YJ02
Well Known GateFan
Nothing wrong with that.
I see huge changes too. They are just not the changes you and GateFan76 seem to be envisioning. Any scenario which has the conservatives somehow gaining control of the government and implementing draconian laws is pure fantasy to me. Like a dragon coming to life or something. Social conservatism American style (right wing evangelical Christian) is past the point of no return. Those types are dying off. There is no growth in right wing social conservatism. The numbers are dwindling, as is the demographic it is rooted in. Better "what ifs" would be the possibility of a global pandemic, or the collapse of the US dollar. I have a hard time envisioning a scenario where the FDIC would fail. Everything would have to have collapsed for that to happen. For pot to suddenly become criminalized, more than half the population of the US would have to die off.
Agreed! But for me, the sort of possibilities presented have to be plausible. The reason I hated Red Dawn was because they had North Korea taking over the United States (with Russia's help or not). Using a stargate to travel BILLIONS of light years, and communications stones to swap consciousness in real time just goes beyond my parameters of suspension of belief.
Yes, that is how they see us.
If they simply made the channels a la carte, that would be a HUGE improvement.
Yes-but all I am saying in the end (and I think gf is too) is that BEWARE of that vicious cycle of things-that harbinger of radical change that sometimes swings left or right depending on the "fickle-cality" of our fellow voters; corporate players (what future law changes will make them the most money?-privatizing weed by the feds, so that say-the tobacco companies can only make and distribute it, is a definite possibility (not probability) when you look at the money they would make); or the occasional "whack a doodle" nation or rogue international element out there that our nation "knee jerk" reacts to (PATRIOT act for example)
To beware--be a ware--of these considerations is, IMO, a healthy exercise to keep ones self marginally ready--I am NOT TALKING Prepper madness here-just pragmatic preparation (like having a quick "dump" plan for one's MJ plants)
I think that if someone like me or GF back in about 1890 or so said something like "You all enjoy that alcohol, cocaine drink and heroin headache medicine now cause someday the federal government is going to take it all away" then we would have been called 'sky is falling' types big time. But it all happened. Again due to the "fickle-cality" of the voting public and the nature of our Republic. No one would have seen either the Woman's temperance movement or the KKK making either a resurgence or big gains politically at that time either-but they did and they were major players in getting prohibition started (and enforced)
Like I said-"what ifs?" are,for me, the heart of good fiction, of any kind. They tend to engage the brain as well, far more then "reality" or comedy, etc
YES!!!!A LA CARTE would be awesome! I would only have about 20 channels on then. I seriously doubt if any company would ever see a favorable profit in doing that though-not without a huge price jack.
And you know (I saw where you wrote it) that the new BS RED DAWN was supposed to have had the Chinese as the uber bad guys, but "sensibilities" had it changed (the actors were like 3 yrs older by the time the movie came out after all shooting and PR/PC changes were made.) Though given our current state of readiness (the TPTB's set it in "today") not even the Chinese could pull off such an event.