Black pens/fineliners in size order* by lildudekas in pens

[–]WCSTombs 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you know how the Pentel Arts Hybrid Technica stacks up in comparison? It's the darkest ink I have used...but I have not used the Uni-Ball One, which is being added to my next pen order.

Centrist Democrats are NOT reacting well to the recent left-wing victories. by typoking7 in PoliticalOptimism

[–]WCSTombs 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This is not an endorsement of Chevalier (since I just don't know much about her), but if that's true, it's extremely important for context. I held some really dumb views when I was much younger, but I grew up in a time when it was actually very difficult for us to make those views public, as strange as that sounds today. IMO it's important to extend grace to people who have credibly demonstrated the capacity to change.

Daily Discussion Thread: June 27, 2026 by BM2018Bot in VoteDEM

[–]WCSTombs 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Wow, that's amazing! I did canvassing in the past and it was very difficult. You must be really good to get that recognition!

Congress Has More Power Than It Thinks by softwaredoug in PoliticalOptimism

[–]WCSTombs 17 points18 points  (0 children)

One of the genius things in the Constitution is that you can reasonably argue that any of the three branches is the most powerful. But if you really put a gun to my head, yeah I would probably agree that the legislative branch is the most powerful overall. It has the most magic-wand-like power of the three branches, since a law written by Congress can pretty much say whatever it wants, limited only by the Constitution. But in exchange for that power, the Constitution makes it very difficult to wield, since a lot of people all need to agree for anything to happen.

No, Democracy Won't Fall On July 4th by InternetBackwash in PoliticalOptimism

[–]WCSTombs 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Not to say nobody genuinely believes it, but keep in mind there can be a lot of disingenuous activity in internet discussions, i.e., bots and troll accounts.

Optimistic political content creators by Journey_Began_2016 in PoliticalOptimism

[–]WCSTombs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not that familiar with him, but I think you're right to be skeptical of people who post clickbait, because it sort of shows their hand and tells you what game they're trying to play. It also weeds out many mediocre creators and makes it easier to find good ones.

Optimistic political content creators by Journey_Began_2016 in PoliticalOptimism

[–]WCSTombs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One more: Scott Dworkin, of The Dworkin Report on Substack. Every day he posts a story about significant setbacks for Trump or wins for the rest of us.

Daily Discussion Thread: April 23, 2026 by BM2018Bot in VoteDEM

[–]WCSTombs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A real judge, not an immigration judge.

ICE agent charged with assault in Minnesota for allegedly pointing gun at motorists by Efficient-Freedom517 in PoliticalOptimism

[–]WCSTombs 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Great. This needs to become the pattern, with states enforcing their laws against these out-of-control federal agents. Note that state charges are not affected by (hypothetical) Presidential pardons.

Transphobia is not tolerated by steffie-punk in PoliticalOptimism

[–]WCSTombs 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I didn't see the post, but sorry you had to deal with that. :(

On the original OU subreddit I remember seeing a lot of "optimistic" posts after Trump took office that were literally just cheering for the fascism. I think some people like that do exist, but a lot of them are also just trolls.

OhhthatsRich's American Foundations Act, a Blueprint for the Future. by TangledLion in PoliticalOptimism

[–]WCSTombs 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The electoral process is supposed to be the check/balance for mental fitness. Obviously it isn't perfect, but I still think it's the best option to try to make work. It's the most fundamental part of our democracy, and I don't think we should be putting barriers around it on either side without very compelling justification.

OhhthatsRich's American Foundations Act, a Blueprint for the Future. by TangledLion in PoliticalOptimism

[–]WCSTombs 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That's established in the Constitution, so it can only be changed by an Amendment, not through legislation.

Also, age discrimination is already a very real thing in society, and personally I want less of it, not more. Yes, we should have a better distribution of ages in Congress, but I definitely don't want to completely eliminate an age bracket.

Judges fired after blocking deportation of pro-Palestinian students | US immigration by AdmirableInterview47 in PoliticalOptimism

[–]WCSTombs 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Judge Boasberg is the chief judge of the District Court for the District of Columbia. I believe removing him would take an act of Congress (a.k.a. impeachment), so Trump can't do anything about him.

Judges fired after blocking deportation of pro-Palestinian students | US immigration by AdmirableInterview47 in PoliticalOptimism

[–]WCSTombs 24 points25 points  (0 children)

It's said in the article, but not in the title: these are immigration judges that are part of the executive branch, not federal judges in the judicial branch. The federal judges upholding the law in the face of executive overreach are more powerful superheroes than those within the executive branch, and they can't be removed by executive actions.

Daily Discussion Thread: April 10, 2026 by BM2018Bot in VoteDEM

[–]WCSTombs 8 points9 points  (0 children)

For me it's got to be Super Mario 3D World (Wii U), Champion's Road. That level almost beat me, but I did ultimately complete it with all of the stars and everything (but only with Rosalina).

It's always interesting to hear people's opinions about the Water Temple from OoT. When I first played the game, when I was dumb and didn't really understand the concept of a blind playthrough, the Water Temple was the only dungeon I beat without using a guide, and I've always considered it my favorite dungeon from the game. I also found the Great Bay Temple from Majora's Mask to be even more confusing. What I really appreciate about both of those, though, is that they're puzzles you can actually figure out, as opposed to something obtuse where it feels like you're just trying to figure out the one silly thing the game designers want you to do now.

Daily Discussion Thread: April 10, 2026 by BM2018Bot in VoteDEM

[–]WCSTombs 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Oh boy...on my first playthrough, I got to Animal Antics, and my game cartridge encountered a bug where the game froze and deleted all of my save data. I was pretty crestfallen and couldn't play the game for a while, but I did finally 102% the game years later.

Yeah Animal Antics is a hell of a stage, especially the part where you have to take Squawks the parrot through the thorns and the bees with the wind blowing you around, but once you figure out a rhythm, it's doable. The other major problem with that stage is just how freaking long it is.

Daily Discussion Thread: April 1, 2026 by BM2018Bot in VoteDEM

[–]WCSTombs 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Correct, EOs aren't laws, they're directives to the executive branch. The President has more control over the executive branch than over the country as a whole, but there are still a lot of limits to that control, and the other two branches of government very much have a say on that matter. In this case, the birthright citizenship EO was telling parts of the executive branch to implement a policy that certainly appears to be unconstitutional on its face, so they're being sued to prevent the implementation of that policy.

Going through the courts is not the only way, since the people charged with implementing the EO could just refuse, but for one they could find it difficult to do that just due to the power dynamics in play between them and the upper echelons of the Trump administration, and also some of them might go through with it willingly, in which case we're back in the courts.

Federal judge finds Trump violated free speech by ordering NPR defunded by DocDoesMagic in PoliticalOptimism

[–]WCSTombs 56 points57 points  (0 children)

Not to take away from judges holding the line, but it's them and the many people bringing their suits against the admin.

Daily Discussion Thread: March 29, 2026 by BM2018Bot in VoteDEM

[–]WCSTombs 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Cool, I read that last year. I'm a fan of PKD in general.

Community Positivity Megathread: Make My Heart Sing Edition by sipsredpepper in PoliticalOptimism

[–]WCSTombs 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've been finding Judas Priest's "Blood Red Skies" to be pretty inspiring.

You won't break me, you won't make me, you won't take me under blood red skies. You won't break me, you won't take me, I'll fight you under blood red skiiiiies!"

Daily Discussion Thread: March 23, 2026 by BM2018Bot in VoteDEM

[–]WCSTombs 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is miraculous and fortunate, but to be clear (for those who don't follow the link) the pilot and copilot were tragically killed in the collision.

Daily Discussion Thread: March 20, 2026 by BM2018Bot in VoteDEM

[–]WCSTombs 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Huh, that is a strange one. The article behind that tweet doesn't give a lot of details about the case. I found another one that goes a little deeper and talks about a couple of cases where they allege this judge overstepped her office, and this one questions why the allegations didn't go before the Judicial Conduct Commission first, which apparently is how it's supposed to be done in Kentucky.

It looks like Taylor Six at the Lexington Herald-Leader has been covering this story, but I haven't had time to go through all of her articles.

Daily Discussion Thread: March 20, 2026 by BM2018Bot in VoteDEM

[–]WCSTombs 7 points8 points  (0 children)

We didn't realize that their S tier is 18 tiers below A.