Options

"Final results are in! The winner of this election is..."

"... the Striped Party."

"Yes! The polls have spoken! The people know what they want and are saying it loud and clear!"

"... the Checkered Party."

"This country is full of morons."

A different color

Origami

"How can anyone figure out that by folding papers in such convoluted ways you can give them the shape of animals and things? Aliens brought origami, didn't they, dad?"

Administration

"The country should be run like a company."

"Well said!"

"The country should be run by unelected bureaucrats who guide all work towards a common end and assign resources according to the necessities of each individual."

"COMMUNIST!"

Paradox

"The issue poses questions that can't be solved using conventional logic. For instance: what if someone went back in time and prevented himself from ever being born?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well?"

"Time travel is abortive."

"I see. We'll issue a press release condemning it as soon as possible."

Skepticism

"I am closed minded? You are the one who refuses to have your beliefs challenged. You only read things that reinforce your previous ideas. It'd do you well to check once in a while one of these skeptical blogs that...What the hell is this article? This is not what skepticism is supposed to be about! I'm so removing this blog from my favorites right now!"

Costamaranda

"This little island, along with its adjacent islets and the sea around them, is the Independent Republic of Costamaranda. Port Chifulca is its capital and only major city.

"This little known country will soon be featured in news reports around the world because of a bloody coup d'etat led by General Efigio Zamuldano. Of course, no one will know we are behind it.

"Under Zamuldano's regime, the citizens of Costamaranda will be forced to wear the left shoe on the right foot and vice versa. Parting one's hair will be punishable with imprisonment for life without trial. Whistling, wearing digital wristwatches and sanding wood before painting it will be crimes against the state. Newspapers will be barred from using open vowels on Tuesdays."

"This is madness! What will we get out from that?"

"A priceless political standard. We'll be able to run our countries in any way we like and claim that it's not a dictatorship as long as it's not like Costamaranda."

Breaking news

Occam

"I photographed this UFO in the countryside last night. It was like a fireball blazing in the sky."

"I see."

"What do you think? Is it a meteorite, or something else?"

"Well, Occam's Razor tells us we should always prefer the simplest explanation. So, which one is likelier? That a lump of space rock has been floating around for millions of years, avoiding all that time to hit other heavenly bodies, just to fall to earth at the right time and place for you to take a picture of it?"

"Hum... if you put it that way..."