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Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns

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Scott Dorsey <kludge@panix.com> wrote:
> William Hyde  <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
>>I can't think of too many elections described in SF, which is odd as
>>Robert Bloch essentially ran a successful campaign for mayor of
>>Milwaukee as a young man.
>
> Isaac Asimov's _Franchise_.  Absolutely one of the best.
>
> And "The Lottery" was not exactly SF and it wasn't exactly an election...

Precedence does not imply provenance. Over a century earlier, Edgar
Allan Poe, sketches a situation similar to THE LOTTERY in his one and
only novel: THE NARRATIVE OF A. GORDON PYM. In it, four starving,
shipwrecked sailors select splinters to see who will serve as supper
to the survivors:

    At length delay was no longer possible, and, with a heart
    almost bursting from my bosom, I advanced to the region
    of the forecastle, where my companions were awaiting me.
    I held out my hand with the splinters, and Peters 
    immediately drew. He was free-his, at least, was not the
    shortest; and there was now another chance against my
    escape. I summoned up all my strength, and passed the 
    lots to Augustus. He also drew immediately, and he also 
    was free; and now, whether I should live or die, the
    chances were no more than precisely even. At this moment 
    all the fierceness of the tiger possessed my bosom, and I
    felt toward my poor fellow-creature, Parker, the most
    intense, the most diabolical hatred. But the feeling did
    not last; and, at length, with a convulsive shudder and
    closed eyes, I held out the two remaining splinters toward
    him. It was fully five minutes before he could summon 
    resolution to draw, during which period of heartrending
    suspense I never once opened my eyes. Presently one of
    the two lots was quickly drawn from my hand. The decision
    was then over, yet I knew not whether it was for me or
    against me. No one spoke, and still I dared not satisfy 
    myself by looking at the splinter I held. Peters at length
    took me by the hand, and I forced myself to look up, when
    I immediately saw by the countenance of Parker that I was
    safe, and that he it was who had been doomed to suffer.
    Gasping for breath, I fell senseless to the deck.
    
# # #

    "Patriotism is the Last Refuge of the Scoundrel"
    
# # #
    
    "The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of
    the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary 
    prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the 
    refuge of political and economic opportunists."
    
# # #

Inflation motivates behind-the-scenes political power plays in Perry 
Rhodan 280, THE SPACE DETECTIVES INTERVENE. It eerily echoes our
present political predicament. INTERVENE even has the likeness of a
horned demon on its cover to complete the corollary:

<https://www-perrypedia-de.translate.goog/wiki/Die_Weltraumdetektive_greifen_ein?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de>

--
Don.......My cat's  )\._.,--....,'``.                     veritas    _|_
telltale tall tail /,   _.. \   _\  (`._ ,.               liberabit   |
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.'              vos         |

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[OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns quadibloc@invalid.com (John Savard) - 2026-11-04 12:27 +0000
  Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Don <g@crcomp.net> - 2026-11-04 14:14 +0000
    Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Blaine <cactus_DAC@yahoo.com> - 2026-11-04 07:22 -0700
  Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-11-04 10:35 -0800
  Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-11-04 15:42 -0500
    Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns bliss <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2026-11-04 15:55 -0800
      Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-11-05 17:36 -0500
        Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) - 2026-11-05 23:01 +0000
        Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-11-05 20:51 -0500
          Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Johann 'Myrkraverk' Oskarsson <johann@myrkraverk.invalid> - 2026-11-07 01:01 +0800
            Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-11-06 18:07 -0500
          Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Don <g@crcomp.net> - 2026-11-08 18:12 +0000
  Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Charles Packer <mailbox@cpacker.org> - 2026-11-05 08:50 +0000
    Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-11-05 07:47 -0800
    Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> - 2026-11-05 13:50 -0600
      Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Johann 'Myrkraverk' Oskarsson <johann@myrkraverk.invalid> - 2026-11-06 04:28 +0800
      Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-11-05 15:31 -0500
        Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns bliss <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2026-11-05 13:47 -0800
      Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-11-05 17:58 -0500
        Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns bliss <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2026-11-05 15:43 -0800
        Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) - 2026-11-05 20:54 -0500
        Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-11-06 17:52 -0500
          Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns bliss <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2026-11-06 17:22 -0800
            All in the family (was: Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns) Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-11-07 08:49 +0000
              Re: All in the family William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-11-07 11:56 -0500
          Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-11-07 11:47 -0500
            Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2026-11-08 14:50 -0500
              Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> - 2026-11-08 15:14 -0500
      Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-11-06 08:04 -0800
        Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2026-11-06 17:38 +0000
          Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> - 2026-11-07 09:26 -0800
            Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-11-07 23:50 +0000
        Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> - 2026-11-06 10:05 -0800
          Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns bliss <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2026-11-06 12:10 -0800
            Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Robert Woodward <robertaw@drizzle.com> - 2026-11-07 10:20 -0800
        Re: [OT] The Mother of All Government Shutdowns Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> - 2026-11-07 17:35 +1300

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