eplanit

You were making a good rebuttal until "To wit: Lab Leak Trutherism is of the same cloth as Big Lie election fraudurism, and climate denial, ...".

I think we have nothing left to discuss.

"It's true we can't rule out the lab theory as much as we'd like to."

Why is it desirable to rule it out? It's not only plausible, but the evidence seems to be accumulating, not diminishing. Thorough investigations seem very much warranted[1]. Let's not ignore the possibility because we wish such things can't/don't happen.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/23/science/coronavirus-seque...

It's not the most palatable, but it is very effective, and should be allowed to proceed unencumbered.

> The whole article is a hit piece designed to get whip people into a furor. And lately I've been noticing propublica publishing a lot of those.

Yes. The story is shaped and told to feed the "Capitalism and Wealthy People are Bad" narrative.

Interesting...but NPR is misplaced. It definitely is Left, to at times Far Left.

That describes it exactly. I think it will have to completely fail, and then a new generation (tragically, probably not the present one, or even then next) will have to rebuild it from the ashes. Maybe the positive way to see the present is as being that prelude to a better day for your grandchildren.

It's not so new though. I recall hearing in the 90s about how cat poop bacteria affects owners, and it was euphemistically used to explain the "crazy" part of the proverbial Crazy Cat Lady. It seems there is a lot of truth in that.

That's the quintessential definition of a hacker.

They really are one of the most ripe for replacement, given their role and duties.

It's true. A documentary film should be made of it, as it encapsulates so much about so many topics.

Freedom is the high ground. You can feel superior or safer in the knowledge that the government deploys strong tech to monitor and control you (in the name of public safety, of course) all you want.

I'm vaccinated, the vaccine works, and I'm living accordingly. If a business wants proof, they don't get my business.

I sympathize with what you're saying, but IMHO "Bureau" invokes thoughts of authoritarian institutions.

It's fascinating how many comments are of the form "stayed too long with an employer before finally leaving".

Take heed.

Meanwhile, China is pushing its children to learn so much more, and is developing one of the most educated populations on earth[1]. They'll win by our own implosion.

[1] https://wenr.wes.org/2019/12/education-in-china-3

Hopefully it will happen. And, while we're properly reversing course on bad policy, let's start building some nuclear power plants, too.

Related:

My theory is that all of Scottish cuisine is based on a dare.

Mike Myers

Newspapers do this a lot with Associated Press stories -- they're filler for what you don't have the capacity to create yourself. I don't really see a problem with it.

Now the negotiations start -- which means FAANG paying off, and playing one off the other, each party to water down the actual legislation. If they manage to get this passed and signed, politicians get to claim "bipartisanship" (or not), FAANG will get the regulatory capture they're seeking, and the media will convince the public that everything has been done in the public's best interests.

Be proud, you made a very wise and healthy decision.

And, every time, the objections drive up costs and delay results.

Exactly -- Windows is the biggest vector for malware, by orders of magnitude.

That's a great list of public transportation experiences.

I notice how the prices are not rationalized beyond "because that's what Pharma charges" because of rarity of the illnesses, etc. But there's no concrete 'why' the prices are what they are. It seems they charge what they can get away with charging (it is a market economy, after all).

It's not goodrx's fault in their reporting (bravo to them, in fact), it's that there is no transparency into that industry that would provide such a breakdown (that I know of -- surely never see it reported).

Evidence isn't necessary for one who is already convinced.

However, there is a lot that says that the 1% actually pay the vast majority of taxes collected:

https://www.publishedreporter.com/2021/04/05/op-ed-top-1-inc...

https://howmuch.net/articles/high-income-americans-pay-major...

https://taxfoundation.org/top-1-percent-pays-more-taxes-bott...

Large grain of salt required. But, at least they were honest enough to state (in the middle of the article), that the information on which this is based is suspect:

"We do not know the identity of our source. We did not solicit the information they sent us. The source says they were motivated by our previous coverage of issues surrounding the IRS and tax enforcement, but we do not know for certain that is true. We have considered the possibility that information we have received could have come from a state actor hostile to American interests."

It seems more desperate. I think he's jealous of musk, as he should be. Musk is doing so much net good for humanity, while Bezos seems more like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons.

I have a lot of sympathy for developers like this, and this kind of story is too common.

It seems like a problem that could be turned into opportunity. If one's software is becoming that popular, and the demands for changes so many that it's too much -- why not try to monetize it? Let the current version stay open source, and create customization and support for a fee. It could make the effort worthwhile, and could even grow into a business.

Consumers in the foss world need to understand that getting their wishes fulfilled isn't necessarily going to be free. They might be asked to pay; or, they have the option to fork their own branch.

Steve Jobs used his means to game the system to make a liver transplant available for himself; his wait time for an organ was much shorter than less wealthy and connected people. I recall no moral outrage over that[1].

A CEO who's smart enough to get their vaccine early should be acknowledged for their cleverness -- wouldn't you want that kind of smarts running a company??

I guess he would have been safer by refusing the vaccine -- oh, wait -- there's a different scarlet letter for that, right?

[1] http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/06/24/liver.transplant.priori...

I think the CEO who encourages emotionally charged political activism at the office will fail, and rightfully so.

He is black, and there is a double-standard -- but don't dare call that racist. It's all absurd, but it's actually good to see examples of "you become the thing you hate". Hate is a horrible, corrosive emotion. We see it a _lot_ these days -- people who become emotionally entangled and lost in their activism against racism (the mob encourages this mindset, as in that state, critical thinking is turned off). They then become hateful and racist themselves.

These incidents can hopefully (but doubtfully) cause some reflection about "why the hell do we even have 'diversity officers' in a software company? Maybe we're getting results opposite of what we sought. After all, we created the role with the silly title just to virtue-signal, in the first place."