Republicans have such a fucking easy job.
Run on “Government doesn’t work! We need less of it!” and then once you have the job, do fucking nothing except obstruct, obstruct, obstruct to make sure jack shit gets done so you can turn around and say “See, the government doesn’t work, we need to get rid of it!”
And for the cost, they get to retire with nice government pensions and better healthcare than any of their voters will ever see.
I hate this fucking planet.
This is not just a partisan issue. As the article points out, its been like this for 30 years. The Dems failed to pass any meaningful legislation too.
It’s because it makes gobs of money that both parties are taking, and it also kind of projects US power to other countries since US tech is doing most of the data collection.
The only Dem I know who even bothers to talk about this stuff is our local senator Ron Wyden. Apart from that, most seem satisfied with the status quo.
It just doesn’t resonate with voters.
I think many voters “feel” tech getting junky, but the connection to why is just way too complicated for most to dig into. It’s not a direct line like tipping waiters or getting abortions.
the dems failed to pass any meaningful legislation
Yeah those tens of millions of people utilizing the ACA sure don’t count. I guess the infrastructure bill didn’t happen, I’ll go tell my city to return the funding it’s using right now to repair roads and sewerage issues that have long been neglected until that money came.
I mean seriously? Nothing meaningful? Let’s just skip the part where you give me some dross about how the ACA was Republican due to compromise blah blah blah we all know but it wouldn’t exist at all without Obama and the democrats expending an enormous amount of political capital. Like it or not, to not call it meaningful is ridiculous.
What does that have to do with internet privacy legislation?
Relax bidey-bro, this thread is about data privacy laws, not general stuff. The only relevant one I’m aware of is DMCA, which was in fact signed into law by Bill Clinton.
bidey-bro
You’re trying too hard
@SteveFromMySpace @[email protected]
I just immediately block people who use terms like bidey-bro.
Life it too short and my feed is too long.
As if surrounding yourself in an echo chamber of sycophants is the better solution. It sure works well for MAGA folks.
It’s unbelievable how any time somebody starts complaining about “echo chambers“ it’s basically an argument for how they are entitled to somebody else’s attention.
When you go out for drinks or dinner or some other social activity, do you always make sure to invite people with beliefs and practices that are diametrically opposed to your own? Do you not mostly keep friends in your orbit who largely agree with you and your values?
I have family I don’t agree with. I have colleagues I don’t agree with. Yes, I also have friends I don’t agree with. But these echo chamber arguments are almost exclusively used by the right to say “you have to listen to me because it’s a moral imperative” then whenever someone like me tries to show them the door, they scream about echo chambers as if they aren’t the problem.
No, we don’t have to keep these people around. I don’t have to listen to every opinion or argument that I disagree with every single time. Sometimes I’m just going to tell people to fuck off and hang out with people who aren’t actively trying to upset me.
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And for the cost, they get to retire with nice government pensions and better healthcare than any of their voters will ever see.
They get way more than just that if they are good little piggies for the ownership class. They get “advisory” positions and board membership that give massive salaries for doing fuck-all as they already did their “job” in government. Totes not a bribe of course, because technicallyyyyy…
Hence, why they call folks who actually want to make government do stuff “rubes” back home.
Congress is an organ of the ruling class and always has been. When they (rarely) do something seemingly against ruling class interests, it is still a strategem to best keep the capitalism boat afloat (it tries to sink every 5-10 years).
Sure, Congress is corrupt, but it always has been. The system is working more or less as designed. And if you want to oppose this design, the system is also designed to fight you to the death. And funneling all of your capacity into sheepdog voting is how your masters tell you you should oppose them. So if you want to oppose this system, you must become informed as to how it functions and join up with like-minded individuals to develop actually effective means of resistance.
Such as?
Learning media criticism, history, political economy, and how past groups have organized takes a decent amount of time. Namely, socialist theory. So does unlearning the ideological falsehoods that cloud our ability to think and investigate. And so does recognizing what builds power, what actions are effective, what cooption looks like and how to counter it, etc. So I don’t recommend just doing one thing, but instead working from where you are to be closer to a stronger consciousness. I suppose the closest thing to a single recommendation I can give is humility and curiosity around all of the aforementioned topics and to give people grace IRL when you begin working with an organization.
If you are interested in reading recommendations and info about your thoughts on politics I’d be happy to think of something you might appreciate. Or if you feel like you’re ready for action and are in the US I can recommend some orgs that are reasonably good to “start” with (many stay in them and that is also fine!).
This is a whole lot of conspiracy bs with no sources provided. But it includes the usual keywords “the system”, “design”, and “ruling class” so you can get your upvotes from like-minded fellows in your bubble.
Have you considered that politics and economics is a little bit more complicated and a lot of gears make the machine? But “the elite pulling the strings” is much easier to understand and you conveniently get an enemy.
This is a whole lot of conspiracy bs with no sources provided.
It’s not a conspiracy, it’s out in the open. I don’t know what claims you would want sources for. Feel free to ask.
But it includes the usual keywords “the system”, “design”, and “ruling class” so you can get your upvotes from like-minded fellows in your bubble.
You might notice that this is a public community on a non-socialist instance. So, the opposite of what you are saying. Personally, I expected a mix of responses.
Have you considered that politics and economics is a little bit more complicated and a lot of gears make the machine?
Complexity vs. simplicity means nothing in this topic. What matters is identifying dominant powers and the mechanisms by which they function. Many of those mechanisms are somewhat complex, though not that complex that anyone can’t read about them and understand them if they actually want to.
Have you read any socialist theory?
But “the elite pulling the strings” is much easier to understand and you conveniently get an enemy.
Class conflict is actually something that emerges from base social interactions that constitute the primary economic system: how and why we work. The dominant class does have more realized power, by definition, but it is still subordinate to the mechanisms of the economic system itself.
For example, you cannot simply choose to be a nice business owner that pays everyone as much as they deserve. You will, eventually, get outcompeted by the business owners that will keep pay lower and profits higher. While small businesses are still commonly owned by petty tyrants, their loss to big box stores is an example of how a larger mass of profits can be leveraged to destroy the competition (initial low prices), then using monopoly status to earn even more profit by cutting wages and increasing prices.
The political class is just the functionaries of the state that serves the dominant class’s interests. You can call them elite because they personally get a bigger piece of the pie and have power on paper, but they are several rings lower on the hierarchy.
Just because you are in the minority doesn’t make the system corrupt.
That’s true! I’m glad I didn’t say anything like, “the system is corrupt because I’m in the minority”.
PS, the ruling class is a minority.
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The problem, imo is two.
- Technological ignorance
- Money
The solution?
- Educate ourselves about privacy.
- Boycott/divest against all those who wants to exploit our privacy and make money from it.
Microsoft sharing your information? Stop buying Microsoft products. Your car - Ford, sharing your information? Stop buying Ford products. Streaming services sharing your information? Stop using their service.
We have the power. But we’re divided, we are so categorized and siloed. Without unity on specific issues we will not win. If we share an issue that we agree on, leave it at that and tackle the issue. Do not bring in other beliefs or ideas that will drive each other apart, that’s what they want.
good luck with that… the bigger problem is that Americans are already demoralized to the point you cannot make the majority of them understand logic and reason, or science and proof for that matter, or they would already have this problem solved.
Very few of us have been following that. Unfortunately most people would rather have convenience.
Boycott only works with niche products, you will never make a business stop using microsoft office.
Absolutely. I work for a company historically locked in Microsoft infrastructure. It’s taken me close to 7 years, but we’re finally finishing the migration of the in-house platform from Windows - only to kubernetes based and WEBGUI. Once that’s done, everyone gets to choose what they use (windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) and moving forward my boss agreed that all company laptops will be from System76.
So, yeah, 7 years, but I never quit. 2K+ employees.
We shouldn’t think this way. As individual consumers, those of us who buy Microsoft products for personal use, if we were to stop buying their products, even though businesses will continue, it will still make its mark.
They will take it seriously if their personal information becomes visible.
I mean, it has, a bunch of times. And they haven’t so far.
But I agree, in principle. When they’re impacted, in a way they actually understand, things may get better.
I’m 99% sure there are laws that specifically protect politicians from having their information exposed.
I don’t know if this is true but I won’t be surprised
Contact Senator Ron Wyden - he’s doing good work on this front. Show him some support
Internet and associated technology has become the dominant force in our world and we have next to know regulation on it and the stuff we have is targeted at individuals rather than corporations like it should be. I hat to through youtube links around but this guy has a pretty good one on price fixing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdWSUIdtu6E
84% of Americans want something they are unwilling to vote nor do anything for, but they sure as hell will complain about it.
Voting will fix it, it’s worked so far. /s
Decisions are made by those who show up.
No they’re made by those who possess economic power. That’s a tiny sliver of the US population.
It’s elections are nothing than political theatre, with a side goal of creating the illusion of democracy, and building consent for the dictatorship.
That’s defeatism. You especially should believe in the collective. We are not just innocent little playtoys of powers beyond our comprehension. If that were the case and we had no free will, then what’s the point of living? If you truly believe you control nothing in your life, then why still walk this earth?
A single ant cannot destroy a tree. It’s the work of countless ants that achieve that.
Why would the capitalists let you vote away their wealth or power? What incentive do they have to do that?
That’s defeatism.
No, it’s a historical reality that voting is not an effective method to undo class society. Even the ancient greeks knew (before the Marxists rediscovered this and dealt their own death blows to representative government in the 1800s) that voting in an aristocracy is nothing more than theatre, because only the rich and entrenched families have the resources to fund campaigns, and get themselves elected (or appoint political puppets to do their bidding).
Political power is a reflex of economic power, and the rich will not allow you to use the system they control, to undo it.
single ant cannot destroy a tree. It’s the work of countless ants that achieve that.
Many socialist / communist parties did just that, and they weren’t deluded enough to try to accomplish it via voting in a system controlled by the ruling classes.
So you’re completely ignoring the rise of fascism due to voting? The second world war happened because a bunch of nazis stormed the German parliament and took control of it by force? What do you think populism does?
Of course you can change the system from within. Le Pen, Höcke, Meloni, Wilders, Trump, and so on, they aren’t “part of the establishment”. They latched onto a populist narratives, got financial aid from the radicals in their countries, and gathered votes to get themselves into offices .
The left-wing parties in France united to pose a unified front against the national assembly (le RN) in France. And it worked. They got the relative majority to vote for them, but as soon as they won, they were beset by infighting. Such is the common reality of left wing parties - they are their own greatest enemy.
Either you chose to ignore it or you were unaware, but the latter is much less probable, so I’m going to say you chose to in order to fit your narrative of “voting doesn’t matter” and imagine that class warfare (or how Marx would put it “Klassenkampf”) is the only way out.
They want comprehensive legislation that everyone agrees on. It isn’t asking much.
I also want a dragon.
“I want”
does nothing for it
we can have the patriot act but for like online. That’s wicked. People so smart.
