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5·1 month agoDoesn’t matter if anything is legal or not (see: deporting aliens). This administration is doing whatever it wants to stop what it doesn’t like then allowing it to play out in court. Like a super villain, this is Trump’s “super power”.
I think that’s up for debate. There are people who don’t want government involved in their daily lives. These - livable wage and such - are nice things to have but aren’t the core responsibility of any and all governments. I don’t think “manages society” is the right phrasing either. And FWIW, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is not in the US constitution so there is no legal requirement for the US government to provide this. The DoI also said all men are created equal then they went on to say black men are worth less than white men.
I think a responsible representative government would weigh the realities of contemporary society and make adjustments to adjust for injustices and inequalities. They may also take larger things into consideration such as why a business determines to operate in one country or another and offer subsidies that promote job creation (rather than inflationary tariffs). I mean, there’s a lot and I don’t want to get into everything here.
My point is, what’s the role of not just the US government, not just a federal or national government, but any and all government - other than “to govern”? I would argue it’s preventative harm reduction.
When the first version of government was created, was it to make the daily lives of people better or was it to provide protection for those who couldn’t protect themselves? Not rhetorical. We all need to agree that point 1 is XYZ. Then we can get one with discussing things like livable wage, social security, health care, education, etc. Actually, on paper, I think the concept of the US is fantastic. A core government that covers broad universal functions while each regional division can focus on its own. The issue from here is that state boundaries are, for all intents and purposes, irrelevant today.
My other point, to bring it back to this story, is the the role of government should not be to pretend groups of people do not exist, hide them in the shadows, and ignore the atrocities others are inflicting upon them - our be the one committing those atrocities. So, if we start there with a solid idealogical foundation, we can more easily observe said atrocities and hold elected officials accountable. Universally, outside of party affiliation.
Then, once a foundation is agreed upon without any argument, we can move on to things that have nuance and are worthy of debating details and directions.
I just don’t think we’ve reached step one yet. Perhaps because a lot of people are very, and rightfully, concerned about steps two through a million.
I think we’ve lost sight of what the role of government is or should be. Though, to be fair, I’m not sure it’s been agreed upon.
Isn’t the role of government to provide protection / prevent harm? To create a space for fair opportunity and to level the playing field and adjust for injustices?
I mean, just because you don’t like someone or something or something makes you uncomfortable or doesn’t align with your beliefs doesn’t mean that thing doesn’t exist nor should the government be in charge of abolishing it. In fact, if you have such strong opinions about something, it’s very likely that this is something the government should be protecting from you.
I just don’t think this is a liberal or conservative claim. It should be a universal fact that’s applied to all. And, I think, any government or politician who fails to protect a single person should be removed from the job they’ve shown they’re not capable of performing.
I guess we’ve given up on holding our politicians accountable and transferred any power we had to the oligarchs and corporations.
21·1 month agoI’d be interested to hear from the youngest generation (15-20 YO) to hear if they care about this at all.
I’m approaching 50 years old and had been an early adopter most of my adult life. Growing up from the 1980s through 2000s, there was a near-mainstream narrative that we were living in a unique era of emerging technologies. It was exciting and we were anxious for anything new.
It seems to me that nothing is really new and there is nothing exciting, if not interesting, about technology today.
I’ve actually been stripping down the technology from my life as it’s become too distracting to get things done and has prevented personal growth and the formation of memories. For one example, I recently subscribed to a print magazine because I prefer a tangible object that I can associate with in and of itself (and choose to own and collect).
Looking at analog trends like vinyl records and film photography and cassette tapes, it seems like people are at least trying to incorporate tangible objects into a modern lifestyle. Then you have the trend of the dumb phones which indicate people are becoming more aware of the detriments caused by an always connected lifestyle. Thankfully, some car manufacturers are returning buttons to their cars in response to owner feedback about everything being a touch screen.
I mean, I’m not a multi-trillion dollar organization with different departments studying the feasibility of future products but I do wonder if something like AR glasses are already more of our past than our future.
I think there’s a more than reasonable desire for a device to help you through your day - especially in foreign countries. But do you think you want that to be glasses or something else?
Lastly, this reminds me of the prediction from Michio Kaku in Physics of the Future about augmented reality contact lenses. Should we at least accept AR glasses as first step towards contact lenses? Do you think society would accept these 20-40 years in the future?
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I stopped going because they lock everything I want to buy behind a window.
I know that’s not explicitly related to this article but it pisses me the fuck off because I am literally an eight minute walk to a Target and would go there all the time if they weren’t so dead set on making the experience the worst ever.
It’s evident that they’re pushing people to make online purchases (where they can show you ads and get your info from an app) to pick up in store or have delivered.
They’re also pushing customers to use the self check out system. This costs them less money than employing a person. Well, when the self check out machine breaks or people are buying a lot of stuff or when it’s a busy holiday or weekend, the line is stupid long and there’s no choice other than to walk out of the store (which I have done three times).
Target needs to hire more people and to pay them a fair wage. This will reduce theft due to staff walking the aisles and increase the sense of shopping on a planet that’s inhabited by human beings. The place is a shit hole ghost town that feels like a dystopian nightmare.
I mean, this has been an issue for four years. At first, I had assumed that they were intentionally trying to devalue their brand. Now with this DEI thing, I am convinced.
Fuck you, Target.
Also fuck self check outs. They were novel at first but they fucking suck cock. I will not go to a store that doesn’t have the option to engage with a human. The last time I gave it a shot, the very first item I scanned was rejected. I put all my shit back in my cart and the one person there to “help” asked what was wrong and I said never again will I ever use self check out. It’s a failed system. It threatens people’s jobs. It doesn’t help you do anything. It doesn’t save time.
Sorry. Downvote me. I just really hate today’s retail environment.
How does this cause you harm or prevent you from praising your god?
Perhaps more curious, why the fuck would you become a doctor if you’re opposed to science and helping people? Don’t doctors have to swear (presumably to god) to do no harm? This guy should have his license revoked.
Hence, “Trannis” /s
Wow. Only took 26 years.
This Mother Jones article really made things more clear.
Trump, a president who rules like a mob boss while claiming vast new powers, is transforming the government into a tool of reward and punishment.
I was coerced into it because someone thought they were my illegitimate half-sibling. I was extremely hesitant due to privacy concerns but I succumbed to family pressure. Through the test, we discovered she’s more likely to be my cousin. Immediately after, I “deleted” all my info. I guess you can only take their word for it.
While this certainly doesn’t help our already failing primary education system, the department of education mostly works with grants and loans and continued education (GED), ensuring a safe learning environment, aiding those with disabilities, etc. You know, the bare minimum governments should be doing.
I feel like “another” is not doing enough work here.
the country continues to grapple with AN ADDITIONAL bird flu strain ON TOP OF THE ONE WE’VE ALREDY GOT that has infected humans…
Try reading again. The amendment was removed from the bill and it was specifically clarified that it is illegal to examine someone after birth to determine their sex. If a court case comes up where a doctor is being sued for examining someone after their birth to determine their sex, they would point to this law that says it is clearly forbidden.
An amendment introduced by House Judiciary Chair J.B. Akers on March 6 would have allowed medical professionals to “to visually or physically examine a minor child for purposes of verifying the biological sex of the child without the consent of the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian.”
That amendment was adopted into the bill.
Before officially passing the Senate, Senator Patrick Martin (R - Lewis, 12) proposed two further amendments, one of which clarifies “that the article does not authorize certain examinations of minor children.”
Senator Martin’s amendment nullified Delegate Akers’ amendment, thereby excluding it from the final bill.
SB 456 was passed by the Senate Tuesday 32-1 with one Senator absent for the vote. In the House, 90 delegates voted in favor, eight opposed, and two were absent.
Right. I had to edit my initial comment to replace ‘profit’ with ‘revenue’. Profit is down for the year (increased losses) but revenue is up. It seems to me (not an expert) that they’re investing more in their platform while it becomes even more popular. Their stock may very well skyrocket in the near future.
From the article:
Last year, Reddit, Inc. (NYSE:RDDT) saw net losses expand by 433 percent to $484.27 million from the $90.82 million registered in 2023, despite revenues growing by 62 percent to $1.3 billion from $804 million.
However, it recorded a 283.7-percent jump in its net income for the fourth quarter last year at $71 million versus $18.5 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenues for the quarter also surged by 71 percent to $427.7 million versus $249.8 million.
And a quick search shows “Reddit’s daily active user count has grown by 47.27% since Q3 2023.” And they’ve doubled their daily users in four years.
https://backlinko.com/reddit-usersAnd this should say a lot about a lot of thing today…
When it comes to daily Reddit app usage, only 7% of Reddit users opened the app every day in Q4 2023. To put in perspective, other social media platforms have a higher share of engaged users who open the app every day, specifically “X/Twitter (18%), Snapchat (25%), Facebook, TikTok (32%), and Instagram (43%)”.
Only 7% of users opened the app every day. That’s a huge opportunity for growth. And how do they drive growth? Presumably the same way other social platforms have - quicker content consumption that increases emotional engagement.
I’m a bit surprised it’s not higher.
Everything they’ve done is to increase their
profitsrevenue. While some people may have left as a protest, the vast majority of people don’t really care - see: twitter, facebook, instagram, tiktok. If anything, the “bad news” about people leaving was great advertising for them.What I’ve observed over the past ten+ years, and still don’t understand, is how anyone enjoys the platform at all. At one level, I get that it’s just another social media platform that promotes headlines and memes. But the voting system and the engagement is revolting. I’m not going to say it’s 80% bots but I will say that 80% of people using social media might be dumber than the bots.
I deleted my account in 2023. I have to admit that there are few if any reasonable alternatives for some of the subs existing there. The Fediverse really doesn’t satisfy the need for people to get semi-expert opinions on things, for example.
No matter what kind of business you run, if you haven’t already raised your prices, you’re taking a huge risk.
We have no idea what’s going to happen with the tariffs, what products will eventually increase 10 to 100+%, how the loss of the migrant workforce will impact food costs, how the ongoing war in Ukraine will impact fuel and crop costs, or how any of the other idiotic decisions this administration is making will impact every corner of every industry.
I mean, I’ve personally been stocking up on supplies since November 2024. The only thing we know for sure is that this guy is currently running the country exactly how people in the 20th century feared “a woman” would run the country - emotionally and erratically with zero assurances.
I would be terrified if I were a business owner.