🚀 go-pugleaf

arlyn@shore.net (Arlyn J. Hubbell) asks:
> Does history give us license to repeat what we already know is wrong?

   No.  That's not history's job, it's the job of the Mistake Registry and
Licensing Bureau.  This little-known, unheralded Government Agency has an
enormous task.  Although it's hard to keep someone from repeating their
own mistakes, the Bureau is addressing the more significant problem of
making sure no one repeats the mistakes of others unless they are properly
licensed to do so.

   It is vitally important that you have your own mistakes, errors,
stupidities, and bone-headed actions properly registered, and preferably
PATENTED.  Then, if someone else tries to repeat YOUR mistake without
proper authorization from you first, you can sue them for everything
they're worth.  Yes, Doing Something You Know Is Wrong Without A License
is already registered.

   In theory, everyone will work with the Bureau before doing something
they know is wrong to determine whether such action has been previously
registered, and to obtain/purchase all the proper license(s).  Minor
Mistake Licenses are generally not too difficult to obtain, but
Egregiously Wrong Action Licenses, including licenses for mass murder,
invasions, and terrorism, are generally expensive and hard to obtain.

   So, keep in mind that, while repeating mistakes you've made before may
seem bad enough, making someone else's mistake may be illegal and could
result in substantial fines and penalties.

   Unfortunately, Government budget difficulties have prevented funding of
this Bureau at the level needed to ensure full compliance and to catalog
and verify original performance of all known wrong things.  Lack of
funding has also meant the Bureau cannot continue to provide on request
the list of things known to be wrong, and efforts to make such a list
available via the Internet have been put on hold.  The Bureau also does
not have sufficient funds to hire the staff required to obtain an increase
in funding at this time, so please be patient.  These problems are now
Registered Mistakes, and the Bureau is prepared to prosecute anyone
repeating them to the fullest extent of the law.

   On a more humorous note, some of the Representatives who recently voted
to cut the Bureau's funding have attempted to register the Bureau itself
as a Mistake, but the Bureau does not accept the validity of their claims.

   Finally, a representative of the Bureau warned that the current
legislative effort to reallow "honest" mistakes and dissolve the Bureau is
fundamentally flawed.  Speaking against the bill, which has been nicknamed
the Wrong Rights Bill, the representative explained: "There are no
'honest' errors.  Anyone seeking to commit an error, but who isn't willing
to get proper authorization and pay the appropriate royalties and fees to
do so is, by definition, not behaving 'honestly'."

 -WBE
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