miak

The Unix Epoch is obviously the correct base for any calendar.

Have to strongly disagree. If there are going to be political parties, the more the better.

Unfortunately we don't have a Presidential primary this year, when we desperately need one. So our choice is Biden or ... Full-on fascism.

You seem to make my point here. You don't think more parties are needed, but you want to keep pushing the "vote for my guy because the other guy is a monster" line. Sorry, but I'm not going to vote for someone based on who they are not. You point out there are only two shitty choices after stating that we don't need any more choices...

Doesn't this kind of assume humans are a central focus of the simulation? What if the universe is a simulation, but the rise of humans was an unintended result in the simulation. Maybe there is actually other civilizations elsewhere that are the actual focus, or just to get a look at the diversity of life that would form throughout the universe. Or, maybe life in the universe isn't the focus at all and they just wanted to look at the evolution of galaxies and the like.

Or maybe I am misunderstanding your point. I kind of like the idea of being an unintended result of a simulation meant for other things though.

This is really interesting. Without knowing there was a word for it, I've often found myself wishing people (including myslef at times) did a better job of the Connected Knowing approach.

This is exactly why we need the expert!

If you care for music that touches on climate change and class disparity, you could check out King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard's albums Infest The Rats Nest and PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation.
I really enjoy those albums even though I don't typically get into Metal music. For something that's not Metal, the song Plastic Boogie from their album Fishing For Fishies is also great.

There have been studies that suggested increased cancer rates around TMI. I don't pretend to follow TMI closely enough to know for sure, maybe those studies have been completely debunked. The trouble with cancer is there can be a number of different factors leading to it and isolating one incident as the main driver for cancer years down the line is difficult.

There was also the issue with the way the surrounding communities were being "kept informed" and the fact that a whistle blower and to come forward to halt irresponsible clean up plans that could have caused a catastrophic event.

RFC 1149 has always been my favorite RFC!

There have been studies that show otherwise. It's been a very long time since I read about them, but was able to find this on a quick search: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/02/why-nonviolent-resistance-beats-violent-force-in-effecting-social-political-change/

The Fashion of The Fuhrer sounds like a great musical.

I own Groundhogs Day, and I would gladly buy this.

This is a new one for me, but now sits right along 1149 as a favorite. Thanks for sharing this one!

But if you become a monster just so you can destroy a monster, have you really accomplished anything worthwhile?

Except it took a whistle blower to point out the reckless behavior during the clean-up to prevent a potential catastrophic event when the NRC was all for signing off on the reckless plan. That, plus the poor communication with the surrounding communities did not help the people there feel confident that their safety was being looked after

It's not been uncontested through out history, and I won't pretend that I follow the updates closely, but there have been studies suggesting increased cancer rates in the surrounding communities.

With respect, you are the one that seems outraged. I'm not outraged, just pointing out that government can be just as untrustworthy as corporations and in the case of the NRC, there is some history to justify that.
Government agencies generally should be looked at with critical eyes, as should anyone claiming power over your life.

Also, you claimed there were no victims. The fact that no one died in the immediate aftermath of TMI does not mean there were no victims. The surrounding communities were victimized by poor business decisions and poor oversight.

Boy, you are just really bothered by this. Why does it being 50years ago matter. Can you explain why we should trust them more today than we should have then?

I just thought it was worth recognizing that there were victims as my point in my original post was regarding the trustworthiness of those that are supposed to be looking out for the people. And I guess I'm not sure where I've pushed coal, but you do you, I guess.

Peace and love to you, Zombies

Right, how have their incentives changed and would you trust them regardless of the administration in power? I'm open to them being more trustworthy, but I don't trust them easily.

And just for the record, I'm not against nuclear power. I think it's great and I would love to see more use of clean energy to move away from coal, so your pitchfork is not really necessary. Being skeptical of the organization charged with your safety is not the same thing as being against the technology they look over.

I don't disagree about the harm of coal and I am absolutely hoping fusion works out in the long run. All for clean energy!

It's really refreshing to see someone else point out the issue of how the small size of the House results in shitty representation. I have never seen anyone else bring this up before, thank you!

From what I recall of Three Mile Island, I don't know that I'd put a lot of trust in the NRC.

Right, so you can only leave if we say you can leave mentality, which is a kind of gang mentality. To say that a state that feels it's membership in the union no longer aligns with its values (whether you agree with their reasoning or not) cannot choose on its own to leave in no way aligns with the values of freedom and autonomy.
If you want to advocate for such a system, fine, but it would be dishonest to then turn around and say that this system is one that values freedom.

At it's most basic, freedom is the ability to say no and to disassociate with those you no longer wish to associate with.

If you want to reach someone, the best way to do it is to be prepared to view things the way they do. If you can't set aside your prejudice assumptions on the why/how they have come to their viewpoints and really empathize with them, you're not likely to get far.

The point is that many don't believe they have been open and transparent, including people in government and military. Why do you think they have, just because they say they have? If they have been open and honest, then they shouldn't mind these amendments being passed.

I'd suggest checking out the subcommittee hearing on this from July:

https://www.youtube.com/live/KQ7Dw-739VY?si=FE16gX760e0w7Ydg

And what about when I find both candidate A and B to be incredibly distasteful? If I vote for C and terrible B wins over terrible A, I don't feel disappointed in the way I voted because I voted my conscience. I know this from experience.

I'll agree that the voting system is a part of the problem, but then maybe Democrats should get a little more serious about reforming that process. I don't see that as likely since that would challenge their duopoly privilege, but would love them to prove me wrong.

In the meantime, if a party wants me to vote for their candidate, they should put up a candidate I can support. I will not vote for someone that doesn't represent my values.

Also, this Texas Monthly article from late 2022 is an excellent read on the subject. It can never happen, because a post-Civil War law from 1869 makes a state's unilateral secession from the union illegal. There can be no secession, nor even a referendum. No wonder these drama kings are so confident.

Which is pretty whack. I don't in any way endorse what the Texas government is doing with the border, just to get that out of the way. The idea that a state isn't free to seceed is completely ridiculous. One can not rightfully claim the U.S. is a free country if the states are not free to leave the union. This idea that once you're a part of the union, you're apart of the union forever is a gang mentality that has no place in a free society.