If you, all of the sudden, had to become the President of the United States of America, for a full term how would you handle it?

Oh lord. Me?? The economy would collapse and the world would end, and I’d spend the entire federal budget to find a cure for PMS.

My policies would make the right wing fanatics hate me more than they hate Obama right now. My vice president would be Jon Stewart.

My vice president would be Ron Paul.
My first act would be resigning from presidency.

I am in no way qualified for this job, so I’d try to find a replacement. I’d open the choice to election!

@Sarcasm & @Trillian I just changed the question so it says that you have to become President for a full term. Whatchya got now?!

I’d fuck the arse off Michelle & “buzz” the locals in my presidential chopper.

For starters, fire everyone even vaguely connected to Obama and ship them off on a boat to Ghana or somewhere even more remote. Men, women and children. And no passports or green cards.

@plethora you are a miserable patsy stooge for the right, aren’t you?

I would repeal DADT, institute universal healthcare, create a Work-for-Citizenship for illegal immigrants (we could use the taxes and they need a union), bring back the CCC, turn Detroit into a green-machine mecca, lessen tariffs on sugar and work to untie school income from region-defined property taxes.

Some would hate me, some would love me. Either way if I was POTUS right now I’d have a majority vote. I’d push that shit right on through. If they don’t like it- they can repeal it when I’m gone.

I would start by slashing government services and entitlements. I would balance the budget AND fight our enemies abroad. Non-citizens would leave voluntarily. The economy would flourish and unemployment would go to zero.

What an awful time to be president…
I’d surround myself with brilliant people – people that I will happily admit are smarter than me in their respective fields.

I would extend connections with law makers, but I would probably alienate the entire GOP due to my Fluther postings becoming public.

My prioreties due to the current situations we face would be:
To scale down our foreign military presence while simultaneously scaling up our diplomacy.

To comply fully with Kyoto, and open negotiations with China to do the same. We have to lead the way if we expect others to follow. Duh.

To make sure equal rights is more than just a phrase. Equal marriage rights, equal pay, equal access to food, education and health care.

Education. Education, education, education. I would absolutely reduce almost any other budget in favor of converting our education to a modern system capable of actually educating our youth and not just using the schools as a holding pen until adulthood. Science would be respected as it once was in education.

There’s so much to do…

@mammal miserable patsy stooge???

ummmm…..don’t know…lemme check..never been called that before

part-ay time!

No, but seriously. Please don’t make me president.

@erichw1504 I guess I’d have to decree martial law. Then I would put into motion the proposals of Dr David Lykken. I would summarily execute drug dealers and pedophiles. I would institute sweeping reforms in the penal system. I would implement prisoner work programs along with intense therapy for all their underlying issues that cause criminal behavoiur in the first place.
Welfare and food stamp recipients would be mandated to become educated which I would facilitate with child care and govt. funded education.
I would also mandate therapy and treatment that was comprehensive for current offenders so that we could mostly empty the jails and prisons and return contributing citizens to society.
I would also repeal the laws that keep felons from the voting and make it easier for them to become employed so that they didn’t have to fight the system just to be productive.
(pant, pant)
I have more, but that’s a start. Now, have at me!

My term wouldn’t be very long. Why? The first thing I’d attempt to do is eliminate corporate “personhood”. Somehow, it’d all end with me being dead in a back seat inside of a week.

@plethora seriously you have issues of a neo-con, chauvinistic, rather anal nature, no? are we genuine or just having a laugh?

@plethora
What would you call someone like yourself, who advovates sending people who disagree with them to concentration camps?

Air Force One would be painted pink.

@ragingloli….a fun guy? (But no concentration camps) Just removal from the North American continent. Don’t you think that would be adequate? No need to confine them.

@escapedone7 That’s a brilliant idea…:)

@mammal Well, thanks for asking. Usually, I’m just having a laugh. I haven’t figured out yet whether I’m a miserable patsy stooge. Still checking. I don’t think miserable would apply. Pretty sure of that.

@plethora
You yourself said, on this site, you support shipping all liberals to and contain them in, rhode island, and now you specified, in this thread, that this would include men, women, and children.
You, sir, support sending political opponents to concentration camps. A fun guy? More like Hitler.

@plethora diminish into insignificance come back when you’ve found your perspective

@ragingloli I’m honored that you pay attention to what I say. More so than i, really. OK, I take back Rhode Island. And I most definitely do not advocate concentration camps.

@mammal I kinda like my perspective. Ok if I hang onto for just awhile longer?

Busted by @ragingloli LOL

@Trillian Oh, not going to have at you…we’re just playing. Probably won’t vote for you, though…:)

I would take executive control over California. I would fire Arnold, and Mayor Villaraigosa. That’s only the first thing. I would reroute money used to support our drug addicts and bums (like my father) and funnel it into our sad education system.

Damn this is a good question. I have a ton of stuff (alot of it idealistic) that I would do. I would do things to give rights back to the American people.

For my VP I’d appoint George Bush, Bill Clinton or Barack Obama b/c they have good resumes and experience, and frankly I think they would all be interesting people to work with.

If I was president I would get the aid of the most educated, logical and motivated men and women in the country. I would seek all the aid I could get to help me be a good president to the people and country.

@MorenoMelissa1 Oh that’s so me! I’m super duper smart!

As President, I couldn’t legislate alone without a big PR hassle – but I’d try to initiate legislation the likes of which I wrote about here.

I would print a trillion dollars, and pay off our debt to China.
My VP would be Morgan Freeman. That way, one of looks like we know what we are doing.

@plethora I guess people don’t understand jokes anymore. What a shame.
I’m very liberal, but I can laugh right beside you.
I’ve never been to Rhode Island. I’ve heard it nice. : )

I would flat out not be able to run the office appropriately.
I do not have enough knowledge in this field and neither does 98% of America

This being said, I do not feel that Americans should be naive enough to call George W Bush a bad president. We have ABSOLUTELY no concept of the pressures and facts that were not released to the public. We can only TRULY call a president a “bad president” by judging the effects of their presidency 10 years later

@plethora Really? Which of my ideas don’t you like?

@plethora Are you smashing atoms – AGAIN? How many times have I said that what is fun for you, is stressful to others? No fair, taking advantage, sir. Play nice.

(runs away)

@phillis Gee….good advice. Thanks…:)

[mod says] Let’s keep this great question on track and civil, folks. No flaming, please. Thanks!

@Violet Yesssss…...this is such a serious site, I just cannot resist taking humorous jabs. These guys never get the joke. I think I learned my lesson about being too serious the night on AB when I got into a verbal brawl that lasted ALL night. I lightened up after that.

Oh…and listen, Violet, I would definitely not ship you off the North American continent. Just wanted you to know that….:)

I would run AWAY! FAST!

@plethora : )

@Violet I’ve a couple of severely misguided friends who have suggested I am “frequently wrong, but never in doubt”

The first thing I can think of is that I’d have Will Smith be the VP just so I could stare at him a lot. If he’s not available, I’d choose Taylor Lautner under the condition that he must come to work with his shirt off. I can’t believe I just admitted that for all of Fluther, but that boy brings out the cougar in me.

I’d surround myself with today’s most vocal politicians and do the opposite of whatever they say. I’d send myself on diplomatic trips to Italy and Greece and any other part of the world I’ve always wanted to visit. I would give long speeches that would amount to “Please be patient until my term is up because I have no clue what I’m doing. Now, where is the best place to eat in this city?”

I would probably not be able to resist the temptation to have an elite special forces team carry out a covert mission to remove Sarah Palin from the planet.

There is NO amount of anything that would make me take that job!

@Coloma The day after Obama was elected, the satirical website the Onion posted a newspaper headline that read: BLACK MAN GETS WORST JOB IN THE WORLD

@ Filmfann

No doubt.

I’d scrub toilets before I took the presidency. lol

@filmfann ROFL!!! Oh the spin!!!

@filmfann That really was good! Loving it :)

As the world has just witnessed, the American president doesn’t have all that much power. He needs the cooperation of the American Congress to enact his plans.

As for me, I’m a semi-Libertarian, but not any kind of a Tea Bagger. So I’d do as much as I could to enact a single payer health plan like Canada or the UK. Then I’d try to legalize all peaceful activities between consenting adults (whether social or business, i.e. whether money is exchanged or not), balance the budget, and build a surplus.

After I do all that, I’d f*** all the female assistants I can get my hands on and get impeached and go out in a blazing scandal :-p

i would jump off the first bridge !

@ragingloli….That is so something my sister would say. And the Oval Office would be pink, and the White House would have to be called the Pink House because she would paint in pink…or atleast shine pink lights on it at all times to make it look pink. Yeah you get the idea.

@plethora genius is hard to understand for some loll

I would begin to enforce as many executive orders as possible.

@Just_Justine Apparently so…LOL Darn, you changed your avatar..:(

I would do my best. Pray I don’t get shot. And buy a lot of hair dye. (Ever notice how quickly they age and get grey.)
Oh, I would make it a federal crime for credit companies to jump interest rates at the drop of a hat. There would be a fixed rate of 5% only so people actually have a chance of making their payments and getting caught up. And I would make it so companies loaning to people with bad credit histories or with no legal source of income will have to pay a hefty fine.

@plethora “gotta keep it exciting loll”

I would hop in my Caterpillar tractor while they could still afford to produce them despite the previous administrations levy of health care taxes and bull doze “K” street….climb atop the rubble and announce campaign reform and tax cuts across the board for all walks of life especially the corporations and appoint an oversee committee to monitor unions…while declaring a National Girl Scout Cookie Day where all purchases on that day were tax write offs!. And as my final decree I would make partisan politics a class 1 Felony punishable by hard time in the nearest county jail with a junior public defender to handle their case!

I would start off by increasing taxes (they are ridiculously low over there), and use the increased revenue to create a decent welfare system and pay off national debt. I would also introduce a tax on excessively large cars, since the American car culture seems to have been based on a principle of ‘more is more’ for a long time, although more efficient cars are becoming more common there.

I would also sell all the United States military technology to Australia, since we can’t get hold of decent fighter jets here.

1. Gay marriage legalized in all 50 states
2. All troops stay in North America, unless a real war breaks out
3. Limit the amount of alcohol one can consume and buy
4. Legalize pot with limitations
5. Increase punishments for animal cruelty
6. Better food and conditions for prisoners

@FireMadeFlesh:
a) I live in the USA.
b) Our taxes our lower than some countries but “ridiculously low?”
c) “use the increased revenue to create a decent welfare system and pay off national debt” <== What makes you think increasing taxes would increase tax revenue? If you shrink the economy you are getting a higher percentage of less money.
d) “I would also introduce a tax on excessively large cars” <== You can’t “introduce” such a tax since we already have one. Each and every gallon of car fuel sold in the USA is highly taxed.
e) “I would also sell all the United States military technology to Australia, since we can’t get hold of decent fighter jets here.” <== Shouldn’t you be more worried about nuclear weapons?

@Violet: “Better food and conditions for prisoners”? Can you explain this one?

@malevolentbutticklish have you ever been to a prison? Watched a prison tv show? Known someone who went to prison? Well, due to lack of funding, they are fed worse than police dogs, and their cramped conditions cause more conflicts

@malevolentbutticklish. Are you naive enough to think more money in Government coffers means more welfare for it’s citizens?

b. When government spending outstrips revenue, there is a serious problem. I think the tax rates here in Australia are more appropriate. But then I am not an economist, which is why I would first consult with the leading analysts in each and every field before I made any decisions. No one likes paying more taxes, but from what I hear public services in the US are below par, and I would like to improve them.

c. It is true that there is a balance between taxes and productivity, but from my limited knowledge of the area, it seems that the US is well below the critical point.

d. Fair enough, but I would seek a different way to implement the tax, since people in rural areas do not have the option of public transport but still have to pay fuel taxes.

e. I should add an extra point to my answer then, that international nuclear weapon agreements would be pursued to reduce nuclear armaments across the world.

These are off the top of my head though, obviously if this was suddenly a realistic possibility then I would devote a lot more time to policy development. I could tell you what I would do if I were Prime Minister of Australia in much more detail, because I am much more aware of the circumstances here.

@Violet… overcrowded and fed slop? Prison sounds like public school!

My first official act would probably seriously piss off most über-conservatives and any politician with his or her hand in the pocketbook of a major corporation. I would disband the Electoral College, end the two-party stranglehold on American politics, get rid of the big-money control over the election process, institute a national election system and outlaw corporate lobbying of Senators and Congressmen. Hey, if corporations have the same rights as I do, then they can damn well do with a single vote and a single voice, just like the rest of us. They can call or write their representatives and enjoy the same treatment as everyone else.

Seems like a relatively pointless job to me because your hands are really tied, you can’t do much without Congressional support, and I doubt anything I’d want to see in this country would pass through the hyperpartisan environment we have now. If I could somehow impose my will via executive order or a declaration of Martial law, I would have a laundry list.

First I would change the entire budgetary and spending priorities of the government to reflect first and foremost that this government is of, by and for the people, and is there to ensure the general welfare of its citizens. This would mean that I would create Federal programs to make sure everyone had proactive health care, access to roads, libraries, the internet and other infrastructure, that everyone was entitled to a world class education through the first 4 years of college, and that no one would ever live in poverty. I would then look for a way to collect that money fairly. This would of course mean a much higher minimum wage, and much higher federal taxes, but I would pretty much get rid of the states’ and counties’ and local municipalities’ ability to collect taxes and would have ALL taxes collected at the Federal level. All income regardless of source would be taxed at the exact same rate after the first so many dollars in wages (basically the only money that would be taxed would be income over and above 2 times the poverty level, and all that discretionary income would be taxed equally). That tax rate would have to be very high, but again it wouldn’t hurt anyone to pay it, and it would cover all needs for all government programs, regardless of what entity administered them. We would have the smartest, healthiest, most affluent, happiest citizens in the world and no one would ever fall through the cracks. At the same time, I would probably make all taxes collected be on personal incomes, allow corporations to operate tax free, but take away their status as fake humans, and regulate them to whatever degree was necessary to make sure that the public interests were put before stockholder interests. In this way, as soon as money was distributed to an owner, it would be taxed, if it was kept in the business, it wouldn’t be taxed as it could go to work creating jobs.

I would legalize all victimless crimes, including drugs and prostitution and have them regulated, income would be taxed, and I’d eliminate black markets and the abuses that go with them. I would have stiff criminal penalties say to anyone who sold drugs to an unlicensed user or a minor. We’d free up so much prison space and police time. I would take a very hard stance on violent crime, or crimes which have a direct victim, and intent would be more important than outcome.

I would create a publicly financed election system that was highly regulated to make sure candidates could not lie, and were forced to talk about what they would do, not about why voters should be scared of their opponents. I would have five candidates in every election who received equal airtime around the country and would decide the winners via instant runoff voting. I would change election day to election week, make it so that you’d need a SSN to vote, one SSN per vote, period, probably would try to keep polls open 24/7 for that week and maybe would even allow some internet voting if we could find encryption that was safe enough. All ballots would be overseen by non partisan workers and all ballots would have a paper trail. I would strive to find ways to pump up voting to 99% or better participation, I’d even instuitute free bus rides to polling places, etc.

I’d create a legal system for people to immigrate to the US if they did not have a criminal background, and I would let in a lot more people, plus I would legalize the illegals who are already here. Then again I would take a very hard line stance towards any crime. I would use the death penalty not as a deterrent or a punishment as much as a tool to protect society from the people who are malicious and who hurt others purposefully without remorse, and who would do it again in a sceond (and this would include pedophiles).

I’d make the FCC take the stick out of its ass and rely on a voluntary TV ratings system so that anything could be shown on TV if it were clearly labled.

I’d prosecute the war criminals in the Bush Administration to the fullest extent of the law.

Everyone in America over the age of 18 would be given a test and if more than 10% of what they believed was contradicted by solid fact, they would be enrolled automatically in a fact vs. fiction class.

Gay marriage would be legalized and the government would be removed from our personal decisions in every way possible, except where it affects another adversely.

I would create a REAL separation between church and state.

I would return control of our agricultural system to farmers and would ban factory farming practices. I would restore integrity to our food system, making sure it was healthy and safe to eat, and wasn’t full of stuff that was going to make us all fat and get cancer.

Basically, every person, regardless of how much money they had would have the same amount of power to influence government at the end of the day, everyone would be put on equal footing, and given equal opportunities, we would be well nourished and ekpt fit and healthy, corporations could no longer abuse our human rights, no one would starve, and you would be able to go as far and as fast as your education, intelligence, skills and ambition (and luck) could take you.

There’s a lot more, but it’s late, and realistically, by the time I tried to implement the ideas in the first paragraph I’d be dead.

@escapedone7 they are actually underfed

Seriously, if George W Bush can be President, I’m sure any of the people who answered this question would be more qualified!

@FireMadeFlesh:
1) “When government spending outstrips revenue, there is a serious problem.” <== Then you must have a SERIOUS problem with Obama. (actually government spending can outstrip revenue by a small amount forever safely)

2) “public services in the US are below par” <== They are only below par in the sense that we have too many of them and they cost too much. They need less money not more. Consider all the money we spend proving the “service” of “collecting tolls” in the USA.

3) “It is true that there is a balance between taxes and productivity, but from my limited knowledge of the area, it seems that the US is well below the critical point.” <== which is why we have the largest economy in the world?

4) We should do away with fuel taxes entirely as they hurt the economy. The only reason for them is increased national security through decreased imports but we could (and should) accomplish this by increasing domestic production instead.

5) Australia doesn’t have any nuclear weapons to “reduce”. You would 100% lose a war with any nuclear power with more than a few warheads. Eventually there WILL be a nuclear war.

@Just_Justine: Yes. After the government takes what it needs for the military, science, roads, and a very small handful of other projects the rest is essentially just handed out.

@Violet: Do you have a problem with prison being a punishment?

1. I think Obama is doing what is necessary to bring the US back to a good footing, and then he will begin to repay the debts he has amassed.

2. I mean public services like healthcare (until the recent bill). People died if they didn’t have private health cover, and that just isn’t good enough.

3. The US has a large economy because it has a large population and has had some intelligent people making good decisions. I doubt the US has the largest per capita economy.

4. Fuel taxes are important, because they can ensure that road users pay for road maintenance more than those that will not benefit from it. They are also an important environmental strategy.

5. I was referring to reducing the amount of nuclear weapons the US has. I doubt there has to be a nuclear war, it is just a possibility. With the right people in the right places, there never has to be another nuclear weapon built and all existing ones could be decommissioned.

@malevolentbutticklish
Europe, more precisely, the EU, has a larger economy than the US. 18 trillion vs 14 trillion.

@ragingloli: Of course the EU isn’t a country. Why not just say North America has a bigger economy than the USA since the USA is included in North America?

The countries of the EU are comparable to singular states of the US. Comparing the EU to the US is therefore reasonable.

@FireMadeFlesh:
a. “I think Obama is doing what is necessary to bring the US back to a good footing, and then he will begin to repay the debts he has amassed.” <== so if 4 trillion is borrowed and then 1 trillion is paid back this is somehow acceptable? Obama has been putting us into debt faster than any president in history ever.

b. I wish they let the people without money or health coverage die but unfortunately it hasn’t worked that way here in my lifetime.

c. “I doubt the US has the largest per capita economy.” <== the USA has the largest per capita economy for any country of its size or larger. This is true @ragingloli even when compared to the EU. There are some small places on the earth with larger per-capita’s just like the per-capita for the million people living in Fairfax County, Virginia in the USA is 100K+ per year.

d. “Fuel taxes are important, because they can ensure that road users pay for road maintenance more than those that will not benefit from it..” <== So don’t we also need sidewalk taxes and a crosswalk tax since vehicle drivers don’t benefit from these? The main reason the interstate highway system was built was for the military… don’t non-vehicle owners need to pay for their national security?

e. “all existing ones could be decommissioned” <== this is a horrible idea. Then whatever country was the first to build them secretly could hold the world hostage.

@malevolentbutticklish
a. He is cleaning up after the irresponsible bankers that caused the financial crisis. It is not his fault that the crisis occurred, but it is up to him to fix it. We didn’t have to borrow as much here because our banking sector was far more robust. Eventually, I hope it will all be paid back.

b. You are wishing death on people?

c. Maybe so, but maybe it would grow even further if the appropriate taxation level was implemented. I have a limited understanding of economics though.

d. Footpaths are paid for by council rates (assuming it is the same as here), because it is impossible to regulate who uses them when. Maybe they highways were built for the military, but that is not their primary use.

e. It is extremely difficult to build nuclear weapons in secret. Few countries have nuclear scientists capable of the required technology, and even less have uranium deposits. To be completely secret, nothing could be imported. Intelligence agencies are extremely good at finding out these things, and a conventional missile strike would put the whole program back to square one.

@FireMadeFlesh:
1) The housing crisis was caused by lending regulations not lack of them but lets assume it was all irresponsible bankers. In this case the US should have used the capitalist solution and simply allowed irresponsible banks to fail rather than rewarding them with billions in taxpayer funds. Obama didn’t have to spend a taxpayer dime on banks—it was all optional. If an electronics store goes out of business we don’t bail them out and then claim the government was cleaning up someone else’s irresponsible mess.
2) I am not wishing death on people. I am wishing wealth, prosperity, savings, and self-reliance on people.
3) Cut spending and the deficit will go away. The money we already borrowed will eventually inflate away even if we never pay it back.
4) “Footpaths” ... “it is impossible to regulate who uses them when” <== not so. We could set up licensing agencies and issue licenses. Then everyone walking could have to wear a reflective vest with a prominently number on it and pay yearly for the privilege. When the crossed a bridge they could be required to deposit money to go through a turnstile. Shoes could require, by law, that a pedometer was installed and tampering with the pedometer could result in jail time. This this is crazy talk? Overbearing government is already here with cars and there is no reason we couldn’t do all these crazy stupid things with people too. We could start by saying the shoe-pedometer is to ensure people on required government health insurance were getting enough exercise so as not to burden the health system with their excess medical costs. We could do it for the children first and say it is part of their PE program and grade them down if they didn’t.
5) Everyone was “surprised” with North Korea detonated their first nuke.

@malevolentbutticklish nope

@malevolentbutticklish You seem to be taking an extreme capitalist stance on all of these points. Capitalism has helped the developed world get to where it is, but like every other known political system it has many problems. It ignores our moral responsibility to help the weak, it provides an environment that fosters greed and exploitation, and it thrives on keeping blue collar workers uneducated. The biggest problem with capitalism though is that it relies on growth, which has in part contributed to the world’s huge overpopulation problems.

@malevolentbutticklish – Yeah, saying, “I wish they let the people without money or health coverage die but unfortunately it hasn’t worked that way here in my lifetime,” sounds like you’re wishing them wealth, prosperity, savings, and self-reliance. Not. That way will never work. A dead, dying or poor population creates no prosperity. Unbridled capitalism is a bent shovel with a broken handle and unfortunately that’s what dug the nearly bottomless hole we’re in right now.

@FireMadeFlesh: “It ignores our moral responsibility to help the weak” <== no it doesn’t. People donate more money to help others under capitalism than under any other form of government! No other form of government has created individuals with anything like the donating will or donating power as capitalism. People donate less under socialism, communism, dictatorship, etc. Capitalism is #1.

“The biggest problem with capitalism though is that it relies on growth” <== Wow. Growth is good. I’m not even sure where to start here. ... and actually it is the Muslim/African countries which have the greatest fertility rate.

@Rufus_T_Firefly: “A dead, dying or poor population creates no prosperity.” ... “that’s what dug the nearly bottomless hole we’re in right now.” <== America is the richest and most prosperous country in the world (excluding tiny countries).

Wishing people wealth, prosperity, savings, and self-reliance is mutually exclusive with totally eliminating suffering and death. We have all heard the story of the grasshopper and the ant. People have to choose if they want to be an ant or a grasshopper. So long as the ant has his food redistributed to the grasshopper each winter more and more people will learn you don’t need to be an ant. Something terrible must happen to a few grasshoppers to create a society of ants.

I got smacked on another thread for not sticking to the topic, along with a host of other folks. Do as you wish, of course.

funny though that ants actually work in a collective, for the collective, without regard for their own ‘prosperity’. Ants are the antithesis of capitalism.

Ha, ha, April Fools is happening in California.

@ragingloli: Actually we are talking about the Aesop fable ant. However, real ants are all working for their supreme and absolute dictator the queen having no value for their individual lives beyond what they can do directly or indirectly for the queen.

This thread now looks ridiculous! :P

And yet ants are the most successful society on earth. I once read about an ant superhive that has spread all across the globe. Maybe we should copy what ants do.

HEY!! Get out of my head!! I barely have room enough for me in there, dammit :)

Looks like someone is pulling an April Fools joke. I didn’t change my avi or my name. lol. What is with adding an at the beginning and en at the end etc? There’s a pattern here.

I already ran for president on Answerbag against Obama, but my past membership in the Church of Satan ruined my chances of getting elected in a Christian Nation.

Here is the story about the ant mega colony

@benraginglolidrew That is a blatANT plagerism of a wonderful Science Fiction story on the same subject.

From: malevolentbutticklish
@ragingloli: I have spent many hours with this book. It is worth every penny:
http://www.amazon.com/Ants-Bert-Holldobler/dp/0674040759
.

From: malevolentbutticklish
@ragingloli:
For some reason (possibly related to April Fools?) there is a spurious ”&tag=fluthercom-20” added at the end of the URL. Simply remove it to view the link.

Yes, it’s an April Fool’s joke :)

From: malevolentbutticklish
@phillis: Why add the ”&tag=fluthercom-20”? (At first glance I thought it was so that they got credit for the referral to Amazon.)

I’m not seeing that, darlin’. I wasn’t sure what you meant when you posted that. Are you on a mac? By the way, I just bitched out a trigger happy mod for deleting a perfectly good post. The first deletions I got tonight were out of the ordinary, but whatever. THe second post was to a Q asking to “point him in the right direction” with regards to skateboarding info. Apparently, April Fools means we are the fools. Heads up, buttercup.

From: malevolentbutticklish
@phillis: I am using a ThinkPad laptop running Ubuntu Linux.

Oh, maybe that explains why you’re seeing it and I’m not. Look, unless it doesn’t matter to you, you’re going to have to shrink the lettering on your posts or they are subject to removal. Like so:
http://www.fluther.com/disc/79491/i-need-advice-on-skateboarding/

I would not be able to handle the job, because I lack the qualifications. I only know that I would do somewhat better than Sarah Palin.

@mattbrowne You’re hired! You can keep the glasses, but no updo’s. Too many bad memories.

@phillis – I’ll have to send one of my kids who were born in the US ;-) because I’m a citizen of Germany.

Very well, thank you. I am ready.

President Zen, at your service.