tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post5678944668849925245..comments2024-03-29T00:39:31.629-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: The “Minimal Overlap” Solution to Gerrymandered InjusticeDavid Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-67419045907095913662017-11-04T17:57:20.171-07:002017-11-04T17:57:20.171-07:00Typical drive by snarker. Can't argue. Has no ...Typical drive by snarker. Can't argue. Has no facts, and thinks that a playground incantation cancels adult reasoning.<br /><br />If the cheaters win, then he may be proved right.<br /><br />Don't let them.<br /><br />onward<br /><br />onwardDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-12050368595984064412017-10-03T17:29:46.471-07:002017-10-03T17:29:46.471-07:00David, you don't have a clue...David, you don't have a clue...endgamehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13932382217095030187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-86244243250760903482017-09-27T15:55:48.193-07:002017-09-27T15:55:48.193-07:00onward?onward?David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-32378976027454149142017-09-27T13:03:22.666-07:002017-09-27T13:03:22.666-07:00raito, blatantly the ideal representation system w...raito, blatantly the ideal representation system would be for any 700,000 Americans who share values and needs to simply pool together and vote (buy) their own, unique representative.If 200 representatives are selected that way, then the geographic districts would expand in size till they encompass 700,000 lazy citizens who did not bother to join an interest group. The remaining 235 would be contested in adversarial elections. If an advocacy constituency falls below 650,000 they must recruit more members or lose their representative.<br /><br />LarryHart: “My Favorite Year" was a great flick!<br /><br />I am in Denver attending the annual symposium of NASA's Innovative and Advanced Concepts program. (I'm on NIAC's advisory council.) The talks are fascinating, re potential breakthrough projects that are just barely this side of plausible. The 2017 NIAC Symposium is streaming LIVE via Livestream, and you can even ask questions: www.livestream.com/viewnow/NIAC2017<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-41591408377686015982017-09-27T12:29:40.781-07:002017-09-27T12:29:40.781-07:00@A.F. Rey and anyone else interested,
You want a ...@A.F. Rey and anyone else interested,<br /><br />You want a webcomic that involves a "Sundiver"-like adventure?<br /><br />http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=66<br /><br />Whet your appetite with that page, and then go back to the beginning...<br /><br />http://www.quantumvibe.com/strip?page=1<br /><br />Highly addictive!<br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-14591351576414362032017-09-27T11:56:21.219-07:002017-09-27T11:56:21.219-07:00On a lighter note, somehow the latest xkcd comic r...On a lighter note, somehow the latest xkcd comic reminds me of <i>Sundiver</i> (especially when you hold the cursor over the comic). :)<br /><br />https://xkcd.com/1895/A.F. Reynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-5274428812984418232017-09-27T10:56:04.793-07:002017-09-27T10:56:04.793-07:00Jim Wright seems a bit pissed...
http://www.stone...Jim Wright seems a bit pissed...<br /><br />http://www.stonekettle.com/<br /><br />Wow. Bartcop meets HL Mencken.Zepp Jamiesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16261339498383415026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-11872524334140031292017-09-27T10:50:54.243-07:002017-09-27T10:50:54.243-07:00Alfred: "The biggest bang for our buck isn&#...Alfred: <i>"The biggest bang for our buck isn't tougher sentences, though. It is seeing more of these things happen well enough to have good evidence which dissuades in advance those who know they can be seen."</i><br /><br />In the topic at hand, gerrymandering, my fear is that simply using 'agreeable principles' (compactness, maintaining community ties, avoiding invidious discrimination against certain people based on protected classifications) - can never suffice given the sophistication of the tools available (you can tell whether and how someone will vote based on credit card records with pretty high certainty). <br /><br /><i>"I don't understand why he voted for Trump, but he lives here in California, so I've decided not to think about it too much."</i><br />I imagine your friend knows how quickly others might discern what he does and doesn't do, simply by analyzing precinct level returns. I wonder how many Republican insiders vote 100% party line year after year for that reason alone. Few resources are devoted to spying on the people who spy on this side of the process - it's far less interesting than ordinary gossip (except to someone seeking to exploit power for profit).donzelionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05991849781932619746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-40619819668707528202017-09-27T10:49:52.682-07:002017-09-27T10:49:52.682-07:00raito:
I should have looked up the actual decisio...raito:<br /><i><br />I should have looked up the actual decision, shouldn't I? It was a longish time ago.<br /></i><br /><br />1977 was like my favorite year ever--at least my favorite year before I was married. I remember a lot of specifics from that summer. I know the Nazi march in Skokie was a thing at that time because I was hand-drawing comic books about the kids at my neighborhood playground having super powers, and I had one of them (Hammerhead) run through the group of marching Nazis.<br /><br />Not that I'd have expected you to remember that. :)<br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-25534053700035335742017-09-27T10:41:11.658-07:002017-09-27T10:41:11.658-07:00Alfred: "The truth is that the US doesn'...Alfred: <i>"The truth is that the US doesn't really need the west including California to be the power house that it is."</i><br /><br />Hard to say. Industrialization and immigration operated as a feedback loop in America; the one would not have occurred so fast without the other. I don't know that one could properly separate the quantity of American power in the East from the lure of the West, seeing as many of the folks who made us so strong came here hoping to take land, but settling in territory where their labor and talent could be put to other uses as well.<br /><br /><i>"It is terribly unlikely, though."</i><br />Agreed. Our host was making a claim similar to one Lincoln had made in 1838,<br /><br /><i>"All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest, with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force take a drink from the Ohio or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years."</i> (The Lyceum Address)<br /><br />Taken seriously: I disagree with the claim, but ultimately not with the assessment of the true threat to America (one posed by the viciousness of our own population, in 1865 and in 2017).donzelionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05991849781932619746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-40979776728267283872017-09-27T09:20:18.422-07:002017-09-27T09:20:18.422-07:00Jimmy Kimmel on health care:
http://www.hollywood...Jimmy Kimmel on health care:<br /><br />http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jimmy-kimmel-celebrates-death-graham-cassidy-health-care-bill-1043548<br /><br /><i><br />...<br />The host then took on Trump's accusations that McCain is a flip-flopper and stated that McCain is still in favor of repealing and replacing Obamacare, just not with “a flaming bag of dog crap.”<br /><br />Kimmel went on the discuss Trump's own hypocrisy. “The idea that Donald Trump would criticize anyone for changing his position is very rich. It’s definitely richer than he is,” he said. “Donald Trump has more flip-flops than a Jimmy Buffett concert.”<br /><br />In response to the clips of McCain the president shared on social media, the Jimmy Kimmel Live team took it upon themselves to compile a number of clips in which Trump is seen saying things he would never admit to today. Some of these revelations include Trump admitting that he believes Hillary Clinton is a good woman, that he’s a Democrat, that he won’t have time to play golf once he becomes president and that he “would never lie.”<br />...<br /></i>LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-15698379061293261352017-09-27T09:00:35.134-07:002017-09-27T09:00:35.134-07:00LarryHart,
I should have looked up the actual dec...LarryHart,<br /><br />I should have looked up the actual decision, shouldn't I? It was a longish time ago.<br /><br />donzelion.<br /><br />Did it with a computer? In 10th grade, I had to write a computer poker game. Mine cheated in favor of the computer. No one noticed.raitonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-9481614284854587912017-09-27T07:29:51.019-07:002017-09-27T07:29:51.019-07:00The anti-transparency administration.
From today&...The anti-transparency administration.<br /><br />From today's www.electoral-vote.com :<br /><br /><i><br />Whatever EPA administrator Scott Pruitt is doing, it's not protecting the environment. Beyond that, however, he's doing everything he can to keep his activities a mystery. He forbids note-taking at staff meetings, and is the only cabinet officer to have a round-the-clock security detail. Now comes news that he's going to spend $25,000 building a soundproof area in his office, so that there is no chance that he will be heard by eavesdroppers. The EPA already has a space like this, for when classified information is being discussed, but it's a conference room in the middle of the department's headquarters. The new space will be for the exclusive use of the Administrator.<br /><br />Clearly, Pruitt wants as much secrecy as is possible, coupled with the smallest paper trail possible. If that is not a formula for shady behavior and corruption, we don't know what is. If there is any question on that point, one need only imagine what the response from Republicans would be if the headline was, "Hillary Clinton forbids note-taking at meetings, has soundproof office to maintain secrecy." Sean Hannity might literally have a coronary. <br /></i>LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-88648361525816854752017-09-26T22:28:45.149-07:002017-09-26T22:28:45.149-07:00@donzelion | There is no system, nor will there ev...@donzelion | <i>There is no system, nor will there ever be any system, that is immune to cheats - hence, transparency must be our first line of defense (and any system must be able to respond to cheats and bring their tactics into the open).</i><br /><br />Amen. 8)<br /><br />I know a small developer who explained why he and some of his friends didn't do certain things. He had a friend who got to cool his heels in prison after the S&L debacle. They are all ingenious and motivated, but some of them think they are too slippery to catch. Turns out they aren't and their friends notice.<br /><br />This is inline with was our host points out in his transparency book when he runs the numbers for how many crimes lead to actual prison terms. Not many. The biggest bang for our buck isn't tougher sentences, though. It is seeing more of these things happen well enough to have good evidence which dissuades in advance those who know they can be seen.<br /><br />That developer is a decent guy and friendly enough. He knows when he is adding value to a community and when he isn't. I don't understand why he voted for Trump, but he lives here in California, so I've decided not to think about it too much. 8)Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-9346794675977413912017-09-26T22:15:45.783-07:002017-09-26T22:15:45.783-07:00@donzelion | Mexico with French backing wouldn'...@donzelion | Mexico with French backing wouldn't have been able to sustain independence movements on our western frontier for long. The truth is that the US doesn't really need the west including California to be the power house that it is. What we needed was to keep foreign power off the near frontier, hence our interest in buying Russia out in North America. If we could have done the same with France and England in the Caribbean, we would have done so.<br /><br />Mexico/French meddling in Colorado would have led to us invading through Texas most likely. We would have taken Veracruz and kept it next time.<br /><br /><br />David did say it was us against them all, though, so I'll admit there is one alt.history scenario where I think we lose. It is terribly unlikely, though. You'd need the nations along the northern plains of Europe to unite under one flag or a moderately stable hegemony AND THEN GET ALONG WITH EACH OTHER in their opposition to us. Heh. That's what the Stratfor people mean in our #5 objective. Prevent competitors from rising. That goal is sufficient to explain why we had to enter WWI, WWII, and the Cold War. We can't risk someone running the table over there. No one else is a sufficient threat anymore.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-82836002650391980012017-09-26T21:57:23.682-07:002017-09-26T21:57:23.682-07:00@Paul SB | 'Bourgeois Dignity' is the seco...@Paul SB | 'Bourgeois Dignity' is the second of three and in my opinion it is the hardest to read end to end. She lays out a skeletal argument for where she intends to go in book #3 and the collects a bunch of arguments that each lasts a few pages. Those many arguments repeat a lot of material because they focus on each of the pet ideas people have for why the world is richer today than ever before and then she tries to demolish them. I think she figured most readers will read a little of the front chapters and then skip to their pet idea. Given that, each of the later chapters reads as a small, mostly independent essay.<br /><br />It was Empires! Nah. We've done lots of empires and they mostly made people at the top rich. Okay. If you live in the center of the empire, the average income was about 2x subsistence in the recent empires. However, each was rigged to discourage free markets, but not so badly that people starved... often.<br /><br />It was Science! Nah. Maybe later in the 20th century, but not before industrialization when the Dutch started getting rich. Besides, why didn't it work for the Greeks? The Romans were excellent engineers. Why not them? Worse yet, most of what we think got invented in the West was likely found first in China. Why not them first?<br /><br />That's the way most of the book reads. If you go through it from end to end like I did, it IS worth it, but mostly because you'll have those counter-arguments from many different angles. You'll see where her knowledge is soft and where it isn't. You'll see where it might matter and where it won't. You'll see why human capital arguments make no sense... until they suddenly do in the late 20th century. She didn't drive the point in that book, but something big happened back with the emergence of the Dutch empire and then another big thing happened with our Pax. World spanningly huge with our Pax.<br /><br />You'll also get to see what she thinks of certain people. Scientists aren't the only people rough on each other. Her opinion of some of us is less than generous. 8)Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-17020109294751454092017-09-26T17:41:18.208-07:002017-09-26T17:41:18.208-07:00donzelion:
Colin Kaepernick deserves some credit ...donzelion:<br /><i><br />Colin Kaepernick deserves some credit for standing up on their behalf; the others are just standing up against a bully. Both have their place.<br /></i><br /><br />I suppose this is my equivalent of "broken windows policing." If you let the bullies get away with it, they think they "won" and that they can continue upping the ante.<br /><br /><i><br />I wonder if health care itself isn't just another distraction - say from immigration, or tax enforcement? <br /></i><br /><br />Or is immigration just a distraction from the Supreme Court or something like that? Or is it just a distraction trying to guess what we're being distracted from? Turtles all the way down? <br /><br />Or maybe you're giving Trump too much credit for playing 3-dimensional chess. Me, I think he's as shrewd as a bull in a china shop.<br /><br />Even if you are right, the health care distraction is an equivalent of throwing our babies into the air. Even if we know it's a distraction, we can't ignore it.<br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1955506542071176392017-09-26T14:34:57.465-07:002017-09-26T14:34:57.465-07:00LarryHart: "Ok, but you get the point, right?...LarryHart: <i>"Ok, but you get the point, right?"</i><br />Yes, I do. My point was that we set up rules, and set people with strong incentives to follow those rules, to reduce the effect of distractions.<br /><br /><i>"Wealthy and popular football players can defend themselves, sure. The un-armed black men being shot for whom they are protesting cannot."</i><br />Colin Kaepernick deserves some credit for standing up on their behalf; the others are just standing up against a bully. Both have their place.<br /><br /><i>"Health care has been my number one issue all year, even when everyone else is sick of it or wonders what the big deal is. I may be looking for work again soon, and I hate having to make the company's health plan the one and only factor."</i><br />Ouch. Sorry to hear it.<br /><br /><i>"If it's any consolation, the breaking news just now is that the asshole didn't win on health care."</i><br />To be honest, on this round #3 (of 153...), I wonder if health care itself isn't just another distraction - say from immigration, or tax enforcement? <br /><br />You can't fool all the people all the time, BUT you can distract majorities of the people most of the time, and then while they're distracted, steal their money (and toss their baby's into the air too).donzelionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05991849781932619746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-15835420485887854782017-09-26T14:27:26.307-07:002017-09-26T14:27:26.307-07:00If we name our newest Navy Ship the "Heart of...If we name our newest Navy Ship the "Heart of Gold" do you think our older and much less entertaining version of Zaphod Beeblebrox would take the hint and run away with it?Berialnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-5541847557693684732017-09-26T13:53:32.316-07:002017-09-26T13:53:32.316-07:00donzelion:
"I've heard of a robbery tech...donzelion:<br /><i><br />"I've heard of a robbery technique in which a purse snatcher grabs a baby from a woman and tosses it high into the air,"<br />I'd call that an attempted murder technique, with robbery a second offense. <br /></i><br /><br />Ok, but you get the point, right? Ignoring the distraction might help prevent the robbery from working, but at a cost too high to pay. And the robbery is the reason he's doing it. It might count as attempted murder, but he has no interest in what happens to the baby. He "wins" or "loses" according to whether he gets away with the purse or not.<br /><br /><i><br />when we join in defense of those perfectly able to defend themselves from a bully, we miss those who are not able to defend themselves.<br /></i><br /><br />Wealthy and popular football players can defend themselves, sure. The un-armed black men being shot for whom they are protesting cannot.<br /><br /><i><br />ex-girlfriend (from almost 30 years ago) was on MSNBC after Trump blocked her on Twitter for trying to get his attention about people like her being treated for cancer who would probably be cut off by Trump(Don't)Care. That is NOT the fight Trump wants to fight, so instead, he changed the subject. That is how that asshole wins...again and again.<br /></i><br /><br />Health care has been my number one issue all year, even when everyone else is sick of it or wonders what the big deal is. I may be looking for work again soon, and I hate having to make the company's health plan the one and only factor.<br /><br />That doesn't mean we let fascism slide, though.<br /><br />If it's any consolation, the breaking news just now is that the asshole <b>didn't</b> win on health care. For the moment, the Senate Republicans have given up again. If Roy Moore beats Luther Strange in Alabama today, that will be a loss of a double-header for Trump and for McConnell. They can't fool all of the people all of the time.<br /><br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-65501494739441394342017-09-26T13:41:32.107-07:002017-09-26T13:41:32.107-07:00Once again, from "Hamilton":
You don&#...Once again, from "Hamilton":<br /><br /><i><br />You don't have the votes!<br />Ha ha ha ha ha.<br />You don't have the votes!<br />It's gonna take congressional approval, and<br />You don't have the votes!<br /><br />Such a blunder.<br />Sometimes it makes me wonder<br />Why I even bring the thunder.<br /><br />Why he even brings the thunder.<br /></i><br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-18205019909282399212017-09-26T13:33:40.940-07:002017-09-26T13:33:40.940-07:00I don't believe it's over, but I do find t...I don't believe it's over, but I do find this encouraging. What "McConnell says", though doesn't mean a pile of warm spit.<br /><br />https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/us/politics/mcconnell-obamacare-repeal-graham-cassidy-trump.html<br /><br /><i><br /><b>McConnell Says Republicans Are Giving Up on Health Bill</b><br /><br />...<br />“We haven’t given up on changing the American health care system,” Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, said. “We are not going to be able to do that this week, but it still lies ahead of us, and we haven’t given up on that.”<br /></i><br /><br />Here's the most encouragin part:<br /><i><br />Democrats responded by calling for the resumption of bipartisan negotiations to stabilize health insurance markets under the Affordable Care Act. Republican leaders had squelched those talks as the latest repeal plan gained steam, hoping to present senators a single, take-it-or-leave-it decision on the legislation, written by Senators Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.<br /><br />“We hope we can move forward and improve health care, not engage in another battle to take it away from people, because they will fail once again if they try,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader.<br /></i>LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-31126741492648681992017-09-26T13:30:36.061-07:002017-09-26T13:30:36.061-07:00Larry: "I have a hard time ignoring when Tru...Larry: <i>"I have a hard time ignoring when Trump uses his aptly-named bully pulpit"</i><br />Abuses, more like it. Me too...I write judging my own proclivities more than yours; if I'm harsh, it's probably me feeling frustration with my own thought patterns.<br /><br /><i>"I've heard of a robbery technique in which a purse snatcher grabs a baby from a woman and tosses it high into the air,"</i><br />I'd call that an attempted murder technique, with robbery a second offense. Most prosecutors probably would as well (probably pleading it down to robbery, simply to get a conviction without a trial...).<br /><br /><i>"I'd like to think I can remember more than one thing."</i><br />You probably don't need any convincing. But we have audiences...when we join in defense of those perfectly able to defend themselves from a bully, we miss those who are not able to defend themselves.<br /><br />I guess I'm mostly upset: ex-girlfriend (from almost 30 years ago) was on MSNBC after Trump blocked her on Twitter for trying to get his attention about people like her being treated for cancer who would probably be cut off by Trump(Don't)Care. That is NOT the fight Trump wants to fight, so instead, he changed the subject. That is how that asshole wins...again and again.donzelionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05991849781932619746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-62740540551360081242017-09-26T13:15:43.110-07:002017-09-26T13:15:43.110-07:00David S, and others: The 'mixed member propor...David S, and others: The 'mixed member proportionality' system is not a new concept; many cities structured themselves with 'at large' representatives (whom everyone can vote for) and then 'district' representatives (whom only people at certain addresses could vote for). Historically, this has led to "a small group of insiders linked to developers/wealthy' running city government. <br /><br />Anaheim was a good example: forced to change to 'districts' from 'at large' voting structures, the minority in Anaheim Hills, which selected 75% of the city council (while contributing less than 25% of the vote), routinely cut deals with businesses (esp. Disney) at the expense of the rest of the city. City council races tend to be low-turnout; a few thousand dollars in such a race can have a massive impact. Guess who has a few thousand dollars for city council races? Typically: developers who want a city rule set/changed for their benefit.<br /><br />I am not saying that it can't be done, just that it can't be done secretively. We can experiment, but we must have public discussion of the experiments to critique the outcomes and determine if it worked (for all of us) or not. There is no system, nor will there ever be any system, that is immune to cheats - hence, transparency must be our first line of defense (and any system must be able to respond to cheats and bring their tactics into the open).donzelionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05991849781932619746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-54994758592261057972017-09-26T12:59:15.037-07:002017-09-26T12:59:15.037-07:00donzelion:
I can't tell you what to focus on....donzelion:<br /><i><br />I can't tell you what to focus on. But I do think our children will look back at our attention spans and judge us harshly because we failed to focus on what mattered, <br /></i><br /><br />I have a hard time ignoring when Trump uses his aptly-named bully pulpit to incite some Americans to threaten other Americans. It might be a distraction, but it's a distraction we can't ignore, any more than you could ignore your house being on fire when you're supposed to be doing something else.<br /><br />I've heard of a robbery technique in which a purse snatcher grabs a baby from a woman and tosses it high into the air, then runs off with her purse while she's more concerned with catching the baby. In a very clinical sense, you could argue that he wouldn't get away with it if the woman ignored the distraction. To what end, though?<br /><br /><i><br />and were so easily distracted by the distractors.<br /></i><br /><br />I'd like to think I can remember more than one thing.<br /><br />My child judged me harshly yesterday because I yelled at the tv set when it showed Trump attacking NFL players as "son's of bitches". She was in a different room at the time, so all she heard was me shouting, "No, you're the son of a bitch, you asshole!" She thought I was saying that to the cat. After I reassured her that I only meant the chief executive of our country, all was cool. What a world we live in!<br /><br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.com