scoobdog

I didn't realize raw pet food was still a thing. I better look up Fresh Pets to see what it has in it.

The AI slop Packard shared had underaged girls acting bratty so he could fantasize disciplining them.

Any other time, this would be a really depressing thread.

I’m not about to guess at the personal danger for KN; that depends on his personal values (of which none of us is aware) and, in Trump World, that’s impossible to gauge. But, the content itself is immaterial - Republicans can be offended by anything at any time for any reason, the only commanality being criticism of them. Judging by Musk’s unhinged attempts as policing social media outside of his own, he could very well be kicked off the server he’s using and be blackballed from other servers. There’s a reason Democrats have been skittish under Trump: he operates without any restrictions. He can and will do blatantly illegal things without any real fear that the courts can stop him before his goals are irreversibly achieved. Is Trump or any of his top lieutenants going to give us a second glance? Highly unlikely. However, if a low level drone decides they can go after us for brownie points, then there isn’t much KN can do to stop them. The real danger is low level bureaucrats who need to justify their jobs to incompetent bosses.

I wouldn’t peg this place as being the ignition point of revolution, but if it is, so be it.

I did not know preschool comedy was a thing.

If Trump can go after law firms with executive orders, why not a website hosting platform? KN’s fears are more than justified.

Oh, yeah: you definitely need an aid when it comes to reading Homer. Like Beowulf, it’s an oral tradition, so a lot is lost in translation not just through the language but in the performance itself. Naturally, they don’t tell you any of that shit in high school because than it might make sense.

You didn’t like the Odyssey ?

William Faulkner jerked himself off to his own writing. Safer than jerking off at a Klan rally when you’re gay i suppose. He’s not even the best white writer of the era, but, like I said, I think he was just there to compare to Toni, who is the best writer of her generation.

You mean why not? Because conspiracy theories don’t deserve the attention.

The liability shield has been abused by bad actors, so it’s hard to say this either a bad or a good thing. It’s neither.

I’m …. not going to click on that.

I get the feeling it’s been pushed down the priority list for literature classes because there are better books to read by better authors. We read Beloved, which is lyrically exquisite prose. Before that we read A Light in August which is lyrically pompous prose that offers a contrast to Morrison. There was never any real benefit to reading Salinger. The 80’s really introduced us Americans to a bevy of stellar homegrown (or at least home adjacent) talent. And if you still needed white angst and war stories, Kurt Vonnegut drew titties in his book.

Does the same thing, but in a torn up flight suit saying “Every time we go up there, it’s like flying with a ghost.”

I'm leaning more towards he didn't, because neither did I and I need the company.

It isn't really that complex, Ghosty. I've never thought of you as a warmonger (literally a war salesman), just a dude that gets too far over his skis more times than not. In this case, the discussion of whether or not China will invade Taiwan hasn't changed - it's still a campaign with too much risk and not enough reward for China. They're fully capable of doing it and the US isn't in a position to stop it from a tactical standpoint, but if it were to happen the consequences for China would be the same, if not worse, than Russia's. Trust me, I get it. In Trump World, the impossible becomes the possible when it comes to our greatest fears because Trump knows how to use them against us. There's not guarantee that someone like Xi Jingping won't do the same thing, either. However, Xi isn't an incompetent boob like Trump. He knows why the guardrails are there and he knows how or when to act in a way that doesn't result in a complete breakdown of his government. The Chinese have every reason to saber rattle about Taiwan, and inaction on their part isn't an indication that they've given up. Just the threat that China could act is enough to freeze military assets in Southeast Asia and keep regional partners and the US at bay while they strengthen their hold on the South China Sea. If they were to commit the soldiers, sailors, and military hardware to capture Taiwan, they become tactically vulnerable in other parts of the area. Moreover, they damage their economic charm campaign at a time when they're already struggling to make inroads in the world market. (Not that you asked, but one of the things Taiwan has to offer China, it's robust industry, would likely be exported to the United States where it already has a foothold well before China could establish control, taking away one of the few valuable assets that might make an invasion worthwhile.) Mind you, Trump's foolishness is a golden opportunity for the Chinese to exploit, and that's all the more reason not to get entangled in a conflict with so little reward.

That guy has been making a huge deal about that, and I have a feeling it has more to do with indicating Trump is at the high water mark with polls. The same guy was also saying that Trump's "ride or die" is the economy which, he noted, was polling below where Trump has been historically.

I'm just happy that stupid cow is having her big political break stripped from her.

I did, and I think maybe you misunderstand what he's talking about. This isn't a planning war "game" or a hypothetical run through, it's quite literally a board game with no actual geopolitical ramifications. It's a generic exercise in strategy an logical reasoning, and it does, in fact, represent an evolution in military planning. The same principles as chess apply - each piece has an attack, defense and surveillance function. But, with advances in the understanding of human psychology and behavior as well as scientific breakthroughs in every discipline, the rules have changed for previously set playing pieces. Each piece is expected to do more and react to its environment in a way a chess piece never could. It's interesting in that this disparity in thought has never been more apparent in the reductive and poorly reasoned actions of Trump's DoD. We don't really think about how integrated emotional and intellectual features are to modern warfare until those features are stripped away.

I've never fully appreciated Trump's trash panda eyes. Like, that was a choice.

Looks more sad than angry.

Russians and water don't mix.

What are we claiming down there? Hopefully not an STD.... Ghosty already has enough trouble with the ladies.

As a side note, I'm more empathetic to the plight of the Israeli people than ever. We don't often see behind the veneer of Netanyahu's government, and that video lets us peer into the lives of people who end up being victimized both by terrorists and their own government. I'm not proud to be an American, but I am still American. Whether or not we voted for Trump (let alone agree with his abject cruelty), we still own him and the horrors he created. At least for the Israeli people, they have to own the consequences of a singularly monstrous leader they didn't directly elect. Trump was (mostly) directly elected by Americans, and we have idiots like MD who exploit that by blaming Democrats for not doing enough to get Harris elected in the face of an obviously cruel and selfish person like Trump. In that sense, Trump is a manifestation of something we either can't or don't want to acknowledge - that a democratic republic gives individual citizens responsibility over representatives they didn't elect and don't represent their values. Even for me, it's far easier to cajole my representation like I'm watching USC in the Coliseum than it is to formulate and act on a plan to get my values turned into policy because doing the latter involves an immense amount of time and effort for no tangible rewards. Someone like @discolé monade, who regularly goes to local local government functions and is creating a local non-profit understands that having no faith in your representation does not mean doing nothing - people like her are the foundation around which our system of governace is built. For the people of Israel, it can't be easy to exist in a place where your government perpetuates abuses on your non-consensual behalf and the people who suffer from that abuse hold you accountable for that abuse. For them, getting out there and being vocal - protesting like the Palestinians are; verbally and, if necessary, physically confronting Netanyahu and his cronies; reaching out to the international community beyond the complicit Trump administration for assistance - is a start. Unlike with my fellow Americans that support the atrocities committed by Trump, I have faith in Israeli citizens. I believe they can and will stand up to Netanyahu and put him in his place. We're starting to see signs of discontent come out from behind the "unified" front and, hopefully, it becomes more evident soon. The people of Israel deserve to live in peace with their neighbors, not at the whim of a petty tyrant beholden to a criminal minority Settlers.