OldMugwump 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (1110) comment rss

  • On the post: Volunteers 3D-Print Unobtainable $11,000 Valve For $1 To Keep Covid-19 Patients Alive; Original Manufacturer Threatens To Sue

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 18 Mar, 2020 @ 01:51am

    Re: 3D printed value may shed plastic parts that could get into

    God forbid that we risk a patient getting sick from a faulty valve! Far better to let them die.

  • On the post: DEA Returns Money It Stole From An Innocent Woman, Gets Court To Let It Walk Away From Paying Her Legal Fees

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 18 Mar, 2020 @ 02:19am

    Her lawyers are the Institute for Justice

    Good people - worth your support.

    https://ij.org/client/miladis-salgado/

  • On the post: Why Does The NY Times Seem Literally Incapable Of Reporting Accurately On Section 230?

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 08 Mar, 2020 @ 03:37pm

    Could it have something to do with NYT editoral board members...

    ...who can't divide 5/3 without getting an answer of 1,000,000?

    https://thehill.com/homenews/media/486288-brian-williams-nyts-gay-roasted-over-math-flub-saddest-clip-in-tv-history

    How is it that Mara Gay still has a job? Is there no accountability at the NYT at all? Can you really humiliate your employer on national TV (by proving that they put people without the 2nd grade math skills on their editorial board) and still keep a job there?

    What is it about our elite institutions that puts people of demonstrated sub-normal intelligence at the top?

    (Or Brian Williams...)

  • On the post: Bogus Automated Copyright Claims By CBS Blocked Super Tuesday Speeches By Bernie Sanders, Mike Bloomberg, And Joe Biden

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 04 Mar, 2020 @ 10:42am

    Re: Where there is a will, there is a way, here's some will

    I wish. But no, they'll just do the same as they did for robocalls - they'll put in an exception for politicians only.

  • On the post: Clarence Thomas Regrets Brand X Decision That Paved Way For The Net Neutrality Wars

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 02 Mar, 2020 @ 07:07am

    Most of the regulation is at the state & local level

    ...which is why federal deregulation had virtually no effect.

    Just try running a new set of wires on your local power poles - you'll see what I mean.

  • On the post: Driver Stranded After 'Smart' Rental Car Can't Phone Home

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2020 @ 11:21am

    Re: Re: Spying on toddlers

    Toy makers? You fear that toy makers are going to use toddler-cams for market research for the nefarious purpose of designing toys that are extra fun to play with? You really think they can't find some better way to spend their marketing and R&D dollars? This is paranoia.

  • On the post: Driver Stranded After 'Smart' Rental Car Can't Phone Home

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2020 @ 11:19am

    Re: Re: Spying on toddlers

    You seriously think somebody is going to monitor video streams of thousands of crying or sleeping babies on the off-chance that one of the parents will say something worth all that effort? Really?

  • On the post: Driver Stranded After 'Smart' Rental Car Can't Phone Home

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 19 Feb, 2020 @ 11:17am

    Re: Re: Spying on toddlers

    ... and how, exactly, is anyone harmed if some pervert faps to a video screen somewhere? I mean, I get that it's icky, but really ... I don't see how anyone is harmed.

  • On the post: Driver Stranded After 'Smart' Rental Car Can't Phone Home

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 18 Feb, 2020 @ 02:27pm

    Spying on toddlers

    I'm sorry to go off-topic, but the over-hyped panic compels me.

    What conceivable information could a toddler have that would make them a valuable target of espionage?

    Toddlers are lucky if they can talk at all. They seem unlikely to say anything of interest. You may as well "spy" on a pile of dirt.

  • On the post: Utah State Rep Unveils Bill To Force Porn To Come With A Warning Label

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 07 Feb, 2020 @ 01:41pm

    Re: Re: Re: USA is one of the few countries with a LOW birth rat

    I wasn't suggesting that I agreed with that idea. Just guessing what the author of the bill might have been thinking.

  • On the post: Utah State Rep Unveils Bill To Force Porn To Come With A Warning Label

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 07 Feb, 2020 @ 12:05pm

    Re: USA is one of the few countries with a LOW birth rate

    Actually most of the Western world has below-replacement birth rates these days. Japan's population is expected to drop 25% by 2049 (https://www.npr.org/2018/12/21/679103541/japans-population-is-in-rapid-decline). I assume that's what this bill is intended to address - people exposed to a lot of pornography might be less inclined to have real sex with less-than-ideal partners. So less babies. I think most of the evidence is that current population declines are mostly economic in origin - children are a burden today, vs. an asset (labor) for subsistence farmers. Plus birth control and late marriage. So even if this passes, I don't expect much affect.

  • On the post: Woman Threatens Rep. Steve King With A Lawsuit For Using A 12-Year-Old Meme On His Facebook Page

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 05 Feb, 2020 @ 04:49pm

    Re: What would happen if someone were to use the likeness of ste

    What would happen is...nothing. Mr. King might not like a gay rights organization doing that, but there's nothing under the law he could do to stop them. IMHO, that's as it should be.

  • On the post: Lindsey Graham's Sneak Attack On Section 230 And Encryption: A Backdoor To A Backdoor?

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 31 Jan, 2020 @ 12:52pm

    What's so special about child *sexual* abuse?

    Isn't plain old child abuse enough for people anymore?

  • On the post: Uber Wins Dubious Honor Of Being First Big Tech Company To Bully A Small Nation Using Corporate Sovereignty

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 24 Jan, 2020 @ 07:26am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Kinda like a Bill of Rights

    You're welcome to disagree with me, or argue that the consequences of my position will be bad. Clearly, we disagree. Calling me "a disingenious (sic) twat" isn't going to convince me, or anyone else, that you're right. It just makes you sound angry, incoherent, and unable to come up with good arguments of your own. And telling me that I don't like rights, when I just told you that I do, isn't an argument - it's just argumentative (not the same thing). Are you aware that anybody - even you - can form a corporation for $100 or so? Corporations are just groups of people who come together for a common purpose. They aren't inherently monsters, or monstrous. (Yes, there can be principal-agent problems and issues with corporate officers not bearing full responsibility for their actions - the form is not perfect.) As such, "corporations" and individuals can and should have the same rights, as rights shouldn't disappear simply because multiple people (with rights) join together in a common purpose. If you really think that corporations have more rights than others (I do not, and am not advocating that - please don't tell me again that I am), you are free to form one of your own and enjoy those imaginary "extra" rights. Finally, you write:

    Except that what you describe doesn't limit the power of government so
    much as you remove mine and your power to determine what our rights are.
    This is my point - thanks for making it for me. If you and I can determine what the rights of other people are, then we can take away those rights. Which means they aren't "rights" at all, but privileges that we decide to let them have - for now. The entire idea of "rights" is that they can't be taken away - not by governments, not by majorities, not by parliaments. That is why they constrain the power of government, and limit the rule of the mob. And it's why I like them. Have a great day, Mr. Scary Devil.

  • On the post: Uber Wins Dubious Honor Of Being First Big Tech Company To Bully A Small Nation Using Corporate Sovereignty

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 23 Jan, 2020 @ 08:50am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Kinda like a Bill of Rights

    Please don't tell me what I'm advocating for, Mr. Monastery. I think the same rules should apply to everyone, including big scary multinational corporations that everyone hates. And to you, Scary. If elected representatives of democracies decide that it's in their common interest to limit their power to extort and defraud investors (any investor of any size) and to have a court (situated anywhere) to resolve such claims, I'm OK with that. More than OK. I think governments have too much arbitrary power. And that majorities (those who elect representatives to parliaments, for example) ought not to have the power to abuse minorities (like me or you). Governments have many necessary functions in society. But those functions are limited and don't extend to arbitrary abuse of people minding their own business. As a civilization, the only effective limits we've yet found to the power of majorities has been the idea of "rights". I like "rights". I support them. I think we ought to have more of them, and ISDS is one type of right that I support. (I think there should be many others as well.)

  • On the post: City Of Dallas Shuts Down Business Of Man Who Called Cops Over 100 Times In 20 Months To Deal With Criminals Near His Car Wash

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 20 Jan, 2020 @ 08:54am

    Re: Re: Uhh...

    @renato: In other words, let the Mafia take over. That might actually work. It does seem to in other places. In classical political science, government begin as "stationary bandits". As do Mafias.

  • On the post: Uber Wins Dubious Honor Of Being First Big Tech Company To Bully A Small Nation Using Corporate Sovereignty

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 18 Jan, 2020 @ 08:40am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Kinda like a Bill of Rights

    Calling me a twat isn't an effective way to convince me (or anyone) of the correctness of your argument. I didn't call you any names. Perhaps you simply don't have an answer to my arguments.

  • On the post: Uber Wins Dubious Honor Of Being First Big Tech Company To Bully A Small Nation Using Corporate Sovereignty

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2020 @ 05:29pm

    Re: Re: Kinda like a Bill of Rights

    Sounds like you have a problem with the idea of rights, AC.

  • On the post: Uber Wins Dubious Honor Of Being First Big Tech Company To Bully A Small Nation Using Corporate Sovereignty

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2020 @ 05:28pm

    Re: Re: Re: Kinda like a Bill of Rights

    So, just because they're a "powerful multinational corporation" they don't enjoy the same rights as everyone else? The fact that you don't like someone is not a valid reason to take away their rights. I'm defending the idea of rights - of limits on the power of governments, elected or otherwise, to do injustice to people (and groups of people in corporations). There may well be reason to complain about the particular rights granted to Uber or others under ISDS agreements. That's entirely separate from the principle involved - that rights exist, that there are limits on what majorities may legitimately do to minorities (even if the minority is a wealthy corporation that you don't like). Seems like a lot of people (not you, I hope, Wendy) really think that "elected representatives" ought to be entitled to do ANYTHING they want to ANYBODY for ANY reason or NO reason. Without limit or rules to restrain them. I don't think so. That's mob rule, not liberal democracy. I like rights.

  • On the post: Uber Wins Dubious Honor Of Being First Big Tech Company To Bully A Small Nation Using Corporate Sovereignty

    OldMugwump ( profile ), 17 Jan, 2020 @ 05:21pm

    Re: Re: Re: What kind of politician

    The kind that that compromises on on thing to get something else. Politics is all about compromise. The alternative is to fight to the death. It's not treason to cut the best deal you can get. And there's nothing wrong with undermining "he power of the elected representatives" - that's what rights are all about - limiting the power of majorities and legislatures and governments. Do you support the right to free speech? To a fair trial? Those are limitations on the power of elected representatives. THAT"S THEIR POINT.

Next >>