[extropy-chat] Ultra Vires nature of laws made in error?

[Jeff Davis]

--- Damien Broderick <thespike at earthlink.net> wrote:
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Brett Paatsch" <bpaatsch at bigpond.net.au>
> Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 10:46 PM
> 
> > I am considering an action at present that would
> overturn
> > a lame-brained horse-trading regulation that is
> made under
> > an act - the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989
> 
> Oh my god--for a moment, I thought you were talking
> about a lame-horse
> brain-trading regulation.
> 
> Damien Broderick
> [Australia! Land of the Sport of Kings!]
> 

Uh, are you talking about trading brains as in
transplanting brains, say from a now-lame, but never
the less still smart/enthusiastic horse, to another
horse, say an athletically-gifted
healthy-yet-complacent horse?   Or are you talking
about actual brain trading?  You know, like, I have
this brain in a jar.  The brain of a horse that was
lame and had its brain extracted somehow and put in a
jar, and now I have the brain and the jar, or perhaps
another jar, a replacement for the original jar, but
still the same brain as before, and like, I'm engaged
in some seemingly-bizarre "trading" activity,
hobbyist, or maybe commercial, which deals in the
brains of once lame but now just dead (I not sure if
you,...that is if a horse,... can be both dead and
lame at the same time.  I think you...I mean a
horse...has to be alive to be lame.  But I'm just
guessing here.) horses (presumably they're dead, the
horses.  Or actually, that is, they're 'still' dead,
having passed on no later than when their brain was
extracted.  Unless they were given a replacement
brain, in which case they would be alive again, or
perhaps never really dead in the first place, although
no knowledgeable person would consider a horse with a
replacement brain to be the same horse as before. 
Though to the uninformed eye it might well appear to
be the same horse, still alive, and probably still
lame, though that might respond to medical treatment,
or maybe just heal up on its own.)  

Anyway, I've got this lame horse brain...you know,
come to think of it, there may be no jar at all.  It
may be just dried out, or tanned, or lacquered,...or
something like that, you know like figs or raisins. 
Hmmmm.  I bet a dried fig would look a whole lot like
a dried brain, kinda, all wrinkly and such.  Which
brings up a question I been meaning to ask.  Just how
big is a horse's brain, anyway?  Not a big squishy
just-extracted brain, mind you, we'll leave that for
the wet-brain trade.  You know the wet brain
trade--trade for transplant/reuse--is very technically
demanding and expensive, and should be left to the
professionals.  I'm talking dried-brain here, casual
stuff, recreational brain trading, you know, for fun,
where nobody gets hurt.  Like for a mantle piece, or
in a display case.  Anyway how big is that horses
brain when it's dried out and all polished up?  I
don't know.  As big as a fig?  Bigger?  What if it's a
really big fig?   

Anyway, I certainly hope--it seems appropriate--that
the regulations will deal with these two issues
separately, as well as clear up matters regarding the
lesser issues some of which I have mentioned here.  As
far as I can see, trading brains harms no one and
therefore should not be subject to arbitrary or
prejudicial treatment by regulatory authorities.

Support diversity and the privacy rights of consenting
adults.  A brain is a terrible thing to waste.

Best, Jeff Davis

  Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?
                          
                          Groucho Marx



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