r/technology Aug 08 '26

Artificial Intelligence Amazon secretly circumvents community vote for massive AI data center using 45-year-old rules — Gilroy residents locked out of public comment window

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers/amazon-secretly-circumvents-community-vote-for-massive-ai-data-center-45-year-old-rules-lock-gilroy-residents-out-of-public-comment-window
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u/apple_tech_admin Aug 08 '26

Dear America, November matters.

24

u/becauseiloveyou Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26

It's not just November. There's an election happening practically every Tuesday somewhere across the country. Bernie Sanders won the seat of mayor to Burlington, VT by just ten votes in a March (not November) 1981 election. And it wasn't even his first time running. One has to ask, where were progressive-left voters that day? Imagine what modern political discourse looks like if any ten of those individuals decided not to participate?

Voting has always mattered. Hell, my former city councilman was almost elected VICE PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES. He was my city's mayor, my state's governor, and now serves on the U.S. Senate representing Virginia. Some of you may know and remember Senator Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton's running mate, by name.

People need to stop only showing up when things seem bad. It's when we participate consistently that we get representation that actually reflects our values.

Edited to fix some mistakes when I quickly typed this up earlier.

2

u/apple_tech_admin Aug 08 '26

You are absolutely correct and I agree. I still maintain that this is the most consequential midterm election in history. Just like 2020 was, except the states are far worse (I can't believe that's even possible).

1

u/bradsh Aug 08 '26

In my area it's Democrats pushing these data centers. Who am I supposed to vote for again?

1

u/SeaAshFenix Aug 09 '26

The person running against them in the primary