Patents on something the patenter didn't invent shouldn't be legal imo.

Genes etc.

Problem is that research into things like that becomes charity, essentially. Expensive, time-consuming charity.

Sarah Palin is dumb. Yes? Yes.

Deadlines are necessary because you are putting research teams and resources into the research, both of which are highly expensive. If you don't limit the outlay, make that money back and do so in a reasonably time-frame then you end up exhausting your ability to continue existing as a company.

I'm sure you expected everyone to go HAHA LOL UR SO RIGHT XD

Kinda, yeah. It seemed really, really witty.

Honestly, whyumadbro?

But if you insist, I'll elaborate on that non-existent point: How should we determine who gets to be a "politician" and who doesn't? It seems like a great deal of people holding office somewhere aren't there based on their merit, they're there because they can lie and persuade really well. Then, when people find out that they're total d-bags, they get thrown out of office as quickly as possible (which unfortunately can take a while in most cases since a lot of positions are held for 2, 4, or 6 years) Then someone else who's even better at lying replaces that d-bag and the cycle continues. Very few things are actually accomplished by people who are essentially figureheads that don't know what they're doing. I'm all for democracy and people getting a choice in their candidates, but it's the process of picking the candidates that irks me; instead of intelligent people who can do what needs to be done, anyone who wants to can run for an elected position. "BUT THIS IS AMERICA! OBVIOUSLY WE CAN ALL BE WHATEVER WE WANT TO BE! LAND OF THE FREE DAH DAH DAH"- yeah, OK, sure, and everyone could also be a space cowboy if they wanted to. Point being, some people just aren't suited for office, yet they somehow lodge their butts in there by persuading the public that they really can do a good job. How do we weed the morons out? Setting up a merit-based system of examinations (in the style of old China or somthin') is about all I can come up with. Your guys' thoughts on this?

I can't think of a way that situations like this would be avoidable in a capitalist system. This just solidifies my faith in socialism.

Because the point of the topic is discussion, not to make dumb jokes. I pity you if you think that was witty.
Witty - Noun: Mental sharpness and inventiveness; keen intelligence
How the ♥♥♥♥ is making fun of Sarah Palin demonstrative of keen intelligence? It's ♥♥♥♥ Sarah Palin for christ's sake, not exactly unknown that she's a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

Any system is prone to corruption, there never will be a government without it without complete transparency, which as you should be aware is a laughable idea. Take a look at lobbying some time. It makes more sense to be productive at the basic level, the voters. Education has always produced positive results, be it birth rates or poverty levels or anything like that. Knowledge is power.