Oh, so that’s why they are executing all those animals. I sure feel dumb now, I used to think they were crazed extremists. I guess they are just a police force punishing nasty beasts with a long dark history if not paying their licence fee for breathing.
I sure feel much safer knowing all those criminals have been vanquished!
This is too real, in a world where you can sue a pharmaceutical company, for packaging medicine, or using a plastic container for testing equipment, during a pandemic.
Only 10 million? I also have questions about whether he’s bribing the right person but unless he needs to pay off a lot of people he is being a real cheepskate here.
According to Wikipedia, if anyone theoretically wants to enforce this patent, he will have to sue everyone who decides to breathe without paying licensing fees. Every. Single. One.
The costs of taking a lawsuit to every individual citizen in Shitropolis alone (let alone the entire planet) would far outnumber the potential profits for people who decide, for whatever idiotic reason, to pay him.
Yeah, the best course of action would be for humanity as a whole to laugh in his face and flat out refuse to pay. Let him ruin himself in court fees if he tries any legal actions. What’s he going to do? Remove oxygen from the planet?
That would be beyond his remit.
Removing or suppressing their ability to process oxygen, though, would be well within both his remit and be easy to implement. All he’d need is to carry a reasonably supply of carbon monoxide with him, and force people to inhale it if they don’t pay up.
His patent petition would fail in patent court since it would be an infringement on an existing patent held by the Internal Revenue Service and licensed to the states and cities. The “License to Breathe” informally known as “Taxation” has been around since the dawn of time subtly known as “tribute”, “protection”, “tithe” or other euphemisms used by those in power to rob their subjects in return for the privilege of even existing. He would be better off lobbying the government for privatization of the revenue collection system in return for “a piece of the action”. ;-)
What about plants, insects, fish and microorganisms like bacteria that all breath too? Who is going to pay for them? Gaia by being exploited even more? God by smiting all humans again with another flood?
Good luck enforcing that.
I wonder who pays for all the animals?
PETA?
Oh, so that’s why they are executing all those animals. I sure feel dumb now, I used to think they were crazed extremists. I guess they are just a police force punishing nasty beasts with a long dark history if not paying their licence fee for breathing.
I sure feel much safer knowing all those criminals have been vanquished!
I’m thinking wage garnishment for enforcement. That or tax returns.
Give someone in particular another Supreme Court nomination or two, and this sort of thing could be a reality.
This is too real, in a world where you can sue a pharmaceutical company, for packaging medicine, or using a plastic container for testing equipment, during a pandemic.
You can patent genes, if you discovered them. And then sue people for having the genes you own.
Now THAT’S a Supervillain…
they all ways said the goverment will tax you for breathing next
The state of Maryland already tried taxing rain.
So this is the Spaceballs origin story?
This is the reason they had a President instead of an Emperor.
I find this very hard to believe. It strains my suspension of disbelief. I couldn’t believe something like this is actually possible.
…Politicians smart enough to read through technobabble?
That’s his super-power. He is the techno-politician. A seemingly normal politician with the power To instantly understand rudimentary techno-babble.
…no man should be allowed all that power! It’s just… unnatural.
Bwaa Haa Haa Haa
Only 10 million? I also have questions about whether he’s bribing the right person but unless he needs to pay off a lot of people he is being a real cheepskate here.
Pretty realistic. It’s doubly depressing that not only are our politicians for sale, they’re often bought surprisingly cheaply.
According to Wikipedia, if anyone theoretically wants to enforce this patent, he will have to sue everyone who decides to breathe without paying licensing fees. Every. Single. One.
The costs of taking a lawsuit to every individual citizen in Shitropolis alone (let alone the entire planet) would far outnumber the potential profits for people who decide, for whatever idiotic reason, to pay him.
Yeah, the best course of action would be for humanity as a whole to laugh in his face and flat out refuse to pay. Let him ruin himself in court fees if he tries any legal actions. What’s he going to do? Remove oxygen from the planet?
That would be beyond his remit.
Removing or suppressing their ability to process oxygen, though, would be well within both his remit and be easy to implement. All he’d need is to carry a reasonably supply of carbon monoxide with him, and force people to inhale it if they don’t pay up.
His patent petition would fail in patent court since it would be an infringement on an existing patent held by the Internal Revenue Service and licensed to the states and cities. The “License to Breathe” informally known as “Taxation” has been around since the dawn of time subtly known as “tribute”, “protection”, “tithe” or other euphemisms used by those in power to rob their subjects in return for the privilege of even existing. He would be better off lobbying the government for privatization of the revenue collection system in return for “a piece of the action”. ;-)
What about plants, insects, fish and microorganisms like bacteria that all breath too? Who is going to pay for them? Gaia by being exploited even more? God by smiting all humans again with another flood?
Two Luthor references in a row, and both work! nice.