Democracy, robots, and mail

[sniffnoy]

Slacktivist writes a good entry on the proposed bailout. In standard blogger form, I'm going to post a small excerpt and say you should go read the whole thing.

I'll gladly concede that Paulson knows more about the world's rapidly collapsing finance system than I do. That doesn't matter. Paulson's request violates an inviolable principle, namely, to repeat, that if a public official demands $700 billion by week's end, no strings attached, with no democratic or judicial review of that official's unfettered discretion to spend that $700 billion as he chooses, then you say, "No."

"No" is the only possible answer a free person can give to that request.

If you don't answer "No," then you have to answer "Yes, Your Majesty, screw that whole experiment-with-democracy thing, we think you'll make a fine sovereign and king and please take our money as tribute from your loyal, unquestioning subjects."

Also: I really want to play Mega Man 9.

Also: School starts next week, so of course the first-years are already in, and in particular, they're on the mailing lists. Except yobohost, of course, someone'll need to get their addresses to Sean for that. Of course, Sean's graduated! Presumably eventually he'll hand it off to someone else... meanwhile, it is Kenneth, now an official "old fart" (but of course still official "house pet") who is explaining the mess of the mailing lists to the first-years. Where is Kenneth now, anyway? I have no idea.

-Harry