropriate response from conservatives like you, in order to prevent your comments from being flagged, is to comment better: use factual evidence, logical arguments, and non-partisan language. Unfortunately, the few HN conservatives around here aren't doing that.

Re: Whistleblower warns Postal Service mail ballot system has catastrophic problems

#335

Post by hackyhacky » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 9:35 PM UTC

wallst07 wrote: post #326

hackyhacky wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1 was not yet flagged at the time that I wrote that. Nevertheless, you can reconstruct what was written from the quotes in its responses. > Which "side" has been fighting tooth and nail for unverifiable mail-in ballots > resisting all investigations of voting integrity? Basically, the comment asserted that Democrats are "pushing" for mail-in ballots, despite the fact that many Republican-controlled states (notably Mi…

It's a spectrum, so we'll just debate what the votes are for. Do I want to see more of them, probably not. Does it deserved to be flagged, absolutely not.

> Do I want to see more of them, probably not. Does it deserved to be flagged, absolutely not.

That's fine, but please don't play the martyr. You're supporting a president who is deporting people for constitutionally protected free speech. I think you'll survive a little flag here on HN.

Re: Whistleblower warns Postal Service mail ballot system has catastrophic problems

#336

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 11:16 PM UTC

somenameforme wrote: post #323

hackyhacky wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> disclaimer No idea what disclaimer you are referring to. > as any human alive would know he's joking. On the contrary, I know that he's not joking. He doesn't think he's joking. This isn't a one-off comment: he's selling hats about running in 2028. He wasn't joking about "building the wall," about mass deportations, about tear-gassing peaceful protesters [1], or about trying to steal the 2020 election. Every time h…

When has he ever admitted to joking? More or less always if we speak of implicitness, but quite often explicitly as well. He knows that part will get snipped out by partisans which makes them look even more absurd. In the context I linked above he says, "I'm only kidding" literally immediately following his joke about a third term. You haven't given any evidence. You've instead spread misinformation, relied heavily o…

[deleted]

Re: Whistleblower warns Postal Service mail ballot system has catastrophic problems

#337

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 11:17 PM UTC

somenameforme wrote: post #323

hackyhacky wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> disclaimer No idea what disclaimer you are referring to. > as any human alive would know he's joking. On the contrary, I know that he's not joking. He doesn't think he's joking. This isn't a one-off comment: he's selling hats about running in 2028. He wasn't joking about "building the wall," about mass deportations, about tear-gassing peaceful protesters [1], or about trying to steal the 2020 election. Every time h…

When has he ever admitted to joking? More or less always if we speak of implicitness, but quite often explicitly as well. He knows that part will get snipped out by partisans which makes them look even more absurd. In the context I linked above he says, "I'm only kidding" literally immediately following his joke about a third term. You haven't given any evidence. You've instead spread misinformation, relied heavily o…

[deleted]

Re: Whistleblower warns Postal Service mail ballot system has catastrophic problems

#338

Post by hackyhacky » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 11:19 PM UTC

somenameforme wrote: post #323

hackyhacky wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> disclaimer No idea what disclaimer you are referring to. > as any human alive would know he's joking. On the contrary, I know that he's not joking. He doesn't think he's joking. This isn't a one-off comment: he's selling hats about running in 2028. He wasn't joking about "building the wall," about mass deportations, about tear-gassing peaceful protesters [1], or about trying to steal the 2020 election. Every time h…

When has he ever admitted to joking? More or less always if we speak of implicitness, but quite often explicitly as well. He knows that part will get snipped out by partisans which makes them look even more absurd. In the context I linked above he says, "I'm only kidding" literally immediately following his joke about a third term. You haven't given any evidence. You've instead spread misinformation, relied heavily o…

> Partisanship just blinds people, and is something that should be avoided like the plague.

Well, we agree on that much.

Re: Whistleblower warns Postal Service mail ballot system has catastrophic problems

#339

Post by hackyhacky » Sat, Sep 05, 2026, 1:46 AM UTC

wallst07 wrote: post #242

Capricorn2481 wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything you're saying can be true and co-exist with the reality, which is the current administration has been so vindictive, short-sighted, and nakedly serving the billionaire class, that its own supporters have had to completely disengage with everything The Executive Branch is doing. If you talk to Trump supporters in real life, they are not having nuanced discussions about the state of our country, they are com…

"If you talk to Trump supporters in real life, they are not having nuanced discussions about the state of our country, they are completely tuned out to what is going on." Really, where exactly? I'd say 100% polar opposite. I live in a county that has voted for a R president almost every election, and the conversations are very different. There is a lot of disagreement, but it's usually the disagreement on the HOW not…

Oh I'm sure they're having conversations. Those conversations are about how evil immigrants are, how tariffs are not taxes, what color MAGA hat to buy, and why Trump is the most honest billionaire in history. Conversations not tethered to reality.

Re: Whistleblower warns Postal Service mail ballot system has catastrophic problems

#340

Post by somenameforme » Sat, Sep 05, 2026, 3:25 AM UTC

hackyhacky wrote: post #333

somenameforme wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he genuinely believes that the 2020 election was likely stolen and that his extreme actions were a response to that. I also think he enjoys trolling the media, probably in part because its his personality but also probably because it's the best way to take on yellow journalism. By overtly feeding the media stuff that he knows will be taken out of context, he lets them destroy themselves. When the media run se…

> I think he genuinely believes that the 2020 election was likely stolen There are more-or-less two possibilities: either he believes that the election was stolen despite the total absence of evidence to that effect, in which case he is a fool; or he cynically pretends to believe that for the purpose of personal gain, in which case he is a liar and a con-man. Based on what we've all seen of his psychology, though, I…

It's unclear to me whether you are incapable of following a thread, or are having trouble keeping your sock puppets in order. I'm not talking to you, or at least this account here - and you responded multiple times to another post under the same account, all while referring to yourself as we.

In any case, I'm not going to respond to poorly constructed straw men. If you want to speak like an adult I'll happily continue the discussion, if you want to keep ranting like a partisan - then perhaps it's genuinely impossible for you to discuss things outside of echo chambers.