anti_dan
11hr ago
Tolkien also describes troop mustering and movements in a way that is fairly consistent and just barely superhuman (or super-horse in the case of Rohan's rush to re-enforce Minas Tirith). But that is consistent with his world where a lot of the men/orcs/elves are intended to be superhuman (and obviously the horses of Rohan are the best of the best).
anti_dan
12hr ago
Number of patents has become fairly untethered from actual innovation, just speaking as a patent lawyer. Maybe at sometime it was true, or maybe it was always the case that most are basically a minor modification or a dreaded methods patent relating to software.
anti_dan
3d ago
The reason why "respectable" men don't beat up street harassers isn't just because of the legal risk, but because you might very well end up losing. Even if you're in peak physical condition and a trained martial artist, what if the vagrant pulls a knife? What if you win this time, but he comes back with 5 of his buddies? What's the point of risking potentially a life-changing, even fatal injury, because of what, a comment? The risk of escalation is too great compared to just walking on, ignoring the catcall, or just sticking to more middle-class areas.
I mean, I don't engage with street harassers for many reasons, but the chance that I would lose is very low on that totem pole. In a fair fight, I have approximately 0.1% chance of losing a fight to the average street harasser in an objective way. However, even if I win, in modern America, I lose. I am banned from using the proper tools to take care of this fellow, a billy club or a gun, so I would have to fight him hand to hand. That means I am going to, at the very least, get very stinky fighting him. I might also be out some expensive clothing. I mostly am wearing suits when I see street harassers, after all. The legal risk, is of course very high. George Floyd and Ahmad Arbery are good examples of this.
I am a bit confused by your mental model here where you think normal men confronting homeless creepers is not a thing because they fear to lose the fight. Its not a thing for me. Its not a thing for my brother or anyone else who was on the wrestling team at our high school. The fear is the legal shit, and the fact that its not worth it because they smell so bad. And also they prolly give you AIDS or some shit if they successfully bite you.
Thus, the gentleman's billy club is the solution.
anti_dan
3d ago
Its important to note that there is a very real difference between mutual combat and sucker punching or mugging. The former is a thing almost solely practiced by co-ethnics of equal class. The latter is typically engaged in by the underclass, and is often cross-racial and cross-class.
It demonstrates the issue with an over-formalized legal system where common sense is basically banned. Imagine the following argument at an appellate court:
"So on July 9, 2025 two white boys started brawling in Jim's pub and Johnny was winning, then Tommy pulled a gun and shot him. You charged Tommy with Murder. But then outside Jim's Tommy's brother Timmy got punched in the face by Jaron and he shot Jaron right in the heart killing him. And you didn't charge Timmy with nothing?"
"Yes. Those are totally different"
"How."
"Common sense."
You see how this isn't going to fly when like 8/10 law grads are progressives and have been for decades.
anti_dan
3d ago
These operations long predate Kash and friends. This "investigation" probably does as well. The FBI has for a long time been full of attention seeking climbers that want to get promoted, move to DOJ, run for Congress/Judge, etc. Kash doesn't have to do crap to have these sorts of things to happen. If he was changing things he'd tell agents to pursue more boring cases, like straw purchasers of firearms, or interstate armed robbery gangs. I know of multiple cases in the midwest like this one where the FBI declined to investigate and/or DOJ declined to charge.
anti_dan
3d ago
One would hope, but only the domestics really activate all the right elements most of the time.
anti_dan
4d ago
Oh New Jersey. Nybbler's pager must be going off.
But NJ is not alone. Most gun-unfriendly states have similar provisions in their Order of Protection laws, prohibiting firearms for at least the duration of the OP, and the OP often can be extended indefinitely based on various factors. And I doubt any federal judges have the stomach to reverse any of these because domestic violence is, frankly, incredibly common, and commonly deadly. The fastest way one loses their judicial career is denying a motion in a DV case and have the offender then kill the victim the next time around.
anti_dan
6d ago
In the closing days of the war, the cult suddenly decides, on no evidence whatsoever, that the chancellor is a member of an evil witch coven that hasn’t actually existed in 2000 years. They claim that the only reasonable solution is to send six guys to go assassinate the chancellor without trial.
Six Guys? Did I watch a different movie than you?
anti_dan
6d ago
But when and how do you sound the alarm when a dictator is slowly installing an authoritarian regime over a country?
You make the case persuasively.
Democrats cannot do this because Obama and Biden did their own, more authoritarian, things that are very similar to Trump's power grabs, and they just point to minor differences why this time its different, when it is not. The things often cited by his opponents are just not persuasive. Blowing up drug boats? Presidents have been blowing people up for decades at this point, Obama even added the "even people with American citizenship" flavor to that pie. Prosecutions that appear political? Biden is you #1, and in fact, Trump tried promulgating EOs in his first term that attempted to depoliticize the DOJ, particularly around its controversial methods of "Sue & Settle" wherein they would force people to payoff progressive NGOs in class actions. Biden, of course, reversed that. Tariffs? Nobody knows what they actually do. I dont like it, its most likely kinda bad. Serious people don't hang their hat there when shit like dishonorable discharges and court martials were handed out to soldiers over covid vaccines, killing a pipeline, attempting to cancel student loans, etc.
OTOH, Trump's pseudo-impoundment is much more timid. Firstly, I'm fairly confident that the Impoundment control act is unconstitutional under original meaning. The founders were basically penny pinchers, and they imagined that Congress's power over the executive was impeachment and refusing to fund him, not forcing him to fund things. In fact, the latter is impossible from a logical perspective because the executive cannot spend money that is not in the treasury, and if congress passed a bill in 1805 that said "the president shall give every American $100" that would have been impossible, so obviously he could have refused. Thus, again fairly obviously, all appropriations are discretionary because they cannot be guaranteed to be fulfilled.
And one of the other major complaints relates to ICE and the National Guard. What is the president to do, realistically, when local law enforcement is aiding and abetting persons impeding federal law enforcement. If the Iowa State police prevent FDA inspection of all Iowa corn fields would Barack Obama just give up? If they let rioters around the farms do the same? Obviously not. Trump has been much more measured than ole Barack would have been in such a situation, because in that situation the Governor of Iowa would have been in custody. Gavin Newsom amd Karen Bass are not in custody, thus the light touch of Trump is revealed.
anti_dan
6d ago
If trying to point out they are a hypocrite, perhaps. But that is not what is happening here, or Trump is not Reagan and isn't being a hypocrite.
In addition, the average use of bible quotes against Christians usually just shows a misunderstanding of that text, but that isn't really worth getting into at this time.
anti_dan
7d ago
I dont recall if you have addressed this point in the past, but given what appear to be tactical blunders on just about every level, how do you defend Biden's failure to fire multiple Generals and other high level commanding officers that participated in the withdrawal?
anti_dan
7d ago
On an unrelated note, I'm guessing the Republican reevaluation and demythologization of his legacy is something that is bound to happen at some point.
Its been a long running trend among younger generation Republicans that Reagan was tricked by Democrats on numerous issues, particularly immigration and balancing the budget.
anti_dan
7d ago
This codes to me as very similar to the atheist quoting the bible meme. Does anyone really think Doug Ford is a huge Reagan fan?
anti_dan
7d ago
How would the situation be different, if the House GOP simply couldn't get its shit together? Aren't they generally unable to get their shit together and isn't Trump generally exceeding limits on executive power faster than they can be enforced?
This particular part is why I can't take the article in the OP seriously. The House HAS done its job and passed a bill to fund the government. This entire shutdown is in the court of like 8 Democrats in the Senate.
anti_dan
9d ago
I don't think those countries hate Jews nearly as much because of the lack of interaction, but they do like to be part of the coalition that is formed as a result.
anti_dan
10d ago
Your confusion is easily solved by understanding basic jew hatred.
Jew hatred appears to exist all over the place.
I dont see why aside from general dislike of people who are kinda progressive and kinda lame anyone would dislike Jews for a reason other than their Jewishness.
But the progressive and lame countries also hate them. This is telling because they should otherwise be lovers of the Jews.
So generally the problem is obviously Jewishness.
These opinions also undermine Israel.
They also bolster Islam, which hates Jews, but tries to frame it as hate of Israel instead.
So it appears all nonsense to me.
anti_dan
10d ago
These numbers are "skewed" for this question in that they are not directly asking why people dont have faith in the juries or judges or prosecutors or courts in general.
As someone who interacts with the system on a regular basis, the correct answer to "why don't people trust XXX part of the court system" is not because they are or know a convicted felon who is innocent, instead it is because they think criminals are going to go free. Those that think criminals will go free, are, of course, correct. Most cases end up dismissed or plead to minimal conditions because trials are a huge pain to actually put on.
Take something as simple as a misdemeanor DUI case where you are the victim who's care was hit by a drunk driver. On day 1, you get hit. On day 30(ish) you go to court and there is a continuance. You file your civil claims. The defendant's team doesn't cooperate based on vague assertions of 5th amendment stuff in the civil case. Plus he's prolly got no money anyways. On day 60(ish) you again go to criminal court. Nothing happens again. People tell you to stop coming until trial. Then, all the sudden 22 months later you get a letter in the mail telling you to go to court at 9 AM on a wednesday for trial. If you are astounding, you come. The defense weasels out of the trial and gets a new date. Now you have lost 3 days of work and the case is still going. Repeat until you or the police officer doesnt show up and the case is dismissed.
Now you have heard a summary of the average DUI victim's experience with criminal courts.
anti_dan
10d ago
A similar source of ragebait that you see on Caleb's channel: "disabled" veterans who are clearly very functional but have managed to find a sympathetic doctor who declares they have service-related injuries which mean they now get a check for life. Even if they never saw combat. Even if they were never in a combat-facing role. Are you man enough to call out veterans for welfare-queen behavior?
This (and the pension double dipping thing) are super crazy. I know of multiple people who are mid 30s, work full time as engineers or accountants, and pull in 30k extra income a year because of military disability benefits.
anti_dan
10d ago
Also, to the extent Europe is unsafe for Jewish people, it's approximately 100% due to mass migration from Muslim countries.
The people of Israel dont seem to share this confidence.
That doesn't seem to follow. Just because you lose a vote doesn't mean you have no support. Presumably there were more than two votes in your favor, but if it's you and your bully friend against literally the entire world it might be time to start asking "are we the baddies?"
I have considered this and have found the hypothesis lacking. Islam appears to be the cause of most of the baddieness in the region, and when it comes to my country in large numbers causes more bad stuff here.
anti_dan
11d ago
If there were enough places for Jews to go to following an ethnic cleansing of Israel, they wouldn't lose basically every UN vote ever without American Security Council intervention.
anti_dan
11d ago
I am going to write the first part of my response before clicking, and the second after.
- Notably posted without a timestamp indicating Biden was giving Trump credit prior to the election.
AND
- Yup, safely in the rear view mirror. Biden already thought he probably was going to have Trump on Treason charges at this point. And all he really gave Trump credit for at all was taking the vaccine, not making it happen.
anti_dan
11d ago
People really do underestimate the GFC right now. I think in a just world it will be remembered much more prominently 60 years from now than it is today. Will this happen, I don't know, but it really is staggering to me the sheer number of people who graduated in that era and just...never found a real job and have been in a nearly 20 year state (at this point) of constantly applying for jobs they are technically qualified for and being rejected, while desperately clinging to whatever low paid sales/admin/service job they can swing.
I would not really know where to start, or how to make it interesting or relevant. Most of what I do is incredibly mundane. Looking at disclosures, looking at prior art, telling clients my good faith estimate at their chances the disclosure is patentable, writing the spec, writing the claims, on the rare occassion of litigation, writing demands and civil complaints, then pouring through discovery and assigning doc review teams to the overly lengthy discovery, and maybe doing a hearing or so. Never had an actual patent case go to jury trial. And because my practice area is in mechanical devices we don't run into the interesting section 101 stuff basically ever (and if you want my opinion on those things, just read IPWatchdog and whatever the opposite of what Gene is saying is what I think, or at least was when I bothered paying attention).
I suppose I could do something like a, "So you think you are an inventor, whats it like to get your invention patented?" Post if that would interest you, because that is something I could cobble together in a week or so.
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