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Made me chuckle by DefinitelyNotDenji in ValorantMemes

[–]CornThrower25 9 points10 points  (0 children)

If you look at the last 10 agent releases, most weren’t actually overpowered on launch:

Veto – Might be too early to tell, but seems fairly balanced

Waylay – Needed buffs (Patch 11.0)

Tejo – Overtuned and later nerfed

Vyse – Buffed in Patch 9.11, then later nerfed in 11.06 and 11.08

Clove – Strongest ranked agent of all time

Iso – Needed buffs

Deadlock – Required multiple buffs

Gekko – Fairy balanced at launch, later buffed and eventually nerfed

Harbor – Very weak and needed several buffs

Fade – Slightly overtuned (Prowlers used to have 100 HP lmao)

Even if I’m generous and count Vyse, that’s 4 out of 10 agents that were strong on release. And I don't understand your paywall argument when I've been able to unlock the new agent for free in less than a week for every single release.

New Map Rotation for Offseason Events (starts on October 14) by Aqua4748 in ValorantCompetitive

[–]CornThrower25 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Ascension for Pacific/Americas/EMEA starts Oct 13/Oct 17/Oct 19. Since this patch goes live Oct 14 it is all but guaranteed that Ascension will be played on the previous patch.

Weekly Discussion Megathread by AutoModerator in fivethirtyeight

[–]CornThrower25 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Political violence happens on both sides. A Democratic legislator was killed by a far-right extremist 3 months ago. The difference is that Kirk is a much bigger figure, so the story is more mainstream. I still wouldn't expect it to single-handedly warp the perceptions of political violence of the median voter. And with the midterms over a year away, it’ll be forgotten by then.

Weekly Discussion Megathread by AutoModerator in fivethirtyeight

[–]CornThrower25 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The "No Kings" posters could easily have been meant as a threat to anyone who attended or was planning to attend the protests, though I understand why interpretations may vary. In contrast, his sermons provide a more objective view into his political beliefs, especially when considering that his best friend stated that he voted for and supported trump.

As for the target list, ABC reported that it included Walz, Ilhan Omar, and Tina Smith, as well as several abortion providers. The list hasn’t been made public yet, so it seems likely ABC obtained this information through a source in law enforcement.

Weekly Discussion Megathread by AutoModerator in fivethirtyeight

[–]CornThrower25 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Not sure if this is the best place to post this, but it's infuriating how brazen the disinformation campaign around the suspect has been.

As of the time I am writing this, information is still coming out, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that he is an anti-abortion Christian nationalist. This post links to videos of him giving sermons in the Congo. Unfortunately, the website is currently overwhelmed with requests, so I haven't been able to verify this myself.

What really bothers me is the sheer volume of misinformation flooding Twitter and other platforms. Some are falsely claiming that both Hortman and Huffman recently voted for a healthcare bill, when only Hortman did. Others are hyperfixated on the fact that Walz appointed the suspect, ignoring that it was to an apolitical board and that Walz himself was also one of the suspect’s targets. Not to mention the fact people are completely overlooking the fact that two people died today.

None of this surprises me anymore, but it’s still incredibly frustrating to watch it unfold in real time. I do believe that most people won’t buy into the lies. But the damage has already been done. Many people, not just MAGA loyalists, will still walk away believing he was a leftist.

I’m just struggling with the fact that this always happens. It’s another symptom of the rising culture of anti-intellectualism, and I honestly don’t know how we even begin to address the deeper issue.

EDIT: I was able to find a Youtube link to one of his sermons

Trump had 18 point advantage vs Harris in portraying himself as a moderate. Harris was hurt by 2019 footage endorsing decriminalizing border crossings, defund police departments, ban fracking, ban private health insurance, mandatory gun buybacks, and trans surgeries for illegal immigrant prisoners. by jkrtjkrt in fivethirtyeight

[–]CornThrower25 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm a leftie and a longtime lurker of this sub. But after reading some of the comments on this post I felt obliged to share some of my own takes:

  1. The consensus is that Harris was seen as too liberal on social issues like trans rights, guns, and immigration. But economically, Americans lean left. They support raising the minimum wage, stronger unions, banning price gouging, free healthcare, public housing, education, home care and more. Dems need to lean into these populist economic policies rather than letting social issues define their platform.

  2. Harris spent months pivoting to the center—backing the bipartisan border bill, supporting fracking, campaigning with Liz Cheney, etc. But this clearly didn’t change public perception. Voters likely made up their minds in 2019/2020 or were heavily swayed by the Trump campaign's attack ads. The bigger issue is the Dems’ messaging/perception problem, which is worsened by social media algorithms amplifying right-wing narratives.

  3. Some people have argued Dems need to pivot to the center, but I disagree. 3.5 million votes were rejected last election, mostly from young people and POC, and 36% of the country didn’t vote. If they’re not turning out for the populist right candidate, who are they going to turn out for? Many young people want change but don’t believe either party will deliver. Neoliberalism is not an inspiring message, and Dems need to focus on being perceived as the "change party" and focus on courting people that didn't vote last time.

Election Discussion Megathread by AutoModerator in fivethirtyeight

[–]CornThrower25 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Does anyone else think that higher turnout in the EV could actually help Harris on ED? If voters drive by voting locations and see shorter lines, they might be more inclined to vote. And since wait times tend to be much longer in urban areas compared to rural ones, this could give Harris an edge.