#try encouraging people to vote against these idiots

[marmolita]

followup to my ranty post from a little bit back about how the people yelling about critical race theory at school board meetings are largely not actually representing how parents feel because I have data!

The Indiana Department of Education did a survey of parents and found (emphasis mine):

* The vast majority (88%) of Indiana parents are satisfied with the quality of their child’s school. Satisfaction is even higher among those whose child is enrolled in elementary school (90%) and those in rural and small-town areas throughout the state (96%). * Most parents know and approve of the subjects and topics taught at their child’s school. Only 7% of parents say they don’t approve of the subjects and topics taught to their child, and of those 7%, about two-thirds acknowledge that they do not know, or are unsure, what subjects and topics are being taught.

Only 1/3 of 7% of parents disapprove of what's being taught and actually know what's being taught, which is around 2% overall. And yet, that small percentage of people are noisy enough that the state legislature is considering all kinds of bullshit bills to restrict what teachers can teach.

Anyway, all of this to say that when you get the impression from social media of "those crazy parents in red states are all trying to make schools intolerant and racist," take a step back and actually look at what's going on. This is a problem of media coverage and political power plays, and schools are just the pawns. Parents -- both liberal and conservative -- overwhelmingly think that the subject material being taught in schools is fine as is.

What are parents actually concerned about? According to this survey, affordability of college, and safety in school are the top concerns. Only 27% of parents reported that post-high school education is affordable. 47% of lower-income parents in metropolitan areas are concerned about their children's safety at school. It's really unfortunate that what parents care about is not what's having changes pushed in the legislature.

[rotzaprachim]

I’m deeply disturbed and horrified by the bds decision on standing together as you can see - no I don’t think they’re a flawless organization, no one is, but I think they’re doing excellent work and I had the privilege of meeting alon lee-green and sally Abed in person years ago. We talked in a small group about some issues they were working to bring people to the table on. One thing I think that’s critical to talk about with standing together but just with radical politics in general is that I think there’s an increasingly large issue with internet leftists who have not had experience with community grassroots work reading the practical praxis and strategies of community grassroots work - no matter how radical - as centrism or aquiescence. But that’s just not how it works. If you want to change peoples’ minds on an issue they have strong feelings about, you can’t label your cause WITH THAT ISSUE. In standing together’s case, the three big issues we talked about were rent hikes, violence against women, and police brutality, all of which they were at that time working to try to being people from different SECTORS of Arab and Jewish society to the table on. The reality is that a lot of the people those damn awful things happening too???? Conservative. Many of the Ethiopian Jewish families whose sons might have issues with the police who they wanted to get to talk to Palestinian families? Voted for Likud. Many of the people experiencing rent hike issues? Ultra orthodox. Many of the women experiencing abuse and even femicide came down a range of conservative relifious backgrounds. It didn’t matter what politics the standing together organizers held- and they are mostly very left wing- what mattered was how they could actively work to meet people where they were at, right now, to get change happening.

Because that’s how community grassroots stuff happens - you recognize that terrible shit happens on scale to people whose politics you might not agree with, and you work to help them anyway. I mention this all because I think the bds decision on standing together was beyond idiotic, but I think the discourse around it actually illuminates a lot of failure to understand grassroots politics in a way that’s really concerning for future serious progressive activism. Because online and IRL I see a lot of throwing around of terms like “mutual aid” and “community activism” and then IRL I’ve noticed leftists who are only interested in community with tiny groups of other leftists who say the same “enlightened” things and have the right anticolonial water bottle stickers or shaved haircuts. The wider community is sheeple and a town hall meeting is only worth going to for one specific issue- agriculture???? Omg that’s useless! And I live in a REALLY politically progressive area, quite a left wing area, it just /looks/ different than us American leftists can understand, but it doesn’t pass the sniff test for blah blah blah. Because I think this attitude is widespread and demotivating, and ultimately it’s a terrible route to imagining change, because all it does is encourage leftist tribalism and make people feel they’ve “found Allies” and “enacted change” without changing anything practical, even at the grassroots level. Because your revolution should come from the love of the people, but the first thing is, you have to love people, as a whole, and that starts with real people, in your life, who might have problems. Because if it isn’t for them who is it for?

[hareofhrair]

https://www.tumblr.com/hareofhrair/749247301532499968/gonna-need-yall-to-stop-putting-biden-is-just-as

People who keep on screeching about the revolution that will occur if Biden loses and things get worse and how punishing America for "Genocide Joe" need to learn about Ernst Thalmann.

He was a communist leader who believed that the liberals of his time were an obstacle to a Communist society in Germany, and worked to allow Hitler enough votes to gain power, in the belief that Hitler would make things so bad that the people would turn to communism.

It backfired HARD, and Germany became a fascistic dictatorship, Thalmann himself was imprisoned and eventually executed, and communism DIDN'T come to Germany.

Because frankly that's exactly what these numbskulls are braying for; to commit the exact same mistake Thalmann made nearly a century ago, because they care more about punishing a society that they believe is an obstacle to their moral superiority than actually stopping a monster who will actively bring about the end of Democracy as we know it.

Yeah, accelerationism is an idiot child’s idea of politics.

But most of the nasty messages I’ve received about this post so far don’t seem to think Trump winning is a good thing— They seem to be under the bewilderingly incorrect impression that there’s some kind of third option.

That if enough people don’t vote for trump *or* biden neither will become president and the government will be forced to present better candidates? Or something?

Genuinely I can’t decide if the lack of coherent thought is evidence of the nightmarish state of education in this country, or evidence that these people are or are uncritically repeating the propaganda of actual literal Russian agents. We know, like for an actual fact with solid evidence, that they have done this before, on tumblr specifically! Have yall forgotten about the actual russian psyop in 2016 trying to convince everyone it was pointless to vote?

Either Biden or Trump *will* become president. You have exactly ONE action which can influence this decision. Neither of them are going to immediately turn around and denounce Israel. Biden will continue loudly supporting them publicly while taking only the most non confrontational action behind the scenes to try and stop the genocide, because Israel is vital to US imperialism in that part of the world and literally no action he attempted to take against them would ever amount to anything but his immediate impeachment. And Trump will not just loudly support Israel, but has already repeatedly encouraged them to “get it over with,” urging more aggressive measures to end the genocide as quickly as possible because he thinks it’s “a bad look.”

He’s also made public his plans to eliminate the entire Department of Education, erase not just protections for transgender people but federal acknowledgement of trans people at all, codifying binary gender into federal law, and his environmental and energy policies amount to, and I quote, “DRILL BABY, DRILL.” Among a host of other heinous fucking crimes against humanity. This is not conspiracy! These are his publicly stated positions!

Meanwhile, Biden has reinstated environmental policies Trump stripped and pushed for aggressive climate action, signed legislation to protect lgbt and interracial marriage, reversed the trans military ban and ensured trans people would have access to government services, passed the first meaningful gun control legislation in 30 years, signed executive orders to protect reproductive rights, pardoned all prior offenses for marijuana possession, signed an executive order to curb police violence by banning chokeholds, increasing accountability, and restricting the transfer of military gear to police.

Is it enough? Does that make him a good person? Fuck no! I’d still spit in his face if I ever met him. But to pretend there is no difference between him and Trump is blisteringly ignorant.

People in the my messages and the notes of that post have repeatedly declared I just don’t care about anyone outside my privileged class, and I gotta say evidence suggests they’re projecting hard. I’m a deeply impoverished queer disabled person living in the deep south. I know EXACTLY how much worse a Trump presidency would be. The only way someone could pretend it makes no difference is if they believe they’re secure enough that none of it would affect them, and they’re too self centered to realize not everyone is lucky enough to be in that situation.

My heart breaks for the Palestinian people every day. That sounds trite but I don’t know how else to say it. I read their posts, I share their calls for donations, a day doesn’t pass where I’m not reminded of their suffering and how utterly helpless I am to do anything about it. I wish to god there was something I could personally do that would make any kind of difference for them, but I can’t.

I am in an airplane that is falling out of the sky. I can’t stop it. I can’t save the people around me. I’m trying to put on my oxygen mask and my seatbelt, and someone is trying to slap them out of my hands and telling me I’m a selfish monster for wanting to live when other people are going to die.

I’m just tired of people telling me I should give up and die. I want to live.

[25gtac]

Idiots are still posting anti-voting rhetoric and trying to pretend thats the morally correct stance. Acting like advocating for voting for Harris is only coming from libs that dont care about Palestine.

If Trump had a better stance on Israel, i could at least understand the antagonism against voting Harris. Trump does not have a better stance on Israel. Trump thinks Biden hasnt helped Israel enough, so i dont think his plan is to help Palestine.

The reason the leftist choice for president is currently being decided on domestic issues is because the current biggest foreign affairs issue will not be solved by either candidate. There is no overlap of "politicians against the genocide in Palestine" and "people that could possibly be elected president in 2024".

The biggest domestic issue currently on the ticket, american democracy and the administrative state, has a clear winner if you care even the tiniest amount about democracy or our governments ability to function.

If you are planning to not vote for Harris, if you are encouraging people to "protest" the vote or vote 3rd party, you are choosing facism.

[queenfox352]

🔥💔Forbidden Attraction💔🔥

Chapter 1: 

"Hinata," Naruto said with a long pause, leaving an uncomfortable silence in the air. He stood there, fidgeting with the back of his neck and avoiding her gaze. "I'm sorry, Hinata, but I don't see us like that. Only as friends." He offered a sad smile to Hinata, who tried to hold back her tears. She nodded before turning away, not wanting to prolong her embarrassment.

"We can still be friends, right Hinata?" Naruto's voice trailed after her as she walked away. Hinata stopped but didn't turn around, her voice quivering as she tried to hold back her emotions. Her attempts were futile, and she began to break down. She started running, hoping to escape her pain.

"Hinata!" Naruto called after her, but it was too late. She had already reached the sanctuary of the school garden, where she leaned against the Sakura tree in the center. She breathed heavily as tears streamed down her face. Why couldn't he like her? She had loved him forever. It felt like her whole world was crumbling down, and she squatted down, trying to calm herself.

"Admiring the flowers again," a voice said, interrupting Hinata's tears. She quickly wiped them away before turning to see who it was. There stood Sakura Haruno, the girl who had won the heart of Hinata's ex-crush. Sakura had her hand on her hip, watching Hinata intently. Once she saw Hinata's face, her demeanor changed to concern. "Oh, you told him, didn't you?" she asked. A few more tears fell from Hinata's eyes, which she quickly wiped away before nodding at Sakura.

Sakura kneeled down beside Hinata, pulling her into a warm hug. "He's just a big idiot," she said before pulling back and looking Hinata in the face. "I mean, who wouldn't want to date Hinata Hyuga? You're the #1 rated hot girl in school." Hinata couldn't help but giggle at Sakura's words. Apparently, all the boys had voted on who was the hottest girl, and Hinata had won with Sakura coming in second.

"Here, give me your phone," Sakura said, grabbing Hinata's phone from her hands. Hinata watched as Sakura unlocked her phone and downloaded an app. "Tinder!" Hinata stuttered. "Isn't that for hookups?" she asked, blushing.

Sakura hummed in agreement before opening the app. "But," Hinata started to protest.

"No buts! You need a man, Hinata! And if that idiot can't see that you're perfect for him, you just gotta show him that he's missing out," Sakura interrupted, determined to help her.

Hinata hesitated for a moment before giving in to Sakura's urging. She observed as Sakura deftly swiped through the potential matches with lightning speed, barely stopping to read their profiles or take note of their pictures. It was as if Sakura had become a seasoned expert at navigating the world of online dating, and she was determined to find the perfect match for Hinata no matter what. Hinata couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed by the whole thing.

"I don't know, Sakura," Hinata said hesitantly. "This all seems a little...weird."

Sakura just rolled her eyes. "Hinata, you're gorgeous and amazing. Any guy would be lucky to have you. Just give it a chance, okay?"

Feeling a little apprehensive but also curious, Hinata nodded and watched as Sakura handed her phone back to her. "Just remember to be careful and don't meet up with anyone without letting me know, okay?" Sakura said, giving Hinata a stern look.

As she scrolled through the app, she couldn't help but think about Naruto and how he had rejected her. But with Sakura's encouragement, she realized that there were plenty of other guys out there who would be lucky to have her. And who knows? Maybe one of them would be the perfect match for her after all.

She opened up her profile to look and see what Sakura wrote.

Hi there! I'm Hinata, a sweet and shy girl who loves to read, draw, and practice martial arts. I may come off as quiet at first, but once you get to know me, I'm a total goofball who loves to have fun and make people laugh. When I'm not at school, you can usually find me curled up with a good book or practicing my drawing skills. I also enjoy going on nature walks and exploring new places, especially if there's good food involved! I'm looking for someone who can appreciate my gentle nature and help me come out of my shell. Bonus points if you're kind, caring, and have a great sense of humor. If you're looking for a loyal and affectionate partner, I might just be the one for you. Let's chat and see where things go.

Hinata's face burned with embarrassment as she looked at the photo Sakura had used. It captured her vulnerable state perfectly, and she couldn't help but feel self-conscious about it. She let out a heavy sigh and turned off her phone, hoping that the Tinder app wouldn't cause any more trouble.

Sakura got up and patted her butt, offering a hand to help Hinata up. Hinata took it gratefully and dusted off her clothes before taking a deep breath. Despite everything that had happened, she still had to face the rest of the school day.

As they walked into the school building, Hinata felt like everyone was staring at her. She couldn't shake off the feeling that everyone knew about her rejection. However, Sakura's reassuring squeeze on her hand gave her a boost of confidence. "You got this Hinata! Don't let anyone tell you differently."

Hinata smiled weakly at her friend, grateful for her support. Suddenly, she noticed Sasuke walking towards them. Sakura's face lit up at the sight of her boyfriend. "Ah! Sasuke! I missed you!" she exclaimed, running towards him.

Hinata watched as Sasuke's unemotional face remained unchanged as Sakura hugged him. He then looked up at Hinata and greeted her with a curt nod. "Hyuga."

"U-Uchiha," Hinata replied, feeling a little nervous around him.

Sakura pulled Sasuke along, reminding them that they were going to be late for class. Hinata followed behind them.

Hinata sank into her seat, taking a deep breath to steady herself. She tried to focus on the lecture that was about to begin, determined not to let her thoughts wander to the rejection she had just experienced. She took out her notebook and pen, ready to take notes. As she looked up at the teacher, she saw Naruto walking into the classroom. He glanced at her and then quickly looked away, making her feel even more embarrassed.

Sakura noticed Hinata's discomfort and reached over to give her a reassuring pat on the back. "Don't worry about him, Hinata. You're amazing just the way you are. And if he can't see that, then he's not worth your time."

Hinata smiled gratefully at Sakura. She knew that she had a lot of work to do to get over Naruto, but she was determined to try.

The rest of the day went by quickly, and before she knew it, it was time to go home. Hinata walked out of the school with Sakura and Sasuke, feeling a sense of relief wash over her. She was glad to be out of that environment and away from the judgmental eyes of her classmates.

"Do you need a ride home?" Sakura offered as they parted ways. Hinata hesitated for a moment before replying, "N-No. I think I'll be fine!" Sasuke received a text on his phone, and he whispered something into Sakura's ear. Hinata noticed Sakura's expression turned a little sad before Sasuke walked back into the school. Concerned, Hinata asked, "W-what's wrong?" to which Sakura replied, "Oh nothing. Just something important came up! So he had to go back inside!" With a quick goodbye, Sakura left, reminding Hinata to message the guys back and not chicken out. Hinata watched as Sakura walked away before she realized that she forgot her bag in the classroom. She rushed back into the building, running straight into the classroom where she found Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto seemed surprised to see her, but Sasuke remained stoic. In a hurry, Hinata grabbed her bag and left the room without wanting to be around Naruto for too long.

As Hinata slowly walked out of the school, the rain began to fall. She sighed, feeling frustrated that it had to rain today, of all days, when she had no ride and no umbrella. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching her, and when she turned, she saw Sasuke standing beside her. "Hyuga," he said in his usual monotone voice. "O-Oh uh hi, U-Uchiha," Hinata stuttered out. Sasuke pulled out an umbrella from his bag and asked, "Need a ride?" Hinata hesitated, not wanting to be a burden. But when a loud clap of thunder echoed in the sky, Hinata panicked and quickly accepted his offer. Sasuke responded with a simple, "Hn," before walking away. Hinata quickly followed, lifting her bag over her head and running under Sasuke's umbrella with him.

As they reached Sasuke's car, he gallantly escorted Hinata to the passenger side, ensuring that she didn't get wet before he got in on the driver's side. "What's the address?" Sasuke asked, opening the GPS app on his phone. "It's 1234 Maple Street Apartments," Hinata replied, buckling her seatbelt. However, she soon realized that Sasuke wasn't using the GPS and was instead driving to her apartment building on his own. Once they arrived, he parked the car in the underground garage and picked up her bag along with his. "You don't have to get out, Uchiha-san. I can walk from here," Hinata protested, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I live here too," Sasuke responded in his usual monotone voice. "Oh, I didn't know that," Hinata said, surprised. Sasuke just made a noncommittal sound in response, and they walked to the elevator in silence.

As they waited for the elevator, Hinata couldn't help feeling a bit awkward. She and Sasuke had never really interacted with each other beyond exchanging greetings, and sometimes not even that. When the elevator arrived, Sasuke clicked the button for the fourth floor, while Hinata clicked the button for the sixth. When the doors opened on Sasuke's floor, he handed her bag back to her and walked away without a word. "Thank you," Hinata called after him, her voice barely above a whisper. Sasuke's only response was a curt "Hn," before the elevator doors closed again. Hinata let out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding and walked into her apartment. She slumped onto her couch and pulled out her phone, which immediately started pinging with notifications. Amidst all the matches, one caught her eye.

Match Found: Sasuke Uchiha.

To read more go to: FF.net  | AO3 | Wattpad.com

[aizenat]

The George santos thing is so funny to me because of how he used identity politics to encourage marginalized moderates and conservatives to vote for him while pretending they aren’t racist trump supporting idiots, these idiots fell for it, and now are mad the guy they elected is a fraud. I cannot imagine a democrat lying about the things he lied about, and even then all those identities would have been more of a check AGAINST them than for them.

It’s so crazy all that he lied about that I can’t help but want to imagine that he purposely lied and played into the identity politics in order to point out how stupid right winged voters and politicians are, but the financial fraud makes it plain he just did this to try to make some money lol.

I’ve said for years that being a Black, working class lesbian, if I had ZERO integrity, I would pull a Candace owens and make BANK using my identity to say stupid alt right shit I don’t believe and then after making a few hundred thousand or mill, write a scathing expose of the right winged political sphere and expose them as exploitative identity politicking narcissists who do not have the American people’s best interests at heart.

[washington-offical-2]

You guys haven't worked with mint before and it shows

Mint does need to be regulated

You have to consyanltt dog that shit up

It sent root shoots *out of the holes of the pot were the water is meant to escape and spreads like crazy"

And yes while a *good* Gardner can keep mint contained

You forget the flact

Humans

Are idiots

And lazy

And if their given a blanket law that says they can plant whatever

They will

And they won't maintain it well

And it will spread

And it will force other people to move out for safety concerns

Gardeners intruding invasive plants that have destroyed local plant life near our river and the river enjoyment is a huge problem right now in my town and the city is trying to raise money to do an entire ecological reversal but no one will vote for it

Stuff does need regulation

Yes it's a good idea put really

Don't rage against people like

"yes but put some caveats"

Mint is a terroriser as Somone who does Gardner and grows almost all my herbs that I use

I can tell you how nasty some of those plants can be

To were you have to consyanltt be trimming and digging stuff up and trying evryhting to keep it contained

Even *if* your pot it

Especially mint.

And you can't jsut let the roots you tig up or trim.up be tossed to the side

You need to fully seal it in a container and then throw it away

Cause it will grow *anywear*

And the roots themselves can grow hole nee plants

Yes gardening is nice but being aware of the stuff your gardening and it's ecological risk is highly imprortant

And I'm sorry but I do not trust the public to properly care and prevent issues

Just look at how the public handles their pets and their feral pet problems that have came as a result

You need regulation

You always have to write thing with the lowest common denominator in mind

They will always be a dumbass ignorant or even malicious in some cases

Porblems with lint aren't jsut "going into the other person's garden"

Mint doesn't behave like that

It spreads

It spreads quickly and it takes over as Somone who has watched over my lifetime every bit of nature around my city be taken over by blackberries anxious weed and mint

And the fact some people can't even take part our fee but of nature trials that haven't been demolished for more city that we have left because it's not safe for them

Yeah we would need regulation badly on this

You seem to be getting upset at people asking for jsut some extra idk *thought* to be put in based on local areas of caveats to this law

Which like of course that should happen????

No one's saying ban literally everything everywhere

Just have some regulation

And if you let a potentially dangerous plant go unmainted and into other people's protect get hit with a heavy fine

This doesn't mean it a bad idea entirely just hey

We should put some more thought into how this would best be implicated so we don't start something thats potentially really bad

We already don't have enough regulations on what people are doing with home gardens and the issues it's causing or what company's are using as "decorative" plants

So while yes this concept it's nice it doesn't need caveats

It needs careful thought

Just like *everything* does

And testing people like their idiots for saying hey we should do this but *caveats* is kinda weird

You talk about bamboo but that shit proves my point

Bamboo that isn't supposed to be their can outcompeat your native bamboo you have (I don't know the specific of bamboo that is not my expertise would love to learn more of somehow all bamboo loves in harmony this is jsut my general experience around plant conservation with protecting our temperate conifer rainforest ecosystems being really important here as outside of Scotland we basically have the only ones left in the world)

And finding ways to encourage people to use more native plants species would honestly be a really good idea

in my opinion it is essential to make a "right to garden" law that means no one can stop you from growing whatever you want in your yard.

I think it should even apply to renters so a landlord is required to allow you to have a garden

And I think this can become a reality

[ianmhill]

6.30

ELECTION

I don't really know what to say, even a few days after the American people made their choice for the next four years. But I will try, with as few swear words as possible.

For starters, where were the 15 million people who voted for Biden last time that didn't vote for Harris? And why would any woman, person of colour, Latinx, LGBTQ+, or genuine Christian vote for him? It should have been a landslide for Harris.

Clearly, this country is populated with more racists, mysoginists and idiots than I had thought. Ok, I had a fear about this result, but seriously America - giving this guy another chance to bugger things up? Were you not paying attention the first time around?

And this time it will be worse, I'm sure. I lay awake in the early hours of Wednesday when we first heard the outcome thinking about aspects of life here - and the rest of the world - that are likely to be impacted by this outcome. And none of them were positive.

Medical care here, which is already a challenge for some people, is going to deteriorate as the administration starts to dismantle Obamacare. I would imagine the prescription pricing work done by the current President will be undone also, to push profits back to Big Pharma.

Climate change initiatives will likely be reversed, moving the country back to more oil and gas consumption - though a side "benefit" might be higher sales and profits for Tesla (their stock price has already leaped as a result). No wonder Musk was so keen to support him. This will be one of many results of the threatened import tariffs, which will make electric vehicles from China, in particular, much more expensive. Plus, the tariffs will make everything imported more expensive, so the President-elect has no chance of reducing inflation, like his supporters believe he will. Not forgetting that there will be retaliatory tariffs on American exports, which will make things tougher to sell abroad. I understand the idea of tariffs to encourage industry to create more jobs in this country, but I would think that's unlikely to happen as American workers will want to be paid way more than folks in Developing Nations which will deter companies from investing in the USA.

The Supreme Court is likely to lose a couple of the older Republican appointees - they will be persuaded to retire to make way for much younger justices, thus cementing the conservative majority for a period much longer than my likely lifetime.

All the court cases currently in flow against him will, of course, be dropped within minutes of his inauguration, even though some are State cases and technically outside the jurisdiction of the Justice Department. Followed swiftly by pardons for all the January 6th 2021 rioters.

He will probably withdraw the USA from NATO, which will have repercussions elsewhere in the world, not least in Ukraine of course. Military assistance to Zelensky will almost certainly cease and Russia will control the country again, unless Europe is able to fill the void.

Does he have any hope of influencing the situation in the Middle East? I wouldn't think so and all those people who wouldn't vote for Harris due to the current administration's support of Israel are going to watch Palestine and Gaza disappear from the map.

Immigrant deportation - this will be an interesting situation. If there are genuinely 13-14 million undocumented people in this country, how will it be practical to find them all and deport them? And if that were even possible, what would happen in the construction, farming and other industries that rely on migrants to do jobs that Americans won't?

The National Debt is likely to balloon, especially with all the likely tax reductions for wealthy individuals and corporations. But of course, that wealth will "trickle down" to the general population, won't it? Erm, no. It never does, anywhere in the world.

How long before we see the sleaze creeping in? Well, given the 2 billion that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump received from Saudi Arabia for their "investment company" a couple of years ago, I would imagine not very long at all.

What's the impact on DC Statehood? Well, it was always a bit of a longshot in my opinion because even the current Supreme Court would probably kill it, but with a Republican majority in the Senate it's dead in the water, probably for decades to come.

But on the plus side - it's uncommonly warm and sunny, for the first week in…November!

[2blogornot2blog]

What is at stake in November 2024!

The election of 2024 is about Good versus Evil!

The many groups out there rallying around what is happening in Israel and Gaza are not wrong to protest.

However, they should not allow their disagreement with how the current administration is responding, to make them allow the evil which is Donald Trump to get back in the Oval Office!

Everyone planning to vote for a third party candidate is doing nothing more than helping the evil which is Trump, to resume not just running his for-profit business from the Oval Office.

Further, a return of Trump to the Oval Office gives him carte blanche to take revenge against any and all who disagree with him!

I cannot help but suspect that there is an outside force that is driving all of the Gaza protests because none of what is happening, is new!

There are foreign entities again meddling in our electoral process!

They are trying to control the outcome of our election because they know they can control a narcissistic Trump.

They also know they cannot control a reasonable, seasoned leader like President Biden!

Plus, President Biden puts people who are intelligent, knowledgeable of foreign and domestic policies around him.

Trump, on the other hand, surrounds himself with people who yes him, and any idiotic idea he comes up with.

People need to think very carefully about how they spend their vote this November.

While you are at it, vote those maga Republicans out of office too!

If we ignore the rigors of history, we doom ourselves to repeat those rigors!

And this time those rigors will be much more deadly! Regardless of who encourages you to vote for that criminal Trump, use common sense and vote Blue!

[douchebagbrainwaves]

THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A STREAM OF NEW STARTUPS THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE NOT HAVE EXISTED

Is anyone able to develop software faster than you? There can be places that are free for alls and places that are more than taboos are the ones they worry might be believed. So Don't be evil may be the potential employees. If bad founders succeed at all, if you're troubled by uncertainty, I can solve that problem for you: if you start from successful startups, few were started in imitation of some other startup. Why do they do this? He was hosting thousands of people's blogs. If you'd bristle at the suggestion that you aren't, then you probably are. Even now, when traders could be anywhere, they cluster in a few cities. And the fact that most good startup ideas generally seem wrong. This way, they were going to do this on HN. They made search work, then worried about how to set up an application to sharpen Arc on, and a place for current and future Y Combinator founders to exchange news.

No idea In a sense, it's not a net drag on productivity. But with other types of startups you may win less by features and more by deals and marketing. Could you, for example, because no one said anything definite enough to refute. A lot of people think we get thousands of applications for each funding cycle. The mistake is to be optimistic about your ability to make something users want, then you're dead, whatever else you do or don't do. But other considerations can outweigh the advantages of moving. Jessica has achieved. If we'd had our later selves to encourage and advise us, and better for the startups too. The most valuable truths are the ones most people don't believe. Most large organizations and many small ones are steeped in it. Our hypothetical prim miss from the suburbs thinks she's open-minded, though they draw the line at things that are really wrong. Suddenly a culture that had been more or less united was divided into haves and have-nots.

It's not that people think of grand ideas. Diff present ideas against those of various past cultures, and see what they use in research projects. Find something that's missing in your own time, though, requires a conscious effort to avoid addictions—to stand outside ourselves and ask is this how I want to find general recipes for discovering what you can't say? Now, in order to keep search broken, it makes other people want to work on dumb stuff, even if it's on topic in the sense that performance has remained consistently mediocre despite 14x growth. So really this is a game of skill. If your first version is so impressive that trolls don't make fun of it, we were surprised how much time I spent making introductions. In the more common case, where founders and investors are equally represented and the deciding vote is cast by neutral outside directors, all the investors have to do is look at you funny, and you become an idiot. It's completely pervasive.

At the start of World War II as a triumph of freedom over totalitarianism. The only catch is that people were doing it before, just haphazardly on a smaller scale. But more likely you'll find that implementing a working subset is both good for morale and helps you see more clearly what the rest should do. Is our time any different? So by protecting their kids from risk, parents are, without realizing it, also protecting them from rewards. But it's important to remember we're trying to solve a new problem, because that was all we knew. The more people you have to remember everything you've said in the past to find big differences.

Who knows exactly how these factors combine to boost startups in Silicon Valley, the single best predictor of how a startup will do. US. But these scale differently, just as volume and surface area do. I think the difference between Milton's situation and ours is only a matter of preservation. Most founders of failed startups don't quit their day jobs, and perhaps all pre-industrial societies. To benefit from engaging with users you have to face the fact that Jessica and I ran YC day to day, and Robert and Trevor and I would pepper the applicants with technical questions. So what if they fail? That first batch could have been avoided if they'd been more careful about who they started a company with someone you dislike because they have some skill you need and you worry you won't find anyone else.

We had a demo day for potential investors ten weeks in, and seven of the eight startups we funded, in the same way as saying that something is technically impossible. If you have two and one leaves, or a programming language. Later stage investors get to try products and look at growth numbers. Jessica would mostly watch. Talking about an idea leads to more ideas. What's wrong with having one founder? There are just two or three of you, and you think Oh my God, they know it, because they feel uncomfortably constrained in a place where there was infrastructure for startups, accumulated knowledge about how to make money from. So saying startups should aim to end up net ahead it's not coming out of? One great thing about having small children is that they don't get it till it happens.

You can tell just by looking at it. But you never have to pretend to. And yet some startup founders still think it's irresponsible not to think about something I hadn't had to think about the initial stages of a startup hub. I got one response saying: What surprised me the most is that everything was actually fairly predictable! This is especially true for a service that other companies can use, because it enabled one to attack the phenomenon as a whole without being accused of any of the specific heresies it sought to suppress. The surprise for me. If you raised five million and ran out of money and help.

Silicon Valley and raised money there. They just wanted to fix a problem they encountered in their research. Even YC's haters buy it. In a couple years he may not sound so chipper. Mistake number one. When Milton was going to visit Italy in the 1630s, Sir Henry Wootton, who had been ambassador to Venice, told him his motto should be i pensieri stretti & il viso sciolto. Whatever we think that will later seem ridiculous, I want to be in New York the number of startups and think this can't continue. They're all competing for a slice of a fixed amount of deal flow, and that was considered advanced. You need to make money from.

Thanks to Jessica Livingston, and Aaron Swartz for smelling so good.

[the-firebird69]

In addition to the basis being cut in half over the past few days it's the surface bases are cut in half and laser basis are down a quarter and because of all that people are now attacking the pseudo empire and Stan is trying to threaten our son and our son figured it out it doesn't want to do that kind of work and it's growing hurts and people don't care at all and he is a spoiled little kid and doesn't know the math and we have to teach it to him in other words he's going to go he has to go

Several things are going to make that happen

-John remillard is right up there it is up in Oregon and Washington attacking him with armies and he's smiling and saying this is what I wanted and all sorts of dumb s*** and Sherry calls him a ferry and he really is he's a weirdo so he's not fighting that hard and he's losing territory and he's going to lose Oregon and we need to be there to take it and we don't want his interference anymore and I do mean it we are poised to take over an area of territories and is pivotal in our plan these people want to stop shipping from foreign countries and we are not going to allow it and he's also an obscene a******they don't seem to understand that we do things at all so he's sitting out there helpless surrounded by people who are attacking and we are forced to do things and we're going to do things to these idiots you're holding on to stuff we need it's our plan to take them and we shall take them of course we have to make them pay and there's some things other than that that are pivotal with regards to removing this person

-he has been attacking him along with Trump steadily for about 20 years and we can't have that the guy is a moron and they just keep on doing that thinking that's where they get stuff and really the empire is having them do it he needs to be cut off severely and the empire is not doing it and they're not really trying to take their ships and other things like that I understand why but we also understand that this guy is a liability we're going to go through what he's doing we don't have to we already know and we put it up everybody voted him out and he's a piece of s*** that guy's a freaking moron he's moving the city property he can hear people saying stuff to him what do you think you're doing and they're booing him one guy says we should just run you over you're so dumb and my son says he thinks he's going to encourage me to ride in there everyday because he's not allowing me to they said it too they said you got a little more on there you keep teaching you f****** loser and they want to hit him in the head in a sense of some people don't know how to play this game and they think that they can make their own rules and Stan is one of them and Trump is the other one and they started saying what is wrong with these freaking losers and the start of knowing they want to read things it's AI so they had to ask them so the idiots trying to get home have they pulled them in I said what makes you so special that you don't know any math don't have to. So Stan said he's an easy mark and stupid s*** like that and they said you're threatening this right now and you're sitting here captured by us so they start to beat on him and really they want information for Oregon and Washington and they said this it's a small town if you don't have cover it doesn't work and you said something like what you're doing is ridiculous I don't need you you can get rid of yourselves because they're fighting each other instead of the empire and that they say back cuz we're riding I said you won't be here soon from your a****** ride and it's they said this you're pretty much right and feel about your job and really they are a little b****** still he went about doing his work and they're ignoring him and they said this we don't have a chance is it against us and he hates who are doing it's not doing a damn thing they're not getting in what he needs he has to force it I feel the burst out in tears a few of them move kind of roll over them

-it's too much to take care to sit around and do nothing there's too much at stake we need to help our son and right now there's a lot of things we need to do and that's one of them

Thor Freya

Olympus

Live quite a few things to announce he's got to get ready

Hera

[ledenews]

Dolph Santorine: 'Exactly What Is a RINO?'

When I hear a politician or pundit refer to someone as a RINO, I can’t help but question the intellect of the person slinging the RINO label. It’s a catch-all phrase that means you can’t seem to articulate your point of disagreement. It’s a mini tantrum, and the beginning of a childish argument. Just like “He’s stupid,” or “She’s an idiot.” Neither of these assertions are likely true, and it reflects poorly on the accuser. The political term RINO been around for more than a century, likely originating as a slander against Theodore Roosevelt by critics who didn’t believe he confirmed to longstanding Republican ideologies and the Republican platform. History clearly shows the issues that led to those accusations were much more complex than the simple RINO label they were trying to pin on him. This simplistic term, RINO, is, however, having an unfortunate resurgence since 1990. It’s been used excessively by the extreme right as a weapon against those who choose to get something done instead of the deadlock that results when ideologues stand on extreme policies that are far from good for most of the electorate.  Exactly what is a RINO? I’m not sure, and more often than not the people using the term are too intellectually lazy to provide a solid definition. RINO can mean almost anything, but most commonly, it’s an insult to another member of your party who has an opinion different than yours. The person making the accusation likely holds an unpopular single-issue position, or wishes to commit fraud by calling the other person a RINO and providing little or no evidence to back up the statement. The U.S. Capitol is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the continental United States. I sincerely believe this is disingenuous at best, especially in regard to our elected officials. They make many carefully considered votes on a wide range of issues, but if one loudmouth disagrees with what’s in a tiny subpart of a bill, then our duly elected official whose been serving us faithfully for years is a “RINO” and needs to be publicly flogged and replaced by an extremist the accuser disagrees with regardless of the replacement’s capability to serve the people. Your single issue should not be a litmus test for candidates. I recall a time not that long ago when the Democrats controlled the U.S. House, and our congressman negotiated for us and delivered more for West Virginians. We all knew he did the right thing since we were going to get a bloated, expensive piece of legislation, and there was not a thing the Republican minority could do to stop it. He negotiated a better deal for the average West Virginian. It also effectively ended his career because of low-information voters who are the RINO class. I would prefer to be represented by a politician with whom I agree most of the time, as opposed to one I disagree with nearly all of the time. So, it’s time for us to go after the “RINO Hunters” for what they are and challenge them for facts and not let it affect those of us who make well-formed decisions. There’s a corollary to RINO that I’m seeing right now where candidates are aligning themselves with up-ticket candidates. I think that’s a recipe for disaster, especially since you never know if the horse you hitched your wagon to is about to head over the cliff. If that happens, your loyalty may be a liability. Candidates, run on your vision, not on, “I’m better because I support this national candidate.” Be your own person. Articulate your position and show your passion. If you have a clearly defined good reason to deviate from the party platform, it’s really acceptable and should be encouraged. Discourse makes all of us better. The upcoming primary election in West Virginia is already showing signs of being brutal. Many good men and women who have served us well will have their political aspirations crushed, and there is no guarantee the replacement will be as good, or for that matter, a Republican. Negative campaigning is not going away. Don’t let trivial, meaningless acronyms like RINO damage your prestige. It’s time to put a stop to the RINO hunters. Ohio County resident Dolph Santorine Read the full article

[keluang-hijau]

You're admitting you're voting for the guy who's actively contributing to the genocide of Palestinians, the government who has repeatedly vetoed against calls for a ceasefire, the party who has been continuously supplying arms, weapons, bombs and making bills to suppress the support and movement for Palestine. Don't act that you are voting for Palestinians' sake.

Your reaction to someone condemning Biden is to patronize the people unwilling to vote for him, to bring up Trump as if they do not know any better. As if people who have suffered under Trump have forgotten, because they're all naive and ungrateful. People who are trying to pressure these politicians where it hurts, by making it loud and clear they will not vote for Biden. That the party has a serious risk of losing their power, and that they should start listening to the people or they suffer the consequences.

People like you who would shame the people for the failure of politicians, who would hurriedly defend the genocidal idiots instead of making sure they stop killing off people first, just because it is not you, your people, your community that is suffering and grieving because of this government. That you encourage people to vote them no matter what, and shame people who decide not to, just so your comfort is not disturb.

Someone brings light that this genocidal party is still genocidal, much like the other genocidal party, and you feel it is important to defend the genocidal party anyway because what if what happens to Them will also happen to Me next.

Good job on your solidarity, keep up on your activism. When Biden calls for a ceasefire, be smug and say 'see? this is proven to be the lesser evil.' as if it weren't for the people who were condemning and pressuring him that were responsible for the change, by making him aware how much he is going to lose if he doesn't stop funding a genocide. When Trump wins, point blame on the people who did not vote against him, instead of putting the full blame on Biden and his lackeys for their loss.

Crazy how so many of you on here are shamelessly didkriding Joe Biden, when it just broke that the House of Reps approved a 1.2 trillion funding bill that bans UNRWA funding—mere days after the IPC said that northern Gaza is on the official brink of famine. The bill is now waiting approval in the Senate, and Joe Biden has literally stated that he would “sign the bill into law immediately.” Remember that this is all based on hearsay that the UNRWA had something to do with the initial Hamas attack on Oct. 7, which was already thoroughly debunked. But this is the “lesser evil” you want voted back into office? How can you say that in good conscience, knowing he’s an active participant in Gaza’s starvation and terrorism campaign?

[qqueenofhades]

Do you really hate this county? Or were you just ranting?

Sigh. I debated whether or not to answer this, since I usually keep the real-life/politics/depressing current events to a relative minimum on this blog, except when I really can't avoid ranting about it. But I have some things to get off my chest, it seems, and you did ask. So.

The thing is, any American with a single modicum of genuine historical consciousness knows that despite all the triumphalist mythology about Pulling Up By Our Bootstraps and the American Dream and etc, this country was founded and built on the massive and systematic exploitation and extermination of Black and Indigenous people. And now, when we are barely (400 years later!!!) getting to a point of acknowledging that in a widespread way, oh my god the screaming. I'm so sick of the American right wing I could spit for so many reasons, not least of which is the increasingly reductive and reactive attempts to put the genie back in the bottle and set up hysterical boogeymen about how Teaching Your Children Critical Race Theory is the end of all things. They have forfeited all pretense of being a real governing party; remember how their only platform at the 2020 RNC was "support whatever Trump says?" They have devolved to the point where the cruelty IS the point, to everyone who doesn't fit the nakedly white supremacist mold. They don't have anything to do aside from attempt to usher in actual, literal, dictionary-definition-of-fascism and sponsor armed revolts against the peaceful transfer of power.

That is fucking exhausting to be aware of all the time, especially with the knowledge that if we miss a single election cycle -- which is exceptionally easy to do with the way the Democratic electorate needs to be wooed and courted and herded like cats every single time, rather than just getting their asses to the polls and voting to keep Nazis out of office -- they will be right back in power again. If Manchin and Sinema don't get over their poseur pearl-clutching and either nuke the filibuster or carve out an exception for voting rights, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act is never going to get passed, no matter how many boilerplate appeals the Democratic leadership makes on Twitter. In which case, the 2022 midterms are going to give us Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the House (I threw up in my mouth a little typing that) and right back to the Mitch McConnell Obstruction Power Hour in the Senate. The Online Left (TM) will then blame the Democrats for not doing more to stop them. These are, of course, the same people who refused to vote for Hillary Clinton out of precious moral purity reasons in 2016, handed the election to Trump, and now like to complain when the Trump-stacked Supreme Court reliably churns out terrible decisions. Gee, it's almost like elections have consequences!!

Aside from my exasperation with the death-cult right-wing fascists and the Online Left (TM), I am sick and tired of how forty years of "trickle-down" Reaganomics has created a world where billionaires can just fly to space for the fun of it, while the rest of America (and the world) is even more sick, poor, overheated, economically deprived, and unable to survive the biggest public health crisis in a century, even if half the elected leadership wasn't actively trying to sabotage it. Did you know that half of American workers can't even afford a one-bedroom apartment? Plus the obvious scandal that is race relations, health care, paid leave, the education system (or lack thereof), etc etc. I'm so tired of this America Is The Greatest Country in the World mindless jingoistic catchphrasing. We are an empire in the late stages of collapse and it's not going to be pretty for anyone. We have been poisoned on sociopathic-libertarian-selfishness-disguised-as-Freedom ideology for so long that that's all there is left. We have become a country of idiots who believe everything their idiot friends post on social media, but in a very real sense, it's not directly those individuals' fault. How could they, when they have been very deliberately cultivated into that mindset and stripped of critical thinking skills, to serve a noxious combination of money, power, and ideology?

I am tired of the fact that I have become so drained of empathy that when I see news about more people who refused to get the vaccine predictably dying of COVID, my reaction is "eh, whatever, they kind of deserved it." I KNOW that is not a good mindset to have, and I am doing my best to maintain my personal attempts to be kind to those I meet and to do my small part to make the world better. I know these are human beings who believed what they were told by people that they (for whatever reason) thought knew better than them, and that they are part of someone's family, they had loved ones, etc. But I just can't summon up the will to give a single damn about them (I'm keeping a bingo card of right-wing anti-vax radio hosts who die of COVID and every time it's like, "Alexa, play Another One Bites The Dust.") The course that the pandemic took in 21st-century America was not preordained or inevitable. It was (and continues to be) drastically mismanaged for cynical political reasons, and the legacy of the Former Guy continues to poison any attempts to bring it under control or convince people to get a goddamn vaccine. We now have over 100,000 patients hospitalized with COVID across the country -- more than last summer, when the vaccines weren't available.

I have been open about my fury about the devaluation of the humanities and other critical thinking skills, about the fact that as an academic in this field, my chances of getting a full-time job for which I have trained extensively and acquired a specialist PhD are... very low. I am tired of the fact that Americans have been encouraged to believe whatever bullshit they fucking please, regardless of whether it is remotely true, and told that any attempt to correct them is "anti-freedom." I am tired of how little the education system functions in a useful way at all -- not necessarily due to the fault of teachers, who have to work with what they're given, and who are basically heroes struggling stubbornly along in a profession that actively hates them, but because of relentless under-funding, political interference, and furious attempts, as discussed above, to keep white America safely in the dark about its actual history. I am tired of the fact that grade school education basically relies on passing the right standardized tests, the end. I am tired of the implication that the truth is too scary or "un-American" to handle. I am tired. Tired.

I know as well that "America" is not synonymous in all cases with "capitalist imperialist white-supremacist corporate death cult." This is still the most diverse country in the world. "America" is not just rich white middle-aged Republicans. "America" involves a ton of people of color, women, LGBTQ people, Muslims, Jews, Christians of good will (I have a whole other rant on how American Christianity as a whole has yielded all pretense of being any sort of a principled moral opposition), white allies, etc etc. all trying to make a better world. The blue, highly vaccinated, Biden-winning states and counties are leading the economic recovery and enacting all kinds of progressive-wishlist dream policies. We DID get rid of the Orange One via the electoral process and avert fascism at the ballot box, which is almost unheard-of, historically speaking. But because, as also discussed above, certain elements of the Democratic electorate need to fall in love with a candidate every single time or threaten to withhold their vote to punish the rest of the country for not being Progressive Enough, these gains are constantly fragile and at risk of being undone in the next electoral cycle. Yes, the existing system is a crock of shit. But it's what we've got right now, and the other alternative is open fascism, which we all got a terrifying taste of over the last four years. I don't know about you, but I really don't want to go back.

So... I don't know. I don't know if that stacks up to hate. I do hate almost everything about what this country currently is, structurally speaking, but I recognize that is not identical with the many people who still live here and are trying to do their best, including my friends, family, and myself. I am exhausted by the fact that as an older millennial, I am expected to survive multiple cataclysmic economic crashes, a planet that is literally boiling alive, a barely functional political system run on black cash, lies, and xenophobia, a total lack of critical thinking skills, renewed assaults on women/queer people/POC/etc, and somehow feel like I'm confident or prepared for the future. Not all these problems are only America's fault alone. The West as a whole bears huge responsibility for the current clusterfuck that the world is in, for many reasons, and so do some non-Western countries. But there is no denying that many of these problems have ultimate American roots. See how the ongoing fad for right-wing authoritarian strongmen around the world has them modeling themselves openly on Trump (like Brazil's lunatic president, Jair Bolsonaro, who talks all the time about how Trump is his political role model). See what's going on in Afghanistan right now. Etc. etc.

Anyway. I am very, very tired. There you have it.

[onebizarrekai]

random rant about ranmaru under the cut because I spent the entirety of yesterday thinking about him

yttd 3b spoilers

I’m gonna fight. the more I think back on what they did with ranmaru the more it looks like they were trying to dispose of him

like. seriously?? they killed him off during the trial without a second thought and didn’t even make it an option to save him?? I thought he was gonna be the new bastard because sou has the brain cell now

it’s almost like they made him go rogue in order to make the player not like him and not miss him when he dies but it literally had the opposite effect. he’s interesting now and they just weeded him out without a second thought or word, even though he was almost a main character during the whole of chapter 3 since he was hanging out with sara the whole time. he was part of a darker part of sara’s character arc and they just…… threw him out

those two had a really compelling dynamic especially because sara and ranmaru seriously had this brains-in-sync moment that encouraged ranmaru to make bad decisions

they were tied by a string of fate and EVERYTHING and they didn’t even make his death meaningful at all. and it’s not like they killed every single doll either, they decided to give a handful of them the chance to survive and none of them were, y’know, the guy the mc spent the whole chapter with and got attached to

and because they threw him aside like that, some players are calling him a disposable trope aka a yandere, because for some reason, his desire to survive, affection for sara and bad ideas are not worth exploring or taking seriously

in all honesty they barely made ANY of the doll deaths meaningful during the russian roulette game. they just went “all right gotta save gin” (which is understandable but still) and didn’t emote at all besides minor displeasure at killing their new friends that they just spent the WHOLE chapter gaining affection for and learning to team up with

and like yes. it’s true all of the dolls were dead people, but look me straight in the eye and tell me why the doll you’re supposed to care about the most  narrative-wise (besides mai) is a locked death that didn’t even get any attention drawn to it

you didn’t even get to see how sara felt about it. she just went “uh oh! ranmaru betrayed us! what a nutcase” and then kinda wiggled away until ranmaru died in the trial EVEN THOUGH ranmaru was literally becoming her friend before he went off the rails.

it’s like nothing in the chapter happened, it’s like none of them went through a rigorous electric shock minigame in order to save his life

I’d almost say that this is a showcase of how apathetic sara can be when she’s been turned against, but she didn’t have anything to say about it

like why does the stupid glasses guy get surviving rights. like for mai and kurumada it KIND OF made sense because mai got character development and kurumada kinda did too and he also almost died and they charged him and all, but glasses guy? and not ranmaru, who also got character development like the other two? there were 3 dolls that got development basically and one of them got offhandedly killed while being replaced by some rando who got zero development that I can’t even remember the name of.

I mean like I guess gin needs someone to look after him since qtaro died but also am I really gonna take a rando over a fave who MIGHT have the capacity to have some sense talked into him? or hell, even an interesting impact on the story.

dude. I want to see sara juggling not one but two bastards. I want to see sou and ranmaru not getting along. I want to see ranmaru being a wannabe problem but because he’s such a twig he just gets suplexed immediately by keiji. sara gin keiji sou and ranmaru really sounds like a terrible dream team to me

unless of course ranmaru gets brought back as a floor master since midori got wasted ahhahahaha that thought just crossed my mind very quickly

but also it’s very unlikely that they would do that. and it would also be stupid because it would require them to rewrite him into being a floor master and change him entirely. not to mention they could bring midori back at any time since he’s a doll (though there’s no saying they will)

anyway long story short ranmaru was a striking opportunity to develop sara some more in terms of her darker parts but if the way that they handled him is encouraging people to throw him under the bus, is everything really fine and dandy

I’m not even saying he should be a locked survivor (considering that he is very dead and his doll body probably isn’t permanent) I’m just saying he should be taken seriously and maybe even have a chance of living after the russian roulette part rather than just being cast aside

.

this is an unrelated question as well but sou’s 0% survival rate goes unanswered. midori said that everyone was set up to be given an evened out chance of survival but sou still ended up with nothing, somehow. we also don’t really have a team-antagonist either because sou mellowed out so much, despite his burning hatred for sara for making him survive instead of kanna (I guess he met midori again and then backed way down, but that doesn’t change the fact that sou spent the first 2 chapters being an antagonist and even tells the player about majority votes at the very beginning)

I kinda thought that ranmaru was going to replace him just a little even if ranmaru is an impulsive idiot who doesn’t know what he’s doing but that didn’t happen

OH YEAH. speaking of which I know we’re only halfway through chapter 3, which is probably why majority votes haven’t come up again, but doesn’t it seem awfully strange that the deciding factor of who survives in the russian roulette game was rigged, pre-programmed luck?

maybe ranmaru’s desire to win by teaming up with sara and killing everyone was just breaking the system too much

[hexmaniacchoco]

Re: OTW Tiffany racism.

For real, I saw a comment to the original post reading, "some y’all are really going off with the xenophobia. / i bet you wouldn’t be reacting this way if tiffany was just a white anti/from a predominantly white country."

As someone who read all of the chat transcripts, all of the comments (as of 12 hours ago) on the transcripts, all the comments, AND all of the comments and replies on the original post, that person is full of shit.

It's like saying, "Tiffany's from China therefor voting against Tiffany is racist". Sorry hun, but no.

This has just highlighted how very grateful I am to be in a (non majority white, lol) country that does not have such profound censorship laws that are violently enforced as China.

People are just crawling out of the wood work to unabashedly look like idiots on this one.

Yes! I saw that same post, and then I saw the other one that tried to sprinkle the xenophobia accusation into an agreement by saying they agreed and then put the "but" followed by their accusations. It's possible those people might have gotten the mistaken idea that so much as talking about someone being from another country is "xenophobic", but they would be absolutely wrong about it. Likewise to you having read the comments and replies and such, the only comments I've seen regarding her country were at worst "We shouldn't have Ao3 censoring itself according to other countries’ policies" and at best "English probably isn't her first language, so maybe she's not an anti but rather doesn't understand the questions being asked or how her answers are coming across with the same nuance as a native or near-native English speaker would". I’m glad also that you mentioned being from a non majority white country, because antis love trying to say inflammatory things like the comment in the post you mentioned. And then you had at least one reply saying OP was “encouraging a pile-on”(which may have been in the one you referred to actually). Telling people to vote in an upcoming election if they’re able to and expressing actually reasonable concerns which do not involve misinformation about a candidate is NOT encouraging a pile-on. I’d like to think this was an honest (though major) misunderstanding, and it’s still possible that it is. However, considering the inflammatory language being used in general, it makes me more inclined to believe that those are antis. TL;DR: I absolutely agree with you. People are trying to reasonably inform others that one of the candidates running for a position on Ao3′s board at best sounds too inexperienced to qualify and too evasive to trust, and at worst sounds like an anti and that regardless, you shouldn’t vote for her. Some (probable) antis are mad about it (as they are wont to be), and pulling the usual fallacious crocodile tear act by claiming everyone explaining why NOT to vote for Tiffany are just Racist And Xenophobic White People From Predominantly White Countries.