czstar

In the U.S. walking has even been criminalized to some extent for those in out groups. For instance, if 4 black teenage boys walk together in an affluent, white neighborhood they can expect police to stop them. Walking is so rare that a small group of people walking together is seen as something out of the ordinary. I think it’s bad for society to be set up this way.

https://illinoislawreview.org/print/vol-2017-no-3/the-crimin...

First class has only a few seats so that isn’t a solution for everyone. It wasn’t just rich people who flew under regulation. My family wasn’t rich when we flew in the 70s. Also, the experience of flying in the 70s being much better than today isn’t all about seat size. I think the experience under regulation was sufficiently better than it is today that I wish we would go back to regulation.

Under regulation flying was so much more enjoyable than it is today. Yes, prices have come down but I’d prefer to go back to regulation. I’d be better for the mental health of the flying public.

Taking the phrase literally you are correct. As it is used in common speech saying “that makes no sense” indicates more a person’s position on a topic. I generally take it to mean that the person saying this is indicating how strongly they feel about the opposing position. Or that they can’t comprehend how an opposing position can be held.

I think Donald Trump is a man lacking any redeeming qualities. He is self serving, a liar, incurious, a charlatan, etc. He was right to pull out of Afghanistan and he was right about German dependence on Russian resources and he was right about European NATO members needing to pay more for defense.

Humans prefer to have barriers to completing a task removed. No clicks is much better than one click and privacy is almost completely dead. Privacy will slowly die unless there are major changes legally and culturally. It’s worthy to fight against the loss of privacy. I think it will be a losing fight though.

In the U.S. a lot of emotions surrounding this topic come from racist policies/perceptions of the past. It’s hard to have an open conversation about this topic without someone resorting to name calling.

Can a severely intellectually disabled person learn calculus? It’s clear that not everyone has the same cognitive capabilities or potential. This is obvious. Your response is what I alluded to with my remark comparing talking about this topic to burning a Koran in Mecca. People get too emotional and throw out reason and logic.

Can an intellectually disabled person learn calculus? Some people are so intellectually disabled they can’t even learn to use a bathroom properly. It is clear that not everyone can learn any topic.

Some people just aren’t capable of learning advanced concepts. It is obvious that this is so but saying this in higher education circles is akin to burning a Koran in Mecca.

I agree that the system is in need of reforms. I’m nit insightful enough to know what those reforms should be but I definitely agree that things are amiss.

EDIT: I understand your position. It makes sense. There is nothing objectionable with it. Below is what I see where the essence of the divergence of views on this topic come from. Have a great day!

Three highly intelligent and very knowledgeable members of the Court wrote an opinion on why Roe should not be overturned. Their eloquence and reasoning are far greater than mine. You should read what they wrote to see the legal basis of their position. It was not some right made out of thin air as in your Dairy Queen example.

Now 6 members of the court who are equally intelligent and knowledgeable wrote an opinion on why Roe should be overturned. Their eloquence and reasoning are far greater than mine. I read parts of their decision. I disagree with their reasoning. Herein lies the problem.

Human language lacks mathematical precision (I’m a mathematician and not a lawyer) and so we end up in a situation where equally smart, knowledgeable people have completely different conclusions about the same set of statements. This in itself is a cause of chaos.

In what I’ve written to you I have avoided saying things like, “there is no legal basis for overturning Roe”. Clearly there is a legal basis for doing so. Clearly there is a legal basis for not doing so. What I concentrate on are the consequences for this decision. I think the unintended consequences will be dire. Personally I think the Constitution needs to be rewritten. What worked in 1800 isn’t necessarily workable in 2022 in a much larger country with a much larger population.

The statements in the U.S. Constitution collectively have quite a few logical consequences. The 5 axioms of Euclidean Geometry lead to a vast array of theorems (logical consequences). The Court’s job is to navigate the logical consequences of the statements in the U.S. Constitution.

The Constitution says nothing about a Department of the Air Force. Should it be legal to have a Department of the Air Force? The Constitution mentions “War Department”. It says nothing about a Department of Defense. Should that be legal? Well, the courts would throw out any challenge to the constitutionality of the Department of the Air Force because of the logical deductions of the statements in the Constitution.

Repeat the process for all statements in the Constitution and after 200 years you get a vast collection of legal opinions and judgments.

The primary role of the court is to preserve rights. It’s job is to make sure laws aren’t enforced that violate established rights. It’s job is to tell governments at all levels that certain laws passed are illegal because they violate rights. Imagine a city saying that burning a Koran is illegal and a crime punishable by death. I very much hope the Court would step in and say that law is illegal. I think you don’t understand the historical role the court has played. It does more than preserve or expand rights but that is one of its primary functions.

EDIT: Let me be more precise. The purpose of the Court is to clarify rights. It’s job is to decide what exactly is meant by “equal protection”, “freedom of speech”, etc.

Thank you for your response.

Euclidean geometry is a vast subject with many theorems. Those theorems are logical consequences of the 5 axioms of Euclidean geometry. Just 5 statements are the basis for a large number of logical consequences. Imagine then how many logical consequences are possible from the many statements of the U.S. Constitution.

There is no explicit right to an abortion stated in the U.S. Constitution but courts 50 years ago said that this healthcare procedure can’t be completely outlawed. They enshrined it as a right. It has been a right for 50 years. Now it is not. I talked with a conservative justice on a state Supreme Court many years ago. He told me that the legal basis for Roe had slowly been established by precedents over the years. He did not say whether or not he agreed with those precedents. I’m just pointing out that the expansion of the rights of women to an abortion was not without a well reasoned path. Sort like how after enough theorems one can see that then sum of the degrees of a triangle is 180 degrees.

There have been historical variations in laws between states. Slavery is the quintessential example of this and it led to the Civil War. If there is too much variation on the legal protections between the states this can lead to chaos. The Court should be in the business to equalizing rights across the nation and not diminishing them. The Court is in the process of trying to equalize the rights to guns across the nation. While I oppose the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment most people have it should be equalized across the nation. This is particularly true since travel is so much easier now than in the past.

We will soon live in a country where an act is legal in one city and a death penalty offense in another. The last time that happened we ended up in a civil war. I don’t believe we will end up with a civil war over abortion but I can see liberal states telling Texas to go ahead an secede when Texas declares their right to do so (as they have done at various times over the past 40 years).

The Court’s action is extremely divisive and I don’t think state legislatures should have to right to limit medical procedures. Let’s assume we both agree that at conception the embryo is a human being with all the accompanying rights. I don’t think state legislatures should able to force a person to risk their life to save that embryo. Should legislatures have to the right to force me to donate blood to someone or donate a kidney to save someone? I think not. Legislatures should not have the right to force women to risk their lives to save an unborn child.

We disagree strongly on this issue. We disagree on the role of the Court. There are major power imbalances with regard to the power distribution among the states. These structural problems are coming to the fore due to results like overturning abortion. Such is my view.

I hope you have a good day too. I will read any response you make but won’t respond further. I doubt you will convince me my position is wrong and I doubt I’ll convince you but it is fruitful to read other peoples’ opinions.

Texas will claim jurisdiction since in its eyes a citizen was murdered. Whether or not it stands legal challenges I can not say. Would you be willing to risk arrest if you were a doctor in New Mexico and a Texas resident comes to you for an abortion? Even the threat of arrest has consequences on peoples’ actions.

To have a properly functioning society there should be some level of legal uniformity on major topics. Soon two people will be allowed to marry in one state and potentially face arrest should they travel to a state where that act is illegal. Will the fact that two men (or women) are married to each other be probable cause for arrest for violating sodomy laws?

The Court should be in the business of preserving or expanding rights and not in the business of diminishing them.

We will soon be a country where an act is legal in one city and a death penalty offense in another. This is an absurdity and such a state of affairs is not conducive to having a properly functioning society. It is not hyperbole to say that the Supreme Court’s direction portends chaos.

Consider this scenario. A woman in Texas goes to New Mexico and gets an abortion. The doctor that performs the abortion later decides to fly to Tennessee. The first leg of the trip involves a layover in Houston. Can the doctor get arrested for murder in Houston? Will people have to be careful where they travel now?

What the Court did was take away a right that women have had for over 50 years. What they did is to say that states are free to take away a right. This is an astounding action by the Court. The access to a healthcare procedure will now be at the whim of state or federal legislatures? When talking about the legal ramifications of the Courts decision it is hard to speak hyperbolically. One member of the Court openly said the right to have consensual sex, the right to birth control, and the right to marry freely should be overturned.

15% is far greater than what other car makers have raised their prices by. There is a discrepancy between MSRP and what buyers are willing to pay. Someone will attempt to capture that profit.

Tesla has increased prices a lot. What’s the difference to the consumer if the increase comes from the manufacturer or a dealership? Tesla also is known for delaying vehicle deliveries if you don’t pay extra for FSD. Tesla just appears to be better than a dealership but they engage in the same shenanigans.

You should about market dynamics and pricing power and whatnot. When there is an imbalance between MSRP and what buyers are willing to pay there, provided the latter quantity is sufficiently bigger than the former, then an opportunity arises. Someone along the chain will seek out the potential profit. Tesla has massively raised prices. So what if their public statement is that it is because of inflation? The publicly stated reason matters not. What matters is that they raised their prices in accordance to market forces.

There is a large reseller market for PlayStation 5 because the price Sony sells at is much less than what the market is willing to pay. So scalpers step in seeking the potential profit. There are a number of reasons Sony doesn’t raise MSRP. The main one being goodwill and future buyers. If they raise their prices to $1,0000 the psychological effect will be long term detrimental. So they don’t raise prices. But there is a market for scalpers because of this.

I’ve posted links demonstrating there is a scalper market for some new cars. Indeed, dealerships are often times, in effect, becoming scalpers by raising prices. If all dealerships sold at MSRP this would not benefit consumers in the least. Scalpers would just take over and buying a car from a scalper is a lot worse than buying it, at a premium, from a dealer.

Call it price gouging, scalping, theft or what have you. The words used don’t matter. All that matters is that there is enough potential profit to be had at the imbalance between MSRP and what buyers are willing to pay for cars that someone will be attempting to take that profit. It’s either going to be the manufacturer (Tesla), the dealer, or a third party.

People commenting on this don’t seem to understand market dynamics. The price people are willing to pay for some vehicles is much greater than the MSRP. Someone along the chain is going to sell those vehicles at the greater price. It’s either the manufacturer in the case of Tesla (they’ve massively raised their prices), or the dealership, or third party scalpers.

Tesla has massively raised its prices. Why does it matter if it’s a dealership raising prices or the manufacturer itself? The demand is greater than the supply and cars in the U.S. are essential for all but a few households. Prices are going to rise. It’s just a matter of who is getting the increased profit: the dealership, the manufacturer, or a third party.

The fraud/theft I was talking about is seller striping the vehicle of parts and putting in used third party parts and reselling the original parts. Things like that aren’t done at the local Ford dealership. Well, there’s less chance of that. My point is that dealerships are effectively the scaler and it’s better to pay the scalp price at the Ford dealership than from some random person. At least in general.

I don’t think you understand the market forces at play if you really believe this. If product A sells at MSRP direct from the company that produces it for $x and people are willing to pay $y for it where y is sufficiently bigger than x then there will be a reseller market for the product. If y is close enough to x then there won’t be much of a reseller market. Of course if the company has the ability to otherwise diminish the value of the product post sale then that too can distort the reseller market should the company use its power to do so.

Increasing prices has much to do with whether or not there is a reseller market. You are very much wrong.

That is precisely the point I was making. The dealership becomes the scalper. Would you rather pay the scalp price at a dealership with the accompanying regulations and laws surrounding that transaction or pay the scalp price from someone you don’t know with much fewer regulations accompanying that transaction? The scalp market exists. I think it’s better to have that market at a dealership than from people you might not be able to track down in the case something goes wrong.

Tesla has significantly increased prices and such an increase lowers the ability of scalpers. I don’t know about Tesla’s policies on warranty transferability and I don’t know if that plays into things. Unlike other cars Tesla can remotely disable a car so maybe the secondary market for Teslas is different. I don’t know.

There are definitely scalpers for other brands. People are special ordering Mavericks from Ford and get them after 6 months or so and then reselling.

https://electrek.co/2022/06/15/tesla-tsla-increases-electric...

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1136687_gm-threatens-dea...

https://www.carsdirect.com/automotive-news/industry-news/for...

Car scalping is a thing and it would be a much bigger thing without dealership markups. The markups at the dealership means a smaller market for scalpers. In the absence of dealership markups there would be more scalpers.

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1136687_gm-threatens-dea...

There’s a lot of justifiable hate against dealerships but I think the hate against them for markups is not justified. Clearly there are people willing to pay above MSRP. If the dealerships don’t markup the vehicles then scalpers will buy at MSRP and resell the vehicles at a markup. As bad as the dealership experience is there is less chance for fraud or theft at a dealership than from a scalper.

In a lot of places there are two scenarios in the local car market. One dealership will sell at MSRP but you’ll have to wait 4 to 6 months. Another has inventory but at a significant markup. You can buy now and pay more or wait a while and pay less. Choose the option that fits your situation. Of course, the best option would be to properly fund public transportation.

I don’t advertise that I don’t care about cheating to the students and I don’t make them sit through a presentation either. The problem is that we need tuition dollars so admin isn’t going to expel someone except in an extreme situation. I need a job which means I need students to want to enroll in my classes so I don’t want a reputation of being a hard ass. Everyone just pretends. Students pretend to not cheat, admin pretends to care about standards, and I pretend to care about cheating.

I don’t give quizzes or graded assignments anymore. I just give a few tests because, well, as you said, Kabuki theater college is ridiculous.