Ask Slashdot: What Will the 2020s Bring Us? 207
dryriver writes: The 2010s were not necessarily the greatest decade to live through. AAA computer games were not only DRM'd and internet tethered to death but became increasingly formulaic and pay-to-win driven, and poor quality console ports pissed off PC gamers. Forced software subscriptions for major software products you could previously buy became a thing. Personal privacy went out the window in ways too numerous to list, with lawmakers failing on many levels to regulate the tech, data-mining and internet advertising companies in any meaningful way. Severe security vulnerabilities were found in hundreds of different tech products, from Intel CPUs to baby monitors and internet-connected doorbells. Thousands of tech products shipped with microphones, cameras, and internet connectivity integration that couldn't be switched off with an actual hardware switch. Many electronics products became harder or impossible to repair yourself. Printed manuals coming with tech products became almost non-existent. Hackers, scammers, ransomwarers and identity thieves caused more mayhem than ever before. Troll farms, click farms and fake news factories damaged the integrity of the internet as an information source. Tech companies and media companies became afraid of pissing off the Chinese government.
Windows turned into a big piece of spyware. Intel couldn't be bothered to innovate until AMD Ryzen came along. Nvidia somehow took a full decade to make really basic realtime raytracing happen, even though smaller GPU maker Imagination had done it years earlier with a fraction of the budget, and in a mobile GPU to boot. Top-of-the-line smartphones became seriously expensive. Censorship and shadow banning on the once-more-open internet became a thing. Easily-triggered people trying to muzzle other people on social media became a thing. The quality of popular music and music videos went steadily downhill. Star Wars went to shit after Disney bought it, as did the Star Trek films. And mainstream cinema turned into an endless VFX-heavy comic book movies, remakes/reboots and horror movies fest. In many ways, television was the biggest winner of the 2010s, with many new TV shows with film-like production values being made. The second winner may be computer hardware that delivered more storage/memory/performance per dollar than ever before.
To the question: What, dear Slashdotters, will the 2020s bring us? Will things get better in tech and other things relevant to nerds, or will they get worse?
Windows turned into a big piece of spyware. Intel couldn't be bothered to innovate until AMD Ryzen came along. Nvidia somehow took a full decade to make really basic realtime raytracing happen, even though smaller GPU maker Imagination had done it years earlier with a fraction of the budget, and in a mobile GPU to boot. Top-of-the-line smartphones became seriously expensive. Censorship and shadow banning on the once-more-open internet became a thing. Easily-triggered people trying to muzzle other people on social media became a thing. The quality of popular music and music videos went steadily downhill. Star Wars went to shit after Disney bought it, as did the Star Trek films. And mainstream cinema turned into an endless VFX-heavy comic book movies, remakes/reboots and horror movies fest. In many ways, television was the biggest winner of the 2010s, with many new TV shows with film-like production values being made. The second winner may be computer hardware that delivered more storage/memory/performance per dollar than ever before.
To the question: What, dear Slashdotters, will the 2020s bring us? Will things get better in tech and other things relevant to nerds, or will they get worse?
The 2020's might bring.... (Score:5, Funny)
...the year of the Linux desktop.
It's been politics for 15 years now (Score:5, Insightful)
I say this at every occation, so I will repeat it here:
The fiirst year declared "Year of the Linux Desktop" was 2004. It was the year that the reasons for not using Linux on the desttop have switched from technical to political.
Do you remember SCO vs IBM, Groklaw, etc ? Why do you think it all started in 20003 ?
Re:The 2020's might bring.... (Score:5, Insightful)
the year of the Linux desktop.
I swear I'm going to post an ask Slashdot at some point and ask Slashdot to actually define in concrete terms what "desktop Linux" means. Because Chromebooks are insanely popular and yet, the feel I get from a lot of Slashdot is that, "Chromebooks are not Linux". A lot of tablets and phones run Android, and yet what I get is "those are not Desktop". I'm told a lot about what the goal "isn't", but I'm honestly curious as to what the goal "is". What percentage are we aiming for here? Last I checked [itsfoss.com] in early 2019 "traditional" Linux distros accounted for 3.6 ish% (with it being between a firm 2.1% to 3.0% depending on your timeframe post 2017) of the Internet traffic and seeing how places like Russia and China are looking to provide "blessed by the state" versions of Linux, that percentage may stand to increase over the next decade. Are we going to count people who are forced to use Linux and nothing else? There's just a lot of holes in this definition of "Linux Desktop" that I'm unclear on and I think it's worthwhile to discuss what we "think" the goal is.
That said, I agree with the moderation of funny here.
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Desktop machine needs to:
* have an external keyboard
* have at least 2 USB ports
* drive at least 2 screens
* print.
Bonus points for dirty beige colour.
Linux and its many variants is used on the majority of devices out there, but is not predominant on those matching that list of 4 subjective requirements :)
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As long as you define external keyboard to inciude a laptop keyboard, we're mostly in agreement.
It should also produce enough heat to act as a cat warmer.
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Desktop machine needs to: * have an external keyboard * have at least 2 USB ports * drive at least 2 screens * print.
Bonus points for dirty beige colour.
Linux and its many variants is used on the majority of devices out there, but is not predominant on those matching that list of 4 subjective requirements :)
Plenty of modern laptop computers can easily meet those requirements. The Macbook Pro I use at work drives two, 2K 21x9 screens and a 2K 16x9, but I suspect most people would still call it a laptop. My Linux Mint tower at home is capable of driving two or more screens, but is currently connected to only one; I would calll it a desktop despite this shortcoming.
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I'm convinced that there are a lot of Slashdot fans who only consider custom builds of Debian or Slackware with systemd ripped out of them to be only "true" desktop Linux.
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Slackware does not require any "ripping out" as it does not contain systemd.
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Joking aside, it may very well. Look at the adoption rates of what are basically glorified Web apps masquerading as productivity tools. So long as your computer will render Google Docs or whatever, you're a first-class user whether you run Windows or Mac or Linux. Hardware is now so good even at the low end that I'm still using a laptop from 2011. A Raspberry Pi strapped to the back of a monitor would serve probably half of all computer users, and that number is going up.
I don't know about the Purism Linux
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For many casual users, a smartphone is enough computing for most of their needs, and Linux already dominates there.
Emphasis on the "casual" and the "most." Recent tightening of Android's noexec policy enforced through SELinux as of API 29 (introduced in Android 10) makes it less practical for applications like Termux to provide an on-device development environment. See "Termux and Android 10" [github.com].
Add in a docking/charging station that supports a keyboard, mouse, screen, and other devices
What such station and matching phone do you recommend?
and you have an acceptable (Linux) desktop replacement for most people.
Does "most people" include, say, a family with a high school student taking "intro to programming" for a math credit? Because Android API 29 sort of interferes with that.
My fear
Less (Score:4, Interesting)
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Good luck. As long as there are menial jobs/tasks there will be menial shit to complain about.
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I'm guessing the OP meant "trivial" rather than "menial"
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
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>"Why would the companies stop going down the path they are going?"
When enough consumers complain and stop paying for what those companies are pushing. Money talks.
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Then they just have to increase the advertising budgets a bit. The people will buy what they want to buy, and they will want what they are told they want.
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>"Then they just have to increase the advertising budgets a bit. The people will buy what they want to buy, and they will want what they are told they want."
Then those consumers are happy because they got what they want. Or do you think some "elite" class should tell (or force) the "people" what they are supposed to need/want/have, or tell (force) the producers what they should make?
If there is a significant market for some alternative product, most likely it will be filled (unless monopoly, crony capit
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Dripping pomposity. Never considered that the "they" includes you, have you?
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There is no threat of communism anymore (Score:4, Insightful)
The 1920's is about the right time. Just in 1917 in Russia the old system was overthrown and a system that already had a large mindshare in the West was implemented: communism.
It was this threat that forced the change from savage capitalism to the welfare state, to show that capitalism can have a "humane face".
WIth the fall of the Soviet Union the threat is gone, and countries like China are not promoting any alternative to capitalism.
Hence the return to savage capitalism (diisposable employees, anyone?).
The Democratic Establishment (Score:3)
Trump was himself a populist, I'd argue a fake one (83% of his tax cuts went to the top 1% and the remaining 17% expire in 5 years, he quietly signed most of the provisions of the TPP into law, expanded the H1-B visa cap, has kept the drug and endless wars going the same as Bush/Obama did, etc, etc). There's basically two Trumps, Rally Trump and President Tru
A Backbone. (Score:4, Insightful)
Nah, who am I kidding.
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Hopefully some more optimism on /. (Score:3)
This is posted as if the decade was the biggest turd imaginable. Cheer up, emo boy! It had plenty of good bits, and Star Wars couldn't have gotten any worse. It was saved, frankly.
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If this is what saved is, they better do CPR on it, too.
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Trump disgraces his office and country with every tweet, increasing wealth inequality, the middle east remains torn by more civil wars than I can keep track of, we're letting the last chance to mitigate climate change sale past because too many influential people can't resist the allure of cheap, economy-fueling fossil fuel energy, political divisions have reached a dangerous level in multiple developed countries, Russia invaded part of Ukraine and seized territory while the rest of the world was utterly he
Past performance... (Score:2)
Past performance is the best indicator of future events. So, more of the same is predicted for 2020.
Systemd (Score:5, Funny)
will now have it's own shell API. It will also clean up all of /etc into a single binary database file known as system.dat. The tool for editing this file is called regedit and will only run from docker containers.
Delivery Drones (Score:2)
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I expect a large amount of Windows 7 users (Score:3)
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I think you are too optimistic if you think Windows 10 won't get ransomware superviruses.
Ok Bo.... Capt. Negative (Score:5, Insightful)
If there's one thing I hope for in 2020s it's that people lighten the heck up a bit. The summary is nothing but a sad tale of what went wrong ignoring all the things that went right in the past decade.
For every downside listed there's upsides to see too. AAA titles are crap and console ports are poor? Well this past decade has seen the meteoric rise of independent studios providing excellent games that focus on fun gameplay for a change. We're in an era of increasing crossplay meaning you're no longer isolated from friends.
Forced subscriptions are a negative no doubt, but subscription models aren't necessarily and with it comes continuously refreshed features which in the best cases make the model cheaper than buying every version (for those people who used to do that).
Security vulnerabilities are everywhere, but for the most part they have been benign and the biggest threat is as it was in the 00s users installing untrusted software. You talk Meltdown and Babymonitors? Why not mention something that *actually* hurts people such as the rise of Randsomeware or ever increasing attacks targeted at safety systems? (Talk about the poster's misplaced priorities). Privacy took a baseball to the face, but in return much of what we do has never been easier powered by the very devices that harvest our data.
The hardware complaints are especially curious. Intel innovating could likely have sunk AMD, it is *really good* that they dropped the ball. Likewise NVIDIA's raytracing... it wasn't even on anyone's mind until last year so complaining that it took a decade to get to market is quite bizarre. In that same decade actual graphics power has increased immensely as has the quality of gaming and simulation we use it for. They weren't sitting on their thumbs.
Companies being afraid of the Chinese is also nothing from this decade. When you want to enter one of the biggest untapped markets (for a Western company anyway) you play by the rules. That's not being afraid of a government, that's strategically maximising profits and again, not a negative.
While censorship is on the rise it has never been easier to actually get a voice online. What used to be reserved for nerds is now something a teenage girl can do. And while we're talking about the ease of our life, the interconnection between our devices has meant we have never had easier access not only to information but also our very own data, an incredible plus ignored by a depressed view of the past.
The quality of popular music and music videos went steadily downhill.
Ok Capt... *sigh*... Ok Boomer.
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That's a stupid thing to say. Profit maximization is how China scares companies. It's not good that many companies (and universities, and news outlets and their parent companies) are towing the line of the CCP, even if it's because they are being paid rather than because they will be thrown in jail otherwise. It's still Blizzard telling people not to support Hong Kong and no one being taken seriousl
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Companies being afraid of the Chinese is also nothing from this decade. When you want to enter one of the biggest untapped markets (for a Western company anyway) you play by the rules. That's not being afraid of a government, that's strategically maximising profits and again, not a negative.
I like the optimism but China is an absolute disaster to any company that makes actual products. They copy without shame and the government outright helps. Play by the rules means forced technology transfers, mandatory local partners, and helping the largest scale government run persecution of a minority population since WW2. That you paint China as a positive shows that you are either very unaware of world events or, worse, just don't care as long as you can make a buck today.
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Die you stupid cunt
What a very well thought out counter argument. Does your daddy know you're using the internet unsupervised?
Why so negitive on the 201x (Score:5, Insightful)
For me from 2010 - 2019
Home internet speeds increased 20x
The expected default browser switched from IE to Chrome
The dependency on using Windows has dramatically dropped
Electric Cars went from nearly nothing, to High Demand performance systems.
I hardly have seen a BSOD or it nearest equivalent.
We haven't had many major Virus attacks big enough to make the news.
Food and Fuel cost have lowered or about the same
My Income has risen
I didn't get laid off this decade
Yes they are plenty of bad things that had happened as well but that is life. Good things happen, Bad things Happen, Some of the Good Things has some bad trade offs. Some of the bad things bring good consequences later on. 2010 started rough as we were still getting out of the great recession, 2019 is rough because of all the political unrest. But the stuff in the middle wasn't all that bad.
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We haven't had many major Virus attacks big enough to make the news.
Food and Fuel cost have lowered or about the same
I agree with the general sentiment, the poster is overly negative. However I have to disagree with these two.
This past decade has seen the birth and rise to fame in both randsomeware as well as malware attacks on industrial safety systems. Compared to the viruses of the 00s this is far worse. This has crippled major companies and governments alike to say nothing of putting actual lives at risk, and they definitely have made the news over and over again.
As for costs of food and fuel, it's not something to be
The death of blockchain and cryptocurrencies (Score:3, Insightful)
Hopefully the early 2020s will see the end of blockchain, bitcoin and the insufferable zealots who peddle it.
I have to admit that Bitcoin looked cool when it emerged over a decade ago, but everything it had promised has turned out to be false. High fees, long transaction times coupled with rampant fraud and manipulation, while the market becomes increasingly controlled by a handful of 'whales'. So much for decentralisation.
Meanwhile my bank provides instant, fee-free transactions which can be reversed in the event of fraud.
As for blockchain, it's the ultimate solution looking for a problem. Every attempt to integrate it into other technologies it has proved inferior to a centralised database.
Just die already.
Platform Coops (Score:2)
Will things get better in tech? (Score:2)
Will things get better in tech and other things relevant to nerds, or will they get worse?
Well, yes! Yes they will! I think you got both choices down! Good work!
Reality will re-intrude some ... (Score:2)
... internal contradictions can't go on forever.
For example, either women's sports will cease to exist, or else we will have to stop pretending that men dressing up as women are women.
Doublethink and self deception can't continue forever; eventually you run head on into reality. When dudes in dresses are winning all the medals, something has to give.
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The strangest thing to me is that I think you do actually believe what you've said will be a thing.
A summer (Score:2)
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Dear dryriver (Score:2)
Shit is going to get worse... (Score:4, Insightful)
... most of the population is computer uninformed. We've watched the general public allow companies to steal games, apps, and now the OS in plain site. Our species is much too stupid to make rational decisions regarding tech.
The theft of PC games that began with rebranding PC RPG's as mmo's has finally infected all PC games with destiny, overwatch, the latest modern warfare, GTA 5.
I have severe doubts lawmakers can make it right, Valve and all big tech companies can just hold the files and code at their servers in their offices. Mobile phones are a complete locked down platform and Microsoft is trying to turn the PC into a fully locked down platform via the valve method of theft - slowly boil the frog while stealing from your customers while they can't reach you.
The fact is "voting with your wallet" can't work when joe Q public is full retard level stupid regarding how computers work and is irrational to an insane degree, also try to tell the worlds teenagers and kids playing fortnite that they shouldn't give money to the big evil corporations so they can enjoy owning their pc games.
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Hint to you, blahplusplus: JQ public is not your intellectual inferior. They just don't see online gaming as the religious crusade you do.
Except you don't get it, the internet is one giant world sized computer that any software company on the wire, whether that's in japan or in america can now literally take over your machine by getting ignorant people to by infected software. You don't seem to grasp the enormous poltiical implications of every single app spying on you including your Operating system. It began with just videogames, but it never stayed games, now we have it in the OS. So no, my "whinging" about not being able to use future
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More to the point, JQ Public really isn't a gamer. I know a few people that game casually. I don't know anyone that I would consider a "gamer".
boom (Score:2)
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Forgot a few (Score:2)
GaAS / Streaming (Score:2)
Big Brother will become a reality (Score:2)
Just you wait. Somewhere, someone will propose that the clocks strike 13.
We will all be tracked 24/7 via implants. Naturally, this will be for our own safety and security (pah!)
Government mandated 'security' apps will be on all our devices just to make sure we don't do anything nasty or perverted.
First World Problems. (Score:3)
According to this list, the 2010's brought us to the apex of First World Problems.
Maybe the 2020's will bring us the first ever "Other World Problems"? *Fingers crossed.*
My personal list (Score:4, Funny)
Why anyone would care what I think I have no idea but here goes. This is mostly U.S.-centric.
Batteries with better energy density than jet fuel.
Commercially viable fusion or small-scale fission power plants.
Major environmental collapse anyway.
The complete, utter, decimation of the Republican Party and conservative media.
Wealth re-distribution. Yes, a wealth tax.
Return to sustainable agriculture.
High speed rail (not hyperloop) in the U.S.
Privacy guaranteed operating systems.
Sex bots that are user mutable.
Also immune to all forms of malware.
Manned moon and Mars missions.
Now, the number of these things that I think will actually happen is at best 1.5. Probably closer to 0.
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The complete, utter, decimation of the Republican Party and conservative media.
Just curious, is that by killing them like Stalin or more of a re-education campaign like China does with the Uighurs? Just curious how far you'd be willing to go to 'decimate' those who don't see things your way.
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Re:My personal list (Score:4, Informative)
Just curious, is that by killing them like Stalin or more of a re-education campaign like China does with the Uighurs?
Just curious. How is it that what I wrote brings those kinds of images to your mind? Projection much?
Not what I had in mind at all. Looking at the numbers Republican policies are actually quite unpopular in the U.S. Yet they get elected by a) gaming the system, b) gaming the media, c) incredible amounts of money on hand, d) nowhere near a majority of voters actually vote. All of the above. Regardless, if all of the eligible voters actually voted and tracked every poll available, Republicans would hold a minority in most of the state legislatures, Republican governorships, both houses of Congress, and the presidency.
See? No pogroms. No wishing for one. Just a preference for truly democratically-elected government. Sorry to disappoint.
Maybe a tech slowdown (Score:2)
According to the news (Score:2)
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Re:Elon Musk (Score:4, Interesting)
Craash-landed, marooned, and with no way to offer aid or rescue. Then millions of people will make $100 deposits to do the same.
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Re: Oh no! (Score:4, Insightful)
We are going for a world eclipsing the world of Max Headroom.
Change and more change (Score:2)
We are going for a world eclipsing the world of Max Headroom.
It's increasingly clear to me that the main theme of life is change. The main predictor of the direction of change is when the change happens. That's "when" in relative terms, as in when we are young versus when we are old. The youthful changes are generally for the better, but as we age the balance tips in the other direction and most of the changes are on the downside. Therefore I now want to focus on the positive personal changes that might still be within my capabilities, even at this increasingly advan
Whining: where is the troll ? (Score:3)
This is the single time ever where the "I don't have any joy on the modern interne because of CAPTCHA" troll-guy would have been vaguely on topic and he doesn't show up ?
I'm disappointed.
Me and my beowulf cluster of Natalies Portmans are going back old people's Korea.
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Re:Oh, that's an easy one... (Score:5, Interesting)
Trump may win, but I seriously doubt it will be a landslide. His approval numbers are just not there. He won the electoral vote the last election but Clinton got 3 million more physical votes. All the popular democratic candidates have a lot less political baggage on them then Clinton has, where many of the votes for Trump were more of a vote against Clinton.
If he does win it will be close, possibly an other electoral victory vs popular vote.
The problem is isn't just the left-wing kook fringe that hates Trump, it extends of a good chunk of the moderates at well.
Do you really want a political system where the political opposition is oppressed and depressed? A functional operation of America really needs a balance between the Rural (Republican) and Urban (Democrat) needs. Rural areas is where much of the goods is created, Urban areas is where much of the services are offered. Success in a rural area requires government to allow people to do more with what they have. Success in an urban area means government should be making sure everyone is playing by the same set of rules, which need to make failure doesn't bring everyone else down.
So if you are joyful to see people suffer because they have different political opinions then you, then that is just a cruel and heartless feeling, that you should feel guilty about.
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Part of the problem is that you cannot have both equal representation of individuals and equal representation of geographic regions, no matter how you try to set up the voting process. You're either going to have rural areas angry that they are outvoted by the cappuccino-swilling city-folk just because the urban areas have a much higher population, or you're going to have urban areas angry that a small number of rednecks living out in the sticks are dictating policy because each of their votes is worth many
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Part of the problem is that you cannot have both equal representation of individuals and equal representation of geographic regions, no matter how you try to set up the voting process. You're either going to have rural areas angry that they are outvoted by the cappuccino-swilling city-folk just because the urban areas have a much higher population, or you're going to have urban areas angry that a small number of rednecks living out in the sticks are dictating policy because each of their votes is worth many times that of a city-dweller. Either way, people are going to feel that the system is unfair and they are being disenfranchised.
Well, the union was formed on the basis of compromises on this very thing. The Electoral College, and two senators per state.
There are states that would not have joined the union otherwise.
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It will always sway one side or the other. However reasonable leaders should know which group is going to be affected by their leadership, and work with steps to reduce any harm that may cause.
If you are going to have more Pro-Gun laws then you better be sure there is some provisions for Cities to help protect the populous. Because while Guns are Tools, they are not good tools for areas where there are a lot of people tightly packed.
If you are going to have gun restrictions, you better be sure there are no
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the Rural (Republican)
Ah, the rural farmer Trump.
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Success in an urban area means government should be making sure everyone is playing by the same set of rules, which need to make failure doesn't bring everyone else down.
Rare indeed is the left leaning person who wants one set of rules for everyone. They are more concerned about outcomes and so try and tip the scales (ie discriminate) against various groups in order to achieve their goals. Great examples include affirmative action, set asides for favored classes, quotas, disparate impact, reparations, etc. They definitely do not want have everyone playing by the same rules. Indeed if they got past their love of racial discrimination and framed policies such that althoug
The greatest tricks the ruling class every did (Score:4, Informative)
Everybody wants healthcare. Everybody wants clean air and water. Everybody wants telecommunications. Everybody wants to retire when they're too old to work.
When I hear about the "divide" between rural/urban it's usually "values". That is usually wedge issues centered around jobs, guns or religion.
Religion is on the down swing, even in rural communities. I'd like to see the left drop gun control since it's a losing issue. That just leaves jobs, and we can fix that with an FDR style New Deal centered around "green" jobs and by kicking the "New" Democrats like the Clintons to the curb.
Point is, these are all solvable problems. Go look up a YouTuber named "Beau of the Fifth Column" and you'll see a good example of the next gen of rural populists who are putting a stop to the "Southern Strategy" and tricks like it.
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Well to be fare we don't have a DNC Candidate yet, we have a bunch of them running for primary elections. Also I notice the Right leaning folks like to use Flags and Symbols more the the Left Leaning folks. Don't tread on me flags, American Flags with a Blue stripe, Conferate Flags, Bumper Stickers... But when Obama was president running for his second term, and even when Clinton started to run in 2016 they were a lot of stickers and sighs for her. And only trump signs after he gained traction in the primaries.
These Liberal Militias are not a thing yet. During the past 3 years we had far more violence from the Right Wing then the Left. If they are Left Wing Militias forming it is because they are afraid of the Right, because the Trump Base, is a set of cruel people, who suddenly felt vindicated for their stances that society said was wrong.
Liberal militias? You mean the kind that love to kill millions in the name of the greater good which is always just around the corner like they did in the last century? There is Antifa, though they avoid actual fights and prefer to pick on women, the outnumbered, and the elderly. Cowards. I would greatly fear the left militias, especially if I was not a favored class, as one stray comment could be your demise. There is no tolerance on the left, just one ever more extreme viewpoint. Also the left in th
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Fight fascists in Normandy and you are a hero, fight them in America and you are a counter protester.
Re:Oh, that's an easy one... (Score:4, Insightful)
You have a very flexible definition of what constitutes fascism.
The chuckleheads "fighting fascism" in America are simple bourgeois communists. They're pretty open about it. And to your point about WWII, it nicely mirrors the great political battle of that era, except this time its Diet Communists fighting Sugar-free Fascists in low-key street battles where the WiFi signal is strong and access to lattes is just a step away.
It's a great metaphor for this time where Twitter is taken seriously.
Fascism is the blending of State & Corporate (Score:3)
When Wall Street got the local police to use a provision of the Patriot Act to coordinate with the FBI and shut down the Occupy Wall Street Movement that was Fascism.
When the police in Charlottesville mismanaged the rally so that protesters and counter protesters were guaranteed to clash creating a political moment for the alt-right that was Fascism
Re:Oh, that's an easy one... (Score:4, Insightful)
So people chanting "Jews will not replace us" are not fascists?
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Political fascism went dormant after WWII because of its egregious crimes. That does not mean it would always stay dormant, and if you haven't seen the signs of fascism creeping into America over the last 20 years you have not been paying attention.
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it'll probably be the worst, most hostile transition in modern American history. And you can bet whenever he does leave there will be a lot of data and records missing.
I'm not from the USA and I get the impression that if this president had a (suspicious) heart attack, quite a few allies and opponents alike would be relieved. If the deep state/Clinton/Illuminati/etc. conspirators are so powerful that they are the explanation for so many things, it should not take long time until an overweight, overstressed president has a serious health incident.
Re:Oh, that's an easy one... (Score:5, Insightful)
I remember people like you saying the same thing about Bush II. And Reagan before that. It's tiresomely predictable.
Re:Oh, that's an easy one... (Score:4, Insightful)
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I dunno, it's rather refreshing to have a President act in public the way other politicians act in private and not hide his perfidy behind a scrim of decorum. I'll take an open narcissist over a furtive narcissist any day.
Whether you like Trump or not, he has changed what it means to be a politician. Saying what you think is the new normal. Using focus-grouped soundbites now makes you sound like a tool. I prefer honesty over fake marketing, and a lot of voters agree. Bernie Sanders isn't popular because he
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I don't remember anyone saying that (Score:4, Interesting)
Yeah, he said he was joking, but we all thought his candidacy was a joke. It literally started as a way for him to try and get more money from his network and ran out of control because Hilary is the worst politician in American History.
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On a related note, we'll be seeing record levels of Trump derangement syndrome and censorship the closer we get to the election.
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Re:Chinese culture (Score:5, Insightful)
Forget Star wars. In the 2020, Chinese culture will be forced down the throats of Americans, like before American culture was forced down our throats.
Nobody forced American culture down anybody's throats; everybody chose it freely.
Feel free to stop "culturally appropriating" our clothes, music, and technology any time ...
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Battery storage and efficiency will increase dramatically... and somehow smartphones and their successors will still have shit battery life!