fishcolorbrick
Joined 9 years ago
Karma
327
Submissions
128
Member since
Oct 12
Recent submissions
Comment · 8 years ago
I guess I get it - but how do you measure when the toxicity level falls low enough?
What is the LD50 of a social network?
Comment · 8 years ago
I'm surprised that State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) is being eliminated; it reimburses states for the money spent housing unauthorized immigrants pending deportation.
Isn't the administration's plan to deport a bunch of people? This shifts the burden of deportation costs from a federal level (where all states share it equally) to a local level, where states that have more deported people pay directly.
So if you're Texas, Arizona[0], or other states with high percentages of unauthorized immigrants, you're going to lose a federal subsidy of hundreds of millions, and either lay off a lot of corrections workers or pay that cost yourselves through increased tax revenue?
[0]: http://www.pewhispanic.org/interactives/unauthorized-immigra...
Comment · 8 years ago
Page 2 (PDF pg 12) of this document includes detail on how much money would be saved by these changes: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/msar-f...
For example, ARPA's budget would be cut from $305 million per year to $0 per year, saving every US citizen $0.93.
Per the given document, the total reductions and eliminations would save $48,397,000,000 saving US citizens $147.92 per year.
I'm editorializing, but I think that, given the size of the budgets we're talking about, I am getting a good return on my investment, and would rather have these programs than an extra couple hundred bucks.
Comment · 8 years ago
Tangential, but I thought HN might find it interesting...
The article quotes the director of the Human Rights Campaign (who you may know from their bumper stickers, a blue square with a yellow equality symbol in it), who is named Ty Cobb.
There are at least two lawyers named Ty Cobb; one represents Donald Trump [0], the other is the director [1] of the largest LGBT civil rights advocacy group.
[0]: https://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/24/trumps-denver-lawyer-t...
[1]: http://blogs.mccombs.utexas.edu/bhp-news/2014/03/24/alumni-s...
Comment · 8 years ago
This is what I use at work. :) It can make the code difficult to read and update later though.
Comment · 8 years ago
...or, they'll be a momentary novelty that Generation Z will view as the 21st century equivalent of sticking your head through a cardboard cutout to pretend you're Dale Earnhardt or Santa Claus or whatever.
https://img.etsystatic.com/il/c435d0/942014524/il_570xN.9420...
Comment · 8 years ago
I'd support a constitutional amendment to guarantee 'no first use', regardless of who is in office.
If verifiable global nuclear disarmament was possible, I'd support that as well.
As a citizen of the USA, I don't want to share the ethical responsibility for starting a nuclear war.
Comment · 8 years ago
Here's another one: https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/12/microsoft-calibri-pakist...
Comment · 8 years ago
The difference between 3.1B and 1300B dollars is significant and it is bizarre that you cite a source and then say "the number doesn't really matter". The number definitely does matter...
The number you initially claimed in spite of your own source contravening it would support your argument... if one was moving 1300B from a 18620B economy to a 317B economy... that is to say, providing support equal to 400% of the recipient's GDP, that would be significant.
The actual numbers given in the source you provided are insignificant and don't support your argument.
Comment · 8 years ago
>US is planning to spend 1.3 trillion in Israel in FY18
That isn't what your source says... where'd you get that number?
[0]: https://www.foreignassistance.gov/explore/country/Israel
Comment · 8 years ago
Someone will surely try your suggestion at some point, and I hope we don't get to find out what the Enron of water supply looks like.
"Newly discovered tapes have revealed how the energy corporation Enron shut down at least one power plant on false pretences, deliberately aggravating California's crippling 2001 blackouts with the aim of raising prices."
[0] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2005/feb/05/enron.usnew...
Comment · 8 years ago
The argument I've heard to counter this is the idea that economic markets are efficient even when many participants are irrational because the irrational participants cancel each other out, amounting to random noise.
A market can find efficiency even when there are a significant number of irrational participants because the rational minority are in agreement, and the irrational minority step on each other's toes.
Similarly, if 44% of a democracy has an irrational preference to always vote for Team Blue, and 44% of a democracy has an irrational preference to always votes for Team Red, then the remaining 12% actually decide which team wins.
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