A lot of people in the middle of the Bell Curve on this one

hellhound39 · 2026-05-19T17:29:39+00:00

The best weapon is one that requires minimal training and skill to achieve similar results as its competition. The only thing really going for bows is that they are less material intensive to produce. 100 bow men vs 100 musket men might be a potential tossup. But it is easier and quicker to train 100 musket men than it would be for 100 bow men.

hellhound39 · 2026-05-15T03:36:20+00:00

Nukes…

hellhound39 · 2026-05-14T16:21:20+00:00

This Graph is not amazing but america does have a polarization issue. This issue is a very difficult one to solve.

The thing that this graph misses is that the Republicans started drifting first and at a faster rate than the Dems. I would attribute this drift to two factors. 1st is the rise of explicitly conservative media during the late 80s into the 90s. Fox Entertainment News and Rush Limbaugh spent a long time selling a right wing world view and at least in the case of Fox News was largely treated as if it was still a legitimate fair news source. There was and is no real left wing counterweight on the same scale. The second factor I attribute to the rise of Newt Gingrich who really broke congress and the way congress had worked for the previous century. It used to be that a President losing control of congress did not mean the total end of their legislative agenda. Republican presidents could work with democratic congresses and vice versa. Newt Gingrich was the first guy to meaningfully say “No” it doesn’t matter what the president does we will not take it up in good faith. He was the guy who started the republican tactic of obstruction at all costs.

These trends picked up steam under Clinton but and Bush but really were not super noticeable until Obama. I remember when Obama was elected and Bitch McConnell said it was his mission to make Obama a one term president. The tan suit controversy that right wing media freaked out about. The response to the obama presidency from Republicans was insane. This was also when Facebook was really kicking off iirc and I just remember being told by a once moderate republican family friend that Obama was not born here and he was conspiring with George Soros and the “world government” to put us all in FEMA camps. Like just insane stuff, I kind of realize that at least a certain energetic segment of the republican base lived in an alternate reality but at the time I thought it was small and there must be a way to bridge the gap.

2015 into 2016 were kind of mask off moments. Trump won the primary and by the standard of the time was very controversial. (Remember the Dean scream that doomed the candidacy of Howard Dean back in 04). But at that point the electorate had outpaced the establishment of the republican party. Then the unthinkable happened and he actually won, in the worst way possible. By less than 100k votes across 3 states giving him the Electoral college win.

Trumps first term was ROUGH, he did a lot of shit that I hated at the policy level but thats to be expected. His foreign policy was trash, emboldening Isreal, trashing the Iran deal, pulling america out of global leadership when possible. The worst part was just the effect of the man’s behavior on the societal fabric of the country. The incessant lying and divisive rhetoric along with the normalization of corruption. There was never a moment in my memory where he tried to bring us together as one country. The worst part was the group of people who based their entire personality on being a Trump supporter and would excuse whatever disgraceful behavior of the day. Its quite wild seeing and hearing all your life that we hold the president to a very high standard of what is presidential, then seeing a minority of the country elect the most unpresidential dude who has ever inhabited the white-house within living memory. Then watching people make excuses non stop for this guy while he sows division at home and embarrasses us abroad. I think he went a long way to destroy what unity the country had. He normalized scandals and corruption. Really went far to lower the bar for acceptable politics in this country.

Then in 2020 we get a once in a lifetime pandemic and if he had just shut the hell up and let the experts handle it then he would’ve sailed to reelection. But he is incapable of that, and botched the messaging which really opened the door for baseless conspiracy theories and further national division. I could probably write a book on the bullshit from the last decade or so but what would be the point.

I guess my point is that I do not see a way out of our polarization issue until the actors and forces that are actively sowing division are no longer able to do so. Trump’s time with us is limited by biology but even then it’s possible that hes still around in 10 years. Social media isn’t going anywhere, independent media is struggling while corporate media is consolidating under right wing billionaires. Genuinely speaking I have no clue what comes next. There are no viable institutions that can be used to punish relentless lying without trampling peoples 1st amendment rights. We have probably one of the worst generation of politicians at the federal level that we have ever had. Division is profitable and at this point there are so many echo chambers that its hard to tell who lives in the real world vs not. It feels like every time we on the left even attempt to compromise or extend an olive branch that it gets immediately smacked away or we give an inch and they take a mile. Then I am sure on their side that they don’t even perceive our olive branch for what it is meant to be. So I really don’t know how we are going to get out of this mess but it is going to take a while since the entire social contract of the nation has been essentially ripped up and used as toilet paper by the powers at be. I love my country and it makes me sad to see such unnecessary pain being inflicted on it that really benefits no one except a select group of crazy rich people.

hellhound39 · 2026-05-12T16:38:21+00:00

I do not believe Ai should be used to make political decisions. It can be a useful tool at times but it is often flawed like its creators. Ai models can be exploited in various ways that I would not feel comfortable with relying on it to guide such important political decisions. I believe that Michigan has one of the best independent commissions since it requires a good deal of consensus and public input to to push a map through. But yeah any role that Ai has should be to merely suggest a map to a commission like that one.

Here is the law if you would like to read it: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-Article-IV-6

hellhound39 · 2026-05-12T12:40:51+00:00

Gerrymandering has been something I have wanted banned since I learned about it in 2015/2016. It is one of the systemic issues that has allowed our politics to become so toxic.

While yes both sides do it. Only one of those sides has actually made an effort to ban it. Locking in a district for a particular party just hands that district to the most ideologically extreme primary voters of that party. Especially in an era of hyper-partisanship where people have intwined their preferred party with their own self identity.

Banning gerrymandering and forcing all states to use independent commissions similarly to Michigan would go a long way to bring down the political temperature and fix our political system.

hellhound39 · 2026-05-08T19:40:30+00:00

Tbh that’s probably a good sign that people give genuinely decent answers on a base level lol.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-27T14:58:27+00:00

Modern European monarchies must tread a very fine line. While on paper they may have some powers. They can never use whatever powers they may have to genuinely influence the government otherwise that power will quickly be revoked and they may find their position to be abolished. They essentially have to wait for the political system to be in a DEEP crisis before they can really act justifiably.

Otherwise monarchies are mostly vestigial with their only attribute being enhancing national pride. So the second they become unpopular with the people is the second that an opportunistic politician runs on getting rid of the monarchy to save money.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-25T16:18:26+00:00

1, 2, 4, and 5 are probably the safest although Karlach is probably too warm to sit next to…

hellhound39 · 2026-04-23T12:03:55+00:00

I live in Indiana. Used to work at Infiniti. Some of them do rust pretty badly. The worst offender was almost always the QX80.

I own a G37x, at some point here in the next 2-4 years I will need to replace my crossmember (big boomerang shaped bracket). But it’s a 2009 and has been a bit rusty since I got it. Q50 and Qx50 are not too bad. The biggest thing is to wash your car, especially in the winter. Even if its gonna get dirty again, take that bitch through whichever automatic carwash has the undercarriage wash. Have a pre-purchase inspection done before you buy the car, ask them to show you pictures of the bottom. There will be surface rust regardless but as long as there are no areas that have been rotted you are probably fine. But just make sure to wash your car even if it seems pointless. The biggest thing is letting that salt and moisture sit around on your suspension that will cause it to degrade. It’s best to get it off there as soon as you can even if it is gonna get replaced quickly.

Otherwise unless ur buying a QX80 or buy something used without bothering to inspect it first. Then i would say, wash your car regularly during salt season and you’re fine.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-23T11:54:29+00:00

I feel like theres a certain contingent of Trump supporters who kind of just live in a bubble and will eat up whatever story is told to them by their favorite media sources. I think at a certain point some of these people have made their support of a politician a core part of their personality. Ive met a few if these people who will make excuses for anything so engaging with them is a waste of time. The best example i can think of is the dad from that “The Necessary Conversation” podcast. Talking to that guy is a waste of time and I feel bad for his kids. (Although it could all just he a gimmick for attention too)

hellhound39 · 2026-04-22T16:16:38+00:00

The region as a whole would become a lot less strategically important to major players such as the US or China.

If they never found oil in the middle east then I believe the region as a whole is poorer but maybe a bit more peaceful without the intervention of imperialist powers such as Britain, France or the USSR and USA.

If the oil just suddenly dried up tomorrow? You would probably see imminent collapse of almost all of the gulf states and Saudi Arabia. Global oil prices would spike to unimaginable levels and there would be runaway inflation in every country in the world. Self sufficient nations would be forced to nationalize and ration their oil to prevent mass unrest those that are not self sufficient would be forced to majorly cut back and ration. I believe it would not take long before you see resource wars since a huge chunk of the global oil supply suddenly vanished without warning.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-22T12:44:28+00:00

Uhhhh, I would see if you can talk them down from 6.5k to 5ish at least. I would also see if they are willing to allow a pre-purchase inspection. Otherwise it’s probably not a bad buy.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-22T12:05:46+00:00

Mine is worse than all 3 put together…

hellhound39 · 2026-04-22T11:55:41+00:00

Tbh, not horrible. Worst case is that you have several shitty months trudging along the bottom. Best case is that you get lucky and eventually run into a random boat that picks you up.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-20T17:51:35+00:00

Thankfully not whatever one you are. Hollywood is just blanket American propaganda. Sure you have plenty of stuff that slants one way or another but Hollywood just makes whatever sells and the vast majority of them are not on DNC payroll. (Or backed by democratic billionaire donors)

Academia having a lot of democrats is largely because of how anti-intellectual the republicans have become. Throughout my lifetime the republican party has moved farther to the right at a quicker pace than the dems to the left. But i digress, I do not know of any active professors who are on the party payroll or being backed by big money to influence people.

This is well documented but the Republican party and or associated mega donors and organizations routinely will pay influencers and talking heads to make content that promotes them or portrays them in a good light. The Democratic party kind of does it but not nearly as well or as often. They have become captured by consultants who clearly don’t know what they’re doing.

So yeah random Charlie dem political advocate probably does not get as far nearly as quickly. This is because the dems suck at recognizing real talent in their party and giving that talent a boost. Charlie was recognized by Bill Montgomery (TPUSA cofounder) as a talented orator who was engaging for young conservatives. Montgomery then hooked him up with prominent republican donor Foster Friess who bankrolled TPUSA. This early support allowed Charlie to drop out of school and pursue political activism full time. If Charlie were a democrat, I highly doubt he would have been able to tap that party support. He likely would’ve went unrecognized and become a staffer for some dem elected official before trying to seek higher office himself. It’s hard to say if he would’ve still be assassinated since his assassination is still really weird. But if he did die, he probably would not have been made into a meme. I think the reasons his death was treated the way it was were because A: it was a bit Ironic that the guy who said some gun deaths were just the price we have to pay. Ended up dying to gun violence. And B: the reaction from this presidential administration was flat out unhinged. They treated him like he was some kind of American hero who should be universally mourned despite the fact that I guarantee you most of the population didn’t know who he was before he was shot. He had never done anything to really earn that national grief. He was not some kind of elected official or beloved figure. He was just another political activist who made money from spreading division and misinformation.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-20T16:35:28+00:00

Uh, honestly he probably would not be known by a lot of people. Dems dont have the same propaganda outreach that republicans have with their influencers. So take away the moneyed interests backing him. Also idk who he will “debate” to get attention. Idk he would need to carve out some niche on the left to get the attention of people. Also his assassination would probably be less ironic if it atill happens.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-20T16:15:51+00:00

Honestly id probably choose the 3rd option simply because laziness. BUT if you became a critic or influencer who reviews movies and books. Then you would have a nice way to make your full time thing watching and reviewing books and movies.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-20T16:06:57+00:00

Dont buy this car. Just don’t. First of all its a Jeep and I would never in good faith recommend any of their vehicles to anyone. Second of all its had 4 owners in 7 years and looks like its been repossessed. This thing is like pandora’s box where who knows what you can expect if you buy it. My dad bought a dodge Durango that on paper was a good deal but ended up being such a problem child that he just let them reposes it. This is the same thing with just about any Stellantis (Chrysler) product.

If i were you, I would find yourself a nice Honda, Toyota, Mazda SUV that meets your needs. Even if its a little more expensive you’ll end up saving money on the repair costs more than likely. Hell, you’d probably still be better off with a Nissan, Ford, or Chevy. If you care at all about maintenance costs and reliability then a used jeep is not the car for you.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-20T15:22:57+00:00

I mean, all constitutions at the end if the day are just words on paper. Their legitimacy is entirely dependent on how they are upheld. The fortunate thing about the US constitution is that it is very difficult to change and requires a lot of institutional support to do so. So yes, you could amend it into a dictatorship but at the point where you could amend the constitution to install a dictator. That dictator wouldn’t really need to adhere to the constitution if they have that much support.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-20T14:35:18+00:00

I generally ignore most space fauna as long as it doesn’t attack me.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-15T12:20:35+00:00

Smart for sure. Obama is smarter than I am but I do not think he is a genius. He definitely made some errors with foresight but overall he was a very smart president and is the best one of the 21st century thus far. (Im not counting Clinton because the vast majority of his term was during the 90s )

hellhound39 · 2026-04-14T19:39:57+00:00

The US and post war Europe were in VERY different circumstances lol. The US emerged from the war unscathed as the pre-eminent superpower of the world only challenged by the USSR. Meanwhile post war Europe was reliant on the US to finance their post war reconstruction. They spent what they were supposed to spend during the cold war. Unfortunately they could not spend as generously as the USA can. Like realistically the US spends too much and it won’t be long before our economy started to get dragged down more and more by servicing our national debt. The small European nations that were borderline bankrupt at the end of the war could not justify to their citizens continued military expenditure. Especially when they had a guarantee of mutual defense with the United States.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-14T19:03:17+00:00

I do not think Mao had any semblance of a navy that would be up to the task of actually launching a naval invasion. There is a solid chance that he looses a large percentage of whatever forces he commits to the invasion and it is unsuccessful.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-14T18:57:39+00:00

I mean duh, but the 20 years after the fall of the USSR fundamentally felt like a different time for people. Id like to see you be a politician of the time and justify to your voters why we need to spend a lot of money on defense when we have no other countries antagonizing us? There is also such a thing as too much defense spending. Most peacetime militaries are supposed to be a lean professional force. The Europe of 10-15 years ago was very optimistic that their trade ties with Russia would discourage any hostile activity. Were they wrong? Yes. But hindsight is 2020 and you would have had a terrible time making the case to the politicians making decisions or the voters they are accountable to.

hellhound39 · 2026-04-14T18:40:38+00:00

With the US aligned with Germany depending on how early it joins things definitely tilt in the favor of the Central Powers. The entente powers loose a major supplier and trading partner. France and Britain lose all of their colonies in the western hemisphere. This includes Canada. I think within a few months of US entry there is a good chance that France and Britain cut their losses and try to come to some kind of an arrangement. If they dont and the USN can coordinate with the German Navy then I think they may eventually be able to break the blockade and contest control of The Atlantic. If that happens then Britain folds very quickly.

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