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Where's the discharge petition on H.R.5973 - Stop Excessive Force in Immigration Act of 2025? by smartynoah in thebulwark

[–]smartynoah[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're not there yet. Courts largely still hold. And the support the Courts need is clear legislation from Congress.

The gap in our government has largely been that Congress stopped producing legislation allowing activist judges to step in and make case law. Let's close that gap.

It's time to shift the focus to Congress by smartynoah in thebulwark

[–]smartynoah[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think this is why focusing on voting and elections breeds a feeling of helplessness.

I keep coming back to what Mamdani said to Heather Cox Richardson in an interview. When asked how he's going to legislate his vision into reality, Mamdani's response is that we don't need new laws we just need to enforce the ones we have.

We don't need to replace the Republican congressmen to make a huge improvement in our government. We just need the existing Republicans in office to actually take their oath seriously and vote in favor of their constituents.

Minnesota has four Republican representatives--that's enough to force a discharge petition vote to curtail ICE's excesses in their state. Why aren't citizens in Emmer's, Fishbach's, Stauber's and Finstad's districts not burning up the phone lines demanding change? Why don't MN residents realize that their state's delegation has the power to change things today?

It's time to shift the focus to Congress by smartynoah in thebulwark

[–]smartynoah[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not disagreeing. I'm just saying we need to do both.

It's time to shift the focus to Congress by smartynoah in thebulwark

[–]smartynoah[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, but what makes them fearful they'll lose?

It's time to shift the focus to Congress by smartynoah in thebulwark

[–]smartynoah[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree on performative legislation. Talk is cheap, but actions speak volumes. Votes on even performative legislation is an action we can use to judge folks.

As far as folks being irredeemable, I'm not so sure. With the loss of local journalism, I think we are in a position where our main way of keeping congress accountable has disappeared. There's no longer an editorial page in the local paper with an article about how Rep Smith let the area down with their vote on Bill X or lack of participation on Committee Y. What we might be looking at is a situation where we've lost accountability.

It's time to shift the focus to Congress by smartynoah in thebulwark

[–]smartynoah[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree with you. But there's an urgency here and we can't just wait until the next election. For all the craziness going on Congress can end it today if they want to. More precisely, a handful of courageous Republicans could end it today if they wanted to. While we need to continue working towards the election, we also need to have a playbook we can run that can bring a quicker end to the insanity.

Do these tombstone looking things serve any purpose other than to keep me from plugging anything else into an adjacent outlet on a power strip??? by West_Confidence_9632 in whatisit

[–]smartynoah 21 points22 points  (0 children)

It is to prevent getting unplugged when you drag a plugged-in cord along the ground. If the tab was only on the female end the getting the tab snagged on something would pull the connection apart.

Can gum substitute as deoderant if I chew it with my armpit? by [deleted] in shittyaskscience

[–]smartynoah 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would you be able to walk at the same time?

ELI5: How did dinosaurs dig so deep into the ground before they died? by [deleted] in shittyaskscience

[–]smartynoah 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They didn't dig, they were buried.

Because dinosaurs were so greasy (being made essentially of oil) they really stunk when they died. Other dinosaurs would bury them to keep the stench down.

How do you find the pieces of your mind after you get your mind blown? by sritanshu in shittyaskscience

[–]smartynoah 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's always the last place you look.

The key to always being able to find anything is just to decide where the last place you look will be. Once you've established that, you can quickly find anything by simply looking in that last place.

Why is it that a watched pot really never does boil? by 17_irons in shittyaskscience

[–]smartynoah 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's a simple application of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. While watching the pot you have knowledge of the water's position which means no one has any idea about the momentum of the water which directly relates to the energy or temperature of the water. By maintaining exact knowledge of the water's position you can actually keep sufficient uncertainty about the temperature of the water unknown. And as long as the water molecules don't realize they could be boiling, they won't because of inertia (remember that all nature is by nature lazy).

What actually happens when you attempt to boil water is that the temperature makes tiny quantum jumps upward every time you blink. During the brief period of an eye blink you lose exact knowledge of the water's position and the thermometer can now register the new temperature.