OMG Politics, I'm over it already.

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jp_nyc said:
I miss manual windows. Sure power windows have advantages. But fixing power windows can require hours of labor and isn’t cheap. The only manual window repair I ever made was a handle replacement that took five minutes (counting buying the new handle) and cost under $20.
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  • Added cost
  • Needless complexity and, consequently, another potential point of failure
  • Additional weight
  • There was already a solution that worked
  • Get off my lawn
 
My PW buttons can be controlled to go all the way up (or down) if you hold it for just a second longer. A quick, light touch just moves it up or down incrementally. I'll be damned if I can get the hang of it :annoyed:
 
Steverino said:
My PW buttons can be controlled to go all the way up (or down) if you hold it for just a second longer. A quick, light touch just moves it up or down incrementally. I'll be damned if I can get the hang of it :annoyed:
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yea.....me too.....i hit the drivers side button and the damn thing goes all the way down.....pouring rain.....all i wanted was a little venting......errrrrr:mad:
 
Steverino said:
My PW buttons can be controlled to go all the way up (or down) if you hold it for just a second longer. A quick, light touch just moves it up or down incrementally. I'll be damned if I can get the hang of it :annoyed:
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What throws me off is that my car and my wife's car are configured differently on that. Mine has that function on both windows. Hers only has it on the driver side front.
 
smurfco said:
I am not sure what I think about the term limits idea. My gut instinct is that it's a good thing but I haven't given it enough thought to really form a smart opinion yet.
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I've heard this argument made, and it makes a lot of sense.

The world is a very complicated place. How long does it really take to become an expert in a complicated process? Technology (and the laws regulating it)? Foreign affairs? The economy? Energy? Environmental regulations? Social programs? etc. And I'm not just talking about informed enough to make an educated for/against judgement on a ballot. I'm talking about knowing every in and out, knowing forms and documents and procedures, knowing key players and building relationships, etc.

Imagine you're job was procuring permits for a major construction company who worked in several regions in several states. It would take you years to learn the ins-and-outs of just that process.

Or just look at energy. Do you know how the electricity market works? Do you know the actually costs and benefits, pros-and-cons of different renewables vs coal or natural gas. Do you know how many MWs you can milk per acre from a solar farm, and how that compares to the footprint of a coal or natural gas plant? Do you know all the different incentives for citizens putting solar on their rooftops and how that works? Do you understand Net Metering? Do you why a power company needs Natural Gas plants to supplement solar? (Hint: the sun gets hidden by clouds, and that lost power needs to be generated somewhere else, quick, to keep the grid stable.)

So, it could be said that we as a public benefit from politicians who have been in the game for awhile and know what they're doing. (of course this all hinges on those politicians actually having the public good as their goal and priority, no corruption, yadda yadda, but we're making that assumption here, devil's advocate and all)

They days of hoping for the educated farmer who reads Plato at night reluctantly stepping away from his farm to serve his civil duty for 4 years, then returning to the plow is over.

And I think I mostly agree with all of this. We, as citizens, just need to do a LOT better job of knowing our senators and representatives, like we obsess over our presidents. We need to do a LOT better job of voting them out when nothing gets done. We need to get money out of politics, get it back down to a reasonable level of corruption, (cause let's be honest), and get educated and dedicated individuals in there.

I'm fine paying a good salary and great benefits to someone who is going to become an expert in a subject, devote their life to it, and sit on committees and read legislation and make well educated decisions on the best course of action for their state or nation or both. And I'm fine with them making a career out of it. The problem isn't that politicians are in office too long.It's WHICH politicians are in office too long, and why the hell aren't people voting them out?
 
College friend on facebook, 2 hours ago, I guess he's driving for Uber now:

"So as I'm ubering tonight, I pick up 4 white males. I ask, "Going to High St.?" They say, "Yeah. The slut dungeon." We pass a Trump protest along the way and they collectively say, "Can you run those faggots over for us? They're just mad Trump won. They probably didn't even vote." Then they say, "Yeah did you know Harambe got 15,000 votes? All those dumb ni**ers voting for another monkey."

I simply said, you're certainly living up to the Trump stereotype. This is the culture your candidate is representing."
 
I like the idea of term limits for two reasons. First, it gets rid of crooks like Harry Reid who hang around forever to get rich off land deals. Second, it flushes out senile senators like Robert Byrd and Strom Thurmond who can’t even sign the bills their staff write without help.

I understand the institutional memory argument, but I don’t think that really works. In the 1980s the government was packed with people who had been around for Vietnam and they still went and got us mixed up in a bunch of bad foreign policy in the middle east. Then, in the 2000s, the government was pack with guys who had been around in the 1980s, and they still got us into more bad foreign policy in the middle east. The same goes for supply-side economics. The same have people watched that nonsense fail over and over. But they just keep bringing it back.

And I understand the expert arguments. But I don’t think many of todays politicians are experts at anything but politics. I think most of them, especially in the house, spend the bulk of their time campaigning and fund raising, and they leave the serious thinking up to staff and lobbyists. If you want real experts in government the answer isn’t term limits, it’s limiting what politicians can do after they leave office. Bar them from lobbying jobs and corporate boards for a decade. And bar them from insider trading. That will get rid of the ruthless profiteers and open up space for people from other walks of life who can combine their shared expertise into a legislature that knows how to do more than smile for the cameras and raise money.
 
jp_nyc said:
I like the idea of term limits for two reasons. First, it gets rid of crooks like Harry Reid who hang around forever to get rich off land deals. Second, it flushes out senile senators like Robert Byrd and Strom Thurmond who can’t even sign the bills their staff write without help.

I understand the institutional memory argument, but I don’t think that really works. In the 1980s the government was packed with people who had been around for Vietnam and they still went and got us mixed up in a bunch of bad foreign policy in the middle east. Then, in the 2000s, the government was pack with guys who had been around in the 1980s, and they still got us into more bad foreign policy in the middle east. The same goes for supply-side economics. The same have people watched that nonsense fail over and over. But they just keep bringing it back.

And I understand the expert arguments. But I don’t think many of todays politicians are experts at anything but politics. I think most of them, especially in the house, spend the bulk of their time campaigning and fund raising, and they leave the serious thinking up to staff and lobbyists. If you want real experts in government the answer isn’t term limits, it’s limiting what politicians can do after they leave office. Bar them from lobbying jobs and corporate boards for a decade. And bar them from insider trading. That will get rid of the ruthless profiteers and open up space for people from other walks of life who can combine their shared expertise into a legislature that knows how to do more than smile for the cameras and raise money.
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Yet everytime an educated outsider runs for office all you hear is "yeah he's good, I like him, but he doesn't stand a chance. I'm going to vote for somebody who can win."

...i could just cry.

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jp_nyc said:
I like the idea of term limits for two reasons. First, it gets rid of crooks like Harry Reid who hang around forever to get rich off land deals. Second, it flushes out senile senators like Robert Byrd and Strom Thurmond who can’t even sign the bills their staff write without help.

I understand the institutional memory argument, but I don’t think that really works. In the 1980s the government was packed with people who had been around for Vietnam and they still went and got us mixed up in a bunch of bad foreign policy in the middle east. Then, in the 2000s, the government was pack with guys who had been around in the 1980s, and they still got us into more bad foreign policy in the middle east. And again in the 2000s. The same goes for supply-side economics. The same have people watched that nonsense fail over and over. But they just keep bringing it back.

And I understand the expert arguments. But I don’t think many of todays politicians are experts at anything but politics. I think most of them, especially in the house, spend the bulk of their time campaigning and fund raising, and they leave the serious thinking up to staff and lobbyists. If you want real experts in government the answer isn’t term limits, it’s limiting what politicians can do after they leave office. Bar them from lobbying jobs and corporate boards for a decade. And bar them from insider trading. That will get rid of the ruthless profiteers and open up space for people from other walks of life who can combine their shared expertise into a legislature that knows how to do more than smile for the cameras and raise money.
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nuke_diver said:
And then assuming the DNC puts forward someone who is a good candidate, they will be in good shape in 2020.
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Fuck the DNC.


eloydrummerboy said:
We, as citizens, just need to do a LOT better job of knowing our senators and representatives, like we obsess over our presidents.
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I'm a political junkie, I know but, I'm in the minority.

On top of the DNC and the super delegates, most people didn't have a clue who Sanders was. He won most of the last half of the primary but, the first half, it was all Hill. Because name recognition. What Bernie needs to do, right now is pick his predecessor. Get him or her out there, right now so, in 4 years, they have a chance. Maybe Al Frankin? Any other ideas? I would love a president Liz Warren but, she did not want to run in 2016.
 
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I say we secede and name Bob Dylan our god-king. We will outlaw the economy and make 25 weeks of vacation mandatory. Free ice cream on demand. (No soft serve.)
 
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...ton-hike-new-york-after-election-donald-trump

wanker.gif
 
More irritated with internet drama queens at this point than Trump himself. It sucks, but stop with the "I haven't stopped crying for three days" posts. :annoyed:

Honestly just tired of everything turning into a "who can care the most/care the least" competition.
 
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jp_nyc said:
I miss manual windows. Sure power windows have advantages. But fixing power windows can require hours of labor and isn’t cheap. The only manual window repair I ever made was a handle replacement that took five minutes (counting buying the new handle) and cost under $20.
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Try putting up the back seat windows that your kids put down while driving 80 mph on the highway with manual windows. :grin:
 
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