Justin, I ought to declare a cosmic foul. The last thing a being devoted to harmony in the universe and among people would do is take sides in human politics, seeing that by their very nature, every last political position in it - including whatever preference is your own - is wrong.
That is precisely why I stay out of politics. As Robert Heinlein (through his chief protagonist) once put it, “Don’t vote, it only encourages them.”
That said, the Tea Party no more and no less sincerely wants to redress an actual wrong in society than did the Hippies of the 1960’s. That’s what parties are intended to do. The essential problem is that parties and movements start when someone takes one good idea and makes it a panacea.
Qiset, Johanan Rakkav, and maeverin- You guys keep wanting to make this a serious entity but it’s a comic strip. Fun. Not an editorial. It’s a response to hippies of the late 60s being a radical social movement, and the tea partiers being a radical social movement in this time. That’s all.
TheDOCTOR….- I LOVE Trek! How much? I have a separate blog about it, THAT’S how much. www.yearoftrek.wordpress.com Check it out.
maeverin- Oh wait! Friday’s has a Charlie Sheen reference, you’re gonna love that!
I seem to remember Pickard trying to explain to a freshly thawed corpsicle that money had become obsolete, so I’d assume taxation would be in the form of public service. Ferengi were first described as “Yankee Traders,” & their capitalist attitudes were invariably portrayed as primitive & corrupt.
Heinlein also wrote; Vote if they let you, there may be nothing you want to vote for, but there’s always something you need to vote against. (Pardon if I didn’t get the words exactly, the sentiment is accurate.) His charactors often disagreed.
Hey, I liked the episode with the space hippies, mostly for the costumes. Seems the ability to wrap a female guest star in a few scraps of fabric and still get by the surprisingly strict and arbitrary NBC censors somehow disappeared between classic “Star Trek” and “TNG”–along with the ability to build a quiet ventilation system in a starship (ever notice the constant background rumble of the ventilation system in TNG? while the original Enterprise is virtually silent unless something’s blowing up?)
I vote for the candidate who stands nearest me on the issues. They usually come in 4th with 4% of the vote. If more people did, we wouldn’t have some of the problems we have now, we’d have some other problems.
Hey, Justin- My best wishes to you. Do what you need to do to take care of business. I will be here (and I think MANY others) when you have time to write for us. God bless you.
Mythtickle, I completely agree. Keep current politics out of the fun section.
btw, so being politically conservative is radical? hmmm, must have changed the definition.
Hey, DNTME. You’re inflammatory right out of the box. How did I incense you? By mentioning the tea partiers? You can’t even mention them now without being flamed? I think that’s pretty telling really. I didn’t say anything bad about the tea-partiers at all. Certainly nothing to be called a “left wing know-nothing”.
Go somewhere else if you want to be an a-hole, OK? This isn’t the place for a political post war.
Chikuku: I don’t know Samuel Butcher, I had to look him up. No, I didn’t have him in mind, actually Merlin is my son William Marshal, with some Bode’ thrown in for style. :)
I honestly don’t get all the knee-jerk “don’t politicize this comic strip” comments. It wasn’t a strip making fun of the Tea Party. It was a strip making fun of a particularly bad episode of Star Trek. Everyone else should maybe just relax a little bit and ease back on the reaction stick. Sometimes, as the man said, a cigar is just a cigar.
I like the voting system proposed by L. Neil Smith:
for every elected position, have a box for “None of the candidates are acceptable”.
Toss them all out and offer a new slate of candidates in the run off.
Then again, a negative vote option has its attractions.
For each candidate, have “For” and “Against” boxes.
You only have one vote in each race, but they subtract the “against” votes from the “for” votes.
Pretty much eliminates the possibility of “landslide Mandates”, but also pretty much requires a runoff.
Anyone who gets a negative total should reconsider trying to hold a public office.
niaje almost 14 years ago
now THATS scary…Karma with a sense of humour.
remember when ms nature asked merlin if his go yo (tm) was a time travel device? that was a good one
Rakkav almost 14 years ago
Justin, I ought to declare a cosmic foul. The last thing a being devoted to harmony in the universe and among people would do is take sides in human politics, seeing that by their very nature, every last political position in it - including whatever preference is your own - is wrong.
That is precisely why I stay out of politics. As Robert Heinlein (through his chief protagonist) once put it, “Don’t vote, it only encourages them.”
That said, the Tea Party no more and no less sincerely wants to redress an actual wrong in society than did the Hippies of the 1960’s. That’s what parties are intended to do. The essential problem is that parties and movements start when someone takes one good idea and makes it a panacea.
niaje almost 14 years ago
hey anyone got crayon? i’m on my way to picket creative associates.
Ensoh almost 14 years ago
You mean, they really ARE from a different planet?
ReaderLady almost 14 years ago
Woo-HOO! A Tea Party! I’ll bring the cookies!
Qiset almost 14 years ago
getting close to belonging in the editorial section.
TheDOCTOR almost 14 years ago
Seriously People…….DON’T BE RAGGIN’ ON “TREK” …..and can I give a Shout-Out to my Brother?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY,BROTHER!heavyhorse almost 14 years ago
Being a Tea Party supporter and a longtime Mythtickle fan, I’ll take the high road and chuckle at the caricature. ;-)
prrdh almost 14 years ago
niaje, Karma doesn’t have a sense of humor. She is the universes’s sense of humor.
Chanticleer almost 14 years ago
The voting over on Boody’s Blog is close! How close? REAL close! Which says a lot about the quality of your work, Justin!
You! Reading this! Have you gone and read Boody’s Blog? Do you even know what I’m talking about? Go! Go like the wind!
maeverin almost 14 years ago
et tu, Justin? i had really hoped you were above that.
Justin Thompson creator almost 14 years ago
Uh boy, here we go…
Qiset, Johanan Rakkav, and maeverin- You guys keep wanting to make this a serious entity but it’s a comic strip. Fun. Not an editorial. It’s a response to hippies of the late 60s being a radical social movement, and the tea partiers being a radical social movement in this time. That’s all.
TheDOCTOR….- I LOVE Trek! How much? I have a separate blog about it, THAT’S how much. www.yearoftrek.wordpress.com Check it out.
maeverin- Oh wait! Friday’s has a Charlie Sheen reference, you’re gonna love that!
Cheers!
ChukLitl Premium Member almost 14 years ago
I seem to remember Pickard trying to explain to a freshly thawed corpsicle that money had become obsolete, so I’d assume taxation would be in the form of public service. Ferengi were first described as “Yankee Traders,” & their capitalist attitudes were invariably portrayed as primitive & corrupt.
Heinlein also wrote; Vote if they let you, there may be nothing you want to vote for, but there’s always something you need to vote against. (Pardon if I didn’t get the words exactly, the sentiment is accurate.) His charactors often disagreed.
mntim almost 14 years ago
Well, I vote, cuz I want to encourage ‘em, cuz I’m not as cynical as some folks. I’d go to the blog and vote if I thought it was fair.
puddleglum1066 almost 14 years ago
Hey, I liked the episode with the space hippies, mostly for the costumes. Seems the ability to wrap a female guest star in a few scraps of fabric and still get by the surprisingly strict and arbitrary NBC censors somehow disappeared between classic “Star Trek” and “TNG”–along with the ability to build a quiet ventilation system in a starship (ever notice the constant background rumble of the ventilation system in TNG? while the original Enterprise is virtually silent unless something’s blowing up?)
ChukLitl Premium Member almost 14 years ago
I vote for the candidate who stands nearest me on the issues. They usually come in 4th with 4% of the vote. If more people did, we wouldn’t have some of the problems we have now, we’d have some other problems.
mhs1075 almost 14 years ago
Hey, Justin- My best wishes to you. Do what you need to do to take care of business. I will be here (and I think MANY others) when you have time to write for us. God bless you.
pschearer Premium Member almost 14 years ago
A gaggle of people advocating limited government, reduced taxation, and adherence to the Constitution? They MUST be crazy!
Qiset almost 14 years ago
Mythtickle, I completely agree. Keep current politics out of the fun section. btw, so being politically conservative is radical? hmmm, must have changed the definition.
Ensoh almost 14 years ago
@Qiset: “Radical” means “extreme,” “fundamental,” or “thorough going.” Hopefully you and your dictionary can take it from there.
Justin Thompson creator almost 14 years ago
Hey, DNTME. You’re inflammatory right out of the box. How did I incense you? By mentioning the tea partiers? You can’t even mention them now without being flamed? I think that’s pretty telling really. I didn’t say anything bad about the tea-partiers at all. Certainly nothing to be called a “left wing know-nothing”. Go somewhere else if you want to be an a-hole, OK? This isn’t the place for a political post war.
Justin Thompson creator almost 14 years ago
Chikuku: I don’t know Samuel Butcher, I had to look him up. No, I didn’t have him in mind, actually Merlin is my son William Marshal, with some Bode’ thrown in for style. :)
Chanticleer almost 14 years ago
I honestly don’t get all the knee-jerk “don’t politicize this comic strip” comments. It wasn’t a strip making fun of the Tea Party. It was a strip making fun of a particularly bad episode of Star Trek. Everyone else should maybe just relax a little bit and ease back on the reaction stick. Sometimes, as the man said, a cigar is just a cigar.
Miserichord almost 14 years ago
I like the voting system proposed by L. Neil Smith: for every elected position, have a box for “None of the candidates are acceptable”. Toss them all out and offer a new slate of candidates in the run off.
Then again, a negative vote option has its attractions. For each candidate, have “For” and “Against” boxes. You only have one vote in each race, but they subtract the “against” votes from the “for” votes.
Pretty much eliminates the possibility of “landslide Mandates”, but also pretty much requires a runoff.
Anyone who gets a negative total should reconsider trying to hold a public office.