h a l f b a k e r yYou could have thought of that.
add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random
news, help, about, links, report a problem
browse anonymously,
or get an account
and write.
register,
|
|
|
Please log in.
Before you can vote, you need to register.
Please log in or create an account.
|
Bureau Of Citizen Compliance
A prank to propose the absolute worst government agency possible to draw out supporters so we know who the fascists among us are. | |
The proposed Bureau Of Citizen Compliance would:
Outlaw all individual rights to be replaced on a case by case
basis by BCC courts and officers.
Require that all communications be monitored, reviewed
and
approved at all times.
Score people on their attitude towards the BCC on a 1 to 10
scale, scores below 3 requiring "education".
Etc, you get the idea.
Propose this horrible fascist governing body then reveal it
was
all a stunt to see who the bad guys are among us.
Then create the Bad Guy Evaluation And Re-education
Bureau
and... oh, wait...
"After the Ruins"
https://www.amazon....thern/dp/0859894916
Primarily about agriculture rather than dèminage, but interesting. [8th of 7, Jan 29 2020]
Draftee President
Draftee_20President
By a bright eyed young doctorremulac3. [doctorremulac3, Jan 30 2020]
Draft First Term Reps
Draft_20First_20Term_20Representatives
[theircompetitor, Jan 30 2020]
[link]
|
| |
ok, [dr], why don't you tell us exactly how you got the Woke
Party's platform for President? |
|
| |
I've learned to mask my criticism of the new democrat
party by describing them critically without naming them. |
|
| |
Whichever party is out of power is the one that favors free
speech. Meanwhile BOTH parties favor corporate control,
corporate welfare, increased government regulation, more
government spending power, a larger military, tax loopholes
and de-facto lower taxes for the wealthiest people, massive
agricultural subsidies, massive foreign aid to Israel, and the
declaration of emergency after emergency to tie it all
together. |
|
| |
Don't forget never ending wars for peace. |
|
| |
// Meanwhile BOTH parties favor corporate control,
corporate welfare, increased government regulation,
more government spending power, a larger military, tax
loopholes and de-facto lower taxes for the wealthiest
people, massive agricultural subsidies, massive foreign
aid to Israel, and the declaration of emergency after
emergency to tie it all together.// |
|
| |
We have a conspiracy theorist in isle 9, dispatching... |
|
| |
I think you're overshooting there, if on nothing else than
increased government regulation (though I suppose tariffs
can be stretched to point that way). And that "massive
foreign aid to Israel" better not be a dog whistle. |
|
| |
Although I think we're being a bit unfair to the
military
industrial complex and associated big money
interests
that profit from it. The world was a horrible place
before
we all got together and got rid of the Kaiser in
Germany
and broke up the Ottoman empire establishing the
garden
of Eden that is the modern middle east today. |
|
| |
It was vitally important that farm boys from Iowa
died in
the trenches of Belleau Wood to protect their
families
back home and the future of America from this
imminent
threat with their pointy helmets and weird
language. It
was also the "War To End All Wars" (tm, copyright
all rights reserved) and it worked
great. Been nothing but peace since then. |
|
| |
Yes,
there
were a couple of little skirmishes where some
people got
hurt, WW2, Korean War, Vietnam War, Yom Kippur
War,
Iran Iraq War, Persian Gulf War, Afghanistan War,
Iraq War
2 (Saddam's Revenge), Syrian Civil War but aside
from
that WW1 really worked to bring about world
peace. |
|
| |
(Christ doc, save some sarcasm for the rest of us.) |
|
| |
// save some sarcasm for the rest of us // |
|
| |
<Gratuitous and unnecessary pedantry> |
|
| |
The "Great War" was in many ways quite useful. |
|
| |
In just four years it transformed aviation from a technological curiosity to a major economic force. Without the pressure of conflict, and the lavish funding, it would have taken decades to achieve the same thing. |
|
| |
It also marked the true genesis of the ascendancy of the internal combustion engine over the horse. |
|
| |
The resultant regime change in Europe initiated a useful amount of social "spring cleaning". |
|
| |
Sadly, thanks to the baleful influence of that bleating idealist Wilson, the krauts were not stuffed into a small crate and the lid nailed firmly down; hence the extensive Unnecessary Unpleasantness two decades later. |
|
| |
If Americans had truly valued the lives of their sons and brothers who died at Belleau Wood, and so many other places, they would have used their leverage to sort out the ivans and the krauts once and for all, instead of believing that any institution not backed by massive lethal force could achieve anything useful. Never works. Never has, never will. |
|
| |
"Nothing is ever gained at the conference table that could not be taken and held on the battlefield". |
|
| |
I don't understand the idea, specifically how the prank
element identifies who the real bad guys are? |
|
| |
It works exactly the same as any election for public office. |
|
| |
You create an institution to which appeals to the very worst instincts of humans. Those that successfully apply are then known by their own admission to be venal, worthless lying creeps who are only out for what they can get, and thus can be safely put up against the wall and shot without trial when the Revolution comes. |
|
| |
//Those that successfully apply// |
|
| |
I'm sure it's been covered, but I'm all for an involuntary
political class. Nominated like jury duty, with perhaps a
little more selectivity. |
|
| |
With luck, it would foster leadership by reasonable humans.
They'll be happy just to get through it without nuking
anything and making the neighbors hate them. |
|
| |
//"War To End All Wars" (tm, copyright all rights
reserved) and it worked great// |
|
| |
In 1913 dollars, the allies spent ~$140 billion on WW1, or
2.5 trillion in year-2000 dollars. If we compare that to
nowadays: we've spent $2.4 trillion on the Iraq-
Afghanistan mess, and 1 trillion developing a single plane. |
|
| |
Clearly, WW1 was too great a bargain not to have. I'll bet
its already in net profit if you count the movies, books,
endless poetry and increased agricultural output of the
explosively fertilized French countryside. |
|
| |
// WW1 was too great a bargain not to have. // |
|
| |
Exactly. Since a war was inevitable given the geopolitical situation ("it was too much effort not to have a war") it made perfect sense to have one, in an area that didn't matter very much ; france, and Belgium (a country specifically designed as a place to have wars in). |
|
| |
// increased agricultural output of the explosively fertilized French countryside. // |
|
| |
The "Zones Rouges" are now very small. |
|
| |
" I'm sure it's been covered, but I'm all for an involuntary political class. Nominated like jury duty, with perhaps a little more selectivity. |
|
| |
With luck, it would foster leadership by reasonable humans. They'll be happy just to get through it without nuking anything and making the neighbors hate them. " |
|
| |
Don't forget the Frank Herbert / Dosadi style court rules, where the winner has to dispatch the loser with a stone knife. |
|
| |
//conspiracy theorist in isle 9// |
|
| |
I don't think [Voice] alleged conspiracy, only convergence -
which, for the period from about 1992 up until 2016, was a fair
call. See "Third Way", "End of History", etc. |
|
| |
// the winner has to dispatch the loser with a stone knife // |
|
| |
That has always struck us as somewhat dull and unimaginative. Bludgeoning with a stone axe is far more satisfactory. |
|
| |
It would certainly reduce the incidence of spurious lawsuits and prosecutions. If the jury find the defendant "Not Guilty", and the defendant then gets to work over the prosecuting council with a selection of primitive weapons, Court TV would really hit the top of the ratings. |
|
| |
It's a great pity that Trial by Combat has been abandoned. |
|
| |
//I'm sure it's been covered, but I'm all for an
involuntary political class. Nominated like jury duty,
with perhaps a little more selectivity.// |
|
| |
I believe this might have been my first idea on this
site after seeing that custard filled speed bumps had
already been thought of. (link) Note the brutal
newbie beating I took regarding various HB protocols. |
|
| |
predated of course by Draft First Term Reps :) |
|
| |
// the brutal newbie beating I took // |
|
| |
Yes, but that happens to everyone. It's not like you were singled out for some sort of special treatment on that occasion. |
|
| |
All the subsequent occasions, yes; you were indeed singled out, and of course will be again in the future. So it goes. That's just the Universe's way of telling you "Give it up, you're a loser". |
|
| |
back when [8th] started, they had to cross the singularity to
walk to school, both ways |
|
| |
//That's just the Universe's way of telling you "Give it
up, you're a loser"// |
|
| |
//had to cross the singularity to walk to school, both ways// |
|
| |
Claims of it being uphill in both directions are falling on
deaf ears given that the maximum distance between any
two topological reference points is 0. |
|
| |
//predated of course by Draft First Term Reps// |
|
| |
The breathless tones of David Attenborough could then describe
this predation. It would make for compelling viewing - a good
companion piece to the edgy domestic sit-com "Eat Prey, Love". |
|
| |
//that "massive foreign aid to Israel" better not be a dog whistle.// |
|
| |
It's not. If I have something to say that will offend people I say it anyway. Like this: Israel has too much influence in American politics. Not to say that 80% of the donated money isn't just the military-industrial complex in disguise, in the actual form of donating military hardware. We should NOT be paying for Israel to build impregnable walls and annex land. And the way they treat the Palestinians is beyond disgraceful. Apartheid is unacceptable no matter who is doing it. |
|
| |
//conspiracy theorist// Really? Seriously?? These are policies both parties have been pushing openly and in speeches for the past 30 years! It's been broadcast on C-span! |
|
| |
//Israel has too much influence in American politics.//
pretty close to a dog whistle, certainly by the standards
that are typically used today. |
|
| |
Israeli politics are even more divided than US politics. |
|
| |
If what you're trying to say is that American policy tends
to favor Israel, then I would say it does appear to be the
case, though plenty of Israelis would disagree when it
comes to say, Bush 41 or certainly Carter. |
|
| |
If what you're saying is that 80% of the aid is spent on US
defense contractors, certainly. |
|
| |
The Palestinians -- certainly since the PLO returned from
Tunis -- are largely responsible for their own situation but
I suppose we can disagree on that. |
|
| |
But when you say "too much" it immediately invites the
question compared to what? Why is it too much? If the
answer behind the answer is the typical one", then it
would
have to be called a dog whistle. |
|
| |
Compared to the level of influence almost any other country has over American politics, and compared to the amount of influence it should have. Just last year we almost went to war with Syria for no reason that would have benefited America. |
|
| |
Latvia is in NATO. We're obligated to start WWIII if the
Russians come in. |
|
| |
Latvia as as relevant in your life as Wonder Woman? I use
that for illustration purposes only. I don't want this to
become a troll debate. |
|
| |
Are you literally high on illicit drugs? |
|
| |
Is that an option, then ? Sounds like it's worth a try. |
|
| |
[Voice] I'm trying, without being nasty, and without making
any assumptions about you, to explain to you that this
phrase is offensive. Carry on, by all means, whether it's
Sanders or Soros or Bloomberg, or Kushner, or Miller, we're in
charge
anyway. |
|
| |
See, that's a joke. Now you try it... |
|
| |
"Three conspiracy theorists walk into a bar ... ", you mean ? |
|
| |
//this phrase is offensive// What phrase? I'm not snarking, I really have no idea what phrase I said that is offensive. I want to know so I can say it more frequently. |
|
| |
Edit: I get it now, you don't like to hear the stone solid fact that Israel has too much influence in American politics. Watch out, if you keep supporting Israel's evil activities I might say the Z word. Now call me racist. |
|
| |
//we're in charge// who is "we"? |
|
| |
//that's a joke. Now you try it// |
|
| |
They're everywhere, stealing power, in control of every industry, and they're not even trying to hide it. They run the media, the government, and they control EVERYTHING. They own the economy. They're not hard to spot once you see the signs. The hair, the ears.... That's right, boomers are the scourge of our civilization. |
|
| |
I don't know which is more concerning... a world where
the majority of voters read only mainstream corporation-
controlled news, or a world where the majority of voters
read only politically-incorrect memes. |
|
| |
What is important is that people remain free: free to
speak, associate, and accumulate wealth. It used to be
that freedom was straightforward: simply move to the
frontier and live self-sufficiently. Unfortunately there are
no more frontiers anymore, merely vast swathes of
undeveloped land where self-sufficiency is not feasible
for most people. Small-holder farmers must be gentleman
farmers, because small-hold farming doesn't pay the rent
these days. The world has become a single city, with
many adjacent districts. As a result, the concept of
liberty changes to that which is appropriate for city
living: freedoms are curtailed so as not to threaten the
neighbors. I don't know what the future has in store. |
|
| |
"We" is the title of a book by Ron Aronson. In that context, "we"
are not an all-pervasive conspiracy - however, certain aspects of
the way this "we" organised and defined itself were always likely
to provoke alienation and paranoia among the "not-we". |
|
| |
Contrast the warning by H G Wells in The Open Conspiracy on
the subject of "we" (beginning of chapter 13). |
|
| |