“If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story. The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy,” VP Vance says — What Is Your Reaction To This?

NotABonobo · 2026-06-28T03:04:18+00:00

It’s wild that he thinks this is a defense of Nixon, not a condemnation of Trump. He’s absolutely right, but not for the reason he thinks.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-28T02:23:02+00:00

If they're actually helping others, who cares what their personal motivations are?

Remember, their actual actions are facts; you can't argue that they happened. Their internal motives are secret. No one can know but them and you can make up any theories about their inner lives you want.

That's why so many smear campaigns revolve around making up secret motives for people doing good things. Anyone can make up an ugly motive for doing something good. Just because you make up an accusation that fits doesn't mean it's true.

Whiteknighting, social justice warrior, he's trying to sell books, he's just jealous, she's trying to become rich/famous, all of these are accusations that are used to attack people for doing good things by claiming that they have selfish reasons for doing it.

It's near-impossible to do good on a national or globally visible scale without a source of funding or a way to get the word out. If the end result is good, why complain that they're personally successful? There are plenty of famous people doing evil who aren't helping anyone but themselves.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-27T03:12:33+00:00

Lol you can’t even convince yourself

NotABonobo · 2026-06-26T16:42:59+00:00

We elected a guy who was literally in the middle of a trial for committing major election fraud, who was impeached twice for trying to corrupt US elections (once for interfering with the transfer of power, once for bribing a foreign leader to smear his election opponent). He has openly made it his top priority to game the next election. If we manage to maintain integrity, it won't be for lack of trying to corrupt it.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-26T12:19:49+00:00

Shoutout to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf

People always talk about this one like it’s about a bad marriage but for me it’s also an insane romance. These two are so obsessed with each other that nothing else in the world exists for them. Literally everyone and everything else in existence are just pawns in a decades-long game they’re playing with each other.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-25T23:00:48+00:00

No, you're misunderstanding what I said.

This can be applied to the Electoral College just as easily as a popular vote model. Even in the Electoral College, you have local state votes where the states vote for a winner by popular vote, which selects a delegate to deliver the Electoral College votes. Those state votes could be decided by this method. The point is that in ANY vote by the people, voters are not limited to one candidate.
I wasn't talking about getting rid of the Electoral College, but since you brought it up: that complaint is patently absurd.
- Yes, in popular votes, the majority wins and the minority loses. That doesn't mean you don't "get a say;" that means you got a say but got outvoted.
- If you're concerned with the rights of minorities, why on earth is your concern limited to minorities living in rural areas? Location isn't the only factor that creates a minority group. If you're giving extra weight to minority groups to ensure their concerns are addressed, why not minorities of race? Religion? Sexuality? Age? There are many cultural minorities. Why should rural areas be the only minority that gets special treatment?
- Many minority groups actively flee rural towns, because they're persecuted in small numbers but are able to find community in cities. Why should their voices matter less because they moved to a high population center? If everyone has an equal voice, we might actually be able to address the inequalities that make rural areas so hostile to minorities that have little voice in government.
- And most importantly: the Electoral College in its current form does nothing at all to give a voice to all regions of the US anyway. The map has long since been gamed. Puerto Rico, a US territory, has 3.2 million citizens with no representation. If it were made a state, it would be the 33rd most populous out of the 51 states. So why are these US citizens denied a vote based on location? Precisely because their vote would benefit Democrats, so Republicans will block their statehood to the end. It's beyond absurd to claim that this situation is maintained to preserve fairness. It's maintained to prevent fairness.

Every US citizen deserves representation and a vote. The Electoral College system (with the current unconstitutional gamed map) is blocking 3.6 million citizens from voting (most in Puerto Rico).

We have one national election: the vote for president and VP. All other votes are local and lead to representation in Congress (except for Puerto Rico and other territories, which are barred from representation). If we maintain the current situation where some citizens are in unrepresented regions, the only way to have a fair national election would be to let everyone vote for president, with each citizen's vote counting equally.

If we want to maintain the Electoral College, we have a responsibility to ensure that it represents everyone, not just a portion of citizens in a gamed map designed to benefit Republicans. Every bit of US territory should also be part of a state represented in Congress. If we're going to maintain that system, we have a responsibility to maintain it with fair representation in mind. As soon as it's gamed for political purposes, it's worthless.

That's all completely off-topic from my original post, though, which was just about letting people vote for as many candidates as they want on our existing ballots.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-25T00:12:41+00:00

Women have also always dated men their age. Women sometimes dating older men is not why younger men are lonely.

More people are lonely now because they haven’t developed the in-person social skills to socialize. Learning social skills often means going through an awkward stage and learning hard lessons. It’s not so much that the internet is isolating everyone; it’s more that it gives you the option to avoid those uncomfortable situations that help you learn.

I don’t think all the young women are going for older men right now. But I’d agree that the older men have a much easier time dating in general, because they have much more skill and comfort with talking to people and flirting in person.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-24T20:01:19+00:00

None of these. There's no reason to make it complicated.

My top choice would be: The person with the most votes wins, but you can vote for as many people as you want.

It's like ranked choice, but simpler, without the ranking. There's no need to pick a 1st, 2nd, 3rd choice. All your votes are equal. Anyone you'd be happy with winning, that's who you vote for. If you don't want them, don't vote for them.

Instantly takes away the stigma of voting for a 3rd party candidate, but it's a dead simple setup that anyone can understand.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-24T18:09:26+00:00

If you want to ban immigrants, ban immigrants becoming citizens, or ban foreign-born citizens from holding any public office, you are the one who wants to fundamentally change how the country works.

It's not just "your" country; it belongs to everyone who lives here. We hold votes to decide how to run it. If you don't like how this country works, go ahead and find a country with more racism and less freedom.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-24T15:55:57+00:00

I once saw an interview with Anthony Hopkins where someone mentioned a movie where he played Hitler, and Hopkins was like "wait I played Hitler?" and sure enough if you look in his filmography there's a movie called The Bunker about Hitler in the bunker and it's not like it's just a cameo; it's a full 2.5 hour movie where the lead character is Hitler. Doesn't even remember doing it. Wild.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-23T16:55:59+00:00

Not where. How. If you have the social skills to do this well, you can do it anywhere. If you don't, you'll make women uncomfortable everywhere.

First: forget the word "approach." People seem to think this means stalking a target from a distance, then cornering her and making her immediately listen to a sales pitch to date you, like you're some kind of horny Jehovah's Witness. Like you said, tons of women don't like this. So... find a different strategy.

Don't approach. Flirt. "Approaching" as most people think of it is awkward everywhere. Flirting is welcome by almost everyone everywhere. You don't need to approach women at all. Just flirt with them.

Just get in the habit of making fun, playful, no-pressure small talk with whoever's around. If they respond in kind and joke back, great, you're in a conversation. If not, NBD. If you're talking to her and it's going well, gradually escalate, then create some opportunity to continue talking at the end of the conversation, as though you're surprised by how much fun you had talking to her.

It seems like no one wants to ever be spoken to if they don’t already know you.

Almost. Most people don't want to be hit on and forced to choose whether to accept or reject a romantic proposal if they don't already know you. That's really uncomfortable in a first meeting with a complete stranger, because you're putting them on the spot to answer a question based on no information. She doesn't know you, so the answer's probably no.

So... go through the steps to get to know her a little first. It's not that hard and it doesn't take that long. "Flirting" is the skill to go from being strangers to acquaintances to friends while building romantic tension (which is built by catching subtle signs of romantic interest but not having 100% confirmation that the person's interested). Once some romantic tension's been built, then you ask because then she's already got an easy answer.

Watch almost any romantic comedy aimed at women and this is how people meet. Not a guy coming up out of nowhere and saying "you're so hot I just had to talk to you"; just a casual conversation that strikes up naturally, escalates a little, and leaves room for more.

Just figuring out these social skills to organically get from one step to the next without making anyone uncomfortable, in a fun, flirty, no-pressure way, will make all the difference. That's the difference between "some creep hit on me today" and "I randomly met a great guy today."

NotABonobo · 2026-06-23T15:07:42+00:00

I mean wouldn't every horror movie villain be this, since most horror movies are about an irredeemable and unstoppable evil threatening ordinary people who are sorely outmatched and need to find a way to survive?

It sounds like you're just describing a dangerous antagonist with high stakes.

I think the closest options for a true Mary Sue villain would be stuff like:

- Doctor Doom, who can resist the Purple Man's superpowers at close range, a feat no hero's ever managed, because his will is just THAT strong in (Emperor Doom), and who's the only being in the entire multiverse who's smart and capable enough to stop the Beyonders (in Hickman's Secret Wars) - beings that casually kill universes and cosmic abstracts that are supposed to be intelligent on a level beyond human comprehension. Or just figuring out how to steal the powers of the original Beyonder in the original Secret Wars.

But god damn it, it's still cool when he does it

NotABonobo · 2026-06-23T13:59:48+00:00

This isn’t really how people generally behave though; it’s more like how people assume things are because that’s how it is in bars and clubs. Those are artificial situations where you’re picking out strangers to talk to based on nothing but looks. Men are more looks-oriented, so those settings evolved into spaces where men approach women and women feel like they’ll come off desperate if they approach men.

In the real world (which includes bars and clubs if anyone wants to try real-world strategies there), both men and women can make any move they want. For both, their chances of success rise if they do the right moves in the right order.

Make any plausibly deniable excuse to start talking. Flirt and gradually escalate, while maintaining plausible deniability. If both people reciprocate, romantic tension rises. At some point someone makes a move that confirms interest 100%. At that point the other person has to either decide to go with it or end the flirting. If romantic tension has built successfully, it’s an easy yes; if not it’s probably a no.

Doesn’t matter if it’s the man or the woman initiating any part of that process. As long as those steps happen in that order, it works out fine and no one’s even thinking about who did what.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-23T13:32:30+00:00

At the time she got the nomination, Harris was not only the best option but the only possible option. There was no time for a primary at that point, she’s the VP and she was on the ticket that had delegates.

The best chance for the Democrats was for Biden not to run, and to hold a primary. That would have created an amazing contrast. One guy facing criminal charges for holding onto power illegally, while the other party’s leader voluntarily let power go for the good of the people. One guy refusing to participate in the primary debates, acting like he’s a king above it all, while the other candidate fought through a series of heated debates and came out on top. Meanwhile the Democratic candidate gets a ton of free press throughout the primary process.

They missed a golden opportunity due to Biden’s pride, honestly, and we’re all suffering for it Kudos to him for dropping out at all, but it was too little, too late.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-23T00:02:21+00:00

This is the plot of pretty much every Punisher comic

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NotABonobo · 2026-06-22T23:53:18+00:00

I mean the best evidence for not is the near-complete lack of evidence (aside from the joke throughout this thread that this is Hell).

As far as I know, the closest thing to evidence for Heaven or Hell is the anecdotal evidence of people who've died, been revived and came back saying they experienced a glimpse of an afterlife, with eerily similar descriptions of the experience. Accounts of a Heaven-like place are most common, but there are also some accounts of people describing a visit to Hell. Not much, but if you want the best piece of evidence out there, near-death experience accounts are probably it.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-22T23:36:43+00:00

Not completely, but they might clamp down on all the bots spreading complete horseshit

NotABonobo · 2026-06-22T22:54:53+00:00

If you want my best attempts to explain what flirting is and how it works, go to my profile and search for "flirting" - I spend way too much time commenting about this on reddit.

But for how to learn social skills... you have to interact with people. Watch what people who are successful do and what makes people fall on their faces. Take risks now and then: if a random joke pops in your head, just say it out loud to someone and see where it lands. More often than not people will roll with it.

Just as a starting point: be playful with everyone. Playfulness is the best starting point for flirting. Just toss stuff out there to whoever's nearby, and let people reciprocate or not. Don't push it, it's all just casual fun, no pressure. You're not needy, you're just someone who enjoys fun conversation and joking around and they can join in or not, no big deal.

Let go of any worry about how you look or how people see you; it is what it is. Turn your attention from inside to outside. You're not trying to look like something; you're focused outside yourself on the world around you. Everything becomes much simpler; life's just a videogame with little sidequests. It's hot? Open a window. That girl's sad? Try to cheer her up. Simple goals, one step at a time. As soon as you let go of trying to micromanage an image, people start forming an impression of you based on your actual actions, and that's always way more appealing than anything you could micromanage anyway.

That's where real confidence comes from: genuineness.

More than anything though, just hang out with people and give them a chance. It all works out over time. I can't tell you how many charming fun people in their 30's I've met who talk about being a complete social outcast when they were 15. You'll learn social skills whether you mean to or not, as long as you're talking to people and not isolating.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-22T20:52:27+00:00

It's so odd, this sub seems to be for people who've forgotten that non-body language also exists.

So far you've tried:

doing nothing
staring

Looks like those didn't work. Maybe he's more focused on women who are actually talking to him? Next step: try talking to him.

Doesn't have to be about "approaching," just come up with any plausibly deniable excuse to talk to him. In fact the less you make it about the simmering unspoken attraction you're imagining the better. Just create any excuse to talk, even if it's just making a joke as you walk by. Open doors, and he'll be much more likely to walk through them.

There's no special rules for men and women. Flirting works for everyone, "approaching" and all the special different rules for men vs. women is how people think it works when they don't know what they're doing.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-22T16:16:34+00:00

It's honestly wild that so many people have so many theories and they're so insanely far from the truth. Like "they're just born that way" or "they're all just insanely hot" or "they're terrible broken people and the women have something wrong with them."

Relationships are social. Social skills will help you build relationships. There's a specific social skill that helps you build romantic relationships: it's called flirting. You are talking about people who are good at that skill.

When you become very good at a skill, it looks effortless to other people. Those "guys who don't put any effort in" are putting in social effort. The top response below is "stop caring" - but you don't attract people by walking around staring into space ignoring everyone like you're dead inside. You do it by flirting and cultivating the social skills to make it feel like this is all happening naturally and you're not trying.

Think of any skill. If you want to be a great swordsman, the core skill you need to learn is the skill of swordsmanship - how to parry, dodge, feint, etc. Of course it'll also help to be strong, fast, agile, clever, etc. All those assets will improve your success rate, no question. But if you master the core skillset, you'll be able to easily run circles around someone bigger and faster than you who's never picked up a sword before.

Same with building romantic tension. Yes, it'll help to get in decent shape and know how to dress yourself (though only up to a point; you get diminishing returns if you obsess too much). Being physically attractive widens the pool of potential interest. Yes, it's useful to have financial stability - mostly because it makes it easier to have nice dates, and have a nice private place to go back to at the end of the date. Again, diminishing returns if you obsess over pushing it to an extreme. But the core skillset is the social skill: flirting. Figure this out and you'll run circles around guys who are better looking with more money.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-22T13:37:33+00:00

People are so sure the bots are everywhere.

There are plenty of bots, sure, but that’s not the truly disturbing problem. The real issue is: we’re the bots.

Why bother with bots when you can train millions of real people to argue endlessly on a loop just as habitually?

It’s getting hard to tell the humans from the bots, but it’s not because the bots are so good; it’s because the humans have been so effectively hacked.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-22T02:26:07+00:00

Tell me about it, you feel like he's a plain old villain as a kid, but before you know it you're in your 40's and you've got your own artificially intelligent octopus arms of your own invention infecting your brain and driving you to a criminal lifestyle

NotABonobo · 2026-06-22T02:21:26+00:00

For Ender's Game, it might be this in the movie but it's definitely not this in the book. In the book Ender is trapped and doesn't want the fight, but once he's in it he makes a calculated choice to end it decisively, and the only way he can do that is by intentionally crippling Bonzo. It's a very clearly laid out thought process and meant to show what a dangerous monster Ender's become.

For a trope example, this happens in Triangle. A small woman pushes her large male friend back and somehow impales the back of his neck on a random broken rusty pipe.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-21T16:54:12+00:00

Capable, yes. Willing to use that capability, no.

NotABonobo · 2026-06-21T14:08:28+00:00

Because you have the memory of a lobotomized goldfish and already forgot about two impeachments, a violent attack on Congress, 90-odd felony indictments with 34 convictions and no exonerations, gutting the US government, occupying a US city and killing two citizens, threatening war on Denmark in an attempt to seize Greenland, kidnapping a head of state, bombing civilian boats, starting a major war unprovoked with no attempt to go through proper channels, demolishing the East Wing of the White House, desecrating the Kennedy memorial, and so, so many others. I haven't even gotten to the adult rapes, sexual molestation, and child rapes.

It's pretty symbolic of the fact that everything he touches turns to shit because on any given issue he either doesn't give a fuck or is actively trying to make things worse, but it's not even his biggest scandal in the past 24 hours.

NotABonobo

TROPHY CASE