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Re:U.S. Drops California Case Against Apple After Accessing ... by mtgx on Monday March 28, 2016 @07:19PM (#11378256)
No, but I think Americans want a semblance of representation. When The People have close to 0% sway in Congress' opinions on bills, and corporations have like 70%, I'd say that's a pretty big freaking deal, no?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tu32CCA_Ig

Every time there's an argument about wanting more democracy in the US, it seems someone always appears to say "but that's mob rule!". No, nobody wants mob rule. But there's a canyon between what exists now and what a more representative government could look like.

Re:U.S. Drops California Case Against Apple After Accessing ... by panarky on Monday March 28, 2016 @07:34PM (#11378364)
Excellent video, I hadn't seen that.

Predictably, the argument devolves into one about direct democracy vs. representative democracy, and that's really not the issue at all.

The issue is that the current system consistently acts contrary to the will of the people.

To quote the Princeton study from your video:

  The preferences of the average American appear to have only a
  minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon
  public policy.
Re:U.S. Drops California Case Against Apple After Accessing ... by erichocean on Monday March 28, 2016 @08:27PM (#11378643)
> The preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.

That's a feature, not a bug.

Re:U.S. Drops California Case Against Apple After Accessing ... by oldmanjay on Monday March 28, 2016 @08:07PM (#11378546)
I'm curious about this capital-P People. Does working for a corporation revoke membership in this club?
Re:U.S. Drops California Case Against Apple After Accessing ... by studentrob on Monday March 28, 2016 @07:31PM (#11378340)
> When The People have close to 0% sway in Congress' opinions on bills, and corporations have like 70%, I'd say that's a pretty big freaking deal, no?

There's plenty of time to undo the actions of the past 10, 20, even 30 years.

If you sit back on your heels, throw your arms up in the air, don't vote and say nothing, then you won't be participating in democracy. But if you do use your voice and vote then at least you can say you tried. Everything won't always go your way and we don't have a perfect system. But given our diverse population it is a pretty good one. I say that while in full agreement that there are a lot of laws that need to be reversed or undone.

You'll never entirely remove money from politics. And, we should keep trying to remove it even though we know we won't end up with a perfect solution. That said, lobbyists aren't inherently evil and many share our viewpoints (for example, the EFF)

Re:U.S. Drops California Case Against Apple After Accessing ... by mdpopescu on Tuesday March 29, 2016 @02:16AM (#11379788)
Personally, I don't believe that "at least you can say you tried" is morally superior to not participating in a rigged game.
Re:U.S. Drops California Case Against Apple After Accessing ... by studentrob on Tuesday March 29, 2016 @04:40AM (#11380245)
I did not say anything about morals. I'm not superior to you. I'm just stating my opinion. Choose to do as you wish. If you choose to not participate in the formation of this government, you are free to continue living in the US or live elsewhere. You could even try to start a revolution though I wouldn't recommend it. It is entirely up to you.