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Originally Posted by redpoint5
Yaron Brook made a comment that struck me... that you can't move to an area and then demand that it be different than it already is. He said that if LA has bad pollution, you can't move there and then demand that it not have bad pollution.
If people want to spend their lives in gridlock, then that's their prerogative. Most of the US land area is empty and has clean air.
Can you expand on this more? Are you saying that tax money pays for most of the research that ends up generating patents? I find this difficult to believe as there are many private businesses that patent many things.
Agreed. Has democracy ever been different though? Seems any democratic process ends up being a popularity contest, no different than electing a prom king and queen. What's the alternative though?
Fire is what propelled our species forward. It's no surprise that we've improved our ability to leverage that tool... and it does take exploiting fire to propel us to the next technology. Non-fire alternatives have only been around for ~70 years... we're still in the very early stages of these technologies compared with how long we've had fire.
Sure, and laws exist only for the wicked. We've got to have them because our nature is not benevolent. I completely agree we should be better... it isn't in our nature. BTW- I'm a proponent of some level of genetic engineering, which I think will greatly reduce many problems... and create the next generation of problems which we'll need to address. That's what our species does; solve problems and introduce new ones.
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Gridlock is created by the permitting authority.They could have a moratorium on development when throughput reached some threshold.They would have hit their carrying capacity.Gridlock would be structurally impossible.To protect the public good.
Public money underwrites 73% of the fundamental research which undergirds patents.Private entities patent all the time,without repaying the taxpayers for the billions they spent paying for the basic research they capitalize on.(socialize the cost/privatize the profit)
Our democracy was extremely different before the Supreme Court recognized corporations as 'persons.'We lost our democracy then and there.Reverse Citizen's United.Re-invoke the Tillman Act of 1907.Reinstate McCain-Feingold.
No one will dispute the changes availed to us via fossil-fuels,however,it's showing its dark underbelly now.We've transitioned an entire geologic epoch in 200-years.We no longer live on the Earth of our founding fathers.
As far as 'wicked',I've attempted to remove adjectives like that from my vocabulary.A very close friend reminds me regularly that,people do what they do,because that's what people do.I do believe that rule of law is created for the biggest criminals to drive 18-wheelers through the loopholes.Law is only a reflection of exactly the kinds of behaviors demonstrated by man.
Our constitution is designed to protect 'ourselves and our Posterity.' It's the reason for Juliana v. United States.Technically,President Trump is in violation of his oath of office.By law,he's obligated 'To promote the Progress of Science.'...'a more perfect Union....'to promote the general Welfare'...'To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper' .
We've already had the eugenics movement.In 1918,they were advocating the sterilization of half the US population,as we were deemed genetically unfit.There was no science behind it,but that didn't stop influential people from supporting it.Hitler loved it!