Post AZdUQo8WKIPOSiTcps by ian@mckellar.social
(DIR) More posts by ian@mckellar.social
(DIR) Post #AZdUQlx6Rm5Tgj7TlI by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-09-10T19:40:37Z
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Basically when it comes to cats vs. "natural diversity", I'm firmly on the cats' side. - Australia declares war on domestic cats. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/08/world/asia/culling-curfews-and-caps-australia-declares-war-on-its-cat-problem.html
(DIR) Post #AZdUQmehpexvrxWIj2 by Hedgewizard@mastodonapp.uk
2023-09-10T20:35:07Z
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@lauren From personal experience this equation looks quite different when you're watching the process happen. It's not just the birds here in New Zealand but the trees that rely on them for pollination. Not just cats that are the problem either; European wasps arrived here 20 years ago and now there are an estimated 40 BILLION wasps in the beech forests and the knock-on impacts are impossible to ignore.My kitties are confined to barracks!
(DIR) Post #AZdUQnNN9ah86UPyLY by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-09-10T20:37:37Z
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@Hedgewizard As is Leela. But Australia has a long history of messing up stuff like this, often making things worse in the process. Over and over again.
(DIR) Post #AZdUQo8WKIPOSiTcps by ian@mckellar.social
2023-09-10T21:00:57Z
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@lauren @Hedgewizard No, this is different. I grew up in the bush, with pets, and the impact on biodiversity was awful. I love cats but they're not appropriate for some places.
(DIR) Post #AZdX6NhBDuPsWmdkUy by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-09-10T21:30:51Z
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@ian @Hedgewizard My point specifically is that it seems like (as viewed from the outside) Oz has spent a fortune on efforts that either didn't work or made things worse. Introduce A to attack B, then A becomes a problem. Build a massive fence at enormous expense that basically is a waste of money. And so on.
(DIR) Post #AZdlruVSRvcZG2iOPI by ian@mckellar.social
2023-09-11T00:16:20Z
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@lauren @Hedgewizard Simply restricting the number of an introduced apex predator that is kept in the homes of people seems like a reasonable step.
(DIR) Post #AZdoWyB5u4CCQTtdVA by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-09-11T00:46:08Z
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@ian @Hedgewizard If they tried that here in the U.S. there would be rioting in the streets. Literally. Some cities have tried to implement limits on numbers of cats and even introduce cat licenses. I know of no case where that worked out well here.
(DIR) Post #AZezzzbKz3rVtNAnNg by ian@mckellar.social
2023-09-11T14:29:23Z
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@lauren @Hedgewizard Yeah, but Americans are, as a people, selfish assholes. Look at gun regulation. Australia, a country with a much fresher frontier culture, gave up guns that are only useful for murder (handguns, semi-automatics, etc) because they actually give a fuck about one another - perhaps that's the frontier culture.
(DIR) Post #AZf41oRzoQgNhkvXjU by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-09-11T15:14:27Z
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@ian @Hedgewizard Last time I checked the Australian top leadership seemed to be flushing things down the toilet rapidly in a number of respects, but we'll let that go for now.The situation with guns here is uniquely tied to the 2nd amendment, which creates an almost insurmountable procedural hurdle. Like the electoral college, these mechanisms were best effort creations of men trying their best, and in many respects the U.S. constitution is superior to those that exist in many other countries (the First Amendment, for example, has prevented a range of abuses, even when interpreted by conservative Supreme Courts).That a constitution created in the 18th century by men in a largely agrarian society is out of step in key respects in a 21st century technological urban society is not unexpected. The fact that the constitution is so difficult to amend or change was by design to avoid evil tampering, that too has its positive and negative aspects, as everyone knows.Sidenote: One of my personal heroes is Benjamin Franklin.
(DIR) Post #AZfGyQjyo8mGhm3YSe by ian@mckellar.social
2023-09-11T17:39:36Z
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@lauren @Hedgewizard The second amendment is a mediocre excuse. Look at the state of religion in political and public life given the first amendment. If parts of the constitution aren't fit for purpose it's relatively easy to change (compared to the Australian constitution for example), but there's no desire to make it fit for purpose.
(DIR) Post #AZfHXpwz4QPV1k1QyO by lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org
2023-09-11T17:45:57Z
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@ian @Hedgewizard The first amendment is likely to be the only firewall against draconian efforts of government to micromanage Internet content and require broad age verification mechanisms that track every user ultimately at every major website. Even the current Supreme Court appears to stand a fair chance of applying the first amendment in this manner. The First is double-edged to be sure, but without it the situation would be devastating. There has not been a ratified constitutional amendment in over 30 years. A primary reason is the requirement for 3/4 of the states to ratify, which in the current political environment (or even the environment of the recent past) is effectively impossible to attain.
(DIR) Post #AZfO8LtAOuoMET21Qm by ian@mckellar.social
2023-09-11T18:59:48Z
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@lauren @Hedgewizard Democracy is the only firewall against draconian governments. Instead of a strong democracy we have a first amendment that allows the populace to be misled and dark money to buy politicians. Meanwhile, with gerrymandering and voter suppression apparently protected by the constitution I'm skeptical of its virtues.