Ellie
@ellienyaa.net
elections and other stuff I guess
any pronouns
any pronouns
There isn't really evidence of this. Behn in specific was a weak candidate but plenty of women can win in red districts; there's basically no evidence of an electoral penalty.
December 3, 2025 at 6:24 AM
There isn't really evidence of this. Behn in specific was a weak candidate but plenty of women can win in red districts; there's basically no evidence of an electoral penalty.
It's unfortunate that so-called leftists will side with fascists over liberals, but not surprising. That's the historical pattern, after all.
December 3, 2025 at 12:41 AM
It's unfortunate that so-called leftists will side with fascists over liberals, but not surprising. That's the historical pattern, after all.
You're saying that anyone who voted for Kamala Harris is a war criminal?
December 3, 2025 at 12:39 AM
You're saying that anyone who voted for Kamala Harris is a war criminal?
I've wanted to start a nationwide PAC for this purpose.
December 3, 2025 at 12:39 AM
I've wanted to start a nationwide PAC for this purpose.
I mean yeah I don't think Waymos will solve a lot of social problems or whatever. I'm with you there, it's just a cheaper taxi. But that doesn't mean they're less safe.
December 2, 2025 at 6:47 AM
I mean yeah I don't think Waymos will solve a lot of social problems or whatever. I'm with you there, it's just a cheaper taxi. But that doesn't mean they're less safe.
Okay, so I don't get your objection to AVs. You don't want to hold humans accountable for their driving, so why's it wrong to apply the same standard to AVs?
December 2, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Okay, so I don't get your objection to AVs. You don't want to hold humans accountable for their driving, so why's it wrong to apply the same standard to AVs?
Do you support throwing people in prison if they unintentionally kill people with their cars?
December 2, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Do you support throwing people in prison if they unintentionally kill people with their cars?
Insurance companies would disagree. There just isn't much that can be done if you're driving at night and a cat darts out right in front of your car, even if you're an amazing driver paying perfect attention.
December 2, 2025 at 6:41 AM
Insurance companies would disagree. There just isn't much that can be done if you're driving at night and a cat darts out right in front of your car, even if you're an amazing driver paying perfect attention.
What evidence would you accept as sufficient here?
Do you actually think Waymos are more dangerous than human drivers? Be honest.
Do you actually think Waymos are more dangerous than human drivers? Be honest.
December 2, 2025 at 6:39 AM
What evidence would you accept as sufficient here?
Do you actually think Waymos are more dangerous than human drivers? Be honest.
Do you actually think Waymos are more dangerous than human drivers? Be honest.
For the record I'm 100% on-board with using trains, trolleys, or any other form of public transportation, and I'd strongly oppose a city using the existence of Waymo to argue such infrastructure is unnecessary.
December 2, 2025 at 6:17 AM
For the record I'm 100% on-board with using trains, trolleys, or any other form of public transportation, and I'd strongly oppose a city using the existence of Waymo to argue such infrastructure is unnecessary.
Do they? Then why do humans have a much worse safety record per mile driven than Waymo?
December 2, 2025 at 6:17 AM
Do they? Then why do humans have a much worse safety record per mile driven than Waymo?
Unfortunately policies like property tax caps and rent control make it so a majority of people actually living somewhere are insulated from the direct harmful effects of said policies. People don't link prop 13 to high grocery prices or whatever.
December 2, 2025 at 6:16 AM
Unfortunately policies like property tax caps and rent control make it so a majority of people actually living somewhere are insulated from the direct harmful effects of said policies. People don't link prop 13 to high grocery prices or whatever.
I'm generally fine with this, yeah. After a certain age, just allow people to defer property taxes until after they die.
imo still not an ideal policy since you'd usually want those people to downsize, but forcing people out of their homes is also not great.
imo still not an ideal policy since you'd usually want those people to downsize, but forcing people out of their homes is also not great.
December 2, 2025 at 6:15 AM
I'm generally fine with this, yeah. After a certain age, just allow people to defer property taxes until after they die.
imo still not an ideal policy since you'd usually want those people to downsize, but forcing people out of their homes is also not great.
imo still not an ideal policy since you'd usually want those people to downsize, but forcing people out of their homes is also not great.
You know who's also really bad at handling edge cases? Humans! And unlike with AVs there is LITERALLY NO WAY TO IMPROVE THAT.
December 2, 2025 at 6:12 AM
You know who's also really bad at handling edge cases? Humans! And unlike with AVs there is LITERALLY NO WAY TO IMPROVE THAT.
VMT is what matters -- that's already determining sample size. Whether that's across one vehicle or one thousand is irrelevant, it's the amount of driving that we care about for the safety record.
December 2, 2025 at 6:07 AM
VMT is what matters -- that's already determining sample size. Whether that's across one vehicle or one thousand is irrelevant, it's the amount of driving that we care about for the safety record.
We tolerate daily pedestrian carnage carried out by human drivers. But when a Waymo runs over a cat it's suddenly the end of the world? It's ridiculous.
December 2, 2025 at 6:06 AM
We tolerate daily pedestrian carnage carried out by human drivers. But when a Waymo runs over a cat it's suddenly the end of the world? It's ridiculous.
Fleet size isn't relevant compared to VMT.
"Why are sensors not detecting small animals 100% of the time" is a great question for their engineers and also a standard WAY more strict than we hold human drivers to.
"Why are sensors not detecting small animals 100% of the time" is a great question for their engineers and also a standard WAY more strict than we hold human drivers to.
December 2, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Fleet size isn't relevant compared to VMT.
"Why are sensors not detecting small animals 100% of the time" is a great question for their engineers and also a standard WAY more strict than we hold human drivers to.
"Why are sensors not detecting small animals 100% of the time" is a great question for their engineers and also a standard WAY more strict than we hold human drivers to.
Also okay. Let's assume for the sake of argument both of these people are bad drivers. There's a lot of bad drivers out there! If those people were in Waymos instead of driving, our streets would be safer for it.
(Ideally they'd be taking transit, but Waymo is better than nothing.)
(Ideally they'd be taking transit, but Waymo is better than nothing.)
December 2, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Also okay. Let's assume for the sake of argument both of these people are bad drivers. There's a lot of bad drivers out there! If those people were in Waymos instead of driving, our streets would be safer for it.
(Ideally they'd be taking transit, but Waymo is better than nothing.)
(Ideally they'd be taking transit, but Waymo is better than nothing.)
If only we could repeal Prop 13 instead.
December 2, 2025 at 5:56 AM
If only we could repeal Prop 13 instead.
Great. Waymo has driven >100 million miles and apparently ran over... two? I am certain that the human driver track record is orders of magnitude worse, and if you drove 100 million miles, you'd probably also run over animals a few times.
December 2, 2025 at 5:54 AM
Great. Waymo has driven >100 million miles and apparently ran over... two? I am certain that the human driver track record is orders of magnitude worse, and if you drove 100 million miles, you'd probably also run over animals a few times.
MOST people I know have never ran over an animal. But it's not especially rare either! And my point is these aren't people with high insurance rates who get into accidents frequently.
December 2, 2025 at 5:53 AM
MOST people I know have never ran over an animal. But it's not especially rare either! And my point is these aren't people with high insurance rates who get into accidents frequently.
I don't even like Waymo that much -- "cheaper taxis" is not really a hugely valuable innovation -- but their safety record is far better compared to human drivers, and unlike human drivers, can get even better after every incident!
December 2, 2025 at 5:46 AM
I don't even like Waymo that much -- "cheaper taxis" is not really a hugely valuable innovation -- but their safety record is far better compared to human drivers, and unlike human drivers, can get even better after every incident!