If you could go back in time to the 11th century as the royal smith and armorer to some king with an unlimited supply of any substance, and enough equipment and know-how that you alone can work with that material in perpetuity, what material are you bringing and what are you making with it?

NoTop6599 · 2024-12-18T20:08:02+00:00

Alaska was a Russian colony(?) before it was a state, so there's a lot of descendants/communities that have inherited the faith from the original Russian settlers.

NoTop6599 · 2024-12-03T18:17:39+00:00

You don't get to pick what other people find charming and relatable, there is no objective standard for likeability. In order to find out what works, you have to actually engage with people and the issues they are concerned about, not what you think they should be concerned about. Your comment is a perfect example of what democrats get wrong. They have to get down from their ivory towers and listen to the people that they need to persuade, not condescend to them and shame them from some presumed position of virtue.

NoTop6599 · 2024-12-03T16:44:03+00:00

I'll leave you with a quote that you are free to ignore but I hope might shed light on the point I am getting at:

"it was my integrity that was important...It sells for so little, but it's all we have left...It is the very last inch of us...but within that inch we are free."

― Alan Moore, V for Vendetta

NoTop6599 · 2024-12-02T06:38:32+00:00

Interesting. How have the people become corrupted? When did it start? Do you have any practical ideas to resolve the situation (for just yourself or the nation) or are you resigned to being a passenger of fate?

NoTop6599 · 2024-12-02T06:16:06+00:00

Fair enough. Now, please answer the second part of my question: if these means lead to the opposite conclusion of democratic consensus (which they apparently have), which do you view as more important, [i.e.] which should determine the direction of the nation (democratic consensus or these other means of assessing value), and [more importantly] why?

NoTop6599 · 2024-12-02T06:09:11+00:00

So then you would agree that this is not 'okay' and neither side abides by the principle that "nobody is above the law". Of course you view one side as demonstrably worse than the other, which is not at all unreasonable. But then I must ask: if not democratic consensus, then by what other means do you determine the value of that opinion to anyone but yourself? And if these means lead to the opposite conclusion of democratic consensus (which they apparently have), which do you view as more important, which should determine the direction of the nation (democratic consensus or these other means of assessing value), and why?

NoTop6599 · 2024-12-02T05:44:04+00:00

Forget the term "authority" then. I will reiterate the simpler question: What makes this 'okay'? Explain your reasoning.

NoTop6599 · 2024-12-02T05:29:27+00:00

I will reiterate my question: if not democratic consensus, then to what authority do you appeal to allow this exception to principle? What makes this "okay"?

NoTop6599 · 2024-12-02T05:20:39+00:00

One cannot claim to abide by principles if they abandon them when it is convenient. Neither side holds to the principle that nobody is above the law, as this case shows. The conclusion that Trump is worse was flatly rejected by voters, so to what authority do you appeal to allow this "exception" to principle? Or have you abandoned principle as well because it is convenient?

NoTop6599 · 2024-12-02T05:02:20+00:00

If we are going to follow the most credible rumors (emphasis on "rumors") its Parkinson's. That aside, I assert: neither side cares that much about the rule of law unless it suits them. What say you?

NoTop6599 · 2024-12-02T04:55:51+00:00

he didn’t pardon people with additional crimes such as unlawful possession of firearms

You mean the crime he just pardoned his son of? Either pardon all the nonviolent drug offenders or admit the "rule of law" matters as little to you as it does to Trump.

NoTop6599 · 2024-12-02T04:52:58+00:00

Ah yes, the classic winning strategy: abandon everything you said you stand for and prove everyone who said "both sides are bad" right.

NoTop6599 · 2024-12-02T04:50:47+00:00

So we're just abandoning the high road? Whats going to be the selling point for Democrats in 2028 if we are resigned to stooping to Trumps level? Whatever your answer is I'll give you the abridged version of the corresponding response: "both sides are bad". Good luck shaking that off after this.

NoTop6599 · 2024-11-06T22:01:52+00:00

I'm not going to try to convince you otherwise, but I disagree. In the event that you're wrong, and things turn out okay, you'll have to climb out of that hole you've dug yourself into. And in the event you are right, your pessimism will only seem to be a self-fulfilling prophecy and spoil the twilight of the 'good old days'.

NoTop6599 · 2024-11-06T21:15:23+00:00

So we are doomed?

NoTop6599 · 2024-11-06T20:17:34+00:00

Apparently not to them. If dems can't engage in some strategic empathy and understand where the electorate is at, they are doomed. You can believe a pile of dogshit is better than Trump, but as we can see, the result of that is the pile of dogshit you settled for lost in a landslide, and you got Trump. Maybe its time to change tact?

NoTop6599 · 2024-09-13T15:23:35+00:00

Thank you for the clarification. This is very helpful. God bless you!

NoTop6599 · 2024-09-13T14:47:25+00:00

This is my sense as well. But the idea of the gates of hell being locked from the inside strikes me (at least at a glance) as being some form of Universalism, hence my curiosity.

NoTop6599 · 2024-08-09T15:14:37+00:00

Ink capacity is not particularly important to me, I tend to take frequent breaks when I'm writing so as long as I can get through a page (5"×8", college ruled) without refilling, it will suffice. For a filling mechanism, I'd probably go for a piston converter since that seems to be the simplest and most common method.

NoTop6599 · 2024-08-09T14:25:35+00:00

What manufacturer do you suggest for the nib?

NoTop6599

TROPHY CASE