Charlie Stross"Who would you prefer as your head of state?"
Donald Trump (I'm Canadian)
King Charles III (I'm Canadian)
Donald Trump (I'm NOT Canadian)
King Charles III (I'm NOT Canadian)
Poll ended at .
Okay, here's a BETTER poll:
"Wo would you prefer as your head of state?"
Donald Trump
King Charles III
Cthulhu
COVID-19
Poll ended at .
zeruch@cstross Cthulu. All the way. Dark impulses incarnate, but at least theres competence and clarity of vision.
Walt Mankowski@cstross Cthulhu is the clear choice here. Why settle for the *lesser* of 2 evils?
Doc Edward Morbius ⭕
Bob Thomson@cstross what’s Cthulu’s position on remote working?
In Search of a Better World@bobthomson70 @cstross he doesn't care where you go mad, at home or office, you may writhe in agony as you see fit. So, broadly pro I think.
@CrypticMirror @cstross based on the whole being sent mad aspect, I imagine he’d be into long commutes to a noisy open plan office :)
@bobthomson70 @cstross Even cosmic horrors have some standards.
Eric Stein �@bobthomson70 @cstross seems safe to assume pro, given the hiding in the ocean and nobody's seen him in thousands of years thing.
PhosphenesDamn I picked Charles because I mistook him for the King Charles who got beheaded.
Charles I had proper term limits.
Gueule d'atmosphère@cstross
I'd like more clarity on their respective platforms regarding ritual human sacrifice.
I'd like more clarity on their respective platforms regarding ritual human sacrifice.
HighlandLawyer
Alien software, human hardware@cstross can i have more options?
Pretty please?
Pretty please?
Joe Cooper 🇺🇦 🍉@cstross if you choose Trump, you get Covid for free. Also, measles and salmonella. It's the dream team.
pettter
Quinn Norton@cstross well, it's the high seas for me I guess.
@quinn We really need a fifth question in these polls!
RRB
Deb Chachra
Paul Mison
Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦@cstross An easy enough choice, though it would have been easier still if we'd had "Larry the Cat" as a further option
MarjorieR@HighlandLawyer @statsguy @cstross really? at the moment (willingly or not), Scots are his British subjects. I used 'British' so English, Welsh, Scottish and NI Unionists could all express a wish for an opt out. Perhaps I should have just said '(I'm in the UK)'. Of course he's King elsewhere, such as Canada, too.
@marjolica @statsguy @cstross
Last census had 62.4% of the population stating they were "Scottish only" (18.3% "Scottish & British"). So yes, "in the UK" would be more useful.
Last census had 62.4% of the population stating they were "Scottish only" (18.3% "Scottish & British"). So yes, "in the UK" would be more useful.
Advanced Persistent Teapot@cstross absolutely not a monarchist so I'd prefer neither. But if the choice is solely one or the other, one of them actually has some shreds of decency even if he doesn't deserve his wealth and position.
Gurre Vildskägg@cstross
Neither USian or Canuck, but would prefer Charles III. And would prefer becoming part of the British Empire over becoming a US state.
We're up at Karl XVI in Sweden, but we never had a Karl III so he could even keep the numeral! :D
@Gurre The joke is that the British Empire more or less ended in 1997 (there are a handful of tiny islands still theoretically under British rule): Canada is one of 14 independent nations that share the same monarch as mostly-absentee head-of-state. There isn't really a British Empire left that Canada *could* rejoin, swivel-eyed brexiteer bloviations notwithstanding.
random thoughtsAt least Brian has been mostly harmless so far. Can't say the same for Andrew, and his son is suspiciously too ambitious.
@hittitezombie Andrew won't/can't become monarch because Chuckles already spawned: William is next in line, followed by George (who'd be George IX if he kept the name at coronation). I expect the monarchy to be abolished before that point, though: if William becomes king at same age as Chuck, it won't happen until the 2050s.
@cstross
True, but Andrew doesn't have to be king to be dangerous. He's already being shielded from the law, first by his mother, now by his brother. A preditor doesn't stop being one just because they are told off firmly.
True, but Andrew doesn't have to be king to be dangerous. He's already being shielded from the law, first by his mother, now by his brother. A preditor doesn't stop being one just because they are told off firmly.
@hittitezombie Well yes, but that's a law enforcement matter. (Also: the Andrew/Epstein connection is about as close as the Trump/Epstein connection, but how's that prosecution going right now …?)
John Faithfull 🌍🇪🇺🏴🧡✊🏻✊🏿@cstross I'm not answering this without an "other" option, otherwise I might seem like a royalist. 🙂
Full Metal Accountant
Superilla@cstross Charles III _is_ already our (Canada's) head of state and he hasn't exactly leapt to the defence of our sovereignty. He probably shouldn't keep the job if he can't be arsed to do it.
@Superilla He's made some photo shoots wearing Canadian full-dress military uniform—which he's legally entitled to—as a direct snub to Trump. But the monarch is supposed to be above politics: it's not "he can't be arsed", it's "he isn't allowed to". (He reputedly personally loathes Trump.)
@cstross I seem to remember the Queen doing more than coded snubs like uniform choice for a photo shoot and being rumoured to personally loathe Mr. Hitler back when a country she was the head of state of was threatened with annexation by a belligerent neighbor.
Defending the sovereignty of a country might be "politics" when it's some random other country. It's existential when it's your own. If the head of state of Canada can't defend Canadian sovereignty because it would interfere with his day job as the head of state of another country, Canada needs to find someone who can.
@Superilla QEII did not become head of state until well after WW2 ended.
Nor has Trump done more than make horrible shouty noises—so far. So HMG is currently in diplomatic mode. I expect that'll change if Trump decides he needs a short, victorious war to distract the MAGA mob from the great depression he's unintentionally set them up for …
Lea de Groot TZ+10@cstross this was funny to answer as an Australian, where KCIII is the head of state :)
Paddy@cstross With that kind of choice, you probably should have included Bo (The Obama's pet dog) as an alternative choice...
:(
:(
Martin@cstross I miss a "random person found on the street" option as a control value.
Colin@cstross This is definitely a poll from the mind that created Equoid.
Richard Ayres@cstross No gods, no masters!
sofia ☮️🏴