In a few decades, Congress consists entirely of dead people doing nothing. There are Congresspeople who are officially almost 200 years old.

  • plinky [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    23 days ago

    they should setup a system where votes by proxy are passed to immediate family members, and then companies can bribe them to vote yay or nay. it’s a perfect system which would be indistinguishable from the current one. *or they can setup some sort of ip holding scenario, where ai trained chatbot is sold around to the highest bidder, so it wouldn’t be so aristocratic-looking

    • EmmaGoldman [she/her, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      23 days ago

      Legitimately think Congress/Parliament is maybe the only job that shouldn’t have the ability to be done remotely.

      You have to be there every day, every vote. You have to sit there through the fucking filibuster and you have to take notes. The maximum permissible number of days off should be locked to the minimum federal legal requirement for paid sick days. You miss a vote and you’re out of sick days, congratulations! Snap election you’re not eligible to run in.

      The most powerful job in the country should also be the least lenient. If you’re unable to do the job, you should be ineligible to run for or sit in office.

      I wish all Congress critters a very 4 years and counting SSI/SSDI application process.

      • barrbaric [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        23 days ago

        You miss a vote and you’re out of sick days, congratulations! Snap election you’re not eligible to run in.

        Please, this is far too lenient, they should also get life imprisonment and all their assets seized.

        • EmmaGoldman [she/her, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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          23 days ago

          Congresspeople claim to work 70-80 hour work weeks, but they’re doing that CEO bullshit where they count things like personal phone calls, sitting at home on their couch while forcing a staffer to work, and time where they’re in spaces that are accessible to the public. Senior level staff actually do work 70-80 hours during legislative sessions, which is where they’re getting that number.

          Congresspeople typically only work 3-4 days a week when they’re in session and only work about 150 days per year. They also have no actual obligation to show up for floor votes and can just have a staffer submit their vote by proxy. The only reason that Daylights Savings Time bill passed in the Senate by unanimous consent in 2022 is because the majority of senators were not present during the vote.

      • rubber_chicken [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        23 days ago

        I remember when the governor before Arnie was all “but I just started” during the recall. I was like “OK? If you love job stability so much maybe you should have worked to make that a thing for your constituents.”

  • FnordPrefect [comrade/them, he/him]@hexbear.net
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    23 days ago

    I mean, just look at the Capital catgirl-smug Building

    Is this a serious place where serious people try to plot the best course into the future; grappling with complex topics like climate change and AI?

    Or is it a Mausoleum?

    Yeah, I thought so berdly-actually

  • nasezero [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    23 days ago

    I’m expecting them to use this as an opportunity to test out replacing a dead politician with AI, so that it’s more refined once they do it with Trump.

  • TheModerateTankie [any]@hexbear.net
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    23 days ago

    It’s because they made a pact with an eldrich horror that lurks beneath the swap they built the capitol on. The creature grants them extended life every time they start a new war.