Icarus27k

Lindsey Graham is the suckerfish of Congress, hanging on to others so he can ride to the top and then claim it was his accomplishments all along that got him there. And it's cartoonishly obvious. Which means a bunch of dumb people would probably go for it.

Lol. Almost the worst current senator. That would actually be on brand.

This thread is now about asses.

She's my U.S. Representative. Seriously. And even I don't listen to her. Also, I apologize.

I personally like smart assy.

Oh yeah. Watching ''Bojack" was something I did in the years since I last talked with you guys. It scarred me for life and lives in my mind like a splinter.

There's slight chance I've shared a GIF of RuPaul though. I don't think I would risk the perjury charge on that one.

I have never shared the video of Kimberly "Sweet Brown" Wilkins. I can say that under penalty of perjury.

That's a weird way to say "the company's value has been halved since I bought it" and "here's a weird way we are going to compensate you, dear employees".

In other words, in a different timeline, the United States very likely would have withdrawn all of its nuclear weapons from Europe by now if Russia hadn't invaded Ukraine in 2014. There was pressure for nuclear disarmament in the years before 2014, some of it motivated by isolationism. Ukraine would be whole, Russia would still be an acceptable, although difficult, member of the international community, the U.S. would have no nukes in Europe, and many people would still be alive if Putin hadn't decided on an imperialist march in 2014.

Future State: The Next Batman #3 (April 2021) [3/500]

And it's mostly young people dying that is the cause. The U.S. is better than its peer countries in "higher rates of cancer screening and survival, better control of blood pressure and cholesterol levels, lower stroke mortality, lower rates of current smoking, and higher average household income," but it's not enough to make up for the risk of death while young being higher in the U.S. A big part of the difference between life and death in the U.S. and its peer countries is people dying or being killed before age 50. The "Shorter Lives" report specifically points to factors like teen pregnancy, drug overdoses, HIV, fatal car crashes, injuries, and violence. "Two years difference in life expectancy probably comes from the fact that firearms are so available in the United States," Crimmins says. "There's the opioid epidemic, which is clearly ours – that was our drug companies and other countries didn't have that because those drugs were more controlled. Some of the difference comes from the fact that we are more likely to drive more miles. We have more cars," and ultimately, more fatal crashes.

Good news: the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank probably have the same effect as an interest rate hike in terms of lending, so it might lower inflation. What's a few bank failures between us if it lowers the price of groceries?

Future State: The Next Batman #2 (March 2021) [2/500]

You made the right call. I wouldn't listen to a sentence from Nugent. In fact, Trump's recent social media posts where he's scared of indictment are the first time I listened to him in years. For the reasons of schadenfreude.

Future State: The Next Batman #1 (March 2021) [1/500]

This is a variation on the Twitter hashtag #500comicgoal that I used to keep track of my reading. But since I don't use Twitter anymore, I've been looking for a new social network for it. I'll give it a go here. Speaking of DC, the comics are on a roll in terms of quality right now. Some fans have started using "DC Renaissance" to describe the books that began with the Infinite Frontier publishing initiative in 2021. They even have a specific event where the Renaissance started: the final defeat of the villainous Batman Who Laughs at the end of "Dark Knights: Death Metal" (2020). Batman Who Laughs is a cosmic supervillain who menaced the Multiverse for years leading to the climax in "Death Metal". He symbolizes extreme hopelessness and nihilism. So, in a meta way, after his defeat, the comic books change tone and become more fun and light-hearted. And the artwork shifts to bright, flashy colors. All of the comics, even Batman books, are twinkly with splashes of vivid color, like a city skyline. The quality is better than the preceding "DC Rebirth" (2016-2020) and "New 52" (2011-2016) lines. So I'm trying to read through DC from the last 2-3 years. I'll update this from time to time as I read through issues and maybe say a thing or two about each one.

Sometimes, when reading about the war, I randomly think of that Russian guy who was an appointed leader of occupied Kherson until his death last autumn. It's obvious he was assassinated Mafia-style by his fellow Russians, but Russia says he died in a car accident. He illustrates a point. I can't imagine looking at the two sides in the war and deciding the good guys are the ones who kill each other Mafia-style for convenience sake. Like, THEY are the ones you want to throw in with?

Also, I have been strongly pro-Ukraine throughout this event. I am flabbergasted by anyone who tries to take the Russian side but some people out there try it.

I'll be honest. One thing I did NOT expect would happen after the ASMB disappeared in 2016 was the U.S. would enter a second Cold War. I did not want to ever experience the nuclear anxiety that people in the 20th century did but I guess we're here now. The good news is I'm pretty confident nukes will NOT be used. My best guess is the Ukraine War will stalemate somewhere along the current battleline and we'll just have to wait for Putin to die of natural causes before Ukraine gets its land back. Not unlike Germany being split into east and west and then coming back together.

Amusing because it is now 2023 and there is a new volume of Darkwing Duck and it's a pretty good seller right now.

Hi Fi Rush, the best game in years. And was a complete surprise release.