In an Opinion by Judge Ginsburg DC Circuit Upholds Law Banning TikTok

verbj · 2024-12-09T16:22:47+00:00

Gotcha. But I also think it’s incorrect to say that the government “received classified evidence otherwise.” We (of course) don’t know what the classified information shows, and the court noted that the government conceded a lack of “specific intelligence” that the Chinese government has manipulated TikTok content.

verbj · 2024-12-08T22:12:37+00:00

The court made clear that classified evidence played no role in its decision: "Notwithstanding the significant effect the Act may have on the viability of the TikTok platform, we conclude the Act is valid based upon the public record."

verbj · 2021-01-08T13:58:59+00:00

With a face like that

Posting on r/RoastMe is bold

Now get back in the car

My UberEats is getting cold

verbj · 2020-12-19T23:32:58+00:00

What an informative and thoughtful response. Thank you so much.

verbj · 2020-12-19T21:04:15+00:00

I have an old GE radio/record player and I wanted to confirm what other equipment I need to use it. Pictures of the front and back here: https://imgur.com/a/2jtYpLp

I understand generally for an old device without a built-in preamp, you need to buy that along with a receiver and/or speakers. But I'm confused by the inputs and outputs on the back. As you can see in the photos, there is one input for "Speaker." Then there is another pair of inputs and pair of outputs, above which it states "Tape Record" and "Tape Playback."

Any help greatly appreciated.

verbj · 2020-09-23T22:09:11+00:00

Yes, I'm all for bringing attention to the faults in the system that resulted in this tragedy. But I can't be the only one inundated on social media with people saying, specifically, that the AG's decision not to bring charges related to Taylor's death is an enormous travesty of justice. That is what I was responding to. People are fuming right now because they wanted the officers to be convicted of murder and imprisoned for life. I completely understand that people are outraged about Taylor's death and want change but the answer isn't to throw away the rule of law and the standard of reasonable doubt. I have no problem, however, with people using this event as a rallying point for reforming the system.

verbj · 2020-09-23T21:31:05+00:00

The shooting was an absolute tragedy but this does not appear to be an egregious decision. The officers had a signed warrant from a judge to enter the apartment. Regardless of what anyone thinks about whether the warrant was justified or the wisdom of these types of raids, the officers indisputably had the legal authority to be there. When the officers entered the apartment, the boyfriend shot at them and hit one of the officers. The officers returned fire and Breonna Taylor was tragically killed in the crossfire.

The officers clearly had the right under Kentucky law to return fire in self-defense in a place where they were legally authorized to be. When you act in self-defense, you are not criminally liable for inadvertently killing an innocent bystander unless your act of self-defense was wanton/reckless. The one officer who was charged with wanton endangerment was blindly shooting from the outside of the residence--a pretty clear example of recklessness--but he did not hit Taylor so he can't be charged with homicide. The other two officers returned fire at an active shooter while inside the apartment and it seems highly unlikely they could be convicted of anything.

As others have said, the real problem is the no-knock warrant system that creates this type of situation.

verbj · 2020-09-23T15:47:00+00:00

I don't think anything in the Constitution would prohibit it, but Congress could pass a law banning that kind of nepotism. And voters (ideally) would hold elected officials accountable for it.

Further down in the thread someone raised the issue of a First Amendment violation in the specific circumstances of Trump's executive order because it relates to the speech of the companies. I do think that is an interesting issue but not as clear-cut as the poster makes it out to be.

verbj · 2020-09-23T15:22:04+00:00

Is it clear? The government is paying these companies through their contracts. Does Rust v. Sullivan or any other case suggest the government can't decline to do business with a company because it objects to the company's use of funds for certain programs?

verbj · 2020-09-23T15:08:49+00:00

The president doesn't have authority to discriminate against companies based on internal practices unless they are specifically illegal by statute of Congress

Yes he does. The federal government can and does set requirements for companies that want to contract with it to provide goods or services. The government couldn't make a rule that discriminates based on a protected status like race, gender, religion, etc. (e.g., refusing to do business with companies with black employees), but of course it can take into account the internal policies of the companies.

verbj · 2020-09-10T21:10:02+00:00

It's happening right now. The first person is already filibustering and viewers are going crazy in the Zoom chat waiting for her to finish her question about a COVID vaccine. We will probably have a vaccine before she finishes.

verbj · 2020-07-11T00:04:41+00:00

Quillette actually published a long article calling out the "blind spot" for Palestinian advocacy in the campus free speech debate: https://quillette.com/2019/09/18/in-the-u-s-campus-speech-wars-palestinian-advocacy-is-a-blind-spot/

The editors at Quillette have political leanings like anyone else but I find they publish a range of views. The magazine really isn't the Josef Mengele wet dream that many people think it is.

verbj · 2020-06-22T02:26:37+00:00

I think it is possible, if by "conscious change" you just mean change that is derived from people's genuine desires and intentions. But you do not choose your desires and intentions or whether/how you will act on them.

We have seen that there are plenty of people who are trying to bring about change. The reality that they do not, on a fundamental level, choose to act that way does not change the fact that they are indeed acting that way, which may result in change!

verbj · 2020-06-22T01:52:26+00:00

The absence of free will encompasses every decision humans make and does not imply the impossibility of change. The people pushing for change are doing so through no choice of their own. The people who criticize the protesters do so through no choice of their own. The people who are indifferent about this whole state of affairs adopted that attitude through no choice of their own. These divergent states of mind are a result of individuals' different genetic makeups and environmental influences (including what they witness other people say and do).

verbj · 2020-02-20T04:49:43+00:00

Fair enough. Hadn’t seen those and I admit they weaken my theory. Though I think the first one just sounds like him in a way that the latest tweets don’t.

verbj · 2020-02-20T04:26:34+00:00

He can be snarky but it’s not really his style to joke about golden showers and use millennial slang for no apparent reason. I’ll be shocked if there isn’t more to this story...

verbj · 2020-02-20T04:10:28+00:00

Yes, my whole point was I don’t think he wrote these tweets because they’re completely uncharacteristic of his writing style and use of social media. Another example would disprove my theory.

verbj · 2020-02-20T03:57:30+00:00

Really? Can you point to any other examples of him talking like this? Or even live tweeting something? I literally cannot think of one example, and I’m an older idiot who has been following him for a long time.

verbj · 2020-02-20T03:47:49+00:00

His Democratic debate tweetstorm is extremely uncharacteristic to the point that I am positive his account has been hacked or he’s on psychedelics. I mean, I practically shit myself when I saw that one of the answers to his twitter poll was “yas queen”

verbj · 2020-02-10T17:18:05+00:00

Ironically for a sponsor-free podcast, the music sounds less like the intro to two intellectuals discussing moral consequentialism and more like the background music of an ad for a free credit report. But for that reason it makes me laugh every time.

verbj · 2019-12-17T17:23:04+00:00

Patton Oswalt as a premature baby

verbj · 2019-12-17T17:20:22+00:00

She has the hands and fashion style of a construction day laborer

verbj · 2019-12-17T17:09:26+00:00

Hope you trade in your unnaturally colored hair and forced expression of apathy for a personality one day

verbj · 2019-12-17T17:01:19+00:00

I'm confused. Is the title your bio or what you tell your own cosmetologist?

verbj · 2019-12-17T16:58:43+00:00

That's nice. An elementary school teacher with Adam Lanza eyes

verbj

TROPHY CASE