rpgamer

So, you're telling us there isn't a single alternative pick you would feel more optimistic about? I mean.. setting aside that none have even really stepped forward.... there's not a single hypothetical dream candidate you're secretly hoping comes along to get the base fired up again? Obviously at this moment, there's no one poised to be that candidate, so a lot of the debate amounts to nothing if nobody is stepping up.. But.. saying this is literally the best we can do feels... kinda grim.

I do think, unfortunately, there are plenty of voters that are rightfully disappointed in Biden and his administration, that, due to our fucked up two party system, will choose Trump, and frankly, I couldn't blame them. Dems have had years of puffed up rhetoric and burning idealism that's really great at motivating in the moment.. but when they fail to deliver on those motivators, what's a wishy-washy voter to do but vote for the side that will actually get their shit done? Sure, their "shit" is dismantling democracy... but at least they actually stand to accomplish their goals? Dems have been running on a typical "Yes we can" attitude to get elected, at which point they clarify "but that's hard work and the status quo is easier." It's all fucked any way you slice it, and it sucks to be in this position of seeing that it's all fucked, but not really seeing a clear path to unfucking ourselves. Best we can do is vote for whether we want lubed up first.

As much as I'm on board with the discussions and criticisms and valid concerns... I do seriously hate how the discussion and 100% of the media presence is focused solely on Biden's fitness, with a complete lack of context or acknowledgement that Donald "can't even stay awake during his own court hearings" Trump ain't doing much better. Do we maybe need to circle back to his inability to walk down a ramp, or drink a bottle of water? Despite the age/mental concerns, Biden does have a salient point, that at least he's capable of telling the truth (once you get through the mumbling and brain fog......). It's a damn shame that this is dominating the landscape, allowing Trump to coast on through without getting constantly hammered for every lie he told. But, I think what really really sucks the most for the people, the party, the supporters, is that we were presented with Biden as the winning move when democracy was at stake. That is, frankly, one of the key motivators for dems in recent elections. It's this or maga authoritarianism. And now, with democracy no less at stake, the party is hell-bound to stick with a growing risk, rather than doing anything and everything in their power to present the clearly better option.. it feels just shy of saying there is no democracy anymore anyway. You don't get any choices, suck it up. We don't need to try to earn your vote, because we already know you're not going to vote for Trump.

While you're not wrong, I might say another factor is what comes after election. Republicans know, if they lose, they can just be obstructionist assholes and still get their way mostly, so they can feel more confident regardless. Dems know if they lose, it'll be a shitshow, so can't really afford to feel complacent.

But we can definitely postpone a Supreme Court justice nomination (a lifetime position, rather than a 4 year term) because "it's too close to the election." I call bullshit. We just use the same language. "We can't nominate a new candidate, it's too close to the election." Why start following rules now?

What if best of both worlds? Biden stays in... and just keels over in October or something, and we get to say "welp, gotta postpone the election now" and we put it off and Trump is convicted of more crimes and we don't have to deal with any of this.

Call it a trolley if you really want to confuse people.

However, it is worth recognizing that, right now, in the face of Trump, "doesn't suck" is comparatively a glowing review. It's undeniable that there's too much at stake to hold out for better. Which does suck. But, welcome to the shitshow.

I think, and this is probably more personal impression, what feels most off-putting is just.. pretty much what you said. "Moderate." "Safe." She strikes me as just another politician with a D next to her name, for all the difference that makes, and will continue to get absolutely fuckall done, as is the norm. I get it. The country is so fucked, that's about as "progressive" as we can manage. By all rights, you are basically correct in that she's as good as we can possibly get in the immediate. And by no means will she be "bad." I just personally want to see us collectively do better than "doesn't suck." As a potential candidate (or inheritor), she doesn't suck. She just doesn't give me confidence in a positive outlook for the near future. Admitted bias: as you said, "low national profile." I might just not be seeing the right things that could get me a little more optimistic about her.

This might make you feel better.

I'd expect this is also a factor in the whole online shit-flinging spilling into open spaces. After a clear demonstration that there are no real consequences anymore, there's nothing really holding the social contract together that kept people publicly civil.

This is basically what I've been lamenting for.. a couple years now. I really wanted Biden to be a one-term president, just for all the muck he had to wade through to pull us to this point, and hoped someone else could pick up with a much better starting point. But. Nobody really put themselves forward. I think, as a party, they've really got to be considering and aware of getting their hopeful's name out in the public sphere way ahead of elections. Else you just get stuck with a situation of voters choosing the known over the unknown. Republicans have this down, with a laundry list of candidates making enough noise to get their base's attention. They'd likely happily vote for any one of them running, as long as they keep rolling in shit. Dems, I don't think they've even got any Bernie copium left.

Not so unfortunate on that side, maybe. A halfway sane Trump VP pick (if one happened to exist) would likewise make voting for him a bit more palatable. Maybe for the best that we don't have anyone thinking "a vote for Trump at least comes with a better backup option." I don't think Trump voters need any help rationalizing.

In all honesty.. at this point, it feels like presidential pick maybe matters less than VP. If we're stuck with this shitshow, can we at least get a VP nomination that we might actually be relieved to see take over? Really don't think Harris fits the bill on that point..

Will South Park ever stop getting mileage out of the Douche vs Turd episode?

Honestly just makes me wonder how cable can still be so expensive when nobody puts anything of value on tv anymore. All the "best" new stuff goes streaming, anything that isn't streaming-only is uploaded within a day at the latest. Literally just charging a premium to fuck customers in the ass.

Feels like it's been a few episodes now where there's been fuckall progression.

Wait, so, it was set so that anyone that achieved the rank was no longer eligible to get any further rank? lol

At this point, she's kinda as bad as jongo was about completely ignoring anything that doesn't line up with the point she's making pushing and utterly refusing to even acknowledge it, let alone engage with it. It ain't even about "you're just biased against Israel and only looking at bad things" or whatever. Anyone with half a brain is beginning to recognize maybe supporting their actions isn't a great look.

And while we're here, a classic

Unsurprisingly, Off The Air is a decent goldmine for weird..

I'd disagree with the hypocrisy being logical at all. It's clearer how it's rationalized, but it's by no means logical.

Was that ever not the case?

Ain't gotta go mature to get something off the beaten path. Hell, let's cover all our bases: Aired on CN/old Toonami, long-running series, hasn't been played to death.. Yu Yu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin surely fit the bill. Both of which are deserving of a full proper run (assuming this block would actually last for it..).

I didn't mind the idea of Checkered Past.. but they really shot themselves in the foot with scheduling, imo. I really only had good watching opportunity on Friday, and when they transitioned to "we're only going to show these two things every week for months now" it felt pretty shit to be missing out on variety. Even worse that half of it was Cow and Chicken, which just never clicked for me. Can't say I've got high hopes for this change, tho. On top of being a linear story, they're also stories that just everyone knows by now. These aren't things you watch week by week. These are things you binge for nostalgia at best, or find specific scenes/episodes of just the good stuff you remember. I'd maybe be more optimistic if they chose some things that were a little more under the radar, something old and good, but not big name.. but also recognize that's just as likely to fail when nobody knows enough to care to give it a chance.