Because I can't connect directly to news.ycombinator.com, my request is first proxied through verizon and comcast and others. Without HTTPS it is super easy for them (or lesser known snooper) to add malware or whatever they want to the messages. It's useful because of the data integrity verification, not the encryption.

Probably sarcasm but...why shut the door when you're in the bathroom?

Because I know broken middleboxes will meddle with the traffic unless it's encrypted and authenticated.

Because privacy is a basic human right and not a privilege

Comcast.

Sorry about the downvotes. Poe's law is a bitch.