Douglas_Gilligan
Member since September 2026
Should U.S. presidential candidates be required to have previously held public office?
Only because of Trump, and at the point when this becomes law, he will be history. My understanding of the diagnostic process is that it produces fairly consistent results, regardless of who administers the tests.
Agreed. Most voters vote emotionally. It is through pain that they change. Upon Trump's second term, I knew it had to get worse before it could get better. The worse it gets, the more significant the change can be for the better. My point on the politization of the tests is that once Trump is out of power, there will be motivation to create the tests, and Republicans will point at Biden, while we point at Trump, and once the tests are in place, it will be harder to claim they are political.
I agree. We should not seek a 'normal'. We shouldseek CHANGE to correct a vdery broken system. It is like any 'arms race', like cons and hacking computers etc... There will always be "Black hats' trying to cheat or break the system. But that just means we need to make it as hard on them as possible. LOTS of things to do, , and the first step is to admit you have a problem, and then have the will to make the hard choices and fight for a complete answer. For instance we had a number fo safeguards, like the courts, so they corrupted the courts, especially SCOTUS. The current system is inherently corruptible, so we need to not just kludge a fix (by only adding more seats), we need to change the system: For instance, remove all judges who are obviously corrupted by bribes, and also judges with overt bias (making different choices depending on which side is contesting). Read the constitution for how to remove a judge (hint; first paragraph in article 3) for lacking "Good behaviour".
Haven't found the edit option yet. Also obviously LOTS more to the process of fixing all the parts of the system that have been deliberately broken.
Would you take part of your paycheck in cryptocurrency if your employer offered it?
Cryptocurrency is made up, unregulated, basically the current results of a massive gambling game, not based upon any reality. Sure, why not make someone rich with your money for absolutely no value to you. If a person actually wants cryptocurrency, they can buy it themselves. If they want stock investments (closer to horse racing), they can get a 401K. The only reason I can find for Cryptocurrency is to hide the transactions from the government. Get your money in cash. It is not unusual for mortgages and such other high priced bills to be paid in cash, to ensure there is no oops due to problems with your account, which can happen when you live paycheck to paycheck like about half the people.
SInce ~90% of what we do with banks these day, can be done online or at an ATM, why not an online bank account for each person, that is free, can have autodeposits, with a debit card with NO fees attached to it, not by any company. Currently Visa etc charge a fee. It gets complicated how much. A person can not be blacklisted from it (yeah, it is a real thing) and no overdraft or fees when you do not have enough, it is simply not enough. Sorry, have had troubles with banks and they seem to work hard at not giving service, so paranoid of losing any money you are not allowed to do many things. Like the Post office, simply make it a crime with significant punishments, and funding for enforcement, to do a theft against the bank, that most people just do not even try. My perspective is that there are always solutions, and a federal online bank seems to me to solve a number of problems a lot of people have. I do not like how banks sit in the middle and collect money from every transactions.
Would you rather work four 10-hour days or five 8-hour days?
The primary advantage is to enable more 'weekend' activities, which can also help boost the economy. Also it discourages the excessive mandatory and unpaid overtime too many companies pressure their workers to provide. Studies have shown that work over 40 hours per week results in actually less overall productivity (due no doubt to increased mistakes, burnout, lower motivation...).
I do agree. the study I heard about found that 36 hours per week was the optimal number for maximum results. Unfortunately management is usually too stupid to grasp these concepts. First, they are selected either from people who never worked the level of job where hard work, intelligence and attention to detail mattered, or they did do that job, but were not very good at it, which is why they were removed from that position, because a truly competent person is generally too valuable to be wasted. Read "The Peter Principle".
What should the U.S. do with its overall military spending?
While it is currently too high, it will cost us to undo the damage Trump and Hegeseth have done, plus we need to invest heavily into the new world of drones, both in the use of them, how to deploy them in the field, and also how to defend against them. It is an arms race that has barely begun. While on the subject of drones and budget, need to be VERY careful about making things that kill people autonomous. Very trecherous and slippery slope with the understanding that no AI should be making choices involving lives. I would rather trust old fashioned software, and very limited applications of AI for pattern matching. Drones include flying, walking, driving, boats and submarines.
Should the Summer Olympics have one permanent host city instead of rotating?
With a permanent host city, the facilities can be developed over the years perhaps with each nation contibuting to the fund. The Summer Olympics are a BIG deal, and most places struggle to do it right, and almost always fail to recoup their expenses. A permanent host can maintain some profits by holding conventions and perhaps having amusement parks (thinking Orlando). A host city needs a sizable airport, lots of hotel space and restaurants, reasonable local transportation for visitors, nice climate during summer. Good logistics. What is needed for the games themselves are lots of arenas and competition sites, the 'villages' for the various nation's teams. Support, including fiber otpics and networking infrastructure and camera mounting, locations for judges and media hosts. It could be most anywhere because with long term committment it makes sense to invest over time. Put it out for bids, just like they currently do, except with a set minumum number of times to host there.
Should the world agree to pause development of the most advanced AI systems?
AI as it is, is doomed to failure, because it is being sold (to investors and the public) as something it is not. AI is simply a software, based on kludgy brute force data and endless patching by software, that was designed to pass the turing test, to 'pass for human' in a conversation. It has no comprehension, no understanding, and zero compassion. It 'fakes' it based on software patches and what it was 'trained' on, but that training is modified (without oversight) over time as it gets exposed to more data. Having no understanding, it makes stuff up and is incapable of competent judgement. Few if any jobs do not allow for 'exception handling', meaning how to respond when the situation does not fit the procedure. AI does not handle this well. AI hallucinates, and this is built in to its nature.
Average US desk job pays ~40K, cost to company is 1.5 x 40K = 60K. Price point to compel companies to replace workers = 60K/2 = 30K per year. Amortize over ten years = 30K x 10 = 300K/worker replaced Current investment in AI, past and through this year = ~5 Trillion. 5T/300K = ~1.5Billion workers replaced and shoved out of the economy to avoid major bankruptcy of AI industry.
Should the U.S. lower the federal drinking age from 21 to 18?
It is a dangerous drug that directly affects the brain, and a not unreasonable compromise with Prohibition (which was famously repealed and which sets the regulation to the states). The Federal government pressures the states to set it at (a minimum) 21, and ties it to the Federal Highway funding to each state. 18 is the age of consent, to sign contracts and checks... Alcohol inherently negates judgement. For those who think 18 is too young for consent, it at least removes from 18 year olds a handicap to their thinking, giving them more time to develop better self control. Limiting the ease for getting drunk in public for a few years is unlikely to cause them great harm. We limit Political offices based on age, because of their presumed capability of judgement.
Should Washington, D.C. become the 51st U.S. state?
I find it offensive that any citizen should be denied proper representation in our congress, both House and Senate. Personally think we should raise to statehood both Puerto Rico and DC, with all the remaining territories included into DC's statehood. What is the justification for denying to them the respect, protection and rights we give all our other citizens? It was in our declaration of independence that it was 'bad' to have taxation without representation. FYI: Neither state would be our smallest, even before adding in the territories.
Why should it be considered a 'power grab' to give our citizens proper representation? The fact that they were mistreated by a certain party should not enter into it. Of COURSE Republicans will call it a power grab, because they are all about the power. Certainly Democrats should be motivated to do it, but that does not make it wrong.
Before Alaska and Hawaii it was 48. It started with 13. I am sure we can create a flag with 52 stars. Think of this, 52 = 13 x 4, that means 4 (a very round number) times our original 13.
In DC there are more residents than in Wyoming, which also "votes one way almost every election". And those votes are not balanced against the voters, the citizens who would vote 'the other way'. "Where's the line between representation and rigging the math."
Should former members of the U.S. Congress be permanently banned from becoming paid lobbyists?
Personally I am of the opinion that all professional lobbyists should be banned. It is simply a mechanism where the wealthy (including their corporations) can use their wealth to influence our government. It is another path where the wealth of the rich can drown out the voice of the poor. It becomes a path of corruption. We also have pathways for unlimited 'donations' to politicians, again where their wealth drowns out all other voices. We also currently have the major media companies owned and controlled by the very wealthy, controlling everything most people see and hear. If you allow lobbyists, I do not see why one group of people should be banned from an inherently corrupt practice. There can still be unpaid, volunteers, people with a mission and a message seeking the ear of their Representative and Senators. The various politicians can still reach out to businesses in their state for insight into their issues, but we should not formalize and invite corruption into our politics.
Should the U.S. lower the federal voting age from 18 to 16?
Young children can work in a family business, and before child labor laws even quite young children were working in factories. Generally it was not their choice. The 26th Amendment was approved because 18 year olds were being drafted and sent to war, or volunteering and going to war, yet could not vote, and so had no representation on matters affecting their life and death. As such, it became the defacto age of consent, when contracts etc can be signed. The years from 16 to 18 is a period of significant change in maturity for most people. While it is obvious some are more mature younger than 16, and adults are often less mature, the key thing about being an adult is being 'responsible for the consequences of your choices'. It is not 'earned', it simply is. Having to set an arbitrary age, 18 seemed like a reasonable balance. Setting it at 18 encourages most to finish their high school education, and does not place too great a burden or temptation on younger people.
Democracy is not based on the wisdom of the voters. It is at it's core, a virtual war. The intent is to avoid civil wars. Yes, we had one, and learned the lesson the hard way of how terrible civil wars are. You count up the bodies on both sides, and if it is close, it is not worth fighting because a war between two even sides is long, ugly and bloody. If it is not close, it is obvious which side would win, so why fight a losing battle. By having frequent elections, it gives us space to adjust and learn. If 18 year olds go off to war, clearly they should be counted in the virtual civil wars we hold regularly.
Do you store your eggs in the fridge or on the counter?
For store bought eggs, or fresh from the chicken and cleaned eggs, they should be stored in the fridge unless they are likely to be used up in days, with the house kept to a 'reasonable' temperature. If they are 'fresh from the chicken' with the other stuff that comes from that end of the chicken, they have a longer shelf life stored outside the fridge and should never be stored in the fridge until after they are cleaned. Otherwise the condensation in the fridge eases the path of the poop through the shell of the egg...
For a movie, do you prefer the theatrical cut or the extended director's cut?
Often the theatrical cut is trimmed for length so the theaters find it more attractive to show. If the director was good, I would rather see their entire vision, their finished product. If they were not good, trimming it is not likely to help.
Should professional sports teams be allowed to relocate to another city?
Professional sports is a business. As such I find the regulation of such by the federal government to be silly at best. I do find it offensive that there is effectively a monopoly that blocks players from having control over which business they work for.
Should political attack ads be banned from U.S. elections?
Attack can mean any ad that describes your opponent in an unfavorable manner. I would find it very difficult for instance to truthfully describe Trump in any manner other than 'unfavorable'. Rather I would propose that we outlaw LIES in our politics. We have made it a crime to slander or libel others, because lies that cause harm to another is seen as something we as a society have determined is harmful to our society. Lies in our politics cause harm on a much larger scale, for our elected officials have the power, in fact the responsibility to make choices with will affect the lives, or even end the lives of large numbers of people in our country. If they justify these choices with lies, or simply gain the position through the use of lies, clearly there is great harm being done. The challenge would be in how to punish in a meaningful way to discourage the practice and to make the determination in both an unbiased and timely manner so as to make a difference.
Should the United States move its national capital out of Washington, D.C.?
Rather I would clearly differentiate the Capitol, from the area known as Washington DC, or any other adjustments that would allow the residents of the area to become a state and have proper representation in congress. There have been constitutional arguments in the past to block DC statehood. Moving the Capital would result in the entire infrastructure of the Federal government centered in DC being compelled to move with it. While the Capital can be located anywhere, I see no reason for it to move.
Should the U.S. federal government cap how much landlords can raise rent each year?
Not sure this should (or even constitutionally can) belong to the Federal government. It currently belongs to the states which sometimes allow their cities to set those rules. The market can be very unfair and destructive, but until it is, can be allowed to see if it works. What can be done at the federal level is limiting banks and other interstate financial insititutions from hording houses etc... in order to 'manage' the housing market and milk it. I am not a fan of our finance industry which uses money to make money, adding no real value and simply milking people of their money, preventing the people from building wealth.
If there were to be requirements, I would make them requirements of disclosure, such as a verified public medical exam, not just from a personal doctor who is required to maintain patient privacy, which means they are compelled to lie if the patient demands it. Should include mental / personality / cognitive disorders. Should be updated yearly. The IRS should be compelled to release prior ten years of tax returns, updated yearly. FBI should be required to do a Security Clearance on each candidate in the primaries and general election, updated yearly. FBI should do a full audit of each president and Vice President, updated monthly, with release to the leaders of each party in both houses of congress in an effort to identify and prevent corruption.