[geeks] the end of the internet as we know it.

[Sandwich Maker]

" From: Phil Stracchino <alaric at metrocast.net>
" 
" Sandwich Maker wrote:
" > " From: Shannon Hendrix <shannon at widomaker.com>
" > " 
" > " Rarely do we ever need more law, we just need to start enforcing what  
" > " we have or get rid of it.
" > 
" > but the more law you have, the more complicated and confusing the
" > enforcement issue is and the harder to ascertain that dubious acts
" > aren't somehow allowed, which would delight certain interested
" > parties [and their lawyers] greatly i'm sure...
" 
" I've been saying for many years, it's time to pile the Federal Register,
" the US Code and the various state codes up on a spot of waste land
" somewhere, burn it, and start over, like the Althing used to every year.
"  Those Vikings were pretty shrewd; the Althing got to keep as many laws
" as its members could correctly recall and write down from memory in 24
" hours.  Everything else?  If you couldn't remember it, it couldn't have
" been very important, could it?

not to you perhaps, but there are over 300 million americans...
this could be a recipe for disaster.  suppose [for a moment] that
special interests 'assist' certain congresscritters to get elected,
who can only 'remember' laws helpful to their new friends.

it would work on a small scale, as doubtless the vikings were, but on
a large scale like the us...  well, most systems do poorly at the
large scale; h. sap. just wasn't built for it.  for most of human
evolution we lived in scattered families and bands and the occasional
clan, and you'd have been lucky to meet 1000 people in your entire
life.  one of the fallouts from this is the mgmt truism that groups
bigger than perhaps a dozen people tend to spontaneously fragment if
not aggressively managed.

the ancient irish [7th c] used to meet every 3 years to examine and
consider their law.  they were an interesting mixture of monarchy and
democracy, in that the ruler had to come from a royal lineage, but
wasn't necessarily the son, let alone eldest son, of the present king.
likewise there was someone, not necessarily related, designated by the
ruler to step in if he dies before the chosen heir comes of age.  most
of these things had to be approved by a quorum of at least 3
generations of extended royal clan, any of whom might legally be the
next ruler.
________________________________________________________________________
Andrew Hay                                  the genius nature
internet rambler                            is to see what all have seen
adh at an.bradford.ma.us                       and think what none thought