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[Truean]

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/01/23/1483131/house-republicans-to-scotus-gay-people-are-too-powerful-to-give-them-equal-rights/?mobile=nc

So.... I'm not sure what makes my jaw drop more.

1.) The American Taxpayer has paid $3,000,000 (roughly) for this GOP lawyer at $500/hour or so over the last couple decades to defend "traditional marriage." Meanwhile public defenders and appointed counsel, the most notoriously underpaid type of lawyers who do actual work that is incredibly hard for some of the most difficult to represent clients, get but a meager fraction of that from taxpayers and the state only pays it reluctantly, late, and often after cutting off a portion of the tragically low fee for the PD as "too much." It's good to know the justice system's priorities are.

Defending real live people accused of crimes? Meh, we'll toss the absolute bare minimum coin we can get away with for that one.
Defending a political idea discriminating against a minority, we'll fund the daylights out of that one....

 

2.) We're talking about government budget problems, because a democrat is in office (but Bush never had "budget problems"). I see something that could be cut.... I'm pretty sure they could find a lawyer to do this for far less than $500/hour or so....


3.) The substance of the message itself. Basically, the brief says the Supreme Court should not intervene or judicially grant gay people rights, because they are "well funded, and powerful."

By that proposed standard the existence of the NAACP would preclude SCOTUS from having anything to do with regulating racial discrimination at all.... Likewise, the existence of League of Women Voters and any other group focusing on females would preclude the Supreme Court from having anything to do with gender discrimination.

Your tax dollars at work folks....

[kidhedera]

Those discussing possible changes to work culture might find this article of interest:

http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/apple-google-facebook-and-amazon-are-worth-1-trillion-but-only-15000-jobs-its-time-to-reexamine-the-future-of-work

[Darvi]

[snip]

Hey, I'm all for it if they can at least be consistent and take away megacorporations' rights as people and stuff. Way too powerful for equal rights, them.

[SalmonGod]

Those discussing possible changes to work culture might find this article of interest:

http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/apple-google-facebook-and-amazon-are-worth-1-trillion-but-only-15000-jobs-its-time-to-reexamine-the-future-of-work

Dear god the comments.

"BUT... BUT... LAZY PEOPLE DESERVE TO DIE!!!"

The world is truly going insane.  Between this and environmental collapse, we're all quite fucked.

[PanH]

Dear god the comments.

"BUT... BUT... LAZY PEOPLE DESERVE TO DIE!!!"

I've seen a ton of people on the internet with that sort of reaction : "You're poor and you don't have a job ? God, you suck, and deserve to be poor (or worse)". Doesn't make any sense.

[scriver]

Yep, we really could be on a 32 hour work week by now. It would reduce unemployment, and could give people more time for leisure and family, making them healthier and happier.

Where would the money come from, though?

[SalmonGod]

Yep, we really could be on a 32 hour work week by now. It would reduce unemployment, and could give people more time for leisure and family, making them healthier and happier.

Where would the money come from, though?

This is sarcasm, right?

[Nadaka]

Yep, we really could be on a 32 hour work week by now. It would reduce unemployment, and could give people more time for leisure and family, making them healthier and happier.

Where would the money come from, though?

It would come from the record high profit margins of corporate excess. Really, redistribution of wealth from the working classes to the plutocrats is at an all time high.

[Moghjubar]

It would come from robots, actually.  Robots do all the work, robots print the money, etc.

Robots also spend the money. They eat the food too.  The robots also sit on the robo-computers and play robo-video-games.  They have also replaced all the politicians and clergy.  Now man can finally be -Nothing-.

[Helgoland]

It would come from robots, actually.  Robots do all the work, robots print the money, etc.

Robots also spend the money. They eat the food too.  The robots also sit on the robo-computers and play robo-video-games.  They have also replaced all the politicians and clergy.  Now man can finally be -Nothing-.

Aaaand you have my vision of Utopia.
Probably wouldn't work, though: Most if not all people won't work on their own without an incentive, but you can't be truly happy without having some sort of productive occupation. Hooray for Marxist thoughts in the context of modern capitalism!

[Owlbread]

I feel that I can be truly happy if left to play the computer for hours and hours on end. I would much rather not work at all.

[SalmonGod]

I find that most people who talk about how naturally lazy they are and how much they'd love to just do nothing for the rest of their lives are just backlashing against the frustration of being so fucking busy all the time.  After a while, they'd get bored, some idea would capture their interest, and they'd actually do something.  I know at this point in my life, I feel like I need a vacation lasting months... but definitely not forever.

[Owlbread]

I find that most people who talk about how naturally lazy they are and how much they'd love to just do nothing for the rest of their lives are just backlashing against the frustration of being so fucking busy all the time.  After a while, they'd get bored, some idea would capture their interest, and they'd actually do something.  I know at this point in my life, I feel like I need a vacation lasting months... but definitely not forever.

Knowing myself, I believe I could spend months and months doing no actual productive work and I would be extremely content.

[SalmonGod]

Oh... so could I.  But it's because my life has been imbalanced towards constant business for so long.  You pull the rubber band so far in one direction, it will snap back that much harder when finally given the opportunity.  Doesn't mean I'd never be productive.  I want to do things with my life, but I also want balance.

[RedKing]

I'd prefer to be like one of those Victorian-era Englilsh gentry that piddled around with half a dozen different scientific fields or travelled the world and wrote about it.