This is exactly what Franklin was trying to warn us about. He was saying "Look this constitution is good and I think government is a good idea but none of it is perfect". He was saying that a day will come when the ideas that make a nation great will be subject to corruption. Look at the Soviet Union, that also collapsed from corruption but I don;t see anyone in the west saying "Hey that could happen to us too". You're not going find any argument from me that corruption is bad. It is the enemy of civilization.

It's not that humans decided the systems should favor the wealthy, it's the wealthy who decided it should favor the wealthy through lobbying over hundreds of years. It was the psychopathic self interested people taking advantage of ok, dumb and also well meaning or even naive people that is destroying democracy - again what Franklin was warning this current right now living generation that this system is imperfect and there simply wasn't facility enough in his day to build a system of government that could resist corruption.

The question is; what are YOU going to do about it. I know what I have done about however I am one person and laws are sometimes thousands of pages long. You think the politicians read all of it? Have a go drinkypoo find an act of law that bothers you, read it, analyze it and write to the policritters. Complaining to me does nothing. Once you do that you will understand why a Technocracy is actually a pretty good idea, especially if we incorporate the lessons Franklin was trying to teach.

No. Crony capitalism is devolving us towards corporatism, the 21st century version of feudalism. Feudalism is what communism tries to convert capitalistic democracies into - but we're doing it for them with apathy, which is *exactly* what communist leaders predict will happen to us. Pure capitalism is absolutely terrifying which is why democracy is an attempt to moderate it into something that resembles civilization. However a democratic society is open to corruption by it's very nature. It has to be otherwise it would not be democratic and you're observing the vectors for eroding democracy in the triad of apathy, stupidity and self interest that causes corruption.

So don't be blaming democracy or technocracy for human nature because all that is is an excuse to do nothing.

Technocracy is the subject at hand and unless we are all planning to go back to the 1900 or even the late 20th century nothing is going to stop humanity's desire to progress. If you also consider that some humans have a desire for absolute power and control then you have a starting point for why many systems of government have issues; Human beings are incredibly varied in their desires and opinions.

If you then couple the above with the wide prevalence of mental illness throughout humans then we arrive to where we are today, recognizing that there is no such thing as a perfect system just one that is designed to being perfected through good laws for the people it is to serve. Democracy does it with paper, Technocracy does it with the real time communication en masse.

Technocracy is the evolution of Democracy, regardless of if it is regulating Capitalism or any of the other isms out there. Like the Westminster system it is designed for independence and not a two party system, one could argue it is designed for interdependence however overt technocratic systems don't exist yet so we don't really know.

So that's the context, now for the scenario.

A technocracy does not serve a Left or Right side of politics, which becomes obsolete along with lobbyists and replaced with built in AI oversight, I.e. Technocracy accepts AI exists and regulates its function with law. Technocracy's purpose is to serve the people via frequent digital ballots by making the process of voting on anything extremely easy. To paraphrase Franklin about the flaws in the US constitution will lead to "a corrupted people only fit to be ruled by a despotic leader" (full quote below) is arguably where we are now. Technocracy is an attempt to fix that flaw.

Flaws in Democracy and Technocracy are education and participation, however instead of insisting that most people are rational creatures who don't have any other priorities, technocracy allows the possibility of increased rationality and government oversight for the populous. The balance between individual rights and societal order is attempted by ballot frequency, right to your phone, and also allows for other features in line with the requirements of society that is digitally and AI enabled.

Nothing is perfect, including technocracy. The question is What's better and the collapse of democracy into corporatism is certainly not as attractive as the control a populous gets with a Technocratic acceleration of Democracy. Personally I see Democracy under threat and a technocratic society as a logical evolution of democracy the most desirable outcome.

How it is shaped is something everyone can participate in to achieve an ideal more resistant to the forms of modern corruption and mental health issues (the core means to manipulate a population) Ben Franklin could only conceptualize we would face in the 21st century.

This is his full quote, which almost seem prophetic, spelling out his rational concerns;
" I agree to this Constitution with all its faults - if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of government but what may be a blessing to the people, if well administered; and I believe, farther, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other."

So Franklin warned us, as in the present generation living right now, that the issues we would face IS the collapse of democratic forms of government. He warned us about despotic leaders who steer the corrupted (as in lied to, manipulated, misinformed) populous from the freedoms generations before us sought to leave us, and back into the stagnant feudalism (arguably worse than communism) from which we came.

Short answer is No, they don't. That said, I agree with everything you said about coal and it is a problem. I'd add that the brine from fracking for gas also contains radioactive particles and is used to damp down dirt roads for dust control. Both are a huge problem.

You're 100% right about that. These are naturally occurring isotopes which are supposed to be in the ground where nature put them. I agree that the coal industry should also receive the same scrutiny that the Nuclear industry does for controlling these materials.

Everywhere I look there is something to remind me.

As I recall, it is also stored at 4 to 5 times the density of the waste stored at Fukushima.

The Price Anderson Act (and its amendments) also excludes rate payers from making claims to recover the replacement cost of their homes. Without this Act the nuclear industry would collapse simply because it cannot sustain itself without the insurance indemnities it provides.

I see we also need Picard's wise words: "Part of having feelings is learning to integrate them into your life"

Happy Birthday Star Trek!

That would be illogical.

For sure. BTW - I've never seen someone type with a Scottish accent.

Not at all, more that when sexuality is used as an instrument in hard sci fi, for example in Greg Bear's "Anvil of Stars" it's used in such a way that makes Discovery look tame. Otherwise it's simply irrelevant.

I'll see your TOS and B5 and raise you Blake's 7 - which also created the long story arc to tackle ideas like a powerfully dystopian society.

Which ironically fit's into Star Trek Cannon so perfectly it should be a part of star trek, or star trek should be part of Blake's 7.

It's what happens when you stop sleeping.

Isn't that the show with Captain Janeway in it?

Most people don't read hard sci fi where sexuality is an also ran to much bigger ideas. Discovery made it about sexuality in an in your face way which kind of obliterated some of the really good sci-fi that was in it. SNW seems to have left that behind which is in line with what you're saying probably because it's boring and slightly annoying.

Exactly. All we have to do is remember Captain Kirk's wise words: "We will not kill, TODAY!"

Being trapped in a binary star system while telepathic beings project their requests for hydrogen so they too can escape isn't woke. It's interference with the brainwave modes required for sleep.

Being awake all the time is bad sometimes you need to be asleep so you don't go mad.