167
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 03 Nov 2023
167 points (95.6% liked)
politics
19072 readers
3794 users here now
Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
- Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.
Example:
- Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
- Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
- No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
- Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
- No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
I don't. I often comment about political capital, and rarely get a warm reception. But it's a real cost in elections. Back in the 80's we called it "realpolitik", mostly in regards to international politics.
I'm outside all the damned time, certainly more than most people reading this. The amount of straws I pack off the trails and waterways is noticeable. And bottle caps and plastic bags and beer cans... you get the idea.
So banning such things should be a no-brainer? Right?! Of course it is. But then the other side gets to hit you with:
"Oh FFS! The libs won't let us have damned straws now! What next from the nanny state?!"
Liberal brains tend to think, "This decision is objectively correct, so who would object?" Conservative brains work more on emotion. "Why the hell are you trying to control my every little move?!"
So, we get plastic straws banned, an objectively good idea, but we lose political capital, we lose votes by tiny increments that stack. Was it worth it? I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.
And yeah, this particular thing is obstruction for obstruction's sake. I get that. OTOH, the opposition still gets their message out to our detriment.
And of course it wasn't Liberals that got it banned. Just like with Sugared drinks, it is the cost that is the issue, not some Nanny State desire. Plastic straws litter is everywhere. Other trash builds up as the straws make tiny plastic beaver damns. Thus the drains can't work and the City pays to clean up flooding.
I've yet to see a good bendy straw that wasn't plastic, and those are essential medical supplies.
Yeah, single-use plastics make sense in a medical setting. They have the added value of being sterile where you really need it.
Outside of that setting, it's just a convenience that is costing the environment.