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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Eric who wrote (1568050)	10/26/2025 4:52:44 PM
From: combjelly	Respond to of 1569814

An easy way to solve many problems is just to change the definitions. From Babylon 5. Earthgov at this point in the series is a fascist state under President Clark. John Sheridan runs the Babylon 5 station and Julie Musante is a government agent sent to bring Sheridan around to Earthgov point of view. If you watch the series, it seems a lot more familiar than it did back in the '90s. Not to mention, seen some of these same arguments posted here. INT. FRESH AIRE RESTAURANT Just enough to get a feel of the place, it's night, the tables have candles on them, and there at table are Sheridan and Julie Musante...who is dressed far more interestingly than when we last saw her. Still severe, but in a somewhat more visually appealing fashion. SHERIDAN --and right now we're in the lull between storms. Unless they're stopped, the Centauri will just keep moving in on the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. TIGHTER - ON SHERIDAN AND JULIE JULIE MUSANTE Well, I'm sure that's the rumor, but you know how rumors are. Earth would never ally itself with a government bent on war. SHERIDAN Except we have signed a treaty with the Centauri. She picks up one of the plates, nodding enthusiastically. JULIE MUSANTE Exactly. So there you are. The noodles are very good, would you like some? SHERIDAN No, I'm fine, thanks. JULIE MUSANTE (spooning noodles) This is the point I was trying to make earlier. All right, you have some concerns, but there are ways of saying things so they won't cause problems back home. Is that soy sauce? He nods and hands it to her. She continues. JULIE MUSANTE Anyway, enough politics. How are things here on the station? SHERIDAN Fine. Status quo. We've had a few problems with the lurkers, but nothing -- JULIE MUSANTE Lurkers? SHERIDAN Our version of the homeless. In some ways we have the same problems Earth does. JULIE MUSANTE (mouth full) Earth doesn't have homeless. SHERIDAN Excuse me? JULIE MUSANTE We don't have the problem. Sure, there are a few... displaced people here and there, but they've chosen to be in that position. They're lazy, or criminal, or mentally unstable -- SHERIDAN They can't get a job. JULIE MUSANTE Earthgov has promised a job for anyone who wants one. If someone doesn't have a job, it must be because they don't want one. Quid pro quo. She says it with the air of a true believer, as though dropping some totally accepted fact. Sheridan is boggled. SHERIDAN And poverty? JULIE MUSANTE The same. SHERIDAN Crime? JULIE MUSANTE There's some, but it's all caused by the mentally unstable. We've just instituted correctional centers to filter them out at an early age. SHERIDAN Prejudice? JULIE MUSANTE We're just one happy planet. Well, except for the Marsies, but that won't change until they stop fighting Earth rule. SHERIDAN And when, exactly, did all this happen? JULIE MUSANTE When we rewrote the dictionary. Captain, you're a good man. A fine soldier. A leader. You understand that before you can deal with a problem sometimes you have to...redefine it. SHERIDAN You don't deal with problems by pretending they don't exist. JULIE MUSANTE Why embarrass our leaders by pointing out flaws in society that they're aware of and dealing with in their own time, in their own way? Some people enjoy finding fault with our leaders: they're anarchists, trouble makers, or simply unpatriotic. None of which describes you. Do you want people thinking otherwise, Captain? She puts her hand on his, trying too obviously to be casual. JULIE MUSANTE These are the areas I want to help you with, Captain. I want to feel that I'm needed, playing my part in bringing Earthgov back into the hands of the decent, hard-working people who created it. I'm here to protect you. I admire your honesty, your record, your attitude. And I don't want to ever see that used against you. Quite frankly, I think I could come to like you quite a bit. And she smiles, big as daylight. Sheridan smiles back, but would at this moment probably prefer a root canal.