Molitor5901

Joined 2 years ago

Karma
1,480
Submissions
480
Member since
Jun 22
Valmy here. I work for a consumer justice nonprofit analyzing public policy related to consumer products, practices, and government intervention in the consumer market.
View on Hacker News

Recent submissions

Comment · 1 day ago
Comment · 18 days ago
"Public trust in government has been trending downward for the past two decades, but this year brings steeper declines in some measures."

I'm surprised there was ever much trust in government, and looking at the graph.. surprised to see it was 83% in 1974, during the Nixon administration, and it's just been going down ever since.

Comment · 1 month ago
I agree with the author, violence against educators has become normalized, but it's also been a fault on both sides. Both sides have lost respect for one another, and the reasons why depend a lot on politics and social issues. It almost mirrors the strife between citizens and cops: each side entrenching believing they "know what's best" and the other side be damned.
Comment · 1 month ago
I'm holding on to my gas vehicle as long as I can because I really don't like the hybrid sad spaceship noise. I guess I could get it and disable the speaker but then that might void the warranty. The mechanic I go to tells me I can absolutely disable it and they will do it for me but they caution that it will void a warranty. I will continue to drive my old car until it falls apart.
Comment · 1 month ago
I'd probably feel differently if it was a mega franchise like Starbucks or McCafe right at the entrance of a civic building.

I would too. It would be in the government's interest to chose an operator and lease out space, but only if it were done in the most fair manner possible. I have no clue about such matters, I confess, but I would not want to see the idea politicized; as in only certain people can apply, or preferences given to certain classes. Perhaps a little contentious in the short run, but in the long term it would be better.

And yes, alas, if it's Starbucks that has the best deal, then so be it. In fact, playing devil's advocate, what IF Starbucks said we'll give you 100% of our profits from this location on the sale of beverages?

Probably best that the library gets the money from leasing the space, and let's the local operator earn whatever they can.

Comment · 1 month ago
YES! I encountered the same thing in Melbourne some years ago, a little cafe just inside the library whose profits 100% went to the library.
Comment · 1 month ago
It is rarely those in power that seek to reduce the power they have. I would support an amendment that the President may not pardon himself, his immediate family, or anyone acting on behalf of their administration.
Comment · 1 month ago
It would be interesting if libraries also operated, say, cafes. Rules apply of course, but it might create a job and add something extra to a library.
Comment · 1 month ago
It does help to be a journalist at a major magazine. Plebeians such as myself would be very lucky to get such a response.
Comment · 1 month ago
Comment · 1 month ago
This was my thought. Anyone who has taken secondary biology or chemistry possesses the knowledge, if not at least the ability to find the knowledge, to build all sorts of nasty things. Soil from a farm on slices of potato could yield anthrax spores, this is not specialized or even esoteric knowledge. This news from Anthropic just does not seem as spectacular as I think they might want us to believe, if anything it draws questions around having an AI that cannot be monitored.
Comment · 1 month ago
There has always been the myth/rumor/belief that our devices are always listening. I wonder if this is an overton window moment, get people used to a device actually listening and slowly move to all devices listening.

Live from the official Hacker News API

A modern reader for Hacker News · SvelteKit + Skeleton