The Great Los Angeles Fire of 2025

[Archon8]

You forgot a source
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-california-ultimatums-wildfire-aid-2020561

Changes to water policy to make water available to the people of California is likewise not a "far right" policy.

Policy position isn't determined by the regular voters that end up supporting it. At least, that wasn't my argument, nor was I calling people in favour of it automatically far-right.

(this is, of course, assuming in good faith that voter ID is the only such policy California is being mandated to accept in exchange for aid, given that all GoodEnoughForMe said was "immediately embracing significant far right policies")

GoodEnoughForMe said "far right policies." I cannot comprehend how either voter ID, supported by a vast majority of Americans, or making water accessible to the people of California to be "far right," unless you consider the center of the aisle to be Kotaku. And if your measure of extremism is something other than standard deviations from the average view, then that is your opinion of what left and right are, and is not based in reality.

 

[Arwon]

You forgot a source
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-california-ultimatums-wildfire-aid-2020561

Good lord but the system collapse is happening swiftly. This is already so far away from anything people might pretend is a rules based constitutional order and it's been like a week and a half.

 

[Angst]

if the majority opinion is is always moderate and can't be far right, then ... slavery is moderate. csa and crap. plenty of left-wing nightmare nightmare states you'd also consider moderate. it is sheer bull.

anyways.

1

voter ID is institutionally useless, as there's already plenty of safety features in place to make placed votes in the us safe. in denmark we get our vote cards by mail and have other options if we need that. no issue with corruption or fraud in the booth. it's not a size problem. voter ID is unnecessary anywhere. the literal only structural function it has is to keep voters away from the booth, and it particularly hits the poor. everyone in power that pushes for voter ID knows this. you're told this too by anyone that knows anything about voter ID.

if literally a dozen people exactly commited voter fraud in the states, it would not move the needle. voter ID could technically prevent those twelve votes. it has literally no function on a societal level as to securing the electoral process today. the literal only function it does is keep certain groups further away from the booths by virtue of economic inequality. this is what you know that it does.

2

transactional disaster relief is a batshit rep shpiel they already did with the hurricane last year. it is tiring, esp because democrats indeed never question whether to send aid to red states or not. voter id has nothing to do with disaster relief. the water release stuff is hilarious and weird and is closer to something you can ask for, although i have absolutely no clue what trump is on about. i guess fire < water, but every person i know with some knowledge of fire disasters (talking scientists and firefighters and such) are facepalming so hard at it.

remember that the money for disaster relief basically comes from wealthy blue states. we're in a perculiar situation because california was hit. they're a big part of relief elsewhere. this is literally only a rational thing to do if you either expect trump to become god-emperor or expect democrats to never mirror this behavior of transactional relief. and, well, to be fair, both may very well happen.

 

[Lexicus]

And if your measure of extremism is something other than standard deviations from the average view, then that is your opinion of what left and right are, and is not based in reality.

This is amazing in a way, it's like thought wielded as a negation of thinking.

 

[Angst]

This is amazing in a way, it's like thought wielded as a negation of thinking.

i mean, that's the function of it. reality doesn't exist. it can be negotiated. all that matters is tribe.

 

[Gorbles]

GoodEnoughForMe said "far right policies." I cannot comprehend how either voter ID, supported by a vast majority of Americans, or making water accessible to the people of California to be "far right," unless you consider the center of the aisle to be Kotaku. And if your measure of extremism is something other than standard deviations from the average view, then that is your opinion of what left and right are, and is not based in reality.

Telling people their opinions aren't based in reality because you haven't taken the time or good faith to understand them is also what I'd call insulting, and we're way past the first time of you doing this. I recommend care when attempting to call out other posters in that regard.

Anyhow, the water policy literally comes from Trump and the Republican Party. It is therefore strongly, if not excessively, right wing. Your own personal sympathies for Trump, his party, or the water policy do not negate this. It was enforced by executive order.

I think it's very reasonable to suggest policy enacted by a right-wing government to be called right-wing. Even far-right, because it directly serves the interests of the admin over the state of California. You're allowed to disagree.

 

[Arwon]

voter ID is institutionally useless, as there's already plenty of safety features in place to make placed votes in the us safe. in denmark we get our vote cards by mail and have other options if we need that. no issue with corruption or fraud in the booth. it's not a size problem.

In Australia we don't even have "vote cards", you just get your name ticked off the electoral roll when you vote. No ID, since you're already enrolled your name with address is already there.

Any form of identification requirement could only be vote suppressing against certain groups, and given voting is compulsory that would cut against the entire thrust of the intent of electoral law.

 

[Lexicus]

Also since ID didn't exist in the Framers' time, the Framers obviously could not have intended the right to vote to be conditioned on having ID.

 

[Arwon]

No, just on ethnicity and gender and maybe how much money you have

 

[Angst]

In Australia we don't even have "vote cards", you just get your name ticked off the electoral roll when you vote. No ID, since you're already enrolled your name with address is already there.

the funny thing is that when i read that, because the description is slightly less safe than danish elections, my brain instantly goes "wait, doesn't that cause x and y as issues", but i quickly realize two things:
- i can check right now live, and i did, and it's not an issue
- the issues i envision are probably already taken care of, and they are, since it's not an issue

infact i had thoughts about certain problems with the danish model; homeless people, for example, don't have a mailbox to pick up their vote card at. (and yes, the danish word for it is literally vote card, "valgkort".) they can naturally pick up their cards at the local town hall, and if they don't have the ability to get the card, they can then show ID at the booth (funnily enough), which is, notably, fine but shouldn't be required. instead of a restriction, here the ID is a tool to vote, which is kind of the point of democracy, i think.

point is; it's almost as if institutions generally think about these issues and solve them accordingly. and when watchdogs report on it and say you're in the clear, then you're in the clear.

 

[Arwon]

Yeah the general consensus is there are a few dozen or few hundred cases of multiple voting nationally, and they're generally being caused by people with dementia and other capacity issues simply not remembering or not communicating that they've already voted by another method.

In theory if someone were committed and willing to be prosecuted, they could cast a handful of votes on election day by going from polling place to polling place. It would obviously be detected and if the result were historically close, within a handful of votes in that seat, that double counting could be grounds for the seat's election being invalidated and ordered to be rerun as a by election. But yeah, pretty much a non issue

 

[Kaitzilla]

There is a giant benefit concert being put on tomorrow called Fire Aid.

Thursday, January 30th, 2025
6-11P.M. West coast timezone.
3-8P.M. Eastern timezone.

Streaming on YouTube, Prime Video, Apple TV+, and numerous other sites.

FireAid, the massive benefit concert to help LA fire victims, came together quickly. Here’s how

Within days of the devastating Los Angeles-area fires breaking out, a benefit concert was in the works. It’s already raised millions for relief efforts.

apnews.com

It is so big it will take place in 2 stadiums at once.
A big stage and a giant TV in each.

Each band will play 2 to 4 songs, then alternate to the other stadium back and forth.

They will try to raise money for the parts of L.A. that burned down.

Lots of big names.

It seems to still be going? When did it start?