Something Feels Vaguely Familiar Here, When you've been playing too many RPGs. Options

[ker'ion]

Supreme Court ruling a landmark for corporate political cash
Corporations can spend freely to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday in a landmark decision that allows massive sums to be spent to influence future elections.

I think I've been playing too many RPGs. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohplease.gif)

[Method]

Ah, sensationalism alive and well in American media. That first line is incredibly misleading. The ruling allows them to spend independently to run adds for or against a candidate, but giving money directly to a candidate's campaign is still highly regulated (for now). And its interesting to note that Obama's quote is all about the big bad evil corporations, big oil and (oooooh) Wall Street. They barely mention that the same rules (or lack thereof) apply to labor unions, which spent an incredible amount of money to get him elected.

Anyway, to keep this on topic (barely) I would say that the sensationalism is just as "SR" as the corporate money that is going to flood into politics. Best be prepared to see a campaign ad in between every drug ad in 2010...

[Delarn]

it sound too much like :
M. Johnson : My Client does not want this guy in power. Do what ever you want to blacklist him.
Runner: Like BTL him with prostitutes.
M. Johnson : What ever you want ! Here 2000Y in advance !

[lonewolf23k]

Back in the old online edition of Pyramid magazine, there was an article posted "How much for that Congressman?", which describes most of the ways people with lots of money can bribe politicians. Most of them are perfectly legal, like organizing fundraisers, donating to a politician's pet social causes, or even simply buying a copy of that politician's latest biography for every one of your employees as a Christmas gift.

[Draco18s]

Just a note: 2% of the net profit of ExonMobile in 1 year spent as campaign advertising money would be more money than either candidate spent in the 2008 election combined.

[Heath Robinson]

Couldn't Corps already donate to non-party political entities without limit anyway? So this is pretty much business as usual, but Corporations are now allowed to be more transparent about their partisanship, whereas they were previously mandated to engage in shell games to fund political ads.

[The Jake]

No offense to the Americans here, but I'm so glad I don't live in the US anymore...

- J.

[Draco18s]

No offense to the Americans here, but I'm so glad I don't live in the US anymore...

- J.

Yeah, I'm planning on declaring my independence soon.

[Method]

Term limits are the answer.

[Fix-it]

Back in the old online edition of Pyramid magazine, there was an article posted "How much for that Congressman?", which describes most of the ways people with lots of money can bribe politicians. Most of them are perfectly legal, like organizing fundraisers, donating to a politician's pet social causes, or even simply buying a copy of that politician's latest biography for every one of your employees as a Christmas gift.

yep. that's how books by a wide variety of "famous" (read: useless) people end up on the NYT bestseller list. they are bought in bulk, then sit and rot in warehouses and shelves until someone marks them down. both Barrack Obamas and Sarah Palins books were supposedly top sellers. you ever met anyone who read either?

Term limits are the answer.

repealing the 17th amendment would be far more effective IMHO.


also, this thread is getting way offtopic.

[Method]

repealing the 17th amendment would be far more effective IMHO.

Also not a bad idea.

[Draco18s]

repealing the 17th amendment would be far more effective IMHO.

How about doing away with the Filibusterer? Did you know that the number of filibusters last year was greater than the sum total of all filibusters from the creation of the USA until 1970*?

*Early Use of the Filibuster

[Method]

Getting rid of the filibuster is a horrible idea. Its entire purpose is to keep the majority in check. I don't want to live in any country where the majority has unchecked power- regardless of which party is in the majority.

[Freejack]

yep. that's how books by a wide variety of "famous" (read: useless) people end up on the NYT bestseller list. they are bought in bulk, then sit and rot in warehouses and shelves until someone marks them down. both Barrack Obamas and Sarah Palins books were supposedly top sellers. you ever met anyone who read either?

I read Obama's book. Of course you probably haven't met me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Carl

[Draco18s]

Getting rid of the filibuster is a horrible idea. Its entire purpose is to keep the majority in check. I don't want to live in any country where the majority has unchecked power- regardless of which party is in the majority.

Or we could get nothing done at all.

I do agree that there needs to be something, but the way it is now is not going to work.

[nezumi]

What the solution is, is to eliminate the idea that a Corporation is a legal person, with all the rights thereof. Kennedy is correct that the current law limits the Corporation's Freedom of Speech. He's wrong (not legally, just ethically) on whether or not Corporations have a genuine right to Freedom of Speech.

Since a corporation will have the resources to actually use this 'freedom' in ways we can't, it has more 'freedom' than we do. It also has a slew of other freedoms we don't. For instance, a corporation can't be put into prison.

Combine that with this:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jan/1...27+News+Feed%29

And you have corporations which have all these powers + run all our critical "government" services + have the ability to dodge all their past trouble through a quick restructuring and name change (which is probably why corps like Renraku don't do their own work. Beyond the fact that Renraku makes more money branding and off-shoring production/design elsewhere, it also means that if Renraku's child corp RANDI corp does something bad, it can be restructured, renamed, remarketed and resold without any fallout to the main Renraku line/name.)

We're running a bit slower than the SR timeline, but give it another few years and maybe another war. We'll have Xe Security (formerly Blackwater) setting up corporate strongholds in the occupied country which operate not under direct US control, or the control of any other corp, but under Xe control, laws and regulations.

Then it's only a matter of time.

[Warlordtheft]

How about doing away with the Filibusterer? Did you know that the number of filibusters last year was greater than the sum total of all filibusters from the creation of the USA until 1970*?

*Early Use of the Filibuster

I like the filibuster---it encourages good government, which is the one that governs least.

Unfortunately paratisan politics have made the filibuster the norm cause neither party wants to talk to each other anymore. Thye talk past each other instead, and everything is about the next election. I wonder if this is why Rome fell?

[Draco18s]

Unfortunately paratisan politics have made the filibuster the norm cause neither party wants to talk to each other anymore.

This. It was a good idea until it became the only idea.

[Method]

I like the filibuster---it encourages good government, which is the one that governs least.

More like this. I'd rather have a government that does nothing than changes everything in the middle of the night on Christmas eve, for example of course. The legislature (especially the senate) was not designed to do things quickly. That's what local governments are for.

... and everything is about the next election.

Exactly. That's why we should have term limits on everything.

[Sengir]

Getting rid of the filibuster is a horrible idea. Its entire purpose is to keep the majority in check. I don't want to live in any country where the majority has unchecked power- regardless of which party is in the majority.

Most parts of the world don't even know what a filibuster is, we still did not fall back into the Dark Ages (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)



As a more on-topic note, my thoughts were "hmmm, in SR that would make our profession poor - corps can donate the money directly instead of sponsoring runners" ^^

[Method]

Most parts of the world don't even know what a filibuster is, we still did not fall back into the Dark Ages

Well aren't you all so enlightened... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohplease.gif)

For the record, most of Europe was still using a form of government that originated in the Dark Ages when the U.S. came up with their current system, but whatever.

[ker'ion]

Be patient. At the rate things are moving, I don't think the U.S. as it is will make it much past it's 250th year, let alone the tricentennial.

[The Overlord]

Upon hearing about the new ruling, I did two things: Raved and screamed obsenities, then though about how the real world is starting to resemble the dystopian, sci-fi, corperate run worlds portrayed in various works. With the way things are going, all we need for RL to mirror SR is a massive cataclysm that brings magic back into the world.

[ker'ion]

Upon hearing about the new ruling, I did two things: Raved and screamed obsenities, then though about how the real world is starting to resemble the dystopian, sci-fi, corperate run worlds portrayed in various works. With the way things are going, all we need for RL to mirror SR is a massive cataclysm that brings magic back into the world.

I wish!

(everyone has a different idea of what would be fun)

Though William Gibson's world suits me just fine.

[Critias]

No offense to the Americans here, but I'm so glad I don't live in the US anymore...

- J.

No offense to the Australians here, but I'm glad I'll never set foot on your misbegotten country.

Funny how "no offense" works, ain't it?