btr1701 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Sorry, No, AI Girlfriends Are Not Destroying The Birthrate Or Killing Medicare & Social Security

    btr1701 ( profile ), 29 Sep, 2023 @ 05:13pm

    Doom

    If there ever comes a day when you can order an android that's indistinguishable from Kate Beckinsale, who will screw you or make you a sammich without complaint, and who will obediently go stand in the closet and turn herself off when you want some alone time... that will be the day when society comes to a screeching halt. No further progress will be made by the human species. I've said the same thing about a STAR TREK-level holodeck. That's a society-ending invention also.

  • On the post: Appeals Court Says DC Cops Possibly Violated The First Amendment By Arresting Pro-Life Sidewalk Chalkers

    btr1701 ( profile ), 29 Sep, 2023 @ 04:51pm

    Really? 'Cause "Muslim love" often comes with the extra gift of explosives, or being tossed off a building for being gay. But sure, it's the Christians who are the "no greater hate".

  • On the post: Can Google Be Held Liable For Man Who Died Following Google Maps Over A Collapsed Bridge?

    btr1701 ( profile ), 26 Sep, 2023 @ 07:43pm

    If you start putting liability on Google for the safety of the route it's sending you on, then they're going to start doing things like making sure they're not sending you through "the bad part of town", which in some American cities can be the equivalent of driving through Mogadishu. And that in turn will get them sued for being racist for geo-fencing minority neighborhoods and characterizing them as "bad" or "dangerous", even if they actually are those things.

  • On the post: Can Google Be Held Liable For Man Who Died Following Google Maps Over A Collapsed Bridge?

    btr1701 ( profile ), 26 Sep, 2023 @ 07:40pm

    Which is why the whole self-driving thing as zero appeal for me. The only reason I'd want a self-driving car is so that I could read a book or watch a movie or curl up in the back sear and snooze while the car drove for me. If I can't do that-- if I literally have to sit with my hands on the wheel miming driving-- why bother? I might as well just actually drive the car myself.

  • On the post: LA Sheriff’s Department Watchdog Orders Dozens Of Deputies To Answer Questions About Gang Affiliation

    btr1701 ( profile ), 28 May, 2023 @ 02:34pm

    Impossible to Solve

    Yes, this is a problem. But how can you actually stop it? I mean, other than decreeing that no employee can be friends with or associate with any other employee, there's no way to regulate 'cliques' among deputies. Or secretaries or janitors, or IT nerds, for that matter. People generally form affinity groups wherever they go. You can ban them from having tattoos and whatnot, but that will just drive the behavior further underground. They'll still have their cliques and gangs, they just won't advertise it and they'll be harder to identify and prove cases against.

  • On the post: Arizona Judge Overturns Incredibly Stupid Restraining Order Against A Journalist Who Dared To Knock On A Politician’s Door

    btr1701 ( profile ), 28 May, 2023 @ 02:17pm

    Prior Restraint? Nonense

    Fischbach, Rogers’ attorney, then notified all reporters in the room that the Senator did not want any of them visiting her property.
    Just more prior restraint.
    How exactly is that prior restraint, Cushing? The reporters are merely being put on a notice of 'no trespass'. Her homes are private property and reporters have no 1st Amendment right to trespass on anyone's private property. And a politician who enforces that with regard to her property is not engaging "prior restraint", FFS. This is the forum whose owners and contributors constantly beat the "it's private property" drum with regard to anyone suing Twitter or Facebook for censoring them, but now suddenly private property is irrelevant and kicking a journalist off your front lawn is "prior restraint"? Pick a fucking lane, guys.

  • On the post: Hugely Profitable And Consolidated Streaming Platforms Suddenly Too Cheap To Pay Residuals And Writers, Or Keep Niche Shows Online

    btr1701 ( profile ), 28 May, 2023 @ 01:56pm

    Streamers like Disney+ have to pay rights-holders and content creators continually in many cases to keep their content on their platforms, but often that content is being viewed by too few people and isn't driving new subscriptions.
    Seems like the solution is to just change the way residuals are allocated. Instead of paying the creators a lump sum just for a show being available to watch, whether the show is watched or not, the creators should be paid by the view, something that is easily trackable and verifiable in this streaming age where computers keep track of every data point. Yes, that means some creators won't make as much if their shows aren't popular but that's the way it should be. Make good stuff, you get paid well. Make shit, or shows that only appeal to a tiny demographic, and you don't make as much.

  • On the post: Pornhub Says No More Porn For Folks In Utah (Unless They Know How To Use A VPN)

    btr1701 ( profile ), 04 May, 2023 @ 09:05pm

    Limited to Adult Sites?

    Does this law specifically say it's limited to adult sites or sexually-oriented material? All I see is a prohibition on the distribution of "material harmful to minors". If that's the standard, then theoretically, even major movie studios and record labels can be liable under this law for providing violent R-rated movies on their streaming apps and rap music that talks about killing cops or beating ho's.

  • On the post: Arkansas Governor Signs Social Media Bill Into Law, Even As Bill’s Own Sponsor Appears Confused About Who It Covers

    btr1701 ( profile ), 17 Apr, 2023 @ 07:50pm

    Dude, stop assuming I haven't given up on "news channels" altogether. It's all biased propaganda, one way or the other, and I don't consume any of it. And yes, you stupid fucking moron, minors who aren't even old enough to legally allowed to get a tattoo (even with parental consent) are being allowed to consent to life-altering, sterilizing procedures in the name of "gender affirmation".

  • On the post: Italian Legislators Seek To Secure Their Existence And Future For Italian Children By Outlawing English Use By Citizens

    btr1701 ( profile ), 16 Apr, 2023 @ 04:16pm

    Eh. The Canadians have been doing this for decades in Quebec with little to no outrage from TechDirt. Nothing really new here.

  • On the post: Arkansas Governor Signs Social Media Bill Into Law, Even As Bill’s Own Sponsor Appears Confused About Who It Covers

    btr1701 ( profile ), 16 Apr, 2023 @ 02:54pm

    TikTok

    Just like Montana outlawed users in the state from using TikTOk.
    Montana did no such thing. It restricted companies that provide the TikTok app (Apple, Google, etc.) from allowing people in Montana to download it. But people in Montana who already have it on their devices are not prohibited from continuing to use it. Nor is there any legal prohibition on obtaining the app somewhere else than Montana and bringing it home with you.

  • On the post: Arkansas Governor Signs Social Media Bill Into Law, Even As Bill’s Own Sponsor Appears Confused About Who It Covers

    btr1701 ( profile ), 16 Apr, 2023 @ 02:51pm

    Working Kids

    'Progressives' insist children as young as five can make all the tough adult decisions in the world, like getting life-altering, sterilizing, "gender affirmation care". Except when it comes to taking a standard after-school job wrapping burgers. That's a bridge too far.

  • On the post: National Guardsman Arrested For Leaking Top Secret Ukraine War Documents On Discord

    btr1701 ( profile ), 16 Apr, 2023 @ 02:34pm

    Docs

    Dude should have just left the TS docs lying around his garage. There's apparently no consequences for that.

  • On the post: Federal Court Says Election Disinformation Isn’t Protected Speech

    btr1701 ( profile ), 02 Feb, 2023 @ 08:07pm

    "even after inserting the Amendment that became the First for a reason..." The Bill of Rights are not listed in order of importance.

  • On the post: Federal Court Says Election Disinformation Isn’t Protected Speech

    btr1701 ( profile ), 02 Feb, 2023 @ 08:05pm

    "Congress shall make no law..."

  • On the post: Federal Court Says Election Disinformation Isn’t Protected Speech

    btr1701 ( profile ), 02 Feb, 2023 @ 08:04pm

    more than a few laws (at state or federal level) define a fraud as working against the best interests of an individual (or group)
    That's ridiculous. Merely working against someone else's interests is in no way fraud. If it were, we could lock up all the employees of McDonald's for working against the best interests of Burger King by selling their hamburgers. When someone works their ass off to get good grades to get into college, they're working for their own best interests but they're also working against the best interests of every other applicant for that college's limited number of admission slots. When the Dallas Cowboys intercept a pass thrown by Tom Brady, they're working against the best interests of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The list is endless.

  • On the post: Federal Court Says Election Disinformation Isn’t Protected Speech

    btr1701 ( profile ), 02 Feb, 2023 @ 07:59pm

    A majority of the time, it’s private individuals that bring civil actions against speakers. Think defamation, etc.
    You don't get 'fitted for an orange onesy" when you lose a defamation case.

  • On the post: LAPD Thinks Best Response To Leaked Recording Of Councilmembers’ Racist Remarks Is Going After Reddit Users

    btr1701 ( profile ), 21 Dec, 2022 @ 09:51am

    It's interesting that the TechDirt community collectively chooses to hide/obscure a post that merely encourages people to vote if they want to change the law. Apparently the general consensus here is anti-democracy.

  • On the post: LAPD Thinks Best Response To Leaked Recording Of Councilmembers’ Racist Remarks Is Going After Reddit Users

    btr1701 ( profile ), 21 Dec, 2022 @ 09:46am

    The problem is the councilmembers, not the person who leaked the recording.
    No, the problem was the meeting itself. All the predictable hysteria over racism completely eclipsed the fact that we had city officials meeting with Big Labor to gerrymander the city's voting districts. Why did Big Labor have a seat at that table and no one else? Because they shovel mountains of money to Democrats? You back a truck full of cash up to the Democrat city council, and you get to decide where and for whom the rest of us can vote? But no, we completely ignore that in favor of collectively clutching our pearls and running for the fainting couch over some crude comments.

  • On the post: FBI Email: Whole Lot Of Agents Think January 6 Capitol Raiders Did Nothing Wrong

    btr1701 ( profile ), 19 Oct, 2022 @ 10:05am

    "Unprecedented"

    The irony is that you lick Masnick's and Cushing's boots far more than I ever could. Theres nothing actually "boot-licking" (as that term is commonly used and understood) in calling out Cushing for his ridiculous and factually wrong description of the January 6th riot as "unprecedented". And since that characterization formed the entire basis for his argument as to why it's being treated differently than BLM's 2020 Summer of Love, it's a valid criticism. But you automatically rush to Cushing's defense and call any criticism of him "boot-licking" without any sense of self-awareness and the fact that you have your lips so firmly affixed to his ass that a crowbar couldn't pry you free.

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