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KesterDraconis
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So Tdep is Explosionsandfire on Youtube? I'm a big fan of the channel! (MrLittleLawyer on Youtube) Yes, I recognized the laboratory.
On this issue I have to agree with Zombie however. People these days wish to live in utopian safety, and will more quickly rely on government action
to achieve that end than themselves and their own responsibility.
Now, I would like everyone to interpret the following remarks properly, in context of my situation. I know MANY police officers, the reason for my
youtube name is because my father is a lawyer working for the government. I've met and know (by that I mean talk often with) so many LEOs I can't
count them all. I've sat in a lounge room with several of them more than once listening to stories about drug arrests and more.
Almost all have treated me fairly and kindly, but despite this I have not found reason to trust them. Rather, I've found reason only to respect them.
Its sad but it is true. Any one of them would arrest me for some charge or search my house and laboratory. The very strong sense of duty which would
also make them lay down their lives for me, would also compel them to attack me if ordered. Its a very blind ideal that they follow, so that even the
ones that aren't pigs with power (of which there are a few) are still dangerous to the common people. Especially when they have been convinced, for
example, that they are actively engaged in a war (like the "war" on drugs) or that they face so great a threat that only their duty to the state
matters (terrorism).
Even my dad has trouble with understanding why the mindset of many LEOs is wrong, or why its a good thing that they won't be given military surplus
anymore. It wasn't until I showed him pictures of Boston after the bombing, with police officers in full camouflage in the streets, that he quietly
said "Oh...no I don't support that, they look like US army!"
The dutiful mindset of good LEOs, mixed with the pigs, mixed with peoples wish to live in utopia in this day and age, combined with politicians who
only want to have power through appeasement, has lead to our current situation. A situation where nobody cares about fundamental rights, about what
freedom truly means, or why its there. Rather, everything has become a massive Gordian knot of regulations and laws, and it continues to become worse.
DUI checkpoints are legal because they aren't "so unreasonable an invasion of privacy" that they are illegal, even though they still are an invasion
of privacy and the Constitution does not allow for exceptions, men in black coats decided to think otherwise, which is not their authority to do. The
draft, effectively making every male in this country a reserve military member, supports involuntary servitude, yet again men in black coats decided
that servitude that is not voluntary is not involuntary servitude.
Understand also, I have nothing against honorable judges. My father also wore one of those black coats for a while (he decided he didn't like the job
after a while, I guess he didn't know what he was getting into). What I am against is dishonorable judges, liars and cheats, who are all too common
in society. Men and women of power who look down upon the little guy with contempt.
The government has gone out of control and continues to do so. As someone who still holds to old ideas of what liberty is and its role in free
societies, this pains and grieves me. There is little to do though, for now the masses rest only a little while longer, but the lion is in the
streets, its in the open square, yet as a door turns on its hinges, so do the lazy masses wishing for sleep in their dream world. Perhaps someday we
will all awake and understand again, or perhaps we will, like one man once warned his own generation away form doing, let this current world built on
centuries of struggle and the blood of freedom fighters, be plunged into a thousand years of darkness.
Just my 2 cents.
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Loptr
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Quote: Originally posted by KesterDraconis  | So Tdep is Explosionsandfire on Youtube? I'm a big fan of the channel! (MrLittleLawyer on Youtube) Yes, I recognized the laboratory.
On this issue I have to agree with Zombie however. People these days wish to live in utopian safety, and will more quickly rely on government action
to achieve that end than themselves and their own responsibility.
Now, I would like everyone to interpret the following remarks properly, in context of my situation. I know MANY police officers, the reason for my
youtube name is because my father is a lawyer working for the government. I've met and know (by that I mean talk often with) so many LEOs I can't
count them all. I've sat in a lounge room with several of them more than once listening to stories about drug arrests and more.
Almost all have treated me fairly and kindly, but despite this I have not found reason to trust them. Rather, I've found reason only to respect them.
Its sad but it is true. Any one of them would arrest me for some charge or search my house and laboratory. The very strong sense of duty which would
also make them lay down their lives for me, would also compel them to attack me if ordered. Its a very blind ideal that they follow, so that even the
ones that aren't pigs with power (of which there are a few) are still dangerous to the common people. Especially when they have been convinced, for
example, that they are actively engaged in a war (like the "war" on drugs) or that they face so great a threat that only their duty to the state
matters (terrorism).
Even my dad has trouble with understanding why the mindset of many LEOs is wrong, or why its a good thing that they won't be given military surplus
anymore. It wasn't until I showed him pictures of Boston after the bombing, with police officers in full camouflage in the streets, that he quietly
said "Oh...no I don't support that, they look like US army!"
The dutiful mindset of good LEOs, mixed with the pigs, mixed with peoples wish to live in utopia in this day and age, combined with politicians who
only want to have power through appeasement, has lead to our current situation. A situation where nobody cares about fundamental rights, about what
freedom truly means, or why its there. Rather, everything has become a massive Gordian knot of regulations and laws, and it continues to become worse.
DUI checkpoints are legal because they aren't "so unreasonable an invasion of privacy" that they are illegal, even though they still are an invasion
of privacy and the Constitution does not allow for exceptions, men in black coats decided to think otherwise, which is not their authority to do. The
draft, effectively making every male in this country a reserve military member, supports involuntary servitude, yet again men in black coats decided
that servitude that is not voluntary is not involuntary servitude.
Understand also, I have nothing against honorable judges. My father also wore one of those black coats for a while (he decided he didn't like the job
after a while, I guess he didn't know what he was getting into). What I am against is dishonorable judges, liars and cheats, who are all too common
in society. Men and women of power who look down upon the little guy with contempt.
The government has gone out of control and continues to do so. As someone who still holds to old ideas of what liberty is and its role in free
societies, this pains and grieves me. There is little to do though, for now the masses rest only a little while longer, but the lion is in the
streets, its in the open square, yet as a door turns on its hinges, so do the lazy masses wishing for sleep in their dream world. Perhaps someday we
will all awake and understand again, or perhaps we will, like one man once warned his own generation away form doing, let this current world built on
centuries of struggle and the blood of freedom fighters, be plunged into a thousand years of darkness.
Just my 2 cents. |
This is so weird! I realized that Tdep was explosions&fire last night too, so I immediately sent him a message last night to see if it was true.
lol
I recognized the bench from the picture in his videos.
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Zombie
Forum Hillbilly
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Tdep... You're soooo screwed. Time to relocate the Bat Cave.
They tried to have me "put to sleep" so I came back to return the favor.
Zom.
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Tdep
National Hazard
Posts: 519
Registered: 31-1-2013
Location: Laser broken since Feb 2020 lol
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Mood: PhD is done! It isn't good but it's over lol
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Wow people recognize my lab, i'm somewhat honoured haha.
Can't imagine what the reaction would have been had the police showed up when i'm hanging with friends. And Zombie, if you want to build me another Bat Cave, i'll let you teach me Constitutional rights any day of the week.
Although Wikipedia informs me I have no constitutional rights. Ah, that's probably why I never learned it in high school! | Quote: |
Australia is the only Western democratic country with neither a constitutional nor federal legislative bill of rights to protect its citizens
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[Edited on 20-6-2015 by Tdep]
[Edited on 20-6-2015 by Tdep]
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fabio5546
Harmless
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Registered: 12-6-2015
Location: Brazil
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| Quote: Originally posted by Zombie | Why do you think they call me Zombie sir?
I've had to fight (fists or words) my entire life. You get tired of seeing abuses every day for decades, and I live a relatively peaceful life. It's
all the little things like someone hitting a kid or beating a dog, and I have to pay for their welfare to support them.
The same drunk everyday at the same bar, and yet he NEVER catches a DUI. The dope dealer that doesn't get busted because he's the local deputies son.
The local deputy that gets a misdemeanor charge after being caught red handed stealing from local boat storage yards.
The city commissioner that passes zoning to help friends, and gets paid on both ends to do so.
The uncle of another commissioner that builds 8 buildings on one property without a single permit.
The mother of the Chief of police that gets free asphalt on her driveway. The NEW chief that retires after 2 years, and collects a pension on MY dime.
The local hardware or IGA that sell at triple the price because the next closest stores are a 40 mile trip.
Knock Knock!
Who's there?
I KNOW my attitude sucks. I'm the one that lives with it. All day every day. Everywhere I look.
I've been looking for a venue to help correct all this crap. If anyone has a suggestion... I'm all ears, and ready.
[Edited on 6-16-2015 by Zombie] |
Sorry, but NEVER EVER compare kids with dogs man! This is another sick thing in our "new society". As young couples never wanna have kids, because
they want to live in Utopia (make carrer first [a yate, bentley and private airplane], then thinking about kids), they tend to see dogs with the same
value as kids. This is soooooo sick and hypocritical, did you know that there are more chicken than people on earth and all males are slaughtered
after birth, because they are useless for the industrie? Do you know how cattle gets slaughtered in Jewish slaughterhouses to be kosher? This is all
soooo sick, but nearly noboby cares. BUT if you spank a fucking dog(even to educate - and no, it's not possible to educate a dog just talking nicely
to him), people would film you on the streets and put it on Youtube or make a protest in front of your house or something. Sick sick Utopia we are
creating for ourselfes!
With the rest I fully agree with with you, but this comparison, I dont like at all!!!
Funny that Explosions&Fire is your channel Tdep, I know it for a while... Thumbs up 
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KesterDraconis
Hazard to Self
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Registered: 27-3-2015
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| Quote: Originally posted by Tdep | Wow people recognize my lab, i'm somewhat honoured haha.
Can't imagine what the reaction would have been had the police showed up when i'm hanging with friends. And Zombie, if you want to build me another Bat Cave, i'll let you teach me Constitutional rights any day of the week.
Although Wikipedia informs me I have no constitutional rights. Ah, that's probably why I never learned it in high school! |
I loved the sodium explosion videos by the way. Even if the drone footage had its problems  .
That said, constitutional rights aren't just issues of the constitution. They are truths held self evident by the people, not granted by the
government or the constitution. Therefore, its not a question of whether or not you have them, you do (as every human being does), you simply choose
not to accept them/lay claim them. Which you can do of course, however, you simply can't keep others from doing the same.
I mean, what freedom and rights as concepts are quite well defined, most people just don't choose to fully understand them. Hence we have people
saying "France is free, Russia is free, Germany is free etc etc etc" when in fact its very hard to call any of these free societies, and truly free
societies are few in number (if not non-existent, I don't really count my own country, the US, anymore) .
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macckone
Dispenser of practical lab wisdom
Posts: 2168
Registered: 1-3-2013
Location: Over a mile high
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Anarchy is the only true freedom.
But it isn't stable.
Somalia and Guatemala are examples
of countries with little to no centralized
government. Of course gangs and warlords
have stepped in to fill the power vacuum in
both countries. They are unlikely to stop
you from doing anything that doesn't
hinder their agenda. Of course they may
also randomly kill you for entertainment.
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Varmint
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Praxichys:
I find it humorous (not really, let's say both typical and disturbing instead) that you state "91% of small cases are fudged in some way", and accept
it as fact.
As if "fudged" is the norm so we best figure out how to roll over in the most inviting way.
The problem Zombie eludes to, the problem Blogfast mentions, the problem EVERY SINGLE PATRIOT world-wide should be worried about is the perception
that "91% fudged" is acceptable and normal.
Law enforcement's edict is to "serve and protect", and that is to serve the populace and protect the populace, not act as the government's Storm
Troopers.
In the US, we are specifically protected by the Constitution from unreasonable search and seizure. Well, that's the way its supposed to be, but since
the sheep have decided to let law enforcement exceed its constitutional limits time and time again, what we have is the current situation where
ordering glass is "reasonable suspicion".
For any US citizen, I highly suggest supplementing your knowledge of the Constitution by reading the Federalist Papers. These are a collection of
notes, musings, "thinking out loud" from the framers for WHY the Constitution and Bill Of Rights are what they are, and why certain words were used in
lieu of others in those documents.
Since this thread tepidly touched on the second amendment, this needs mentioning: Many legislators who portend (pretend?) to be advocates of the 2nd
amendment proclaim their "unwavering support for the right to hunt and for personal self defense". Well, that may be just fine, but it has absolutely
nothing to do with why the 2nd amendment exists. The 2nd amendment exists solely to provide the populace the means to take up arms against the
government if and when the government crosses the bridge to tyranny.
Now there are those who will scream with horror at the very thought of people taking up arms against the government, but don't take it out on me, take
it out on the framers of the Constitution and Bill Of Rights, as there can be no doubt of any kind what the intent of the 2nd amendment was. If you
take the time to research, and use the Federalist Papers as your reference as opposed to the leftist evening news, you'll understand completely that
"hunting" and "self defense" are so obvious as to not bear mention, but the real purpose is to take back control when the government inevitably loses
control.
That last sentence above is a bit misleading, the real purpose for the 2nd amendment is to remind the government that the founders knew the natural
course of government is towards tyranny, and it is almost always (since the dawn of civilized society) accompanied by the government using fear as a
means of exceeding it's limitations. The problem is, the tyranny is always presented in little steps that on their own seem almost logical and dare I
say warranted. But the truth is, people try not to rock the boat (as your entire post begs all to do), so we end up with incremental usurpation of
our rights.
So, who dropped the ball first? A case could be made for 1934 when fear of gang violence allowed the government to take one class of firearms (fully
automatic) and make them subject to taxation and approval. Now the average deer hunter, and of course the inner-city Simon Milqtoast will shout "no
one needs fully automatic firearms!", but the fact is, it doesn't matter if anyone "needs" them or not, the government has no right to tax or
"approve" ANY firearms purchases by the general population. The government's rights are the ones limited, not that of the populace. If I can afford
to buy ammunition for a full-auto weapon, the only point of concern for the government is the additional sales tax they will be getting from my
purchases, PERIOD. Yet, "safety" sold the GCA 1934 to the public, and WE surrendered our rights.
GCA 1968 forbids any new full-auto imported weapons from entering the civilian marketplace. We let them get away with that too.
Since then, the war on drugs has put tyranny on the fast track, the number of rights we now consider "negotiable" is truly mind-boggling. The
interesting part is, the framers planned for this, they understood government and the populace well enough to PLAN for the eventual need for the 2nd
amendment.
To many, we're very late in rejecting the usurpation of our rights, to others, the "line in the sand" will be outright gun confiscation. To others,
their line in the sand will be even beyond that, when it is categorically too late to take back control. In fact those people are the ones wondering
how sick I must be to actually consider the original intent of the 2nd amendment as "valid". It's those people who are an enemy to this once great
nation.
Rights are not negotiable, they are codified to protect us from the government. We allow violations of those rights at our own peril. Yet there are
far too many idiots willing to surrender their rights because they "don't want to rock the boat". These are enemies of the state. Don't be one of
them.
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Praxichys
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A problem is that the same documents which define our rights also give us a process for changing them as necessary. We could never be progressive as a
society if we were unable to amend the rules we live by. Unfortunately, that is a double-edged sword. I didn't like it when Merriam-Webster added
"ROFL" into the English dictionary, but it's only a matter of time when "U" and "R" are going to be in there as acceptable alternatives for "you" and
"are."
The problem is that everyone has equal vote, even the idiots. When this country was founded, only land owners could vote. I say that's a pretty damned
good system, actually. At least mandate a proficiency test or something. (Oh, but that's discriminatory! Boo hoo!) I live life preoccupied with a
thousand other things important to my personal well-being, voting when I can, but it is not the people against the government at this point. It's
people against other people who vote for these kunckleheads that think rights are suggestions. Once in office, it is easy for a well-funded sales
pitch to sway the opinion of the hapless, robotic dimwits that might comprise >50% of the vote, leaving those who can tell the difference in a
helpless rage, pissing against the wind of change.
This is "progress".
Am I just getting crotchety in my age? Is this the equivalent to saying "Damn those hippies" and "Hey kids, get off my lawn?" I do agree that this
country is slowly sinking to a dismal, consumer-oriented, service-industry fate. But, you can't make people read or become responsible
decision makers.
Short of starting a new country, I don't see how to fix this. I am a big fan of the 2nd amendment and exercise it myself, but how many people would
call you a "crazy gun nut" if you went to the grocery store and asked people if they had a problem with you owning "big, bad 'assault' rifles?"
Public opinion nowadays is mostly unresearched heresay - complete garbage - because the average moron can't be bothered to do the work it takes to
make an educated decision. Have you ever read a "Food Babe" article? Do you see the drivel that spreads like wildfire on Facebook, spreading
unsubstantiated rumors to the extent that manufacturers will actually change the formulation of their products to appease a false belief,
which only gives them more validity?! For the money, of course! (See: Aspartame, MSG, azodicarbonamide)
Yet, the collective opinion is treated as what is best for this country. The minority that are the educated class with valid, researched opinions and
hard data will almost never get the vote simply because of the numbers! I feel that we have already passed the point of no return. Heck, I have
personal friends with Master's degrees, in positions of leadership, who regularly make decisions based on reality TV. I feel every day that I wonder
through a wasteland of mosquitoes bouncing from one glowing, warm TV screen to another, stopping occasionally to drag themselves to work, complain
about smart people, suck the blood of the taxpayers until they burst, and fall into a contented slumber, dreaming about what will happen on the next
episode.
If someone has some land somewhere and you want to build the next Singapore on it, let me know. Otherwise, the best I can hope for is to keep my
opinions to myself lest the public make my already challenging life difficult, maybe getting a knock on the door by a three-letter agency with a few
questions about my "patriotism."
Selfish as it is, I'd rather spend my life dodging bad government policy and practicing as a chemist than fighting a huge nation to regain freedoms
most people don't understand, let alone find necessary.
[Edited on 9-7-2015 by Praxichys]
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aga
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Yes, just old and crotchety, due to the fact that you're annoyed about it, and yet are not prepared to devote your life to Doing anything about it.
I'm equally guilty of this syndrome.
Praxichys for President !
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Praxichys
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What we need is a Jonestown for scientists, minus the crazy suicidal religious cult stuff. Let's get a bunch of people together and we'll take over
something fertile in South America or Africa.
For kicks, we should start a google document akin to Plato's Republic, defining our version of a perfect city-state.
We could include things like mandatory language testing for immigrants, job performance-based accreditation for universities, restrictions on the
right to vote, tax breaks for physical fitness, compulsory military and physical fitness training as part of PE from elementary through high school
(which might make gun control obsolete since everyone knows how to safely operate one), capital punishment or deportation for lifers, great funding
for education and incentive to learn or teach, something to stop people from suing each other for dumb reasons, and perhaps most importantly -
mandatory education about what separates fact from fiction, how to know if data can be trusted, and the scientific method.
We could start out with the aim to be completely carbon-neutral and as efficient as possible, with new high-tech structures that take advantage of the
environment for heating and cooling. Maybe make a decentralized system for utility delivery, maybe not individualized power generation for buildings
but independent grids by district or something. The whole country could operate with the goal to never rely on a foreign nation for energy resources.
We could hydroponically grow just enough food for everybody (with some safety margin, of course), and our primary export would be research and
patents, fine chemicals, and highly engineered products for aerospace, research labs like CERN, LANL, LLNL, and Oak Ridge, and leading products for
"green" energy research. Taxation would be simplistic by percentage and thus immediate, without the need to "file" taxes every year, and eliminating
the need for a huge IRS. Certain tax incentives could be applied for, but the whole nation would operate on credit, kind of like bitcoin, so there
would be no way to fool the system and no such thing as a tax refund - your tax is paid every time you make a transaction. Living in the city
automatically makes you a user of roads, so there would be no such thing as a fuel tax or a need to register vehicles, or a DMV - it could all be
covered by taxes placed on every transaction. There would be a package delivery service but no such thing as stamped mail. The internal wealth of the
country would be set to a "gold standard" using various metals like platinum, palladium, iridium, osmium, solver, gold, etc.
Imagine a small city that operates like a high-walled gated community, built from repurposed intermodal containers and geodesic domes from recycled or
renewable materials, small solar and wind generators everywhere, everyone nice and rational and educated, taking turns at the menial jobs and working
to invent ways not to have to do them... How refreshing to help paint your house or collect trash for the city with a co-worker you can have a real
conversation with about the feasibility of a citywide trash collection system or the chemistry of reflective paints.
Just dabbling on the canvas. A man can dream...
EDIT:
There should be no such thing as property tax. When you purchase the property, you own it. Period. You're not renting it from the government.
There should also be no such thing as debt. You either have the money or you don't. If you want a house, you do this crazy thing called "saving your
damned money" until you can afford it. Exceptions by application only, for things like medical emergencies, and the lending is provided by the
government only. There would be no such thing as a credit card or cash. Basically, everyone would be walking around with debit cards. Instead of an
overdraft and associated fee, the transaction would simply be declined. There would be no problems with credit debt, repossession of cars and houses,
no "housing bubble" no predatory lending practices, no student loans. Free public education would continue through university level. You can pay to go
to a better, private university if you want, and you don't have to continue school past high school, but it's free if you want to (and recommended!)
Of course, you would have had to save the money for it.
Maybe we could take a little lesson in communism and give everyone a small income, which allows everyone to live a very basic lifestyle
regardless of income situation but unless you want to be living on rice and potatoes in the 1-room government "halfway-house" (no drugs allowed there
- mandatory sobriety or punishment/eviction/deportation), you had better find a job. An even distribution of a small amount of wealth keeps everyone's
head above water and gives everyone the opportunity to improve themselves. I think it would keep rock-bottom addicts off the streets and instead of
jailing them, providing them with medical services they need to get help. Of course, the flat tax still applies to all their purchases and the income
is so low that it really only pays for food and a room.
[Edited on 10-7-2015 by Praxichys]
Ooh - and a drug test qualifies you for the "welfare for everyone". No recreational drugs are illegal to posses, manufacture, or use, but you miss out
on your communal welfare if you choose to partake. Sorry, someone has to pay for rehab for the percentage that become addicts. Since you collect once
per month, you can just make a drop next month and be right back on the pay, assuming you might just have wanted to throw an awesome party or
something. It's kind of a way to tax recreational drugs without monitoring their sales.
[Edited on 10-7-2015 by Praxichys]
[Edited on 10-7-2015 by Praxichys]
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MrHomeScientist
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Did you ever see Tomorrowland? ...
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Magpie
lab constructor
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Praxichys for President!
1. How would you deal with religion, cults, and other forms of the supernatural?
2. How about birth control or limits on the population?
The single most important condition for a successful synthesis is good mixing - Nicodem
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Praxichys
International Hazard
Posts: 1063
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Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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Birth control: free prescription to whoever wants it. Subsidized methods need to be approved by government to avoid price gouging by pharma companies
(the price of prescription is borderline insurance fraud in the USA today, when you compare to OTC supplements). Any effective method with reasonable
cost would be approved by the surgeon general for prescription. Prescription criteria involves mandatory standard physical plus STD screening, every
year.
Healthcare would be semi-socialized. Clinics to treat everyday bumps, bruises, and colds, everything up to same-day outpatient surgery (warts, nail
removal, etc) would be paid for by taxes. Everything else involving more than an overnight stay in a hospital, and any emergency room situation, would
be handled by privatized, for-profit research/teaching hospitals. (This has to be the case since fully nationalized healthcare sucks and if this is a
country of scientists, we will definitely have research hospitals, probably closely associated with the universities) Health insurance would be a
private enterprise and not mandatory, but if you need one of those special government loans to pay for something major, your income is severely
penalized until the loan is paid. (This is not as bad as it sounds. Since debt/loans do not exist, it's not like you'll have payments to miss. You
just won't be able to save until it is paid. No risk of losing houses/cars/etc.)
Family size will be uncontrolled but it will be taught in schools (much like in China) that a 2 or 3 child family is the best because it is harder to
provide a high quality of living for more than 3 on the average wage. Since researchers and scientists will be so highly regarded, people will want to
provide that paid-for private university experience for their children, and thus have less. I don't think it's the government's business to tell
people how many kids they can have. There just needs to be a social norm established to point people gently in the right direction.
Since the main ideas here involve "trimming the fat" from existing ideas, I don't think that becoming a large country would be a good idea. With size
comes complexity. A lot of research would need to be done, but trying to cap the population to a few million might be a good idea. I cite Singapore
again as a prime example: They have a population of just over 5 million, but the world's second busiest port, the third highest GDP per capita, the
4th highest life expectancy, and the lowest infant mortality rate in the world.
As for religion:
As much as I would like to see a country of atheists, I do not know how possible that would be in my lifetime. Certainly there will be zero
relationship between church and state - not on money, not in anthems, on flags, or in court. The government certainly cannot have anything to do with
religion because inevitably someone in office is going to make a decision, intentionally or not, biased by religion.
Religion should be taught in school - but not one religion, all religions, as part of K-12 social studies. Educating people about
world religions is extremely important. It will allow the people to make a choice for themselves, or perhaps understand the fallacies of such ideas at
an age early enough to avoid problems with irreversible indoctrination.
If your parents tell you to be a Christian, you'll be a Christian for them. If you go to school and get a worldly view, you can make the choice to
stay Christian or take your own path. Practicing religion would be embraced for the cultural richness it would provide and firsthand experience given
to the curious who have learned about it in school. One can still see a Native American rain dance where I live, which is still entertaining even
though everyone there knows it does nothing. It is part of our culture, but is treated with benign indifference. The goal would be to embrace religion
for what it is and what it does (morals, etc) as it slowly dies worldwide through the onset of rationalism. Only the blindly aggressive followers
would seek to see their religion engulf the city-state, and we do not need people with that kind of behavior in such a country. Again, Singapore: one
of the most religiously diverse countries in the world, and nearly 20% atheist. Another super-country, Sweden, sets a high bar in the religious world.
Read the Wikipedia article. Bottom line: You can teach your kid whatever you want, but blind followership is certainly not the key to individuality
and creativity. The success of the city-state as a world science leader depends on this emphasis.
There are some very intelligent people out there who are also extremely religious, and will never change. Their intelligence is still recognized as a
great asset to the country. The religious will not be prevented from holding any position of power, but as part of the checks and balances system, a
committee can veto government decisions on grounds that they were made for religious reasons. Part of the culture of the city-state will be to
increase public scrutiny on these issues. Realistically, a country of scientists would only make decisions on data and citable experience anyway, but
this would serve as a safety mechanism against a religious takeover of government.
There will be no private schools or homeschooling for K-12, except for very, very special circumstances. Just as a military-style PE requirement
exists throughout primary and secondary school, public school attendance is compulsory. This is an attempt to broaden young minds and establish good
social skills, and to integrate all races and classes of society before an age where kids can tell the difference. Hopefully it will create less
radicals. "Radicals" in the sense that they operate on dogma; individualism, creativeness, ingenuity, inventiveness, and supra-paradigmal behavior
(eccentrism?) will be highly encouraged.
Further, a reduced population would require neither senators nor representatives. The people themselves will be free to suggest any idea to a panel of
leaders, and online voting will take place.
Banks will not exist since loans do not exist. Everyone's accounts will operate like a cross between a Bitcoin wallet and a PayPal account, on servers
managed by the treasury. Your card will serve many functions. It will be your legal identification, your debit card, and your driver's license. You
swipe it to vote electronically. You swipe it to pay for things. You can turn the card off or on immediately using a webpage, in case of loss or
theft. The card is nondescript, containing no numbers (maybe) or photos or any identifying information. The card only carries a number on a secure
RFID or magstripe card which is the password to relevant information in a database somewhere. A cop who needs ID can read it with a PDA, a store can
bill your account with a swipe on a computer, but anyone who steals it has no more information than is on a hotel key without the government-awarded
RSA key, which grants limited access by industry. (For example, withdrawal/deposit access from a merchant, or photo access for law enforcement)
Questions? Keep 'em coming. More later - I'm having a lot of fun with this.
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battoussai114
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AND I JUST MOTHERFUCKING LOST A GODDAMN FREAKING ASS HUGE WALL-OF-TEXT POST 
You know what, screw it!
Tl;Dr version of what I wrote:
Glad it worked out for you OP... overall I'd be on the Praxichys line of action as I'm too lazy/busy to bother fighting the system and (failing to)
show them my rights, it sounds good the "I'll sue them, enforce my rights and show who the boss is" speach, but in real life its not very likely to
happen. Overall I'd rather go through some botherations of laws I don't totally agree with over trying to change the laws and probably getting in jail
and having to suffer in order to create a better world as it usually happens to freedom fighters and pretty much all nice people who take their
niceness soo far that it bothers the wrong people. Yes, it is selfish but I've been disappointed way to many times.
[Edited on 11-7-2015 by battoussai114]
[Edited on 11-7-2015 by battoussai114]
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Praxichys
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Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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An update; why not?
1. There shall not exist such a thing as a landfill. 100% recycle rate. Germany has had mandatory trash sorting for years and it works just fine.
Metals, glass, plastics, paper and cardboard, and compost/food waste. There will be small, separate cans for each. There could be a rotation, so
"compost" is picked up every week, but the other 4 categories rotate by once a month to reduce complexity. You get paid if your can is present at the
curb and properly sorted as judged by the pickup driver. RFID in each can lets the truck electronically scan. Pickup companies can be private.
2. There will be no such thing as a grocery store with plastic bags. Either paper, or reusable. Seriously, the contribution to urban blight from these
things is ridiculous.
3. No smoking in/around public structures. Similar to CA and MI. It's just better that way.
4. Auto insurance mandatory, as in the USA, however, there will be no such thing as a "no-fault" state. Dashcams not mandatory but highly encouraged,
and monetarily incentivized.
5. Go ahead and submit that dashcam footage of assholes littering from their car windows, especially cigarette butts. Littering fine will be
administered swiftly. Have some damned respect for your city. I drink beers but I don't go throwing the tops on your lawn. Heck, maybe intentional
littering should be punished by a few hours of mandatory community service picking up roadside trash.
6. Smog testing is a waste of time. Let the people with crappy cars drive them. Since the place will be totally energy-independent, most cars will run
on biodiesel, ethanol, electricity, or biogas anyway. Petroleum fuels will eb scarcely available.
7. Prisons and punishment:
The main idea here is to trim the fat. The USA has the most incarcerated population in the world, per capita. It's idiotic and mostly a product of the
war on drugs. It costs >$50k per year to house each inmate, a colossal waste of taxpayer money. There are several types of prisoners who
are unacceptable to house. They will be given two options: flee the country (i.e. be given a number of days to arrange foreign travel), or be
executed. If no country will accept your fleeing, looks like you're out of luck.
1. Repeat offenders. People jailed 5 or more times. Death might be a good motivator not to be a repeat offender. Clearly something is wrong with the
ability to learn from your mistakes. Go try again in another country.
2. People sentenced to life in prison without parole. They're a waste of money. At 50k per year, it will cost the state $3M to house a single lifer
for 60 years. An execution probably costs a few hundred dollars, and the rest of that $3M can stay in the pockets of the people, or be put toward
education or something. I think a lot of the "second chance" crap in the USA gives would-be offenders peace of mind that the punishment is negotiable,
which undermines the aversion to the crime they would otherwise have. It doesn't need to be a tightrope walk, but we can't afford to be soft either.
Being in jail will not be a cakewalk. I don't know what happened to chain gangs, but they will be a big part of prison. They will prove incredibly
useful trash sorters at the recycling plants, painting city infrastructure, etc. Sitting in a cell teaches nothing about successful reintegration to
society and the workforce, and workers would be allowed to earn pay which would accumulate as savings, accessed only on their release. There will be
no such thing as a commissary, no conjugal visits. You are in prison as a punishment. Your accounts will be frozen on entry and unfrozen on exit with
the deposit of your earnings. Inmates are not allowed to smoke or possess cigarettes in prison. Everyone gets exactly the same provisions, carefully
rationed per person on a weekly basis, only just enough to keep clean and healthy, to curb the illicit trade of goods and services behind bars.
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Varmint
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Wow Praxichys, give you enough time and I think you'll be right back where we are now with regard to nanny-state oversight of one's life.
You started out describing a utopia that would get rid of all the wrongs introduced in our nation's last 100 years, but then you suddenly jumped the
shark and all of that went away.
Our nation became the greatest in the world because of the framers and their brilliance in giving the people power and limiting the reach of
government, looks like you are prepared to follow the same broken path that got us where we are now.
Nobody wants the Erie canal to catch fire again, so yes, there is some post 1900 legislation that makes sense, but the bulk of it is nation killing
trash law written by those without vision who only know how to overreact.
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ewjaad
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| Quote: Originally posted by Tdep |
Tl;Dr: 3 police showed up looking for meth because of ebay glassware, happy with backyard science explanation, Australian police are level headed
lads.
[Edited on 31-5-2015 by Tdep] |
wtf how did they know you got chinese glasswear from ebay...
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NedsHead
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| Quote: Originally posted by ewjaad | | Quote: Originally posted by Tdep |
Tl;Dr: 3 police showed up looking for meth because of ebay glassware, happy with backyard science explanation, Australian police are level headed
lads.
[Edited on 31-5-2015 by Tdep] |
wtf how did they know you got chinese glasswear from ebay... |
The package would have been stopped by customs and they notified the local police to investigate
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Tdep
National Hazard
Posts: 519
Registered: 31-1-2013
Location: Laser broken since Feb 2020 lol
Member Is Offline
Mood: PhD is done! It isn't good but it's over lol
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Oh hey it's my thread! Yes, customs do screen packages and it would be something they're looking for.
A bit of an update while i'm here: it seems this is a common occurrence in Aus. Another member here had a very similar experience to me, with the
police taking particular disliking to the mercury in his element collection but nothing much coming of it.
Another guy I know in Qld had it happen to him too. Except he received a pretty unfriendly phone call a few days before they turned up and questioned
him. They also sounded like they questioned him a bit harder then I was, but I think that comes down to the particular person, how they're feeling on
the day and if your place smells like hell's arsehole or not.
Expect the police if you're buying glassware from overseas in Oz, but don't be afraid of them. We gotta beat this meth thing, if only getting rid of
meth was as easy as getting rid of the person running our country
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NedsHead
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you haven't seen the news this morning have you? there's a new goose running the country
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j_sum1
Administrator
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I think the reference Tdep made was in response to that very thing. He posted less than an a couple of hours after the announcement was made.
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NedsHead
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| Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1 | | I think the reference Tdep made was in response to that very thing. He posted less than an a couple of hours after the announcement was made.
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yeah, I thought he hadn't seen the news and was referring to the 2+ years we have been stuck with him. how did you go with your glassware order
j_sum1?
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j_sum1
Administrator
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I guess that's on topic.
I have some lovely glassware. Really happy with it. (Except for the fact that I dropped a transformer when I unplugged it and broke the top off my
most useful flask. Gotta love the 24/40 joints. It is still usable even with a sizable chip out of it.)
No discussions with police at this point, but part of that is because I arranged a commercial address to send it to. I am expecting that I'll get a
visit or a phone call at some stage in the future. The plan, if they turn up, is to get them to record an entry in my lab journal. I think that is
entirely appropriate.
Glassware pic here.
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NedsHead
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Wise decision, I think if they were going to pay a visit they would have done it within the first few days of delivery.
the kit looks great, it has all the pieces that my 24/29 kit lacks and now have to buy e.g. addition funnel, filter funnel, buchner. is there a
reason you went for the 24/40 joints? from my brief searching it seems less available here in Aus
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