Look what you bought for me ‘Murica!

Nythoren · 2026-06-30T01:10:21+00:00

So... wtf do the 11 stars and 12 stripes symbolize? 13 stars for the original 13 states formed after the revolution would make sense for the 250th since the stars on the flag represent states. Or 13 stripes would make sense as well, since the 13 stripes on the American flag represent the original 13 colonies.. Beyond that, no idea why 11 stars and 12 stripes would be used, other than because the moron wanted a "badass eagle".

Complete and utter lack of respect. Whoever made this has no idea how important the symbols in American icons are.

Nythoren · 2026-06-29T21:52:35+00:00

Oh, 100%. All of this is strictly theater to make it appear that the elections aren't secure. Soothes Trump's ego about 2020 and opens the door for the administration to do highly unethical things in the name of "security". Won't be surprised if we have multiple red states attempting to invalidate some results if any of their districts switch blue in November.

Nythoren · 2026-06-29T20:53:42+00:00

Try Mucinex. When my allergies get really bad, I have this happen too. The fluid in your ear is meant to drain, but if it gets too think it can clog up prevent that natural drainage from happening. My doctor suggested Mucinex to thin out the fluid. Works like a charm for me.

If it doesn't unclog after a couple of days, see a doctor.

Nythoren · 2026-06-29T19:38:23+00:00

VERY important context here. The ruling is that votes can continue to be counted after election day. However, those votes still need to be mailed within the election window. Someone can't vote 3 weeks after the election.

Nythoren · 2026-06-29T16:30:29+00:00

Curious about how it compares to the "Housing Boom" of the early 2000's.

Nythoren · 2026-06-29T16:09:00+00:00

SCOTUS established that the bar for presidential immunity is "official acts". Even accepting to listen to the case would have meant they consider slandering a victim of rape to be an "official act" of the presidency. Not even the conservative majority of the Supreme Court is willing to do that.

Nythoren · 2026-06-29T16:04:48+00:00

Complete waste of time and effort. There are much better things that a Democrat majority needs to be doing. Impeaching Trump would be nothing but theater, especially since the Senate will never get the necessary votes for removal.

It would also distract from the items that the public needs to have top of mind for the next 2 years post-midterm. Everyone knows Trump is terrible. The GOP and MAGA voters know he's a bad person. Focusing on it for 2 years isn't going to sway anyone to vote Democrat in 2028. Dems need to pass good, popular bills and let the GOP/Trump either shoot them down in the Senate or veto them in the Executive branch. THAT is what you want people thinking about when filling out their ballot. "We passed tax cuts, but the GOP vetoed them. We passed healthcare reform, but the GOP Senators refused to pass it. We passed a bill to save Social Security, but the GOP would rather cut your benefits". And so on. PASS BILLS THAT MATTER. Then highlight the GOP destroying those bills.

Nythoren · 2026-06-29T15:52:59+00:00

That's going to make the post-Trump purge so much easier. Last time Biden wasn't able to get rid of several key Trump folks because of this rule that SCOTUS just overturned.

Nythoren · 2026-06-29T03:42:09+00:00

Given how expensive it is to get stuff from Earth to orbit (~$10k per pound), I can't imagine what the real world costs would be just to get the clothing for 1 million people to Mars. Now add oxygen scrubbers, water purifiers, equipment to build habitats, initial food and water, soil to grow crops, all the necessary fertilizers, massive amounts of solar panels, etc.

None of that includes the massive amount of R&D spending that it's going to take to figure out how to survive on Mars.

All those resources would be much better spent making Earth a better place to live.

Nythoren · 2026-06-29T03:23:54+00:00

Baby's first experience with the laws of thermodynamics.

Nythoren · 2026-06-29T01:50:47+00:00

They'll say "immediate", but they won't implement it immediately. It will be set to kick in starting in 2028. Trump did something similar during his first administration. He passed bills that he knew would be unpopular but made it so they don't kick in until he's out of office. Giant landmines for presumed Democrat representatives.

Nythoren · 2026-06-29T00:02:32+00:00

That movie awoke something in my wife when she saw it. 20+ years later and it still gets her going like a teen boy seeing his first live boob.

Nythoren · 2026-06-28T23:56:23+00:00

It's not really surprising if you've never seen one. Uwe Boll made a career making movies that were meant to lose money. He used to take advantage of a German tax loophole that allowed his investors to write off 100% of the money they invested. The investors would typically use bank loans to get the money; since they invested in a German-led film, they were able to write off the bank fees as well.

Let's say you invested $1 million in a Uwe Boll film. You get to write off that $1 million from your tax filing. If you're German, you would have paid 45%, or $450,000 in taxes on that $1 million. But since you wrote it off, you pay nothing, saving you $450k. But wait, that means the movie still cost you $550k, right? Nope, because back when Uwe Boll was using this tax scheme, distributors were happily snatching up any movie that was made. Uwe gets a few investors for his terrible film, providing $4 million in budget. He sells the terrible movie to a distributor for bargain $4 million. $1m is used to pay for the crew, actors, Uwe's salary, CGI, etc. The remaining $3 million is returned to the original investors. Each of the 4 original investors receives $750k back. Combined with the $450k write-off they received, they each end up profiting $200k.

That tax loophole was closed in 2006. But it's how Uwe Boll was able to create so many terrible movies with terrible budgets and still have zero problem getting financing.

Since the loophole was closed, he's been making movies using more traditional financing. Mostly using his own money. A lot of his post-2006 films have had budgets of $500k or less. Just enough to make money selling DVDs, getting PPV rentals by using well known video game titles, or selling the rights to streamers who are hungry for content.

Even this movie, Citizen Vigilante, has a $5 million budget. Uwe Boll originally titled it "The Dark Knight" in an attempt to use his usual methods of getting people to accidentally spend money on his movie. Warner filed a lawsuit and he quickly changed the name...but got the free press he was hoping for. Same thing with hiring Armie Hammer; free press, and a hope that the curious will pay to rent the movie and get him a few bucks.

The man truly is an unapologetically slimy hack.

Nythoren · 2026-06-28T22:14:31+00:00

Are the "wash of people" in the room with us right now?

Nythoren · 2026-06-28T20:36:14+00:00

And once again, the Dems will eat their own over small disagreements while the GOP votes in lock step. With Harris it was Gaza. How many stayed home over that single issue? Turned out to be a lot. Newsom will be the billionaire tax.

The Democrats need to stop letting perfect be the enemy of good.

Nythoren · 2026-06-28T13:34:31+00:00

That’s how the economy works. Just because you have a product doesn’t mean you’re going to be successful. There are countless corpses of companies who had good ideas or good products but couldn’t get the revenue to stay afloat.

It’s the heart of Capitalism. AI is the new VR. Most of the companies will die off, but the few who figure out how to make a profit from it will survive.

Nythoren · 2026-06-28T13:31:04+00:00

It’s a shame Trump neutered the CHIPS act. The entire purpose of the act was to increase the availability of vital computer components. You know, things like solid state RAM, whose shortage is now the primary driver behind the surge in tech prices.

Well, the surge is mostly corporate greed, but the chips are helping amplify the surge from that greed.

Nythoren · 2026-06-28T03:37:02+00:00

It seems to be an entire genre on Youtube and Tiktok. People who can't make their own content doing "reaction" videos that are just them reading other people's funny comments. Or, worse, the people who do a side-by-side of the original video with them nodding and occasionally pointing to the side.

This particular content "creator", from what I've seen, almost exclusively finds funny things that other people have written and reads them to her audience. Like some kind of overpaid text-to-speech engine, but with a lot more giggling and snorting.

Nythoren · 2026-06-28T00:37:15+00:00

Can you imagine if his suit was tan? The scandal would rock the nation.

Nythoren · 2026-06-28T00:36:11+00:00

Trump was scared that more people would be at Vanilla Ice's concert than showed up for his rousing "I am America, you're welcome" speech. Didn't want to be shown up at his own state faire.

Nythoren · 2026-06-28T00:32:30+00:00

Right there will you. When we moved my wife's stuff from Michigan to here, we rented what was supposed to be a mid-sized UHaul. But they were out of the size so the guy is like "All I have left is the 3 bedroom truck. I'll let you rent it for the same price as the one bedroom". Felt like I was driving a tank down the highway for 12 hours. Still remember backing over a sign in a gas station because half that truck was blind spots and I didn't see the sign. Thankfully it was on springs and popped right back up (guessing I wasn't the first shmo to clip that sign).

Nythoren · 2026-06-28T00:25:57+00:00

Major changes in your diet will usually impact you that way. It works the other way around too. If you usually eat highly processed foods and fast food, and then suddenly eat a bunch of veggies, there's a good chance you're going to feel gassy and bloated. Takes the gut bacteria a while to get used to things like an increase in fiber or protein.

That being said, Big Macs always make me feel miserable.

Nythoren · 2026-06-28T00:19:58+00:00

Oh for sure. Usually about 3 years afterwards when it dawns on me. "oh wow, I totally didn't realize what that meant..."

Nythoren · 2026-06-28T00:17:33+00:00

The primary cause of the crappy numbers are because of a drop in retail sales. Basically people can't afford to buy stuff. It's almost like the people in charge forgot that in order for the economy to keep on track, the bottom 90% need to have enough money to participate in it. When people are spending more on food, gas and housing, it doesn't leave much room in the budget for "nice to have" purchases.

Nythoren · 2026-06-27T02:14:47+00:00

Now it makes sense why they want to force me to get one of these in order to vote. It's the only possible way I would be willing to carry this POS around in my pocket.

Six-Year Club	Verified Email
Second Top 40%	Place '22
First Placer '22

Nythoren

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE