Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Pearls Before Swine: Uncle Is Not Good With Money
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2025 08:06:05 -0800
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
Lines: 76
Message-ID: <9eeaojlo43900douplu59hn2o7fai1e25c@4ax.com>
References: <vlpb2u$3h575$2@dont-email.me> <vm0sih$17qa3$2@dont-email.me> <vm0snn$ale$1@panix2.panix.com> <vm0up1$184c4$1@dont-email.me> <vm17j8$579$1@panix2.panix.com> <vm1g7s$1ek27$1@dont-email.me>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Injection-Date: Mon, 13 Jan 2025 17:06:06 +0100 (CET)
Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="565477fa1dba5f628ab38bb1624972c3";
	logging-data="1958748"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org";	posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1/HouABJHYy8CvSU6WcLCJkWreREJvb8Qs="
User-Agent: ForteAgent/8.00.32.1272
Cancel-Lock: sha1:OGGp9cAzxTWlyXFXpkVX982Ucq4=
Bytes: 3911

On Sun, 12 Jan 2025 14:37:50 -0800, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

>On 1/12/2025 12:10 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
>> Bobbie Sellers  <blissInSanFrancisco@mouse-potato.com> wrote:
>>> On 1/12/25 09:04, Scott Dorsey wrote:
>>>> Dimensional Traveler  <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>>>>> On 1/12/2025 8:53 AM, Paul S Person wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm fairly sure the US President is one door and one military =
officer
>>>>>> away from access to the codes that launch the missiles, however.
>>>>>
>>>>> Codes that authorize launches once the military requests it.
>>>>
>>>> Assuming the president remembers where he left the biscuit.  There =
have
>>>> been a couple cases where it disappeared for a week or two until =
turning
>>>> up in the laundry.
>>>
>>> 	"Biscuit"??? We used to refer to it as the "Football". Further
>>> minaturization or ?.
>>=20
>> The biscuit is the laminated card that contains the gold codes and it =
is
>> carried around by the president at all times.  The codes are changed =
on a
>> regular basis but back in the Nixon era it wasn't as often as it is =
today.
>> It's the size of a business card and fits in the wallet.
>>=20
>> The football is the briefcase with the present war plans and the codes=
 for
>> those plans.  The football is carried around by a military officer who
>> follows the president around.
>>=20
>> Should the president decide to drop the bomb, he needs both the =
current
>> gold code from the biscuit AND the code for the specific war plan he =
wants
>> to implement.  I think the way it's supposed to work is that he calls =
the
>> national military command center with the gold code, gets back a =
countersign,
>> then gives the code for the plan.
>>=20
>> There are some plans and some codes that are specific ringers so that =
if the
>> information is compromised that a bad guy won't know which codes are =
valid.
>>=20
>> The key to this system is that the president can only implement =
specific
>> plans which have been made up by the generals.  He can't wake up in =
the
>> middle of the night with an upset stomach from bad burritos and decide=
 to
>> nuke Mexico.  Well, he can decide that, but he won't be able to =
implement it
>> so easily.
>>=20
>> I have no idea what system the Russians have in place.  For all I =
know,
>> Putin could call up some secret number and order Mexico City to be =
bombed.
>> --scott
>>=20
>That sounds too complicated for Trump to remember so we may be safe.  :P

Or they could adopt the Peachfuzz solution: provide a biscuit with no
valid codes on it at all.
--=20
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"