I was reading an article the other day about a couple choosing how they wanted their baby. The amount of backlash they received in the comments was astounding. Seriously, this is America (not sure that was)! We live in the land of choices. There is no one size fits all. Americans like variety and customization. How would you like it if you went to a car dealership and you could only take the standard package (default colour?)? Not only do you get a choice of model, but each model has different packages, including colour, engine, trim, leather or cloth, etc. People need to get off their high horse (also a customizable horse) and stop claiming racism or eugenics as a boogeyman for this. If they had it their way, we would be assigned a spouse from the state with no pretreatments or vaccines (wouldn’t want to alter its natural genetic ability to fight disease).
Renewing vows/Term marriage
Why do people renew vows? Their marriage is til death do us part, not until the 2 year contract expires and/or you don’t like the service (void where prohibited). So, here’s a novel idea (do tell), why not just be honest and have 1-2 year contracts, with the extra year garnering extra benefits from the families of both parties. If both parties decide to part after the contract expires, no hard feelings. This would keep marriages fresh while preserving the contract. Seriously, what other contracts are lifetime? If I was locked into my mobile service for life, I would be having affairs with other phone companies too.
Defragging your Brain
Defragging allows computers to operate more efficiently and faster. The brain is a computer, so ipto fatso expelliarmus (disarm the fat man?). We must defrag the brain for the same reason. Depending on your make and model (year you were born?), click on the menu and then the drop down box, selecting defrag. Make sure you backup your files beforehand or else you’ll get amnesia or a blue screen of death. Also, ensure you defrag in the comfort of your own home. Nothing is more uncouth than a person who defrags in public and then restarts to apply any updates (how rude!).
Proper Metrics
How many times have you heard this: “How much further?” “5,000 kilometres.” (where are you going?!). Does this seem a little strange? Let me put it in a different way. What if I told you my CD holds 700,000 kilobytes (you still use CDs?)? If people say 700 megabytes for storage then why don’t they have the decency to say 5 megametres for distance? For those using miles and yards, you can ignore me and go play with your archaic measurements.
Universal Time
A thought pondered in my brain. We developed a global time when we became globalized – GMT or as the military folks like to say, Zulu. It is based on the prime meridian. What happens though when we establish Lunar and Martian colonies? We would have to develop solar system time as we become a more solar system culture and help with interplanetary trade. We should start at an arbitrary time for seconds and go from there. 100 seconds to 1 minute, 100 minutes to 1 hour, 10 hours in a day, 10 days in a week, and 10 weeks in a year (quasi-metric?). This obviously will not coincide with the sun relative to Earth, but neither will it coincide with the other planets (equality in suffering). Everyone would be aware of the universal time and could use their respective planetary measurements for time as well, just as we have the GMT and local times. The differences in sunset and sunrise could be given on a weather broadcast, if they wish.
Psychological Trinity
An explosion just occurred in my brain (should I call a doctor?). According to modern psychology, everyone is composed of three persons: id, ego, and superego. It is a corporate one – I and my ego are one. Those who have seen my id have seen my superego (that’s what she said). It is also important to keep everything in moderation, so we don’t want one person getting out of hand. Idea! Let’s make them co-equal and co-mortal as we are not co-eternal, but they exist around the same time. Well, there are some who believe the id predates the ego or that id just manifests itself as the ego and superego as well (is this turning into Sunday school?). The moral of the story is next time someone asks you if you hear voices, just say “yes” (and watch the nice men in white come take you to a happy place).
Govt run military is socialism
I fail to hear from the same people who denounce govt run healthcare the evils of big govt in defence. Govt run military is socialism. We do not get a choice. I can’t opt out and there is always a premium to pay (tax), and I can’t shop around to get the best deal for my money. Maybe I prefer the uniform and speed of the Alliance Security Service (ASS?) compared to the slower and less efficient UY Defence Group or the US Military. I can’t use the market to increase competition and efficiency. Before you jump to conclusions about needing a military to defend against the evil Canadian Empire, let me tell you that Switzerland has no standing military and instead arms all of its citizens in the militia. Militia…hmm, wonder where I last heard that word (US Constitution perhaps?).
Religious Discrimination
So, I’ve been wondering – apparently it is ok it filter what people are hired based on religion for nonprofit organizations. While I do understand some positions require a person of a set religion (and even gender in some religions), such as that of a Catholic priest or a Buddhist monk. It would be quite awkward for the congregation if the Catholic priest were in fact Buddhist and the Buddhist monk were Catholic! However, I was told that it extends beyond these positions. A history teacher at a private school run by Christians would need to be a Christian, for instance. Why couldn’t a Shinto practitioner teach this, especially if they have no qualms with the history curriculum? Some may say, well that is the purview of the private school, but that is a slippery slope to more discrimination. Other nonprofits could see this and maybe hire people based on the colour of their skin. Others could hire people based on disability (the US military already does this, but it has to do with job requirements). What about an actual church that believes in white supremacy? Could they open a private school and hire accordingly? Its against their religion to hire anyone else after all. Perhaps there could be a middle ground to be found. All corporations, for profit and nonprofit, must be chartered by the state government, so why not make them have no discrimination whatsoever? Unincorporated businesses or entities (sole-proprietorship, partnerships), since they do not require government chartering to be founded, could discriminate all they want. If a business wanted the limited liability of a chartered corporation, then they would have to stop discriminating across the board.
Solution to terrorism within borders?
If you have seen the news in the last decade or so, you are aware of terrorist attacks in many different countries, including in liberal democracies, such as the US, Canada, Germany, and Australia. One of the liberal/western democracies foundations is that of dynamism – in other words, things can change, particularly with laws. If the majority of people (and, with a good and vibrant democracy, the majority of the legislature) agree that a law is outdated or wrong, they can repeal it. If they feel a new law would best serve the interests of the majority, then the legislature can enact. With fundamentalists of any religion, laws are set in stone and cannot be changed. Can we can still respect religions and protect ourselves? One possible solution would be to have every citizen and resident who wishes to reside in the country upon age of majority or age of accountability sign a legal document proclaiming that the laws of the country they are residing in is supreme law of the land. Obvious caveats could include temporal (Earthly) laws as opposed to spiritual. Religions could still damn people to hell or wherever, but their god(s) or goddess(es) would carry out the punishments, not man. Not sure if this would solve at least part of the problem, but its worth a shot.
Wage-base Elimination
You may know the minimum wage is $7.25/hour, but did you know the minimum salary is $11.37 ($455/week)? This may be one way to raise the minimum amount of money that is paid to people. This may not be the complete best solution, however. Perhaps a set aside housing allowance and food allowance, both pegged to consumer price index in the locality would be a good idea. These allowances could come from the $11.37/hour ($1,820/month). For example, $820/month could be the housing allowance for the locality, with $400/month being the food allowance with dependents. This is based off the military system. Since it is salary (and hence no overtime), a more stringent rule on working over 40-50 hours could be put in place.
Aeddyn's Corner 
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