With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

[Darko]

Really, outside of the 'telepathically restore memories' angle, it wouldn't be that much more complex legally than spectacles or hearing aids, would it?

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Ehh, this is a device that links to the persons brain, not something that's just worn over the body.

A bad pair of glasses can further damage eyesight, and a faulty hearing aid can make you uncomfortable, but this thing could potentially melt someone's brain.

Yeah, that sort of instant justice thing isn't really compatible with modern governance

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Especially since a lot of people break the law in various ways every single day and they don't even know about it.

Seriously, some laws can be extremely complex and convoluted, to the point that it's impossible to even enforce them, so most law enforcement groups don't, both because it's virtually impossible to know if they're happening and because they're harmless.

In some places it's not unusual for some sex positions to be considered illegal.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Still not up to date with the thread yet but noticed this inconsistency.

But he should have blue eyes with white sclera now.

Edit: and this section makes sense if he has black sclera, but not if he doesn't.

And the beginning section of this chapter doesn't match at all. Might be easier to just retcon him to always having black sclera, I recall a previous instance of it being mentioned that Jor-El was trying to make them normal, but I guess that part doesn't need to be changed.

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Eh-h...

Which is less of a pain to rewrite?

Honestly, him still having black eyes doesn't make sense, but I prefer him looking like that. I'll change the old version.

"See if"
Add a space between the paragraphs.

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Also, that should say 'lose'.

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Thank you, corrected.

You'd have to balance it with compassion for best results, otherwise it'd automatically come down on the letter of the laws regardless of circumstance or intent.

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The nice thing about America is that they have a lot of writing contemporary to the period where the constitution was written. They don't need to guess intent: the people who wrote it were pretty clear, even when the phrasing that went into the actual document is a bit unclear.

 

[boo600]

Yeah, given how many anti-minority laws are still on the books, having a demon/non-sapient elemental would just lead to a lot of dead black/gay/trans people. And then there's the 'overly complicated legal code for tax purposes' issue, the minor laws people break every day that don't hurt anyone…

It's a bad idea.

The anti-corruption thing, though… well. That's pretty damn necessary. It fights Boss Smiley, hopefully weakens him a little, and while bad actors will work to exploit any system put in place, having something a little better than 'we can choose our own salary! And decide what bribes we take are illegal or not, and also we can sleep on the job as much as we want, or leave it at will' would be… nice.

Magically binding oaths of intent to serve would be phenomenal, though I'd want something in there that accounts for life not being a zero-sum game; it would be terrible if a senator felt compelled to screw over another state because their state minority benefitted from something causing… let's say pollution, for a generic issue. (Though the problem with corporations being able to lobby both sides is, of course, that they're doing that already for whatever the corporations want in a lot of places, and have for decades).

 

[Khettien]

"No. I don't. What is it you want?"

"I want to make sure that there aren't any shenanigans in-"

He splutter-laughs.

"-volved-. What?"

"This is Washington, Orange Lantern. 'Shenanigans' are how it works."

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OL - "That sounds like a challenge. Don't threaten me with a good time!"

 

[PepeTheFrog]

"Ah… I don't think there's a plan for that, but it would probably… Start with magically binding oaths of office, minutes for all meetings with lobbyists…" Huh. "You know, there's a type of demon you can bind to a menhir who will teleport to anyone who breaks the law within the city and then stab them to death. Ah, insider trading would be illegal for politicians, obviously-."

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I know I have read a fic where this plotline happened but for the life of me I can't remember it.

 

[Darko]

I know I have read a fic where this plotline happened but for the life of me I can't remember it.

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I think you're thinking about The Dark Shard: Enemy of the Light.

It was on SpaceBattles and it was written by theirishdreamer.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Yeah, given how many anti-minority laws are still on the books, having a demon/non-sapient elemental would just lead to a lot of dead black/gay/trans people. And then there's the 'overly complicated legal code for tax purposes' issue, the minor laws people break every day that don't hurt anyone…

It's a bad idea.

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I suspect that my views on the subject may divert somewhat from yours, but since I don't want to get thrown off another site, I'll leave it there.

The anti-corruption thing, though… well. That's pretty damn necessary. It fights Boss Smiley, hopefully weakens him a little, and while bad actors will work to exploit any system put in place, having something a little better than 'we can choose our own salary! And decide what bribes we take are illegal or not, and also we can sleep on the job as much as we want, or leave it at will' would be… nice.

Magically binding oaths of intent to serve would be phenomenal, though I'd want something in there that accounts for life not being a zero-sum game; it would be terrible if a senator felt compelled to screw over another state because their state minority benefitted from something causing… let's say pollution, for a generic issue. (Though the problem with corporations being able to lobby both sides is, of course, that they're doing that already for whatever the corporations want in a lot of places, and have for decades).

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Being asleep on the job isn't a problem. If a given elected representative doesn't do enough work, it's the job of their electors to pick someone else. At most, magical anti-corruption would compel them to be open and honest about what they actually did to improve the information their electors have access to.

Screwing over other states is a bad idea, but elected representatives are supposed to advance the interests of their constituents. Voting is the mechanism that a democracy employs to resolve conflicting claims.

 

[NightmareWarden]

I know I have read a fic where this plotline happened but for the life of me I can't remember it.

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Chairtastic wrote the country of Roam in Fate of all Fools? Young Justice. https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/fate-of-all-fools-yj-sandman-si.119631/#post-28389834

 

[iamnuff]

He's 100% fucking with the guy.

 

[Steelplaza]

"Ah… I don't think there's a plan for that, but it would probably… Start with magically binding oaths of office, minutes for all meetings with lobbyists…" Huh. "You know, there's a type of demon you can bind to a menhir who will teleport to anyone who breaks the law within the city and then stab them to death. Ah, insider trading would be illegal for politicians, obviously-."

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The trouble with politics is that the same qualities that give you corruption also give you the flexible pragmatic politicians who aren't married to any particular approach and try to balance competing interests. The trouble with politics is that the same qualities that give you grim inflexible ideologues determined to push through their deeply held beliefs also gives you people of virtue and principle with a deeply compelling vision for the future that serves as their north star.

The trouble with politics is that the more benefits to the office (both financial and prestige) the more people there are who are in it only to benefit themselves. The trouble with politics is that the less benefits there are to the office (no opportunities to make money, people don't regard it as prestigious) the more people there are who do it only because they have a deeply held vision for society that will brook no compromises or corrections.

It's like how Green Arrow doesn't want to spend his life doing boring corporate boardroom work when he could wear a cool costume and punch people in the face while retaining the moral and social high ground. If the SI wants to impose binding magical oaths and limit any opportunities to benefit maybe he should also give some thoughts to adding "make it fun and appealing to competent people" benefits. Free interstellar vacations for all Senators!

 

[Jankl]

Grayven has traveled to a lot of different universes, we saw him in the Doctor Who universe, the DCEU and My Little Pony, but I wonder how he would do in the Warhammer 40k universe. If he ever found it he would probably just ignore it since I doubt it would be worth the effort. But I am curious as to how New god magic would interact with the Warp.

 

[McGraww]

I think magically binding oaths of office would be fine as long as they work on intent and not strict letter of law. That would theoretically let congresspeople not extract every single ounce of benefit for their state possible, if it meant broader support for the country as a whole or ensured long-term cooperation between states.

Honestly though, I feel like you could get pretty strong benefits with basically no drawback if you just dropped a Zone of Truth on the whole capital. (The version where you can refuse to answer, so you aren't forced to disclose classified information.)

 

[Kencord]

Math is mathing.

Beard Theory + Minbari Murder Reaction = Reason For Secrecy.

If it was publicized that the Minbari were killing beings that might be equitable to other minbari, and the last reaction to a accidental murder was suicide in penance, then the reaction to a full scale war against 'other minbari' would be disastrous.

Pursuing the war would be dangerous if anyone else came to the same conclusion. Getting the data and continuing the conflict, if it ever came out, would be politically disastrous even if it wasn't culturally unthinkable. Explaining what happened would be just as bad as continuing to pursue war.

 

[teikan]

I look at the other Lex Luthor sitting on the seat facing the doorway. Then I scan both the newcomer and mine.
And then I grin.
"Lex! It's not my birthday!"

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Hooray, Luther interactions! I've long imagined three or four versions of them meeting, during a typical scene where their security measures, aimed at each other, unexpectedly come in handy against a common enemy...With a twist that one or the majority did not have such measures and they completely trusted others.