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Dianne Feinstein has died

nytimes.com

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Re: Dianne Feinstein has died

#291

Post by tristor »

bombcar wrote: post #155
tristor wrote: post #125

I know it’s rude to say negative things about a person who has just passed, but I can’t help feeling happy that such an influential Senate seat will finally go to someone that’s not over 70 (hopefully). There should be age limits for public office and it should match whatever we consider the retirement age to be. We have too many dusty old codgers running things and ruining things, clawing at power and money while de…

Adding an age limit would just get you a slightly younger equivalent in that seat (wheelchair?). At least now you have the (minuscule, I admit) chance that some secure senator will go against his or her party because they know their seat is secure in re-election.

Many of the policy positions held by Congresspersons I believe to be directly tied to their age and place in life and their lack of understanding around technology, all of which are best rectified by reducing the median age of those serving in Congress. While this does nothing to affect special interest groups, lobbying, or corruption, those are separate issues with separate solutions. Age limits are not a panacea, but they are necessary.

Re: Dianne Feinstein has died

#294

Post by Clubber »

2devnull wrote: post #289

She really was pretty moderate in many ways, especially when it came to defense/ir. I doubt her replacement will be as moderate, but hopefully she will be younger and more cognitively fit. (We have a competency crisis in our highest ranks, perhaps it’s a feature for certain factions, but it’s a big problem. Generational variation in narcissistic behavior doesn’t explain it all. How many of our current leaders would w…

Unfortunately, the population has a tendency of voting for the incumbent. 98% of the time according to Wikipedia. We keep electing the same people and wonder why the middle class keeps shrinking. Vote out the incumbent by default. Yes, the person you like is part of the problem.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_stagnation_in_th....

Default Bias Fallacy: (also, Normalization of Evil, "Deal with it;" "If it ain't broke, don't fix it;" Acquiescence; "Making one's peace with the situation;" "Get used to it;" "Whatever is, is right;" "It is what it is;" "Let it be, let it be;" "This is the best of all possible worlds [or, the only possible world];" "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't."): The logical fallacy of automatically favoring or accepting a situation simply because it exists right now, and arguing that any other alternative is mad, unthinkable, impossible, or at least would take too much effort, expense, stress or risk to change. The opposite of this fallacy is that of Nihilism ("Tear it all down!"), blindly rejecting what exists in favor of what could be, the adolescent fantasy of romanticizing anarchy, chaos (an ideology sometimes called political "Chaos Theory"), disorder, "permanent revolution," or change for change's sake.

Re: Dianne Feinstein has died

#296

Post by rednerrus »

Aloha wrote: post #151
thrillgore wrote: post #98

Having seen Diane bootlick for the telecoms most of my life, good riddance. Yes, you heard me. I am not even going to pause for a condolance or bite my tongue. I'm glad she's gone. She was 100% unfit for the position in the last few years of her life and nothing was done about it. This is a problem with US Politics, they are too fucking old to represent the actual population so they are pulled by SIGs and lobbyists.…

"and nothing was done about it" Who was supposed to do something?

Voters, the Democratic Party, etc.

Re: Dianne Feinstein has died

#297

Post by seydor »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #295
seydor wrote: post #292

Why does someone want to have power over others at 90

The desire for power doesn't disappear at a certain age. More importantly, what do you think would encourage someone with power who covets and/or has it to part with it gracefully?

The justification for that does though

afaik she asked to be elected, did not need to part with anything (i mean she did not have property rights to the seat, if i m not mistaken senators do get elected)

Re: Dianne Feinstein has died

#299

Post by ImPostingOnHN »

bombcar wrote: post #258
schnebbau wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My father is in his 70s and can barely remember what he had for breakfast. He should not be representing anyone, or even voting for that matter. There's no way to separate the able minded from the seniles fairly, so an age limit is the best way to do it.

Does your father continue to vote the same way he has most of his life?

can you call it voting if they have less idea what's going on around them than a teenager?

Re: Dianne Feinstein has died

#300

Post by OkayPhysicist »

seydor wrote: post #292

Why does someone want to have power over others at 90

The way the committee system works in congress, the more seniority you rack up the more influence you carry. The democrats did not want to lose those positions, so she was under a lot of pressure to remain in office as long as possible.
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