Tenderizer

@Tenderizer@aussie.zone

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨ABS decision to reuse biased, coercive Census religion question puts human rights in the spotlight⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago⁩:

  Per the article, without a “no religion” option people will pick the religion of their parents even if they’re now atheist.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨‘Thriving Kids’ could help secure the future of the NDIS. But what will the program mean for children and families?⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Last time they tried that, they couped the prime minister and replaced him with Gillard who immediately reversed the taxes.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Zero stars for the Young Liberals⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  Actions-wise, the LNP are not that far from the Democrats on social issues. They called the same-sex marriage referendum, passed gun control laws, supported a voice to parliament (until Dutton), mostly ignored trans people. The issues they’re right-leaning on are Israel (like the Democrats) and immigration (like the Democrats).

  Climate change, is the one social (and economic issue) they’re to the right of Democrats on that I know of.

  And of course, if you take the National party on it’s own then it’s definitely to the right of the Democrats.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Zero stars for the Young Liberals⁩ ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  But by American standards, they’re the equivalent of the Democrats … mostly. We have a party, “One Nation”, that’s closer to Republicans and some members of the Liberal party are ideologically aligned with One Nation but members of the Liberal party because they need to win elections (similar to Albo, who’s on the left-wing of labor but governs as a moderate because the far-left is an election losing position).

  And a important thing for Americans to note is that in our ranked-choice voting system, a surprising number of One Nation (Republican) voters tend to rank Labor (Bernie Sanders) over the Liberals (Democrats). This is to say that not only is trying to appeal to swing voters in America a stupid idea because unlike Australia elections there are fought on turnout, but trying to do that by behaving like the Democrats has the exact opposite effect.

  This is to say, if you put up a centrist for president in the (alleged) next election America then you will absolutely lose. Same if it’s a slimy disingenuous corrupt Californian like Harris or Newsom.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨'We've had enough': Warlpiri elder issues plea to prime minister⁩ ⁨⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  And blocked because considering your views I don’t need your voice to join the many (less racist) voices in my head.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Report into NSW strip searches last decade. 1.5% of strip searches resulting in any sort of conviction above possession. 82.4k strip searches performed.⁩ ⁨⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩:

  To confirm, are strip searches required to be done by the same gender?

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Greens and Coalition bristle against Labor’s changes to the standing orders [to allow kicking out MPs for longer and to avoid recording the names of MPs who on some motions]⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  The names of the Members who are in the minority shall be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings.

  Given the amount people are up in arms, you’d assume they’re hiding who those 6 people are entirely (and even if they were, it’ll really only benefit fringe mp’s like the Greens). Sure, it lumps the yes votes with non-attendance but if the vote is overwhelming I don’t think a few people not showing up is of much concern to the public interest. Plus the crossbench is well over 6 people so if it’s just the major parties this won’t even trigger.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Greens and Coalition bristle against Labor’s changes to the standing orders [to allow kicking out MPs for longer and to avoid recording the names of MPs who on some motions]⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Doesn’t seem too unreasonable. If the vote is overwhelming it’s not of that much concern how a handful of members voted. And the information will apparently be recorded, just after the fact rather than holding up proceedings.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Decoding a voter’s poor handwriting is subjective – let’s enlist AI to help with the Bradfield recount | Simon Jackman⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Not really, but it’s mass-producing garbage content. It’s only useless for cost-cutting at the expense of quality and that reality is undeniable, the more it’s used the lower the quality of everything we engage with.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Decoding a voter’s poor handwriting is subjective – let’s enlist AI to help with the Bradfield recount | Simon Jackman⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Because it’s too vague.

  It could mean the useless silicon-valley venture that is being slotted into everything and making it worse (generative AI), or it could mean clustering algorithms that are indispensable in everything from medicine to meteorology (machine learning).

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Australia joins other nations in call for an immediate end to war in Gaza⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  If this war were about the hostages, said hostages would’ve been freed ages ago.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Drew Hutton says Greens have ‘lost their way’ after party votes to expel co-founder⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Free speech is an American concept, in Australia inciting hate against minorities is not considered a thing that should be allowed and rightly so. That said we (like America) need to do more on defamation laws so it’s not the rich people enforcing speech restrictions.

  That said, specifically Drew Hutton wasn’t even accused of transphobia. The issue was that him criticizing the Greens for their decision to expel a transphobic member “provided a platform for others to demean trans women” which is … I think we can all agree unreasonable. That was only a suspension though. The specific “criticism of trans extremism” that later got him booted from the party entirely isn’t entirely specified.

  “People are starting to see the Greens as weird and unlikable”

  Hence why I am keen to give Drew Hutton the benefit of the doubt here.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Decoding a voter’s poor handwriting is subjective – let’s enlist AI to help with the Bradfield recount | Simon Jackman⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  We collectively need to stop using “AI” to refer to “generative AI”. Specialized AI, or rather machine learning, can be extremely useful.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Independent MP to push for lowering of Australian voting age⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Make it non-compulsory for over-65’s.

  Although that would 100% give license to the LNP to make it non-compulsory for everyone, and our compulsory voting system is what makes us immune to populism (that and our country not crumbling before our very eyes).

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Independent MP to push for lowering of Australian voting age⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  These kids will need to be driven to the voting booth by their parents, and if the parents know and disapprove of the child’s political views then that’ll give the more controlling parents effectively more than one vote.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Antisemitism envoy praises Elon Musk's X for using AI to 'root out hate'⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Wasn’t she in the news for saying something else insane recently? She is not a good a good anti-semitism envoy.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Albanese's plan to 'unleash the private sector'⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  You need to win election to fight capitalism. Could you even imagine Australia voting for Adam Bandt to be PM? Incrementalism is not evil, and sure beats the alternative of going scorched earth and handing us another decade of the LNP. This isn’t America, we can’t beat the LNP on turnout.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Albanese's plan to 'unleash the private sector'⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  You want Albanese to single-handedly abolish global capitalism, against the will of the Australian electorate? I think, as far as capitalism goes, small business is on the less unethical side.

  Albanese is an adult, he needs to deliver the best outcomes he can from within the system we’re given, not refuse to engage in the hopes that it would somehow fix things.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Republic debate sparks push for local power reform⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Education is one factor. A diversity of power structures is another. America wouldn’t be in the state it was if the monarchy needed to approve supreme court appointments.

  The monarchy didn’t stop the UK from being taken out of the EU, that was a referendum and they’d bring out the guillotines of the monarchs tried to override that. The monarchy doesn’t need to actually intervene to be effective at maintaining stability, the threat of intervention is enough to keep the far-right from trying to overthrow or corrupt elections.

  I think the UK system of the hereditary lords in the house of lords is better than the monarchy. A inherited position sitting at the back of democracy that can delay legislation should it be the result of blatant self-interest or populism. The house of lords is closer to a group of average upper class people with clear limits on their role.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Republic debate sparks push for local power reform⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I’ll take every opportunity I can to say this, but we all need to take note of what happened when America overthrew the monarchy. A single system of power leaves us vulnerable to populism, and enables the politicization of the courts.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Electric vehicle myths: almost half of Australians wrongly believe EVs are more likely to catch fire, survey shows⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  And the chemicals are far more (or less) toxic.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Dorinda Cox accuses Greens of racism in scathing resignation letter⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Sorry for the late reply, I wanted to think through my response and then I got busy.

  The Greens could publicly behave with humility. As I said, the claim that “they don’t show humility because it would hurt them politically” doesn’t hold up if the Greens are being “slandered” in the press for lacking humility.

  And as for the HAAF, a few points:

  1. The Australia Institute is broadly untrustworthy. They’re biased towards minor parties, or rather just anyone that’ll give them attention. They’re also closely tied to the now defunct Australian Democrats and those people would prefer if Labor was closer to the Liberals not just in practice but in ideology. Worst of all though, they’re a think-tank. Think-tanks are, quite honestly, full of idiots. Policy-area experts, like those in the construction industry or those that work in social services, they’re much more reliable than a bunch of upper-class consultants.
  2. The HAAF was supported across the board by people who are directly engaged with vulnerable people, and they said it was especially critical that it be passed immediately. The delay was opposed by any organization that actually dealt with vulnerable people, and the resulting delay of 1-year resulted in less housing being built. Hell, considering the state of the Australian building industry I wonder if more housing would be built even if the Greens got all their demands after this delay.
  3. The idea that it’d do nothing, that is absurd.

  And on the double standard. The fact is the Greens would not be able to win elections without Labor. Labor could easily win elections without the Greens. You could argue that’s because the system is rigged and that the system should be changed, but we’re one of the best-performing democracies in the world. This isn’t America where voting is optional, elections in Australia are fought in the center and Labor are much more palatable to the average Australian than some inner-city tree huggers who have never worked a day in their life. Maybe an Adam Bandt dictatorship would make the country better, who knows, but I sure as hell wouldn’t bet on it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Dorinda Cox accuses Greens of racism in scathing resignation letter⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I think, given the (presumed) widespread perception that the Greens are arrogant, they ought to publicly air that reflection. If I’m speaking purely strategically, that would be more likely to win votes from me than what they ended up doing. I think the reason they don’t is because they’re incapable of such reflection. The only policy changes I recall them making are to support increased defense spending following Trump’s win, and to oppose IRV and support PR after Bandt lost his seat (I BTW, support going the opposite direction with Condorcet).

  As for Chandler-Mather, I think the other MP’s complaining is more to do with them not seeing him as an adult than the severity of his treatment. Given how he went on the radio to complain about the treatment, I’d say they were right to.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Dorinda Cox accuses Greens of racism in scathing resignation letter⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I can’t speak much to your anecdote, as you said. I can easily imagine the Greens apologising for using the wrong pronoun or mocking disability. I’m not sure where the exact line would be (in my almost entirely imagined idea of the Greens). The idea that their decisions are any less than perfect seems to be a sore spot for them, the only public self-reflection they’ve done regarding the last term is that “Labor ran an effective campaign on us blocking the HAAF for a year” IIRC.

  I think they’re a lot more sensitive regarding the Greens political party than they are individually. They are also sensitive individually when they’re speaking on behalf of the Greens publicly (see my earlier example with Bandt, and Max Chandler-Mather’s comments about other politicians being mean). You could instead say they’re sensitive to humiliation, but that wouldn’t fit my (entirely imagined) narrative of the Greens being racist so I’ll put that theory aside.

  Also maybe changing your vote because you thought an individual action by someone was stupid is a childish way of thinking about politics?

  I didn’t change my vote because of that. I became open to reconsidering my views after that. Although I’m not even sure if that was the exact snowball that started this.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Dorinda Cox accuses Greens of racism in scathing resignation letter⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I think people on the hard left or hard racist are more likely to specifically feel angry when criticized because the specific association of “makes me uncomfortable = evil” is much more likely. In the left’s case, they’re in the child prodigy “I’m too smart to be emotional” camp. In the hard right’s case it’s because the possibility that their gut instinct should maybe be interrogated is unfathomable to them.

  In other words I think both One Nation and the Greens are made up of people with low EQ.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Dorinda Cox accuses Greens of racism in scathing resignation letter⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I’d say the Greens are the most likely to be racist. They’re the kinds of people who could never even conceive of the possibility that they are not completely virtuous ("they’ as in themselves, not POC. I’m not claiming some reverse racism BS).

  I cannot imagine them being called racist and not feeling angry at the accusation. I cannot imagine them admitting to fault. And I cannot imagine them growing as a result.

  It took a while, but the trigger for me switching my vote from the Greens to Labor was when Bandt asked Albanese something in question time and was absolutely seething in anger when the (Labor) speaker said his question was agains the rules. The Greens (or at least Bandt) are people who consider anything that makes them uncomfortable to be absolute evil.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨‘We have a mandate to act’: PM throws open doors to bolder agenda⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Neither will I, but honestly if I remember I don’t think the biosecurity rules around imported beef here are that important (that isn’t to say biosecurity itself isn’t important). Neither are exports to America though. TBH these trade talks don’t seem to matter at all.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Scott Morrison receives Australia's highest honour for leadership during [COVID] crisis⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  He probably arranged for this himself. Wouldn’t put it past him.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Four-day winter storm to bring drought relief and snow⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I should really buy some long pants.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨We are seeing some vote manipulation⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Please don’t scare me with a title like that so soon after an election.