Elpis
@elpis.bsky.social
Australian data analyst and US politics geek; often @ElpisActual.
I feel like I've had similar views since before I was particularly online.
December 4, 2025 at 10:50 PM
I feel like I've had similar views since before I was particularly online.
I mean, this isn't even really about corporation vs individual; if a taxi company's fleet kills someone and Waymo's fleet kills someone under similar circumstances, should the total sanctions levied be equivalent?
December 2, 2025 at 7:40 AM
I mean, this isn't even really about corporation vs individual; if a taxi company's fleet kills someone and Waymo's fleet kills someone under similar circumstances, should the total sanctions levied be equivalent?
Would you support applying the same non-custodial sanctions, then, to AV companies and to humans in this scenario?
December 2, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Would you support applying the same non-custodial sanctions, then, to AV companies and to humans in this scenario?
I exclusively take transit, so this is me speaking as a pedestrian and/or from the data.
December 2, 2025 at 6:21 AM
I exclusively take transit, so this is me speaking as a pedestrian and/or from the data.
Automated and manual trains are both better than self-driving cars, certainly, but this is about self-driving cars versus manually driven cars and the latter has a much worse safety record per mile.
December 2, 2025 at 6:16 AM
Automated and manual trains are both better than self-driving cars, certainly, but this is about self-driving cars versus manually driven cars and the latter has a much worse safety record per mile.
I am not sure what there is about it to not understand.
November 26, 2025 at 5:37 AM
I am not sure what there is about it to not understand.
Surely an "Against Tyrants" use case.
November 14, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Surely an "Against Tyrants" use case.
I would say the latter category breaks down into people with bad politics (Manchin) and people who value moderation for its own sake (Sinema), who should be handled very differently.
November 10, 2025 at 4:55 AM
I would say the latter category breaks down into people with bad politics (Manchin) and people who value moderation for its own sake (Sinema), who should be handled very differently.
In this case it isn't because it's not actually doing sufficient good things at the cost of losing elections, but in cases where it is it is.
November 10, 2025 at 1:50 AM
In this case it isn't because it's not actually doing sufficient good things at the cost of losing elections, but in cases where it is it is.
It definitely is high-minded, that's just not always a good thing.
November 10, 2025 at 1:44 AM
It definitely is high-minded, that's just not always a good thing.
I agree that Palestinian nationalism is also to be opposed and don't personally support self-determination on principle, but it seems natural to be more hostile towards an ethnostate that exists than one that people want to exist but are clearly not currently in a position to create.
November 6, 2025 at 5:15 PM
I agree that Palestinian nationalism is also to be opposed and don't personally support self-determination on principle, but it seems natural to be more hostile towards an ethnostate that exists than one that people want to exist but are clearly not currently in a position to create.
The absolute principle of ethnonationalism and ethnostates being bad applies regardless of whether local demographics make oppressed groups a small minority (many 20th-century New World states) or a majority (Israel, UAE, 20th-century Old World colonies); that is why it is an absolute principle.
November 6, 2025 at 4:51 PM
The absolute principle of ethnonationalism and ethnostates being bad applies regardless of whether local demographics make oppressed groups a small minority (many 20th-century New World states) or a majority (Israel, UAE, 20th-century Old World colonies); that is why it is an absolute principle.
You.
Well, how about if you start with consistency and get to the only Jewish state last?
November 6, 2025 at 4:23 PM
You.
If the Rohingya/Kurds/some other stateless and persecuted minority established an ethnostate which was violently oppressive of other groups, would you argue that its existence and behaviour should be equally insulated from criticism?
November 6, 2025 at 4:19 PM
If the Rohingya/Kurds/some other stateless and persecuted minority established an ethnostate which was violently oppressive of other groups, would you argue that its existence and behaviour should be equally insulated from criticism?
Funnily enough I'm fairly sure a couple of the last m68k Macs do actually still meet the minimum requirements in their maximal configuration, I do wonder if anyone actually does that.
November 2, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Funnily enough I'm fairly sure a couple of the last m68k Macs do actually still meet the minimum requirements in their maximal configuration, I do wonder if anyone actually does that.
Someone should write a sequel set in the 1960s.
November 2, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Someone should write a sequel set in the 1960s.
There certainly have been candidates who followed that trajectory, but I can't see her being caught in an affair (Hart) or collapsing her campaign by going overly negative (Dean?).
October 26, 2025 at 3:13 AM
There certainly have been candidates who followed that trajectory, but I can't see her being caught in an affair (Hart) or collapsing her campaign by going overly negative (Dean?).
Metro area size is probably more important than local-government size for core cities, to be fair, so it's halfway between Fresno and NYC.
October 25, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Metro area size is probably more important than local-government size for core cities, to be fair, so it's halfway between Fresno and NYC.
Glad we can agree that he's in the same position as Cuomo, yes.
October 25, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Glad we can agree that he's in the same position as Cuomo, yes.
Her opponent is another Democrat who was endorsed by the local party chapters in the primary, I don't really see how leftists needing to support Sheffield and centrists not needing to support Mamdani can both apply.
October 25, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Her opponent is another Democrat who was endorsed by the local party chapters in the primary, I don't really see how leftists needing to support Sheffield and centrists not needing to support Mamdani can both apply.
I support the estate tax (at least as it applies to land and housing) because it disrupts property inheritance, not the other way around.
October 23, 2025 at 1:56 AM
I support the estate tax (at least as it applies to land and housing) because it disrupts property inheritance, not the other way around.
Inheritance of property is bad and should be disfavored by death taxes etc. in other cases.
October 23, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Inheritance of property is bad and should be disfavored by death taxes etc. in other cases.