The Michael A. Naso Institute of Comedy

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

51% of Nevada Republicans think prostitution should be legal. Only 31% have a favorable opinion of Sharron Angle

Are there things she won't do?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

there's only two things that come out of Oklahoma...

Sir, you are no Louis Gossett, Jr. (And I'm certainly not Richard Gere.)

but . . . I never said that!

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

LOL. When I saw this I first thought about Massachusetts.

Lol, me too.

I thought of the Koopa Troopa turtle from Mario.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=145163.msg3117939#msg3117939

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

how I've missed angus

Can someone translate what Hunstman just said?

Just like he said after it was "he doesn't understand the situation." However when I initially heard it I thought he butchered the last word (said something like "qingsheng" instead of qingkuang 情况） so someone gimme a link so I can hear it again.

Huntsman said "qingxing," which is the way you say 情况 in the south (Guangdong and Hong Kong, and maybe some in Taiwan use this term too).  Since Huntsman learned how to speak Chinese in Taiwan, it's not surprising he prefers southern vocabulary.  He said the sentence just right.

I was only in China twice, and the last time was two years ago, so my mandarin's a little rusty, but I thought he said, "You're a goddamned liar, Mitt.  I heard you order the spring roll platter and now that the waiter has brought it, you're claiming that you ordered the Mao Po Dou Fu." 

Anyway, I can't believe that none of youse are gonna bug the chinaman about this, seeing as how we have been doing his homework for the past five years.  I'm assuming his English is better than the guy's who writes the tests he has to take. 

More importantly, I found out that the slow-talking woman's name is Dianne Sawyer. 
 

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

The mormons shaped Lincoln county like a mirror of Utah! How disgusting!

If I had one chance to go back in time, and I could either go back and kill Hitler before he came to power or go back in time and shoot the NV GOP in the face, I would pick the latter.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Its a Nationalist idea...

Yep.

I would go so far to say its a right-wing thing, but it could be a left-wing thing too. Definitely an illiberal thing.

I mean, you have to understand that even American Liberalism != Left-Wing. American liberalism is about standing up to the man and using Uncle Sam as the referee and traditional Liberalism is standing up to the man and having no referee because Uncle Sam is one of "the men" , Left-Wing ideology is  about standing up to the man by replacing the "man" with  Rosie O Donnell. ...and for a reference, conservatism is about not giving a phuck that you are being kept down by the man because you wouldn't be able to make it without him and Right-Wing ideology is about "the man" being "the man".

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Allow me to use an analogy to explain where this forum's at right now.

In 1576 the Netherlands had been going trough a rough decade of rebellion and warfare. A coalition of Lutherans and Calvinists under William of Orange effectively controlled the North, and refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the 'Iron Duke' of Alva as the Governor in name of Philip II of Spain (while noone contested the legitimacy of Philip himself as sovereign). Alva was one of the most bloodthirsty rulers the 16 Provinces had ever known and the 1568 execution of the catholic Counts Egmont and Hoorne for their lack of fervour in squashing the 1566 Beeldenstorm had resulted in great unrest in the Southern half of the Netherlands. Yet, with some minor exceptions, there was no activity against the Spaniards on behalf of the Catholic nobility and burghers.

All of this changed when, in 1575, the Spanish army besieging Zierikzee on the Zealandish isle of Schouwen-Duiveland went beserk after payment was deferred one time too much. The resulting mutiny culminated in a massacre in Antwerp that would enter history books as the 'Spanish Fury'. The shocked nobility of the entire Netherlands rallied together and in 1576 all 16 provinces united in the Pacification of Ghent, an agreement that demanded the disappearance of all foreign troops from Netherlandic soil.

Ultimately religious differences and the advent of the widely respected Alexander Farnese of Parma as the new Governor would rip the General Union apart into the pro-Spanish Union of Atrecht and the Union of Utrecht/Closer Union, yet for that one moment the 16 provinces stood united, even some of the most prominently catholic and pro-Spanish politicians signed the Pacification and the North was irreparably lost for the Spanish crown.

Who will be our William of Orange? Will we stand together or will we be shredded apart and consumed by the fire we've unleashed?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Nah, everything is going exactly according to Mitt Romney's plan. He's following a "slow and steady" strategy and is currently on course to finally reach 100% support with Republican voters some time in late 2015, setting him up strongly for the 2016 primaries.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I am in a pickle. I'm attracted to this one girl, very much so, a grade below. She seems very friendly, but I'm fairly incompetent in reading her messages and gauging where she stands. Indeed we just sat next to each other and read a book together the other day, which I was just lost on- where does politeness end, and is it just a trap? I  can either become more overt or back out, and I'm leaning towards the latter- why bog yourself down before going to college. What do I do?

OK, kid - Inks is here to help.  First, quit talking about your pickle - if that's where your mind is going into this relationship, then you're screwed from the start (pun intended).

What grade are you in?  Is this like a junior-senior thing or freshman-sophomore?  Crap like that matters.  If you're heading to college in a couple months, then hey, get some free bananas with your cherry soda--you're Ron Paul!

Now - about reading her signs.  Sorry, kid, but reading a book with a female doesn't necessarily equal love that's meant to be.  If it did, then me and old lady Gladys at the library missed out on some true love about 15 years ago.

And you have to realize, most girls aren't in the game to be polite.  She must at least somewhat be interested in friendship or something.  If a girl is repulsed by you, you'll know it.  There's no such thing as politeness from Jr. High and High school girls.  Politeness is about as rare as an acne-free face in those cesspools of the young degenerate generation.

That being said, as Admiral Ackbar once taught us, if it smells like a duck, and tastes like a duck, it's probably a trap.

As for the college issue... how soon are you to attending such an institution of higher learning?  And you don't necessarily have to be bogged down... if both of you are just interested in some fun companionship before you leave, go for it - but make sure you both realize it's not gonna be a thing that lasts.  Getting into those types of relationships before you're ready leave you emotionally looking like Mason Verger, and the last thing you want is dogs chewing on your face.

So, take everything I said with a grain of salt, throw in some thyme and oregano, and you'll be breathing like an Italian Stallion by tomorrow.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

In return- I will listen to you. I don't shy away from criticism or debate. I have opponents in this campaign- all of whom I respect. I hope this will be a campaign about ideas and about leadership. Likewise- I respect the man I hope to be my predecessor- President Polnut. However... now is the time for leadership. People say the Fantasy board is dying...when I am President let's see if that is the case. You may not agree with me but I am sure you will LOVE to disagree with me- make me the Reagan to your Tip O'Neill as I've tried to be the Gingrich to Polnut's Clinton. The best government is a government where people of differnt ideologies have to come to the table and negotiate their differences-

an inversion of this lets us in on how banal and platitudinous it is.

I won't listen to you.  I will shy away from criticism and debate.  I do not respect, nor to I accept the legitimacy, of my opponents in this race.  I hope this will be a campaign centered on personalities rather than issues.  I do not respect the President, and think he has failed miserably and should resign.  Now is the time for appeasement and a more general chamelonism.  People claim that the Fantasy board is dying, it is, and this trend is irreversible, regardless of my success or failure in this election.  we are doomed and can only hope to go gracefully.  You may not agree with me, but you must act like you do, lest you be repressed and your opinions censored.  obey and do not think.  The best government is a government which I run and is entirely structured to cater to my whims and desires.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

すみません、でも、ｕｓｅｌｅｃｔｉｏｎａｔｌａｓ．ｏｒｇは英語のウェブサイトでございます。それに、ゴルフについてのウェブサイトくせに、政治についてのウェブサイトですわよ！

I am laughing so hard right now.

I laughed pretty hard as well.

It's times like these I wish I could read Japanese.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

The Mideast Gubernatorial: ZuWo v Tmth?

Left: Governor ZuWo (W-KY) announcing his re-election bid
Right: former Vice President Tmthforu94 (MCPR-IN) announcing formation of an exploratory committee

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

If I boycotted every business where I disagreed with the political views of those in charge, I might have to kill for my own food.

I really don't care what businesses think, short of "Hey, let's overthrow the republic."

I take it you don't eat at either Burger King or Dairy Queen then.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Howdy Leip-ers,
I've decided to put together a "circular letter" about wikidemocracy and ask around to see if anyone might want to add to it.  If it gets long enough I'd like to publish it as a book, not to make money, but just to interest future historians about what folks thought about this new form of government circa 2012 C.E.

There's various ways to think about wikidemocracy, but I like to imagine it as a really big wiki and town hall USA legislature,  225 million souls instead of the current 535. 

I'm pasting a copy of the letter I wrote below, if tacking your name on with your response to the letter sounds interesting to you, please send me an e-mail at    settdigger@gmail.com

Thanks for listening!

Robin Wyatt Dunn



----




Dear Folks,

Wikidemocracy in America:  what is it?

There are few forms of direct democracy operational as of August 2012, and they all (the initiative, the referendum, the recall) act as adjuncts to aristocracies. 

Wikidemoracry is the agora, again.  The agora was the marketplace, where Athenian aristocrats circa 400 B.C. hung out and governed.  Wikidemocracy in America would be the agora, again.  A real big agora.  Instead of 535 Congresspeople (100 Senators and 435 Representatives), we’d have about 225 million American citizens over 18, all citizen-legislators, logging on, signing in, drinking their coffee, writin’ them some good laws (and bad ones).

We are comfortable with aristacry for good reason:  it is in our genes.  Biologists tells us our ape cousins have well established hierarchies where some get more food than others, and take others’ food away when they want.  Some theorize this was useful when famine came along:  let the poor die, the rich live, life goes on.

Now we know better, we hope.  Now we know all men and women and transgendered people are created equal, and they have equal opportunities, let us hope, to exercise their God-given talents and pursue happiness.  For whatever reason, let’s just chalk it up to history, democratic institutions are under threat all over this Earth.  Maybe the threat isn’t big!  Maybe it’s just this latent infection that won’t get too bad.  But why not respond to this “mild cold” with a mighty overhaul, why not try a crazy-sounding 21st Century political health spa, the wikidemocracy.

So, a big agora.  Obviously, already unworkable!  Although I’ve never been to Switzerland, just looking at their beautiful democratic processes of gathering 10,000 bodies together to vote in person at special times is charming, and inefficient.

And yet, lest we all become modern hermits and never leave our homes, we clearly need a strong balance between town halls and committed political Internet networks, a system of wikidemocracies.  You could have your local, state, and federal wiki pages.  All waiting for your laws, and your votes.

The advantages:  your children can legislate without getting elected!  You can teach them how to write a law, even how to write a good law.  Then you can argue with your neighbor about it.  You get some skin in the game.  You can’t blame Washington if you’re the government!  Make Lincoln’s famous words come true in reality, not just in spirit.

The disadvantages:  mob rule!  Our ancestors feared it.  The chief bad thing about mobs is when they get angry they get stupid.  This is why we have the Supreme Court, which still today loyally protects the rights of minorities.  In any wikidemocracy where I was a citizen, I would want a strong Supreme Court, just like we got know, to protect against the nasty sides of crowds when they decide to bite someone (gays, blacks, Jews, Commies, whoever it might be).

Mob rule!  Mobs are dirty.  All kinds of colors of people.  We haven’t vetted them in advance.  That one-legged Gypsy next door just had another goddamned baby.  In 18 years that goddamned Gypsy kid will be legislating in a wikidemocracy whether you like it or not.  They, if they’re a citizen, will be able to write and vote on laws in a wiki.

Mob rule!  Wow, there’s a lot of us.  225 million!   Multiply 535 (the current size of our legislature) by about 420,000, and there you’d have it.  So just stop to think:  every one of those 535 people we elected has the power to govern 420,000 people with their pen.  Why did we give them so much power?  The writers of the Constitution knew that historical republics were easily corrupted by foreign gifts, and so wrote down that Congressmen shouldn’t be allowed to receive them.  But how many “gifts” do they get from corporations now?  How many gifts do they have to get just to get re-elected?

And that’s the big gain in a Wiki-D, folks.  No more elections for Congress.  No more representatives.  You represent yourself.

Now remember, there are lots of ways to implement this.  We could have proxies, in at least two forms.  You want to keep your representative?  Okay, fine.  Designate your voting privilges as such on the wiki, put a check mark next to Darrel Issa’s name and select “all votes” or something and you never have to legislate even once.  But Issa, who might once have had a million constituents, might now only have seventeen.  Or he might even have more!  God knows, wikidemocracy is crazy enough, and the American people are crazy enough, maybe Congress would actually shrink!  And everyone would designate Obama their proxy, and he could become Emperor.  Another version of a proxy would be to have a “voting profile” of some kind that you could activate, if you were lazy, and then change later when you wanted.  God knows they’ve written enough lines of code to determine what you like to buy online, we could certainly examine what you like to vote on online.

Another cool structural function of a wikidemocracy was proposed by the Swedes, in the form of tug-of-war voting.  In this system, a bill never really leaves the floor.  You can vote on it forever.  But at some point, it reaches a critical mass (whatever the magical number is) where enough people have voted that it acquires teeth, and it goes over for the President’s signature.  (Do we want to leave the President the veto?  Think of how many laws he’s going to be signing!)

Mob rule!  Chaos, people will say.  I can hear Fox News chanting about it now, declaiming the virtues of nice, sane oligarchies.  Yeah, it’s messy.  But it would let us put our apathy aside.  It wouldn’t let us say “well I voted for the other guy.”  If you’re not legislating, you’re just sitting on your ass.

- -

The Technocrats and the Aristocrats

Even if our Founding Fathers crawled out of their graves tomorrow and gaveled in a New Constitutional Convention tomorrow and we signed it into law the same day, we’d still have rich and poor.  We’d still have educated and uneducated.

Rich people have time on their hands, and money to buy others’ time.  And technocrats have hard-won knowledge of how systems work.  They make government go, they grease those wheels and keep the lights on and keep the mail trucks fueled while our elected politicians glad hand each other and worry about terrorism.  We gonna need those technocrats.  They ain’t goin’ nowhere.

Time is a lot more complicated.  I don’t know why New England states never did manage to agree to have just a few paid days off a year to go to town hall meetings, but they didn’t.  I’m guessing they were just too afraid.  In the old capital/ labor conflict, capital won again.

So we’d need time.  One day off a month, for starters.  Paid out of the U.S. Treasury.  If you’re a hard-core legislator, sure, do it in your free time too, but that one day could be holy, if we wanted it to be.  sh**t, make it two.  Think how much we could change, add to the GNP with our collective spirit, how much we’d invest in the future of our country with those days off.

People are getting used to Wikipedia.  They’re getting used to Facebook.  People like democracy.  There’s a million details to argue over, some vital and some less so, but still before us is the simpler question:  why do it?  And why not?  Smart people remain unconvinced.  So let’s have us a circular letter, in honor of our ancestors.

Sincerely yours,

Robin Wyatt Dunn
Los Angeles, Calif.
August 13, 2012

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

It does, which is why I believe that the true nature of Satan's right hand man is revealed before election day.

Three-and-a-half years have already passed.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

There's nothing contradictory about a socially conservative libertarian.

Nothing contradictory at all about someone calling themselves part of an ideology that believes in personal freedom as well as one that attempts to ban such personal freedom?

Depending on how it's defined, social conservatism doesn't necessarily involve banning things.
Now, back to the funny . . .

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I remember the first time my dad saw Alan Keyes on television and he turned to me and said "Where is that guy an ambassador to and how the he!! are we not at war with them?"

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I just read the first 111 pages of this thread and have come to the conclusion that only someone with no friends would read the first 111 pages of this thread.

On the contrary, only someone with many friends on the Atlas forum would want to read the first 111 pages of this thread

but I must ask, what's wrong with pages 112, 113, etc. ?