Lazy Fair City


Peter

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Almost all movies multilate the writiers. And most of those out of necessity.

--Brant

Film is a collaborative art form (there are rare exceptions, of course). It's not primarily the vision of any one person. If a writer expects to not have to make compromises, then he probably shouldn't be working in film, which is a medium which incorporates much more artistry than just that of writing. It's rare to find a polymath who can soar in each of the individual art forms that make up the medium of film. Most writers don't have the necessary background or expertise, and therefore should recognize that their contribution to a project isn't by default more important than anyone else's contribution.

J

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Film is a collaborative art form (there are rare exceptions, of course). It's not primarily the vision of any one person. If a writer expects to not have to make compromises, then he probably shouldn't be working in film, which is a medium which incorporates much more artistry than just that of writing. It's rare to find a polymath who can soar in each of the individual art forms that make up the medium of film. Most writers don't have the necessary background or expertise, and therefore should recognize that their contribution to a project isn't by default more important than anyone else's contribution.

J

J., do you see a different effect/power of a film that is made for a movie theatre audience and shown in a theatre and that same movie shown on a television in a family room/living room environment.

A...

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The following was a humorous episode. I wonder what kind of government the Vertiforms will establish?

Peter

From CBS Studios, Star Trek The Next Generation Season 7 Episode 23 – Emergence. New Vertiform City: Picard and the crew are concerned when an unexplained series of mechanical malfunctions occurs aboard the Enterprise. First, a runaway train suddenly appears in the Holodeck, then the ship takes itself into warp and locks out all propulsion access. Determined to regain control, Picard orders an emergency core shutdown, but before Geordi can carry out the order, the ship takes itself out of warp. An investigation reveals the Enterprise somehow protected itself — it would have exploded just a moment later if it didn't go to warp.

Wondering how the ship was able to do this, Geordi and Data investigate and discover a complex network of nodes and circuitry forming at several points on the ship. When Geordi attempts to examine one of the nodes, it defends itself by emitting a force field. Since the nodes appear to converge in the Holodeck, Riker, Data, and Worf investigate, and are shocked to find several different programs running at once, with characters from all of them riding as passengers on a train. Data attempts to depolarize the power grid, but the characters stop him, then change the train's direction and force Data, Worf, and Riker to leave. At the same time, the Enterprise slips back into warp, and Picard realizes he may not be able to stop it. Data then deduces that the ship is somehow forming its own intelligence.

Data believes that the computer's ability to see, talk, and even reproduce somehow enabled it to go beyond those capacities to learn to think for itself. Since the Holodeck appears to be the focal point, Data and Worf return to the train with Troi. They notice the recurring image of a three-dimensional molecule, and Troi questions a hitman who protects a gold brick and tells her he has to get to Keystone City. The train reaches its destination, and Troi follows him to a brick wall, where he inserts his gold brick and announces that he is laying the foundations. Meanwhile, Picard and Geordi detect strange activity in Cargo Bay Five, where Geordi discovers a glowing shape that looks like the molecule image.

Back on the Holodeck, Data depolarizes the power grid. Suddenly, the ship starts to shake, and Geordi orders Data to stop, then later surmises that the ship is protecting the object being created in the Cargo Bay. Troi adds that the characters in the Holodeck could represent specific aspects of the ship, and Picard encourages her to interact with them again in hopes of gaining control. This time, Troi, Data, and Worf cooperate with the characters, and power and life support systems are immediately restored. Picard and Riker notice that the ship has arrived at a white dwarf star and transports vertion particles back to Cargo Bay Five via a tractor beam. When the supply of particles is exhausted, the "molecule" in the bay goes dark, the Holodeck characters become distraught and the train derails.

The entire ship shuts down, and Picard and Riker join Geordi in the Cargo Bay. They examine the "molecule" and realize that the Enterprise is attempting to create a lifeform — one that will die if more vertion particles aren't found. Abruptly, the ship starts moving again, this time in the direction of another white dwarf. Unfortunately, the trip will exhaust the ship's oxygen supply, killing everyone unless something is done. Picard realizes their only hope is to create an artificial source of vertion particles. But while Geordi believes this can be done in a nearby nebula, Troi, Worf, and Data must somehow convince the Holodeck characters to change direction. Amazingly, they manage to do so, the particles are created, and the entire scene, including the mysterious new lifeform which has now formed, disappears into space, bringing the U.S.S. Enterprise back to normal.
end quote

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As shown in my previous post, On BBC today I watched the episode Star Trek The Next Generation Season 7 Episode 23 – Emergence, New Vertiform City and that is the basis for my brief, analogy. Data suggests that the new life form may be dangerous.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard responds: The intelligence that was formed on the Enterprise didn't just come out of the ship's systems. It came from us, from our mission records, personal logs, holodeck programs, our fantasies. Now, if our experiences with the Enterprise have been honorable, can't we trust that the sum of those experiences will be the same?
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George H. Smith wrote:
. . . . If we accept the premise that individuals (and only individuals) possess equal and reciprocal rights, and if we insist that these individuals must consent to be ruled by a government, and if we condemn as illegitimate all governments that rule without consent - then all governments, past and present, have been illegitimate.
end quote

So, does George, Wolf, the Vertiform entities, or any anarchist have a moral right to tear up the Constitution or not abide by it while within its territory? I would say, no. The original consent to be governed given by our ancestors continues. We are still giving implied consent. But does Wolf have a right to leave? Yes. Wolf’s newly created Freeman’s Constitution is an attempt to do the necessary governing, in a different geographical location from the United States. His Constitution governs primarily through an oligarchic judicial branch, though he briefly mentions a legislative and executive branch. Wolf’s Constitution is inadequate. I maintain that the United States Constitution forms one basis for a revised and more moral Constitution.

Using the analogy of the StarTrek episode, Our U.S. Constitution came from us, from our mission records (history,) personal logs, our fantasies, and from the philosophy of our founding fathers. If their experiences and thoughts were honorable, we can hope and trust that the sum of those experiences was honorable. And therefore revisions perfecting The Constitution are honorable.

That was fun if not funny.

Peter

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Peter wrote: "Wolf’s newly created Freeman’s Constitution is an attempt to do the necessary governing, in a different geographical location from the United States. His Constitution governs primarily through an oligarchic judicial branch, though he briefly mentions a legislative and executive branch."

Goes to show that reading is a lost art. The Freeman's Constitution was drafted in 2001 to address a political crisis that had nothing to do with geographic location. There is nothing oligarchic about lawyers electing judges. The Freeman's Constitution does not "govern" anyone anywhere except laissez faire lawyers. It is the organizational law of the laissez faire bar.

You don't have a hope in hell of amending the U.S. Constitution.

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Wolf just answered, “The Freeman's Constitution does not "govern" anyone anywhere except laissez faire lawyers.”
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However, the text reads: The Freeman's Constitution does not claim sovereignty in a geographic area, but rather the world at large, affirming that you have an inalienable constitutional right to innocent liberty which no state may lawfully abridge.
end quote

The world at large is ALL the geographical area on the planet Earth. That should be changed unless you are saying your law is a platonic ideal that permeates the globe. Make that clear. Secondly, if you included the simple idea at the beginning that this only covers laissez faire lawyers, and not a legislative or executive branch, it would add clarity, and cut back on the bluster. And the phrase “inalienable constitutional right” cannot mean anything if only you are the writer and the only signor of your constitution. There are no other signatories.

A war needs at least two antagonistic sides, composed of many individuals. It is not one man against the system. Yet, Wolf writes that, “A state of revolutionary war exists at the time of this writing . . . .”

If your Constitution is for the new territory of LFC all signatories should renounce their U.S. Citizenship and leave. It is that simple. But as long as you do not openly infringe on the rights of others, the federal government will not notice you, with the exception of the IRS, or perhaps the Census Bureau. But what usually happens is that a so-called Freeman or Sovereign Citizen will not produce a driver’s license when stopped for an infraction while driving on a State or Federal Highway (note the irony?), or they imprison females and children, blow something up, or make a nuisance of themselves. Then the Government notices them. You may insist you are serious and not part of the cartoonish SOVEREIGN CITIZEN movement but you would first need to drop the warlike posturing and saber rattling, find a new territory, leave and don’t come back unless you have a visa or recognized ambassadorial status.
Peter

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Are Sanctuary Cities the New Confederates? Victor Davis Hanson | Oct 15, 2015: There are now 340 sanctuary cities -- and the list is growing. All of them choose to ignore federal immigration law by refusing to report detained undocumented immigrants to federal authorities under most circumstances. . . .
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I suppose the actuality of a Laissez Faire City could follow the more open and accepted example of sanctuary cities, rather than the more clandestine communities of polygamous Mormons and other cults. But sanctuary cities seem to only flaunt small portions of federal law, not the entire U.S. Constitution as the Freeman’s Constitution purports to do. And other separate political entities like New York City, attempt to add to State and Federal Law and restrict the freedoms of its citizens as when they banned big gulp sodas, or openly carried or concealed firearms. I have heard of several cases of armed law enforcement officers coming to NYC and being arrested and having their guns confiscated. Imagine driving through NYC, getting pulled over, fined, and have your big gulp coke confiscated. I think the city lost that court case. What if Mayor De Blasio had said hell no to the courts?

The second a person openly states they are remaining within the territory of the United States but they are not going to abide by the law they invite the retaliatory use of State or Federal force. If that sovereign citizen brandishes weapons and yells at the posse chasing them to get off their property a sane person knows the opposite is sure to happen. Once again, Saber rattling reminds me of the Dear Leader of North Korea.
Peter

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Courts of justice have no business waving sabers, except in mild punishment of contempt. A friend of mine refused to tell a grand jury where he got a letter that he published in an alternative newspaper back in the day. He was jailed six months for contempt, but was never required to name his source. He wasn't put to death or mistreated.

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Wolf writes:

You don't have a hope in hell of amending the U.S. Constitution.

You just stated something always worth keeping in mind...

I have no power to set governmental public policy because my votes did not create the government. It was created by the votes of others and represents their values...

...not my values.

So I can opine that I'm "for" this and "against" as long as I realize I cannot change the government others created.

However... I can change how I respond to the government created by others. Over that I have complete power and exercise total control. So I focus on my own life by constantly searching out creative ways to adapt and refine it so as to diminish the government's role in my life. :smile:

The less I need what the government offers, the less control it has over my life, and the more freedom I earn the right to enjoy. :smile:

Greg

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