So either you really dont get how things work, or you’re kind of racist/xenophobic.

It’s both. It’s always both. People are afraid and angry and hungry, and that brings fascism like flies to shit. I really don’t want to believe that people were always this hateful, and that it’s mostly because times are tough for everyone. Doesn’t help that you have Fox News and their cronies whipping everyone into a frenzy about every little thing.

Oh well. Now we’ll see them put their plan into action and hope that they somehow self-implode before they do too much damage.

I’m not blaming it on cabin fever or anything like that. I think people are just angry.

That’s just because they live in the 21st century.

I’ve certainly seen an uptick in anti-social behavior since Covid. Whether or not it’s because of the economic situation or being cooped up inside, it really seems to have done a number on some people.

If it costs the NYT money and buys the workers some bargaining power, I’m all for it.

You’re not wrong. We have a representative democracy because the Founders thought the same way. I guess I prefer not to believe that it’s impossible for people to be well-informed enough to make a good decision on these things. I’ve certainly seen some new lows in the past 10 years.

I’m asking for the individual candidates to lay out their specific political goals. The party can continue to publish its platform and planks.

Then people vote based on whether they want to see those goals met. When those politicians are up for re-election, it’s fairly easy for someone to tabulate whether or not those goals were met. If there are extenuating circumstances (overwhelming opposition, for example), then they can use that to defend themselves. This would help hold their feet to the fire.

As for voting ideologically, I attribute that mostly to FPTP - people feel as though they cannot do anything but vote ideologically because there are no real alternatives. That’s why RCV is extremely important.

shrug Where I live, cars feel (and know) that they’re invincible and likely to suffer no punishment if they kill someone.

Drivers like to think that they can do no wrong all the time, not just when it suits their purpose.

An ex-coworker of mine recommended Mango Languages, which is supposed to be much better and also if you have a library card, you can usually get a subscription for free through them! The lessons are probably a little longer than 30 seconds, but not too much longer. I’d say a minute tops.

This might be survivorship bias. If you get hit by a cyclist, you might - worst case Ontario - break a limb or something if they send you flying into something else. If you get hit by a driver, you are definitely going to break something and you will most likely die.

As for how likely it is that you actually get hit - do you think it’s easier to avoid a 2’ x 6’ object moving at 15 mph or a 8’ x 16’ object moving at 45 mph?

You’ve waited years for this moment, haven’t you?

I assume it’s the same in most areas - humans are really susceptible to sampling bias and if you live in an urban area, you’re going to see a higher number of immigrants or foreigners. Plus, in Japan specifically, there’s currently a big backlash against tourists fucking with people’s daily routines, so I’m sure people mentally think there must be hordes of foreigners constantly invading the country.

Interesting that Argentina has the largest disparity here, actually. I would have expected it to be the US, given the rhetoric.

Yeah, that’s the main issue that Eddie brings up and it’s valid. Definitely need licensing and safety regulations and for Mr. Beast to not be involved. I was speaking purely from an economic perspective.

They’re shady af, but they also just make sense. Given that real estate is extremely difficult to procure for restaurants just starting up, why wouldn’t you form a restauranteur co-op? There’s a few “food incubators” (don’t know if I love that term, but w/e) near me and it seems to be a win-win for everyone involved.

Moving away from FPTP is, for democracy, the crucial first step that very few seem to have taken.

Hard disagree. It’s really easy for candidates to talk the talk on the campaign trail, and then do a 180 once they’re in office.

That being said, this doesn’t work if you let them use flowery speech and vague promises. If you had parties submit a platform of actually actionable decisions they would make (e.g. “decrease the federal minimum wage”), you’d be able to suss out what they actually want to do. It would also provide a rubric for re-election - how many of the things you wanted to do did you accomplish? Are there good reasons why you weren’t able to?

It’s extremely disappointing to me (admittedly in the US) that Covid seems to have obliterated any chance for a large-scale investigation on payment processors’ stranglehold on our financial systems. The fees that Visa/Mastercard/etc. charge, especially for tiny merchants with insanely low transaction numbers, are criminal.

Reserving judgment, but “unfiltered” places on the internet usually tend to veer one way.

Usually RCV is an initiative or referendum depending on how your state does it. In mine, it’s just a separate issue on the back that we have to vote for, alongside things like “should we institute a tax for schools” or “should we approve building a new park”. Entirely separate from voting for candidates for any position.

Don’t forget a little note saying "Think this is stupid? Vote for Ranked-Choice Voting!’