Virus thread, the political one.

[zachateseverything]

Huh, you must ride differently than I do? My bike ride isn't supported by dozens of people working in the clubhouse and on the grounds, sometimes in close proximity to one another, all for minimum wage.

I'm not a golfer and I don't think it's a particularly great use of land, water, and other resources. However, I'm not sure the actual activity of golfing is worse suited for life in the pandemic than cycling. Most peoples riding is supported in some capacity by an LBS, or maybe a trail maintenance crew that involves people working in close proximity to one another for close to minimum wage. For sure it's tough to completely avoid interacting with other riders and pedestrians if you live somewhere with any kind of population density.

If people are able to maintain social distance while golfing or supporting a golf course then I don't see an issue with having courses open right now. but if people are sharing golf carts, not wearing masks while indoors, etc. that's at least as dumb as the yahoos I see in my neck of the woods doing group rides.

That said, if I were a politician I'd probably want to avoid the bad optics of going on a golf outing while people are dying.

[sk_tle]

That said, if I were a politician I'd probably want to avoid the bad optics of going on a golf outing while people are dying.

That is the main issue.

While having time to do some exercises and spend a wee bit of time outdoor is nice for mental health, spending your afternoon golfing in the middle of a major crisis is irrespectful and immoral. Especially when you used that argument against your predecessors and saying openly he wouldn't have time to spend time at the golf course during his mandate. That is a big fuck you even to his voters and I just cannot understand how they keep supporting him.

[beeatnik]

Huh, you must ride differently than I do? My bike ride isn't supported by dozens of people working in the clubhouse and on the grounds, sometimes in close proximity to one another, all for minimum wage.

Thankfully, the working class Latinos who maintain LA's infrastructure are overpaid, considering they've been on the receiving end of this kind of bullshit:

City of LA Workers Ignore Mayor’s Advice to Prevent Spread of COVID-19 – NBC Los Angeles

[sk_tle]

I would say that outside of place that see frequent freezing temperatures, most of road maintenance is necessary because of wear and tear caused by motorized traffic, not cycling. But yeah, it is not like riding on a perfect surface was totally free of human work. #captainobviousmode

[jmgorman]

Most of that road work was done before March of this year. Any golf course you can play on, has been attended to in the last 72 hours and requires ongoing upkeep. I'm betting we could ride bikes on these roads for a decade before they're really out of hand.

I would say that outside of place that see frequent freezing temperatures, most of road maintenance is necessary because of wear and tear caused by motorized traffic, not cycling. But yeah, it is not like riding on a perfect surface was totally free of human work. #captainobviousmode

[beeatnik]

Come on, man, let's get past this false equivalence. Golf is a beautiful game and it's a tired cliche to associate it with Gatsby Era decadence. The point I was getting at initially is that leisure time divorced from context is leisure time. Would it have been any more inappropriate if the dude had done a 4 hour bike ride on a $25K F12 with a Secret Service detail of 100 and half a state's roads closed to prevent him from being picked off?

The issue isn't golf. It's whether this man deserves any type of human joy and pleasure at this point. Where do we draw the line. I'd say a 4 hour, 7 course tasting menu, featuring caviar and venison. Can one choke on caviar bones?

[j44ke]

How do we get rid of Twitter?

[theflashunc]

Come on, man, let's get past this false equivalence. Golf is a beautiful game and it's a tired cliche to associate it with Gatsby Era decadence. The point I was getting at initially is that leisure time divorced from context is leisure time. Would it have been any more inappropriate if the dude had done a 4 hour bike ride on a $25K F12 with a Secret Service detail of 100 and half a state's roads closed to prevent him from being picked off?

The issue isn't golf. It's whether this man deserves any type of human joy and pleasure at this point. Where do we draw the line. I'd say a 4 hour, 7 course tasting menu, featuring caviar and venison. Can one choke on caviar bones?

I'd draw the line at him not going to his private golf resort via Marine One for a couple rounds on Memorial Day weekend. Let him go play at the local muni if he wants to get some time in.

When your entire political campaign is based on cruelty and division, I'm not to keen to sympathize with needing a weekend to unwind after a hard two months of fucking this all up.

[BBB]

Use of tax payer's money to be ferried to and from a golf course when you are sitting on 100k dead (and counting) is a seriously bad look. Which was pointed out and predictably enough he got grouchy about it. As the post above says, how do we get rid of twitter? Almost four years of whinges, abuse and BS is more than enough.

[Colinmclelland]

...how do we get rid of twitter? Almost four years of whinges, abuse and BS is more than enough.

US President Donald Trump has accused Twitter of "completely stifling free speech" after the social media company flagged some of his tweets with a fact-check warning.

Twitter might be fighting back. Whatever...things could get interesting

[BBB]

Well...it is easily fixed. Delete his account.

[Colinmclelland]

I’m kind of amazed his advisors have let him just rip with bullshitting since he got in.

In what world was this not inevitable?

[j44ke]

Twitter lives off of controversy and baseless accusations. It isn’t a sad byproduct of an otherwise beneficial service. It is the engine driving it forward.

And Trump needs it to win another election, so he may threaten it but he won’t try to kill it and his advisors won’t stop him from using it.

[jclay]

Twitter might be fighting back. Whatever...things could get interesting

I would like to know when the adults in the room will tell the little Trump dumb-ass to STFU, and then delete his Twitter account. I just read about the Minneapolis police who knelt on the neck of a handcuffed guy and killed him; I am livid. I am way beyond livid. I am so fucking angry and tired of stupid, destructive, authoritarian, chicken-shit, ass-wipes being in any position of control, be it the President, other elected officials or cops. And I'm equally tired of the stupid people, frightened of a changing world, who support them. I have to quit reading the news, right now, see if I can finish fitting a top tube to a new frame without throwing a hammer through a concrete wall. I am seething. I can't imagine being black.

[vertical_doug]

Twitter lives off of controversy and baseless accusations. It isn’t a sad byproduct of an otherwise beneficial service. It is the engine driving it forward.

And Trump needs it to win another election, so he may threaten it but he won’t try to kill it and his advisors won’t stop him from using it.

From Tribelaw

1. The First Amendment limits only the Government, not private entities like Twitter.

2. Anyway, Twitter’s tagging of Trump’s claims about write-in voting is itself absolutely protected under the First Amendment as an expression of opinion.

3. In addition, Twitter’s tagging, even insofar as it can be construed as a factual statement, is shielded by the defense of truth: the claim that Trump’s tweets about massive write-in voter fraud are at best extremely misleading and at worst downright lies is demonstrably true.

Trump is usually about bluster, it is the enablers who actually know what they are doing which is actually dangerous. i.e. W Blair.



Justice Department Files Statement of Interest Regarding Section 21 of the Voting Rights Act | OPA | Department of Justice

BREAKING: The Department of Justice has filed a brief in federal court in support of Alabama's absentee ballot witness requirement.

This is an extraordinary step--even for this DOJ to take to undermine voting rights in 2020. Have they no shame?

[j44ke]

From Tribelaw

1. The First Amendment limits only the Government, not private entities like Twitter.

2. Anyway, Twitter’s tagging of Trump’s claims about write-in voting is itself absolutely protected under the First Amendment as an expression of opinion.

3. In addition, Twitter’s tagging, even insofar as it can be construed as a factual statement, is shielded by the defense of truth: the claim that Trump’s tweets about massive write-in voter fraud are at best extremely misleading and at worst downright lies is demonstrably true.

Trump is usually about bluster, it is the enablers who actually know what they are doing which is actually dangerous. i.e. W Blair.



Justice Department Files Statement of Interest Regarding Section 21 of the Voting Rights Act | OPA | Department of Justice

BREAKING: The Department of Justice has filed a brief in federal court in support of Alabama's absentee ballot witness requirement.

This is an extraordinary step--even for this DOJ to take to undermine voting rights in 2020. Have they no shame?

My issue with Twitter is that it acts like a government in that it pretends to protect speech as if it were acting in accordance with the Constitution. But it actually has no requirement to abide by the Constitution in terms of free speech because it is a business and can alter its product whenever it likes. And so it can censor speech as it sees fit to protect its customers from harassment, lies, false characterizations, etc. But to do so would be bad for business, because Twitter's primary use is for disinformation, lies, harassment, character assassinations, false accusations, etc. The concept of free speech on a private product is a sham marketing tool to cover up what is actually their product - rancor and upheaval.

Alabama absentee voters are currently required to submit photocopies of their photo identification in addition to signing the absentee ballot before a notary or two witnesses.

The government is making a pretty typical close reading of the voting rights act (at least typical in the south, which might not be a positive) - that the witness requirement isn't a test etc. But the onerous part is production of a copy of a photo ID, which is actually two obstacles - many poor people don't have ID's and there are not a lot of photocopiers in poor areas.

Someone should work with Kinkos to create a mobile copier vehicle. Like a book-mobile only for absentee voting.

[vertical_doug]

I need to find some analysis. Reading stuff the government produces is like brail.

It's not brail. Trump distracts, and the real operators do the damage.

[j44ke]

It's not brail. Trump distracts, and the real operators do the damage.

That's a given. I meant what was actually going on in terms of the case. I edited my response.

[beeatnik]

While Trump was golfing....

lacanada.jpg

Gateway to Hollywood
easements.jpg

La Cañada Flintridge is a city in Los Angeles County, California, with a population of 20,246 in 2010. It is located in the Crescenta Valley and far western end of the San Gabriel Valley, to the northwest of Pasadena. It is the home of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Stats and Demographics for the 91011 ZIP Code
ZIP code 91011 is located in southern California and covers a slightly less than average land area compared to other ZIP codes in the United States. It also has a slightly higher than average population density.

The people living in ZIP code 91011 are primarily white. The number of middle aged adults is extremely large while the number of seniors is large. There are also an extremely large number of families and an extremely small number of single adults. The percentage of children under 18 living in the 91011 ZIP code is large compared to other areas of the country.

For more information, see La Canada Flintridge, CA households.

Population 20,280
Population Density 1,711 people per sq mi
Housing Units 7,099
Median Home Value $1,000,001
Land Area 11.85 sq mi
Water Area 0.02 sq mi
Occupied Housing Units 6,859
Median Household Income $156,557



ZIP Code 121 Map, Demographics, More for New York, NY
Stats and Demographics for the 10021 ZIP Code
ZIP code 10021 is located in southeast New York and covers a slightly less than average land area compared to other ZIP codes in the United States. It also has an extremely large population density.

The people living in ZIP code 10021 are primarily white. The number of people in their late 20s to early 40s is extremely large while the number of seniors is large. There are also an extremely large number of single adults and an extremely small number of families. The percentage of children under 18 living in the 10021 ZIP code is extremely small compared to other areas of the country.

For more information, see New York, NY households.

Population 43,631
Population Density 112,711 people per sq mi
Housing Units 28,628
Median Home Value $1,000,001
Land Area 0.39 sq mi
Water Area 0.00 sq mi
Occupied Housing Units 24,734
Median Household Income $107,907

Trump Tower - Wikipedia
ZIP Code 122 Map, Demographics, More for New York, NY
Stats and Demographics for the 10022 ZIP Code
ZIP code 10022 is located in southeast New York and covers a slightly less than average land area compared to other ZIP codes in the United States. It also has an extremely large population density.

The people living in ZIP code 10022 are primarily white. The number of people in their late 20s to early 40s is extremely large while the number of seniors is extremely large. There are also an extremely large number of single adults and an extremely small number of families. The percentage of children under 18 living in the 10022 ZIP code is extremely small compared to other areas of the country.

Population 31,924
Population Density 73,158 people per sq mi
Housing Units 23,485
Median Home Value $866,100
Land Area 0.44 sq mi
Water Area 0.00 sq mi
Occupied Housing Units 19,253
Median Household Income $109,019

[caleb]

How do we get rid of Twitter?

I just noticed that Federalist 10 only gets 3.7/5 stars on Google reviews.

Maybe this is the unexpected wisdom of crowds? I'll admit that Madison's confidence in the Federal system's ability to limit factions seems quaint in the internet age. Or maybe we've spent a couple centuries trying to engineer our way above the guardrails, and we were bound to succeed eventually.