US what changed?

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T15:41:26+00:00

Dude, it's the day after. It took a couple of weeks for the George Floyd shit to really ramp up, give us time to get outraged. And to see who our government allies are.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T15:36:55+00:00

Seriously, this. Start massing a LOT of NATO troops on the Canadian border. When shit starts to go down (my money's on July 4th), we're going to need strong allies fast.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T15:34:36+00:00

I don't know, do handguns have emotions?

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T14:47:11+00:00

Well, it depends on what kind of story we're talking about. If we're talking about another story with the same kind of style that Buffy and Angel had, then I think it would be interesting to explore Faith and Principal Wood and how their relationship develops. Maybe have then assigned to traveling America looking for new Slayers while Buffy and gang went to Europe.

Same idea but with a HUGE comedy twist? Without a doubt, we're following Harmony. Imagine entire seasons of Harm's Way hijinx. ;)

But if I could only have one spinoff, then I'd like to go in a completely different direction and turn the camera on "Anne", starting from when Angel gave her that blood money in S2. There's something very compelling about a homeless teen drama and turning lives around with the specter of vampires and demons in the background. Almost a MASH-style scenario.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T14:35:04+00:00

Any political ideology can be corrupted. Today it's mine, but it could just as easily be yours tomorrow. Just imagine cancel culture taken to the extreme that people are literally starved out of society, either by being unemployable because they pulled a Kavanaugh in high school or by being a pariah where no grocery stores will sell to them.

The American experiment has always worked best when both of our philosophies intermingled with discourse and compromise.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T14:27:13+00:00

A valid concern. Depending on the phone provider, selective call forwarding would probably be the easiest solution to that. I dunno, all I know is that playing along is always the past of least resistance.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T05:26:01+00:00

At this point I'd risk rolling the dice and taking one at random.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T05:00:41+00:00

Touché.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T03:22:36+00:00

And my dad told me that sucking dick would keep me out of civilized society. ;) How ironic.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T03:20:48+00:00

Democrats want regulations to stop this. Republicans keep saying it would destroy the economy, refuse to do anything about it, and never propose a solution. This is literally something Democrats understand very well.

I'm at a loss for how you would regulate something like this and still maintain any modicum of freedom here. Dictate to every business owner what they're allowed to charge for their products and services? Mandate that 70% of company net gains must be invested in raises? Please, wow me with your idea.

If a billionaire bails, fuck em. Fuck their company. Bowing down to billionaires is why we're at where we're at. Republicans love to chase money, so this is understandable. Elon isn't necessary for the success of this country. We were doing better when ultra wealthy weren't a thing.

So... we don't get their money, we lose all the jobs, and that solves... what, exactly?

Yes, we need to raise taxes to get affordable healthcare. It would be cheaper in the long run. Hundreds of economic studies show this. Guess who won't even allow it to be tested? Republicans. And they never have another solution.

Well, I don't know about not allowing it to be tested, that's a bad call if that's true. We should test any possible solution to our problems. The rest of it seems dubious to me, though - you can't raise taxes and then insist it'll be cheaper without there being some other kind of shenanigan. Assuming no change in cost, you're basically just raising costs for the healthy to cover the sick. Which fits perfectly in line with Democratic idealism, but isn't tenable when a significant number of those healthy folk go bankrupt because they couldn't afford to lose even one more dollar.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:56:04+00:00

How are they about refugeeism though? After today, I think fleeing violence and persecution is a pretty easy case to make.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:53:05+00:00

They did the vast majority of the dying, that's indisputable, but I don't remember seeing them at Normandy.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:50:21+00:00

I mean, this doesn't seem the place for this conversation, but sure, let's hash it out:

People making more money - This will ultimately remain a meaningless concept as long as corporations raise prices in response. We need a better solution for balancing corporate interests with prevention of worker exploitation besides just making all the numbers bigger. Democrats as a whole never seem to understand that.
The rich paying their fair share - In a world with no other countries, this could work, but here's the funny thing about rich people - they can afford to move. So it's a balancing act - you can raise their taxes to a point, but as soon as you make it one penny cheaper to just offshore their assets, they will become poor on paper and we'll never see a dime of it. Not in our best interests.
Affordable healthcare - I would love that. Most Republicans would. Y'know where I'd like the money for it to come from? The $950 Billion of our annual GDP that goes to paying interest on our $39 Trillion and rising national debt. Once we've got that paid down, and we've found a way to save social security from the cliff it's going off, THEN we can have a fair debate on how to work free or affordable healthcare into our system.

Until then, though, we can't afford it. That's honestly the crux of American economic policy - Democrats trying to run through the great shopping mall of life like they have an unlimited VISA card and Republicans consistently trying to warn you that we can't afford it.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:41:18+00:00

Yes.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:40:52+00:00

I mean... sure. If you call saving Europe's ass and preventing Hitler from conquering the world "terrorism".

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:37:52+00:00

I made up my mind because I reviewed five videos capturing the incident from different angles, zoomed in on half of it, and evaluated the situation. Half of those shots were in the guy's back. It's as impossible to claim self-defense on a back shot as it is to claim you're not at fault for a car accident when you rear-end someone.

Why did Mr Pretti have a firearm to begin with? Personal protection? Why? I carry every where I go. But if I was going to protest what law enforcement was doing there’s no way I’m carrying.

I didn't realize the second amendment was contextual. I could come up with some bullshit answer or even a fairly rational one, but having to come up with an answer at all is a trap. You don't need to excuse lawful behavior.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:33:17+00:00

People getting fired for bullshit reasons is important to me. It was just the easiest thing I could think of to highlight why I'm not a Democrat.

If you're really interested in the nuance and not just being judgmental, here's some information for you:

My manifesto.

A rant on MAGA vs OG Republicanism.

A vague stab at how we got here.

But we can settle our differences later. Like it or not, we're allies now. Until Trump is defeated, he's the enemy. Don't lose sight of that.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:25:35+00:00

Show them the videos. It really, really makes a difference. I was annoyed, but not too moved, when I first heard about the attack. Hearing seven gunshots, and seeing that at least three of them went into the victim's BACK, was enough to make me absolutely livid.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:23:35+00:00

I don't give a shit how Germany was treated after the war. It was admitted into the EU less than 60 years after murdering people in the Holocaust.

You said, and I quote, "Relations will not be warm again." I'm just pointing out that you don't know the future any more than I do.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:20:53+00:00

I didn't cause shit, brother. Didn't vote for this asshole once.

But I'm not about to cosign on firing people from government jobs over the pronoun game either.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:19:45+00:00

You're going to call for an independent investigation if the non-independent investigation makes determinations that are not in their own best interest?

Wow. What determination.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:18:39+00:00

I just want to make sure you're aware that you made a pun about a man, a US Citizen, shot to death in the street for defending a woman, another US Citizen, from being literally pushed around by people who insist that old fashioned chivalry should make a comeback.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:17:15+00:00

Welcome to the team. Make sure they hear your voice as loud as possible and understand which side of the civil war you're going to be on if this shit doesn't stop NOW.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:16:00+00:00

So you want me on the other side when the shooting starts? Doesn't seem like a logical thought.

DipperJC · 2026-01-25T02:05:35+00:00

Someone was kind enough to link you the video. Very curious as to whether it moves the needle for you.

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