What joke?

This is subjective. It did get a decent chuckle from me for example. I'd say it is at least moderately funny. Certainly more funny than a lot of the comedy I've seen from stand up comedians and sketch shows in the recent times.

>and never was meant to be funny.

Surely you as the author would know. Oh right, you aren't the author. The author, RMS, calls it a joke. This clearly indicates that the intention is to be funny.

Having a self-expressive bumper sticker does seem more benign to me than putting an irrelevant, potentially confusing, US-centric snide remark in basic system documentation and instigating a turf war to keep it.

Because it is a joke, regardless of your sense of humour, or lack thereof, and regardless if you find it funny or not.

> It isn't funny,

Yes it is

> never was funny,

Yes it was funny since it was written

>and never was meant to be funny.

And yes, it was meant to be funny and worked. The fack that it isn't funny for you do not change it.

> It's just a snide remark, directed at nobody who will ever end up reading it, or even hear about it from anybody who did.

Because there are nor will ever be any software developers amongs policymakers in DC? That's your argument?

> It makes me think of cars plastered with shrill bumper stickers bemoaning developments of modern life. The owner knows no one would ever read what they have to say without being forced, for a fractional minute, by a red light.

And still some of them can be funny jokes.

> The only effect will ever be readers' irritation at the project's inability to stay on topic,

As RMS stated, properly, only if you think a Free Software project has nothing to do with Free Speech values.

> and not waste their time. In particular, it never generates irritation directed at the US government. (Anyway, if the US govt cared who was irritated at it, we wouldn't be where we are now.)

It's not directed at the US government, it's directed the US policy makers. Not the same thing.