Wouldn't it be funny if the College of Cardinals scrapped the "white smoke

[Brotherjohn]

... black smoke" voting tradition in favor of paper ballots, insisting that there needs to be a paper trail?

ON EDIT:
Okay okay, they burn the paper ballots. I should have remembered that, as I was raised Catholic.

Then wouldn't it be funny if they announced they were NOT going to burn the ballots, but rather... I don't know, some old copies of La Prensa... and announced to the world that they were breaking from tradition because they felt that having a paper trail was important to lend credibility to the election?

(I thought of this upon seeing another DUers sig line which read "PAPER VOTER NOT VAPOR VOTES!", because the papacy vote IS, actually, a "vapor vote")

[AllegroRondo]

1. Actually, they do use paper ballots

burning them after they are counted is what causes the smoke.

[Bridget Burke]

2. They use paper ballots.

The smoke is produced when they're burned. Added ingredients make the smoke black or white.

Apparently bells will also be rung when the new Pope is named; lots of people get confused about the smoke.

[northzax]

5. how confused can you possibly be

between White and Black smoke? sheesh.

[Brotherjohn]

3. Okay okay... I guess I need to refine my joke. Maybe I'll edit...

[TahitiNut]

4. For the first time, they'll use bells to supplement the white smoke.

The balloting has little to do with the smoke - which is used to signal the result. All ballots are paper.

[tubbacheez]

6. It'd be more environmentally friendly to release white or black...

birds.









Or cats.




Or maybe cattle.

[Not Me]

7. Just be glad they aren't using BBV !

I can see it now, Cardinal Diebold (a distant relative) pushing for touchscreen voting...with no paper trail.

[tubbacheez]

8. Neo-cons taking over the Vatican. Not sci-fi anymore! n/t

[Brotherjohn]

9. Well, they do BURN the paper ballots. Not that far off. (nt)

[RaleighNCDUer]

11. What color smoke would burning touchscreens emit? n/t

[KharmaTrain]

10. Corporate Naming Rights...

If they can name stadiums, football games, TV specials and anything that isn't nailed down...think of all the money the Catholic church could tap into and all that "goodwill" our large corporate would gain.

This could include exclusive coverage of the concave...up cloistered and personal, if you will...with pre-smoke, smoke and post-smoke coverage with sponsoring opportunity.

Of course there's the biggie...buying the rights to name the next pope. Like "The Nations Of Beneton present John Paul III" or "Pope Nike".

</sarcasm off>