All the people saying mandatory voting is bad are misinformed. It is essential for democracy, and should be applied everywhere.
Australia has mandatory voter turnout, but you do not need to submit a vote. You just need to show up on polling day.
Everyone has political interests and needs to be politically represented, but some people are too tired after work to take themselves to the polling centre. Others are incarcerated. If anything, those people are more in need of political representatives.
American conservatives spend billions trying to prevent poor overworked people from reaching polling places or exercising their right to vote. Mandatory voting prevents that.
Make no mistake, Australian democracy is healtheir than whatever clusterfuck in going on in the US.
Whether mandatory voting is bad or not, certainly it’s way better than the American situation, where one particular party’s strategy to win elections is to discourage and actively prevent people from voting. In Australia, every political party seeks to win by collecting votes.
Not only that, but Australia’s actual ballot is leagues better, too. Ranked ballots are a great way to weaken (unfortunately not eliminate) the two party system, which is unfortunately also the reason the United States will never see anything like it. (At least not in the foreseeable future.)
If a person is too tired to vote that means resting is more important to them than voting. Forcing that person to vote is invalidating their own prioritization.
Are you talking about feeling too tired to spend 20 minutes voting 3 times every 4 years or cutting out your own heart to give to someone?
Cause in the the latter case I agree and in the former I say buck up mate, we live in a society and that means doing stuff for people when we don’t always feel like it.
So firstly that is a non sequitur. Either we are talking about whether the sacrifice demanded is unethically steep or we are talking whether the initiative is ineffective.
Lets put that aside though, just making a note this is a separate point to explore.
I would first ask what you mean by voting quality. Could you explain?
They mean some people shouldn’t vote because their opinion is low quality and should be ignored. It’s an anti democratic belief that the stupid/misinformed shouldn’t vote.
Do you really stand behind that asinine statement or did you just whip yourself in to a frenzy and after thinking logically about it you now want retract it?
“Should be mandatory everywhere” ima stop you right there, I couldn’t give a single flying fuck about politics so having to vote results in me showing up not caring because I don’t want a fine and I’ll vote for a random candidate which will result in just picking a name out of a hat if an entire country did it
You don’t have to vote in Australia. You just have to show up so it proves you were able to vote without impediment if you so choose to. You could draw a penis on it if you even could be bothered.
Voting typically takes place over a weekend in Australia and you have plenty of time to do it. You can also postal vote or absentee vote in advance fairly easily if you wish too. Polling places are literally like every school so there’s always one nearby too.
Spoiling your ballot is an established and documented form of political protest. Nothing says “fuck all these chumps” like drawing a big cock and balls on the ballot.
Politics is part of everyday life regardless of whether you care or not and I’m not talking about the media circus that is the US election machine but rather about the cost of products and services, prevention of crime and what is determined as a crime, the rules of how to conduct business, provision of services like roads, water, sewage by government/authorities and the rates of taxes that fund those services to make but a few. If you don’t care about politics them I would imagine you have no opinions on anything of that nature and would never complain of your cost of living increased or you couldn’t access medical treatment or call a fire station in a time of need or about who had the right to vote?
Making voting mandatory in Australia also protects people who want to vote from being exploited by their employers. Imagine the scenario where there is a referendum on a matter that would be very beneficial to businesses but exploits employees. A corrupt business may decide to schedule their employees to work a 12 hour shift that would prevent them from being able to vote if the business knew it’s employees would vote against the legislation when they want it to pass.
You don’t actually have to cast your vote in Australia, just show up but even if it was mandatory to cast it, they can always be spoiled. You could even write “I have no opinion on politics and don’t want to vote for anyone”.
Willful ignorance, stupidity, and a shitty attitude - you really should educate yourself. Genuinely. It’ll save you a lot of embarassment and you can’t start to contribute to society instead of being part of the problems that hold it back.
Here’s your next free lesson - You should have written “Too long, didn’t read…”
I don’t pay too much attention to Australian politics, but whenever I see headlines it’s always something like “MP literally destroying the barrier reef with his own bare hands” or “Corruption whistleblower sentenced to one thousand years in jail”
Things like “MP approves funding for new hospital” don’t make headlines. Even moreso for any world headlines to rise above the din of American politics it usually has to be something pretty outrageous.
The important thing to note is: Australia has a genuinely solid chance of removing the right-wing nutjobs / spineless centrist two-party system BECAUSE of mandatory voting. Young people in USA have appalling voter turn out. But young people in Australia are seriously turning the tides. See the results by age group for the 2019 election. The boomers are still voting in right-wing nutjobs (Liberal party), most groups have strong centrist representation (Labor), and Gen Z are bringing in a third, non-major, left-aligned party (Greens). It brings so much hope for younger generations and the fact that voting doesn’t feel futile. https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/f56abdd2-7ce6-45a7-8bad-23e945ea6bd9.jpeg
Australia has mandatory voter turnout, but you do not need to submit a vote. You just need to show up on polling day.
So just to clear up a technical misconception here - the wording in the Electoral Act is quite clear. All enrolled electors are legally required to vote. It’s only a consequence of the secret ballot that makes this provision unenforceable, so someone can turn up and get their name marked off while not submitting a vote without facing any consequences, but it is technically an illegal act.
If the AEC were to come up with some way to determine that you didn’t vote without betraying that secret ballot, they would be within their rights to issue a you a fine.
When you go to vote they check you off on either a physical or digital list - so they can work out who didn’t vote. What they can’t work out is whether you submitted a legit ballot
This is why I try to endure the fever side effects of vaccines as much as I can without taking a tylenol, so my immune system gets some proper “training” to recognize and fight the real thing.
Physical buttons in cars for radio and environment settings.
There used to be a time when I could have my hand on the gear shifter and just reach out with my fingers to change radio stations or adjust the heat or a/c without needing to look down at all.
Now with modern touchscreens in cars, you can’t do any of that. I have gotten used to playing with the radio via the steering wheel buttons, but anything else requires hunting around, looking for the correct spot to touch the screen.
And yet they say, “don’t take your eyes off the road!”
Yeah you can preview this cycle by looking at Cadillac. They were among the first to go touch-only with Cue in the early 2010s, started fading back in physical buttons with new models in the late 2010s, and on their newest models now have a full set of very nice custom buttons not shared from the GM parts bin.
Physical buttons do everything better and are safer for drivers since they require less attention to be taken off the road.
I will continue to refuse to buy any car that has internet connectivity or touchscreens. They’re unsafe and unnecessary, only allowing for more tracking of our personal lives
Im with you on the always online automobiles and the importance of tactile feedback for important and commonly used buttons, but a small screen for a back-up camera is very nice.
Im not against screens entirely, just ones that are touchscreen and hide critical buttons behind menus.
A screen that does nothing more than GPS, Music and Backup cameras is pretty much the extent of what I’d need, and there’s a bunch of 3rd party accessories that do that.
Some car companies are going back to physical buttons. A screen for everything is still my most hated thing about modern vehicles. I wanna look like I’m operating the millennium falcon or a Gundam when I’m driving, gimme back muscle memory.
My 2021 VW GLI is mostly buttons. There’s a big touchscreen for the infotainment, except volume. There’s a “tuner” knob but it doesn’t really so anything (I don’t listen to am/fm radio). HVAC controls are all buttons and knobs. Steering wheel controls are also buttons and switches.
My CX5 is similar, buttons for all things not entertainment. There’s only one out of place design on the car that irks me - it doesn’t have a setting to change whether the mirrors fold or not. Why is this useful? I’m in the Midwest and in the winter they can get stuck overnight due to ice. So they have a convoluted process (without an audible or visual confirmation mind you) to disable or enable. Ignition on, lock the windows. Press all three passenger window buttons on the driver’s door down for 3 seconds. This would have been so much nicer to be in a menu off of the entertainment system, similar to say the lighting timing upon exit etc.
I just got a 2018 Honda Odyssey and it’s great. It has the touch screen, but also has physical buttons for almost all of the climate and radio stuff. That’s how it should be IMO. Just give us both!
You’re lucky (or smart) to go with the 2018, my gfs 2016 Honda Accord does have physical buttons for the climate, but for some reason has a weird touch pad thing instead of a volume knob. It drives us both up the wall. The car is near perfect besides that but that one issue is enough to convince me to never buy a Honda of that generation.
Our 2021 Hyundai Kona has physical buttons for most things, and some advanced functions are accessible through the touchscreen. Maybe it’s an exception
I’m a school bus driver and some modern buses have the switches for operating the doors and the 8-ways (the amber and red flashers at the top corners) on the steering wheel and they drive me up the fucking wall. The problem is that you often have to stop for kids after making a sharp turn one way or the other, so the wheel is not in its normal position and you have no idea where the switches are and have to look down to see them. If they’re on the left fixed panel (their “normal” location) you can reach for them without having to look.
That’s just terrible design, the only buttons that should be on the steering wheel are ones you are likely to use while at speed and there should always be backups on the dash. It’s more expensive to run wires to the wheel and they’re more likely to break.
Would I vote for Jon Stewart if he ran for POTUS? Probably.
This says less about my faith in Jon’s ability to govern, and more about my lack of faith in current politicians to lead ethically.
I’d rather see Jon make the right decisions but make mistakes, than to see a seasoned politician make the wrong decisions and execute them competently.
I at least have faith Jon is smart enough and with a true compassion in his heart, that he’d be able to surround himself with real experts, listen open mindedly to their advice, and regularly make decisions with empathy.
All that said, he’s said repeatedly he doesn’t want that job, and I do not blame him.
Jon is a smart man. If he were to become President, he would have to make the same kind of hard decisions that Obama made that were unpopular among the public. Being a world leader is like that ethics question of changing the direction of a train to run over 1 person vs 10.
To second this, I’d like Jon to keep doing the great work he’s doing, and I’d like people with similar levels of integrity and thoughtfulness who are interested and good at political activism to rise through politics and lead.
It’s a sad state of affairs in which we ask these questions, because it’s just an indication that we’re myopically focused on people with enough name recognition to discuss them.
You know who would be better considerations for president? Katie Porter. Ro Khanna. Maybe eventually Lina Khan. Despite what we’re told, there ARE people with experience leading political agencies who have shown an understanding of the back doors that have been built into our power structures and show the integrity to fight against it.
The funny thing is that when people think about potential populists for president, we get options like AOC (who I admire, but is famous more than experienced), but we don’t get enough people like Barbara Lee, who is the only member of congress who said “NO” to the PATRIOT Act, the War on Iraq, and the Authorization of Use of Military force that gave us the war in Afghanistan and our whole permanent war in the middle east. The woman is an absolute lion of courage and has decades of experience. She’s currently running for Senate, and she has my vote because she’s the only one in the race calling with the courage to call for a ceasefire in Palestine.
I love Stewart. But we need to look past the famous towards the people who’ve been quietly doing this work for many years.
That is the problem with representative democracy when each rep accounts for nearly a million citizens. You’re at the whims of such a massive voting base. Name recognition is pretty much the only thing that matters at that scale.
It’s like modern marketing and advertising. Half the time, they don’t even say anything about their service. They just want you to remember the name and recognize the logo if you see it in a store.
People don’t realize how much data is collected, how it’s analyzed to determine things about you, and how it’s given out to nearly anyone. Here are some concerning examples that hopefully speak for themselves.
Hopefully you can see why the information being collected and given out to anyone is concerning. As to how to avoid it, I’m not sure there is any way besides government regulation. Maybe someone else has some answers!
If your friends have Facebook, and they share contacts on their phone, and they communicate with you Facebook has a shadow profile for your phone number. They still track you even without the app or an account.
Yes, that’s why I have two phone numbers. One with an official work number that I give to friends and business partners - Its basically a requirement to have a public phone number if one runs a company where I live, so no hiding there anyways. And then I have a separate number I never give out, for data only.
Oh, you tried to call me but I didn’t pick up? Sorry, I was busy/tired/generic excuse. But if you get on Element I’ll give you my private account. Think of it as a backstage pass, you’ll get in when nobody else does. You’ll be special.
Kindergarten level psychology that works surprisingly well.
Are they both attached to smartphones? Location data can be pulled essentially equating the two numbers. If both devices always are in the same spot it’s the same person etc
Different tools for different threats. I’m not trying to hide from state-level actors and phone data is illegal to sell where I live.
And if I were, surely I wouldn’t talk about it on an open forum. In such a hypothetical scenario I wouldn’t even bring a cellphone, no matter if it’s a smartphone or a plain ol’ Nokia from the last millennium.
My point is they probably know both are you. I have two phones too, it just depends on what your goal is. If it’s not to be tracked by the Google, Microsoft, and Metas of the world you’re probably failing.
How can Google, Meta and Microsoft corrolate two phones where one is completely devoid of any Google Play blobs if they don’t have access to location and triangulation data from the cell towers?
If you somehow have made sure every app you use doesn’t have a meta tracker in it then maybe. Although then you get into the territory of being so unique by blocking everything that you become identifiable that way.
I use custom operating system on my phone and router. I analyze packets, firewalls apps and block known tracking system on DNS level since I run my own In/Out VPN.
I have don’t understand what you’re talking about. Maybe I’m just not on your level.
Thank you for the interaction, but I don’t think either of us will gain any more from this discussion.
I’m aware of browser based tracking and have taken precautions to stop this. I fail to see how this is related to correlating two separate systems.
This continued conversation is wasting both ours time. I’m happy to discuss a different topic with you at another time, but posting links I evaluate to be completely irrelevant and perhaps even ignorant to the topic will only lead to conflict no matter who is right.
I watch a YouTube channel called The Hated One. He explains a lot about how to stay safe on the net. Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like it’s possible to be completely safe and to be even a little bit safe is a HUGE PITA.
I remember reading something about a guy that went so hard at being anonymous that the FBI almost arrested him since it looked like he was doing something criminal to want all this anonimity.
Ted Nugent. He is just a complete scumbag and without his shitty music career he never would have impacted so many people with his gross bullshit. The world would be better off if his music never existed.
I was about to give the example of Ted Nugent in the body of the post because he’s just such a douche. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought the same.
He got louder, flashier, less techy and more talky and is doing a gazillion reruns of the same general idea over and over. Can’t really enjoy it anymore.
Came here to say this too (actually did but didn’t scroll enough to see yours first). I totally agree. I feel like he’s not creating content for the same reasons he used to.
I like what he do, no problem on that, but his voice is neither loud nor quiet. It has the tone of a loud speak but the audio come out soft, it hurt my ear when my brain trying to adjust to whatever that volume is.
Also yes another glitter bomb and animal puzzle maze.
Assuming English isn’t your mother tongue, I meant no offense. But “beltalowda” is a demonym referring to the group of humans occupying and mining the asteroid belt and other outer planetary areas in the science fiction story The Expanse. Your grammar is surprisingly close to their speech patterns.
Happiness, excitement and anticipation are cycles. In order to experience them again to their full, you must allow them to fade for awhile. Trying to hold onto them for too long is causing you more grief than the actual lack of them in the moment.
Take a moment to breathe, and appreciate where you are, what you have, and who you’ve shared it with, before you rush onward.
He never had a phase where all of his videos were 10:00 for the algorithm, he never jumps on topical shit for clicks, he just talks about genuinely interesting shit, and has gotten to do so on a higher and higher budget.
He has diversified, and has other channels that interface with other YouTubers in gameshow and stuff. But it’s all still legit content.
And a deep cut from 9 years ago. Same kind of content. Slightly lower quality but… Guys been doing this kind of “hey I think this is neat let me tell you about it” for a decade, without becoming a dingbat.
Video icon has giant red text saying “NOBODY SURVIVES”. Open with Tom Scott standing at a gate to the Chernobyl exclusion zone
“Today I’m here to talk to you about something dark, something that has produced so much pain, something that decays life itself. Me standing in Chernobyl actually has nothing to do with it, because pulls up a laptop showing a game I’m referring to League of Legends”
Cinema Sins. Used to be 5 minute videos pointing out continuity errors or over-use of something (Iron Man 2 Bird Bonus Round) but then bloated into 20 minutes of nit picky bull crap.
I can’t even follow the logic most of the time. It pre-assumes you’ve dug as deeply into the movie as they have and have already moved past surface level continuity errors. Also, it got cringey any time they’d remove points for “hot chick moment” or “liking this scene humanizes our channel”.
I’m not poor but this always helps everyone. Wait for a while before you buy the thing off your shopping list. Wait for a week and reconsider whether you indeed need it.
If the answer is still yes, buy it. It is a must do for expensive things. Never break this rule for any massive purchase like a car or something!
To add a light structure to this approach I always liked the “wait $100 a day” approach. Want to buy something that costs $300. Wait three days after you have decided you want it. Want to buy something over $1000, think about it for a couple weeks. A $50 impulsive purchase, maybe think about it over lunch.
Yea for me every extra hundred is at least a couple days, even a $20 item usually sits in the cart until i make a decision on if i actually need/want it enough to warrant it
You are not wrong. I’ve been pretty fortunate in my adult life and I’ve adjusted the threshold as I go. Really the point is to slow down your decision making and reduce impulsive purchases.
…also, thank you for calling me out. I grew up pretty poor, and didn’t ever make much more than minimum wage until I was over 30. I think I internalized the frugal lifestyle as part of my identity during that time, and I often forget that is not my situation anymore. I appreciate the occasional reminder to be more grateful of my current privilege.
Interesting I guess this is why my partner does this. Kind of drives me nuts though because then we’ll have something on the list for months and he keeps putting it off until I finally just go on my own to buy it because I actually need it. Obviously not for big purchases but for stuff we don’t use often like flour or jam or something.
Growing up my parents sheltered me a lot more from the financial instability we faced, his did not and he’s still stuck in survival mode even though we are past it, so we have very different spending habits.
I try to never buy something the same day I learn of it. I’ll take someone’s business card, look it up online, comeback later, etc. that way it’s only if I really care about it and not just feeling pressured or spending money for fun (buying stuff feels like an accomplishment, but the feeling never lasts).
I’m not sure what you mean here. I can only think the confusion is on business cards, where I am from it common for little shops and individual vendors to have business cards to look them up later. Sales people for big things too like cars, and houses.
I was looking for a new car (leasing) and kept checking different for some weeks until I stumbled upon one offer that was 100€ less than any other while being essentially the same (power, space, etc). That was nice and I don’t really care about brands as long as they are somewhat reliable.
He and Thatcher were instrumental in bringing neoliberalism into mainstream politics. Neoliberalism differs from classical liberalism in that its about freeing capital and not people. This directly led to all the problems we face today with a government that used to be by and for the people but now the only people the government serves are the corporations we gave out rights to.
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