bkimmel's recent activity
-
Comment on Donald Trump hush money trial: What criminal charges does he face? in ~news
-
Comment on Donald Trump hush money trial: What criminal charges does he face? in ~news
bkimmel (edited )Link ParentAs someone who spent a significant portion of my working life to make sure the campaigns I worked for didn't violate those election laws, let me tell you they are: 1. Clear and 2. Important....As someone who spent a significant portion of my working life to make sure the campaigns I worked for didn't violate those election laws, let me tell you they are: 1. Clear and 2. Important.
Because if they weren't, the whole basis of MAGA/Trumpism would be essentially correct: the system (being inherently Democratic) is rigged. It's not. You can't spend money to influence elections ("Electioneering" in FEC parlance). and not disclose that to the FEC. Period.
Trump did. Period.
There is very little "creative reading" there, as far as I see it: Violating FEC law is a felony (and one of the most important ones to enforce in my opinion).
A while ago, there was a topic on Tildes that was like "what's something you know from your line of work that you wish everyone knew" and I almost wrote how I wish everyone knew how "most campaigns" followed finance laws and how strict they are (for good reason).
The real danger is allowing people to go "whoops my oil company spent 300,000 to help this candidate won his election. Oh golly gosh darn, my bad. I didn't know what I was doing." Which is basically what we'd be saying is OK if we declined to prosecute this. I disagree with the notion that this is absurd.
Edit: and it's even more absurd after Citizens United . Your oil company can spend 3 million if it wants to! It just has to tell the FEC it did that.
-
Comment on Donald Trump hush money trial: What criminal charges does he face? in ~news
bkimmel (edited )Link ParentIf you're going to run around for years and basically build a political career out of screaming "everything is corrupt and fixed" you can't be surprised when the justice system you are undermining...If you're going to run around for years and basically build a political career out of screaming "everything is corrupt and fixed" you can't be surprised when the justice system you are undermining does it's due diligence and checks your receipts at the door. Trump created the need for his own prosecution(s) - simple as. The justice system doesn't work if it only applies to the poor bastards at the bottom of the heap. It's America - you're free to shout "look at me! I'm above the law!" if you want to but you can't act shocked or characterize it as "reaching" if that system of justice makes it clear that you are, in fact, not. Even if they profess to hate it, making it clear to the seething masses that laws work and matter is a thing that it's important to get correct for posterity if nothing else.
I'll mention specifically that I used to work in federal campaign finance. People don't get prosecuted as much as they should, but that's not because the laws aren't clear: they are quite lucid. People usually just don't get caught red-handed like Trump was here.
-
Comment on Project Zomboid - What compares for gameplay? in ~games
bkimmel LinkI picked up Zomboid late, too (about 8/9 months ago) and I love the gameplay. It's got that "losing is fun" vibe to it like Dwarf Fortress - which would be my first recommendation. If you like the...I picked up Zomboid late, too (about 8/9 months ago) and I love the gameplay. It's got that "losing is fun" vibe to it like Dwarf Fortress - which would be my first recommendation. If you like the crafting/skills- based parts of it, but you want something 180 degrees in the more heartwarming direction than Zombie Apocalypse, I would recommend Stardew Valley. If you're after the "ethereal/lonely exploration vibe" you sorta see in PZ but without quite as many zombies, I would recommend Starbound.
-
Comment on The tech baron seeking to “ethnically cleanse” San Francisco in ~life
bkimmel Link Parent'''It's absolutely packed to the brim with people that think that because they know javascript better than 99.99999% of the population, that extends to their competence at everything.''' Didn't...'''It's absolutely packed to the brim with people that think that because they know javascript better than 99.99999% of the population, that extends to their competence at everything.'''
Didn't Socrates (or was it Plato?) call this out as the root of most problems? (Except I think it was carpenters or something in his example).
It really does seem like "failing Social Studies" is a hard requirement for these Silicon Valley types.
-
Comment on The man who killed Google Search in ~tech
bkimmel Link ParentKilling Google Reader to me will always be "the day the music died". It makes perfect sense from a pure myopic business perspective: AMP was on the way in and you could sell ads a lot easier on...Killing Google Reader to me will always be "the day the music died".
It makes perfect sense from a pure myopic business perspective: AMP was on the way in and you could sell ads a lot easier on AMP than you could on RSS. So Google Reader obviously had to die. It was just such a drastic break from the way the company has treated its users in the past. It didn't matter that if you looked 10-15 years into the future it was easy to see how Reader could have sustained a place with a lot of market leverage for them. There was a distinct possibility that in 2 years they could make more short-term money if AMP was adopted as quickly as they hoped. But of course AMP was selling "a better online reading experience"... Which Reader already delivered in a way that was better for users . So Reader went down in a cornfield.
In a way, it sort of is similar to "cult classic show that gets cancelled" as you put it: Firefly got pulled because some executive at Fox was bothered by how much people liked it (in lieu of his pet project iirc). But that was to be expected from Fox (or TV/media). That was really the first time Google behaved that way.
As far as the ad hominem against Raghavan: Yes, it's a bit off-putting, but these executives pay themselves millions on the pretense that they take more responsibility for the success and failures of their organizations. Hard to boo-hoo too much when someone actually calls their number on that for once. It's a lot less indecent than these guys paying themselves the equivalent of 20-30 other people under them who actually do the work. :shrug
-
Comment on <deleted topic> in ~talk
bkimmel LinkAnd so we return again to the holy void. Some say this is simply our destiny, but I would have you remember always that the void EXISTS, just as surely as you or I. Is nothingness any less a...And so we return again to the holy void. Some say this is simply our destiny, but I would have you remember always that the void EXISTS, just as surely as you or I. Is nothingness any less a miracle than substance?
- Sister Miriam Godwinson, "We Must Dissent"
-
Comment on What's a game that you feel is almost great? in ~games
bkimmel Link ParentTry the new Unicorn Overlord. Very much like OB64 but modernized and refined. Best trpg in a generation.Try the new Unicorn Overlord. Very much like OB64 but modernized and refined. Best trpg in a generation.
-
Comment on Favorite hobby / subculture YouTube channels? in ~hobbies
bkimmel LinkReally liking some of these recommendations. Here's two I haven't seen yet: NileRed is a chemistry YouTuber. He does stuff like turning plastic gloves into grape soda and making plasma with grapes...Really liking some of these recommendations. Here's two I haven't seen yet:
NileRed is a chemistry YouTuber. He does stuff like turning plastic gloves into grape soda and making plasma with grapes in a microwave.
Peter Santanello Just a really good interviewer who goes into places a lot of people would rather forget (e.g. housing projects in Chicago and rundown former coal mining towns in West Virginia) and interviews people in a way that lets them tell their stories for their own stories' sake instead of someone else's narrative.
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
bkimmel LinkUnicorn Overlord All I can really say is that this is the best Tactical RPG since Fire Emblem: Awakening. Every choice feels meaningful and fun. The combinations of equipment, units, and...Unicorn Overlord
All I can really say is that this is the best Tactical RPG since Fire Emblem: Awakening. Every choice feels meaningful and fun. The combinations of equipment, units, and "loadouts" where you basically write wysiwyg logic programs for your units is simply a revelation. The characters are great, the devs were clearly trpg fans themselves and it shows. 10/10
-
Comment on 'I've never seen it this bad:' Game developers explain the huge layoffs hitting Riot, Epic, and more in ~games
bkimmel Link ParentThat second one (section 174 of the IRS code) is a huge driver of tech layoffs. There's a bill the House passed recently that's in the Senate that rolls that change back. Hoping they pass it soon.That second one (section 174 of the IRS code) is a huge driver of tech layoffs. There's a bill the House passed recently that's in the Senate that rolls that change back. Hoping they pass it soon.
-
Comment on Northern hemisphere gardeners - share your 2024 plans! in ~hobbies
bkimmel LinkI have plans to try and grow a bunch of different kinds of mint and a few other plants to make a tea garden (zone 6) this spring.I have plans to try and grow a bunch of different kinds of mint and a few other plants to make a tea garden (zone 6) this spring.
-
Comment on Joe Biden’s chances of US re-election are better than they appear in ~misc
bkimmel Link ParentThere was a certain "Clintonian Strategy" that started in earnest with her husband and her campaign had (by that point) perfected. Our shorthand for it was "Raise, Spend, Bury": You raise a lot of...There was a certain "Clintonian Strategy" that started in earnest with her husband and her campaign had (by that point) perfected. Our shorthand for it was "Raise, Spend, Bury": You raise a lot of money early from donors, buy paid media, and drown out your opponent. No one did it better. In a way, she had every right to feel entitled: she outraised Trump by a huge margin. If the system worked the way it always had for the last 30 years, it was over before it ever began.
It sounds cheap to say it now and everyone is a genius in hindsight but I remember very specifically quoting Apollo Creed's trainer from Rocky to my friends and colleagues who worked on that campaign: "This guy is all wrong for us baby". In a way, Trump's campaign was very much like Rocky in that movie... he stepped into the ring with an entirely different plan than Apollo/Hillary: just stand there and absorb the punishment. Who cares if you you get buried in paid media if you can control the coverage with your antics? The show is 55 minutes of content and 5 minutes of ads. Let Hillary have the ads and focus on winning the content. You "win" by "going the distance with the champ", simple as that.
If the Trump/Rocky analogy holds, I hope this election goes worse for "Rocky" than it did in Rocky 2.
So, like Apollo Creed, to answer your question: Hillary was entitled/complacent but it's easy to understand how. By convention,they were both the "best that ever stepped into the ring".
-
Comment on Looking for a top down tactical wargame in ~games
bkimmel Link ParentSid's Gettysburg was hands down one of the best games ever made period. It's one of those few games that (having played it like 25 years ago) I think it legitimately made me a better "tactical and...Sid's Gettysburg was hands down one of the best games ever made period. It's one of those few games that (having played it like 25 years ago) I think it legitimately made me a better "tactical and strategic thinker". Playing it PvP on dialup-level connections was a real trip.
-
Comment on Any other developers also strongly resistant to adding secondary data stores to their software? in ~comp
bkimmel Link ParentAfter a couple decades of going through various tools and ecosystems for backend/data I've more or less settled on the mantra of "use Postgres until you can't".After a couple decades of going through various tools and ecosystems for backend/data I've more or less settled on the mantra of "use Postgres until you can't".
-
Comment on First of YouTuber Joel Haver's "12 Feature-Length Films in 12 Months" released in ~movies
bkimmel LinkIf I had to describe this, it would be as a "cross between Napoleon Dynamite and Sideways done by an indie filmmaker" that is deceptively "heavy" in a way I wouldn't really expect from a comedy...If I had to describe this, it would be as a "cross between Napoleon Dynamite and Sideways done by an indie filmmaker" that is deceptively "heavy" in a way I wouldn't really expect from a comedy YouTuber. I started watching it with the intention of turning it off after 10 or 15 minutes, but I kept getting pulled further and further into the story.
As a trigger/content warning: This film gets very dark and deals with depression and estrangement in ways that are a little difficult to watch at points.
I was thinking of this other Tildes thread a lot while I watched it - especially the part in that about feeling like an "un-person" and how easily that happens now... how the bar for "being a person" (by some consensus-derived definition) just seems so much higher now and so much more exhausting than it ever was.
Watching the relentlessly hopeful and hapless Caleb go through his "hero's journey" was - by turns - excruciating and hilarious. Haver is not really the greatest actor to be sure... but in a way that almost adds a necessary flavor to the character who spends too much time posing for the cameras he surrounds himself with. And the other actors do such a great job of holding him down that it just ends up "working" somehow in the end.
I was genuinely surprised by this film. I was thinking this morning about the last scene of the film - and how very differently that would be parsed if it were the first scene in the film instead of the last.
-
Comment on What is your favourite episode of a podcast? in ~talk
bkimmel Link ParentThat one looks interesting, too, but it wasn't that. Might have been https://www.google.com/amp/s/gimletmedia.com/amp/shows/undone/39h27bThat one looks interesting, too, but it wasn't that. Might have been https://www.google.com/amp/s/gimletmedia.com/amp/shows/undone/39h27b
-
Comment on What is your favourite episode of a podcast? in ~talk
bkimmel LinkI don't even remember which podcast it was... But the episode was about Disco Demolition night at White Sox Stadium and how it was basically the "genesis moment" for modern conservative...I don't even remember which podcast it was... But the episode was about Disco Demolition night at White Sox Stadium and how it was basically the "genesis moment" for modern conservative counterculture (i.e. Trumpism). It was something I had heard about before, but I wasn't really aware of the broader cultural meaning of it until the podcast episode. I think it was the "Stuff you Should Know" podcast or something like that.
-
Comment on The poverty of anti-wokeness in ~life
bkimmel Link ParentI really feel like it would be best to discuss most of this at a bar or something, because it is both "a lot" and also "very interesting" to me... And a lot of it is - as you fairly point out -...I really feel like it would be best to discuss most of this at a bar or something, because it is both "a lot" and also "very interesting" to me... And a lot of it is - as you fairly point out - sort of a matter of viewpoint or interpretation. But one thing I'll pick out that there is clear data on the "not worth fighting for" side of the equation: Americans may seem "jingoistic" but historically, they've backed it up with a healthy "All Volunteer Force". There is growing concensus that this is flat-out no longer sustainable:
https://www.cfr.org/blog/bureaucratic-fix-military-recruitment-crisisI don't have any panacea to offer for this. I hope it's all just a huge coincidence and we'll end up doing better than the Soviets for reasons that are not completely apparent to me. In a way, I just think it's kinda funny that we thought we "won" the Cold War but in so many ways we're increasingly in the same conditions they suffered through.
I regard Communism as a pretentious tragedy at an unbelievable scale... I would never want to live behind one of those Barbed Wire Walls myself ... I just wonder how much having those kinds of forces around kept our own kleptocrats disciplined in a good way that kept some of their more destructive instincts in check.
"You always end up becoming the thing you hated." I wonder if that doesn't apply on a national scale.
-
Comment on The poverty of anti-wokeness in ~life
bkimmel LinkThere is a realization that dawned on me a couple years ago, and through everything that happens I just can't shake it: In the U.S. we are living through almost the exact same pattern that...There is a realization that dawned on me a couple years ago, and through everything that happens I just can't shake it:
In the U.S. we are living through almost the exact same pattern that occurred at the end of the Soviet Union. In almost every way, there is some parallel to large/notable developments at the end of the Soviet Union that we see happening now in the U.S. :
-
Lose a huge war in Afghanistan
-
Things just "stop working" at scale. Systems that were reliable for generations start to fail in obvious ways.
-
People start to believe cheating isn't bad - because "everyone else is doing it, too". If someone is wealthy, it's almost guaranteed they did something immoral/illegal to get that wealth.
-
People start to believe the country isn't worth fighting for anymore.
-
Things get "hard to build" (Why does that little bridge take 3 years to build and 2 billion dollars?)
-
As a result / or part of the "loop" of all the things above: The value of "Sovietness" plummets. It becomes a joke and everyone starts to focus on their own ethnic group as the thing they really "belong" to: Georgian, Uzbek, Russian, Dagestani, etc.
When I read this article, number 6 is what stands out to me as the strongest parallel with what's happening in the U.S. right now with respect to "identity politics".
-
From https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/making-disbursements/operating-expenditures-candidate/
In a nutshell, that's why it's a violation.
I actually believe of all the trials Trump is facing, this one is the most clear. Inciting insurrection is certainly more serious but honestly I feel like that's where it gets a little fuzzy with political speech and potentially creates a cudgel out of precedent that could easily be used against someone advocating in front of a crowd for something like abortion rights.