They'd get absolutely hammered by the thick people. Mind you, it does occur to me that a smart person might get elected by acting dumb, then revealing their smarts when it's too late, kind of thing.
What Thad says. A switch to proportional representation might fix the democratic deficit a little but your problem is the entrenched interests that have no desire to compete with smaller parties.
Thad is also correct that if we get the numbers a new, more popular party could supplant one of the big established ones but the game has been rigged to make that harder. A sustained campaign to open up the candidates' debates to allow third party candidates to take part, along with media coverage, would definitely be a step in the right direction.
Finally, Thad mentioned publicly financed elections so that no one party could outspend the other, thereby smothering the message of competing parties. It'd take a sustained campaign for all of the above to make anything happen but until the public is willing to agitate for change in a structured, continual manner (remember the push for gay marriage? Same idea), we will just be trading hat tips over the comments section here in TD with anyone else who agrees with us.
Okay, it's possible. Could we launch, publicise and sustain a campaign for electoral reform in the USA to make elections there more democratic (inclusive and representative of the public will)?
Re: Re: Re: Trump made this same point in the debate last night...
Regulation isn't killing companies per se; some companies actually benefit from regulation, particularly when they're the ones writing the regulations.
Mr. Big Content is a parody account. If you're answering the kind of people who actually agree with the statement he's making, I agree with you in full.
Re: Re: Re: Unfortunately, it is the taxpayers who will pay the price
We're not doing enough to hold individuals and groups to account. Until an informed citizenry takes responsibility for holding the powers that be to account via the usual channels, that's not going to happen.
The SOPA campaign proves it can be done; there's a way, folks, but is there the will?
Actually, Uriel, you may find that quite a large proportion of the vassals are fine and dandy with the status quo because authoritarianism is awesome, or something. We live in a Fascist society and Fascism requires that the people are on board with the regime. And the people are on board till they fall foul of the regime.
Seriously, what is in the Kool Aid that convinces people that corporate actors are magically purified by the act of engaging in business?
People are people, whatever they do for a living and whoever they work for. Any philosophy that doesn't take into account that people often behave badly isn't worth the paper it's written on.
Comrade cop 1: "Hey Ivan, look at that capitalist running dog, I mean robot, over there. It is disseminating counter-revolutionary material and aiding the enemies of the state. We must curtail its activities forthwith."
Comrade cop 2: "Are you suggesting we arrest it, Andrei? I'm not too sure about how we'd go about that."
Comrade cop 1: "Let's put handcuffs on it, Ivan."
Comrade cop 2: "Da, Andrei, but it hasn't got hands. Where will we put the handcuffs?"
Comrade cop 1: "Well it's got wheels underneath. If you tip it over, can you get one of the cuffs around the top of one of the wheels?"
Comrade cop 2: "Nyet, Andrei, there's not a large enough gap to fit the cuff around and there's no part of this thing that's narrow enough to get a cuff around."
Comrade cop 1: "Comrade citizens, I command you in the name of our glorious President Putin to lay down your mobile phones and stop filming this incident right now. Do not attempt to post it to the decadent YouTube."
[/Cod Russkie accent]
Apologies to our Russian readers. I'm a child of the Eighties.
That's all fine and fair enough till you get to the anti-competitive behavior. That's antithetical to a free market so it needs to be called out until it stops.
It's easier to tell people to vote with their feet than to get your money back off bad actors.
Now, on your other point. We ask our rulers to see us as little more than Skittles. We ask them to tell us how to live our lives, where to get health care now, we ask them to tell us what rights we have, and ask them to ensure our safety.
Black or white fallacy, appeal to emotion... the list of fallacies goes on and on. Okay, I'll indulge you.
At no point do we ask our rulers how to live our lives. Never before have I seen such a campaign. If you're referring to the various campaigns for gay marriage, etc., this is about people wanting to be treated equally by ending discrimination against them. That is not a request to be told how to live your life in any way, shape, or form.
As for healthcare, private options have always been available and if there was a US version of the NHS there would be a BUPA to go with it. Private healthcare is available in Britain, people!
We demand that our rights be respected and it's their job to enforce the law and to protect us from enemies which ensures our safety.
The extreme individualism you are advocating means no police, no courts, and no army. Be careful what you wish for.
The answer, then, is to find other ways of monetising the teenager's interest in music or games instead of trying to make money from selling copies. The fact that you're trying to make money from selling copies is the problem.
Enforcement is an industry in and of itself. They may be taking advantage of a gap in the market but they're also helping to drive the upward ratcheting since it means more business for them.
If you think about it they'd be loopy not to. /Devil's advocate
That seems entirely reasonable. Full disclosure: I've become so cynical I've actually advocated for abolishing copyright. If this idea was enacted I'd change my mind about it.
The thing is, if we do abolish copyright we'll have to come up with a new way of protecting artists' and creators' financial interest in their works so they and their so-called advocates don't whinge until it gets reinstated.
On the post: Trump Offers More Insight On His Cybersecurity Plans: 10-Year-Old Relatives Vs. 400-lb Bedroom Dwellers
Re: Re: Idiocracy
On the post: Trump Offers More Insight On His Cybersecurity Plans: 10-Year-Old Relatives Vs. 400-lb Bedroom Dwellers
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: get a third
Thad is also correct that if we get the numbers a new, more popular party could supplant one of the big established ones but the game has been rigged to make that harder. A sustained campaign to open up the candidates' debates to allow third party candidates to take part, along with media coverage, would definitely be a step in the right direction.
Finally, Thad mentioned publicly financed elections so that no one party could outspend the other, thereby smothering the message of competing parties. It'd take a sustained campaign for all of the above to make anything happen but until the public is willing to agitate for change in a structured, continual manner (remember the push for gay marriage? Same idea), we will just be trading hat tips over the comments section here in TD with anyone else who agrees with us.
Okay, it's possible. Could we launch, publicise and sustain a campaign for electoral reform in the USA to make elections there more democratic (inclusive and representative of the public will)?
On the post: The EU's Proposed Copyright Directive Is Likely To Be A Wonderful Gift -- For US Internet Giants
Re: Re: Re: Trump made this same point in the debate last night...
On the post: The EU's Proposed Copyright Directive Is Likely To Be A Wonderful Gift -- For US Internet Giants
Re: Re: Re: Trump made this same point in the debate last night...
On the post: The EU's Proposed Copyright Directive Is Likely To Be A Wonderful Gift -- For US Internet Giants
Re: Re: Re: Trump made this same point in the debate last night...
http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm
You're welcome.
On the post: DOJ Tells Forensic Experts To Stop Overstating The 'Scientific Certainty' Of Presented Evidence
Re: re Uriel
One presumes they believed that the hanging of pickpockets acted as a deterrent, thereby keeping them safe from pickpockets.
Overly brutal punishments creates a "better to hang for a sheep than a lamb" mentality.
On the post: DOJ Tells Forensic Experts To Stop Overstating The 'Scientific Certainty' Of Presented Evidence
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: DNA
On the post: Before Forfeiture Is Finalized, Sheriff Racks Up 54k Miles On Seized Vehicle, Sells It To Private Buyer
Re: A gun alone doesn't guarantee rights.
On the post: Before Forfeiture Is Finalized, Sheriff Racks Up 54k Miles On Seized Vehicle, Sells It To Private Buyer
Re: Re: Re: Unfortunately, it is the taxpayers who will pay the price
The SOPA campaign proves it can be done; there's a way, folks, but is there the will?
On the post: Before Forfeiture Is Finalized, Sheriff Racks Up 54k Miles On Seized Vehicle, Sells It To Private Buyer
Re: Re: exalting their skulduggery
On the post: AT&T Will Zero Rate its Upcoming Streaming TV Service, Doesn't Think FCC Will Act
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Seriously, what is in the Kool Aid that convinces people that corporate actors are magically purified by the act of engaging in business?
People are people, whatever they do for a living and whoever they work for. Any philosophy that doesn't take into account that people often behave badly isn't worth the paper it's written on.
On the post: Not Content With Silencing Human Critics, Russia Has Now Arrested A Robot
Re:
[Cod Russkie accent]
Comrade cop 1: "Hey Ivan, look at that capitalist running dog, I mean robot, over there. It is disseminating counter-revolutionary material and aiding the enemies of the state. We must curtail its activities forthwith."
Comrade cop 2: "Are you suggesting we arrest it, Andrei? I'm not too sure about how we'd go about that."
Comrade cop 1: "Let's put handcuffs on it, Ivan."
Comrade cop 2: "Da, Andrei, but it hasn't got hands. Where will we put the handcuffs?"
Comrade cop 1: "Well it's got wheels underneath. If you tip it over, can you get one of the cuffs around the top of one of the wheels?"
Comrade cop 2: "Nyet, Andrei, there's not a large enough gap to fit the cuff around and there's no part of this thing that's narrow enough to get a cuff around."
Comrade cop 1: "Comrade citizens, I command you in the name of our glorious President Putin to lay down your mobile phones and stop filming this incident right now. Do not attempt to post it to the decadent YouTube."
[/Cod Russkie accent]
Apologies to our Russian readers. I'm a child of the Eighties.
On the post: Lenovo Accused Of Locking Linux Out Of Certain Laptops At Microsoft's Request
Re: Re:
It's easier to tell people to vote with their feet than to get your money back off bad actors.
On the post: Hillary Clinton To Silicon Valley: To Silence Terrorists, Nerd Harder, Nerds!
Re: Re: Nerd Harder?
On the post: Former Refugee Who Took Skittles Photograph Donald Trump Jr. Used In A Stupid Meme Threatens Copyright Lawsuit
Re: Re:
Black or white fallacy, appeal to emotion... the list of fallacies goes on and on. Okay, I'll indulge you.
At no point do we ask our rulers how to live our lives. Never before have I seen such a campaign. If you're referring to the various campaigns for gay marriage, etc., this is about people wanting to be treated equally by ending discrimination against them. That is not a request to be told how to live your life in any way, shape, or form.
As for healthcare, private options have always been available and if there was a US version of the NHS there would be a BUPA to go with it. Private healthcare is available in Britain, people!
We demand that our rights be respected and it's their job to enforce the law and to protect us from enemies which ensures our safety.
The extreme individualism you are advocating means no police, no courts, and no army. Be careful what you wish for.
On the post: Yet Another Report Says More Innovation, Rather Than More Enforcement, Reduces Piracy
Re:
On the post: Yet Another Report Says More Innovation, Rather Than More Enforcement, Reduces Piracy
Re:
If you think about it they'd be loopy not to. /Devil's advocate
On the post: Those Terrible Takedowns Aren't Mistakes, They're Intentional Fakes
Re: Re:
On the post: Those Terrible Takedowns Aren't Mistakes, They're Intentional Fakes
Re:
The thing is, if we do abolish copyright we'll have to come up with a new way of protecting artists' and creators' financial interest in their works so they and their so-called advocates don't whinge until it gets reinstated.
On the post: Those Terrible Takedowns Aren't Mistakes, They're Intentional Fakes
Re: Re:
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