ApostleO @ ApostleO @startrek.website

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165

Joined

2 yr. ago

I'd argue that an unconstitutional law is itself illegal, and thus does not render an unconstitutional action legal. That said, I'm sure I'd lose any argument on the constitutionality of the war power granted by Congress to the President.

The truth is, our Constitution was written in a time when the world moved much more slowly. It's unfortunately no longer practical to expect it to work in a world as fast paced as ours is today. We need a full rewrite, but I do not trust anyone to rewrite it.

I guess I meant that those standing authorizations should not exist, as they effectively abdicate a power the Constitution outlined for Congress, transferring it to the President. They erode the checks and balances.

While I agree, let's not pretend that presidents haven't been launching combat missions without formal declaration of war for decades. Longer than I've been alive. It's one of the biggest expansions of executive power we have allowed, under the guise of "the war on terror", "the cold war", or even "the war on drugs".

I will never understand how someone reconciles conservative politics with being a Star Trek fan. The cognitive dissonance is astounding.

Yeah, that tracks.

Until they kill a beloved celebrity, there will be insufficient outrage to force change. And even then, it might not matter beyond the specific cops that did it.

Yeah, I do not get it.

Having grown up in a redneck community, I'm quite confident Trump supporters can at least make a functional pipe bomb.

Matches their smooth brains.

Goes back before Reagan, even. Look at Nixon. His pardon from Ford started the trend that the president was above the law.

I mean, what's he supposed to do right now? Republicans still control both houses of congress (or, at least, hold enough seats to render both houses impotent). The upcoming congressional elections matter as much as (or potentially more than) the presidential election.

Well that is scary.

It should have an option to add an event to your calendar.

Agreed, but it's unfortunate, because I feel that clinical detachment can come across as insincerity in a therapeutic context. It can promote a feeling of cynicism.

Bump all punishments up by a tier for elected officials.

Capital offense is still a capital offense.

Life in prison becomes a capital offense.

Long prison becomes life in prison.

Short prison becomes long prison.

Large fine becomes short prison.

Small fine becomes large fine.

I also think we should make a law that says any elected official making a public statement is assumed to be under oath to tell the truth, and provably false statements made by public officials in an official capacity should be punished as harshly as perjury in court.

I personally liked Ruon Tarka. He felt like a good foil for our protagonists. Sympathetic, believable, but still squarely in the wrong. I did not, however, believe Book siding with him for so long.

But I agree the coolest parts of S4 were at the end, trying to actually learn about the 10-C for first contact.

All the more sad.

I honestly would love to see a "Utopia-Realized Level Federation" series, even a limited run, where all the plots are philosophical, artistic, interpersonal, or scientific.

Oh, nice. I'm glad we aren't ending with another stress-fest. End on a more fun note.

That's fair, and I think Starfleet HQ fits that bill. But I think (at least in my opinion of architecture as an art form, which I think starship design falls under, since people live and work there), I'd be frustrated to work on a Saturn class if that big hole did nothing, and made navigating between any two places on the ship more of a pain. That said, with personal transporters, maybe it's not an issue (assuming this ship isn't near any action that could make personal transporters inoperable). Maybe it would work well as a sort of diplomatic vessel, where having all these rooms with windows facing into the ring (like a giant round table) could be artistically conducive to discussion. Maybe they have a bunch of huge holo emitters in the ring, and they use it to project the current speaker, or just cool holo-art when not in session.

As an Idaho resident, I know any time our state is in a headline, it's gonna be bad. I don't even get how our state is like this.