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Instead of a boring old rectangular reflecting pool, I propose that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool be redesigned into a circular moat around the White House. This would be in keeping with the current administration's defensive build-a-wall ideology, and look awesome.
To prevent the constant
woes of pond upkeep, instead of actual water, the surface would be made up of millions of tiny movable mirrors, like the heliostats surrounding a solar power tower. The Oval Office will be relocated to a newly installed tower on the roof of the White House, with a great wraparound window providing an unobstructed commanding view of the surrounding area. The motors on the heliostats would be controlled by an AI, which is programmed to monitor the approval rating of the current presidential administration. If the approval rating is good, the mirrors stay flat on the ground, looking like an undisturbed watery surface. If the approval rating dips, they begin to angle slightly toward the Oval Office, a degree or so for every so many percentage points (the specific angle to approval rating ratio can be determined later by committee).
Are we feeling the heat yet, Sir?
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On the one hand, understandable. On the other hand, I'm not sure the 'bakery is the right place for this. |
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Despite the cheeky wall reference, the idea really is nonpartisan. Ideally, it would remain after the current administration leaves, so all future presidential administrations literally feel the heat from unpopular policy choices. |
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I prefer my authoritarians well done. |
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Well, you might like to think about these two different, purely hypothetical scenarios: |
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#1: a thoughtful and conscientious hypothetical president makes some policy choices that are likely to pay off in the medium term, but has bad poll numbers for a while because maybe voters are impatient to see results, and maybe people who own a lot of media outlets and are able to manipulate social media feeds don't like this president.
#2: a hypothetical president who is basically a monkey loose in the zoo with a knife has bad poll numbers because he is fucking everything up. |
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This reflecting moat would cook both these hypothetical presidents equally. |
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Yes, the ghost of [8th of 7] is cheering, and pointing happily at his range of wicker men, but ... |
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Truman, Nixon, Carter, and both Bushes all had lower approval ratings, at certain points, than Trump has at his lowest. Was that all because of unfair media coverage? That's what I mean about it not being a partisan idea. This is something that would, at a certain point, cause presidents of all party affiliations to feel the heat of their unpopular decisions. |
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Perhaps the reflected solar could be harnessed to generate electricity to power the White House? What if the principal of this idea was reversed, and when the actions of the administration were unpopular enough, there would be no electricity to the lighting and communications? |
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Hmmm... less violent and overcomable with backup generators? Norm, I hate it. |
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The reason this is a good idea is because the inauguration speech for launching the project could include "I promised to build a wall, and I did", "millions, no billions of tiny little", "greatest", "first time", "unique", "shiny","beautiful", "great", "I told them", "I made" |
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