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Re:Is my plane a 737 MAX? by JumpCrisscross on Tuesday January 09, 2024 @05:45PM (#38933367)
> cross-reference that with OpenSecrets to see if it's even worth pursuing

I'm sympathetic to civic disengagement from nihilism, apathy, laziness or even ignorance. What I don't understand is proselytising it.

> in office, they're probably taking bribes from Boeing

This is bunk, even if we forget that campaign donations aren't bribes.

Re:Is my plane a 737 MAX? by doetoe on Tuesday January 09, 2024 @05:53PM (#38933471)
> This is bunk, even if we forget that campaign donations aren't bribes

Are you sure? A quick search seems to indicate that Boeing certainly makes campaign donations

Re:Is my plane a 737 MAX? by JumpCrisscross on Tuesday January 09, 2024 @05:56PM (#38933509)
> quick search seems to indicate that Boeing certainly makes campaign donations

Of course they do [1]. They're a defence contractor. They give to a lot of electeds. But far from every elected. (I'd be shocked if they weren't giving to everyone on those subcommittees.)

What's bunk is believing someone receving $5k from Boeing is in their pocket. They're not. They've likely never spoken. This is all nonsense used to justify inactivity. Which is baffling, since it seems to require as much effort as (albeit less social interaction than) engagmeent.

[1] https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/boeing-co/recipients?id=d00...

Re:Is my plane a 737 MAX? by 93po on Tuesday January 09, 2024 @06:29PM (#38933862)
What do you call giving government officials lots of money to take anticompetitive actions that personally benefit you that they would otherwise never do and also have a clear conflict of interest with the purpose of their elected position?
Re:Is my plane a 737 MAX? by mulmen on Tuesday January 09, 2024 @07:26PM (#38934424)
I call it representative democracy.
Re:Is my plane a 737 MAX? by autoexec on Tuesday January 09, 2024 @10:03PM (#38935629)
representing only those with the most money at the expense of literally everyone else
Re:Is my plane a 737 MAX? by mulmen on Wednesday January 10, 2024 @08:50PM (#38946370)
This just isn't true. It's a weird fantasy of helplessness which breeds inaction. Our system is imperfect sure but not broken. This level of apathy is a choice and promoting it is harmful.
Re:Is my plane a 737 MAX? by JumpCrisscross on Tuesday January 09, 2024 @11:59PM (#38936391)
> giving government officials lots of money to take anticompetitive actions that personally benefit you

Give a specific case. Because almost all of them, with Boeing, involve on one hand a $5k donation, and on the other hand, a factory in the district. Guess which one gets you an urgent meeting with the Congressman.

Tech, in particular, has this cartoonish totem of how politics works. This usually ends hilariously. But in this case, it’s being used to justify inaction, which is conveniently self fulfilling.