Oh, is that what this is? Here I was thinking they "shipped Amazon Prime" to people and thought "well that's bad grammar but... what did they actually ship using Prime?"
I honestly can't wrap my head around this. If I emigrated elsewhere to flee this shit-show, I would absolutely help other people cross whatever borders I did.
You are living up to, and by my estimation exceeding, your username. Sorry to hear you had a rough childhood. Glad to hear that things are better - you sound like an awesome host.
I'm inclined to agree. I think the best path through would be to focus on laws that benefit multiple minor players that have a seat at the table.
Antitrust laws in general are a good example. These function at the direct expense of big monopolies, but are exactly what companies need if they want in on what was monopolized. And in the case of breaking a monopoly down, the resulting "baby" companies given more power, growth opportunity, hiring opportunities (job growth) and money making potential than the parent. This can also spur economic growth for all the fat cats out there by creating many new investment and hiring potentials. Overall, if you can get past the monopoly itself (read: take the ball away from your billionaire of choice), everyone else involved stands to benefit.
There may be other strategies, but I can't think of any right now. I think the key is to tip the scale in favor of more favorable outcomes, then repeat that a few more times, achieving incremental progress along the way. Doctorow outlines the ideal end state for all this, but it's up to everyone else to figure out how to get there.
While I don't like the idea of embracing capital to improve things, the whole system is currently run this way. Standing with other monied interests that are aligned with the same goal might be the only way to go.
Just yesterday, Mrs. Warp Core was trying to enroll with an online service. The self-service email confirmation link refused to function correctly in Firefox on a desktop operating system (Windows in this case). It worked flawlessly on Firefox+iOS. Said link also shuttled the user straight off to the phone app.
I'll add that nearly ever other aspect of their public facing web, including the online chat support, worked flawlessly everywhere I tried it. This all just reeked of hostile design.
When asked about why this is, I simply said:
The browser provides good security and choice for the user. Apps provide good security and control for the vendor.
Ukraine has been converting these to infantry support weapons by adding a bipod, carry handle, shoulder stock, gigantic muzzle break(to make recoil bearable), new handle and new trigger assembly.
That laundry list of upgrades makes me appreciate how hard it must be to machine a good receiver and barrel for something like this; those are practically the only parts not listed.
Honestly, I'm just occasionally concerned with normal spiders "wearing" my pants right before I try to put them on.
To all the arachnophobes that read this: I'm very sorry.