181–190 of 246 posts
It’ll end by me bending over at some point. Karma for this: http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/14/aaron-swartz-asking-for-hel...
Plus you wouldn't be so mad if you didn't realize he was right.
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Blah, blah, blah. The problem isn't some vague platitude about how there is "too much government". This wasn't caused by Social Security or other defined benefit programs (which make up most of "government"), or by the Veterans Administration, or by the Postal Service, or by FDA. It was caused by one specific agency, created by W, which should never have been created, is duplicative by its very nature, and which has…
DHS is a problem but it is not the problem. It's a symptom of the problem of excessive government control over our lives. For the most part the DHS is just an amalgam of other agencies anyway, and those would still exist even if the DHS did not.
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I just think there's another way to look at this situation. Have you seen The Incredibles? The scene towards the beginning when Mr. Incredible helps the little old lady cheat the insurance system? I think most bureaucrats want to be that person. They want to give the good guy a break; they want to cut people who try hard a little bit of slack. It means more work for them, since they need to spend their own time to ma…
God, I wish it was the way you describe it. Unfortunately, Mr. Incredible is the exception, not the rule. Most flunkies really don't care about the person in front of them - at least not enough to risk their job (which Mr. Incredible was doing every time he helped someone). Additionally, it has been my experience that American cops are not shy about showing overwhelming force. Nor are they shy about pushing the bound…
I've met cops that didn't really care, I met some that were super friendly and a few not so friendlies, one couple arrived at a party because of a noise complaint right at midnight when a lot of people were cheering happy birthday. Tried as I could (I was talking to them as their English and the Americans German both weren't great), they didn't understand that yes, that's louder than the rest of the party was before and after and were just assholish all around.
At the resident registration office I had case workers that tried to made me feel bad for everything and just wanted to exercise power as well as those that helped me avoid fees I would have otherwise had to pay.
The worst person was the doctor at the conscription office but as that was my only contact with a military person ever, it's not much of a sample size ;)
So in closing again: they are just humans. And just like humans they often can be manipulated into helping you.
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You think you understand the score, but to me it seems more like a persecution complex. The irony is that in Arrington's situation the border agent tried to educate Mike that this was a rule that could be safely bent in the interest of expedience, but it was Mike himself who insisted on perfect procedure.
Lying to a federal agent is a felony. I'm not saying it justifies rudeness, but I can see being quite thoroughly paranoid about signing a federal form that contains a known inaccuracy. The agent's opinion that the discrepancy was unimportant might not have been shared by her superiors. If people can be subject to federal prosecution for signing a form prepared by government workers, those workers should consider it t…
You add in state and municipal codes and you probably are breaking the law right now as you read this and probably in multiple ways.
Consider what you are saying. "Government workers should consider it their job [to be] absolutely accurate." Do you really want a vehicular safety inspection when you get pulled over for speeding? Especially given that the tests for which are written so that any commercial vehicle with any wear and tear at all will fail some aspect.
"Standing your ground" on principle is fine I guess if you have as large an ego as Arrington; I would rather focus on what is important and get sh*t done. I also really would advise taking anything he says when it comes to anything he has a vested interest in with a grain of salt. He has less than a stellar record on honesty when it comes to self-reporting.
2 + 2 = 5
http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/articles/col-twoplustwo.htm
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They check your bags and feet for dried dirt, maybe have you stand in a tray with chemicals to destroy anything nasty on the bottom of your shoes, and check your country of origin against a list to see just how bad it could potentially be. US Customs generally speaking aren't that bad. It is US immigration which are authoritarian nutjobs (and the TSA). US Customs seem to be mostly interested in FACTS, immigration and…
I have to say I've never really had a bad experience with immigration (touch wood). US Customs did however once confiscate a Fortnum and Mason's pork pie from me that I was taking to an English friend in Seattle.
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Perhaps my understanding of the USCG is underinformed then, I was under the impression that they were moved from the command of the Marines into DHS years ago. Are they simply an independent police organization then?
Yes, more or less. Remember: DHS exists because after 9/11, politicians got a bug up their ass about how many different federal agencies there were with missions that involved interior security, and decided there should be one cabinet-level authority managing all of those functions. It was not a well-thought-out thing; it is literally a meatball of different security, law enforcement, safety, military, and even scien…
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I have to say I've never really had a bad experience with immigration (touch wood). US Customs did however once confiscate a Fortnum and Mason's pork pie from me that I was taking to an English friend in Seattle.
Was the pork pie cooked? They have a rule against raw meat but if it is cooked then it should have been allowed through.
Ah, procedure. I'm particularly fond of situations like this where the procedure is, for the normal person, a once-in-a-lifetime event. But the flunky on the other side of the desk does it every day. And they think you are yet another stupid person who doesn't understand the simple procedure, and they have nothing but contempt for those who don't understand the procedure as deeply as they do (especially which parts o…
> [T]he procedure is, for the normal person, a once-in-a-lifetime event. But the flunky on the other side of the desk does it every day. I just had a TV delivered. And then a replacement delivered, but they were unauthorized to pick up the original, so the same two delivery guys had to come back a third time. All three times, the delivery guys tried to force me to sign an incomplete form. They clearly wanted me to si…
> Charm simply does not work on underpaid meatheads
Charm, or respect, works on people. Sorry, but when you call them meatheads, it doesn't instill me with any confidence that you treated them with respect. The actions you describe support that fact (mostly through the way you describe it).
Again, maybe you have a reason, but unless you are leaving critical things out, your attitude is what makes it impossible.
This is why the founders wrote a constitution circumscribing the powers of government. This is man bites dog. Person in power (cop, bouncer, immigration officer, DHS, whatever) abuses power. It's as typical as it gets.
>This is man bites dog. I'm sorry, but you have it backwards, the point of that aphorism is that the event is unusual. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_bites_dog_%28journalism%29