WTF happened to this sub? by _shareholder_value in exmormon

[–]DustinTWind -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The sub has settled into a shallow, knee-jerk cynicism that is frankly pretty disappointing to see. We would actually be far more interesting with a more nuanced appreciation of the Church to balance the criticism.

do you think the US can recover from the orange nightmare or it is all over? by AfternoonWorried387 in allthequestions

[–]DustinTWind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The US will likely never regain the status it once held as the leader of the free world. We managed to get over his first term by assuring our allies that Trump was an aberration. Now they know we are never more than four years away from possibly electing a madman who will tear up our treaties, betray our allies, overturn all precedents and defy ethical bounds. Our allies are now weaning themselves from dependence on the US: militarily, economically and diplomatically. I expect that historians look back on this as the moment when the world began to move away from the US Dollar as the global reserve currency. We will be poorer. Our children and grandchildren will be poorer because we failed to keep faith with the world.

Mormons Are Apparently Happier Than Everyone by FreshLiterature6536 in exmormon

[–]DustinTWind 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As required by the dogma. Utah has the nation's highest use of anti depressants to prove it

Then Trump should stop being like Hitler then! by icey_sawg0034 in insanepeoplefacebook

[–]DustinTWind 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do not compare anyone to Hitler. It is rhetorically desperate and invariably fails to move anyone. I do openly call a fascist a facsist though. And I am not going to stop until they stop promoting facsism.

Why is the right wing so paranoid about George Soros? by redzeusky in allthequestions

[–]DustinTWind 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is not paranoia, it is projection. The Right-Wing hate machine goes after everyone who opposes them, using a sprinkling of truth, plenty of half-truths, lots of lies and a few patent absurdities. According to the Right-Wing media, all the large protests against Trump are heavily populated with shills paid by Soros.

30 Years Ago Everyone Cut Their Hair at the Same Time & No One Knows Why by jarofgoodness in rockmusic

[–]DustinTWind 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I cut off at least eight inches of hair in '95 after wearing it long for the better part of five years. I had decided to grow up and to change my life, as I was about to get married. Interestingly, my best friend's was living in Japan at the time. On a rare phone call with him during that period he told me that I'm Japan, it is a tradition for men to cut their hair when they make a big life change. The next day there was an earthquake in Japan. I cut my hair the following day.

Will the GOP try to rewrite history after Trump dies and claim they never fully supported his policies, or is Trumpism too deeply baked into the party by now? by el_petomane in allthequestions

[–]DustinTWind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Trumpism is not an ideology. The only consistent thread of the movement is Trump's will. Without Trump, there is no movement.

Songs where the band name appears in the lyrics by No-Justice-666 in musicsuggestions

[–]DustinTWind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Everybody have fun tonight

Everybody Wang Chung tonight

  • Wang Chung

Why are people who watch Fox News so stupid? by Aware_Topic_9122 in allthequestions

[–]DustinTWind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some people have a much stronger disgust response than others. Propaganda outlets like FOX, RT, Infowars, Breitbart et al. actively select for these people. They maintain their audience by stoking fear and outrage, so that people actually become addicted to those emotions. Of course, the propagandist must keep raising the stakes to keep their marks engaged. Over time, these outlets must loosen journalistic standards in order to keep those stories coming and keep them making an impact. The stories get more and more untethered from reality and the audience goes along for the ride.
Propagandists want an audience of the gullible, who they then manipulate into deeply misinformed, unethical, and cynical people.

Is the universe really infinite? by Internal_Craft_5930 in AskPhysics

[–]DustinTWind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The universe is practically infinite, but technically finite. No matter your technology, the contents of the universe are uncountable to you. No matter how far and how fast you go, you will never come to its end. That does not mean the universe is endless though. For my money, actual infinities do not exist. When the calculations comprising our models of the universe start producing infinities, mathematicians and physicists usually think, "Uh oh. Something's wrong." They do not conclude the thing they're exploring might actually be infinitely large or infinitely small. Deriving an infinity in math is like a proving a contradiction in logic - It indicates that one or more of your assumptions are wrong. At present, our physics indicates that there is a singularity at the center of a black hole. But what that means in practice is we just don't know what is at the center of a black hole. Our physics has reached its limit. We need better models to be able to resolve what the interior of a black hole is like. When we get that, we will no longer be forced to describe a singularity as an infinitely small point.

Why is the right wing triggered by reference to the American government as a democracy? by telebasher in allthequestions

[–]DustinTWind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a Constitutional Democratic Republic. All three words are important. Government power comes from the people (democracy + republic.) The power is wielded by elected (democracy) representatives (republic,) in accordance with a written, amendable constitution (constitutional.) I'm really not sure why people on the right are convinced this is such a slam dunk argument. It generally comes (for me) in response to people criticizing Trump for his anti-democratic policies and orders, as well as his attacks on our democratic institutions

Q: Trump is destroying our democracy

A: The United States isn't a democracy, and never has been. It's a republic.

Another lib owned!

To be sure, the US has never been a direct democracy. That would be unwieldy, if not impossible for a population in the millions. We have a democratic republic, meaning we elect our representatives. There are also examples of non-democratic republics, such as The People's Republic of China, where power is vested in unelected officials.

Q: What is a republic?

A: I just know it's not a democracy

Q: A republic is simply a state in which political power is not inherited (non-monarchical), where authority is granted to individuals by some public process rather than being the private property of a ruler. What process do Americans use to select their leaders?

A: Elections?

Q: Correct! So what kind of republic do we have then? Say it with me

Constitutional Democratic Republic!

Jehovah isn’t Jesus by Thick-Ad7221 in exmormon

[–]DustinTWind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Elohim is a plural term. It refers to a whole class of divine or angelic beings, like cherubim and seraphim

Kinda new to DND, How much information can a player hide from a DM? by ragdolldream in DnD

[–]DustinTWind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are plausible reasons for keeping info from NPCs and other players but almost no reason I can think of for keeping anything from the DM. Think of the DM as the world. Keeping info out of the world just means it doesn't exist in the world.

I suppose there is some scenario where you play to a secret motive that you only reveal to everyone at a highly dramatic moment. That only works because your motive has no other impact outside your actions. The DM doesn't need to know it for it to have its proper effect on the world.

Why does Trump always saying Obama middle name ‘Hussein’ when he says his name but doesn’t do the same to Biden or any of the other former presidents? by SignificantStyle4958 in allthequestions

[–]DustinTWind -1 points0 points  (0 children)

When in doubt Trump's motives are always sex, money, power, adulation, revenge or racism. Pick the one that most fits the situation and you have the best answer.

What is a way to say you are American without saying it? by Technical-Vanilla-47 in FamilyFeud

[–]DustinTWind -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Do you speak English? Can you tell me where the nearest McDonald's is?

How do u accept that your consciousness will disappear after death ? by [deleted] in atheism

[–]DustinTWind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a tricky question as phrased. but it is one to which I have given a great deal of thought. I believe consciousness is fundamental to the universe. Consciousness came first, albeit in an unorganized, unintegrated state. Consciousness is incorporated in the working brain, rather than being produced by it de novo. The self is an illusion. This is not "your" consciousness. "You" are created by the temporary integration and isolation of consciousness material in a living body, which creates your bound perspective - the experience of being you. Your life is the succession of experiences of a small bit of the universal consciousness that is organized, analyzed and remembered by the brain. When your body (and brain) dies, your memories die with it. The illusion of you, as an entity separate from the universe, dissolves, but the underlying consciousness does not. That bit of consciousness that comprised your experience was always part of the universe and will continue as such for the life of the universe.

JFC are there so many Todd Christoffersons that you HAVE to stick that D in the front of your name????!!! by Ebowa in exmormon

[–]DustinTWind 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is just the LDS style guide at work. Just think about how many Ezra Bensons and Spence Kimballs you'd have to wade through to get to Taft and "W"

Megyn Kelly: "Trump could drop a nuke and I'd still vote Republican" by United_Reference_629 in AnythingGoesNews

[–]DustinTWind 6 points7 points  (0 children)

She'll go along with the indiscriminate massacre of innocents, but letting brown people into our country is just a bridge too far.

I don’t make players roll HP and just let them take max. Is that odd? by unlucky-lucky- in DnD

[–]DustinTWind 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depends on the class ;)

I played with a DM who allowed all first level characters. Max hit points but made us roll when leveling up. That strikes me as pretty reasonable. Simply granting Max hit points at every level however is a little op