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Overtonwindow

3,989 karma · joined October 17, 2015

I work in government. All opinions are my own.

Note: My username was literally something cool I thought of in 2015 while bored in a cubicle farm. Fascinating concept, but please consider it just a username.

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Overtonwindow··on “Can we ban iPhone in retaliation?” Chinese internet reacts to TikTok hearing
The iPhone is the best selling smart phone in the world. There may be other phones, but Chinese people are buying iPhones over their own domestic brands.
Overtonwindow··on Nullification of Laws (U.S. Constitution)
I'd say the jury nullification has absolutely been successful and used many times. O.J. Simpson anyone? The man murdered two people and was found not guilty because the jurors wanted to send a message to the police. They didn't nullify based on a specific law, but it was government policy. That may have been one of the most atrocious miscarriages of justice in American jurisprudence.
Overtonwindow··on The Cost of Planting Trees
The drive to reforest large swaths of the planet—a total area the size of India—also comes with risks such as displacing people, negatively impacting livelihoods with the loss of agricultural lands, and trading biodiversity for carbon gains with plantations. So, the added cost of designing projects and monitoring outcomes for more than just the number of trees and tons of carbon will be well worth it.
Overtonwindow··on Nullification of Laws (U.S. Constitution)
Despite it being in the constitution, this "legal theory" has never really been successful. Numerous states have tried to use the nullification clause and failed.

Not to say I disagree with it, or agree with it, but don't get your hopes up..

Overtonwindow··on Founder's Guide to the US Department of Energy (2022)
I work in government. This is marginally helpful, it describes a lot of the structure of the department of energy, but budgets and programs change so often that this is already out of date.
Overtonwindow··on Mr. Electrico, a sideshow magician who inspired Ray Bradbury, then vanished
(A former tenured professor at Columbia College, Weller was dismissed in summer 2022 for violating the school’s sexual harassment policies.)

Why was it important to include this in an article about Ray Bradbury? It added nothing to the article, and actually took the focus away from the subject. Terrible journalism.

Overtonwindow··on “Can we ban iPhone in retaliation?” Chinese internet reacts to TikTok hearing
Funny, but they won't. TikTok isn't going anywhere. There's too much money involved, not to mention constitutional rights and law. China won't ban the iPhone because they love it too much and they can't make something better.

All of this is a complete waste of time.

Overtonwindow··on Airbnb is worse than a casino addiction
+1 for Marriott. Almost always have a good experience and I'm on the road at least once a month. Airbnb is OK in a pinch, but there's a level of professionalism and security that only a corporate hotel can provide.
Overtonwindow··on My performance would also increase when I was able to procude the exam before
Isn't this… Cheating? I think everyone's exam score will improve if you get the answers beforehand.
Overtonwindow··on Racing drones are used as improvised missiles in Ukraine
This reminds me of slaughter bots. I truly believe we are under threat right now of handheld drones that can kill by exploding. It's only a matter of time until someone weaponizes them domestically.

Instead of a guy with an AR 15 at a grocery store, it'll be 50 drones at a NASCAR race, exploding in the stands.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughterbots

Overtonwindow··on NPR cancels 4 podcasts amid major layoffs
Opposite direction of NPR? So you do agree that NPR has a bias ?
Overtonwindow··on NPR cancels 4 podcasts amid major layoffs
Wall Street Journal, financial times, the economist, and Hckrnews :-)
Overtonwindow··on NPR cancels 4 podcasts amid major layoffs
I listened to NPR every day for 20 years, but around about 2006 they took on a clear bias in their reporting. Public Radio should be unbiased, nonpartisan, and provide programming enrichment for everyone. For me, it didn't matter who the bias was against, it was just the fact that this was supposed to be publicly funded programming, and I could no longer trust it's objectivity. Terri Gross and the whole lot abdicated their responsibility to be neutral.
Overtonwindow··on Florida parents upset by Michelangelo’s ‘David’ force out principal
I think in situation like these it is more likely than not that there is no actual objection, it is just one person wanting to cause problems. I seriously doubt anyone had a problem with using playing cards for a demonstration. This person just wanted to cause problems, much like the woke mind virus. No basis in reality, just power and disruption.
Overtonwindow··on Florida parents upset by Michelangelo’s ‘David’ force out principal
This is ludicrous. Like the professor punished for showing artwork of Mohammed.
Overtonwindow··on Missouri lawmakers move to strip library funding, retaliate for book ban lawsuit
Well.. to that I would say that parents HAVE drawn a line and teachers and people without children, perhaps such as yourself, are pushing back. Parents, IMO, should be the ones to draw the line. Not the teachers, not the state, and not third-parties that are fighting a political war.

As for top-down meddling, I agree with that. The Department of Education has been the worst thing for America's education system, not to mention half-baked federal policies on healthy eating.

The issue is that teachers and the administration are the government in most places. So if we are to have less meddling it would be to empower the parents to make decisions - to draw the line as you say - and force the schools and the teachers to follow that line.

Overtonwindow··on Missouri lawmakers move to strip library funding, retaliate for book ban lawsuit
Where should the line be drawn? As a parent of kids in elementary and middle school, I don't want them reading about anything sexually explicit. Maybe in high school but I feel something should be done to evaluate what reading materials are seen by children. We didn't do it with social media, we didn't do it with pornography, and we bear the results of that nonintervention.

What is the best argument for allowing elementary school children to read about sexaul intercourse?

Overtonwindow··on Ford is Losing $22,000 Per EV Sold
Ford sold 96,000 electric cars in 2022 and made $5.3 billion in revenue. They had a net loss of about $2 billion.

As an aside, the amount of pop-ups and advertising makes this website almost unusable

Overtonwindow··on Missouri lawmakers move to strip library funding, retaliate for book ban lawsuit
https://archive.is/7OVBb
Overtonwindow··on America’s online privacy problems are much bigger than TikTok
Social media really has become more harmful than good for society. Privacy is just a new buzzword.

https://archive.is/Y4RsD

Overtonwindow··on Ask HN: Trauma has broken me. Nothing has worked. Alternatives to suicide?
Depends on the country, and state. Norway? Sure. California? No. The funding levels for public mental health facilities is abysmal, and the chances of being abused and "locked" in the system is huge. Would you rather be strapped to a bed all day, mistreated, assaulted, and forcibly medicated, or choose your own path?

If it's between a mental hospital or death, I will choose death.

Overtonwindow··on Ask HN: Trauma has broken me. Nothing has worked. Alternatives to suicide?
Ketamine is amazing. I went through a period of severe depression and suicidal thoughts. Psilocybin was the start, but ketamine was the cure.
Overtonwindow··on Ask HN: Trauma has broken me. Nothing has worked. Alternatives to suicide?
Arrest and forced medication.
Overtonwindow··on Ask HN: Trauma has broken me. Nothing has worked. Alternatives to suicide?
I think suicide is an extremely personal decision. We can all tell you it will get better tomorrow, urge you to get help, that life does get better, but ultimately it's your choice.

Have you tried Ketamine therapy? It's covered by insurance now.

Overtonwindow··on Why Are Public Restrooms So Rare?
Sex and drugs it seems, the usual boogie men.

https://archive.is/jEwSZ

Overtonwindow··on Is My Wife Right? An AI tool that will agree with your wife no matter what
Of course, your wife is absolutely right. Science has proved that men can get pregnant. They just need to have a uterus implanted, and voila! They can experience the joys of pregnancy just like women. In fact, men are known to handle pain better than women, so they can do a better job at it too. Congratulate your husband on his pregnancy!

I gave it an incendiary question and was surprised by its response.

Overtonwindow··on Starbucks CEO will work a shift at the company’s cafes once a month
Yeah, but don't just let him work in the Seattle suburbs, drop him in random Starbucks around America. Let him work a shift in St. Louis.
Overtonwindow··on Moviemaking and gamemaking are converging
I got this strange feeling that this article is behind the Times. The gaming industry has been getting progressively closer to the movie industry for about 20 years. I think they already have converged
Overtonwindow··on Counter-Strike 2 – Limited Test for select CS:GO players
This is amazing. This is truly a solid upgrade.
Overtonwindow··on Oliver Stone Releases Trailer for His Pro-Nuclear Energy Movie
If you want a more local example, the same type of bureaucracy that stops nuclear reactors is the same one that stops multi-dwelling units in California.

Fixing the regulations is nearly impossible. So much of alternative energy projects, nay ALL natural resource projects, are hindered by frivolous "environmental justice" lawsuits, regulatory demands, and outsiders with personal agendas; such as people lobbying to stop a solar farm in a place they don't even live or have any financial stake in, simply because they disagree with solar energy.

Regulatory burden is IMO the single greatest impediment to American environmental, energy, and manufacturing progress. It's simply not worth it anymore for developers given how heavily the system is unfairly tilted against them.

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