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submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by Ashyr@sh.itjust.works to c/tenforward@lemmy.world

My wife and I are rewatching The Next Generation and just finished Measure of a Man, the episode in season 2 in which Data’s personhood is legally debated and his life hangs in the balance.

I genuinely found this episode infuriating in its stupidity. It’s the first episode we skipped even a little bit. It was like nails on a chalkboard.

There is oodles of legal precedent that Data is a person. He was allowed to apply to Starfleet, graduated, became an officer and rose to the rank of Lt. Commander with all the responsibilities and privileges thereof.

Comparing him to a computer and the judge advocate general just shrugging and going to trial over it is completely idiotic. There are literal years and years of precedent that he’s an officer.

The problem is compounded because Picard can’t make the obvious legal argument and is therefore stuck philosophizing in a court room, which is all well and good, but it kind of comes down to whether or not Data has a soul? That’s not a legal argument.

The whole thing is so unbelievably ludicrous it just made me angrier and angrier. It wasn’t the high minded, humanistic future I’ve come to know and love, it was a kangaroo court where reason and precedent took a backseat to feeling and belief.

I genuinely hated it.

To my surprise, in looking it up, I discovered it’s considered one of the high water marks for the entire show. It feels like I’m taking crazy pills.

[-] Ashyr@sh.itjust.works 149 points 3 months ago

It requires no restraint if you're not a monster.

[-] Ashyr@sh.itjust.works 252 points 6 months ago

Dear God, I knew he was the worst already, but it seems every new thing I learn only makes it even worse.

I knew he was the proto-trump, but this is perhaps the Trumpiest thing I’ve heard yet.

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I’ve never quite gotten into The Simpsons myself, but never object to an episode when I randomly come across it.

I know there’s a lot of talk that after x season the show is basically over, but I’m curious what everyone here thinks. Do you watch and enjoy every episode and season? Are there seasons you would skip or stop watching entirely?

Just curious how people here feel about such a long-running show.

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[-] Ashyr@sh.itjust.works 137 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

This is the downside to being on the internet. Occasionally you get caught in the crossfire.

[-] Ashyr@sh.itjust.works 139 points 10 months ago

He knew he wasn't above the law, he just believed the consequences were worth it. I hope he's right.

[-] Ashyr@sh.itjust.works 149 points 10 months ago

What a great photo. It's like someone distilled bigotry into it's purest form and then fashioned a human from it.

[-] Ashyr@sh.itjust.works 205 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

While Tax the Rich is fair and accurate, I wish we could point out that this isn't some undue burden. This is just reclaiming the surplus wealth they've extracted from the economy.

We can and should do far more, but this is a good start.

[-] Ashyr@sh.itjust.works 174 points 11 months ago

The amount of people here commenting authoritatively about this is disheartening.

Trump's economic policies were insane. I remember looking at his campaign platform and seeing tax cuts everywhere and with no way to pay for anything.

I remember him shuttering valuable tools like the pandemic response teams because he wanted to tear down the success of previous administrations.

I still remember him mocking our military, displaying state secrets on national tv, trade wars that destroyed American jobs, diplomatic decisions that ruined international relationships.

I remember immigrant children locked in cages.

I remember the rule of law being absolutely trampled in order to achieve nothing. Just norms and institutions being torn down.

Trump accomplished nothing and made literally every facet of our government, politics and economic life worse.

He performed a political pump and dump and the entire world is still picking up the pieces.

He is a fascist and categorically the worst president we've ever had and every person here saying, "well actually..." should be ashamed.

[-] Ashyr@sh.itjust.works 140 points 11 months ago

Honestly, if they were to rule that Trump is immune, Biden should immediately arrest the affirming justices and replace them with his own appointees, screw the process.

He’s immune, after all.

Of course, the new justices would probably hold Biden accountable and then recuse themselves to allow the displaced justices to return.

[-] Ashyr@sh.itjust.works 204 points 11 months ago

Otherwise, we may be looking at the end of capitalism.

Don't threaten me with a good time.

[-] Ashyr@sh.itjust.works 203 points 11 months ago

They should never have been allowed to buy them to begin with.

The second best time is now.

[-] Ashyr@sh.itjust.works 129 points 1 year ago

Every time I think of moving somewhere with a lower cost of living, stuff like this happens and reminds me why I pay a premium.

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Ad blocking and ProtonVPN (sh.itjust.works)

I've been on Mullvad for a while now, but I'm looking to move to ProtonVPN soon and I'm curious how well it blocks ads out of the box.

I've looked into the possibility of combining it with something like NextDNS or AdGuard, but I'm not super tech savvy, so I think I'd prefer to keep it simple if possible.

Mullvad has been okay, but occasionally ads get through. If ProtonVPN is that good or better, I'll probably be fine.

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submitted 1 year ago by Ashyr@sh.itjust.works to c/rpg@lemmy.ml
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submitted 1 year ago by Ashyr@sh.itjust.works to c/rpg@ttrpg.network
[-] Ashyr@sh.itjust.works 168 points 1 year ago

If he'd only written the first verse, I might believe it.

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submitted 1 year ago by Ashyr@sh.itjust.works to c/bean@lemmy.world

I'm not entirely sure how community grouping works, but it could be just the thing to really help Lemmy feel like a more coherent experience.

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Ashyr

joined 1 year ago